Death, Thou Shalt Die
What God Has Done to Death
Some years ago, I delivered these words in a Bible message at a friend's memorial service at First Presbyterian Church of Chattanooga, Tennessee. We trust that the enduring message of the Gospel will minister to all who seek healing for their wounded spirits.
I began the sermon without commentary or other human words. I just announced the Gospel. Thus, I spoke the Words of life before the scene of death.
“Jesus said unto her, ‘I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live’” (John 11:25 KJV).
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15, 1599 Geneva Bible)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24, ESV)
I surveyed the gathering in silence. I was praying that God through this unworthy servant would reach each soul with the word from heaven that person needed—even as I pray for you who are reading now. And so, after a pause, I declared this message.
It has become common among some Christians to say that death is just a portal, a mere transition, or something else like that. There is nothing wrong about that. Because of Christ’s crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection, death most certainly is those things. But in saying this without the context of human loss, pain, and grief, we fail to address death Biblically. In doing so, we can delegitimize human tears, human suffering, and the stark and poignant pain of loss. Death is the enemy, the last enemy to be defeated.
John Donne (1572-1631; for those unfamiliar with him, his name is pronounced “Dunn,” as he reveals in a poem about the unhappy consequences of his marriage without his father-in-law’s permission: “John Donne, Anne Donne, Undone”1) the great poet-preacher of St. Paul’s Cathedral, wrote, “Death, be not proud, for thou art not so” (Holy Sonnet no. 10, 1609).2 Yet then, as now, even the most memorable words can seem empty when faced with grief. Death looms as a dark specter, stalking the wounded widow, oppressing the lonely orphan. It demands acknowledgment, for the Bible itself does not shy away from death’s sting.
And yet, the Apostle Paul tells us that we grieve not as those who have no hope—but we grieve nonetheless. Even Christ, the Resurrection and the Life, wept before Lazarus’ tomb. He who turned water into wine at Cana also stood in visceral sorrow at Bethany. If we are to follow our Savior, we must never minimize the profound, personal loss that even the most devout believers endure.
What Has God Done to Death?
The Bible teaches us that the Lord Jesus has won for us at least three remarkable achievements in His victory over Hell and death.
What has God done to death? One glorious achievement is this:
1. God Has Sweetened Death
It seems an impossible paradox—that death, which has long been our captor, could somehow be transformed into something precious. And yet, the psalmist tells us plainly: 'Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.'
That word, “precious,” is the Hebrew yaqar—valuable, treasured. A friend of mine calls everything precious. I can still hear her say it: “Oh, Mike, that baptism was just precious!“ “Now, Mike, don’t get onto that boy. I think your son is just precious.” And even after a service like this one I have heard her whisper through tears, “Mike, that was just precious.” As usual with that dear lady, she was spot on with the Scriptures.
Death, the enemy of humankind, has been made precious by the hand of God. But how?
· Death is precious because the Lord knows us personally and receives us even through that which seeks to destroy us.
· Death is precious because it is the paradoxical reason Christ came into the world—to defeat it.
· Death is precious because it is no longer a wall, but a door, through which we are ushered into the presence of God.
Death is painful, wretched, and a judgment. No wonder we hurt so badly when we lose a loved one. But in Christ, all things, even bad things (like the cross), now serve His purposes.
What has God done to death? A second magnificent achievement is this:
2. God Has Sanctified His People Before Death
The Bible calls believers “saints”—not just the extraordinary, but all who belong to Christ. The Vatican may recognize sainthood through canonization, but Scripture tells us that God alone makes saints. 'To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.' (Romans 1:7)
Holiness follows grace; it does not precede it. The life of a believer, then, is one of slow and steady sanctification—growing more like Christ, being refined through suffering, becoming more radiant with the beauty of holiness.
By the time a saint reaches heaven, Christ is no stranger to them. He has walked with them through every valley, and when they cross that final threshold, they do so into the arms of One they already know.
What has God done to death? There are more than we can number, but here is a third exquisite triumph over death:
3. God Has Secured His People Forever
Jesus said, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). That word—has passed—is not future tense. It is a present reality. The moment we trust in Christ, eternal life begins.
Paul, in Romans 8, presses this truth even further:
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Jesus secures us in His gracious and immovable grip: “No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:29). The judgment for our sins has already been paid in full—on the cross. The verdict has been rendered. The case is closed. You are His and He is yours. Jesus assured us
“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29 NKJV).
If we are gifts of the Father to the Son before the foundation of the universe, and applied by the Holy Spirit in time, received by repentance and faith in Jesus as the resurrected and living Lord of all (faith is also a “gift of God” according to St. Paul in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”), then, I do believe the matter is settled—once and for all time. No wonder John Donne, while he lingered near death’s door in his illness, declared with Christ-honoring defiance, “Death, thou shalt die!”
The judgment for our sins has already been paid in full—on the cross. The verdict has been rendered. The case is closed. You are His and He is yours. — Michael A. Milton
The Beginning of the Real Story
C.S. Lewis, in The Last Battle, closes the Chronicles of Narnia series with these words:
“For us, this is the end of all the stories. . . but for them, it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures had only been the cover and the title page. Now, at last, they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before.”3
I love that. Our friend did not end his journey this week. He simply stepped into a new chapter—one that has no ending, where every moment is brighter than the last. So, yes, death is a portal. Even so, I am hurting at his passing. We do mourn. Death is a tornado that can level a home; a cyclone that can overturn the strongest ship at sea; and a shadow that can hide the sun from those who survive. Death is a thief and is the enemy. But as Christ caused the cross, an instrument of defeat and shame, to become the sign of salvation and glory, so I can mourn with faith. Death does not have the last word.
If you believe in the One he believed in, you will see our friend once more. Most importantly, you will see our Lord Jesus, face-to-face.
And so, with John Donne, we may speak in holy defiance to the grave. Not in shallow optimism, but in the full weight of God’s promise: “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live’” (John 11:25 KJV).
Or as the poet wrote, “Death, be not proud…for thou art not so: Death, thou shalt die!”
This is the Gospel. This is the promise. This is the life. This is what God has done with death.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
He also uses the literary device, also, in (my favorite work by Donne), “A Hymn to God the Father.” See this link. My friend, singer-songwriter and recording artist Buddy Greene, composed a beautiful and quite remarkable folk score for the hymn. I highly recommend experiencing A Hymn to God the Father by John Donne and Buddy Greene.
Holy Sonnet 10 in John Donne,, Hugh I'Anson Fausset. The Holy Sonnets of John Donne. London: J. M. Dent & sons, Limited for Hague & Gill, Limited, 1938.
Appendix
Here is a reading of “Death be not Proud” by Richard Burton (1925-1984, born Richard Jenkins), the knighted Welsh Shakespearean actor who became a legendary film star.
Lewis, C. S. 1956. The Last Battle. New York: Macmillan, 164.