As I’ve been reflecting on Jesus’ death and resurrection this week, I keep coming back to 1 Corinthians 15:55:
O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?
Revisiting the account of Good Friday, that day seemed anything but good. It was filled with disgrace, humiliation, betrayal, loneliness, bitterness, sorrow, excruciating pain, and death.
Jesus was betrayed and abandoned by His closest friends.
Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him. – Mat 26:50
Then all the disciples left him and fled. – Mat 26:56
Jesus’ disciples experienced sorrow, confusion, and pain in the events leading to His death
And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. – Mat 26:75
Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. -Mat 27:3-5
Jesus suffered disgrace, humiliation, and incredible pain
Then he (Pilate) released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. -Mat 27:26
And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him. – Mat 27:28-31
And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads. -Mat 27:39
Jesus died a lonely death
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” -Mat 27:46
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. -Mat 27:50
The sting of death
This seems like no victory. How can we say, “O death, where is your sting?” Jesus’ death and the events leading up to his death were horrific. Even so, it’s not even death itself that stings.
It was the betrayal, greed, wickedness, selfishness, anger, hypocrisy, injustice, violence, hatred… sin.
The sting of death is sin… 1 Cor 15:56a
Jesus was betrayed, by a friend, to an unjust death. That stings. Everything that happened to Jesus, everything that put him on the cross, was sin.
And not just the sin of those who betrayed him, mocked him, or killed him.
Our sin, too.
And we know our sin stings. Yes, we are well-aware of the brokenness, ugliness, pain, and hopelessness of sin – in our hearts, relationships, desires, consciences, and souls. We see it in ourselves, we see it in the world.
We’re lost in our sin, separated from God and others.
That’s what at makes death so bitter. Our sin that results in death of relationships, death of dreams, death of freedom, death of peace, death of our very souls, even eternal separation and condemnation – and nothing we could do about it.
The story doesn’t end there
But God!
There was something He could do. He alone had the power to do something about our hopeless state.
And He loved us enough.
He choose to face the sting of death to save us from it. Things may have looked hopeless on that dark Good Friday. But on the third day, Jesus conquered death and rose again in complete victory.
He was given all authority in heaven and on earth (Mat 28:18). Authority to free us from sin. To free us from the sting. And that’s exactly why we can now say victoriously, “O death, where is your sting?”
Where we once could see only hopelessness, there is hope! Where we only saw death, there’s now life. We still face sin, brokenness, and death, but the sting is gone because we have hope in Jesus. All praise and glory to God!
Our Jesus is alive.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – 1 Cor 15:57
