Who can save himself from the power of the grave?

 

Monday, October 9, 2023


Psalm 89:39-53

1 Kings 20:1-25

Matthew 11:1-11


Observances: Denys, bishop of Paris, and his companions (d. c. 250); Cynog, abbot and martyr (d. c. 5th C); Robert Grosseteste, bishop of Lincoln, philosopher, scientist (d. 1253)


Who can save himself from the power of the grave?


Everything that God has ever said or done points to the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Living in the time that we do, we can look back on Calvary and say to ourselves “of course! Just as a kernel of wheat must fall into the ground and die in order to produce many seeds, so too must the Messiah die our death in order that we all may rise to new life in Him.” (John 12:24) This pattern of dying to death and rising to new life is written in every pattern of nature: God even made this universe to follow the steps of Christ.


Today’s Psalm portion should be read in its entirety. Beginning from verse 1, we are taken along the emotional hurricane that is Christ’s Passion. It is a prophecy; it speaks both directly and precisely to how God will redeem His people through the cross, as well as cutting through to our core the emotional weight that such a revelation causes.


God made a covenant – an unbreakable promise – when He pronounced the curse upon Satan when we were all kicked out of the Garden of Eden. The enmity between the woman’s offspring and the serpent will result in the crushing of the serpent’s head, even as it nips at the heel. (Gen 3:15) God clarified and reinforced this promise all through the ages, and the promise He made to David is spoken of in this Psalm. In spite of the fact that all seems dark, the Psalmist is certain that God will, none the less, uphold His promise. And God did: on the cross, the fortresses were broken down, the sword arm was held back, taunts were flung in the steps of the anointed one. Christ bled and died and suffered the penalty of our sin.


That death was the death we deserved. God’s justice was upheld. We can call to God in our prayers with full confidence that God is just. And because that justice was executed upon Christ and not us, the power of the grave is not final. We shall not die, but live, and proclaim the goodness of God, because He loved us so much, He gave His only Son to die as an atoning sacrifice, so that we may not see death, but live.

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