With Easter very near, I would like to reflect on Jesus’ death, but first I would like to look at two examples of how our world reacts to death.

Many of you may remember the old TV series of ‘Dad’s Army’, with Corporal Jones and Sergeant Wilson helping Captain Mainwaring to run the home guard at Walmington-on-Sea. The actor who played Sergeant Wilson gave the world one final laugh when he wrote his own brief obituary, published in the Times after his death in 1983.
It read “John Le Mesurier wishes it to be known that he conked out on November 15th. He sadly misses family and friends.”

This shows one approach of the world to coping with death, which is to treat it as something we can never understand and can only laugh about.

Another response of a world which treats death as the end of everything, is to deny reality, by pretending we can somehow overcome death by the greatness of our achievements.
I read an article by an aging journalist who was busy attending funerals and listening to fantastic eulogies for people he had worked with. He longed for a more honest view, and he would like to hear references to the real nature of his work mates, like bad manners, bad temper, and self-pity. Those were part of the real people he had learnt to value.

In contrast to these worldly responses, our Lord Jesus approached his death on the cross with complete realism and honesty. He saw it clearly as the ultimate battle with sin.
In the garden of Gethsemane, he was sorrowful and deeply distressed. His response was to pray more earnestly; for his disciples, and for all who would believe through their message and receive eternal life. So, when facing death, he prayed for you and me.

Far from being a victim of death, his divine power was shown on the cross, his thorns were indeed a crown of glory. He overcame the power of sin and the Devil, he removed the guilt of our sin, and took it on himself to the grave.
The Father glorified Jesus not only in his death, but as he raised him from the grave in victory over the power of death. Jesus ascended into heaven and poured out his Spirit to set up his kingdom among us, and to live within us.

The miracle of his death and resurrection, which we celebrate at his table now, is the greatest possible expression of God’s love for us.

But we find something more; that when through faith we are united with Jesus, we too have already died with him.
Colossians 3:3 reads, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
And in Romans 6:4 “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

When Christ died on the cross, our old self, being enslaved to sin, was crucified to set us free, and we are born again to a new life in Christ.

Like John Le Mesurier, at the Lord’s table now we too give our obituary — for our old sinful selves, which we gladly leave behind as dead to us forever. Here there is no flippancy or denial of reality, we need to be absolutely honest, for our old sinful selves were offensive and completely unacceptable to God.

Here we celebrate the wonderful promise in Romans 6:5 “If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection”.
We celebrate God’s gift of real and everlasting life, which is freely given to you through Jesus.