God, is there life after death and if so what's it like?

In the New York Times Magazine during the beltway sniper attacks Ann Patchett wrote:  “The fact is, staving off death is one of our favourite national pastimes. Whether it’s exercise, checking our cholesterol or having a mammogram, we are always hedging against mortality. Find out what the profile is, and identify the ways in which you do not fit it. But a sniper taking a single clean shot, not into a crowd but through the sight, reminds us horribly of death itself. Despite our best intentions, it is still for the most part, random. And it is absolutely coming.”

We have a fascinating relationship with death don’t we? We know it’s coming, we know 1:1 die, yet we live as if it’ll never happen to us. We don’t talk about it, or if we do are never sure we’re saying the right thing. But it’s still there. A friend’s church did a survey and asked ‘What hurts the most?’ The number 1 answer was death. J K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books wrote this: “My books are largely about death… we are all frightened of it.”

Part of our fear about death is; not knowing. Is there life after death and if so what does it look like, or is there nothingness?

When the early explorers set out to discover the world, to see what was beyond the horizon, they had all sorts of ideas; the world was flat, there were no other people like them, there were lands totally different from any yet discovered and so on. They only had speculation and guesswork. But as explorers came back from their voyages further and further afield a clear idea of what was out there took shape, because someone had been there and come back people could know what the world was like.

In order to know that there is life after death and what it’s like we need to hear from someone who has been there and come back. Not in a vague I saw a light, near death experience, but from someone who actually died and came back to tell us what it’s like. The bible uniquely claims it gives us that. That Jesus lived, died and rose again and therefore can help us as we confront our fear of death.

Jesus proves there is life after death
Some words matter because they change everything. When you ask the question ‘will you marry me?’ the question and the answer changes your world. Whether the answer is ‘get lost’ or ‘yes’ matters, it changes your reality. Or the words “I’m pregnant” and then “It’s a boy”. Other words change life detrimentally, but they still change life.

We had read to us Luke’s account of Jesus’ resurrection, and it contains in it three words that you might have missed but which change everything forever, not just for one couple, not just for an extended family, community or nation but for the whole of the universe for the whole of time. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say these are the most important three words ever uttered in the whole of human history. (6)“he has risen”. Don’t rush past those words, let’s just think for a minute about what they’re saying. Life has always ended in death. Even those people that Jesus miraculously raised to life, were only temporarily raised, they each died again. But the words “he has risen” change everything because Jesus was really dead, rose again and didn’t die again. Jesus ascended into heaven, there’s no tomb Christians visit because he never died again.

And those three words change more than that. Death is the result of man’s rebellion against God. It’s described elsewhere as the wages of sin. But not for Jesus. Something amazing has happened which means death can’t hold him. And in those three words is the promise that everything is now different. The rule of sin and death is finished, Jesus has won. Because Jesus is risen there is hope for us, death is not the end.

But, let’s be honest it is an impossible claim isn’t it? That Jesus died and rose again. Resurrection just doesn’t happen does it? I’ve spoken at a few funerals and been to even more and no-one has risen again, in fact no-one there has even expected that to happen a few days later. So how can we believe this?

Luke the writer of this gospel was a doctor. He knows that dead people don’t come to life again. He writes a carefully studied and pieced together account because he is convinced having looked at the evidence that Jesus rose again. That, amazing as it is, it is the most likely explanation of the facts.

Just look at the details he includes. Jesus is definitely dead the Romans were expert torturers, Pilate is asked for the body, it is buried in a tomb. The soldier a the cross, Joseph, Pilate, those who handled the body all witnesses to Jesus death. The women go to the tomb expecting a dead body not a resurrection, they go with spices to anoint a dead body, not streamers and balloons to celebrate life. And the first witnesses are women, in the 1st century a woman’s evidence wasn’t admissible, so if this was all planned or even fabricated you wouldn’t have women as the first witnesses. And notice too the reactions of the women and the disciples, they are filled with wonder and (11)the disciples don’t believe them. They’re as incredulous about this as we are. But after they see Jesus they too testify that he has risen, in fact even people who didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah before he died testify that he is after they see him resurrected.

Luke writes for someone struggling with faith and includes facts, details, evidence that means he reaches the conclusion Jesus rose from the dead. But that’s just impossible to believe you might think. Ok, if we don’t believe Jesus came back to life again what are the alternatives?

a. He didn’t die, just swooned, then walked out of the tomb and fooled the disciples. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a major operation, but afterwards even getting out of bed and walking is an effort, let alone appearing well enough to convince everyone you’re back from the dead. We tend to look more like death warmed up than risen to new life. Jesus is flogged to within an inch of his life, he’s so drained physically he can’t carry his cross up the hill where he’s to be crucified. Then he’s crucified – John tells us they check he’s dead by shoving a spear in his side and out flows blood and serum because his heart has stopped. Then he’s taken down, wrapped in burial clothes and put in a tomb, behind a sealed stone which the ladies know they have no hope of moving.

Is it possible that Roman expert executioners mistake serious illness for death? No. Is it possible that despite the blood loss, broken bones from flogging, excruciating agony on the cross, asphyxiation, the spear thrust, that he then revives without any medical treatment, takes off the clothes, rolls back the heavy stone, eludes the guards, and is then well enough to convince his disciples he isn’t just recovering, but resurrected having conquered death? No.

b. The disciples went to the wrong tomb. Luke tells us the ladies saw where they laid him, it wasn’t any old grave it was Joseph of Arimathea’s grave, they knew where it was. I don’t know about you but I remember where the graves are of those I’ve buried, I don’t forget. And if they had gone to the wrong tomb the Roman and Jewish authorities would just produce the body proving the lie of resurrection. But that never happens because they didn’t go to the wrong tomb.

c. The disciples stole the body. Do con men die for the lies they pedal? No. The disciples all fled when Jesus was arrested. So it would take something miraculous to make them stand before the same accusers and testify to Jesus not just as Messiah, but as risen Messiah. Paul tells us Jesus appears to over 500 people, some who hadn’t believed before but do after the resurrection. Those disciples die for their belief in Jesus’ resurrection because it’s true, you don’t die for a lie you know is a lie.

What best fits the evidence? That Jesus died and rose again. Sir Edward Clarke was a great barrister, here’s what he wrote having looked at Jesus resurrection:  "As a lawyer I have made a prolonged study of the evidences for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. To me the evidence is conclusive, and over and over again in the High Court I have secured the verdict on evidence not nearly so compelling...The Gospel evidence for the resurrection...I accept unreservedly as the testimony of truthful people to facts they were able to substantiate."

Who do you say Jesus is? Jesus rose again therefore we can know that there is life after death.

What will it be like?
I wonder how you think of life after death? It’s often portrayed as ghostly, a bit dull, all harps, clouds and choirs. But not in the Bible, in the Bible the stress is on the joy and relationships that mark life after death.

Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection. It’s spring, soon the first fruit will appear on the trees. What does the first apple promise? That there’ll be more apples just like it. It shows what the rest will be like. You don’t see the first apple, then expect an orange, a kiwi and a mango to follow. The first fruit shows what’s following.

Jesus is the first fruit, a prototype of life after death. Firstly he tells us there’s definitely life after death. Secondly that it is physical. The promise Jesus makes is that he will raise the dead to new life and when he comes again give us physical bodied just like his. Here’s how one early Christian described it:

“The body that is sown [buried] is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”

When Jesus returns those who trust him will be given a real, physical body, life will be physical. There will be a new heaven and earth that is physical, like this but where there’s no death, insecurity, illness, poverty, crying or pain.

And the greatest thing about life after death is that we’ll be with God, that’s the biggest promise Jesus makes. In the new creation Father, Son and Spirit will be there with us. And God’s presence guarantees its goodness, and its permanence. In the new creation we’ll be what we were made to be, what we long to be, with no discontent or searching. But enjoying the relationship with God we were made to know.

That’s the promise Jesus resurrection gives us.

What does that mean for now?
Have you ever looked at a holiday brochure and seen a sky so blue, a beach so perfect and a sea so inviting that you have to get there? I’ll save and save until I can go.

That’s the big question we’re left with as we think about life after death. A world with God, perfect relationship is the world we long for, how can I get there?

Jesus once visits the grieving sister of a dear, dear friend and promises: “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”

Jesus proves it by raising Lazarus from the dead, then some weeks later rising himself from the dead. If we want eternal life we have to trust in Jesus. That he dies for us in our place paying a price we never could, and wins for us eternal life with God and he gives it to us when we put our faith in him. Have you? Will you trust in him?

It also transforms life for us when we’ve trusted him. It means what I do now matters. It affects the way we view the physical. If eternity is physical then life now matters. It isn’t that the spiritual is good and the physical is bad, but God is concerned with the physical. It transforms us so that we live now in light of eternity.

It also means that we can be content in our circumstances now. Just think about it for a minute; if this life is all there is then I’d better spend it collecting as much as possible – as many tastes and smells as possible, seeing as many of the worlds wonders as possible, learning as much as I can about everything, because the clock is ticking. If I’ve only got this lifetime I better make it count.

But do you see how faith in Jesus brings rest and contentment. I don’t need to see everything now because one day I’ll enjoy an even better version. I don’t need to cram as many tastes, textures, experiences and so on in now because in eternity we’ll enjoy all the best God can give us without end.

Think of it like this. When you go on holiday and stay in a hotel you don’t redecorate the hotel room do you? You don’t go buy new curtains, strip the wallpaper, redecorate and buy new furniture for your week do you? But you do do that for your home. The hotel is a temporary dwelling, home is permanent. Knowing that through Jesus we have eternal life makes this life the hotel room and eternity with God our home, it changes what we are living for and therefore how we live.

Is there life after death? Yes. What’s it like? Physical, relational, joyful and secure, because we will be what we were made to be and be in the relationship with God we were made to live in. It’s ours for trusting in Jesus who can give us eternal life, and it transforms life now.

In Time

I sat and watched the film 'In Time' on Tuesday night, it's an OK film based on a very clever premise.  The premise is that money has been replaced by time as the new currency, everybody is given a timer in their arm and once they are 25 their timer starts.  Initially they have one year to live, though they can add time through work, or by borrowing time at interest, by inheritance or even theft of time from others.  Medical science has also meant that people don't age any more once they are 25, no matter how old they get.

The film isn't brilliantly executed though it does make you think about some of societies preoccupations:

Our fear of death - the greatest driver in the movie is the fear of death.  People work, steal, cheat, etc all so that they can have more time, so that they can live.  Some (the wealthy) deliberate perpetuate the system because for the few to be immortal many will have to die.  Others are so afraid of dying before they have used up their hard won time that they avoid anything that may be viewed as potentially risky but in the process never really live.

Our obsession with looking young - the idea that you stay how you looked at 25 brilliantly reveals our societies rejection of ageing and love of youth and looking young.  Though in the film it makes it impossible to know anyone, or even to guess if someone is someones grandmother, mum, wife or daughter, a very clever and thought provoking idea.

Whilst not a brilliantly executed film it is an interesting watch and one which reveals our societies fear of death and obsession with overcoming it.  It is fascinating having watched it as I prepared to preach Luke 24v36-53 this week where we see Jesus resurrection body and the hope it brings for his followers - death is conquered for them and resurrection is assured by Jesus and it liberates them and us to really live, risking all to tell others the great news that death has been defeated and sin overcome by Jesus the suffering, risen, reigning Messiah.

Hope

This week I'll attend the second funeral I've been to in two weeks, it would be three in two but for the fact another is on the same day. Whilst funerals are never enjoyable they are not without hope for those who believe in Jesus Christ as their saviour.

It is at the grave side that you are confronted with the big questions of life that we try so hard to insulate ourselves from in our everyday lives - what's the meaning of life and what happens when we die?

The Victorians big taboo was sex, they didn't talk about it and any evidence was hidden away. In our society we have gone to the other extreme and sex is on everything, you don't have to spend too long watching day time television or adverts or listening to the breakfast shows on the radio to realise that. Our taboo is death, the Victorians dealt with death much more matter of fact way than we do, but we hide it away and try to isolate people from thinking about it. Mention it in conversation and it suddenly goes very quiet. Lose someone close to you and people don't know what to say to you, in fact so often they choose to avoid you altogether.

I wonder if that's why people no longer think about the big question; 'What happens after we die?' I'm not sure my friends would appreciate me even asking the question, yet it is one that is pushed at us every day as we watch the news and hear of more deaths in Iraq or of the Virginia tech shooting, or another teenager killed in London.

Its a question that Jesus seems to address frequently in the gospels. With Nicodemus he talks about the need to be born again if you want eternal life - life after death, with the rich young ruler that is the issue under discussion, in Matthew 24 and 25 again it is life after death that is the subject.

When Paul writes to the Corinthians life after death features (chapter 15) and then to the Thessalonians (chapter 4:13) he writes "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you grieve like the rest, who have no hope..."

If the New Testament answers that question about life after death then it is a question that man had and still has, and it is a question that we must pose of those around us.

What is relevance?

Relevance - what is it? It's what people want in our busy world isn't it, relevance. Cut to the chase, tell me what I need to know, don't give me all the details just the facts. It's partly the result of the pressure we all feel under, pressure to get the job done, pressure to get the answers, to complete the task, to save time, to be efficient. But what is really relevant?

I sat with a 90 year old lady yesterday afternoon whose mind was as sharp as they come. She was asking why people don't have time for God any more? How they find meaning in life without the gospel and the good news that Jesus died to remove the judgement we face and give us a future we can look forward to rather than fear.

Her conclusion was that people just don't have the time to think about questions like that, let alone have time to think about them. No time to stop and ponder what the meaning of life is, to ask; Why am I here?

I think it all comes down to relevance. It's easy in the rush of the workplace/family home/gym/retirement/whatever to think that what is relevant is only what is immediate. What's relevant is those figures I need to complete my report, what's relevant is how my child is doing in school, not how the school or staff are doing. What's relevant is how I improve my standard of living now. And we fool ourselves by consoling ourselves with the thought that there is time for that later.

It means that the questions about what is immediately relevant push out the real question about what is ultimately important. Why am I here? How did the universe come to be? If Jesus was an historical character what does it mean? What happens after I die?

Dealing with death

How do you deal with the loss of a loved one? What are we to do with the pain? What hope is there for the future? How do I survive when everything seems bleak when there doesn't seem to be anything but pain?

All these are questions faced by those who have lost family or friends. Often death poses more questions for us than life. Sometimes those questions are about what I could have done better, regrets so often haunt us after we lose those we love, but more often it is to do with our loss.

I was fascinated coming across The Frays song How to Save a Life yesterday, here is a group singing about just those emotions, just those feelings born out their experience of working with recovering drug addicts. So much for the candy floss self absorbed lyrics we expect to see in the top ten. Here is a song that deals meaningfully with death, loss and bereavement and which has struck a chord with thousands who have heard it.

The video in particular is challenging and raises issues, as you watch words like faith, love, and phrases like Don't be afraid of death appear and then fade. It resonates with many who don't know how to deal with the emotional turmoil of the situation they find themselves in. Many have written saying how it has helped them deal with their grief.

How do we help people deal with these things? If the Gospel is the answer, and it is, if the gospel is the hope of the world and it is then we need to be engaged with those around us facing such issues. We need to be engaging with the world, showing love to those who are bereaved, who are struggling, who feel despair, as we do so we will stand out as counter cultural. As we share peoples loss and pain as we open ourselves up and share life with people the gospel can be proclaimed.

Ultimately the only hope we have is the gospel, how tragic if we keep that to ourselves through lack of meaningful relationships.