This post is part of a 40-Day Prayer Journey through the season of Lent. Click here to learn more and read other posts in the series.
“Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19).
This promise from our Savior changes everything for us, dear Christian.
But think for a moment about when it was first spoken: on Holy Thursday, the night Jesus was betrayed by his friend Judas, the night before he was crucified. Think for a moment how the disciples might have reacted to that promise in the minutes and hours after that awful event.
“Because I live, you also will live . . .”
Did that beautiful promise then sound hollow, empty, and darkly ironic to those who promised that they’d sooner die before they denied and deserted Jesus? If Jesus were dead, did that mean they’d soon follow him? And if Jesus were dead, then what was the point of everything he had promised? Was it all a lie?
That reminds me of the blunt statement that the apostle Paul would later write in his letter to the Christians in Corinth: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:17-19).
“If Christ has not been raised . . .” “If” is the important word here. And what Paul wrote next is one of the most beautiful reversals in Scripture: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20).
Think of Easter morning—the beautiful day that we can’t wait to reach during this long season of Lent. That day would change everything for the disciples and for us as well. It would turn wailing into dancing and shouts of joy and laughter for Jesus’ followers, including you and me. The tomb is empty, and the graveclothes are neatly folded by the one whom God raised from the dead.
Jesus’ promise stands: “Because I live, you also will live.”
That promise sees us through this sin-darkened world. It strengthens us and fills us with comfort, even as we experience the effects of growing old, getting sick, and getting closer to dying. Jesus lives—and because he does, death is now the doorway to life eternal. It’s just how we get home to heaven.
Today as you pray, ask that God would strengthen the hearts of his people, including your own. Ask that he would point you to his Word and sacraments, where he assures you that your sins are forgiven, you’re his dearly loved child, and a home in heaven is waiting for you all because of Jesus.
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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