Jesus Christ approached His own death with calm determination, viewing it as a vital part of God's plan. In Matthew 16:21, He plainly told His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, be killed, and be raised on the third day, presenting it almost as a necessary checklist. Despite the intense emotional pain He later endured, His initial attitude remained dispassionate and purposeful, accepting His death as God's will to pay for humanity's sins and ensure eternal life through resurrection. When Peter rebuked Him, expressing fear and hostility toward the idea of His death, Jesus sharply corrected him, declaring such a mindset an offense and influenced by satan, as it disregarded the divine purpose (Matthew 16:23). Jesus saw no need for fear, recognizing it as a tactic of the evil spirit to hinder God's will. In another instance, Jesus displayed a similar composure regarding the death of Lazarus, a beloved disciple. Despite knowing Lazarus was fatally ill, He delayed His response for two days, showing a calm and confident demeanor (John 11:6). When He finally announced Lazarus' death to His disciples, He expressed gladness, not out of malice, but with a righteous joy, knowing the resurrection He would perform would strengthen faith, bear witness, and further God's plan (John 11:14-15). Though He wept, it was not for Lazarus, but out of frustration at the unbelief and lack of hope among those around Him, even those closest to Him, revealing His mastery over death and His focus on the hope beyond it (John 11:33-35). Jesus consistently viewed death through a lens of purpose and the greater good that lay ahead.

This world views death as a dark and brooding specter, a Grim Reaper cloaked in black, wielding a massive scythe to harvest human souls. People fear death, seeing it as a terrifying end. Yet, death is not a permanent cessation of life's functions, for God holds the power to give life to the dead through resurrection. Solomon and Job, two of history's wisest men, reflect on death with a somber tone. Solomon notes the fleeting nature of life, while Job, amidst severe trials, questions the prospect of living again without God, likening a dead man to a tree with no hope of sprouting anew. Yet, Job holds a fervent hope that God will recall him from the grave to live again, transformed into something far better, to engage in a close relationship with Him. Both Solomon and Job conclude that for those who fear God and have a relationship with Him, death is not the final end. Even those currently apart from God will have the opportunity to live again.

From God's perspective, death, though an enemy resulting from sin, is woven into His hopeful and positive plan for humanity. He allowed sin and thus death to enter the world, yet He had foreordained the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world. In this way, God transforms what seems a curse into a blessing, incorporating death into His purpose. Even in the face of suffering and the prospect of being forsaken, Jesus Christ submitted perfectly to His Father's will, understanding the necessity of His death for the success of God's plan. Knowing God would raise Him to eternal life after three days, He did not ultimately fear death but rather the momentary separation from God. Thus, death, when viewed through God's reality and hope, can be seen in a positive light, as it serves His greater purpose of redemption and the ultimate destruction of all evil.

It is a profound truth that human life holds purpose beyond its earthly end. God's Word reveals that there is life after death, an age to come when all who have not been called to salvation will be raised to new life. The resurrection from the dead offers hope for all humanity, a promise that death is not the final word. Humans are mortal, and upon death, their bodies return to dust, as they were formed from the earth. Every person who has died, except for Jesus Christ, remains in the grave, awaiting the resurrection. In death, life and consciousness cease; the dead know nothing, and there is no work or knowledge in the grave. While God retrieves the human spirit for safekeeping, it holds no inherent life or awareness, requiring a living body to function. The hope of life after death rests solely in the resurrection, when God will give eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality. In that great moment, death will be swallowed up in victory.

Death is a tool of Satan, an enemy and a hostile force that has persisted since Adam and Eve's sin, foreign to God's purpose for humanity. It is a power that demonic forces use to exercise authority through sin, keeping us in fear, and it does not express the will of the Holy God. Jesus faced this enemy, the last to be destroyed, in a titanic battle against Satan's most powerful weapon. Unlike Socrates, who viewed death as a friend and faced it calmly, Jesus greatly feared sin and death, becoming deeply troubled and distressed, expressing sorrow unto death. His affliction was immense, as if sinking under its weight, and He felt abandoned by God during crucifixion, a dreadful separation from life and relationships. Jesus cried out in anguish, showing death in all its frightful horror, not as a friend but as the ultimate enemy that separates us from God and the fullness of His purpose. Death is nothingness, the complete loss of everything God created for us—awareness, love, relationships, hope, joy, creativity, and future. Jesus had to conquer death by invading its turf, absolute nothingness, giving up life itself, the most precious gift from God. No human, including the Son of God, was inherently immortal; if He were, He could not have truly died. Yet He did die, meeting and overcoming death on the field of battle by never sinning, even as death claimed His life. Whoever seeks to conquer death must die and truly seek to live. Jesus' resurrection to God-life, the first act of God's promise to make all things new, required a divine act of creation, calling back to life the whole person annihilated by death. This resurrection, issuing from genuine death, is a mind-boggling, revolutionary event, a powerful miraculous act of creation. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ have rendered death powerless for those who truly believe and steadfastly practice the way of life He pioneered. His victory over death, Satan's most powerful tool, could not be obtained by living on as an immortal soul but by meeting and conquering death itself. We, too, must face trials in battle and overcome, just as He did, passing muster before Him because He conquered death. Trusting Him to bring us back to life, we overcome now while alive, living by faith to impress God. The hope of every true follower of Christ is the resurrection of the dead, a promise of greater, stronger, and more glorious life. To reject Christ's resurrection is to reject His death's purpose as the means for forgiveness of sins, granting access to God's throne and His creative power to prepare us for the Kingdom of God through resurrection in His spiritual likeness.