Jesus’ Death is My Death. And His Resurrection is My Resurrection!

By Dr. Brandon Steenbock, Family Minister

Romans 6:5 -  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.  

It’s not a pretty sight, and we don’t often like to dwell on the image of Jesus on the cross. Yes, during Lent or on Good Friday, you might hear a sermon describing the beatings, the whippings, the nails and the blood. Maybe during Holy Week you attend a viewing of The Passion of the Christ. But the rest of the year, we try not to think too much about the physical torment our Savior endured. 

Even less do we like to think about the spiritual torment he went through. The agony of knowing only his Father’s burning wrath for sin. The devastation of having his Father’s loving presence turned away from him. The experience of literal hell and abandonment at a time when he was already in the most abundant pain imaginable.

It’s okay not to dwell on it all the time. Sometimes we get in the habit of wallowing in guilt rather than thankfulness when we spend too much time thinking about Jesus’ suffering. But we can never forget it. 

Because it was the death we deserved. You and I, for our sins, deserved to die in agony and then face the wrath of God. It hurts to think of that, but it’s simply true - sin hurts people made in the image of God, and God is right to be angry about it. The holy, just, and loving God cannot be perfectly holy, just, and loving without hating sin and needing to punish it. And you and I deserved to die the death Jesus died.

But we didn’t. We won’t. Even if our bodies suffer in death, we know our souls will be safe with Jesus. Because Jesus died that death for us, and in baptism, he connects to that death. This is the point Paul makes in Romans 6: that in baptism, God makes Jesus’ death our death, so that in his eyes, we have already died the kind of death Jesus died. Our sin has been punished. 

But it doesn’t mean our bodies won’t still die; that’s just part of the course of things on the fallen earth. And that’s why Paul continues with real hope in verse 5. If, in baptism, we have been linked to Jesus’ death, so his death becomes our death, then by necessity, we also are linked to Jesus in his resurrection. Jesus didn’t stay dead; he rose from death, not just alive, not just healed, but glorified. No longer able to die. No longer subject to pain or disease or decay. Fully alive for eternity. And because we are linked to Jesus, because we are linked to his resurrection, we will also be alive, healed, and glorified. No longer able to die. No longer subject to pain or disease or decay. Fully alive for eternity. 

This is the promise when we think about Jesus’ death on the cross. It’s the promise when we think about our own physical death. It’s not the whole story. It’s not where we stop. We go on to remember: We are united with Jesus in his resurrection. 

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for dying the death I deserved, and bringing me into that death through baptism. I have no reason to fear death or punishment anymore. And thank you for rising from death, and for bringing me into your resurrection through baptism. Because of you, I have everything to look forward to. Thank you. Amen.