Is Death Final?
2 Kings 4:17-37
1) It Seems So
2) Life Continues After
Modern medicine has been able to solve problems that once brought about widespread fear. When penicillin and antibiotics were introduced around World War II, it drastically reduced the risk of bacterial infections. Serious infections from scratches and minor wounds became a thing of the past. We’ve developed new therapies and improved treatments for chronic conditions like diabetes, asthma, and mental illnesses. Beforehand, your options were limited and your future didn’t look too good. But now? You would never know some people have them. Cures and vaccinations are surefire ways to replace widespread fears with measured confidence. Diseases like smallpox and polio are now read about in history books. Maybe you were part of the many who, in spring of 2021, had your fears wiped out by the Covid vaccine. At least, until the Delta and Omicron variants popped up.
Modern medicine has been able to undo so many, once deadly problems. But there remains one that medicine cannot prevent or reverse. That’s the finality of death. Many of us have grieved the death of a loved one and seen how final death is. As such, we’ve gone to great lengths to conquer it. We think of creative solutions like in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. In desperation, we take drastic measures or dabble in the occult. People will subject themselves to subzero, cryonic preservation so they can wait until science finds an answer. Yet we know in our heart of hearts that we cannot prevent or reverse death. It remains final.
But is that so? Is death final? Does a person’s life stop when they breathe no more? Godless wisdom would say so. God’s children say otherwise because of who Jesus is. We’ve seen how Jesus meets our greatest needs as he gives life for the dead. Though death may seem final, it is not for life continues afterwards. To see how this true, we look to Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, and see his power on display through Elisha who raised a young boy to life.
It Seems So
We find ourselves in the mid-800s B.C. when Elisha is God’s primary prophetic voice in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. And he travels around a lot. One of the towns Elisha regularly passed through was Shunem where there lived a
certain rich woman who believed in God. She and her husband made it a point to provide food and private lodging for Elisha whenever he passed through Shunem After doing this for some time, Elisha works with God to provide them with an unasked-for blessing: a son of their own. You see, this couple was childless and old enough by now to expect no changes. They did not ask for a son, they were overjoyed when God blessed them to become parents.
When the boy was around eight years old, he went out to the farm fields with his father and developed a fatal case of what appears to be sunstroke. The boy was rushed home, placed on his mother’s lap, and passed away by noon. The boy’s death seemed final. So the woman decided to go right away to Elisha and ask him for help. Her husband wondered, “Why?” What could God do that even modern medicine cannot? Why bother God’s prophet outside of the usual times like the Sabbath or the new moon sacrifices? For the boy’s death seemed final to him.
The mother rushed on to Elisha, gave a cursory greeting to his servant, Gehazi, and laid her grieving soul before Elisha. Was God playing a cruel joke on her? She hadn’t asked for a son. And what did God do? He gave her one anyways and then allowed him to die. Her son was far too young to pass away. And I can only imagine the trauma the mother had from having her little boy die on her lap. The boy’s death seemed final to her.
Things did not improve when Gehazi came back with his sad news. He had done what Elisha said, “Put my staff on the boy’s face.” (2 Kings 4:29 EHV) but there was no sound or response from the boy. Undoubtedly everyone’s hopes were dashed because this promising method failed to deliver. The boy’s death seemed even more final than before.
As children of our culture, we too quickly jump to the conclusion that death is final, irreversible, and unpreventable. Perhaps we show it like the incredulous husband. Why go to God for something as final as death? Why bother his called servants outside of usual times like weekly worship and special occasions? Perhaps we entertain thoughts that God is playing a cruel joke on us as the Shunammite woman did. If God is the author of life and is in control of all things, then why did he let my loved one pass away? If you’ve ever buried a loved one younger than you, I’m certain you asked this question. Perhaps our hopes are dashed to pieces when promising methods fail to deliver. The success rate said it should have worked! Yet it didn’t. And now, we’re left picking up the pieces. Behind all of these, the underlying question we ask is, “If I can’t look to God to meet my greatest need of death that seems so final, then why should I look to him at all?”
Life Continues After
We look to God because of Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life. We heard Jesus describe himself as such in our Gospel. As the Resurrection and the Life, he gives life for the dead and so shows that death is not final. Rather, life continues after. Yet, how is it that Jesus gives life for the dead? There are a few ways. Jesus gives spiritual life to all who were spiritually dead through the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith. Jesus gives restored life after physical death through occasional miracles or for all the dead on the Last Day. Jesus also gives eternal life to all who pass away with saving faith in him so they may immediately enjoy what heaven has to offer. It’s through these ways that Jesus proves that death is not final. Life continues after in every case whether it’s spiritual, restored, or eternal life.
We know that Jesus will follow through on this promise, that life continues after death. For he has the power of God himself to do it as seen with his raising of Lazarus. The same power on display when Elisha raised the Shunammite woman’s son.
By the time Elisha got to her house, the boy had been cold and dead for a handful of hours. Elisha goes up to the boy, shuts the door, and prays to the Lord. He then laid on top of the boy – eyes to eyes, mouth to mouth, and palms to palms. This wasn’t Old Testament CPR! Rather, Elisha was following what the prophet Elijah had done a generation earlier when he raised a widow’s dead son (1 Kings 17:21). As Elisha laid on top of the boy, God began to restore this boy’s life. His body first became warm as it likely resumed biological function. After pacing a few times, Elisha came back and the boy regained consciousness Elisha then called for the Shunammite woman who came, fell at Elisha’s feet to thank him, and joyfully picked her son up alive and well. The boy’s death was not final. For his life continued after.
The only way Elisha could do this miracle was by the power of God working through him. As God, Jesus has this same power and is correct to be called – the Resurrection and the Life. And so Jesus meets our greatest need of death with the life he gives for the dead. For the spiritually dead, he gives spiritual life through the Word of God and sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion so we may call Jesus our Savior. With this spiritual life comes all of God’s spiritual blessings –forgiveness, peace, salvation, and so much more. For the physically dead, Jesus gives restored life. He may do this on occasion through a miracle like with Lazarus or the Shunammite woman’s son. But we don’t expect God to do such miracles. After all, they’re call miracles because of how seldom they happen, not how often.
But we certainly look forward to the resurrection of the dead on the Last Day when our bodies will be raised and reunited with our souls. For the Christian who passes away, Jesus gives us eternal life that is immediately enjoyed when we die. And these show one thing – death is not final. Life continues after thanks to Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life.
Concluding Encouragements
Modern medicine can do amazing things, but I doubt it’ll ever entirely prevent or reverse death. For death seems final. That’s what everyone thought when the Shunammite woman’s young boy passed away. Yet death is not final; life continues after. That’s because of Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life. With the power shown through Elisha, Jesus meets our greatest needs by giving spiritual, restored, and eternal life for the dead.
So live your life as if death were not final! Center your faith on Jesus who makes death not final. Feed your faith so that it grows stronger every day. Thank God for the spiritual blessings he gives you. Unlike the husband of the Shunammite woman, don’t wait to go to God or his called servants when trouble comes! God will help you in your time of need. He and his servants are accessible to you outside of weekly worship and special occasions. Wrap yourself up in God’s love so you know that he’ll never play a cruel joke on you. God is not evil, conniving, or passive aggressive. He wants the best for you – for you to be his child through faith in Jesus and live with him in heaven for eternity. When you ask that inevitable question, “Why did God let this happen?” search the Scriptures for God’s answer, talk with your pastor, and remember that his ways are not our ways. Don’t let your hopes get dashed to pieces when promising methods fail to deliver. Remember that God is with you, even when the bottom has fallen out. And when death claims yet another of your loved ones, go back to God’s promise of eternal life for comfort.
Is death final? It may seem so. But it most certainly is not. For life continues after because of Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, who meets our greatest needs by giving life for the dead. Amen.