Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Date: November 15, 2020
Event: Saints Triumphant Sunday (Third Sunday of End Times), Year A
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
13We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve in the same way as the others, who have no hope. 14Indeed, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then in the same way we also believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus.
15In fact, we tell you this by the word of the Lord: We who are alive and left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not go on ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore, encourage one another with these words.
We Have the Sure Hope of Jesus’ Triumph
It is said that ignorance is bliss, but really, that’s not true at all. Being uninformed can be tremendously dangerous or draining. On the one hand, if your assumptions are that everything is great and wonderful because you’re ignoring or just not aware of trouble and problems that need to be addressed, the foundation you’re standing on will be eaten away and you’ll fall into the pit of those troubles. On the other hand, being uninformed and assuming things are really bad when they’re not is going to lead to heartache, worry, and even depression when perhaps there’s no reason for it. If things are better than you’re aware of you’re borrowing all sorts of unnecessary trouble.
So it’s better to be informed. It’s better to not be led astray by people with a doom-and-gloom attitude or a everything-is-sunshine-and-lollipops attitude and to just know the reality of things. Being informed about anything will allow you to address problems as they come and rejoice in comfort as it presents itself.
In the words the Apostle Paul writes to the Christians living in Thessalonica, he’s addressing this head on with the most important of subjects. We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve in the same way as the others, who have no hope. The Christians in that city had all sorts of mixed up ideas about the end of the world. And a lot of it centered on what would happen to those who had died before before Christ returned. They were worried that these believers would end up being lost to hell forever, worried that Jesus’ salvation only applied to those still living when Jesus returned. You can see how unfounded fears were leading to worry and despair.
In our lesson for this Saints Triumphant Sunday, Paul is addressing that first concern raging through the congregation: are those who died before the Lord’s return going to be lost? Are only those who are alive when Jesus returns going to be in heaven? And while this was written nearly 2,000 years ago, the concern just grows, right? So many more people have passed away; we have lost loved ones recently or long ago. Are they lost because Jesus has not returned?
Paul is giving them information so that they don’t grieve like people who have no hope. And that should be everyone, by nature, right? When we consider death, we can’t escape the pall of sin the overlays everything. Sin is the reason for strife and conflict in this life. Sin is the reason for disease and natural disasters. Sin is the reason for malcontent and greed. Sin is, ultimately, the reason for death. So when someone is lost to death it is because of sin. Paul, when writing to the Romans, said that death is the wages we receive for sin. What a horrid paycheck!
Death separates those of us who are still living from that person, but death also implies a separation from God. Without anyway to repair the relationship with God, we all face eternal death. And that would mean zero hope for anyone. We could have no confidence of anything positive for those who have died ahead of us or even for ourselves. Sin causes us to be lost forever to hell. What a wretched existence this is!
That, of course, is what we are by nature. By nature we are dead in sin. By nature we are lost to hell. By nature we have no hope. But you and I and those who have gone before do not face these things as we are by nature. We face sin and death as we are in what God has made us to be.
Indeed, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then in the same way we also believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. The lack of hope hinges on a lack of Jesus, but the reality of Jesus means real hope, certain hope. Paul puts Jesus at the center of this whole discussion. Eulogies and revisiting the good deeds or funny moments of someone who has died is not where we find hope. We find hope in Jesus who died and rose again.
Jesus’ death was really our death—the death we deserved because of sin. As Jesus was abandoned by his Father on the cross he suffered hell in our place, the punishment we brought on ourselves because of our disobedience. Jesus’ love for you and for me—and truly, for the world at large—was so great that he could not bear to have us lost to hell for eternity. So he intervenes as a substitute. Jesus became our sacrifice to pay for every single sin.
And if there was any doubt about his victory, his triumph, over our sin and death and hell, one need only go to his tomb. See the stone rolled away, the neatly folded linen? Listen to the angel, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has been raised!” Jesus died, but did not stay dead. Jesus’ death was not defeat, it was triumph proved by his resurrection.
And so this is where we stand, not by nature, but as beneficiaries of our Savior’s triumph. We do not fear sin or its effects because Jesus has undone them all. We are freed, rescued, redeemed, justified. We have peace with God through Jesus! This is why this Sunday is called “Saints Triumphant.” Our triumph is not something we accomplished, but what our Savior has done for us.
So what does this mean? We have the certain hope of our own eternal life in heaven. We have certain hope that all those who passed away ahead of us clinging to their Savior are with their Savior, safe and free in heaven. They are not lost—they are just the ahead of us.
Paul vividly describes what that final day will be like, when we will see the proof of all that God has promised and fully benefit from all that he’s done for us: In fact, we tell you this by the word of the Lord: We who are alive and left until the coming of the Lord will certainly not go on ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
“Always with the Lord.” Nothing will ever separate us from him. This even brings comfort for those of us who are wrestling with serious health concerns or who have dear ones who are battling the same. Even if the worst should happen, even if death should the result of this battle, those who cling to their Savior are not lost. Death for them and for us will be but starting the life that God designed for us from the beginning. A life fully realizing that image of God, that perfect harmony with God. A life lived without sin or any of its effects. A life fully protected and safe with our Savior forever.
In just a moment in our prayers we will spend a moment remembering those fellow members of Gloria Dei who have gone ahead of us over the last couple of years. To be sure, the separation from those who are related to us by blood or as brothers and sisters in Christ is painful and might bring tears to our eyes. And while we might be sad about the loss, the temporary separation from them, we do not grieve as if we have no hope. We have all hope, certain hope. When we lose someone who clings to Christ as their Savior, it is not “Goodbye,” but simply, “We’ll see you later.”
And it’s for this reason that Paul directs the Christians in Thessalonica and you and me here today to encourage one another with these words. This certain triumph is easy to lose sight of in this life. We can forget the certain hope we have when we are assaulted by all the problems of this life, up to and including the loss of a loved one. But, my brothers and sisters, take this encouragement from God’s Word that drives away all fear brought about by being uniformed: as the forgiven children of God we are safe and protected, forgiven and restored. There need be no fear in our minds or inconsolable grief in our hearts. We know that Jesus died and was raised. We know that we will be with him forever. We know that we are triumphant because our Savior triumphed for us. Thanks be God! Amen.
