The Day Death Lost | Pastor Kevin Kringel | Easter Sunday
The Day Death Lost
Easter Sunday
Today Can Be Your Day of Freedom
The day Jesus rose was the day death lost its power… And today can be the day death loses YOU.
Death feels final.
Death feels undefeated.
Death feels like the end of every story.
But there was one day… where everything reversed.
I don’t know about you, but I enjoy books and movies that wrap things up nicely. Watching a movie that takes you through all the drama and challenges but leaves you wondering or confused at the end really bothers me (Interstellar). Maria prefers knowing the ending of a book or movie so she can enjoy it. I like the journey, but I don’t want to leave loose ends.
Today, let’s begin our celebration of the day of the resurrection with a wrap-up.
DEATH HAD ITS DAY (THE CROSS)
Acts 10:34-40 (7-10 years after the resurrection)
DEATH WAS MORE THAN AN EVENT; IT WAS AN ENEMY
Hebrews 2:14–15 (NKJV)
The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates (the veil) of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. (We can say with confidence)
This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter. (That’s me)
I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
You have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Resurrection Day)
“This is the day… the day death lost.”
“When we rejoice in this day, we can rejoice regardless of any other days we face.”
PERSONAL STORIES
When he called my name as a young boy
Can you think back and remember when he called you from death to life? What were you like before? How did it feel? What has changed? (When you have that day in your mind, would you raise your hands as a sign of praise? Let's keep them up.)
This victory is real and has been personally experienced for over 2000 years. Jesus is alive and He is still defeating death in lives all around.
Let’s hear some of these stories!!!
Easter Sunday
Today Can Be Your Day of Freedom
The day Jesus rose was the day death lost its power… And today can be the day death loses YOU.
Death feels final.
Death feels undefeated.
Death feels like the end of every story.
But there was one day… where everything reversed.
I don’t know about you, but I enjoy books and movies that wrap things up nicely. Watching a movie that takes you through all the drama and challenges but leaves you wondering or confused at the end really bothers me (Interstellar). Maria prefers knowing the ending of a book or movie so she can enjoy it. I like the journey, but I don’t want to leave loose ends.
Today, let’s begin our celebration of the day of the resurrection with a wrap-up.
DEATH HAD ITS DAY (THE CROSS)
Acts 10:34-40 (7-10 years after the resurrection)
- Jesus was publicly executed
- This was all well documented and common knowledge
- The tomb was sealed
- Death looked final
DEATH WAS MORE THAN AN EVENT; IT WAS AN ENEMY
Hebrews 2:14–15 (NKJV)
“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself (Jesus) likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
- Death = a power
- Death = a captor
- Death = fear that controls life
“People didn’t just die… they lived in fear of dying.”
“Death isn’t just waiting at the end; it is controlling us now.”
“Death isn’t just waiting at the end; it is controlling us now.”
Revelation 20:14 (NKJV)
“Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
“Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
- Death is treated like an enemy
- Death is defeated and judged
“Death is not just an event; it’s an enemy… and that enemy has been defeated.”
JESUS DEFEATED DEATH
Hebrews 2:14
“…that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death…”
Hebrews 2:14
“…that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death…”
- Jesus didn’t avoid death
- He went through it
- He broke it from the inside
“The cross was death’s greatest moment… and its final defeat.”
But when did this enemy (villain) enter our story?
All the way back in the garden (Genesis 3), there was “A Day” Death entered the center stage and won its victory.
“On the day you eat it, you will surely die” (That day mankind died spiritually, separated from the life of God and eventually, physical life itself.)
Death won its victory in a garden!
Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, and a cherubim with a flaming sword guarded the way back into the garden and the presence and life of God.
“On the day you eat it, you will surely die” (That day mankind died spiritually, separated from the life of God and eventually, physical life itself.)
Death won its victory in a garden!
Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, and a cherubim with a flaming sword guarded the way back into the garden and the presence and life of God.
Now, let's go back 2000 years and see the day death lost. It was the day Peter was preaching about, and what we declare to you today.
John 20:1-18
Let’s look at the setting: the garden tomb.
Death was defeated in a garden!
Mary mistakenly thought Jesus was the gardener. Perhaps her thoughts were recorded by the Spirit to point out something deeper: She did see “The Gardner” coming to fix what the “First Gardner” broke. The Second Adam (Jesus) has come to restore what the first Adam lost in the garden.
In judgment, Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden and God’s presence. That cherubim made sure the way was blocked so they could not return. On the earth, the presence of God was shown in the tabernacle and temple that the Israelites built to honor God. To illustrate the separation from the fall and death victory, there was always a curtain between God’s people and His presence — "a veil" — but at the moment Jesus died, that veil was torn from top to bottom.
John 20:1-18
Let’s look at the setting: the garden tomb.
Death was defeated in a garden!
Mary mistakenly thought Jesus was the gardener. Perhaps her thoughts were recorded by the Spirit to point out something deeper: She did see “The Gardner” coming to fix what the “First Gardner” broke. The Second Adam (Jesus) has come to restore what the first Adam lost in the garden.
In judgment, Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden and God’s presence. That cherubim made sure the way was blocked so they could not return. On the earth, the presence of God was shown in the tabernacle and temple that the Israelites built to honor God. To illustrate the separation from the fall and death victory, there was always a curtain between God’s people and His presence — "a veil" — but at the moment Jesus died, that veil was torn from top to bottom.
And do you know what was most likely printed in gold on that veil? A golden cherubim (as the Bible says was on the veil in the tabernacle and the First Temple). That blocked road back to God’s presence and life itself was made wide open for all to come and experience life again.
This solution and victory were for all who believe and come home, but let's make it personal.
Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ (Called her by name).
Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ (Called her by name).
- Everything changed when He called her name. She recognized Him.
- Today, what Jesus did for all, He offers to you. He calls you by name.
What does this victory feel like?
Psalm 118:17-24 (A song of thanksgiving for the day death lost, what we can sing today)
I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
Psalm 118:17-24 (A song of thanksgiving for the day death lost, what we can sing today)
I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates (the veil) of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. (We can say with confidence)
This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous may enter. (That’s me)
I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
You have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Resurrection Day)
“This is the day… the day death lost.”
“When we rejoice in this day, we can rejoice regardless of any other days we face.”
HIS VICTORY BECOMES YOUR LIFE
Colossians 3:1, 3–4
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God… For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
Colossians 3:1, 3–4
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God… For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”
- His death = your death to sin
- His life = your new life
- His victory = your identity
THE RESURRECTION BECOMES PERSONAL
PERSONAL STORIES
When he called my name as a young boy
Can you think back and remember when he called you from death to life? What were you like before? How did it feel? What has changed? (When you have that day in your mind, would you raise your hands as a sign of praise? Let's keep them up.)
This victory is real and has been personally experienced for over 2000 years. Jesus is alive and He is still defeating death in lives all around.
Let’s hear some of these stories!!!
“Two thousand years ago…that was the day death lost its authority…”
“Today…can be the day death loses YOU.”
“Today…can be the day death loses YOU.”
Psalm 118:24
“This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
“This is the day I step out of death and into life.”
“This is the day fear loses its grip on me.”
“This is the day I rejoice… because I’m free.”
“This is the day I step out of death and into life.”
“This is the day fear loses its grip on me.”
“This is the day I rejoice… because I’m free.”