“And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:15).
God the Son took on our humanity “that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (v.14). Death is no friend to man. It is the wages of sin (Romans 6:23) and the last enemy (I Corinthians 15:26). Its “bondage” affects all of creation (Romans 8:21).
Some contemplate the notion that death was a part of our Lord’s original, “very good” (Genesis 1:31) creation. This is sad. For one thing, it impugns the very goodness of Creator Christ. Our Lord, a perfectionist, directs our attention even to the beauty of flowers (Matthew 6:28,29) and is concerned that we care for animals (Proverbs 12:10). Why, then, would He direct and superintend the death and destruction of billions of animals, unless it served to amplify His horror of man’s sinful rebellion? He asked Eve, “What is this that thou hast done?” (Genesis 3:13).
Contrary to using death in some supposed “good” sense before Adam and Eve sinned, it seems on the basis of subsequent history and promise, that He would not have tolerated it. When He eventually came, He “abolished death” and “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (II Timothy 1:10). In the future, there shall be “no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Surely He hated death from the beginning.
Praise the Father that His Son came to destroy the devil, who has the power of death, and to throw both death and Satan into the lake of fire. The Lord experienced the ugliness of death for all who have or would put their faith in Him and is even now “alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18). May we all go to Him prayerfully and in faith so that each might experience the eternal life that only He gives. NPS
