A sermon on Isaiah 25:6-9 for All Saints Sunday. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.

Over the past couple weeks, I’m sure that you’ve seen a lot of strange things in people’s front yards: huge, inflatable dragons, giant skeletons, that sort of thing. One common Halloween decoration that I’ve noticed are headstones. Some yards will have a bunch of them peppered all over to give the appearance of a cemetery. And I think that that’s interesting, because it draws on and plays off of a general uneasiness with cemeteries. That yard isn’t supposed to look inviting and comfortable. Even good Christians who have a proper view of death can still be uncomfortable in a cemetery. Even if you know all the right stuff, you can still feel that something’s wrong, something’s off.

As Christians, we know all of the right answers to the big questions about death. But it’s really hard to put that into practice and to shake any lingering fear surrounding the topic. Today, as we celebrate and remember the faithful departed, we’ll explore the Christian’s relationship with death and what that means for those who have died and for us.

I. The Veil of Death

In our text, death is described as “The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations.” Death is this shroud, this burial cloth that covers everyone and everything. Our fallen world is enveloped by death, it’s wrapped in death, even if we don’t always want to deal with that or admit it.

Death is so scary because it’s the ultimate unknown. You can’t try out death for a little bit to see if you like it, you can’t talk to anyone who has died about their experience and thoughts on the matter. But it’s coming, sooner or later, for each and every one of us. Some try to ignore it or not think about it, but it’s always there, this veil hanging over our heads. Death is always present. Always a problem.

Even though most days we try to avoid thinking about our own mortality, there are times when it can’t be ignored. We are impacted by the deaths of those we know and love. Even when it’s a believer, even when we know that they are with Jesus in paradise, it’s still hard. It still hurts. The burial cloth is suffocating.

When you’re in the doctor’s office and get bad news; when you’re having problems with your marriage and rethinking “‘till death do us part”; when it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning and you’re wondering what makes it all worth it; we feel that veil squeezing us tighter and tighter.

Death was never supposed to happen. Human beings weren’t designed to die. But in the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve brought sin into the world by their disobedience, and with sin came death and all of its effects and consequences. We inherited their sin and add to it sin of our own. And “The soul who sins shall die” (Ez. 18:20). Death is coming for us all.

II. The Victory of Christ

But “He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, … He will swallow up death forever.” Jesus, our Savior, met death, our greatest enemy, head on. Jesus faced death boldly without fear. He died, but death did not win. By His cross, Christ defeated death. It swallowed a man, but found God and death was not greater than Him. Christ has swallowed up death, it ceases to exist.

Death has died, but God lives. Jesus did not remain in death, but rose to life again. The resurrection is proof that death is powerless. It has lost its sting and its chill. The great unknown has been plumbed by none other than God Himself, who assures us that we have nothing to fear. When we die, we only follow in His footsteps and treat death as nothing more than the path to a greater life.

Christ has defeated death! That means that we have nothing to be afraid of. That means that those who have died in Christ are not dead, but alive with him. The parent, who was waiting and longing to be with their Jesus is not dead, but alive with Christ. The spouse who died suddenly, but did so trusting in Jesus and His victory is not dead, but rejoicing with Christ and sharing in His victory. The child who was prayed for but lost is not dead, but alive and being cradled in the arms of Jesus.

“On this mountain … The LORD God will wipe away tears from all faces.” He has destroyed death and conquered its consequences, but there are so many other things that cause us sorrow and sadness. God deals with those, too. He doesn’t just say, “There, there, don’t cry.” He not only removes the tear, He removes the cause of sorrow. In Him is joy and happiness forever.

“On this mountain….” What does that mean, what does all of this refer to? Well, earlier in Isaiah, he writes “the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem” (24:23). God’s special activity and presence are happening on Mount Zion. Zion was the hill that Jerusalem was built on and the physical focal point of God’s presence with His people. But in other places in Scripture, Mount Zion is used as a picture to refer to “the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22). “This mountain” includes heaven, where the faithful departed fully enjoy God’s presence.

But the pictures that our text paints are not only about heaven. Mount Zion is the Church, some of which is in glory, some of which is still here. The things that are true for the saints in glory are also true for us, the saints on the earth, albeit in a lesser way.

Heaven is described here and elsewhere as a rich banquet and a wedding feast, the best of the best. The saints triumphant are enjoying this feast to the full. But we also have a banquet at which we eat the same food. In the Lord’s Supper, we feast on the banquet of God’s grace and receive an appetizer of the great heavenly feast. You are closest to your loved ones here at the altar as you share our Lord’s feast together.

Christ has defeated death, most clearly for those in heaven, but also for us. Christ’s victory is true for those who have already died and for us who just haven’t died yet. But the victory is the same. Their victory is ours, too. God wipes away our tears and theirs. In heaven there is no sorrow or sadness, but pure joy. While we suffer much on this earth, we still receive the same comfort from the same loving God.

Although we do not have these things in full, we look forward to the fullness of these blessings in heaven and rejoice that those who have gone before us are now enjoying paradise.

“And it will be said in that day,” when the fullness of the things we receive now in part will come, “‘Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us!’” For us, the Church militant, the saints stuck on this earth, our job is to wait. Waiting isn’t fun. And a lot can happen while we’re stuck waiting to distract us from our goal. But our waiting is not just sitting in the doctor’s office, scrolling on your phone, but waiting for God, trusting that what He has promised will come true, staying focused and attentive on our purpose.

While this waiting period is certainly marked with moments of sorrow, it’s not as if life is entirely grim. Spiritually, we have access to all the good things described in our text already. And above and beyond that, God also blesses us with every good thing. Our lives as Christians are filled with happiness and love and joy. This waiting period isn’t morbid or boring, it’s filled with good things which God has given us to enjoy. These blessings give us opportunities to love and serve one another and give us a chance to see the goodness of God reflected in His creation.

Ultimately, we are all waiting for death. But this waiting is not marked by fear or worry, but joy and longing. Death is nothing more than the doorway to heaven. Death is the gate we must pass through to enter paradise. We can look forward to our death, as odd as that might sound, because by it we will enter into a closer relationship with our Savior who has gone before us into death and leads the way to eternal life.

When I think of a healthy relationship with death, I think of my great grandmother. Every time we would visit her, she would say “I’m ready to go home whenever God calls me.” She said this time and time again, year after year after year. She, of all people, lived to be 102 but had been ready to die for a long time before that. May we all view death in the same way. Not as an enemy to be fought off or avoided, but as a friend who comes to bring us to Jesus. Death has lost its power because of Christ and His victory. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints” (Ps. 116:15). Death is now the path to life. Amen.