Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death. That is the devil and free those who all held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death.
-Hebrews 2:14–15
Oh, I cannot read these verses without just smiling, bursting with joy. Do we realize what Hebrews 2 just said? Jesus has destroyed the one holding the power of death. That is the devil. Jesus came to destroy the devil, to conquer death, to show victory over death. In the process, free everyone who is enslaved in their lives to the fear of death.
Jesus came to conquer death and has given us eternal life. We are no longer bound to the fear of death, but will be united with Christ in His resurrection.
Hebrews 2:14–15 Reminds Us that Jesus Conquered Death
I think about a friend who just got word, today, that his mom had died. I think of another friend whose dad has died over the last week. I think about death and my life and people who’ve died, friends, family members, my dad, people I love. I hate death. The thought of the people I love most in the world dying is almost unbearable to consider. Yet, I read this verse and so that makes sense when we burst with joy.
Jesus has destroyed the one who has hold of death, the devil. He’s freed all of us from slavery to the fear of death because Jesus has made I possible to conquer death in our lives. You and I can have eternal life. I think about my dad, I think about this person whose mom and this other brother whose dad just died, every one of these people who died, died with faith in Christ and they have life.
In John 11:25-26 kind of way, even though they died, they lived. They have eternal life because they’ve trusted in Jesus. I think about my own life, think about your life, when you have faith in Jesus, you don’t have to be afraid of death. To live as Christ and to die is gain, Philippians 1:21. To think that the worst thing that could happen to us, if we think about death, has actually become the best thing that can happen to us because death is gain. This is glorious news.
Hebrews 2:14–15 Allows Us to Have Security in Christ
It’s news we cannot keep to ourselves. So we pray, God thank you. Jesus, we praise you with joy, we praise you for conquering the devil, for conquering death, for eternal life. God, thank you for making eternal life possible through Jesus. Thank you for freeing us from slavery to the fear of death. We don’t have to fear death today.
None of us knows if we’re going to make it to tomorrow. Yet, we don’t have to fear whether or not we do because we know to live as Christ and to die is gain. So, oh God, I pray for my friends who are in the midst of sorrow over losing parents, the death. God, I pray that the resurrection reality in their parent’s lives would be a comfort and strength to them. I pray for that for others who maybe listening to this. I’m assuming others are walking through that kind of sorry right now now.
God, Give Us Courage to Share the Gospel
God, I pray for your strength and for your joy to burst into their lives through the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection from the grave. God, I also pray for those who don’t know eternal life around me, around each of us, as we’re praying this.
God, all kinds of people who are living in slavery to the fear of death, who don’t know what happens when they die, who don’t realize that apart from Christ eternal death, hell, awaits. Oh, God, please use us today to share the good news of eternal life with somebody else, please, God, please don’t let us stay silent with this good news.
Jesus has destroyed the devil, the one who has the power of death, he’s destroyed it. So please, oh, God, please, please, please, use us to share the good news of eternal life somebody else today and draw somebody out of bondage to the fear of death. Free them from that slavery by the eternal life that’s found in you, today. Do that, we pray, through our lives. Oh, oh, Glory be to your name, Lord Jesus, for conquering death and the devil.
In your name we pray with joy. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
