The Final Victory Over Hell
A Holy Supper Address by the Rev. James P. Cooper
Lessons: Isaiah 53:1-12; Mark 15:25-47; 16:1-8, Doctrine of Faith 34
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Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is
not here. See the place where they laid Him. (Mark 16:6)
esus Christ, as we know Him from the New Testament, was a very pleasant
person. He seldom appeared angry (and even then it was zeal, not anger),
He was loyal to His friends, He was patient, He knew all kinds of amazing
things, and was very good at teaching them different ways. He might even
remind us of that teacher who seemed to take a special interest in our progress
at school, who knew how to reach us, and who also knew how to inspire us to
make that extra effort and produce work that was above our usual standard. As
a man of the world, as an example to others, the Lord has had a profound effect
on the lives of hundreds of millions of people who have come to know of Him
through their study of the Gospels.
It is because the Lord presented Himself in such a way during His life in
the world that we approach Easter with such mixed feelings; feelings of joy for
the risen Lord and the battle won, mixed with feelings of sadness that it had to
be done in this way.
It is much the same as the way people feel when a war is over – the ecstatic
delight that the horror is finally over, colored by the numbness and the sadness
of all the tragedy that had gone before.
We have to face the fact that evil is a part of life in the natural world. We
cannot wish it away. We have to face it squarely and deal with it according to
the rules that the Lord has given us. There is only one way to savor the delight
of victory, and that is to conquer in temptation.
We are gathered today to savor the delight of the Lord’s victory over hell,
not only because He won the victory and we are on His “side,” but also because
through His victory over hell He has brought an order into the spiritual world
which means that forevermore, everyone’s battles against hell will be that
much easier.
The battles that the Lord fought against hell during His time in the world
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