Sunday 29thSeptember 2024
For we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus
those who have fallen asleep in him.
1 Thessalonians 4:14 (NIV)
Sleep well
Have you noticed that the New Testament often speaks of believers ‘falling asleep’ when they die (as in the verse above)? Perhaps the most striking example is when Stephen is stoned to death and we read that “he fell asleep.” The next verse leaves us in no doubt that he didn’t merely drop off to sleep: “And Saul approved of their killing him” (Acts 7:60-8:1).
This language of falling asleep almost certainly derives from Jesus himself, when he went to the home of Jairus the synagogue ruler whose daughter had just died, and announced that, “She is not dead but asleep.” Again Luke clears up any doubt about whether or not she has died by adding, “They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead” (Luke 8:52-53).
Saying that believers ‘fall asleep’ when they die is all the more striking when the same language is not applied to Jesus himself. We read in 1 Thessalonians 4:14 that while believers “have fallen asleep,” the same is not said of Jesus, who “died.” This makes the point that Jesus bore the full force of death, and faced the full terror of death as God’s judgment on sin, on our behalf so that death can be for us no more than falling asleep.
Of course the point of describing death for the Christian as falling asleep is that sleep is temporary and nothing to be afraid of. In his book Dying Well John Wyatt goes on to suggest that “in his grace and compassion, our heavenly Father allows us to practice what it is like to die faithfully … every single night of our lives … it is like falling asleep.”
We might add that not only do we get to practice every night what it is like to die as a Christian, but we also get to practice every morning what it is like to rise to new life! So, the next time you say to someone, “sleep well,” you can imagine yourself saying to them, “die well… and rise well!”
Prayer (from the Service of Compline and Luke 2:29-30)
Save us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping,
that awake we may watch with Christ and asleep we may rest in peace.
Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation… Amen.
Yours warmly, in Christ,
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)