He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. – Revelation 21:4 (ESV)
We continue memorizing the beautiful verses of Revelation 21:3-7, the end of the old story and the beginning of the new story. As Advent and these verses remind us, we wait for Jesus’ return when he will bring new heavens and new earth.
We’re all familiar with the phrase, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” That thought is born out of trust broken and burned. We’re cynical now when someone offers something that brings hope of something good. We hear the weather report that we should get a good snow fall and respond with apathy. We set our expectations on there being no snow, so if it does snow, it will be a nice little surprise.
Perhaps we have allowed that to slip into our hearts and minds when it comes to verses like Revelation 21:4. After all, everything in this verse has been on display like a cruel parade in 2020. Many of us have shed tears, wishing and praying for this pandemic to end. The death toll continues to climb, and those are just the deaths attributed to COVID-19. How many more have died from other tragic causes this year? We have mourned the loss of our normal lives. We feel the pain of separation and loneliness, anger over our politics regardless of party, and hurt from things said or done to us. Our response to a verse like this is much like Sarai’s when God says she will have a son: we laugh out of both unbelief and weariness of hope sapped. This verse seems too good to be true.
But if we have been paying attention to the entire story of the Bible and the God who breathed it, we will condemn our cynical thoughts. This verse is too good NOT to be true, because our God is faithful, good, and true. It begins by understanding that Jesus, our great high priest, is deeply acquainted with all of these things. He has mourned and cried. He has experienced excruciating physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. He has experienced death, particularly our own that we deserve. For 3 days following his death, these things sat with his followers. When he burst from the grave with a beating heart and breathing lungs, the news seemed too good to be true. Yet, the women at the tomb, the disciples in the upper room, and the disciples on the road to Emmaus road saw the risen Jesus. Their mourning was suddenly turned to resounding joy.
So it will be when Jesus comes again to dwell with us and reign as King of heaven and earth. Our sorrow and mourning will be transformed into overwhelming joy, eternal joy. Frederick Buechner once wrote, “The secret that we share I cannot tell in full. But this much I will tell. What’s lost is nothing to what’s found, and all the death that ever was, set next to life, would scarcely fill a cup.” Yes, death itself will be put to death in the kingdom of Jesus. As J.R.R. Tolkien put it in The Lord of the Rings, it’s the sad things that will become untrue.
Oh, that Jesus would give us the faith of little children this Advent season to believe this good, good news to be true.