On more than one occasion the apostle Paul wrote about the resurrection of the dead. He did so to comfort and encourage the believers, also with a view to the future. In this broken world believers are the people of hope! Especially in the context of the Greek culture, this hope with regard to the resurrection of the body was unique. For the Greeks the body was nothing, only the soul was immortal. Even among the Jews there were many who would not hear of the resurrection of the body. True Christians, however, are different. They bury their dead in the hope of the resurrection! They do so because of their unity with Christ; because of their faith they have all things in common with Christ!

The comfort and hope of believers who live by faith in the resurrection of the body is needed beyond the day of the funeral. People in the church who are grieving the death of a loved one don’t need this comfort just when they bury their dead. Yes, at that time they need it very much; indeed, to help them look forward, to help them look beyond the grave, to help them focus on the future, to comfort them with the hope of the blessed resurrection of those who die in the Lord.

When times move on the loss is felt sorely, and the empty place is there every day and night. Grief can take over and sorrow can become overwhelming. Continued comfort is needed. Further encouragement is required! They need to be reminded of the larger picture, of the complete work of Christ in this world, in the history of this world.

It’s for those purposes that the apostle Paul writes the church of Thessalonica. He had left the congregation to pursue his missionary task; yet, he has not forgotten about the grieving of some. He wants them to know that he is thinking of them. He wants the congregation to be aware of them too, those grieving members in their own midst who need this further encouragement! Yes, he wants the entire congregation to keep its focus on the larger picture! That’s why he connects the passing away of their loved ones to the return of Christ. He puts the losses and deaths they’ve experienced in the perspective of the final outcome of Christ’s work: the total removal of all traces of death, the total restoration of the powers of life!

When Paul writes, “We do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep,” he doesn’t write this way to introduce some new teaching. He uses this kind of expression elsewhere (1 Corinthians 10:1), and he does so to stress: “I want you to know this very well, dear readers! I want you to take this to heart very much! In your grieving, dear Thessalonians, don’t let go of what we believe about the resurrection of the body and of Christ’s return!” He appeals to the words of the Lord Himself, the way the Old Testament prophets used to do, “Thus says the LORD!” In your grief don’t neglect to remember the facts about Christ’s resurrection, about our sharing in it and about the hope we have in the midst of this hopeless world!

Just as we hear it in our time, people in Paul’s days comforted each other with all sorts of ideas and theories. They spoke about the immortal soul, or about death that can’t be stopped anyway. Today people comfort one another by saying that the deceased continues living in our memories, in their legacy, and all that nonsense. No, says Paul, the only true comfort we find is in Christ’s victory over death! In Jesus’ life all the traces of death have been erased!

We believe that, right? Well, then, this faith unites us with Christ! By faith this resurrection of Christ becomes manifest in our life, through our communion with Him. Just note how Paul repeats this over and over in this passage: God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him (14); and the dead in Christ will rise first (16); we will meet the Lord to be with the Lord forever (17). Unity with Christ is our only comfort, now and forever! That’s why we may share in the way Christ went through death to life! God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him! They will share with Christ in the course of victory!

It’s that course of the victory of life over death that Paul further explains. When you are brought by God with Jesus, all the misery of death will be conquered. Today death is still bitterness; yet God will take this bitterness away. He won’t leave a trace of death in your life. What a great comfort that is! If you consider what tracks death leaves behind in families, in personal pain and suffering; consider what terrible things death does, what joy and beauty it destroys! Can that all be undone, erased, and removed totally? Yes, Paul says, and he quotes a word of the Lord as if to add to his authoritative writing: in your grief, in your sorrow, in your pain, listen to God! Let Him comfort you in your mourning: “We who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep!” Those who have fallen asleep won’t miss out on anything! To these Thessalonians, to us who are still alive, Paul says: don’t think death is doing something irreparable. Right now your loved ones have been taken away and we’ve been left behind, but afterward there won’t be a trace of death left anymore! These Thessalonians, and we, must know for what future the dead are heading with the Lord Jesus Christ!