Hope Beyond the Grave: A Theology of Death

In loving memory of Pastor Josue Raimundo, Don Lorentz, and Benjamin “Dima” Banner, whose lives—and in different ways, whose deaths—have shaped me and my wrestling with the questions explored in this article. Everyone has experienced this kind of loss at some point in their lives. As we get older, we seem to experience it more – like a bright blue neon sign – a reminder that this life is short and could end at any moment. How does our western culture think about death? What does the Bible say about death? And is there any hope? This article will touch briefly on each of these questions. A Culture of Death It is no surprise to anyone that death feels ever-present in our world. As we grow older, we do not just hear about death — we experience it. It confronts us in hospital rooms, in late-night phone calls, in headlines, and in quiet moments of memory. It stands like a bright blue neon sign reminding us that this life is fragile and fleeting.

We live in a culture that both fears death and, in many ways, normalizes it. Life in the womb is debated and often discarded. Those nearing the end of life are sometimes encouraged to see death as a solution to suffering. Assisted suicide is increasingly framed as compassionate care. Wars rage. Accidents happen. Disease takes its toll. Bodies wear down. Death is everywhere.

And yet, for all our attempts to manage it, explain it, or control it, death still unsettles us. It still wounds. It still feels wrong.

In a culture shaped largely by naturalistic and Darwinian assumptions — where life is often reduced to biology and survival — death can appear to be nothing more than a biological conclusion. If we are merely the product of impersonal forces, then death is simply nature taking its course. It has no deeper meaning. It carries no moral weight. It is neither tragedy nor triumph — just process.

But if that is true, why does death ache the way it does?

Why does the loss of a loved one feel like something has torn at the fabric of reality itself? Why do we instinctively resist it, rage against it, mourn it, and long for something beyond it?

Our grief suggests that we know — perhaps even against our cultural narratives — that death is not merely natural. It is not neutral. It is not insignificant.

One’s theology has enormous implications for understanding death. If God does not exist, or if He is distant and uninvolved, then death ultimately has no enduring meaning. It is final and impersonal. But if the God of Scripture exists — if He is personal, holy, and active in His creation — then both life and death carry profound significance. They are not accidents. They are not empty. They are bound up in a larger story.

What Does the Bible Say? The Bible does not avoid the subject of death. From Genesis to Revelation, it speaks honestly about suffering, sin, and mortality. This book explains why sin and suffering exists (Genesis 3). It does not shy away from real and raw human experience (prime examples are the books of Judges, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Job). Scripture is full of suffering, sin, and death because Scripture is meant to show us how to live in a sin-cursed world. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:a time to be born, and a time to die…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a). There is a sense in which Scripture, in this passage, presents death as a “fact of life”. Death happens to everyone and everyone is affected by death in one way or another. It’s inescapable. It’s also an enemy to be conquered. Yet there is another very real sense in which Scripture acknowledges that death hurts. Deeply. So much so that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, wept and grieved when he observed the pain of those who were mourning the death of Lazarus: “Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’” (John 11:32-35, emphasis mine). When he saw those weeping over Lazarus and their mourning, he was deeply moved and troubled and he wept. This is one of two times in Scripture where Jesus is described as having wept. Yet he knew that in a few days’ time, he would conquer death. Jesus is close to those who are distraught and mourning over loved ones who have died. Surprisingly, as I’ve found in my studying for this article, most verses on death in the Scripture speak of death in the context of hope. Scripture gives us much room and liberty to mourn, but as Christians, we are to be pointed towards hope. Hope in Death “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). There is a command given here – that Christians are not to grieve as those without hope. This implies that there is hope despite the pain of death. Scripture can tell us this because Scripture has the answer. In a culture of death, we can have hope because we know one thing the world does not: The resurrection of Jesus. Because of Jesus’ resurrection, the power of death has been destroyed. The prophet Isaiah says, “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 25:8). This was written pre-Christ and yet how much hope is offered – an eternal promise for those who trust God – that our sins (our reproach) will be removed and death will be swallowed up forever by God. How would God remove our reproach and swallow up death? Through the death of his own Son. Now, on the other side of the Cross, we can look back and see Jesus who died on our behalf – he faced death – so that we would have hope of eternal life. What a glorious future awaits those who have put their faith in him so that in death, they might live eternally. “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). Application When the world seems like it’s getting darker, our culture of death is celebrated, loved ones die in unexpected and tragic ways, or we have had to watch a loved one suffer for many years, remember Jesus. He tasted death so that, in our own pain, he could be near to the brokenhearted and a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1-2). Our loved ones in Christ see him, the Savior who conquered death, so that in death, they might dwell with him forever. “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). Brittany Proffitt lives in North Texas and is a writer and content manager for So We Speak.