“Truly, truly, I say to you,
if anyone keeps my word,
he will never taste death.”
-Jesus, John 8:51
Well that’s certainly a nice sentiment. Of course it’s not really true, I mean everyone dies, right? Since the time when Jesus rose from the dead, everyone who has lived, died, and everyone who has died, stayed dead.
Well, maybe it has some kind of nice but smaller metaphorical meaning. Perhaps Jesus is saying that those who keep his word will not experience terrible tragedy. That has a nice comforting ring to it — we all want to believe that if we obey Jesus (or at least do our best) we will be protected from the bad things of life. Unfortunately that belief system breaks down quickly when you meet people who love God, follow Jesus more closely that you could ever hope to, and yet experience great pain and suffering. Besides, Jesus himself said that “in this life you will have great troubles and trials.”
So much for the sentimentality.
Then what could Jesus possibly mean by such a bald statement as “if anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death”? (more…)
