Death as a Means to Our Joy – An Easter Reflection
posted by Navigators on April 3rd, 2026 in Blog | Jesus
By Scott Brown, National Director
Death is painful and it spares no one. Young, old, weak, powerful, rich, poor, moral, immoral’– there are no exceptions. While some evade its grasp longer than others, global mortality rates remain 100%. Even among the living, the harsh reality of death is felt in the overwhelming sadness and pain of losing those we love. You have experienced it. I have experienced it. It is inescapable – touching everyone, everywhere.
In whatever way it comes, death is an agent of our enemy, the devil, whose primary desire is to steal, kill and destroy. Through the power of death, he seeks to bring overwhelming fear, suffering and pain to the world – destroying all that God has made.
So it may seem strange to think of death as a means to joy, especially a death brought about by the most extreme injustice, violence and brutality. But as Easter approaches, I am in awe of the correlation between the death of Jesus and our joy.
Through death our penalty was paid and we were reconciled to God.
Joy resides in what Jesus’ death accomplished and the work it finished. Through His death on our behalf, Christ served as our perfect substitute. The worthy sacrifice who took our sin upon Himself, carried it with Him to the place of crucifixion and endured the just penalty it required. By this death we were justified, our penalty and guilt permanently removed, and the wrath of God stored up against us was exhausted. With the penalty paid and accepted, the hostilities between us and God were ended forever. We were ransomed, restored to righteousness, redeemed and reconciled to God where there is fullness of joy! Without Jesus’ death, we would still be guilty, dead in our sin and objects of God’s wrath. His death was the means to our joy.
Through death the devil was defeated and the sting of death removed.
There was undoubtedly a sting on the day Jesus died – a sting felt by those who loved Him and followed Him closely. A sting which I expect struck deeply at the heart of Mary, his mother, and John, standing beside her – the two of them only a short distance away as the breath of life left Him. For three days, that sting hounded His remaining disciples as they huddled together in an upper room. Yet the despair and fear brought on by Christ’s death was replaced with great joy when their Lord and Master stood before them again, risen from the grave in glory! This proved that death and the grave held no power over Him and it validated His authority and position as God’s dearly loved Son. And once and for all, it assured the destruction of the one who had the power of death, that is the devil 1, and the anticipation of the saying that was written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”2
In His triumphant return to life, He also secured eternal life for everyone who loves Him and keeps His commands. A life with Him where “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.”3
So through His death we were saved and through the power of His resurrection from the dead we were restored to life, adopted into His family and ensured an imperishable inheritance kept in heaven for us. Without Jesus’ death there would be no resurrection, the devil would be undefeated, fear of death would rule us, and we would have no hope of life. His death was the means to our joy.
Through death God displayed the fullness of His love
Some might choose to die for a good person, but Jesus died for the ungodly while we were still powerless. The fact that Christ would willingly die in our place, while we were still sinners and deserving of death, showed the full extent of God’s love for us.4 I believe it is impossible to remember Christ’s death without rejoicing in His sacrificial and steadfast love. Without Jesus’ death we would have no assurance of God’s love. His death was the means to our joy.
While the presence of death remains painful, death is not a victor. The only victory in death came through Christ and His resurrection to life, which destroyed the power of death once and for all, removed our sin and its penalty, reconciled us to God and secured our life and inheritance in heaven with Him, where there is fullness of joy. This Easter, let’s remember that His death was the means to our joy – and let’s rejoice and praise Him.
1. Hebrews 2:14-15
2. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
3. Revelation 21:4
4. Romans 5:6-8
Featured image of cross silhouette at sunrise by TrueCreatives, graphic designed using CanvaPro. Image of grassy cemetery by Jill Dimond on Unsplash.