We are used to thinking about death negatively.  And it is true that death is still the final enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26).  Death to us always means subtraction: one life taken away from a family, one less person in the world.  And that is also true.  We cannot deny that every death is a loss to our relationship causing further loss to our well-being which we call bereavement.  But in Christ, death does not subtract; rather, it multiplies.
 

Jesus did not enjoy the prospect of the cross.  His heart was troubled.  At a human level, His desire was to be saved from the agony, but He could not make that desire His prayer because He was fully committed to the purpose for which He had come to earth (Matthew 26:36-42).  Jesus knew He must die on the cross so that sinners might be saved and receive eternal life (John 3:14-15).

The Apostle John loved Jesus’ description of Himself as the ‘Light of the World’ (in 16 verses in John’s Gospel and 5 verses in 1 John).  In a spiritually dark world, even though it was very religious, Jesus had stood out as being pure in every way, truthful, visionary, guiding, clear and revealing.  As John says in 1 John 1:5, “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”  Having lived with Jesus for almost three years, John knew that there was no corner of his Master’s life which was dark or even slightly shady.

Believing in Jesus is a bigger faith than many might think.  Jesus said that whoever believes in Him also believes in God the Father.  So, whoever saw Jesus also saw Father God (John 14:9).  That was a huge claim, but it was 100% true: Jesus was God in a human body!  As Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”