Impossible Is Nothing

"God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it." - Acts 2:24, ESV

I was reading Acts 2 in my quiet time this morning, and this phrase jumped out at me: "it was not possible for him to be held by it." It was absolutely and completely impossible for death to keep hold of Jesus. There was absolutely no possible way that death would be able to overcome Jesus. Impossible = not possible.

As I read that phrase, this line from one of my favorite sermons by S.M Lockridge came to my mind: "Death couldn't handle him and the grave couldn't hold him."

This is good news. I would imagine that all of us would agree that the fact that death couldn't handle Jesus is great news, but now we wonder how that truth really helps me in the "real world."

1). Without Jesus raising back to life, we would have no hope of overcoming death either. Think of it this way: If death was able to keep the God of universe dead, there would be absolutely no hope for us after death. But because Jesus overcame death, so can we. Death is not the end, my friend. If you've lost a loved one who knows Jesus, realize that they overcame death just like Jesus did because of Jesus in them. You will see them again one day. Jesus in you makes it impossible for death to keep you.

2). What seems impossible for you is no issue for Jesus. To us, death is final. There is nothing that we can do to beat death. However, Jesus defeated it. And honestly: the fact that Jesus was going to defeat death was never a nail-biter or cliff-hangar. Really, if it were a movie, death would look like the clueless and powerless villain that, even though for a moment seemed victorious, was only left with shame and a stupid look of defeat on his face. And the same thing is true for that impossible situation. Jesus is in the hobby of handling the impossible situations perfectly. Be encouraged: Jesus is never stumped. He is never at a loss. It's true that you may not see the solution to the problem that you face, but the truth is that Jesus has already lived through the solution.