Live Knowing Death Is Not the End

When Abraham placed his son on the altar, it wasn’t because he lost his mind or misunderstood the promises of God. He lifted the blade because he believed in resurrection. Hebrews 11:19 tells us that he “considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead.” Abraham trusted that the God who gave the promise was also the God who could conquer death. That truth quiet, staggering, and often overlooked is still changing lives.

The story of Abraham and Isaac is more than a test of obedience; it’s a prophetic shadow pointing us straight to Jesus. The altar on Mount Moriah was not just a personal trial; it was a preview of another Father and another Son, another sacrifice, and a greater promise.

A Father Who Believed

Abraham’s faith didn’t come from theory. It was forged through real encounters with the living God through divine promises, impossible delays, and supernatural provision. When God called him to offer up Isaac (Genesis 22:1–2), Abraham wasn’t simply obeying a cold command; he was responding to a God he deeply knew.

Jesus would later say, “Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). Somehow, through divine revelation, Abraham glimpsed the day of Christ the Messiah’s coming, His sacrifice, and ultimately, His triumph over death. He saw more than we sometimes realize.

What gave Abraham the courage to do the unthinkable? He had anchored his heart in the unbreakable word of God. Numbers 23:19 asks, “Has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” Abraham’s entire life was built on the premise that when God speaks, things that do not exist come into being.

A Son Who Carried the Wood

On the ridge of Moriah, Isaac carried the wood for his own sacrifice. He followed his father up the mountain without rebellion. In this way, the scene foreshadowed the day when Jesus, the true Son of Promise, would carry His cross to Calvary.

Isaac was spared because a ram appeared in the thicket. But when Jesus climbed His hill, there was no substitute. He was the Lamb. As Genesis 22:14 declares, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” And it was once for all time.

This moment of substitution and mercy isn’t just a powerful story; it is the heart of the gospel. God didn’t ask humanity to die for Him—He came and died for us. And in doing so, He dealt with death itself, “destroy[ing] the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14).

Resurrection Rewrites Reality

The resurrection isn’t just an event in the past it’s the lens through which we now see everything. When Jesus rose, He didn’t just defeat death for Himself. He opened the floodgates of eternal life for everyone who believes in Him. “I am the resurrection and the life,” He said. “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).

This truth changed how the disciples lived. After the resurrection, no one returned to life as usual. Fishermen became preachers. Tax collectors became martyrs. Former cowards stood before kings and declared a risen Lord. Death had lost its sting, and life had gained eternal weight.

Paul echoed this reality when he wrote in 1 Corinthians 16:22, “Our Lord, come!” a cry that joins the Spirit and the Bride in Revelation 22:17: “Come!” The resurrection ignites a longing not just for life after death, but for the return of the King.

Pour It All Out

Perhaps no one embodied this response to resurrection like Mary of Bethany. After seeing her brother Lazarus raised from the grave, she poured out a jar of expensive oil to anoint Jesus an act so extravagant, so final, that the disciples protested (Matthew 26:6–13).

But Mary had seen death undone. She knew nothing in this world held lasting value apart from Jesus. Her jar wasn’t just perfume it was her security, her “Isaac,” the precious thing she shattered in worship because she saw Jesus as more.

This is how we live when death is no longer the end. We give. We risk. We obey. Not because it always makes sense now, but because we’ve seen a future that changes everything.

Live Like It’s True

Christ’s resurrection didn’t merely secure our afterlife it demands our whole life. It means the stakes are higher, not lower. It means we do the hard things like forgiving enemies, surrendering control, or walking away from comfort because we believe God will raise it all from the ashes.

As you reflect on Jesus’s death and resurrection, ask yourself: Have I put anything on the altar lately? What precious thing am I still clutching, afraid to trust Him with? If Jesus is coming back, and He will, then let that truth pierce through every decision, every sacrifice, and every dream.

Live like death is the beginning because in Christ, it is.

Share this if it stirred your heart, or subscribe to our newsletter for more Christ-centered reflections like this.