Word of Salvation – Vol.32 No.15 – April 1987
When The Veil Is Gone
EASTER SERMON
Sermon by Rev. J. Rietveld on Isaiah 25:7-8
Reading: Mark 16:1-8; 1Cor.15:35-56; Isaiah 25:1-9
Singing: Ps.H.356; 368; 116; 357; 361
The problem of life and death is a perplexing one. Questions about the meaning and purpose of life confront not only the philosophers, but ordinary folk like you and me as well.
We also have cause time and again to think about these things.
But since Easter Sunday about 2,000 years ago, a new element has been added to the discussion.
Easter Sunday deals with the problems of life and death; and it gives some answers! They are living answers, found in the living Christ, for Christianity is very much life-affirming.
Christianity at no point glories in death.
Maybe certain traditions glory in death: Anzac Day reminds us of the bloody carnage of Gallipoli; Remembrance Day in America calls to mind all those who fell in war; Geloof’s Dag in South Africa reminds the whites how over 10,000 Zulu warriors were slaughtered at Blood River. But for those whose first allegiance is to Christ rather than country, for those whose passionate loyalty is to the kingdom of God, whose daily prayer is still: “Thy Kingdom Come”, for such people there is no glory in death.
Death is always the enemy.
It is an enemy in interpersonal relationships; losing husbands, wives, parents, children, friends and relatives.
It is an enemy in the destruction of the body; the daily deterioration and debilitation of the body; the weakening with age.
In our youth we can take on the world; in our old age we see death at work as the winters get colder and longer and the body gets slower and weaker.
Death is the enemy that divides us; it separates the unity of who we are, for in death body and soul are separated.
We can say nice things about death, and often we do, but always for others, never for ourselves.
We say it brings an end to suffering, although for some it is the beginning of it.
We say that death is the doorway into the presence of God, but that still doesn’t make death a friend.
Jesus still wept at the death of Lazarus.
Death is not some super-spiritual “you-beaut” escapism into the everlasting portals of glory where heavenly chandeliers never go out and man floats around in an ethereal celestial mysticism; weightless like astronauts, fluttering like birds, floating like clouds.
The old negro slaves used to sing about their bondage, that there was “One more river til’ Jordan”, till that Chariot of God would come to carry them home.
They looked forward to heaven, because earth was oppressive under white tyranny.
But the Bible says: God created men to live, not die; and to live on earth.
God created men to have communion with Him.
But because of sin, the curse of death is now with us.
Death is separation from God because of sin.
Let’s have a look at God’s solution to the problem.
Now firstly, what is this problem of death, apart from enmity?
Our text speaks here of a veil, a shroud, a sheet, a covering.
It is something that covers all peoples, all nations.
You will note the Hebrew parallelism here; it is not a sheet and a shroud, but it is the one thing.
And the Lord is going to destroy it. The ‘destroy’ of verse 7 is the same as the ‘swallow’ of verse 8.
He will swallow up the veil; He will destroy the shroud.
He will swallow up death; He will destroy death.
Now commentators, including Calvin, suggest the veil here means ignorance, or spiritual blindness; it is a darkness of understanding. They say that because the apostle Paul in 2Corinthians 3:15-16 says:
“Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”
Now it’s that veil, that spiritual blindness that stops them from seeing the Lord Jesus.
For Paul says just a few verses further on in 2Corinthians 4:4:
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel
of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
There’s the veil again you see. Satan has literally pulled the wool over their eyes.
You can’t expect the non-Christian to see; you can’t expect the non-Christian to understand and drink in all you tell them about how precious Jesus is to you.
They can’t see it! They’re as blind as a bat!
And that’s a very genuine problem.
But there is more to it than that.
It is also true that we can now no longer discern the presence of God in the sense that Adam could.
Sin resulted in death and death meant separation.
Something has separated here in our human existence.
There is a dimension of reality that we can no longer see.
We cannot physically discern the spirit world.
We cannot see angels, or demons, or that whole host of reality that we pass off as the spirit world, as if it is a world that is separate from ours.
It is not separate at all.
It is a part of our world, of this world, but we just cannot see it.
Let me illustrate.
You remember before the fall into sin we read that Adam walked with God. There was no veil, no covering, no separation. Adam walked with God in the cool of the evening.
But after the fall we read that Enoch walked with God.
Abraham, the friend of God, walked with the Lord on His way to bring judgement to Sodom and Gomorrah.
Moses met God in the burning bush, and, later, on the mountain. There especially we see that Moses had to wear a veil himself because he reflected the glory of God.
Joshua, in the book of Joshua (chapter 5) fell down before the commander of the Lord’s army.
Manoah, the father of Samson, saw the angel of the Lord.
You remember the story of Elisha and his servant. They lived in the city of Dothan and were causing a lot of trouble to the Syrian king. Well, one day the king said to his army: “Go and get rid of this pesky Elisha!”
So the whole army went and surrounded Dothan early in the morning, and when the servant of Elisha woke up, he went outside, and he got the fright of his life.
He rubbed his eyes, looked again, and sure enough, that whole massive army was still there. He bolted inside to Elisha, who was probably frying eggs for breakfast without a worry in the world, and he said; “Master, we’re in heaps of trouble.”
Well Elisha went on frying his eggs and yawned and said “Ho hum; I don’t see any problems. And his servant stammered: “B.b.b.but th th th the ah ah ah army!?!?”
And what did Elisha say? “Lord, open his eyes.” Take the veil away; and when the servant saw things as they really were he saw the tremendous fiery army of the Lord.
You remember Steven being stoned in the New Testament. “Look!” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. You remember the apostle Paul being caught up into the third heaven, seeing inexpressible things, and John in the book of Revelation.
Now all of these are instances of veil-breaking in, one way or another. The veil was lifted, that shroud that covered the reality of heaven was for a brief moment removed, and there are many more instances of this in the Bible.
Paul says in 1Corinthians 13:
“Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.”
Then the shroud or covering will be gone.
Now the N.I.V. here in our text puts the death of verse 8 into the same thought pattern as verse 7.
Death will be swallowed up too.
It will be destroyed.
You see, death is like the veil; it is a covering.
From this side we cannot see further.
The grave is both literally and figuratively a covering, a shroud.
Literally, it covers the body with earth.
Figuratively, the spirit of man is gone;
it is not seen any more; it is covered.
But God’s promise here is that this covering of death will also be destroyed.
The separation of body and soul will be done away with. The separation from direct communion with God will be finished. That is God’s promise. The Lord has spoken.
Now this is the great thing in preaching from the Old Testament. We can see the realisation of these promises.
This God whom we serve, Who has spoken in this Bible that we read, is the faithful, covenant-keeping God.
Paul says that when the perishable is clothed with the imperishable; the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true. Death has been swallowed up in victory.
But now the good bit, says Paul:
“Thanks be to God He gives us the victory through Jesus Christ.”
The future tense in Isaiah has become past tense for Jesus. He has conquered death. Death, the last enemy, IS swallowed up.
The promise in Isaiah has been fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it will be fulfilled for us too!
Jesus is risen! The tomb IS empty. The stone has gone.
The disciples did see Him; they ate with Him; they spoke with Him; they walked with Him.
He lives!!
It is a fact!
It is not something these disciples felt; it is not something they thought; it is not something beyond all the realms of possibility. The disciples didn’t want to believe, but they had to.
This is historical fact. Jesus lives. And in Jesus, God demonstrated that the veil of death is gone; it is swallowed up.
But this promise is also fulfilled for us. The veil is gone already, in part.
The principle of life is at work in us.
We are no longer blinded by the god of this world.
We see dimly, but we see!
Communion with God is opened through Christ.
The banquet of verse 6 has started now!
The wedding feast in the supper of the Lamb; the bread and the wine! And that Father of ours is wiping away those tears, isn’t He?
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.
For the old order of things has passed away.
What a Father we have!
And where is this to happen?
On the mountain; Mt. Zion, the mountain of the Lord.
That is the place where God makes His dwelling in the midst of His people.
But in the New Testament, in the New covenant, God dwells with His people through the Holy Spirit.
He dwells in and with the church! He lives in and with you and me!
Yes, Easter Sunday is LIFE-AFFIRMING!
The feast has started;
the veil is lifting;
death is conquered
Jesus is risen, and because of that, this promise of Isaiah is for us. The Sun of Righteousness has risen.
Already now that covering of mist is being dispersed.
We see only dimly,
but when the Sun reaches its zenith, the covering will all be gone,
and we shall see Him, THE LIVING ONE, face to face at the banquet on His holy mountain.
HE has risen.
HE has conquered.
HE has won the victory.
And thanks be to God! He gives US the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia..!
AMEN.