“God’s Death Grip”

John 10:22-30

Pastor Tom Johnson, April 21, 2013

Jesus gives powerful words of comfort. Twice, he tells us that we are in the strong grip of God—God the Father and God the Son. “No one will snatch [the sheep] out of my hand,” Jesus says. “No one will snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” The context of these words is Jesus’ message that he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. He is the Farmer and we are his beloved livestock. We are the sheep who cannot be wrestled out of his strong, pastoral hands. But how can laying down his life be a way of laying ahold of us? How can dying strengthen his grip on us if he will lay lifeless in the tomb for three days? The answer is Jesus’ death grip on us.

It has long been observed that when a person grabs ahold of something in death, their grip does not become weaker but stronger. On the battlefield, there have long been stories of how many soldiers would retain a tight grip on their weapons and other belongings due to rigor mortis—the rigor of death. One hospice nurse tells the story of holding the hand of a woman over 100 years old. After she died, the nurse went to pull her hand away and could not get her hand out. The nurse needed the help of a family member to get her hand free. And so it has become part of our language to call a strong grip “a death grip.” This mechanism is called a cadaveric spasm where there is an instantaneous tightening of the muscles in the hand or other parts of the body. This means that the things we cling to in death may continue to tell the story of what was important to us in life.

What do you and I wrap our fingers around day after day? What is it that we hold on to tightly? Whom do we draw in to our embrace and squeeze with our firm love? Is our grip on misplaced treasure or preoccupation that has little to no enduring value? Or is it a grip on something or someone that we hope will tell the story of love that transcends our lives and lifespan—a love that is as strong in life as it is in death?

I can’t help but think of the Boston Marathon bombing. I watched the video of the blast over and over again. The video shows first responders who did not run away in fear for their lives but run toward the blast. There was no time to think. There was no time to second-guess themselves. They charged toward the source of death and destruction in order to lay their hand upon the dead and dying. We might say that it was because of their excellent training which I’m sure is the case. But when you see people who show no indication of hesitation or fear race toward the hurting and the dying, I thank God for such courageous selflessness. Their unwavering dedication in the face of danger is a gift from God. How else should we react to such a swift and strong reaction to tragedy that many credit to saving dozens of lives that otherwise may have been lost? That is the same courage, selflessness, and strength we see and hear in the words of Jesus, our Good Shepherd who lays his life down with a firm grip on his beloved sheep.

That is the story Jesus wants us to hear in his words—a grip that continues to tell a story through his death and ultimately to his resurrection. As strange as it may be to us for Jesus to speak about his grip on us in his death, it is a beautiful reality. When Jesus died, he was laying ahold of us. He grabbed us by his grace to take us safely through the valley of the shadow of death—his suffering, death, and burial He grabbed ahold of the thief on the cross when he said before they both died, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.” If Jesus’ grip on us was so tight on us in death, imagine how much stronger it is in his resurrection! “I give them eternal life,” the Good Shepherd says, “and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Rigor mortis has now become rigor vitae—life unyielding.

No one is strong enough to pry God’s fingers off us. We are accepted and held close by him. No accuser can persuade him to let us go. He has forgiven all our sins. No one can sneak up on God and snatch us out while he isn’t looking. He is always looking and never relaxes his grip. “For I am convinced,” Scripture says, “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38,39).

Nothing—no one will snatch us out of God’s hand.