Dead or Asleep?
Richard Ballucanag
In this paper, passages in the New Testament of the bible where Jesus Christ raised people from the dead, are explored. The issue is whether or not Jesus actually brought these people back to life or if He just woke them up from their sleep. Theories on what happens to Christians after death are also offered.
First, two important terms must be defined: death and sleep. Dr. Graham (1987) describes clinical death as “when the heart stops beating, blood pressure is unreadable, and the body temperature drops.” Dictionary.com defines sleep as “a natural periodic state of rest for the mind and body, in which the eyes usually close and consciousness is completely or partially lost, so that there is a decrease in bodily movement and responsiveness to external stimuli.”
To shed light to this dilemma, Roark (2002) examined the two Greek verbs used for sleep in the New Testament. The first, koimaomai, occurs eighteen times in the New Testament, and in fifteen of these occurrences, it is used as a metaphor for the verb “to die.” But the word for sleep used in the text describing Jairus’s daughter’s death, kathuedo, is different. Kathuedo occurs twenty-two times, and all refer to the literal meaning of sleep except in the story of Jairus’s daughter where it is used for dying when Jesus said, “She is not dead but sleeps.” (Roark, 2002). That all three evangelists, Mark, Matthew, and Luke, intentionally used this form of the word makes one wonder if the girl was in fact sleeping. But all three gospels make clear that she was dead.
In Mark’s account, Jairus came up to Jesus and pleaded earnestly, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” (Mark 5:23) While Jesus was on his way with Jairus to heal his sick child, some men came from the house of Jairus and said to him, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?” (Mark 5:35) Matthew, on the other hand, states that the child was dead from the start when Jairus approached Jesus and said, “My daughter has just died…” (Matthew 9:18) Luke has essentially the same account as Mark.
When Jesus said, “She is not dead but sleeps…” it appears He was saying something about death as He viewed it. This was not diagnosis; it was prognosis. In His view, death is not final; it is temporary. There is an awakening. He was treating the certainty of her restoration as a fact already accomplished. Jesus, was using the language in the same way He did in the story of Lazarus.
One might question why the first three evangelists do not have any account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. One theory proposed by Hamilton (2003) is that the first three gospels were written while Lazarus was still alive. We have no evidence as to when Lazarus might have died (the second and final time), but this view suggests that the first three evangelists were sensitive to the safety of the “one whom Jesus loved,” thus they do not publicize the restoration of Lazarus to life and the hostile reaction from the Jews. This view is of course plausible if one holds that John’s Gospel was written after Lazarus died.
John hinted at the significance of this event – the last of seven “signs” before Jesus was suppose to die and rise from His own death, the final and great sign. That this was the catalyst that triggered Jesus’ persecution and inevitable crucifixion. He pointed out in his gospel that after Lazarus was raised from the dead, the chief priests and the Pharisees, after hearing of this, called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. In this meeting they voiced out their fear of Jesus and His undermining of their authority. And so they plotted to kill Him. (John 11:45-53)
Therefore, to describe death as sleep is to say to the believer that death is not final, that it is temporary, that we will all be raised from the dead.
Later on, after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, it is noted that the apostles used the same euphemism for death. Paul’s use of sleep is concentrated in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and in 1 Corinthians 15 and only for the death of a believer. Paul, in his letters, especially made the connection with the resurrection or second coming of Christ. He said that if people believed that Jesus died and rose, God will also bring with Him through Jesus those who have fallen asleep. In Corinthians Paul said that if Christ was not raised, then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
But what happens after one “sleeps”? Many, using the term “soul sleeping,” assert that the believer who has died experiences a kind of unconscious existence while awaiting the resurrection. What about the non-believer? Swindoll (1986) claims that the New Testament is not silent about the destiny of the non-believer and goes on to quote a verse from Matt 25:41, “… into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” Some Christians believe that the body decays while the soul “sleeps” until Christ comes. Is this what Jesus meant? What really happens when a Christian dies? What kind of existence does he have until the second coming of Christ? The New Testament gives no complete answer, and thus various theories have surfaced.
These can fall under four basic interpretations:
First, some think that when they die, they die body and soul and remain dead, non-existent until the resurrection. However, John clearly contradicts this: “He who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:26)
Second, others think that believers receive a temporary, intermediate perhaps spiritual body at death, awaiting their resurrection at Parousia. This is similar to the doctrine of purgatory where the soul goes to a place where it is purged of sin before admission into heaven.
Third, there are those who hold to the concept of soul-sleeping; that when Christ returns, there will be a resurrection and, at last, a body.
Finally, many hold to the idea that in the interim, believers go immediately into the presence of Jesus and without this earthly body have a conscious, spiritual existence with Him.
Based on the New Testament, what do we know about the interim between death and the return of Christ? Seven things are clear:
First, we will be with Jesus. (Phil 1:23-24; 2 Cor 5:8; 1 Thess 4:14) For Paul this was the primary and essential truth about life after death.
Second, we will be in paradise. (Luke 23:43)
Third, we will be conscious. (1 Thess 5:10) The parable of Lazarus and the rich man cited above also implies conscious existence.
Fourth, believers’ conscious presence with Jesus in paradise will be immediate. “Today you will be with me in paradise” was Jesus’ word to the thief on the cross. (Luke 23:43)
Fifth, this presence with Christ will be gain. (Phil 1:21) Whatever value there may be in Paul’s remaining with his churches for service, he knew that nothing could compare with being with Christ.
Sixth, believers will be at rest. (Rev 14:13) And here the metaphor of sleep again takes on meaning. Sleep is indeed rest from labor, and sleep is followed by waking. The one who sleeps will be raised.
Seventh and most important, that interim period remains a mystery. It is in a realm no one has experienced, beyond space and time, outside earthbound understanding. So, Christ and His believers speak of it in faith, and in metaphors – like sleep.
References
Dr. Graham, B. (1987). Facing Death and the Life After. Word Books Publisher: Waco, TX
Hamilton Jr., J.M. (2003). Did Jesus really Raise Lazarus from the Dead?.
http://www.bible.org/docs/soapbox/st-essay/lazarus.htm
The New International Version (NIV) Study Bible (1995). Zondervan Publishing House: Grand
Rapids, MI
Roark, M.C. “Biblical Illustrator" (Spring 2002). LifeWay Christian Resources:
Nashville, TN
Swindoll, C. R.(1986). "Growing Deep in the Christian Life". Multnomah Press: Portland, OR
