Previous Questions and Answers
"Can a Christian die a 'tragic' death?"
Should
a Christian die tragically?
The
word tragedy
means, “a disastrous event; a calamity; a misfortune” (Merriam-Webster’s
11th Collegiate Dictionary). The word calamity
means, “a state of deep distress or misery caused by major misfortune or loss; a
disastrous event marked by great loss and lasting distress and suffering”
(Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary).
There
are examples in the Bible of believers who died tragically, because they had sold
themselves to sin. Samson is one such
illustration. God had such great plans for
Samson’s life, but he just could not resist the temptation to be with unsaved women. “And the children of Israel did evil again in
the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty
years. And there was a certain man of Zorah,
of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare
not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now,
thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Now therefore
beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the
child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out
of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:1-5).
“And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the
daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and
said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore
get her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a
woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take
a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me;
for she pleaseth me well” (Judges 14:1-3). “Then
went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her” (Judges 16:1). “And it came to pass afterward, that he loved
a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah” (Judges 16:4). “And it came to pass, when she pressed him
daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart, and said unto her,
There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my
mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak,
and be like any other man. And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she
sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath
shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought
money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and
she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and
his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he
awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake
myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. But the Philistines took him,
and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass;
and he did grind in the prison house. Howbeit
the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them
together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they
said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. And when the people saw him,
they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy,
and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us.
And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for
Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and
he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.
And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may
feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house
was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were
upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson
Ananias
and his wife Sapphira died tragic deaths. “But
a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part
of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at
the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to
the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after
it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine
heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell
down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And
the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about
the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And
Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea,
for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the
Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the
door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up
the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried
her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard
these things” (Acts 5:1-11). What a
tragedy that this husband and wife had decided together to lie to the church.
Other
deaths, which man often deems as tragic, are not really so, in light of eternity. John the Baptist is one such example. “And when the daughter of the said Herodias
came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the
damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her,
Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she
went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the
Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will
that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was
exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would
not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be
brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And
brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her
mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it
in a tomb” (Mark 6:22-29). Humanly-speaking,
that was a tragic death, but spiritually-speaking, that was a crown to John the
Baptist’s life for him to be able to die for the faith and for righteousness. “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are
born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). “...and others were tortured, not accepting
deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel
mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they
were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in
sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was
not worthy:)” (Hebrews 11:35-38).
Consider
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God
in the flesh (“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” John 1:14); the Creator of the world (“For by
him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things
were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things
consist” Colossians 1:16-17); He lived a perfect life (“Pilate saith, ...I
find in him no fault at all” John 18:38); He was innocent, but crucified anyway
(“Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth
to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the
crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the
chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify
him” (John 19:4-
The
key to discerning whether a death was “tragic” or not, is considering whether
that person was saved and faithfully serving God. When
an 80 year old person dies quietly in his/her sleep, it is “tragic” if that
person was not saved; or saved, but living for the things in this world. On the other hand, when a teenager dies in an
automobile crash, it is not “tragic” if that teenager was saved and faithfully
serving God. “And we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose” (Romans 8:28). “Precious in
the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” (Psalms 116:15). “Judge not according to the appearance, but
judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).
