Q: What did Jesus mean when he said, 'If anyone observes my word he will never see death at all'? (John 8:51) The Jews were stumbled by this because they pointed to Abraham and the prophets who had all died. We too still die. Was Jesus talking about a spiritual death, or maybe the second death? And does it have the same meaning as John 11:26?
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A: When Jesus said those words he was addressing the unbelieving Jews whom he had just condemned as being "from your father the Devil," because they were stubbornly refusing to listen to him. In turn, they accused him of being a Samaritan and had a demon. We can see that it was more than simply his words about 'never seeing death' that was a stumbling block to them. Jesus was appealing to the Jews to put faith in him, for he had also told them: "You will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins." (John 8:24, 44, 47,48) Those words are, we might say, the other side of the coin. In other words, anyone who does not exercise faith in Jesus will die in his sins; whereas those who do observe his words will never see death ("will never die," CEV). What "death" is Jesus talking about; a "spiritual death"; or maybe the "second death"? How can we be sure?

Jesus was always expressing God's view on a matter, as he told that same crowd, "just as the Father taught me I speak these things." (John 8:28-30) For example, on the occasion when he had effectively silenced the Sadducees on the reality of the resurrection, he appealed to God's own words, saying: "As regards the resurrection of the dead, did you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'? He is the God, not of the dead, but of the living." And Luke's account adds, "for they are all living to him." (Matt. 22:31,32; Luke 20:38) Paul also explains: "For since death is through a man, resurrection of the dead is also through a man. For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive." (Rom. 5:8; 1 Cor. 15:22) Ask yourself, what "death" have we inherited from Adam from which we are all "made alive" in the Christ; is it a "spiritual death," or the physical death where "there’s no work, thought, knowledge, or wisdom in the grave, which is where you are headed," and where the body returns to the dust. (Eccl. 9:10; 3:20; CEB) Understanding this point is important in also understanding how God views life and death. 

When God's faithful servants die, they are said to "sleep in the dust of the earth." (Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2; ESV) That is why Jesus said concerning Lazarus, who had died, that he had "gone to rest, but I am journeying there to awaken him from sleep." When his disciples understood it to mean that sick Lazarus was literally resting and sleeping, and on his way to recovery, Jesus told them outright, "Lazarus has died." (John 11:11-14; Matt. 9:18, 23-25) Jesus did not say that Lazarus had died spiritually.

The Bible never uses the expression "spiritual death" (or variations of it) as is so commonly done today. A "spiritual man" is someone who walks with God, and is guided and taught by holy spirit, which enables him to get to know the things pertaining to God, "even the deep things of God." (1 Cor. 2:10; 3:1, 16) He is not "spiritually alive," but rather is alive on account of the spirit. If he should rebel against God and thereby lose his holy spirit, he does not become "spiritually dead," but is now "a physical man [unbeliever; NET] who cannot receive the things of the spirit." (Matt. 7:6; 1 Cor. 2:14; 6:9-11) Since he is now without God, he is "dead in his trespasses and sins," as Adam was after his rebellion. (Eph. 2:1, 5; Heb. 6:4-8)

So, what did Jesus mean by saying that "if anyone observes my word he will never see death at all?" Just that! He expressed God's view on death. When a person exercises faith in Jesus, and observes his words, he has come alive, not just spiritually but in actuality. (Eph. 2:4,5) Even though he may die (either of old age, sickness, or accidental) and is buried, he is not now dead to God, but he is merely sleeping in the dust; for, as Jesus answered the Sadducees, Jehovah is the God not of the dead but of the living, because they are all alive to him. When we fall asleep at night, perhaps dead tired, we haven't died, have we? At least not as long as we wake up again in the morning. (Isa. 50:4) In the same way, God's faithful servants who have died have merely gone to sleep in the evening, with the assurance that they will wake up again in the morning (that is how certain the resurrection hope is); although the time in between may be longer than the usual eight to ten hours of normal sleep. And just like when we have a restful sleep, and are not conscious of time—the night having passed quickly—so it is also with the person who is asleep in the dust—time is of no essence; whether he has slept for just a short time or many thousands of years makes no difference. When the time comes for Abel to wake up from his long long sleep in the resurrection, he will probably need to be convinced that he had actually slept for almost six thousand years, which will be the longest on record.

Knowing that Jehovah views a person's death as simply being asleep does not in itself minimize the pain of losing a loved one. After all, Jesus knew that he was going to awaken his friend Lazarus by raising him from the dead, yet he nevertheless was so deeply moved by the grief of the friends and relatives that he too "gave way to tears." (John 11:35, 38) We can find comfort in the confidence that one day we will see our loved ones again, for this is God's sure promise. And that is what Jesus was really saying. (1 Thess. 4:13)

All of us are born into sin and death! As mentioned above, we inherited this from our forefather Adam, and God does not hold us responsible for something we have no control over. (Rom. 5:12) Therefore, if, unlike Adam, we listen to God and walk with him, he takes notice of us, and we are alive to him even though we may still be affected by the sickness, or "sting" of our inheritance, namely sin that causes death. (1 Cor. 15:56) It is quite a different matter when someone willfully imitates Adam, and decides to walk in opposition to God and purposely rebels against him. This person is not only alienated from God, but clearly dead to him; unless he turns around and repents. (Ezek. 33:12,13, 18,19)

The "second death" is the death from which there is no resurrection, thus no hope of ever living again. It is reserved for all willful and deliberate sinners, which includes sinning against the holy spirit. (Rev. 2:11; 20:14; Matt. 12:31,32) It would not make sense to translate Jesus' words to say, "anyone who observes my word will never see the 'second death,'" when the original inherited death from Adam is not viewed by God as being dead in regards to his servants who exercise faith in Jesus. (John 3:16-21)

As to John 11:25,26, Jesus said to Martha: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (NASB) Here Jesus acknowledges the obvious, as he did in the case with Lazarus, that people do die; and when we die—no, we don't go to heaven—but are said to "lie down with our forefathers"; or are "gathered to our people"; or are "in the memorial tombs"; all the while remaining alive to God and waiting to stand up again in the resurrection. (Gen. 35:28,29; 2 Sam. 7:12; 1 Kings 2:10; John 5:28; Acts 2:34) Besides holding out hope for everyone who has died, Jesus also makes mention of those who will be alive at the time of his return and will witness the foretold events in connection with his presence. (1 Thess. 4:15; Matt. 24:22) These are the ones who "come out of the great tribulation," and "will never die." They will continue alive forever, for under God's kingdom "death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away." (Rev. 7:9, 14; 21:3,4; Isa. 25:8,9) This does not mean that somehow they proved more righteous than any of God's other faithful servants; but rather is a matter of when a person happened to be born. All this demonstrates that Jehovah shows no favoritism, no partiality, when it comes to loving his people; they are all equally alive to him. While the vast majority of them are at the present time "resting," "sleeping in the dust of the earth," perhaps after many years of faithful sacred service; others are still busy in carrying out his work.

(In the case of the "holy ones" who will rule with Christ Jesus, and are alive at the time of his presence, they won't be in need of any resurrection either. Paul explains: "Look! I tell you a sacred secret: We shall not all fall asleep in death, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, during the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised up incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Paul provides more details on this subject in his letter to the Thessalonians. (1 Thess. 4:14-18.) Since this is not part of your question I won't discuss this any further here; but if you are interested I have dealt with this in another article on the First Resurrection.)
 

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