DEVOTION / Es ist nichts.

Es ist nichts. 

Those were the final words of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.

His assassination in Sarajevo (June 29, 1914) ignited the First World War.

While he lay mortally wounded in his carriage, an aid asked, "Is Your Imperial Highness suffering very badly?"

The archduke replied, "Es ist nichts. Es ist nichts. Es ist nichts." (It is nothing.) He kept repeating the phrase until he died. 

"Es ist nichts. It is nothing." Were the archduke's words meant to comfort those around him? Were they courageous words from a man who knew he was dying? Perhaps he intended both of those meanings. And perhaps a third. 

Death is now nothing

Saying "Es ist nichts" in the face of death conveys a profound meaning for us Christians. Jesus' Easter victory over death guarantees that death is nothing for all who trust him as Savior. It is nothing to fear; it is cause for courage. And hope. And joy.  It is not the end of life; it is the beginning of a wondrous new and eternal life. 

“Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19), Jesus promised.  Because of Jesus' resurrection, death is nothing. Nothing but the doorway to heaven. 

That allows us to say with the soon-to-die Apostle Paul, "The time of my departure has come…. From now on, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will give it to me on that day, and not only to me but also to everyone who loved his appearing" (2 Timothy 4:7,8).

Es ist nichts. Death is nothing.