Death could not hold Him

“But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.” Acts 2:24
In Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, we come across this verse, which I wanted to pick up on for today. Very often we can think about the death of Jesus on the cross, suffering and dying in our place – and not actually realise just how radical this is. How could God, the author of life, die?
In Romans 6:23 we read that the wages of sin is death. That is, death is the consequence of sin. So again, I ask: how could the sinless Son of God, die? – since He had no sin that would bring death upon Him?
The answer of course, is this: because He was bearing our sin. We often read about the physical agony of the cross, but we have a very superficial grasp of the spiritual agony that Jesus suffered, becoming sin, the thing He hated the most in all the world. Bearing our sin, and the consequence – death – was agonising for Him in a way that far surpassed the physical torment of crucifixion.
But once He had died, and descended into Hades, that sin was dealt with. But, it was not sin that He had committed. Hell had no authority over Him. Since He had no sin of His own, death could not hold Him. The resurrection of Christ is proof of Jesus’ sinless life; and the death of Christ is proof that He did indeed bear our sins. We have a risen Saviour! Hallelujah!