The First Man Up from the Depths

When the Phoenix capsule broke through the surface of the San José mine on October 13, 2010, Florencio Ávalos stepped out into the Chilean night air — the first of thirty-three miners rescued from 2,300 feet underground. For sixty-nine days, those men had lived in darkness, uncertain whether rescue would ever come.

But when Ávalos emerged, everything changed. The shaft held. The capsule worked. The cable didn't snap. His ascent wasn't just one man's rescue — it was proof that every miner trapped below would follow. One by one, over the next twenty-two hours, each man rose through that same narrow passage into the light.

Paul calls the risen Christ "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." That word — firstfruits — is an agricultural promise: when the first sheaf of grain comes in, the whole harvest is guaranteed. Christ's resurrection isn't an isolated miracle. It's proof that the passage from death to life is open, and that everyone who belongs to Him will follow.

Death held humanity in its grip like that collapsed mine. But Christ descended into the depths, broke through, and came up first — not for Himself alone, but to prove that the way is clear for all who trust in Him. The last enemy will be destroyed. The shaft holds. The rescue is sure.