Resurrection Sunday Sermon - Jesus is Our Hope

Easter 2009 – April 12, 2009 – Luke 24:1-12 – Jesus is Our Hope

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
(Gal 4:4-7 ESV)

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it-- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
(Rom 3:21-26 ESV)

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
(Rom 5:1-5 ESV)

The hope that does not disappoint or put us to shame has been…
• brought to the forefront emphatically,
• demonstrated clearly,
• secured & guaranteed unequivocally,
• been approved, settled, magnified, and gloriously affirmed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

I wonder how the friends, family, and disciples waited for those three days—from Jesus’ crucifixion to his resurrection…

I wonder what thoughts went through their head…I wonder about the depth of their grief and sorrow and pain…the heartache they experienced…

Maybe those were hours of despair and hopelessness…because the one they thought was the Messiah had been crucified and killed…the one who was going to bring peace and resolution to all their worries had died…like a common criminal…

Their hopes had been dashed…they had been shattered by Jesus’ death…

Yet, in the opening verses of Luke 24, there is a building up with anticipation and excitement of the renewed hope that is about to be revealed by the writer.

As is the case with all four gospel writers’ attention given to this event, there is at the beginning some confusion and wonder and astonishment displayed by those who come to the tomb first.

Yet, there is a common thread of the hope that does not put to shame that is woven throughout each of the gospels.

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke’s gospel, it is found in the message given by the angelic messengers to the tomb visitors…

Here in Luke we find the message of hope in vv. 5-8.

Yes…there it is…hope emphatically and succinctly declared in one phrase in v. 6

HE IS NOT HERE! HE IS RISEN!

Just to hear those words…to hear the declaration of that reality…what it must have done to those first hearers…

The reality of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the ultimate and defining expression of the hope that does not disappoint…

The resurrection is the encapsulating phenomenon that solidifies the bedrock of our hope in Jesus Christ…

HE IS NOT HERE! HE IS RISEN!

Though John does not explicitly use this phrase in his account of the first resurrection morning, it is explicitly implied and demonstrated by the actions and reactions of those involved.

Therefore, this phrase serves as a common thread of the declaration of hope among all four gospel writers…

Furthermore, it is not necessarily the phrase itself, but the event to which the phrase attests and calls our attention…

Jesus has risen from the dead…the actual historical record of someone rising from the dead never to die again…in any manner—physically, spiritually, or eternally

But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
(Rom 4:23-25 ESV)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (1Pe 1:3 ESV)

“A living hope…”

“through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”

Jesus-centered hope is not like the hope we hear many people speak of today…

We hear things like, “well, I sure hope so” being said without any confidence or assurance of that which we desire to come to pass

We hear things like, “they’re only down by 10 with 5 minutes left, there’s still…hope”—we say it more out of ego than any assurance of the comeback…

We hear things like, “I sure hope things get better” as if our hope and joy and peace rested solely in the quality of our circumstances

We hear things like, “all hope is lost”--

We hear things said today that more resemble Disney’s “wish upon a star” fairy tale turn into a prince kind of wishing instead of Jesus-centered hope…

Biblical hope—gospel-centered hope—Jesus saturated hope is not like this at all…

Hope in the bible is not wishful thinking…

Rather, it is the present realization of a future expectation that transforms the way we live in and think about the present situation

Hope in the bible is living in the present with a steadfast confidence and assurance of a future expectation…

It is living in the present with an unwavering sureness and certainty based upon the rock-solid foundation of God’s promises which are “yes” in Jesus

Jesus is our hope…

He is our steadfast confidence and assurance…he is our unwavering sureness and certainty

In our day when the gates of hell seem to be prevailing, our hope is Jesus

In our day when secularism, governmentism, pluralism, and humanism are growing in our culture by leaps and bounds, our hope is Jesus

In our day when families are crumbling on every side, our hope is Jesus

In our day when the weight of the world comes heavy upon our shoulders, our hope is Jesus

In our day when the news gets so bad we can’t stand it, our hope is Jesus

In our day when the rebellious children break our hearts, our hope is Jesus

In our day when the devil is on the prowl devouring our loved ones, our hope is Jesus

In our day when the road gets long and nights get dark, our hope is Jesus
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
When darkness seems to hide his face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

That’s my hope—Jesus Christ, the hope of glory—the one crucified, the one buried, the one risen from the dead-----

Jesus is our hope in regard to our past, present, and future sins
• Jesus is the lamb of God who took away our sin
• Jesus is the lamb of God who propitiated the wrath of God against sinners
• Jesus is the advocate who is ever-presently interceding on our behalf in the presence of the Father
• Jesus is the great high priest who sympathizes with us and helps us when we are tempted and even when we give into sin’s trap

Jesus is our hope in regard to our present life
So many people are looking for hope in so many places…
• The bailout plan
• The president
• The congress
• The next stimulus package
• The lottery
• The military
• The stock market
• The bottom of a bottle
• The next job opportunity
• The next self-help book
• The next self-esteem movement
• The next supreme court decision
• The next NBA superstar
• The next recruiting class for your favorite college
• The next boyfriend or girlfriend

People are looking for something that is secure and stable and grounded and trustworthy having substance that is solid…something that will not let them down and crush their hope

You name it people are looking for hope in it—so many people have a case of the “if onlies”—if only this or if only that…

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
(Psa 121:1-2 ESV)

The mountains were a source of strength and safety and hope, but the Psalmist says, I’m not looking at the mountains for hope, I’m looking to the one who made the mountains…

Hope in this present life is Jesus Himself—the one and only—the king, the creator, the sustainer, the one with the name that is above every name

Jesus is our hope in regard to our enemy death
1Co 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

The death of Jesus on the cross stands as the central reality of the gospel accentuated and highlighted by His resurrection from the dead as the final death blow to our final enemy, death…

Until the day when death is no more, the hope we have in the present to face our final enemy is found in Jesus Christ, and in him alone

From John Piper’s website, he writes a conversation between Christian and Death in similar fashion to John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress:
CHRISTIAN: Hello, Death, my old enemy. My old slave-master. Have you come to talk to me again? To frighten me? I am not the person you think I am. I am not the one you used to talk to. Something has happened. Let me ask you a question, Death. Where is your sting?
DEATH, sneeringly: My sting is your sin.
CHRISTIAN: I know that, Death. But that’s not what I asked you. I asked, where is your sting? I know what it is. But tell me where it is. Why are you fidgeting, Death? Why are you looking away? Why are you turning to go? Wait, Death, you have not answered my question. Where is your sting? Where is, my sin? What? You have no answer? But, Death, why do you have no answer? How will you terrify me, if you have no answer?
O Death, I will tell you the answer. Where is your sting? Where is my sin? It is hanging on that tree. God made Christ to be sin—my sin. When he died, the penalty of my sin was paid. The power of it was broken. I bear it no more. Farewell, Death. You need not show up here again to frighten me. God will tell you when to come next time. And when you come, you will be his servant. For me, you will have no sting.
Friend, in regard to sin—past, present, and future—in regard to the pressures of this present life—in regard to our enemy of death and our encounter with him—Jesus is our hope—steadfast, sure, confident, and never-failing

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Where is your hope this morning?

In what or whom are you placing your hope?

On what or whom are you building your hope?

Friend, if you are here today expecting and trusting your religiosity, your spirituality, your morality, your karma, or your good deeds, your church attendance, your church membership, your tithing, your baptism, your communion partaking to achieve and secure for you a right standing before a holy and righteous God, you are sadly mistaken—your only hope, your only guarantee, your only security is Jesus as the all-sufficient mediator and Savior

Christian, if you are looking for satisfaction and significance and peace and happiness in the temporary trappings of this world—if you are looking for something secure and safe and hopeful from this world—if the troubles of our day are disheartening, if the struggles are tough and getting tougher—Christian, your only hope is Jesus—your only eternally satisfying hope and treasure is Jesus

I leave you with this closing blessing from Romans 15:13 - May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.