Hope Is Alive

Title: Hope Is Alive

Text: Mark 16:1-8

Date: April 8, 2012

Place: Washington A/G

Introduction

I. A Man Named Jesus

A. A multitude of Prophecies fulfilled in His peculiar birth

1. He was conceived by the Spirit

2. Born of a Virgin

3. The location and angelic announcements

B. His life as a carpenter

C. The Time He launched His ministry

1. Baptized by John

2. Anointed by the Spirit

3. He called His disciples

II. This Man’s Purpose

A. Not to lead another movement

1. It would not be another uprising against the government

2. This was not to be a new spin on the status quo.

B. Isaiah Prophesied This Man’s Purpose

1. "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." (Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV)

2. If you’re in any of these positions this prophecy can be summarized in one word “HOPE.”

a. It is the possibility that tomorrow might be brighter than today, and today can end better than yesterday ever thought of being.

b. It speaks of the potential rectifications of current situations

C. Jesus confirms this prophecy

1. Jesus was Teaching in the Synagogue

a. He was handed the book of Isaiah and found the place where this prophecy was written

b. Jesus Spoke of the People and said, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21 NKJV)

2. Jesus not only confirmed this prophecy in word but also in deed.

a. It’s true that Jesus came for “whosoever.”

b. It were those who were especially brokenhearted, downtrodden, and dejected that seemed to hold a special place in His heart.

c. The Bible is filled with story after story of how Jesus healed the sick, gave life to the dying, and provided miraculously for those in the deepest despair.

d. John’s ending statement of His gospel goes like this, “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen” (John 21:25 NKJV)

- We marvel at what we do know

- John says, “you don’t know the half!”

Body

I. Jesus Crucified

A. As wonderful as this Man was there were those who were not so enthused about His ministry.

B. The truth is that there were those the Bible says who sought to kill Him

1. Kill Him they did

a. You’ve heard of the unjust trail

b. You’ve heard of the beatings

c. You’ve heard of the mocking

d. You’ve heard about the cross and the price that He paid

2. For us there is an understanding of a deeper meaning

a. We approach the narrative with the understanding that No man took Jesus’ life but He freely laid it down for our benefit.

b. We read the text centuries removed from the true horror of that day

c. What if the death of this wonderful Man was a part of your present reality?

C. For many the day that Jesus died marked the death of every shred of hope that they had known in that present hour.

1. The Man who spoke of a future glory was hanging on a cross

2. The man who had healed their bodies was now hanging broken on the cross

3. The One who had lead them had seemingly led them to a dead end

4. They watched His brutally beaten, Nailed to a cross and then, they saw Him die.

II. The Burial of Jesus

A. There among the crowd that day was one Joseph of Arimethia, who when Jesus was taken from the cross asked for His body and Had it laid in his own tomb.

B. The Pharisees knew parts of the message of hope

1. Jesus would rise again.

2. They asked the Romans to set a seal on the door of the tomb and have a guard present to be sure that the man they had worked so hard to get into that grave stayed there.

C. For many this was the burial of their hope; everything they had wished for the future was wrapped up in this Man.