TITLE: EASTER, THE GOSPEL OF HOPE
SCRIPTURE: ST. MARK 16:1-8
One of the great disparities between the first Easter and our Easter today is that today Easter has become that time when we as Christians at least appear to have everything together — and that’s not a bad thing - this is just part of our church culture in America. Easter Sunday is extra special, so we –
• Dress a little nicer
• We get our family photo
• We plan family dinner
• We want this morning worship service to go really well — because it’s Easter!
There is nothing at all wrong with that; but we should realize the first Easter was nothing like this at all. In fact, the first Easter was almost the exact opposite, and Mark’s Gospel, more than any other, gives us this perspective. This is how Mark describes that first Easter morning - he says –
• Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to the tomb where Jesus was buried, and they discover the tomb is empty
• Then an angel tells them Jesus is risen; that he’s not here
• Then Marks ends it like this - AND THEY WENT OUT AND FLED FROM THE TOMB, FOR TREMBLING AND ASTONISHMENT HAD SEIZED THEM, AND THEY SAID NOTHING TO ANYONE, FOR THEY WERE AFRAID
So Jesus is risen from the dead, just like he said he would, and we should celebrate — and we do! — but the first disciples, at first, were not celebratory, but confused.
• They didn’t know what to do
• They were astounded
• And this is what gets at the great question of the Resurrection
The great question of the Resurrection is not whether it really happened - it did — and the evidence is overwhelming, so that’s not the question. INSTEAD, THE GREAT QUESTION OF THE RESURRECTION IS -- NOW WHAT? Now that Jesus has risen; now that the tomb is empty — what does that mean for us? - what do we do with that? - how does this make things different? That’s the great question of the Resurrection, and rest of the New Testament is written to basically give us the answer, and if it had to be summed up in one word - it’s HOPE. The good news of Jesus, the Christian Gospel, is A Gospel of Hope.
Just in terms of how we think about the Resurrection, I want us to get the order right.
• The resurrection of Jesus is not the end of Christianity - it’s the beginning
• It’s not the great climax of the narrative - but in some ways, it’s almost like the setting; it’s the start
• It’s the new thing
• It’s kind of like a new creation, and what it gives us is Hope
• That’s what the APOSTLE PETER says in I PETER 1:3. -- “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…”
The Apostle Paul defines Hope by telling us what it’s not -- hope can’t be seen. It is not tangible. If you hope in something you see, that’s not hope. Hope, then, has to do with the future. It means to have a confident expectation in what is to come. That’s what the original Greek word meant, and that’s how we use the word today. Hope is about the future. it’s a resolve - a feeling - a conviction we have about something we’ve not yet seen but believe that we will see. I know what you are thinking here, you might be wondering now: well, how this is any different from faith?
• Hope and Faith sound the same - but they’re different
• The difference is nuanced, but important
• Hope is the expectation of those things that Faith has believed to be true
• This is why the scripture says -- HEBREWS 11:1 “FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR….”
• For Faith to materialize it must contain the footprint of Hope
So Faith considers something true of God now, and whenever that truth crosses the line into waiting and looking for the future it becomes Hope. It’s been said that –
• Faith is the foundation of Hope
• Hope grows on Faith
• But then Hope invigorates and gives strength to Faith
The New Testament idea of Hope is different from the way we use the word hope today, like we say "I hope it doesn’t rain." We’re referring to the uncertainty of future events. You might be surprised to know that is not the same thing as the Bible meaning of Hope. When the Bible speaks of Hope it is talking about the very opposite of uncertainty. it is communicating with assurance, with confidence that these future events spoken of are surely going to take place. There is no “Hoping,” because it is a surety.
That Surety is found in our text. What I love about this passage, especially where it cuts off with Mary and the other Mary fleeing from the tomb without actually seeing the Risen Christ, is the fact that it leaves room for questions. Resolution to why the tomb is empty or what in the world happened overnight is not wrapped up neatly in a bow, rather there are some loose ends hanging around. This narrative reminds us that it is okay if sometimes we experience fear or anxiety in our own lives and faith, if we have questions or if we still have a few loose ends that need to be tied up.
But this is actually a more realistic understanding of how our faith works, anyway – especially now. Even with the ongoing Pandemic thankfully it is finally starting to improve, we still have a whole lot of questions and not a lot of answers about what comes next.
• We do not necessarily have a plan
• We do not know how we are going to roll away the stone when we arrive at the tomb
• But we have faith that it will happen
• Like these women who gathered up some spices and just started walking, we have faith that we are going to figure it out when we arrive
But this is Resurrection; it is the promise that God will help us figure out the details, it is the reassurance that we do not have to have all of the answers, it is the hope that, sometimes against all odds, we will emerge from the darkness and shine God’s light into the world.
It's the empty tomb of Jesus that gives us Hope! Hope in the here-in-now and hope in the here-after! And don't get the idea that the Hope I'm talking about is a hope-so kind of hope. I'm talking about a know-so kind of hope!
• The Hope of Forgiveness
• The Hope of Peace
• The Hope of Assurance
• The Hope of Heaven
And that Hope is centered in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ’s resurrection is the basis of our Faith and our Hope. Without it --
• The Gospel would be Meaningless
• Forgiveness of sins would be Hopeless
• Present life would be Joyless
• Godly living would be Fruitless
• Future life would be Worthless
Early on that first Easter Sunday morning, Mary expected to find death, but instead she found new life. We also expect to find death. We know what it means to expect death but find new life. We know what it feels like to follow on Good Friday only to be confronted with Easter Sunday. We have stood there looking into the empty tomb experiencing the impossible. we don’t go looking for resurrection. it finds us. Jesus’ resurrection is about God loving us so much that He is willing to go to any length to find us in all the wrong places. Like Mary, we go looking for God in the familiar, in the places where we expect to find God. In Jesus’ resurrection God finds us -
• When we are down and out – He finds us
• When we are at the end of our rope – He finds us
• When we have lost hope – He finds us
• When we can’t see clearly through the tears – He finds us
• When we are confused on every hand – He finds us
• God rolls back the stones that bind and confine us
• He stands waiting with a familiar voice that calls us to new life and to “go and tell”
Jesus revealed the true nature of death. it was on the cross that the showdown occurred.
• Jesus was tired of seeing humanity fooled by death
• He entered the dark tunnel of death to prove there was an exit
• As the world darkened - creation held its breath
• Jesus emerged from death’s tunnel, lifted a triumphant fist toward the sky and freed us from the fear of death
• Even though demons, darkness and death have been defeated, they continue to fight against everything God has created
• We don’t have to worry though
• Jesus is alive with a new kind of life that He wants to give to all believers
• Yes my brothers and sisters – EASTER, THE GOSPEL OF HOPE
We do not worship a dead god but a Living Lord. We worship a God who has placed all our burdens on Himself.
• We don’t have to find Him because He never loses us
• He promises that if we see Him, we will find Him as He comes to us
• We are never lost from His sight
• We may not see Him - but He is always there
• We may not see Him - but He always sees us
I am reminded of how PETER and JOHN when they heard the glorious news, they ran to the tomb. What separates Peter and John from most of us, I think, is they were willing to give themselves up completely to hope. Even the possibility of a resurrection propels them to run as fast as they can to see if it could be true, which means they will be vulnerable to profound disappointment if it turns out to be something else.
• Remember Mary suggested someone had stolen the body of Jesus
• She even looked at Jesus thinking He was a gardener and said “If you know where they took his body, please tell me”
Most of us, I suspect, would react differently than these two disciples who ran to the tomb. Maybe we will take a leisurely stroll to the tomb, if we happen to be going in that direction, and take a peek behind the rock if it isn’t too crowded.
• As long as we expect the worst, we can be pleasantly surprised if it turns out better
But genuine Hope — the theological virtue that sits next to FAITH and CHARITY — requires more from us than cautious optimism and a leisurely stroll. It is a frantic running towards something that we have heard about – perhaps all of our lives – and desperately want to be true. The essence of easter is not a passive hope, but an anxious and even a desperate hope. A longing to believe.
• Just maybe our lives don’t end when we die
• Just maybe we can be reconciled to a perfect and loving God
• Just maybe we can find joy in our lives that endures for eternity
• Even if we don’t know for sure, the news is something worth breaking a sweat for
• EASTER, THE GOSEPL OF HOPE
What Hope did the disciples expect to find early that first Easter Morning? More importantly - what did you hope to find when you came here to ‘first church’ this morning?
• Maybe Easter Candy?
• Maybe Chocolate?
• Maybe Peeps?
• Maybe Eggs?
• Maybe Easter flowers and decorations?
• Maybe fun and laughter?
• Maybe friends?
• Maybe wonderful music?
• Maybe good preaching?
• Maybe you hoped to find some peace, some answers, some inspiration or some direction for a life that at times seems to be spinning out of control
Many times our hopes are based on our past experiences.
• You’ve been to Easter services before and so you build your expectations for today on previous experiences, that this year will be similar to past years
• Or maybe your hope is based on what someone said to you
• Someone said they were going to meet you here, that there was going to be beautiful music, singing, decorations and they even told you that the message of Easter is so much more than chocolate bunnies and brightly colored eggs, but that the message of Easter is about a man that gives living hope, lasting peace and true purpose
• So here you are, with all those hopes
Well, I’ve got some good news. No matter what brought you here to today, today is a day of hope because a living Jesus gives living hope.
• Strangely enough this living hope takes us to a place of death, where hope normally appears to end
Sunday is the day that changed it all. for Mary - for the disciples - for all of us. Not only did Jesus die for our sins, but He rose again, defeating sin and death for all time. This brings us much Hope because, though our lives are full of –
• Sorrow and Pain
• Sickness and unwanted Diagnoses
• Death and Betrayal
• Pandemic Worry
• Jesus’ death brings us hope in the midst of the messiness of life
Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we can boldly proclaim the truth that Paul proclaims in Romans 8:8 “FOR I CONSIDER THAT THE SUFFERINGS OF THIS PRESENT TIME ARE NOT WORTH COMPARING WITH THE GLORY THAT IS GOING TO BE REVEALED TO US.” We have a Hope awaiting us in heaven that infinitely outshines the suffering and pain that we might experience here.
• The resurrection of Jesus confirms Hope for us
• This is our great Hope
• This is what sustains us in times of suffering and doubt
I remember that glorious, beautiful Sunday all those years ago, when our Savior rose from the grave and conquered sin and death forever. Easter brings us –
--Hope in the midst of our Difficult Days
--Hope in the midst of our Challenges
--Hope in the midst of our Concerns
--Hope in the midst of our Diagnosis
--Hope in the midst of our Pain
--Hope in the midst of our Suffering
--Hope in the midst of our Tears
--Hope in the midst of our Fears
--Hope in the midst of our Troubles
--Hope in the midst of our Faults and Failures
--I’m so thankful the sun came up on that Sunday morning, long ago!
--Every day until Jesus returns, we can experience the mingling of sorrow and joy in all things
--EASTER, THE GOSPEL OF HOPE
