There Is Hope

Can this be real? That Jesus died and then came back to life?

• What does it mean to us if He is dead? Does it really matter?

The truth is, it matters. If Jesus claims to be God and comes from heaven, and He remains dead, then there is no hope for anyone.

• Death ends everything. Death will be the end for everyone.

• Life will be meaningless. So man created theories about the after-life, but not none of them can come back to affirm their theories.

• Except Jesus. Jesus came back to life and did not leave earth for another 40 days.

• He talked about His death and resurrection before He dies. And He talks about it after He is risen.

The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our faith. Without the resurrection, there is no Christianity.

• If there is no resurrection, the grave will be our final destination.

• But Jesus rose again, and He appeared to His disciples and many others.

This is not easy for anyone to accept. The idea that “Jesus has risen” is ridiculous to the human mind. It is unbelievable, unless, God exists.

• It is difficult for people to accept, it was equally difficult for the people in Jesus’ time to accept. Many doubted. Some denied it actually happened.

• We are going to look at the reactions of these people.

THE WOMEN

Matthew 28 tells us of a group of women, with Mary Magdalene, going to the tomb early in the morning on the first day of the week.

• They were the first to witness the empty tomb and hear from the angels.

• In Mark and Luke accounts, they brought along spices to anoint Jesus’ body, obviously expecting to see a corpse.

Just two days ago, this group of women were among the few who were at the foot of the cross watching Jesus crucified and died. They saw His death close up!

• So we can imagine their emotions. They had given up their lives following Jesus, thinking that He would possibly be the leader who could liberate their people from the Romans. They had high expectations.

• But now, whatever hopes they might have in Jesus were dashed with His death. It ended everything.

• It is difficult for anyone, then and now, to think that death is not an end. Can there still be hope with death?

No. Unless God steps in.

• 28:2 “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven” and rolled the stone away from the tomb, revealing it.

• The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.”

This wasn’t a scene from everyday life. It was an act of God; it was a miracle.

• Whatever that has just happened was impossible and incomprehensible to the human mind. Only God could have done it.

• Miracles are possible only because God exists. Only a belief in God makes this comprehensible.

The angel has to calm the women, “Do not be afraid…” (28:5). When Jesus appeared, His first words were, “Do not be afraid…”

• Even when they hurried away from the tomb, 28:8 says they were still afraid.

• Mark’s account says they were trembling and bewildered (Mk 16:8) even as they run back to tell the other disciples.

• They were afraid because this wasn’t normal. It was out-of-the-ordinary. That’s what makes it so difficult to believe.

THE DISCIPLES

When they broke the news to the disciples, even these followers of Jesus for over 3 years had their doubts.

• Luke 24:11 “… they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.”

• It sounded that way. Many of us could have said the same when we first heard about Jesus. “All these are nonsense.”

If you find it hard to believe that Jesus rose again, you are in good company.

• Initially, that was the same struggle the disciples had. In fact, Jesus prepared them for this. Jesus told them earlier that He would be raised again.

• Matt 17:22 Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23They will kill him, and on the third day He will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

• It was interesting to note that their reaction was grief, even though Jesus ended the line with “I will be raised to life.”

• They were not really listening. They heard only the first part. It was selective listening. The second part makes no sense. The “raising to life” is impossible.