Hope is defined as: 1. to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment, 2: to expect with confidence : TRUST
Key and label. Hope concept
Why Good Friday should give us hope in our present circumstance…
As His followers watched in disbelief, Jesus hung on a cross. They waited and wondered when He might reveal Himself as God. Earlier, Peter had taken matters into his own hands and used violence to try to end any attempts to take Christ’s life. Now the disciples, Jesus’ mother, and every other observer wondered what would happen. What would Jesus’ fate be? Where was God in this? Why, oh why, was this happening?
Would He strike everyone dead by the power of His voice? Would He silence them – the haters, the false accusations, the lies of the leaders of His day? Would Jesus take matters into His own hands and disobey the hard call intended to save people who didn’t yet know Him as Christ and, in fact, wanted Him dead?
No.
Instead, He pleaded with God the Father on their behalf, “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do.”
They didn’t. They didn’t believe He was God. And so, they took His life. They watched Him die. They made sure.
And the earth was dark and quiet.
The followers of the Way had lost their way. They’d lost hope. They couldn’t believe their plight.
The disciples thought what they’d believed to be true was incorrect. Their King of kings, Hosanna in the highest, had been killed via crucifixion. They felt defeated, dejected, lost and alone, sad and afraid. At least one was full of doubt.
How could they have been so wrong? How could they have believed in something, Someone, with all their heart and soul, giving up their livelihoods, giving up the conveniences of their lives to follow Jesus – only to be wrong?
They thought He was the Messiah, but then He died, a shameful death, a painful death, among murderers and on public display in the most undignified manor.
Life as they knew it no longer existed. Discouragement and defeat came rushing in as people quietly reflected. Other times, not so quiet, as they consulted each other in complaint. Had they wasted their lives?
Now what? Now what would they do?
Women, courageous and compassionate approached the grave. The stone was no longer there! What happened? Where was their beloved Jesus? They entered. They saw His grave clothes, not strewn like dirty laundry. Folded. Neat. Intentional. So they would know. Three days later, He wasn’t dead. He had risen. Just as He had told them, only they didn’t understand at the time.
They would need that courage as they encountered angels in the tomb. It takes courage to be bold in the face of fear.
In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘ The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then, they remembered his words.─Luke 24:5-8 NIV
It was only after the situation played out and they were reminded by the angels that they realized what had occurred. They saw the way He had prepared them for the truth. When they looked in hindsight, the angel’s words rang true in their hearts. They remembered Jesus’ words. They believed.
And they had hope.
And so can we!
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”─John 16:33 NIV
God’s Word says in this life we will have trouble. But He also commands us to take heart because HE HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD.
The empty tomb proves it.
We can have hope because God is with us, Immanuel. He overcame the grave. He can overcome this virus. He can overcome the attempts to silence and isolate us from one another. Jesus can overcome the negative voices of those beating fear’s drum. Fear is never sourced in God.
Wisdom, yes. Fear, never.
Let us always remember God overcame the grave. He died. He rose. He overcame. All for us.
He is the anchor for our soul, the hope we cling to.
So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.─Hebrews 6:18-19 NLT
Hope is defined as Good Friday, a promise that Easter is coming from a God who can’t lie. The sun will shine. We will see one another again without social distance. We will meet together in fellowship. And, ultimately, we will rejoice with Christ for all eternity because while we were utterly helpless sinners, He died for you and me.
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.─Romans 5:6-8 NLT