Last Sunday, Ronnie Morris preached the sermon, “Jesus Is the Good Shepherd Who Is Entirely Trustworthy,” from John 10:11-21. We considered three reasons for Jesus’ trustworthiness: 1) He owns us. 2) He knows us and makes himself known to us. 3) He sovereignly laid down his life for our salvation. We then considered the present reality that Jesus is still calling his sheep; therefore, we must listen to him alone and obey his voice, for he alone is entirely trustworthy.

Read: John 11:17-44

This Sunday, Will Jackson will preach from John 11:17-44, where Jesus proclaims: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26). Because of the hope of the resurrection, we can trust God’s goodness and his greatness as he sovereignly carries out his plan of restoration through Christ. Even when circumstances in life do not make sense to us, like Martha and Mary experienced in the event of Lazarus’ death, the certain hope of resurrection assures us that God is, in fact, working all things together for our good and his glory. 

Reflect: “Your Hope Is as Alive as Jesus”

[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, [4] to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, [5] who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. – 1 Peter 1:3–5

God has caused us to be born again to a living hope, a hope which Peter makes deliberately distinct from a lot of the other hopes we’ve known. We hope all the time, and we’re often disappointed. I hope I get an A on that test. I hope they hire me. I hope she says yes. I hope we can get a new car. I hope he remembers our anniversary. Our hopes don’t always come true.

This is not the kind of hope we have in God. Our hope in God is unlike any we’ve ever had, and that is because there is a moment in history that sets this hope apart from any other.

Peter writes, “…he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead… (1 Peter 1:3).” The tomb could not hold the living, breathing, scarred, but victorious body of our Jesus. The man who claimed to be God, who committed no sin (1 Peter 2:22), and who died before hostile crowds, appeared again, just days later, before crowds bearing the wounds of the cross, but demonstrating a power and victory over it. He is alive.

And here in verse 3, Peter connects this life, the God-man’s life after death, witnessed by hundreds, celebrated at Easter, with your hope. Believer, if Jesus lives, you will live. God established and secured your hope when he raised his Son. Therefore, your hope is as alive as Jesus.

You’re going to be tempted to assess God’s faithfulness to deliver you by your circumstance, but the better test is the man standing beside the rolled away boulder, a place where angels say, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? …Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen.”

When everyone who had followed Jesus watched him suffer and die, they thought their hope had been crucified with him. But our hope did not die at Calvary. No, at the darkest moment of all, when defeat seemed certain, God was sealing our hope, enthroning it for all eternity in his Son.

As painful and heartbreaking as some of our days have been and will be, none will come close to the day we crucified the Lord. And yet even in that scene, God was big and strong and wise and merciful and present — he was there — bringing about his plan to save us and secure our hope forever.

So when our flesh finally succumbs to death, when our body ultimately fails us by whatever means and at whatever age, the living Jesus assures us that we will live — and that we’ll live like never before. Our lives then and there with Jesus will be more full, more glorious — complete.

When life gives you pause about God’s goodness and faithfulness — when people fail and hurt you, when work oppresses you, when finances plague you, when you are rejected or offended because of your faith, when tornadoes tear through a town… more than once — we have a picture, better, a person, a living Jesus, who can still our hearts and instill trust and courage where fear, and doubt, and confusion have crept in. As long as Jesus lives — and he will never die again — and our hope is in him, our hope lives with him.

Excerpt from the Article, “Your Hope Is as Alive as Jesus,” by Marshall Segal, July 8, 2013, from desiringgod.org

Sing: Song List for Sunday

1. “The Veil Was Torn,” by Crosspoint Music
2. “Only a Holy God,” by CityAlight
3. “Praise the King,” Arr. Shane & Shane