Hope for a New Beginning

Hope for a New Beginning He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. Death! It seems so final. It shatters hope. It ends plans. It breaks relationships. It separates permanently. Jesus's followers had expected so much from Him. Their lives must go on, but where could they find hope? The people in our text were faithful to Jesus but were without hope. Joseph was a wealthy man from Arimathea, a town 20 miles from Jerusalem. He was an honorable member of the Jewish ruling council, a good and upright man who had not consented to the killing of Jesus. He had been a secret disciple because of fear, but when Jesus died on the cross, he boldly supplied his own tomb and personally buried Jesus. Was this too little, too late? What hope was left for him? The women had been open disciples, dedicated to serving Jesus. When the men fled, they still followed Him faithfully to the cross and watched Him suffer and die. Now they watched His tomb being closed, their hopes in Jesus shattered. Hope can be a fragile thing. Hope is an expectation and assurance of a better future. Without hope, life is empty and without meaning. Without hope, this world is a very dark place. And it is this dark world that often shatters hope. People disappoint us and undermine our hope. Events stir doubts, fears, and guilt. Facing death can silence our hope. Everyone needs hope, but many live without it. This world often crushes hope. The chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day." These were the religious leaders in Jerusalem. They had heard Jesus's promise to rise again, but they had chosen to not believe. They saw believers as a threat and suspected them. They actively tried to hinder the faith of others. Like them, this world works to destroy your faith in Jesus and thus to destroy your hope. This world defies God's word. They went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting a guard. They were defying the words of Jesus which they had just quoted. They refused to accept the Old Testament promises of God, the assurance of Psalm 16 and the clear promises of Isaiah 53. As if they can stop God, they seal the tomb and post a guard. They have no place in their thinking for resurrection, and they leave no hope for mankind. But Jesus overcomes death and brings us hope. God easily defeats this world. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. With the authority of God, the angel breaks their little seal. Faced with God's power, the mighty Roman guard is incapacitated and become like dead men. No human power was needed to do these things. The angel then opens the tomb, rolling away the stone, not to let Jesus out for Jesus has already left the tomb alive, but to let us look in and see that He has risen and left. This angelic messenger brings a great message. 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. Come and see the place where he lay. The women were afraid and without hope because Jesus had died. They had watched Him being buried in this tomb. But His body was no longer there because He had risen! It is just as He said. He has kept His word and now lives forever. Come, see the empty tomb, and receive hope for a new beginning, a fresh start. And with that hope would come a renewed faith. The angel now calls for action motivated by that faith. Go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead.' Once you see and believe, then go tell others. They were to bring hope to the fearful disciples who were in hiding. So, they ran to tell the men, putting legs to their new faith. We are told that they were afraid yet filled with joy. This is an appropriate response to Jesus. Let us respect Jesus as overwhelmingly awesome while loving Him as absolutely good, our source of joy. Hope brings a new beginning. Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Jesus now appears to them. He is really alive. They clasp His living, material feet and worship Him. He is worthy of all worship. He assures them that they need not fear Him. Their hope has been restored. They are ready to face the future to serve Jesus. Forever. The resurrection of Jesus makes faith, hope, and joy available to you. Look and see the empty tomb and believe. Live by faith in Jesus, trusting that He died for your sins and rose again to give you life together with God forever. Live with hope, confidently expecting His blessing in this life and eternal blessing dwelling with the Father and with Jesus. Live with joy, rejoicing as you move forward in life from the new beginning Jesus has given you. Have you made this new beginning? If not, choose to put your faith in Jesus as your risen Savior. Turn from you sin to trust fully in Him and be raised to new life in Him. If you have, then grow in faith, claim His hope, serve Jesus with joy, and go and tell others.