Renew Your Resurrection Hope!

March 31, 2008 by admin.

In the Name of the Resurrected Lord, the Hope of Sinners, Dear Friends in Christ,

A couple of weeks ago I received a notice in the mail that told me it was time to renew my subscription to the Wichita Eagle. That renewal notice was intended to remind me to once again consider the benefits of receiving the daily newspaper. It encouraged me to renew my subscription or else I would run the risk of letting it run out. Without the reminder, I may have lost interest and let my subscription expire.

In a way, you are here to be renewed. I don’t have anything new to tell you. I don’t have any miracle cures for what ails you. I can’t surprise you with any new antidote for depression. I don’t have some original advice to give you today that will instantly give you hope for tomorrow. I have nothing new. What I do have you’ve heard before, but you need to hear it again and again–you need to be renewed. Without this renewal, your spiritual “subscription” could run out, and you could “expire” eternally.

I’m here this morning to tell you that there’s still time for you to be renewed. That renewal takes place every time you hear about your living Savior, Jesus Christ:

“Renew Your Resurrection Hope!”

I. God did not abandon his Son to the grave

II. God will not abandon us to the grave

Before us this morning we have a portion of the powerful sermon Peter preached on the first Pentecost. With the power of the Holy Spirit Peter showed the crowd of people their sin in putting their Savior to death. With that same power he also showed them their hope in the same Savior who did die for them but was raised again to life.

Peter begins by telling them that this Jesus was no self-proclaimed Savior (v 22), “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” Jesus had all the credentials he needed to be the Messiah. He performed “miracles,” supplying evidence of his supernatural powers. His “wonders” aroused the amazement of all who saw them. They served as “signs” for all that there was something special about this man. They had all heard of or even seen Jesus at work. God was working through him to leave no doubt as to who he was.

But what had they done to their Savior? “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross” (v 23). They had murdered the Son of God. Peter delivered the crushing hammer of the law to these people. They needed to hear it, for “through the law we become conscious of sin” (Ro 3:20). The Jews as a nation had assumed the guilt for Jesus’ death (Mt 27:25), “All the people answered, ‘Let his blood be on us and on our children!’” Still, everything took place “by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge.” God allowed it to happen to accomplish his plan of salvation, a plan he had in motion before the world was even formed. Peter says that Jesus was chosen “before the creation of the world” (1 Pe 1:20). So even the murderous plans of the Jews were used by God to accomplish his purpose.

But God did not abandon his Son to the grave. Peter proclaimed to the crowd that death couldn’t hold Jesus (v 24), “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Peter contrasted what the Jews had done with what God had done: “You killed the Savior, but God raised him up.” He freed him from the agony of death. When Jesus cried out (Jn 19:30), “It is finished,” it was finished. He had accomplished his mission. And now God was not about to abandon his Son to the grave. Death would lose its grip, and God would raise his Son to life.

To prove his point Peter refers to a prophecy by King David where David spoke to the Lord, saying (v 27), “You will not…let your Holy One see decay.” Who was this “Holy One” that David spoke about? It had to be someone besides himself. Peter makes this point in verse 29, “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.” The Jews all knew that David’s body did see decay. It had turned to dust. So he must have been speaking of someone besides himself. He was speaking about one of his own descendants, one whose kingdom would never end. He was speaking about Jesus (vv 30,31), “But [David] was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.” All too often the Jews had looked for an earthly Savior, one who would do great things for them as a nation. Now Peter reminds them that David was speaking of a spiritual Lord, one who rise from the dead, without his body seeing decay. God the Father would not abandon his Son to the grave. He would not let him rot in hell, because his Son had done what he was sent to do. Death and decay are for sinful bodies. Jesus had lived a perfect life and had given that life for mankind. He was the descendant of David whose kingdom would never end.

David’s prophecy found complete fulfillment in Christ (v 32), “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.” The resurrection served as God’s stamp of approval on the work of his Son. It was his personal declaration that Jesus was the Christ, the one chosen to save the world from sin. The resurrection was the focal point of Peter’s message. He wasn’t asking these people to believe in just what one man was telling them. Peter along with many other followers of Jesus were eye-witnesses. They had seen the resurrected Lord! Their hope for a living Lord had been fulfilled!

What a powerful message! It’s nothing new–we hear it every year–but still it’s a message that we can’t hear enough. God did not abandon his Son to the grave, but raised him up to life. He lives as the perfect Savior, our perfect Sacrifice, the world’s perfect Redeemer. Death couldn’t hold him. Satan couldn’t defeat him. Jesus proved victorious. Take to heart the message of a living Lord and renew your resurrection hope!

I’ve reminded you about your resurrected Savior, but let’s go back to David’s prophecy. There we see what a living Savior means to us–the hope of our own resurrection!

Some of David’s words apply both to him and to Jesus. He speaks of the comfort that was his with his Lord by his side (v 25), “I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” David looked to God as his source of strength, his “right-hand man” to hold him steady. If you think that it’s by your own strength that you get through each day, think again. God is by your side, so that you too “will not be shaken.” David felt secure in the presence of his Lord.

There was hope even for David’s sinful body (vv 26,27), “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” Here the word “grave” is perhaps better translated as “hell.” God would not let hell claim David as its victim. Why not? Because of the Lord’s “Holy One.” If God did not allow his Son to be abandoned to the grave, if corruption and decay could not touch Jesus, then David knew that his body would not be left in the ground either. He had the hope of his own resurrection, the same hope expressed by Job (Job 19:25,27), “I know that my Redeemer lives….I myself will see him with my own eyes.”

With such knowledge, we have all we need to find our way through life (v 28), “You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.” We know where we’re going and we know how to get there. We know what life is all about, and we know God is with us. That knowledge gives us joy. We rejoice because God is with us now to guide us through life until we are with him finally for all eternity in heaven.

That was David’s hope, and that’s our hope today. David’s Savior is our Savior. He lives, and that means we also will live. God did not abandon his Son to the grave, and he will not abandon those who trust in his Son. Our future is secure. The message of a living Savior renews the hope of our own resurrection.

But we don’t just live for tomorrow. The hope of the resurrection helps us in our daily lives as well. If God has promised not to abandon you when you die, be sure that he won’t abandon you while you live your life here on this earth. He’s always there for you. He’s there to help you fight off temptation. When you slip up and fall into those same old sins again he’s there to offer you his unconditional forgiveness. When you get tired of battling the devil and everything he’s trying to throw at you God is there to give you strength. When you feel like giving up, like just throwing in the towel on life, God is there to hold you up and keep you going. He’s given you his promise (Heb 11:5), “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Put your hope in him, and you won’t be disappointed. Let the Lord renew your resurrection hope!

For some odd reason every spring my counseling load seems to become much greater, and it seems to be holding true again this year. So often I’m tempted to wring my hands and spend sleepless nights wondering what I’m going to say to these people who come to me with such an array of troubles and concerns. But maybe that’s why God holds things back until the spring, for it’s at spring that I’m reminded of our greatest source of comfort, our greatest source of hope. It’s during spring that we celebrate Easter and once again are renewed in our knowledge of a resurrected Lord. So when you come either privately or for Sunday worship, will I give you something new? No, I’ll just renew what you already have. I’ll keep reminding you that you have a living Savior who guarantees that you also will live. In that way you’ll have everything you need–a renewal of your resurrection hope!

Amen

Rev. Jonathan Rockhoff

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