The Resurrection Gives Hope

I'm going to agree with Chris. Following Tim is a hard act to follow. I'm going to ask you, if you have a Bible in front of you, to please turn to John 14. John 14. I'll only read two verses this morning. Verse 6 and verse 19. John 14, verse 6 and verse 19. This is God's very own Word. And Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And then verse 19, a little while longer and the world will see me no more. But you will see me because I live. You will live also.

Prayer for Illumination

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. And we pray now, God, that as we think about it and meditate upon it, that your Holy Spirit would apply it to our hearts. We pray, Lord, that you would please comfort us this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. I'm going to tell you, we're jumping into the middle of a story here.

Sermon

Jesus has been with his disciples for years at this point. And the author of the Gospel of John has slowed down and he wants to talk about a specific story where Jesus is talking to his disciples. And see, he's on his way to the cross of Calvary. He's going to go and suffer for the sins of his people. But the disciples don't know this.

And in verse one, Jesus tells them, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in me, believe also, or you believe in God, believe also in me. And then he tells them, I'm going to my father's house. And in my father's house, there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. And then he says, the way I'm going, you know that way. And Thomas is the one who speaks up and says, what do you mean, Jesus? We don't know where you're going. We don't understand. What are you talking about? You're leaving us. You're supposed to be the king. You're supposed to come and you're supposed to get rid of these Roman overlords. You're supposed to come and you're supposed to be the victorious one. You're supposed to finally give us the peace we want.

And Jesus says, no, boys, listen up. I'm going. And where I'm going, I am paving the way for you to come. I'm going to my Father's house. And in that house, there are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. This is the only way to get to my Father's house, though. This is where verse 6 comes in. The only way to get to my Father's house, though, is through me. See, what He's telling them here is that He is going, He is paving the way to go to His Father's house, but the way will be paved by His own blood.

See, because the kingdom that Jesus is securing for them, the peace that He is giving them, the redemption that He is earning for them is going to cost Him His own blood. It is our sins. I know that's not a comfortable thing to talk about at a time like this with a funeral, This is the truth of the gospel. Jesus faced it head on, and He's facing it head on. To Him, He did try. And He won.

He was going to go to that cross, and He was going to conquer over the foes and over the principalities of the earth and of the heavens, and He was going to go as a conquering high priest. But the way of victory meant the way of sacrifice and death. The way of redemption was going to be purchased not by gold, but by His precious own blood.

And so Christian, do you know the way? Do you know the way of peace? Do you know the way that you can find hope for your grieving soul? Your tears are real. I want you to know that the grief and the pain that you feel in your heart because your mother, your grandmother, your great-grandmother, our friend, our sister, she is dead. And that grief is real. Because the story wasn't supposed to end this way.

But thanks be to God that He intervened. That as we were going astray, He's the one who rescued us. And this is why the way to the Father's home is exclusive. There's only one Savior, and His name is Jesus Christ. There's only one hope, and His name is Jesus Christ. There's only one way to the Father, through the precious blood of His own Son.

This is the Savior that our sister confessed and loved and taught many of you when you were little children. This is the one she clung to even as she listened to her last sermon. Who is Jesus? Her King, her Redeemer, the one who brought her to her father. How will you make it to God's house? The same way she did. Set your eyes on Jesus. Receive and rest upon him as he has offered to us in the gospel. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. No one comes through to the Father except through Him.

But see, it's better than just the cross. Many of us like to stop at the cross because we think about our sins being forgiven. And that's great, right? We love the doctrine of the atonement that Jesus takes away our sins, removes them as far away as the east is from the west. Jesus buries our sins beneath the deepest of the oceans. God remembers our sins no more because he looks on the face of Jesus Christ. But the story is not over. Because verse 19 is coming. A little while longer and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Easter comes after Good Friday.

The resurrection comes when the light breaks into the darkness and Jesus Christ could not be kept under the power of death because it had no say over him. Jesus Christ rose from the dead and this is a historical fact. This is the truth that there were four different Gospels written that attest to Him rising again from the dead with multiple eyewitnesses, over 5,000 people saying, we saw that man arise from the dead. And if He is alive, then we have hope. We have hope that death is not the end of the story. We have hope That Jesus Christ truly did ascend into heaven and that there is a promise of seeing Him once again.

I love C.S. Lewis, and a lot of us have seen the Chronicles of Narnia movies, but there's one movie, I don't know if they could ever do justice making. They've done the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. They've done the Dawn Traitor, things like that, but one of my favorite books in that series is his book, The Last Battle. And in The Last Battle, I'm gonna read to you what one of the people say. The sweet air grew suddenly sweeter. A brightness flashed behind them. All turned.

Tyrion turned last because he was afraid. And there stood his heart's desire. Huge and real, the golden lion as land himself. And already the others were kneeling in a circle round his footpalls and burying their hands and faces in his mane. And as he stooped his great head to touch them with his tongue, then he fixed his eyes on Tyrion. And Tyrion came near, trembling, flung himself at the lion's feet.

And the lion kissed him and said, well done, last of the kings of Narnia, who stood firm at the darkest hour. Miss Virginia, when she woke up, put her hands on the lion's mane, the lion of the tribe of Judah. And the commendation off the lips of her savior, well done, good and faithful servant, because she was adopted by the king.

Death was swallowed up in victory. She has entered into Aslan's country. And it's a country far greater. It's a country of comfort, where God's love shines. There is no sun or moon or stars in heaven. For the glory of Christ is their light, and she bathes in His glory. This is the hope that we have, because we have a historical Savior, a historical resurrection, and real words of promise from Him. Because I live, you will live also. He's not the God of the dead, but He's the God of the living.

This is why at the Mount of Transfiguration, when we see Jesus in His most divine glory outside the book of Revelation, what do we see? We see Moses and Elijah there. Why? Because though they might have been by human eyes dead and buried, they were very much alive.

Take comfort, Christians. Our King still reigns. And if He is alive, then we will live also the very last page of that book, The Last Battle. It says, Lucy was afraid of being sent away by Aslan. Why? Because you have sent us back into our own world so often. And Aslan said, no fear of that.

Have you not guessed? He said, the term is over. The holidays have begun. The dream has ended. This is the morning. For all of us, it might seem that the last chapter has closed. But brothers and sisters, Miss Virginia's life, this whole was just the introduction to the story. And every chapter that comes next is more glorious than the one before. So take hope, Christian. Take hope because our Lord lives today. There is a way into the heavenly mansion of our Father. And the way is through His Son. Our life is in His life. Our hope is in His life. Our only hope in life and death is in Jesus Christ, Miss Virginia's present Lord and Savior.

Closing Prayer

And I pray also your risen Lord and Savior. Let's pray. Lord, we thank You for our Savior Jesus Christ and the life that You have promised us in Him. Lord, we pray that we would, by the power of Your Spirit, have hearts to believe in love. Lord, we thank You. And we pray that You would please work Your Spirit in our hearts that we would cling to the hope of the promise that you have given us. In Jesus' name, amen.