Unbelievable Hope – April 25, 2023

“In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
Luke 24:22-24

Unbelievable Hope

Two of Jesus’ disciples were walking toward a town called Emmaus on Easter evening. The risen Jesus joined them, but they did not recognize him. As they walked and talked, the two disciples shared with Jesus what had happened earlier that morning. And it was unbelievable. Some of the women who had been followers of Jesus went to his tomb to complete the burial of his body. But instead of finding Jesus’s corpse lying in the tomb, they found two angels who told them that Jesus was alive. Two of the other disciples also went to Jesus’s tomb and found things just as the women had said. Jesus’s body wasn’t there.

How could this be? Dead bodies don’t just get up and walk out of their tombs, do they? Could the women be correct in saying that Jesus was alive? It all was too much to believe.

Those two disciples were not the only people who struggle with unbelievable news from God. Perhaps you struggle to believe God when he tells you, “[I] will remember [your] sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). Or maybe you can’t conceive of how these words of Jesus can be true: “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). Perhaps you find it unbelievable that the glory God has in store for those who believe in him far outweighs the weight of trouble we must carry in this life (Romans 8:18).

What those two disciples found unbelievable was true. Jesus was alive! In fact, the proof of Jesus’s resurrection was walking right beside them. They just didn’t realize it yet. In the same way, God’s unbelievable promises to us are always true. When God, who knows all things, tells us that he no longer remembers our sins, he means it. In Jesus, he has forgiven all our sins. Jesus, who rose from the dead, will indeed give eternal life to all who believe in him. And the glory that awaits God’s people makes all the trouble we went through to get there not even worth considering. What seems unbelievable is real with God, for with God all things are possible.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, strengthen my faith so that I may always trust your unbelievable promises. Amen.