Hope Is At The Door
Luke 24:36-43
I heard a story about a honeymoon couple. They had made a reservation by phone for a honeymoon suite in a hotel on a lake for their wedding night. But… their wedding went late (as they often do), and so they went to the hotel late, and the office was closed, but the manager had left the key to their room. They could only afford one night in this honeymoon suite, so they hurried straight to the room.
But, when they opened the door, the room was not really a room; it was more like a large closet. There was no window so they couldn’t see the lake, there wasn’t anything nice at all. There wasn’t even a bed, just a couch. And so, angry, they curled up on the couch, and they survived their wedding night – barely.
But the next morning, this new husband was going to make things “right,” so he rushed down to the front desk and began his tirade at the hotel manager. But as soon as the hotel manager could get a word in edgewise, he asked the newlywed just one question. He said, “Did you open the door?” And the new husband (with steam still coming out of his ears) said, “I assumed that was a closet!”
And so he stormed out of the manager’s office and back to that little hole of a room, and he flung open the only other door in there. It opened up into this massive honeymoon suite with a huge king-sized bed with rose petals, a fruit basket, and chocolates, overlooking the most beautiful lake. But, it was too late. And so, for their entire wedding night, this honeymoon couple slept on a couch in an entry hall with the most beautiful honeymoon suite imaginable just on the other side of a door.
THAT is what our message is about today – Hope Is At The Door.
I’ve been telling people about the hope there is in Jesus for more than thirty years. And far too often, I’ve seen people respond to Jesus the same way this honeymoon couple responded to their honeymoon suite.
They never open the door. They end up staying in the entryway, in the mudroom. The place where you take your boots off, and it’s just a big closet. But right through the door, there is a resurrection life, that is abundant life now and eternal life in the future. Hope is at the door. But I have seen so many people, for so many reasons, refuse to open the door and receive the hope of the resurrection.
Hope is at the door – all we need to do is open it and receive it.
On Good Friday, Jesus died on the Cross for the sin of the world – for your sin and mine. And on that first Resurrection Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead, victorious over sin, death, and the grave in the Resurrection. It was the Resurrection that was the victory over really what is our worst enemy. We don’t understand it, but I promise you the moment you stand in front of God, you will understand that the most important problem you have is sin. And the enemy that you can’t beat on your own is death. And the grave is real, and it’s eternal.
And Jesus Christ won that victory for all of us – over all of that – in the Resurrection. And then he brings this hope of the Resurrection, hope of victory in this life, hope of victory over sin, hope of victory over the grave. Hope of eternal life in glory with him. In order to give us hope – real hope. Jesus Christ freely offers his victory, his hope, and his eternal life to anyone who will open the door and invite him into their life.
Revelation 3:20 (NLT)
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
This is a reference to you communing with the Lord, sharing your life with him. It’s a reference to the Risen Savior being a very real part of your life.
And not only in this life – but for eternity because it is by you opening that door and receiving Jesus into your life that you become a Child of God with a place reserved in Heaven for you with the Lord. When Jesus rose from the dead, he conquered sin, death, and the grave, and Jesus has brought his victory and his eternal life right to your door.
HOPE is at the door.
All you have to do is open it by faith and receive the resurrected life that Jesus Christ offers you.
In the Bible, hope is not wishful thinking! It’s not like, “I hope I win the lottery.” The word translated hope in the Bible means, “A confident expectation based on solid certainty” and that’s why we started this church with Hebrews 6, verse 19 as our foundation verse.
Hebrews 6:19 (NLT)
19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain (veil) into God’s inner sanctuary.
THAT is the hope that Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the dead to give us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls for this life and for an eternity with God.
The hope that Jesus died and rose from the dead to bring to your door is a hope that passes through your circumstances. It goes beyond your circumstances. It overcomes your circumstances. The hope that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead to bring you is true, rock-solid, eternal hope, and this hope – is right at your door.
But sometimes… we can hear the Good News “knock” and still struggle to believe it and receive it. Jesus can come right up to the door of your life – hope is right there – it’s at the door. But we can miss it.
Don’t miss it.
Don’t miss the hope that the Resurrected Savior has brought right to your door.
The reason I know you can miss it is because the first Disciples almost missed it. Jesus had been crucified on Friday, and the Disciples were spiraling into hopelessness. Jesus had told the Disciples this is what had to happen. Jesus had prepared them for this and assured them we would rise on the third day. The Hope of Resurrection was at the door. But, when that third day came – where were the Disciples? Well, we know for sure they weren’t at the Tomb. Thank God the women who followed Jesus were!
Matthew 28:1–8 (NLT)
1 Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.
2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.
3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.
4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.
7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
8 The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.
They couldn’t wait to tell the Disciples the Good News, and then we see the Disciple’s response over in Luke.
Luke 24:9–11 (NLT)
9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened.
10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened.
11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Sounded like nonsense? Didn’t believe it? What is happening? The hope of the risen Savior is at the door with a bunch of witnesses right in front of you. How can you not receive this Good News?
But, maybe you’ve been in that same place staring down evidence that God is at work in your life but refusing to believe it or receive it. But maybe if some of the Disciples could see it for themselves, then they would receive the hope that Jesus had conquered death on their behalf.
Continuing in Luke 24, verse 12.
Luke 24:12 (NLT)
12 However, Peter jumped up (in John’s Gospel, he lets us know he was with him) and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.
Seriously Peter? Do you not remember Jesus said he would be raised from the dead ON the third day?
Why can’t you receive this hope?
What is blocking you from embracing this hope?
Maybe it was guilt from denying he even knew Jesus
Maybe it was fear of how Jesus would respond to him
Maybe it was just hope-less-ness
Maybe his hopelessness kept him from seeing that hope that was right at his door. Don’t let that happen to you. Don’t let your hopelessness keep you from seeing the hope of the Resurrection is at your door.
But at this point in the Gospels, no one had actually seen the risen Jesus. So, maybe if someone actually sees him, then Peter and the Disciples would receive the hope of the Resurrection.
And so we read it in Mark 16,
Mark 16:9–11 (NLT)
9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.
10 She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened.
11 But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.
Now, I’m feeling like God might be getting just a little frustrated at this point. Can you hear him saying, “I’ve given you so much evidence, so much proof, so many prophecies, so many promises”? Why can’t you receive the hope that comes in the Resurrection of Jesus? Hope is at the door. What is keeping you from receiving it?
Then Jesus appeared to two other Disciples on the Road to Emmaus and even ate with them. And these two ran to the other Disciples who seemed to be holed up in a safe house or something. And then we read the following in Luke 24, verses 36-43.
Luke 24:36–43 (NLT)
36 And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.
37 But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! (oh man, these guys!?)
38 “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? (Repeat)
39 Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.”
40 As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.
41 Still they stood there in disbelief, (but) filled with joy and wonder. (they’re still in some kind of fog – trying to wrap their heads around the fact that Jesus is really THERE WITH THEM) (and so, again, Jesus PROVES Himself to them) Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” (I don’t think he was Hungry – I think he was trying to prove to us – how REAL He is)
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
43 and he ate it as they watched.
Can’t you just see these guys trying to see the fish go down as Jesus is eating it? Sometimes it is harder to not believe than it is to believe.
Jesus is here in a very real way, but you have to choose to believe. You have to choose to put your faith in him.
The Disciple we call “Doubting Thomas” had a super hard time choosing to believe. In John Chapter 20, Thomas said he wouldn’t believe unless he could touch the wounds from the Cross in Jesus’ body. And so, Jesus shows up again, in a locked room, and he has Thomas touch the wounds in his hands and side. But then, Jesus says something that is critically important.
Jesus says to Thomas and to us,
John 20:27 (NLT)
27 . . . Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
And Thomas did believe – finally.
But then we read,
John 20:29 (NLT)
29 Then Jesus told [Thomas], “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
You see, it takes faith to believe without seeing, and the Bible is clear. We are saved BY putting our faith in Jesus. Believing that Jesus IS who he says he is and entrusting our life to him (this life and eternal life), and that is what the Disciples ultimately did. They entrusted their lives to Jesus as their Savior and their Lord, and God used them to spread the Good News of the hope of the Resurrection from there to here, today.
Hope was at the door all along. But they had a hard time opening that door and receiving that hope.
How about you?
Have you had a hard time receiving the hope of the Cross and the Resurrection?
This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.
And this HOPE is at the door. Would you open the door and invite Jesus into your life, today? To truly open that door, we must repent of our sin. We must turn from our sin and turn to Jesus Christ, putting our faith in him and receiving Jesus into our lives as Savior and Lord. And I want to give you a chance to do that right now.
Can I tell you, please? Easter is a special time to surrender your life to Jesus. It is a special time to put your faith all in with Jesus because every Easter celebration, you’ll remember that this was the day that you opened the door and received the hope of Jesus into your life.
But, when they opened the door, the room was not really a room; it was more like a large closet. There was no window so they couldn’t see the lake, there wasn’t anything nice at all. There wasn’t even a bed, just a couch. And so, angry, they curled up on the couch, and they survived their wedding night – barely.
But the next morning, this new husband was going to make things “right,” so he rushed down to the front desk and began his tirade at the hotel manager. But as soon as the hotel manager could get a word in edgewise, he asked the newlywed just one question. He said, “Did you open the door?” And the new husband (with steam still coming out of his ears) said, “I assumed that was a closet!”
And so he stormed out of the manager’s office and back to that little hole of a room, and he flung open the only other door in there. It opened up into this massive honeymoon suite with a huge king-sized bed with rose petals, a fruit basket, and chocolates, overlooking the most beautiful lake. But, it was too late. And so, for their entire wedding night, this honeymoon couple slept on a couch in an entry hall with the most beautiful honeymoon suite imaginable just on the other side of a door.
THAT is what our message is about today – Hope Is At The Door.
I’ve been telling people about the hope there is in Jesus for more than thirty years. And far too often, I’ve seen people respond to Jesus the same way this honeymoon couple responded to their honeymoon suite.
They never open the door. They end up staying in the entryway, in the mudroom. The place where you take your boots off, and it’s just a big closet. But right through the door, there is a resurrection life, that is abundant life now and eternal life in the future. Hope is at the door. But I have seen so many people, for so many reasons, refuse to open the door and receive the hope of the resurrection.
Hope is at the door – all we need to do is open it and receive it.
On Good Friday, Jesus died on the Cross for the sin of the world – for your sin and mine. And on that first Resurrection Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead, victorious over sin, death, and the grave in the Resurrection. It was the Resurrection that was the victory over really what is our worst enemy. We don’t understand it, but I promise you the moment you stand in front of God, you will understand that the most important problem you have is sin. And the enemy that you can’t beat on your own is death. And the grave is real, and it’s eternal.
And Jesus Christ won that victory for all of us – over all of that – in the Resurrection. And then he brings this hope of the Resurrection, hope of victory in this life, hope of victory over sin, hope of victory over the grave. Hope of eternal life in glory with him. In order to give us hope – real hope. Jesus Christ freely offers his victory, his hope, and his eternal life to anyone who will open the door and invite him into their life.
Revelation 3:20 (NLT)
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
This is a reference to you communing with the Lord, sharing your life with him. It’s a reference to the Risen Savior being a very real part of your life.
And not only in this life – but for eternity because it is by you opening that door and receiving Jesus into your life that you become a Child of God with a place reserved in Heaven for you with the Lord. When Jesus rose from the dead, he conquered sin, death, and the grave, and Jesus has brought his victory and his eternal life right to your door.
HOPE is at the door.
All you have to do is open it by faith and receive the resurrected life that Jesus Christ offers you.
In the Bible, hope is not wishful thinking! It’s not like, “I hope I win the lottery.” The word translated hope in the Bible means, “A confident expectation based on solid certainty” and that’s why we started this church with Hebrews 6, verse 19 as our foundation verse.
Hebrews 6:19 (NLT)
19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain (veil) into God’s inner sanctuary.
THAT is the hope that Jesus died on the Cross and rose from the dead to give us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls for this life and for an eternity with God.
The hope that Jesus died and rose from the dead to bring to your door is a hope that passes through your circumstances. It goes beyond your circumstances. It overcomes your circumstances. The hope that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead to bring you is true, rock-solid, eternal hope, and this hope – is right at your door.
But sometimes… we can hear the Good News “knock” and still struggle to believe it and receive it. Jesus can come right up to the door of your life – hope is right there – it’s at the door. But we can miss it.
Don’t miss it.
Don’t miss the hope that the Resurrected Savior has brought right to your door.
The reason I know you can miss it is because the first Disciples almost missed it. Jesus had been crucified on Friday, and the Disciples were spiraling into hopelessness. Jesus had told the Disciples this is what had to happen. Jesus had prepared them for this and assured them we would rise on the third day. The Hope of Resurrection was at the door. But, when that third day came – where were the Disciples? Well, we know for sure they weren’t at the Tomb. Thank God the women who followed Jesus were!
Matthew 28:1–8 (NLT)
1 Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.
2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.
3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.
4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.
7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
8 The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.
They couldn’t wait to tell the Disciples the Good News, and then we see the Disciple’s response over in Luke.
Luke 24:9–11 (NLT)
9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened.
10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened.
11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it.
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Sounded like nonsense? Didn’t believe it? What is happening? The hope of the risen Savior is at the door with a bunch of witnesses right in front of you. How can you not receive this Good News?
But, maybe you’ve been in that same place staring down evidence that God is at work in your life but refusing to believe it or receive it. But maybe if some of the Disciples could see it for themselves, then they would receive the hope that Jesus had conquered death on their behalf.
Continuing in Luke 24, verse 12.
Luke 24:12 (NLT)
12 However, Peter jumped up (in John’s Gospel, he lets us know he was with him) and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.
Seriously Peter? Do you not remember Jesus said he would be raised from the dead ON the third day?
Why can’t you receive this hope?
What is blocking you from embracing this hope?
Maybe it was guilt from denying he even knew Jesus
Maybe it was fear of how Jesus would respond to him
Maybe it was just hope-less-ness
Maybe his hopelessness kept him from seeing that hope that was right at his door. Don’t let that happen to you. Don’t let your hopelessness keep you from seeing the hope of the Resurrection is at your door.
But at this point in the Gospels, no one had actually seen the risen Jesus. So, maybe if someone actually sees him, then Peter and the Disciples would receive the hope of the Resurrection.
And so we read it in Mark 16,
Mark 16:9–11 (NLT)
9 After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.
10 She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened.
11 But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.
Now, I’m feeling like God might be getting just a little frustrated at this point. Can you hear him saying, “I’ve given you so much evidence, so much proof, so many prophecies, so many promises”? Why can’t you receive the hope that comes in the Resurrection of Jesus? Hope is at the door. What is keeping you from receiving it?
Then Jesus appeared to two other Disciples on the Road to Emmaus and even ate with them. And these two ran to the other Disciples who seemed to be holed up in a safe house or something. And then we read the following in Luke 24, verses 36-43.
Luke 24:36–43 (NLT)
36 And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said.
37 But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! (oh man, these guys!?)
38 “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? (Repeat)
39 Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.”
40 As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.
41 Still they stood there in disbelief, (but) filled with joy and wonder. (they’re still in some kind of fog – trying to wrap their heads around the fact that Jesus is really THERE WITH THEM) (and so, again, Jesus PROVES Himself to them) Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” (I don’t think he was Hungry – I think he was trying to prove to us – how REAL He is)
42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
43 and he ate it as they watched.
Can’t you just see these guys trying to see the fish go down as Jesus is eating it? Sometimes it is harder to not believe than it is to believe.
Jesus is here in a very real way, but you have to choose to believe. You have to choose to put your faith in him.
The Disciple we call “Doubting Thomas” had a super hard time choosing to believe. In John Chapter 20, Thomas said he wouldn’t believe unless he could touch the wounds from the Cross in Jesus’ body. And so, Jesus shows up again, in a locked room, and he has Thomas touch the wounds in his hands and side. But then, Jesus says something that is critically important.
Jesus says to Thomas and to us,
John 20:27 (NLT)
27 . . . Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”
And Thomas did believe – finally.
But then we read,
John 20:29 (NLT)
29 Then Jesus told [Thomas], “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”
You see, it takes faith to believe without seeing, and the Bible is clear. We are saved BY putting our faith in Jesus. Believing that Jesus IS who he says he is and entrusting our life to him (this life and eternal life), and that is what the Disciples ultimately did. They entrusted their lives to Jesus as their Savior and their Lord, and God used them to spread the Good News of the hope of the Resurrection from there to here, today.
Hope was at the door all along. But they had a hard time opening that door and receiving that hope.
How about you?
Have you had a hard time receiving the hope of the Cross and the Resurrection?
This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.
And this HOPE is at the door. Would you open the door and invite Jesus into your life, today? To truly open that door, we must repent of our sin. We must turn from our sin and turn to Jesus Christ, putting our faith in him and receiving Jesus into our lives as Savior and Lord. And I want to give you a chance to do that right now.
Can I tell you, please? Easter is a special time to surrender your life to Jesus. It is a special time to put your faith all in with Jesus because every Easter celebration, you’ll remember that this was the day that you opened the door and received the hope of Jesus into your life.