{"id":2411,"date":"2026-04-20T18:48:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/?p=2411"},"modified":"2026-04-20T18:54:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:54:07","slug":"living-hope-in-jesus-this-easter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/2026\/04\/20\/living-hope-in-jesus-this-easter\/","title":{"rendered":"Living Hope in Jesus This Easter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

John 20:1\u201318<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He is risen.” We say it every Easter. We sing it and celebrate it. And yet, if we aren’t careful, it can become something we say without really stopping even to consider what it means. The resurrection is not just a moment to remember. Rather, it’s a reality that changes everything. Scripture calls it a living hope. <\/em>And the more I think about that word, the more I realize how desperately our world needs it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can see it everywhere. People hope situations improve. We hope diagnoses change. Many are hoping relationships heal. Others are simply hoping the future turns out better than the present feels. However, most of the hope we experience is fragile. It’s uncertain and tied to circumstances we can’t control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easter offers something different. Not wishful thinking or temporary optimism, but a living and unshakable hope grounded in Jesus Himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Glimpse of Hope<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

John 20 gives us the first recorded moment of that hope breaking into the world. Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. That detail matters. John isn’t just describing the time of day; he is describing the reality of the moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was dark. Jesus had been crucified, and His body had been buried. From Mary’s perspective, all hope seemed gone. She had seen it all. She stood near the cross and watched Him die, and followed as His body was placed in the tomb. So when she arrives that morning, she comes expecting to grieve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, she is met with confusion. The stone is rolled away. The body is gone. And her immediate assumption is not resurrection. It’s loss. “They have taken the Lord… and we do not know where they have laid Him.” Even with hope standing right in front of her, she still cannot see it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope for Your Past<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the most powerful details in this story is who Mary is. She is not a religious leader. She’s not part of the inner circle. She’s not the person you would expect to be the first witness of the resurrection. She’s a woman with a past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture tells us that she had been tormented and possessed by several demons. While we don’t know every detail, we know enough to understand that her life had been marked by deep darkness. And yet, she’s the one Jesus chooses. She is the first to see the empty tomb. She is the first to encounter the risen Christ. And she becomes the first to tell others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love that because it reminds me, and it should remind you too, that your past does not disqualify you from God’s grace. Maybe your story includes deep regret. Perhaps there are decisions you wish you could undo or patterns you could break. Even so, Easter declares this truth: Jesus is hope from your past. He doesn’t avoid broken people. He moves towards them, restoring, redeeming, and rewriting stories that feel too far gone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope in Your Present<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But the story doesn’t stop there. Even after seeing the empty tomb, Mary is still overwhelmed with grief. She’s standing outside, weeping, trying to make sense of what she’s experiencing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then something remarkable happens. Jesus is standing in front of her… yet she doesn’t recognize Him. She assumes He’s the gardener. In other words, she’s still operating from what she believes to be true, that Jesus is dead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until He speaks. “Mary.” One word. Her name. And in that moment, everything changes. There’s something powerful about being known like that, and hearing your name spoken with such care and intention. Suddenly, grief turns into joy. Confusion gives way to clarity. Despair is replaced with hope, not because her circumstances gradually improved, but because she encountered the risen Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that’s the point. Jesus is not just hope for someday. He is hope for right now. Whatever you walked in carrying, whether it be fear, anxiety, uncertainty, or pain, He meets you in it. He speaks into it and brings hope into the middle of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hope for Your Future<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After revealing Himself to Mary, Jesus doesn’t just comfort her. He gives her a mission. He tells her to go and share what she has seen. The resurrection is not just personal; it is meant to be proclaimed. It changes everything, including our future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The apostle Paul makes this clear: if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then our faith is empty, and everything collapses. But He did rise. Because of that, we are not left with uncertainty. Instead, we are given what Scripture calls blessed hope, the promise that Jesus is coming again and that we will be with Him forever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when we talk about this hope, we are not talking about an abstract idea. We are talking about a person, a promise, and a future that is secure because Jesus is alive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Question Easter Asks <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the end of this story, the question is not whether the resurrection happened. The question is: what will you do with it? Because this hope is available, but it must be received. It’s not automatic or inherited, It’s personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe, like Mary, you walked in carrying weight from your past. Or perhaps your present feels overwhelming. For some, the future feels uncertain. Here’s the invitation of Easter: Jesus is calling your name. Not audibly, perhaps, but clearly. Personally and intentionally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the response is simple: Admit your need, believe in Christ crucified, and that He was raised from the dead, and confess Him as Lord. Because hope is not something you manufacture, hope is found in Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t Miss This Moment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Easter is more than a celebration; it’s an invitation. An invitation to move from hopelessness to hope, from death to life, from uncertainty to confidence in a Savior who is alive. So the question is simple: Do you have this hope? Because if you have Jesus, you have hope. From your past, in your present, and for your future. And that truth changes everything. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article has been adapted from a full sermon by Pastor Jarrett Stephens. Catch up on more messages in our\u00a0<\/em>Sermon Archive<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or visit our\u00a0<\/em>Articles page<\/em><\/a>\u00a0for more reflections like this one.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John 20:1\u201318 “He is risen.” We say it every Easter. We sing it and celebrate it. And yet, if we aren’t careful, it can become something we say without really stopping even to consider what it means. The resurrection is not just a moment to remember. Rather, it’s a reality that changes everything. Scripture calls […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,26],"tags":[63,62,61],"class_list":["post-2411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-life","category-spiritual-growth","tag-john-20","tag-living-hope","tag-resurrection-of-jesus","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nLiving Hope in Jesus This Easter - Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how the resurrection of Jesus gives us a living hope in Jesus for our past, present, and future. 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Stephens","author_link":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/author\/jarrett-stephens\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"John 20:1\u201318 “He is risen.” We say it every Easter. We sing it and celebrate it. And yet, if we aren’t careful, it can become something we say without really stopping even to consider what it means. The resurrection is not just a moment to remember. Rather, it’s a reality that changes everything. Scripture calls…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2411"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2416,"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2411\/revisions\/2416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.championforest.org\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}