Eyewitnesses to Hope

Sermon: Eyewitnesses to Hope
Sermon Text: John 19:26
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son.”

On the day that Jesus was crucified, he had witnesses on this day when it appeared that all hope was gone.

Have you ever needed some hope? Have you ever felt that you needed more hope for just one more minute, hour, or day? Sometimes, you can be staring hope right in the face and don’t know what to do with it.

Point 1: Simon of Cyrene Luke 23:26 “As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.” Simon becomes a witness of hope.

-Simon doesn’t think he needs hope because he thinks his hope is at the temple.
-Jesus wasn’t on his mind and he didn’t know that he was about to follow hope. Simon considered that carrying the cross was admission of guilt.

Life Application
A. Learn to carry hope. Carrying hope is heavy but when you have it, you know that Jesus will bring you out of your situation. Galatians 6:9-“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
B. Follow hope- You can’t get hope looking at the TV.
C. Be ready to be criticized for having hope-If your hope is in Jesus, people will talk about you.

Point 2: The Centurion: Mark 15:39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he did, he said, “Surely this was the Son of God.”

The Centurion saw that hope had died and he confessed that it really was hope. Seeing how Jesus died brought him to a place of confession. Jesus was in control of his death and he died at the right time.

Life Application
You must understand that just confessing hope is not enough. We always confess hope, but we don’t actually possess it when we need it the most. Its not enough to just say that you have hope, but possessing hope means that you truly believe that GOD will move in your situation or deliver you from something.

Point 3: The Criminals Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Two thieves hung on crosses beside Jesus and they both had asked for hope.

First thief asked: Luke 23:39-Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying “If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.”

Second thief asked: Luke 23:42-Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Question: How is it that one thief received hope but the other didn’t?
Answer: The first thief didn’t ask Jesus in the correct manner.

Life Application
You can’t ask Jesus for something because of what you’ve done. That’s like saying, “Lord I’ve prayed, tithed, and I came to church, so now you owe me this.” Jesus doesn’t owe you anything. You must come to him in prayer and thank him for what he’s going to do. You must ask the right questions to get the right answers.

Point 4: Mary and John John 20: 1, 11, 16, 18. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. But Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb. Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, Rabboni!”(which means teacher). Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.”

She didn’t go thinking that Jesus was gone. She wasn’t sure it was hope until hope spoke to her.
A. She was startled by HOPE
B. She took a closer look at HOPE
C. She embraced HOPE
D. She told somebody HOPE was alive and HOPE had something to say.

Life Application
When you think hope has died, it startles you when it shows up. After Jesus does something for you, you can’t keep it to yourself. Holding hope won’t keep it but possessing it will. When you’ve lost hope, you begin putting your hope into other things and habits that are no good for you.






Point 5: The Surprise Witness: YOU!
Now that you’ve witnessed hope, what do you plan to do about it? You know that Jesus lived, was crucified, was raised on the third day, and sits at the right hand of the Father. Therefore, you can believe that he can and will handle any situation you come into. What do you plan to do with the hope you have?