Friday, April 10, 2026
“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also. You know the way to where I am going.” “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where you’re going. How can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:1-7
The Comeback From Death
This week we have seen how we can comeback from anything because of Jesus’ resurrection. The ultimate comeback because of the resurrection of Jesus is the comeback from death.
Jesus and the disciples are gathered in the upper room for the last supper together before Jesus is arrested. He is telling the disciples lots of very important things he wants them to know before he leaves them. Understandably they are troubled, but Jesus tells them to not let their hearts be troubled. He explains that he is going away for a while, but he is coming back for them. Jesus reminds them that they know the way to where he is going. He is the way – the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Because of Jesus’ resurrection, I can comeback from death.
The Disciples thought all hope was lost when they witnessed Jesus die on the cross. Imagine how dark that time was for them between when he died and rose again. The world was looking for them and the one person they trusted and who gave them hope was dead. They didn’t completely understand that he was going to rise again and without the resurrection there is no hope in death - it is final. When Jesus rose from the grave three days later and visited them in the upper room, they remembered what He had said, and their hope was restored! Jesus was raised from the dead to bring us new life and because He did that, we can live in hope. He walked out of that grave so that we can stop living in our own graves. The light of Christ comes shining in like the light of day into our musty tomb and everything changes.
When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” John 20:19-23
Jesus dying on the cross provided payment for my debt, and yours too. Through the resurrection we can have hope of eternal life. His payment for sin satisfies the Justice of our Holy God in full. The sacrifice of Jesus is enough to cover every sin ever committed by every person who ever lived throughout history and every person who ever will live. All sins past present and future, paid in full! We can have hope for eternity because he defeated sin and death through his resurrection. We can have hope for today because he has defeated and overcome every trial we might endure. In the power of the resurrection – the power that raised Jesus from the dead – we can endure and overcome.
Have you lost all hope? Have you given up because some days it is just too painful to believe that hope is real and it is for you? Or do you believe that hope is for everyone else because you don't deserve to hope? One thing after the other - after the other can take our breath away and steal our hope if it is not in the right place. The only true hope comes from Jesus Christ. He loved us so that he laid down his life for us so we could have hope in the face of trials and suffering. We want hope that everything will be perfect today but the true hope is that no matter what today brings, we are forgiven, redeemed and have eternity to spend with him because of the resurrection of Jesus. Put your hope in him and rest in his promises. Jesus overcame death with his resurrection so we could comeback from death and have eternal life with him.
