Sermon by – Lead Pastor Justin Kendrick – Vox Church
My Personal Sermon Notes …
🔹 Blog Index: A Dangerous Hope
- The Empty Tomb
– Matthew 28:1–10: Fear, wonder, and resurrection revealed
– Women encounter the risen Christ - Disappointment vs. Hope
– When hope feels risky
– Living guarded in a broken world - Resurrection as Reality
– Earthquake moments and real belief
– Historical and eyewitness evidence (1 Corinthians 15) - The Kingdom Has Broken In
– N.T. Wright: Resurrection as the launch of God’s new world
– The power of a resurrected King - If Jesus Rose… Then What?
– The end of fear
– A hope strong enough for real suffering - Prophecies Fulfilled
– Isaiah 53 and 25: God’s plan through the ages
– From death to life - Hope Reframed
– George Herbert & Oswald Chambers: Resurrection redefines death and faith
– Jesus meets us personally, in His time and way
“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.” Now I have told you.’
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.
Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’”
— Matthew 28:1–10
“The contrast of the humdrum of black and white Kansas…”
…With a desire for something beautiful like Oz.
But we feel trapped in our own lives.
“I’m alive but am I living.”
Do you struggle to expect good things?
“Expect disappointment and you’ll never be disappointed?”
Should we live that way?
Do you lower your expectations to just settle for survival?
Who do you trust if you live that way?
More than ever people live with their guards up, leading to the most depressed and anxious people in history.
For many, hope feels dangerous.
They can’t risk having hope.
Mary went to see the tomb in Matt 28:1 — not the resurrection.
Even though Jesus told them He would be alive, no one believed Him until God wakes them up.
Have you ever experienced the “earthquake” of Easter?
Life shaking. Ground moving.
Or is it just a tradition to us?
Do we really believe the resurrection?
If we do and it is true—what does that mean to our lives?
Eleven out of 12 disciples died tortured and suffering because of their belief.
They list names of people who were still alive to challenge people to call them to account.
“After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:6
N.T. Wright quote —
“The resurrection completes the inauguration of God’s kingdom…
It is the decisive event demonstrating that God’s kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven.
The message of Easter is that God’s new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you’re now invited to belong to it.”
Dr. Thomas Arnold quote —
“I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort than the great sign which God has given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead.”
How did the message spread?
It’s because they SAW Him.
Paul says in First Corinthians that Jesus returned.
And was SEEN by 500 people—many of which are still alive.
See also: 1 Corinthians 15:3–8
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
The world was changed by these few people.
A symbolic event won’t get you through cancer or suffering —
you need a dangerous hope.
The entire Bible prepared us for Jesus.
“By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.”
“After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.”
— Isaiah 53:8, 11
“On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.
The Lord has spoken.”
— Isaiah 25:7–8
If we are Christians and haven’t thought about the implication and meaning of Jesus rising—
then we missed the whole point.
If Jesus is the Lord of the universe, and called us to serve, then what does that mean?
If He is the Lord and sought us out and died for us to bring us home…
What does that mean?
If Jesus rose from the dead—it means the end of fear.
If Jesus rose from the grave then we can Have A Dangerous Hope.
Life changes because we know how the world ends.
“If you already know who wins the game, there is no anxiety in watching.”
We know death won’t win—so we get to live in the peace of that understanding.
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
— Romans 8:37–38
A dangerous hope that can get us through anything.
George Herbert quote —
“Death used to be an executioner, but the gospel makes him just a gardener.”
(A paraphrase of the idea found in his poem “Time” — the resurrection reframes death as the beginning, not the end.)
All hope is false if there is no hope.
If the resurrection is real—
then all death can do is plant you into eternity,
not cut you out of existence.
Like the woman, the resurrection becomes real as we personally meet Jesus in our lives.
If Jesus is alive—He is still reaching out to meet us.
We want Him on our terms…
but He is Lord of the universe.
He will do it on His terms.
Oswald Chambers quote —
“Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.”
(From My Utmost for His Highest — fitting for the theme that Jesus comes in His way and time.)
Jesus comes in all sorts of ways.
In His way and His time.
Primarily in the Word.
When we hear the gospel—
…we feel that pull,
…we understand who He is,
…and we learn how much He loves us
…and how much He sacrificed to be with us.
God is Shocking. Offensive. Beautiful love.
Deep. Calls. To deep.
Certainly comes after commitment.
Which is backwards.
First comes faith,
then comes understanding after commitment.
Not blindly —
but with eyes wide open.
VoxNotas 
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