Bible Passage: 1 Peter 1:3-9
Pastor: Joel Jenswold
Sermon Date: April 12, 2026

Bulletin – April 12, 2026

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

Peter had quite the Easter Sunday.  It began early with the return of Mary Magdalene from the tomb of Jesus.  She breathlessly reported to him and John, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him! (John 20:2)  Peter and John race out to the tomb.  John was faster than Peter and got to the tomb first.  He paused at the entrance.  Peter caught up and blew by him right into the tomb!  He saw the strips of cloth lying there.  Later, at some point on Easter, the risen Jesus makes a one-on-one personal appearance to Peter!  We don’t know anything about it except that the risen Jesus appeared to Peter alone.  In the evening, Peter is with the rest of the disciples in that upper room when Jesus appears to them all.  Can you even begin to imagine Peter’s emotions on Easter?

About thirty years later, Peter is writing a letter to some Christians.  They are experiencing persecution because of their allegiance to Jesus.  We notice as he begins his letter to these suffering Christians, the tone he strikes.  He does not commiserate, “Oh, woe is us!”  His greeting is positive and uplifting!  That’s because Peter had been to the empty tomb.  Peter knew, and he wants us to know,  When You’ve Been to the Empty Tomb, Hope and Joy Last Forever!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (v. 3)  In typical “Peter fashion,” he jumps right in!  He praises God!  He blesses God!  He does this because God looked upon us poor, dead sinners and he had compassion, mercy, on us.  He gave us a “second shot” at life.  Paul said to the Ephesians, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in transgressions. (Ephesians 2:4-5)  This new birth, this new life, is what we have through faith in Jesus.

Now, everyone is born “into” something.  Some are born into a life of riches and ease.  Some are born into adversity and poverty.  Peter says we are born into a living hope.  Here it’s good to remind ourselves that the Bible idea of hope is different from ours.  When we speak of hope we are usually referring to something we would like to happen but we are not certain it will.  “I hope it doesn’t rain today.”  “Hope” in the Bible means a sure and certain expectation.  To hope something will happen is to be certain it will!  It’s interesting to describe “hope” as living.  Why is our hope “living”?  Because the hope we have comes to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (v. 3)  We are certain something is going to happen because Jesus rose from the dead.  Peter describes our hope.

[It is] an inheritance that is undying, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.  (v. 4)  God gave us new birth.  We are reborn as children of God.  And if we are children of God, we are heirs of God.  Heirs of all the treasures of our Father in heaven!  And this inheritance doesn’t die, spoil, or fade.  My children will inherit my “stuff,”  but it will all eventually come to nothing.  It’ll break or wear out.  Your inheritance is heaven.  It is “kept” for you.  Heaven will never come under attack or be overthrown or come “under new management.”  God is its Protector and Defender.  It will be there when you get there!   And you will get there, for Peter reminds us, Through faith, you are being protected by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time. (v. 5)  God is your Protector and Defender, too!

When you’ve been to Jesus’ empty tomb, this is the hope, the certainty, that lives in us!  A number of years ago there was a movie called “Hope Floats.”  The meaning of the title is that in the darkest times of life, hope will come to the surface.  The only problem is, it doesn’t always.  Sometimes in the midst of grief and pain, people lose hope.  We call the absence of hope “despair.”  In the truest and most sublime sense imaginable, “hope floats” for the Christian!  In every circumstance of life, this truth can bob up and down at the surface, “Jesus lives!  He redeemed you!  He loves you!  He is with you!  Heaven is yours!  Nothing can take that away!”  When you’ve been to the empty tomb, “hope floats”!

Joy dos, too.  Peter writes, Because of this you rejoice very much, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various kinds of trials so that the proven character of your faith – which is more valuable than gold, which passes away even though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. (v. 6-7)  It almost sounds like a contradiction!  Peter says you rejoice very much and you have been grieved!  So which is it?  Do we rejoice or do we grieve?  The answer is both!  We are “rejoicing grievers” and “grieving rejoicers.”  Easter brings joy!  Sin and its many manifestations in this world bring grief!  But the empty tomb trumps everything!  Even the effects of sin must bend to the will of God and serve the good of believers!  The hymn echoes Peter’s words:  “When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, My grace all-sufficient shall be thy supply.  The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design, Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.”  And the resurrection of Jesus assures us, “It’s only a little while!”  All of this – grief, pain, suffering, persecution for Christ, hurt, loss – it’s all a little while.  A new and better day is dawning.  The resurrection of the dead has already begun!  It began 2000 years ago with Jesus.  And it’s coming soon to a cemetery near you!    Rejoice very much!

Peter literally saw the empty tomb and the living Jesus!  And it gave him hope and joy. Through faith we have seen the same empty tomb and the same risen Jesus!  And so the same hope and joy of Peter is our hope and joy!  And so we will let Peter have the last word.  Though you have not seen him, you love him.  Though you do not see him now, yet by believing in him, you are filled with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (v. 8-9) 

Amen.