HOPE
Notes
Transcript
Hope
Hope
Welcome to our Advent Season! It is an exciting time of celebration for the church. Just to give a little bit of background on Advent, it is derived from a Latin word and literally translates to “coming” or arrival. It is believed this celebration began in the church as early as the 4th century AD, which would be around the time Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity.
The celebration of Advent is intended as a celebration of what has occured at Christ’s advent in His birth in Bethlehem and to point toward the fulfillment in Jesus’ second advent at the end of the age.
In it’s practice, Advent usually occurs over 4 or 5 weeks leading up to Christmas where each week represents a different theme.
This year we’re going to be looking at hope, peace, love and joy. Hope is a common theme at advent. It is almost unanimously included in every advent setting. The other aspects of advent tend to fluctuate year to year, but hope is always constant.
When doing a topical study, a good place to begin is with a study of words and a study of familiar passages.
Familiar Passages:
11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Before getting to all of our passages, let’s look at the word hope:
Webster’s Dictionary gives 6 definitions of Hope:
to cherish a desire with anticipation
to trust
to desire with expectation of obtainment
to expect with confidence
trust/reliance (noun)
a desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment
Though these definitions give us some information on “hope”, they hardly give us the perspective and understanding we are looking for.
If we look at “hope” in the Bible, it is difficult to compile a list of words in the Old Testament. Ancient Hebrew has a limited vocabulary, as such many words take on multiple meanings. When translating into English, some of these meanings overlap. There are several Hebrew words that denote the concept of hope. But each of these words also can be used for other English words.
For Example:
Tikvah can mean hope as in expectation, or as in a feeling of fulfillment.
yhl (yeehel) can mean hope, or it can mean to wait
We can see the similarity in these two words, at the same time, they are not the same.
Genesis 8:12 (NASB95)
12 Then he waited yet another seven days, and sent out the dove; but she did not return to him again.
2 Samuel 18:14 (NASB95)
14 Then Joab said, “I will not waste time here with you.” So he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
Psalm 71:14 (NASB95)
14 But as for me, I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more.
Lamentations 3:24 (NASB95)
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”
So how do we make interpretive decisions about words that have multiple meanings or nuances?
Context. We always read/study in context.
Now I want to clarify and caution you.
Word studies are a good thing, but we need to be careful
We cannot simply lift a meaning from one place and just transport it somewhere else. We need to study and consider the context.
Always interpret based off of context - What is the author trying to communicate?
So let’s look at some verses regarding hope in the Old Testament and see if we can begin to understand the contextual markers of “hope”
This is a Psalm of David when He is older
4 Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man, 5 For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.
6 By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother’s womb; My praise is continually of You. 7 I have become a marvel to many, For You are my strong refuge. 8 My mouth is filled with Your praise And with Your glory all day long.
So we can note a few things about hope
4 Rescue me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the grasp of the wrongdoer and ruthless man,
v4 He asks the Lord for something, deliverance
Hope is for something
5 For You are my hope; O Lord God, You are my confidence from my youth.
v5 He states that God is his hope
Hope must be in or looking towards the accomplishment of that something (agency)
6 By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother’s womb; My praise is continually of You. 7 I have become a marvel to many, For You are my strong refuge.
v6-7 He then gives the basis of his hope
Hope is because of something
v8 We see the result of hope
8 My mouth is filled with Your praise And with Your glory all day long.
What do we hope for?
What do we hope in?
What do we base our hope on?
What is the result of our hope?
Let’s turn to another popular passage on hope
10 “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
v10 the something to hope for
to bring you back to this place
v10 something the hope is in
God’s visit and fulfillment of God’s words
v11 the basis of the hope
God and His plans
v12-13 If we keep reading in verses 12 forward we see the result.
12 ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
So we continue to see this 4 fold pattern of hope.
Looking at the New Testament we see a singular root usually used to distinguish hope.
ελπισ - it is most often translated as hope, and sometimes as expecting or expectation. These are more similar in meaning. Yet if we look at the New Testament, we can find the same 4 fold pattern of the Old Testament associated with hope.
8 Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him.
Hoping for: To see a sign performed
Agency: To see Jesus in person
Basis: He has heard
Result: at its reception, he was very glad, prior to its reception he had desire (wanting)
The Road to Emmaus
19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.
21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.
Hoping for: Redemption of Israel
Agency: He/Jesus
19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,
Basis: a prophet might in deed and word
Result: Here our result is compound
hope misunderstood - v17 they are sad
17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.
hope kindled - v22 amazed
22 “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive.
hope restored - v32
32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”
So as we discuss advent, and we look to the coming of the Messiah, we should discuss this 4 fold pattern of hope. Now all 4 elements are not present at every single use of the word hope in Scripture, but they are prevalent enough that I believe it is a valid launching point for our study.
What do we hope for?
What do we hope in?
What do we base our hope on?
What is the result of our hope?
We hope for perfect fellowship with God. We hope to be God’s glory, be His significance in the world. This is the hope of the Lord’s people in both testaments!
You’ll hear this called many different things
A return to garden state
The eternal dominion of the line of David of Judah
The implementation of the Kingdom
We’re going to spend a couple of weeks in January studying this kingdom narrative in Scripture, so I’m not going to go too deep into it now. But as a cursory overview, we see the general trajectory in Genesis 3.24
24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
Sin resulted in the curses on the serpent and the ground, and direct consequences for Adam and Eve. One of the greatest consequences was being driven out of the garden. They could no longer dwell in the holy, perfect, dominion of the Lord. Remember, Adam and Eve had been given dominion/stewardship over this abode by God, and because of their sin they were driven out.
So what is the hope of Adam and Eve? Though we don’t have the word “hope” in the earliest chapters of Genesis, because of our 4 fold pattern we can begin to see it in the narrative.
Genesis 3:15 tells us the agency of their hope:
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
The basis of this is God’s word, God’s creation. The garden that they are stewards over.
If we zoom out a little bit we see the theme continued under a new name of the same motif. It is no longer considered a return to the garden state, but the reinstatement of the kingdom.
Recognize that kingdom and dominion are referential of the same thing. Adam and Eve were given the same charge in the garden, to subdue and rule.
16 “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
And then Jesus comes, the first advent, and prophecy is fulfilled, and our hope is fulfilled.
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus, being perfect, and holy, being God, came in the flesh. He was crucified, died, and was buried, paying the price for the sin to offer salvation, deliverance, restored relationship with God to the world.
14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
And then, as understood by Job, and as was predicted by David, the resurrection!
25 “As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. 26 “Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; 27 Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!
And a new basis of hope is provided, Jesus is resurrected.
1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,
Paul recognizes the resurrection as the basis of hope
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
Peter, in recognition of Christ’s resurrection, quoting the Psalms of David speaks that we are to live in hope:
24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. 25 “For David says of Him, ‘I saw the Lord always in my presence; For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. 26 ‘Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; Moreover my flesh also will live in hope; 27 Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
28 ‘You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’ 29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 “And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.
Jesus, though having been given all authority by God, has not yet reinstituted the garden. He has not fully rendered His kingdom. So though part of our hope has been fulfilled in having restored relationship with God, we still hope for the future. At the end of Paul’s discourse on Christian living (sanctification) in Romans 8 he writes:
23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
He then goes on in Romans 9-11 to outline Israel’s role in the future administration of God, looking to the kingdom, His eternal dominion, His second advent.
Peter once again writes how we are to live in this hope:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
John speaks of this as well:
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Our response is to be pure, to live holy, to strive to live like Jesus
What do we hope for?
Perfected fellowship with God
What do we hope in?
The person of Jesus Christ
What is the basis of our hope?
The first advent of Jesus culminating in His resurrection
What is the result of our hope?
Sanctification
So this hope for the future advent of Christ, the resurrection, the coming kingdom, the return to the garden, has results that take root today. Salvation, justification before God, is through belief. Having a hope in the future is the perspective of one who pursues sanctification. It’s living in intimacy with God today because He is coming soon.
