Resurrection: Hope Rising from Grief and Injustice
Summary
Before the sun had fully risen on that first day of the week, women approached the tomb of Jesus, carrying not only spices but also the weight of their grief. They expected to find death, but instead encountered emptiness—a void that became the birthplace of hope. Their sorrow was not quickly dismissed; it was real, raw, and unresolved. These women, brokenhearted and confused, showed up anyway, their presence a quiet act of resistance against the systems that had executed their teacher. Even when their testimony was dismissed as nonsense, their witness stood as a testament to the power of faith in the midst of despair.
The story of these women echoes through history, resonating with all who have borne witness to suffering and injustice, only to have their voices silenced or ignored. From the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina to those grieving in places of violence and oppression today, the resurrection of Jesus is not distant from our pain but intimately connected to it. God binds Himself to those who grieve, to those whose hope has been buried, and to those whose witness is rejected. The resurrection does not float above suffering; it descends into it, transforming pain into hope.
Today, the tombs are many—places where death, injustice, and indifference seem to reign. Yet, the stone is still rolling. Each act of truth-telling, each moment when love rises where hate has tried to bury it, is a continuation of resurrection. The church is not a building but a people who gather, even in the mud and ruins, to proclaim that life wins, love endures, and justice will rise. We are called to carry our grief in holy defiance, to speak truth even when dismissed, and to hold fast to a hope that is neither cheap nor easy, but rooted in the God who meets us in our emptiness and calls us to rise.
Key Takeaways
- Grief is not an obstacle to resurrection but often its very soil. The women at the tomb did not deny their sorrow; they brought it with them, and in doing so, became the first witnesses to hope. God meets us in our brokenness, not after we have overcome it, but right in the midst of it. Resurrection begins where grief is honestly carried and offered. [00:19]
- Bearing witness in the face of dismissal is a sacred act. The women’s testimony was called an “idle tale,” yet their faithfulness echoes through time. When our voices are silenced or our experiences denied, we stand in a long tradition of witnesses whom God believes, even when the world does not. Our truth-telling is a form of holy protest. [01:25]
- Resurrection is not a denial of suffering but a transformation of it. Jesus’s rising does not erase pain; it descends into it, binding God to those who grieve and whose hope has been buried. The empty tomb is not an escape from reality but a promise that God is present in the very places we expect only death. [02:20]
- The stone is still rolling wherever truth is spoken and love rises. Resurrection is not a one-time event but an ongoing movement—each act of justice, each refusal to let hate have the last word, is a continuation of that first Easter morning. We are invited to participate in this movement, letting hope take root in our lives and communities. [04:10]
- The church is not defined by buildings but by people who embody resurrection hope. Even when sanctuaries are washed away, the gathered community remains, singing and proclaiming life in the midst of loss. Our identity as the church is found in our willingness to rise together, to be the living testimony that Christ is risen and resurrection is not finished with us yet. [05:11]
Youtube Chapters
[00:00] - Welcome
[00:19] - Women Approach the Tomb in Grief
[00:38] - The Weight of Brokenheartedness
[01:09] - Presence as Protest
[01:25] - Testimony Dismissed as Nonsense
[01:41] - Parallels with Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
[01:59] - Resurrection Touches Our Pain
[02:20] - God Binds Himself to the Grieving
[02:35] - Modern Tombs: Injustice and Suffering Today
[03:26] - God Believes the Women
[03:51] - The Stone Still Rolls
[04:10] - Resurrection in Acts of Truth and Love
[04:29] - Church in the Midst of Ruins
[05:11] - The People Are the Church
[05:32] - Proclaiming Hope and Justice
[06:10] - Resurrection Is Not Finished
[06:26] - Closing Prayer
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
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### Bible Reading
- Luke 24:1-12 (The women at the tomb and the resurrection)
- John 20:11-18 (Mary Magdalene encounters the risen Jesus)
- Romans 8:18-25 (Suffering and hope in the midst of creation’s groaning)
---
### Observation Questions
1. In Luke 24:1-12, what did the women bring to the tomb, and what did they find when they arrived?
2. According to the sermon, how did the women respond to the empty tomb and the message they received? [00:19]
3. In John 20:11-18, how does Mary Magdalene react when she realizes Jesus is alive?
4. The sermon mentions that the women’s testimony was dismissed as “nonsense.” Who dismissed it, and how did the women respond? [01:25]
---
### Interpretation Questions
1. The sermon says, “Grief is not an obstacle to resurrection but often its very soil.” What does this mean in the context of the women’s experience at the tomb? [00:38]
2. Why do you think the disciples dismissed the women’s testimony as an “idle tale”? What does this reveal about how society sometimes treats witnesses to suffering? [01:25]
3. The sermon draws a parallel between the women at the tomb and the mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina. What is the significance of this comparison? [01:41]
4. According to Romans 8:18-25, how does hope relate to suffering? How does this connect to the message of resurrection in the sermon?
---
### Application Questions
1. The women showed up at the tomb even though they were grieving and confused. Is there a situation in your life where you feel called to “show up” despite your own pain or uncertainty? What would it look like to do that this week? [00:38]
2. The sermon says, “Bearing witness in the face of dismissal is a sacred act.” Have you ever felt dismissed or ignored when you tried to speak the truth or share your experience? How did you respond, and what might you do differently now? [01:25]
3. The message connects resurrection to modern places of suffering and injustice. Where do you see “tombs” in our world today—places where hope seems buried? How might you participate in “rolling the stone” in those places? [02:35]
4. The church is described as a people, not a building. How can our group or community embody resurrection hope, especially in times of loss or difficulty? [05:11]
5. The sermon challenges us to carry our grief in “holy defiance.” What does “holy defiance” look like in your life? Is there a specific grief or disappointment you need to bring honestly before God? [05:49]
6. The stone is “still rolling” wherever truth is spoken and love rises. Can you think of a recent moment when you saw love or truth overcome hate or despair? How can you be part of that ongoing movement of resurrection? [04:10]
7. The hope described in the sermon is “neither cheap nor easy.” What is one way you can hold fast to hope this week, even if it’s difficult? Who can support you in that? [05:49]
---
Devotional
Day 1: Resurrection Meets Us in Our Grief
The women came to the tomb carrying their grief, expecting only death, but instead encountered the emptiness that signaled resurrection. Their sorrow was not ignored or bypassed; rather, it became the very place where God’s transformative power was revealed. In the midst of heartbreak and confusion, God meets those who mourn, binding Himself to their pain and offering hope that rises from the depths of loss. Resurrection does not float above suffering but descends into it, transforming even the darkest moments into the birthplace of new life. [00:19]
Luke 24:1-6 (ESV)
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”
Reflection: Where in your life are you carrying grief or disappointment, and how might you invite God to meet you in that place today?
Day 2: Bearing Witness Even When Dismissed
The women’s testimony of resurrection was dismissed as an “idle tale,” echoing the experience of many whose voices are silenced or ignored. Yet, God has always believed the women, honoring the courage it takes to speak truth in the face of disbelief and injustice. Bearing witness, especially when it is rejected, is a holy act that aligns us with God’s heart for the marginalized and unheard. [01:25]
Luke 24:10-11 (ESV)
Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
Reflection: Is there a truth you feel called to speak, even if others might dismiss or reject it? What would it look like to share it with courage today?
Day 3: Resurrection Transforms Suffering, It Does Not Deny It
The resurrection does not erase pain or suffering but transforms it, bringing hope where there was only despair. God’s response to the world’s brokenness is not to bypass it but to enter into it, binding Himself to those who grieve and whose hope has been buried. In every place where death and injustice seem to reign, resurrection power is at work, rolling away stones and making space for new life. [03:51]
Romans 8:18 (ESV)
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Reflection: What is one area of suffering or injustice you see around you? How might you look for signs of resurrection hope in that place today?
Day 4: The Church Is the People, Not the Building
Even when the physical church building was destroyed, the gathered people continued to worship and proclaim Christ’s resurrection. The true church is not defined by walls or structures but by the community of believers who embody hope, love, and resilience. When we gather, even in the midst of loss or devastation, we testify that the stone is still rolling and that God’s presence is with us. [05:11]
1 Peter 2:4-5 (ESV)
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Reflection: How can you be the church in your community today, regardless of location or circumstance?
Day 5: Proclaiming Hope and Justice in the Face of Despair
To proclaim resurrection is to declare that life wins, love endures, and justice will rise, even when the world calls it foolishness. This is not a cheap or easy hope, but a profound one rooted in the God who has walked through death and meets us in our struggles. We are called to carry grief in holy defiance, to speak truth, and to hold fast to hope, trusting that resurrection is not finished with us yet. [06:10]
Isaiah 61:1-3 (ESV)
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
Reflection: What is one way you can embody hope or pursue justice today, even if it feels small or goes unnoticed?
Quotes
On the first day of the week, before the sun have fully risen, women carried their grief like spices in trembling hands. They walked toward the tomb expecting death. In saith, they found emptiness. From that emptiness, a message that would ripple across time. He is not there but has risen. But let's not rush past the grief. These women needed a resurrection too. As Reverend William D. Walley reminds us, they were brokenhearted, confused, and their spirits were in turmoil. They were still reading and walking from the events that had taken place several days earlier. Their time with Jesus had ended far too soon. [00:08:09]
and in the most brutal unjust way. This was not the ending they were prepared for. And yet they were there showing up anyway. The presence at the tomb was itself a kind of protest, quiet against the systems that executed their teacher. But they were dismissed when they ran to tell the others what they had seen. The disciples called it an idol tale which sounded like nonsense. Reverend Dr. Jerusa of Maxan Neil draws a line between these women in the tomb and the mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina. [00:58:57]
Women who bore witness to the state sanctioned disappearances of their children during the military dictatorship. Their terimony too was mocked and silenced. Even today, their grief is politicized, their truth denied. Neato says that Jesus's resurrection is permirable, not distant from our pain, but touched by it. And responding to it in Jesus's absence from the tomb, God binds God's self to those who grieve. Those who witness is rejected and those who hope has been buried. This is part of the cost of an in flesh resurrection. [01:04:43]
Jesus's rising doesn't float above our suffering. It descends into it. So where are the tombs today? Where do we walk bearing spices of grief only to find the stone still heavy, still on roll? We see them in the cries of immigrants deported without due process. In families torn apart at borders, in rides rolled back and voices silenced, in the unicing violence in Gaza and the denial of Palestinian humanity. We see them in every place where death is allowed to reign, where through policy, prejudice or indifference. [01:48:16]
And when we dare to speak of justice, we are told our witnesses is an idol tale. But God God has always believed the women. Let me repeat that. Particularly for our males, whether they're part of that group or not, God has always believed the women. God has always believed the women. The resurrection doesn't deny suffering. It transforms it. The stone at Jesus's tomb did not simply roll away 2,000 years ago. and stopped. It is still rolling each time truth is spoken in the face of lies. [03:11:48]
Each time someone arrives at a tomb expecting only death and discovers a spark of life instead, love rises where hate has tried to bury it. That is what resurrection means. Not denying pain but to find hope in the middle of it. A few years ago, a church sanctuary was left in ruins in a small town struck by a devastating flood. The pulpit was split in half and himnos floated down the street. Yet on Easter Sunday, people gathered outside in the mud and sang as you did. [04:07:20]
Christ the Lord is risen today. One woman said, "The church building has been washed away, but the church is still here." Listen to that. One woman said, "The church building has been washed away, but the church is still here." Why? Because you, the people, are the church. Not the building, not the grounds. You the people are the church. That stone had rolled. So today let us proclaim what the world may call foolishness, that life wins, that love endures, that justice will rise, and that Christ is risen indeed. [04:51:56]
May we be like those women carrying greed in a holy defiance. May we tell the truth even if we are not believed. And may we hope fast to hope, not cheap, easy hope, but the profound hope that comes from a God who has walked through death and comes to meet us in the garden. Because the stone is still rolling and resurrection is not finished with us yet. [05:46:32]
These women needed a resurrection too. As Reverend William D. Walley reminds us, they were brokenhearted, confused, and their spirits were in turmoil. They were still reading and walking from the events that had taken place several days earlier. Their time with Jesus had ended far too soon, and in the most brutal unjust way. This was not the ending they were prepared for. And yet they were there showing up anyway. The presence at the tomb was itself a kind of protest, quiet against the systems that executed their teacher. [00:38:31]
But they were dismissed when they ran to tell the others what they had seen. The disciples called it an idol tale which sounded like nonsense. Reverend Dr. Jerusa of Maxan Neil draws a line between these women in the tomb and the mothers of Plaza de Mayo in Argentina. Women who bore witness to the state sanctioned disappearances of their children during the military dictatorship. Their terimony too was mocked and silenced. Even today, their grief is politicized, their truth denied. [00:83:04]
Neato says that Jesus's resurrection is permirable, not distant from our pain, but touched by it. And responding to it in Jesus's absence from the tomb, God binds God's self to those who grieve. Those who witness is rejected and those who hope has been buried. This is part of the cost of an in flesh resurrection. Jesus's rising doesn't float above our suffering. It descends into it. So where are the tombs today? Where do we walk bearing spices of grief only to find the stone still heavy, still on roll? [02:22:92]
We see them in the cries of immigrants deported without due process. In families torn apart at borders, in rides rolled back and voices silenced, in the unicing violence in Gaza and the denial of Palestinian humanity. We see them in every place where death is allowed to reign, where through policy, prejudice or indifference. And when we dare to speak of justice, we are told our witnesses is an idol tale. But God God has always believed the women. Let me repeat that. [02:70:56]
Particularly for our males, whether they're part of that group or not, God has always believed the women. God has always believed the women. The resurrection doesn't deny suffering. It transforms it. The stone at Jesus's tomb did not simply roll away 2,000 years ago. and stopped. It is still rolling each time truth is spoken in the face of lies. Each time someone arrives at a tomb expecting only death and discovers a spark of life instead, love rises where hate has tried to bury it. [03:15:68]
That is what resurrection means. Not denying pain but to find hope in the middle of it. A few years ago, a church sanctuary was left in ruins in a small town struck by a devastating flood. The pulpit was split in half and himnos floated down the street. Yet on Easter Sunday, people gathered outside in the mud and sang as you did. Christ the Lord is risen today. One woman said, "The church building has been washed away, but the church is still here." [04:26:61]
Listen to that. One woman said, "The church building has been washed away, but the church is still here." Why? Because you, the people, are the church. Not the building, not the grounds. You the people are the church. That stone had rolled. So today let us proclaim what the world may call foolishness, that life wins, that love endures, that justice will rise, and that Christ is risen indeed. May we be like those women carrying greed in a holy defiance. [05:09:28]
May we tell the truth even if we are not believed. And may we hope fast to hope, not cheap, easy hope, but the profound hope that comes from a God who has walked through death and comes to meet us in the garden. Because the stone is still rolling and resurrection is not finished with us yet. [05:52:79]
The resurrection doesn't deny suffering. It transforms it. The stone at Jesus's tomb did not simply roll away 2,000 years ago. and stopped. It is still rolling each time truth is spoken in the face of lies. Each time someone arrives at a tomb expecting only death and discovers a spark of life instead, love rises where hate has tried to bury it. That is what resurrection means. Not denying pain but to find hope in the middle of it. [03:31:87]
A few years ago, a church sanctuary was left in ruins in a small town struck by a devastating flood. The pulpit was split in half and himnos floated down the street. Yet on Easter Sunday, people gathered outside in the mud and sang as you did. Christ the Lord is risen today. One woman said, "The church building has been washed away, but the church is still here." Listen to that. [04:27:27]
One woman said, "The church building has been washed away, but the church is still here." Why? Because you, the people, are the church. Not the building, not the grounds. You the people are the church. That stone had rolled. So today let us proclaim what the world may call foolishness, that life wins, that love endures, that justice will rise, and that Christ is risen indeed. May we be like those women carrying greed in a holy defiance. [05:11:63]
May we tell the truth even if we are not believed. And may we hope fast to hope, not cheap, easy hope, but the profound hope that comes from a God who has walked through death and comes to meet us in the garden. Because the stone is still rolling and resurrection is not finished with us yet. [05:15:68]
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