08/18/2026
Some Of Jesus' Most Hopeful Sayings
~Hiram Kemp
Jesus provides many things for Christians, but above all else, he provides hope. Hope in the Bible is not wishful thinking. Instead, biblical hope is the confident expectation of things that will result based on the trustworthiness of God. Paul literally calls Jesus our hope in his first letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:1). As we read the gospel accounts, we see Jesus raising the dead, eating with sinners, healing the sick, and forgiving sins. All of these activities were designed to point honest observers to the obvious conclusion that Jesus was and is the Son of God (Matthew 11:4-6, 16:13-17).
There will be times in your life when you need to be reminded of the hope that Jesus provides. We should make sure our Bible reading does not become limited to simply drawing out the correct doctrinal propositions or making sure we’ve got all the answers right. The truth is, life is hard. There are broken relationships, health issues, personal temptations and sin struggles, financial hardships, familial stressors, and spiritual valleys that sometimes try to put out our fire and silence our hope. In those times when you’d rather quit than keep going, I hope an article like this will encourage you. It might be helpful to write these passages in the front of your Bible or to memorize these verses and meditate on one of them for a week until you’ve run through the entire list. Here are some of the most hopeful sayings Jesus ever uttered, and we should drink deeply from these words that have literally been strengthening God’s people for almost 2,000 years.
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”(John 11:25-26)
Jesus said these words outside the grave of Lazarus as he spoke with Martha. These words provide hope because they remind us that in Jesus there is no such thing as death. If you are in Christ, he provides abundant life now and will provide eternal life in the future (John 10:10; 1 John 2:25). These words remind us that when we leave this life, we aren’t leaving our loved ones and going into the dark, but instead into the light. If we faithfully trust in Jesus, death can’t harm us; it can only promote us to a greater existence in God’s presence (Philippians 1:21). George Herbert said, “Death used to be an executioner, but the gospel makes him just a gardener.” Tim Keller is right when he says, “Death used to be able to crush us, but now all death can do is plant us in God’s soil, so we become something extraordinary.”1 Job once asked, if a man dies, will he live again? (Job 14:14). The answer from Jesus is a resounding yes! This is hopeful because we are fearful of aging these days and even more fearful of death. We have been deceived into thinking we must be forever young and vibrant, and that we must find unique ways to remain alive at all costs, but Jesus provides the only hopeful way to do both!
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37)
Jesus provides immense hope here as he speaks of those who are drawn to him by the Father and promises to never cast them out. This is a promise of assurance. Too many Christians view themselves as skating on thin ice with God. We wrongly assume that God is out to get us, looking for a reason to kick us out, and itching to be rid of us.
Jesus says if we come to him through the Father, he will not cast us out.
Elsewhere, he promises that no one is able to sn**ch us out of the Father’s hand (John 10:29). This is a hopeful verse because it teaches that one may find himself on the outs with God, but it won’t be because Jesus cast him out. It will be because one chose to turn his back on Jesus and forsake him (2 Timothy 4:10). Jesus is not looking for reasons to condemn us, but instead has provided one ultimate way to save us (Romans 4:25). Dane Ortlund accurately describes Christ this way: “Jesus is infinitely tender. He is the most open and accessible, the most peaceful and accommodating person in the universe. He is the gentlest, least abrasive person you will ever experience. Infinite strength, infinite meekness. Dazzlingly resplendent; endlessly calm.”2 Our lives are filled with hope when we see him as the God who welcomes us in rather than the God trying to kick us out (Matthew 11:28-30)!
“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:11)
Jesus was presented with the woman caught in adultery as the Jews were seeking to trap him. He ran off the accusers using logic and highlighting their own inconsistencies (John 8:1-9). He was left alone with the woman and then told her he did not condemn her, but instead encouraged her to go on and leave her sinful lifestyle behind. Both aspects of this verse are encouraging. No one should mistakenly assume that Jesus will not judge; he will (John 5:22-24, 12:48). But here we see he does not delight in condemning. He could have stoned the woman since he was the only one in the midst without sin (Hebrews 4:15), but he did not. Those words are hopeful, and we should hear him saying them to us: “Neither do I condemn you.” We often want to judge ourselves and are tempted to be too hard on ourselves, but if Jesus is willing to forgive us, we must be willing to forgive ourselves too (1 John 1:7, 1:9). There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). If you are in Christ, condemnation will not be your reality because he has acquitted you of all the charges. He is alive right this moment interceding for you and me (Hebrews 7:26). Someone has said our relationship to salvation and forgiveness can best be described this way:
“When you show up at heaven’s door and the angel on duty asks you why you should be allowed in, you can say, “I can’t give you any good reason why someone like me should be allowed in there. But if you’ll let Jesus know I’m here, he said he’d get me in.”3 (Luke 23:43)
The second part of the phrase is hopeful too: from now on, go sin no more. This means we do not have to be a slave to our past; we can be set free (John 8:31-32; Romans 6:16-18). We can break the hold that bad habits may have on us and live a sanctified life no longer plagued by previous shortcomings (1 John 3:6, 3:9, 5:18). There is no sin we just have to commit. We can leave it behind with the help and assistance of Jesus! He believed this woman could do this. He believed in her. Have you thought about this? You believe in God, but there is a sense in which God also believes in you!
“Do You Want to Be Healed?” (John 5:6)
This is a question, but still no less encouraging. It’s a reminder that he leaves it up to us. The man Jesus spoke to on this occasion had been suffering for thirty-eight years, but rather than assume that he wanted what Jesus was offering, he asked him, and he still asks us. He won’t force us to take his spiritual medicine, but he has it in abundance if we desire it (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13; Revelation 22:17). This is a question to memorize, repeat to ourselves, and rehearse in our minds. Many people claim they want better, but their actions betray their verbal expressions of desiring the life that Jesus provides (John 14:15, 15:14). This statement is hopeful because it reminds us that if we want to be healed, we can be. No matter what we’re facing, no matter how bad things may seem, no matter how deep down we may think we’ve fallen, or how long we’ve struggled with something, the question is simply: do I want to be healed? (Psalm 130:1-7)
This was really the most important question Jesus could ask this man, or anyone really: are we willing to make changes? Are we willing to give up our identity as victims? Are we interested in the life Jesus offers us? If we are, we can have it. He offers it in grace. If we refuse, he won’t force it on us.4 This is sobering because it means as far as spirituality goes, we are as well as we desire to be. Who would be physically sick and refuse medicine? Who would choose sickness over health? Jesus provides hope here by reminding us all that a better, healthier, and more wholesome spiritual life is within our grasp if we are willing to take hold of it.
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)
Jesus promises to supply the sustenance our lives need. He uses metaphors often throughout his earthly ministry to provide ways for listeners to access the deeper truths he was communicating about himself. This verse is hopeful and encouraging because it means if you have Jesus, you lack nothing (Psalm 23:1). He truly supplies all of your needs (Philippians 4:19). The greatest needs the human heart has are spiritual, and Jesus claims to be the bread that will forever eradicate human hunger. You will never have the need to desire anything else or anyone else to complete you if you get Jesus and truly understand what he has done for you and what he means to you (2 Corinthians 3:5). There is no longer a need for thirst because all thirst and desire is satisfied in him (John 4:13-15). This is not just true in a biblical sense but in a whole-life sense. These are hopeful words because they mean you can pour yourself completely into Jesus and not feel like you’re missing out in other areas of life. He will take care of everything you need, and you will never lack the things you must have to survive and thrive as an image bearer of God (Psalm 16:2, 16:11).
Jesus is our Lord and he is also our hope. Jesus’ words were hopeful to his original audience as he spoke in a way the people had never heard before (John 7:46). His words remain hope-filled today as we read and study them and are reminded that no one has the ability to lift us up and bless us like Jesus!
