Hope
Hope in the Old Testament
The Old Testament has no single Hebrew word that exactly corresponds to the English concept of hope as "expectation of good." Instead, about fifteen different Hebrew words convey various aspects of hope, including trust, waiting, confidence, and refuge. The most common are tiqvah ("hope," "expectation") and yachal ("to wait," "to hope"). Despite this linguistic diversity, the reality of hope pervades the Old Testament from beginning to end.
At its core, Old Testament hope is centered in God Himself. The psalmist declares, "For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth" (Psalm 71:5). Jeremiah calls God "the hope of Israel" (Jeremiah 14:8; 17:13). This hope was not abstract optimism but a confident expectation rooted in God's covenant faithfulness, His demonstrated power to deliver, and His promises for the future (Psalm 33:18-22; 130:5-7).
The forms of Old Testament hope were varied: hope for deliverance from enemies, for the restoration of Israel, for the coming of a righteous king, and ultimately for the establishment of God's kingdom of righteousness. The prophets brought this hope to its fullest expression, looking forward to a day when God — in person or through His Messiah — would establish justice and peace for all nations (Isaiah 11:1-10; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Daniel 7:13-14).
Hope in the Teaching of Jesus
Remarkably, the word "hope" rarely appears on the lips of Jesus in the Gospels. This is not because hope was unimportant to Him, but because what others could only hope for, Jesus spoke of with certainty. His central message — the proclamation of the kingdom of God — was delivered not as prediction but as present reality breaking into the world. "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15).
Jesus assured His followers of admission to this kingdom (Luke 12:32), promised eternal life to those who believed in Him (John 6:40), and declared the future resurrection of the dead as established fact (John 11:25-26). He taught that the kingdom was both already present in His ministry (Luke 17:20-21) and awaiting a future consummation when He would return in glory (Matthew 25:31-34). This dual reality — the "already" and the "not yet" — became the foundation of Christian hope.
Hope in the Apostolic Teaching
After Jesus' ascension, the early church lived in the space between promise and fulfillment. The Greek word elpis (hope) and its verb form elpizo appear over eighty times in the New Testament, concentrated especially in Paul's letters. For Paul, hope was not uncertain wishing but a settled confidence rooted in what God had already accomplished in Christ's death and resurrection.
Paul identifies hope as one of the three abiding virtues alongside faith and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). He describes believers as having been "saved in hope" (Romans 8:24) and calls the gospel itself "the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). The resurrection of Jesus is the ground of all Christian hope: "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile" (1 Corinthians 15:17). But because Christ has been raised, believers have "a living hope" (1 Peter 1:3) — hope that is dynamic, active, and transformative.
The Content of Christian Hope
The New Testament specifies what believers hope for with remarkable clarity. Christians hope for the return of Christ (Titus 2:13), the resurrection of the body (1 Corinthians 15:42-44; Philippians 3:20-21), the final defeat of death and evil (1 Corinthians 15:25-26; Revelation 21:4), and the renewal of all creation (Romans 8:19-23). This hope extends beyond individual salvation to encompass the entire cosmos.
The author of Hebrews describes this hope as "a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul" (Hebrews 6:19), connecting it to God's unchangeable character and His oath-confirmed promises. Christian hope is not escapism; it is grounded in historical events (the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus) and guaranteed by the present activity of the Holy Spirit, who is called the "down payment" of the inheritance to come (Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:23).
Hope as a Transforming Power
Biblical hope is never passive. It actively shapes how believers live in the present. Paul writes that hope produces endurance (Romans 5:3-5) and that the hope of resurrection motivates faithful labor (1 Corinthians 15:58). John declares that everyone who has the hope of seeing Christ as He is "purifies himself as he is pure" (1 John 3:2-3). Peter urges believers to "always be prepared to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15).
In a world marked by suffering and uncertainty, biblical hope offers not a guarantee of easy circumstances but the assurance that God's purposes will prevail. The God who raised Jesus from the dead has promised to make all things new (Revelation 21:5), and it is this promise that sustains His people through every trial.
Biblical Context
Hope appears throughout both Testaments. In the Old Testament, it is rooted in God's covenant faithfulness (Psalm 33:18-22; Jeremiah 17:7; Lamentations 3:21-24). In the Gospels, Jesus embodies and proclaims the content of hope through the kingdom of God. In the epistles, Paul develops hope as a theological virtue grounded in Christ's resurrection (Romans 5:1-5; 8:24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:19-22). Peter, John, and Hebrews further elaborate on hope's certainty and transforming power.
Theological Significance
Hope is one of the three cardinal Christian virtues alongside faith and love. It is grounded not in human optimism but in the character of God and the accomplished work of Christ. The resurrection of Jesus is the decisive event that transforms hope from mere wish to confident expectation. Biblical hope encompasses the return of Christ, bodily resurrection, cosmic renewal, and the eternal presence of God with His people. It gives believers endurance in suffering and motivation for holy living.
Historical Background
In the Greco-Roman world, hope was often viewed with suspicion. Greek mythology associated hope with Pandora's box, and Stoic philosophy advocated indifference to future outcomes rather than confident expectation. The Christian concept of hope stood in sharp contrast, rooted in a specific historical event — the resurrection of Jesus — and a personal God who keeps His promises. Early Christians were known for their distinctive hopefulness, especially in the face of persecution and death, which attracted both admiration and curiosity from their pagan neighbors.