Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter

“Here is a brother facing our great enemy, the last enemy to be destroyed. He faces this enemy armed with insight from the Bible that he’s spent decades harvesting and serving to others. It’s only natural to wonder, in this moment of truth, is he still existentially satisfied? Does the honey taste sweet? This book is Keller’s resounding answer to that question: Yes, sweeter than ever. The cornerstone holds even now. Especially now. And that makes Hope in Times of Fear a precious gift, yet another Great Reversal, through which God brings from deep suffering the life-giving hope we so desperately need, now and always.”

“Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter is more than an Easter book (though it would make a great holiday gift). It is a wide-ranging journey into the practical implications of Christ’s resurrection. This explosive event brought heaven to earth and also the future into the present. Christian hope, then, is not just for the future but from it. And reckoning with this truth just might revolutionize your life. Keller shows how the empty tomb touches on it all: theology and mission, justice and race, relationships and sex, present pain and endless hope.”

“If you were to ask me, “How has the cross changed your life?” I would likely have many answers for you. However, if you were to ask me, “How has the resurrection changed your life?” I would probably respond with awkward silence, because no one has ever asked me that before. Even as I read Romans 4 where Jesus was “raised for our justification”, or 1 Corinthians 15 which proclaims without the resurrection “your faith is futile and you are still in your sins”, I rarely ever think about it outside of Easter. The resurrection proves that Jesus is powerful; that Jesus is worthy; that Jesus is God. But in itself does it really change anything for me today? Tim Keller’s Hope in Times of Fear, puts the resurrection on full display and beautifully draws out the hope that springs from the reality of our Risen Lord. He illustrates the future hopes achieved as well as the present, living hopes realized in our Living God. After each chapter I could not help but think of the words of Thomas, who upon being confronted with the risen and glorified Jesus, could do nothing but proclaim, “My Lord and my God!” In the face of pandemics, violence, disunity and insecurity, “There is nothing the resurrection won’t cure”.”