Please enjoy this message delivered by Pastor Mark Hudson.
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🔗 http://medicallake.church
#mlcc #church #churchonline
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00:00Last week when we left Jesus, Pilate's words, last words to him were,
00:06Ibas in crucem, you shall go to the cross.
00:11And he did.
00:12So to the cross he willingly goes.
00:17And because of the sickening physical abuse of the flogging, he was unable,
00:22he did not have the strength to carry that heavy cross beam up to Golgotha,
00:26to Calvary, to the place of the skull.
00:27So a man named Simon was conscripted.
00:31He didn't want to do it.
00:32In fact, he objected of doing it, but conscripted to carry that cross beam for Jesus up to the hill of Calvary.
00:40The Bible doesn't record any conversation between the two men, Jesus or Simon.
00:44We don't know if anything happened.
00:46I just wonder, did Jesus say anything to him?
00:50I could imagine he would say, I mean, again, it's on the Bible, but this is the character of Jesus.
00:55I can imagine Jesus said something like, thank you.
01:00I can't do this, but this is the will of the Father.
01:03Thank you for helping me.
01:05I could see him saying that.
01:06I don't know, but I could see that's his character, kindness.
01:10When Jesus came to Golgotha, they gave him wine mixed with myrrh or gall,
01:15which was a narcotic.
01:17The goal was the person that was about to be crucified then could be numbed,
01:21his senses numbed so that they wouldn't feel the excruciating pain.
01:26He refused to drink it.
01:28Why?
01:29He wanted to experience fully our sin that he's going to take upon himself
01:33to the extreme dregs of drinking the wrath of God for us.
01:39He took no narcotic.
01:40He will suffer with a full awareness of the horror that awaits him.
01:47He knows.
01:50After they mercilessly placed his, pierced his hands and his feet in the act of crucifixion,
01:55they divided his garments underneath there.
01:57They cast lots for them according to what David said in Psalm 22.
02:01In fact, if you read Psalm 22, you can see the fulfillment of the cross
02:04all the way throughout that chapter.
02:06In Matthew 27, we'll read this.
02:10Now, from the sixth hour, there was darkness over the land until the ninth hour.
02:14Can you imagine that?
02:15Three hours of darkness.
02:16I mean, darkness, darkness, like stuff that you can't see,
02:20your hand in front of your face, darkness kind of stuff.
02:22I mean, we've seen eclipses before the last matter of minutes,
02:25maybe an hour at the most, but this is a full-on darkness for three hours.
02:30I can imagine the people around there were, especially the superstitious ones,
02:33were wondering what's going on here.
02:36About the ninth hour.
02:40And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out.
02:42Now, he's on the cross with a loud voice saying,
02:46Eli, Eli, lama shabakh thani, which means,
02:51my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
02:55Here the Father and the Son have been forever united together,
02:58one God, one essence for all of eternity.
03:02And the Father, in a sense, God cannot be separated.
03:04In a sense, God, the Father looks away from his Son as he's pouring out his wrath on him.
03:10And Jesus, as the human side of him, he feels alone at this point.
03:15Why have you forsaken me?
03:19In John, we read this,
03:20after this, Jesus knowing that all was now finished.
03:23All what?
03:24The atonement that he came for.
03:27We talked about that.
03:28When we think of the cradle, him coming into the world,
03:31there was always a cross shadowing that cradle.
03:34That was the intention from the beginning.
03:37He was born.
03:38He came into the world.
03:39God came in.
03:39He took on human flesh to become part of the human race
03:43so that he could redeem those that belong to the human race.
03:47Hey, guess what?
03:47If you belong to the human race, you can be redeemed.
03:51That's why he came, to identify with us.
03:55Now, all was finished, said, to fulfill the scriptures,
03:59I thirst.
03:59I can imagine.
04:00I can imagine.
04:01He's lost so much blood at this point.
04:02He's dehydrated.
04:04It's been a long time since he's eaten anything
04:06or drank anything from the night before.
04:08I can imagine the dehydration has set in.
04:10He's thirsty.
04:11Makes sense.
04:12A jar full of sour wine stood there,
04:15so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch
04:18and held it to his mouth.
04:20Interestingly enough, do you know what they painted the blood
04:22on the door lentils on the first Passover?
04:25With hyssop.
04:28With hyssop.
04:30Held it to his mouth, and when Jesus had received the sour wine,
04:33he said, it is finished.
04:36It's actually one word in the Greek,
04:38tautastalai, one word.
04:40It was a word that if you had a debt,
04:42and you needed to pay a debt back,
04:44you had a creditor and a debtor.
04:46You're the debtor.
04:46The creditor has the listing of all that you owe,
04:49and when you make the final payment on there,
04:51they would write over the top of the contract,
04:53tautastalai, paid in full.
04:56So when he cries out, it is finished,
04:58he is saying, it is done.
05:00It never needs to be repeated again.
05:02It is completely finished.
05:04And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
05:09Luke said his last words to us were this.
05:12Then Jesus calling out with a loud voice saying,
05:14Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
05:18And having said this, he breathed his last.
05:23Took him down, wrapped him up.
05:26The Passover was coming quickly.
05:28They placed him in that tomb that has never been used before
05:31and sealed the door shut.
05:36We're going to be in Matthew 28.
05:38I hope you're already there in your Bibles.
05:39Turn on your biblical device.
05:41Open up your Bible, whichever the case may be.
05:42This is the word of God.
05:43We want to look at it together.
05:47So we see here, having made atonement
05:49by the blood of his cross,
05:51Jesus died.
05:52And as he promised on the third day,
05:55he arose, showing himself alive to many witnesses.
05:58Not just one or two, but many witnesses saw him living
06:02after he had died on the cross.
06:06What would have been like to be one of those witnesses that day,
06:08to be the first one at the tomb,
06:10to see the empty tomb and realize he's not there,
06:13he is risen?
06:14That would have been so thrilling and exciting.
06:20But for the disciples, you have to understand,
06:23when the women come today and we see this,
06:25they're not coming to look for a living Jesus.
06:28They're coming to anoint his body,
06:30to honor his body.
06:31They don't even believe he's alive when they show up.
06:34And the men disciples, they're hiding out somewhere.
06:37They're not even showing up at all.
06:38It's the ladies that come to the tomb first.
06:40They think he's dead.
06:43All of their messianic hopes were dashed and gone.
06:50Matthew 28, Matthew records this.
06:52Now, after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week,
06:58which would be Sunday,
07:00Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
07:03Again, they're not looking for the living Jesus.
07:06And behold, there was a great earthquake,
07:08for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven
07:11and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
07:14You can imagine that would be quite amazing.
07:16Just the earthquake itself would get people's attention,
07:19and then you have this dazzling white angel sitting there.
07:22Well, I used it this morning.
07:23I said, it would kind of freak me out,
07:25but I guess that's really not good pulpit language.
07:27Freak me out.
07:28It would terrify me, I guess.
07:31All right?
07:33His appearance was like lightning,
07:35his clothing white as snow.
07:36And for fear of him,
07:37the guards trembled and became like dead men.
07:41But the angel said to the women,
07:43do not be afraid.
07:44It was reasonable.
07:45They were terrified.
07:46For I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
07:50They're looking for the crucified one.
07:51He is not here, for he is risen.
07:54The crucified one is the risen one.
07:57He's risen as he said.
07:59Come, see the place where he lay.
08:02Then go quickly and tell his disciples
08:05that he has risen from the dead,
08:06and behold, he is going before you to Galilee.
08:10There you will see him.
08:12See, I have told you.
08:13You can imagine a lady showing up that day
08:16to finish the preparation for the burial.
08:20It's early Sunday morning at the dawn of the day,
08:23we are told.
08:23Very early in the morning they show up.
08:25And the two women took the first practical opportunity
08:28to come and honor the body of Jesus.
08:31Because remember, there was a Sabbath.
08:33And actually, in Matthew 28.1,
08:36it's a dual.
08:37It's actually a plural form, Sabbaths.
08:39The day after the Passover was the beginning
08:42of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
08:44which was also a Sabbath day.
08:46The beginning of the feast and at the end of the feast.
08:48So it's likely that there may have been
08:50two Sabbaths back to back.
08:51Friday was a Sabbath, and Saturday the normal day.
08:54Or it's possible that both of them fell on the Saturday.
08:56Nevertheless, there were two Sabbaths
08:58that we're talking about here.
09:00So they have to wait until it's over
09:02to come and anoint the body.
09:04So they come to bring spices to properly anoint
09:08the body of Jesus.
09:09And of course, the saying is,
09:11the men on the day of the crucifixion
09:13did such a poor job, the women had to show up
09:15to do it better.
09:16Right?
09:17Right?
09:20Actually, it's because the Sabbath was coming so quickly,
09:23they didn't have time to do his body properly.
09:25They did what they could, and they put him in the tomb.
09:27The Sabbath was coming so fast.
09:30In Mark chapter 16, we read about this anointing.
09:33When the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene,
09:35Mary the mother of James, and Siloam brought spices
09:38so that they may go and anoint him.
09:41Again, they're not looking for a living Jesus.
09:43And very early on the first day of the week,
09:45when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb
09:47to honor the body of Jesus.
09:51Mary Magdalene, of course, is the first one that was mentioned.
09:54You saw that up there, passed already through.
09:55The first one in all the resurrection gospels.
09:57She's the first name that's mentioned.
10:00Mary Magdalene and the other Mary knew
10:01exactly where the tomb was.
10:03See, there's a theory out there
10:04that the ladies got confused.
10:06They didn't really remember
10:08where the true tomb of Jesus was,
10:09so they showed up some other tomb that was open
10:11and there's no body in there.
10:12So they thought that he rose from the dead.
10:14No, they knew exactly where the tomb was at.
10:17Luke tells us they knew exactly where the tomb was at.
10:20So this man went to Pilate and asked,
10:22that's Joseph of Arimathea,
10:23and asked for the body of Jesus.
10:25Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud
10:28and laid him in a tomb cut in stone
10:29where no one had ever been yet laid.
10:32And it was a day of preparation.
10:34The Sabbath was beginning,
10:35so they had to do it quickly.
10:36The women who had come with him from Galilee
10:38followed and saw the tomb
10:40and how his body was laid.
10:42Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.
10:45On the Sabbath,
10:45they rested according to the commandment.
10:47There's no wrong tomb theory going on here.
10:51They knew exactly where the tomb was.
10:52They show up at the tomb
10:53that they had seen him being placed in
10:55just a few days before.
10:59I like how each gospel writer
11:01kind of paints a little bit different picture
11:02of the resurrection,
11:03gives us a little detail.
11:04And none of them contradict each other.
11:06They all complement each other,
11:07but they're just a little different view
11:08from each one of them.
11:11But Matthew was the only one
11:13that mentions an earthquake.
11:14None of the other gospel writers
11:15mentioned an earthquake that took place.
11:17And it's likely there were two earthquakes.
11:19There was one at Jesus' death, we are told,
11:21and there's one here at his resurrection.
11:23So it's either two separate earthquakes
11:25or one earthquake and then a major aftershock.
11:28But nevertheless,
11:29there were two times that the earth shook
11:31at his crucifixion,
11:32at his resurrection.
11:34Matthew 27, here's his crucifixion.
11:37When the centurion and those who were with him,
11:40keeping watch over Jesus,
11:42saw the earthquake and what took place,
11:44they were filled with awe and said,
11:46truly, this was the Son of God.
11:49It got their attention.
11:51I can imagine.
11:52Number one, it's dark for three hours,
11:53and then you got this earthquake.
11:55That's certainly going to get people's attention.
11:57Of course, the appearance of the angel,
12:00the guards become terrified,
12:02and they fall down as dead, it says.
12:04I mean, they literally passed out of fright.
12:07I can't imagine.
12:07That's an extreme fright.
12:08They pass out of fright.
12:11Donald Hagner wrote,
12:13the irony is not to be missed.
12:15The ones assigned to guard the dead
12:17themselves appear dead,
12:19while the dead one has been made alive.
12:21Isn't that great how God does that?
12:23I love that.
12:24Here's these people that pass out like they're dead,
12:26but the dead one who they thought were dead
12:28is alive forevermore.
12:30So the angel said,
12:31don't be afraid,
12:32which is reasonable.
12:33If I saw an angel,
12:34I'd be terrified too.
12:35Don't be afraid.
12:36Go and tell his disciples.
12:38And then remember he said,
12:39he's going to meet you in Galilee.
12:40So go to Galilee.
12:41That's where he's going to meet you there.
12:44Jesus had repeatedly told his disciples,
12:46he's going to go to Jerusalem.
12:48He's going to die.
12:49He's going to be buried.
12:50And on the third day,
12:51rise again.
12:51But you know,
12:52they didn't get it.
12:53Maybe we would be like them.
12:55We wouldn't have gotten it either.
12:56He kept telling them over and over again.
12:58If they would have got that,
12:59they would have been waiting in front of the tomb
13:01on the third day,
13:03waiting for him to come out.
13:04But they didn't believe.
13:08Matthew 20,
13:09early on before the crucifixion.
13:11See,
13:11we're going up to Jerusalem
13:12and the son of man will be delivered over
13:14to the chief priests and scribes
13:16and they will condemn him to death.
13:18Now,
13:19if you know the crucifixion story
13:21and everything that took place,
13:22you would see that this is exactly
13:24what happened right here.
13:26And the son of man will be delivered over
13:27to the chief priests and scribes
13:29and they will condemn him to death
13:30and deliver him over to the Gentiles,
13:33Pontius Pilate,
13:33the Romans,
13:34to be mocked and flogged and crucified.
13:37He will be raised on the third day.
13:39They still don't believe it at this point.
13:41They're not there waiting for him.
13:43They don't believe it.
13:43Even the ladies didn't believe it at this point.
13:47When he came out of the tomb,
13:49no one saw him come out of the tomb.
13:51No one saw him come out of the tomb.
13:54It's a divine passive.
13:56It says he has been raised.
13:59The father raised the son from the dead.
14:02The father brought him out of the tomb.
14:03And as we know,
14:04the body of Jesus does not need
14:06a stone rolled away to get out of the tomb.
14:09He passes through doors that are locked.
14:12He doesn't need the stone rolled.
14:13Why is the stone rolled away?
14:14So you and I can look into that tomb
14:16and say it's empty.
14:18We can see that it's empty.
14:21Acts 13.
14:23When they had carried out all that was written of him,
14:25they took him down from the tree
14:26and laid him in a tomb.
14:28But God raised him from the dead.
14:30God raised Jesus from the dead.
14:33That is the only explanation for the empty tomb.
14:35Oh, I know later on we're going to see this anti-gospel
14:38that these soldiers are going to proclaim
14:40as a theory for the empty tomb.
14:42But there is no.
14:43There is no explanation for the empty tomb
14:45other than the father raised him from the dead.
14:49That great preacher Charles Spurgeon said,
14:52They thought they had vanquished him.
14:55They deemed that the crucified was overcome.
14:58Grimly did they smile as they saw his motionless body
15:01wrapped in the winding sheet
15:03and put away in Joseph's new tomb.
15:07But their joy was fleeting.
15:09Their boastings were but brief.
15:12For at the pointed moment,
15:13he who could not see corruption
15:15rose and came forth from the beneath their power.
15:18His heel was bruised by the old serpent
15:21but on the resurrection morning
15:23he crushed the dragon's head.
15:26Amen and amen.
15:28The promise made to Adam and Eve
15:30when they were kicked out of the garden
15:31that one was going to come and do exactly that.
15:35So the women are invited to come into the tomb
15:38and to look, to see that he is not there.
15:41He has risen just as he said.
15:43Don Emot reminds us that the pyramids of Egypt
15:46are famous because they contain
15:48the mummified bodies of ancient Egyptian kings.
15:52Westminster Abbey in London is renowned
15:54because it rests the bodies of English nobles and notables.
15:58Muhammad's tomb is noted for the stone coffin
16:00and the bones it contains.
16:03Arlington Cemetery in Washington, D.C.
16:05is revered for it is the honored resting place
16:07of many outstanding Americans.
16:10The garden tomb of Jesus is famous
16:12because it is empty.
16:14It is empty.
16:17He is not there.
16:19So I invite you sitting here
16:21and you at home watching,
16:22I invite you to look into the empty tomb today.
16:26Why is it empty?
16:27How did it become empty?
16:29What does it mean that he's no longer dead?
16:31How does that work in my life?
16:33I come, I invite you to come to the empty tomb
16:36and to look, to see.
16:39Notice that when the ladies were invited to come and look,
16:42they were quickly told to go and tell.
16:43Did you see that?
16:45Come and see, go and tell.
16:47Come and see, go and tell.
16:48So go quickly and tell.
16:50This became the message of the apostles and the early church
16:53is go and tell what you have seen
16:56and what you have heard and what you've experienced,
16:58what you have seen with your eyes,
17:00what you've handled with your hands.
17:01Come and see and then go and tell.
17:04That is the message of the early church.
17:06And it continues on.
17:08In fact, even at the end of this chapter,
17:09he gives us that commission
17:10to go out and go and tell other people.
17:13There's a song out there by Cain,
17:15the music group Cain called Commission,
17:17that kind of wraps up this idea of come and see
17:21and go and tell.
17:23And the lyrics go something like this.
17:25No, exactly like this.
17:26See my hands and look at my feet.
17:32It's okay if it's hard to believe.
17:35I have faith that you will do greater things.
17:38It's my time to go,
17:40but before I leave,
17:42go tell the world about me.
17:44I was dead, but now I live.
17:47I gotta go now away for a little while,
17:50but goodbye is not the end.
17:53Don't forget the things that I taught you.
17:55I've conquered death and I hold the keys.
17:58Where I go, you will go to someday,
18:01but there's much to do here before you leave.
18:04So go and tell the world about me.
18:07I was dead, but now I live.
18:10I've gotta go now for a little while,
18:13but goodbye is not the end.
18:16Because he's coming back for us.
18:18He's coming back to take us to himself,
18:20that we get to be where he is.
18:22It's not the end of the journey, they say.
18:26It's not the end of the road.
18:27My spirit is with you wherever you go.
18:29You have a purpose and I have a plan.
18:31I'll make you this promise.
18:33I'll come back again.
18:34But until then,
18:36go and tell the world about me.
18:39For I was dead, yet now I live.
18:42I gotta go now away for a little while,
18:45but goodbye is not the end.
18:48One thing great about the German language
18:49is when we say Auf Wiedersehen,
18:51it doesn't mean that we will never see each other again.
18:54Auf Wiedersehen says until we see each other again.
18:57So when we say goodbye, it's not the end
18:59because we get to see him someday again
19:01and go and tell the world about him.
19:06So the disciples now are asked to go back to Galilee
19:09as he instructed them earlier to do.
19:12When I am risen, go to Galilee.
19:14He said that in Matthew 26.
19:16But after I am raised up,
19:18I will go before you to Galilee.
19:20And he wanted them to meet him in Galilee
19:21just as he had promised them.
19:23Somehow Jesus knew all of this stuff
19:25was going to take place.
19:27We have to reckon with that.
19:29If you say out there,
19:29say I'm not quite sure he really rose from the dead
19:31and I haven't really believed this gospel message yet.
19:34How do you explain all of these things
19:36that he knew ahead of time?
19:38He told us exactly what was going to happen to him.
19:42So the women now are obedient.
19:44They depart quickly.
19:45Look at verse number eight.
19:47So they departed quickly from the tomb
19:50with fear and great joy.
19:51Isn't that interesting?
19:52These two emotions mixed together,
19:53fear and great joy.
19:55They don't seem like they would go together.
19:57Fear and great joy.
19:59And ran to tell his disciples.
20:01And behold, Jesus met them and said,
20:03greetings.
20:04Actually, the word is grace.
20:06It's a greeting in Greek,
20:08but it means grace.
20:09Grace to you.
20:10Grace.
20:10Greetings.
20:10And they came up and took hold of his feet
20:13and worshiped him.
20:15Then Jesus said to them,
20:17do not be afraid.
20:18Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee
20:20and there they will see me.
20:23So notice these two emotions,
20:26fear and great joy.
20:27It's really interesting how they're mingled together.
20:31They were go tell the disciples
20:32that he is going to go before them into Galilee.
20:35Go there.
20:35Go tell them.
20:36The reality of the resurrection
20:39has been confirmed to the women
20:40by the appearance of the risen Jesus.
20:43It's one thing to have an open tomb
20:44and not see any body,
20:46but now the one who was dead
20:48is standing in front of you
20:49and you actually see him
20:50and you grab a hold of his feet.
20:52That just confirms what you know
20:53what the angel just said is true.
20:56He wasn't some spirit that rose from the grave.
20:59He had a body.
21:00He physically, his physical body was raised.
21:03They grabbed him.
21:04You can't grab a spirit.
21:05They grabbed his feet.
21:07And the only appropriate response
21:10the women could give was worship.
21:13What can you do when you see the risen one,
21:15the one you know who was dead?
21:17These women were at the crucifixion.
21:20They saw him die.
21:22They saw him being placed in the tomb
21:23and now he's alive?
21:25What other appropriate response would be
21:27other than to worship him?
21:30So I invite all of you today
21:32who name the name of Jesus Christ
21:34to worship him.
21:37It is the only reasonable response
21:39to the resurrection.
21:42These women,
21:43they were eyewitnesses to the resurrection.
21:45But you have to understand
21:47in those days,
21:48the testimony of women meant nothing.
21:50Meant nothing.
21:51Couldn't even testify in a court of law.
21:53The woman's voice had no testimony power whatsoever.
21:55Yet God chooses women
21:58to be the first one
21:59to see the risen Savior.
22:01To be the first witnesses
22:02of the resurrection.
22:04If the story was a made-up story,
22:06they would have chosen male witnesses.
22:08They wouldn't have never chosen
22:09female witnesses to see this.
22:12Barney Kazin,
22:13who is a believing Jew,
22:14he wrote this,
22:14one reason that the gender
22:16of the witnesses
22:17is so striking
22:18is that a person seeking
22:20to write the strongest
22:21and most convincing account
22:22of such an important event
22:24would probably not relish
22:26inclusion of this detail,
22:28women.
22:29If, for example,
22:30the account was fabricated,
22:32Jewish elders
22:32or yeshuvah rabbis
22:34would almost certainly
22:35have been reported
22:35as the first witnesses.
22:38Yet it was the women
22:39who came to honor him
22:40and their honor,
22:42their devotion,
22:42was rewarded by seeing him.
22:45And they're the first ones.
22:48And it produced within them
22:49such great joy
22:50that the women ran
22:51to tell the disciples.
22:53They ran.
22:54They just didn't meander along
22:55and say,
22:55oh, look,
22:56there's a pretty flower.
22:57Oh, no,
22:57they ran to tell the disciples.
23:01They had such great joy
23:02to tell them this news.
23:03They couldn't wait to tell him.
23:05They just couldn't wait
23:06to get it out.
23:06He's alive.
23:07He's alive.
23:08Go to Galilee
23:08where he said he's going to meet you.
23:09They couldn't wait to tell him.
23:11It reminds me of a story
23:12that Dr. David Lindigan wrote.
23:14It was a Saturday
23:15before Easter,
23:17Resurrection Sunday.
23:18And Joanne Hitch
23:20of Woodland Hills, California
23:21was sitting at the table
23:22with her three-year-old son,
23:24Dan,
23:25and her two-year-old daughter,
23:26Debbie.
23:27And they were putting,
23:27you know,
23:28they're doing the eggs.
23:30Making the eggs.
23:31Coloring the eggs.
23:32So she told the kids
23:33about the Easter mornings
23:34like we did this morning.
23:36He has risen.
23:36He has risen indeed.
23:37So she told them about that,
23:39all about that.
23:39And they were all excited
23:40about that.
23:41And so the children
23:43planned to surprise their dad
23:44who was a pastor,
23:45by the way,
23:45Presbyterian pastor,
23:47with the greeting.
23:48He has risen.
23:49He has risen indeed.
23:50As soon as he woke up,
23:51they couldn't wait to tell him.
23:52So they're up early.
23:53They're waiting for their dad
23:54to get up.
23:55And so all of a sudden
23:56they hear their dad
23:57rummaging around in the bedroom.
23:58So the little Dan
23:59runs as fast as he can
24:00to tell his dad.
24:02He gets into the bedroom.
24:03He dashed down the hall.
24:04He shouts the good news.
24:05Daddy,
24:06Daddy,
24:06Daddy,
24:07God's back.
24:08I love it.
24:11A little child,
24:11he gets it.
24:12God's back.
24:14He's here.
24:15He's no longer dead.
24:18I like this.
24:20Do you notice what Jesus said
24:21to the ones
24:22who had just abandoned him
24:24a few days earlier?
24:26Who wouldn't even go to the cross?
24:28John's the only one at the cross.
24:29All the other men are hiding.
24:31They're hiding for fear of the Jews.
24:33So here's the ones
24:34who abandoned him
24:35in his greatest hour of need.
24:37What does he call them
24:38in the text?
24:40Brothers.
24:43He's not ashamed
24:44to call them brothers.
24:47He forgives them.
24:50That's amazing.
24:52Not just the disciples,
24:54but go tell my brothers
24:55that he's alive.
24:58So they ran into the city,
25:00which gives us a clue,
25:02reminds us that Jesus
25:03was crucified
25:04outside of the city walls.
25:06When we were in Israel,
25:08we saw a location
25:09that could have been
25:10the place of Golgotha.
25:11It matches.
25:12It was outside the city wall
25:13close to an old main road.
25:15So it could have very well
25:16been the place,
25:17but he was crucified
25:18outside of the city walls.
25:20The writer of Hebrews
25:21tells us this.
25:22So Jesus also suffered
25:23outside the gate
25:24in order to sanctify
25:26the people
25:26through his own blood.
25:28Now we have an issue
25:32with the soldiers.
25:34We have to understand
25:34in those days,
25:35violating graves
25:36was a serious offense.
25:37I'm sure it is today.
25:38You can get in some serious trouble
25:39violating a grave,
25:40but it could be a death penalty
25:41in those days.
25:42So now we have a situation
25:44with the soldiers.
25:46Look with me
25:46in verse number 11.
25:50While they were going,
25:52that's why the ladies
25:52were going,
25:53behold,
25:54some of the guard
25:55went into the city
25:56and told the chief priests
25:57all that had taken place.
25:59Well, at least
26:00all that they have seen
26:01taken place, right?
26:02And when they had assembled
26:04with the elders
26:04and taken counsel,
26:06okay, what are we going to do?
26:09They gave a sufficient sum
26:10of money to the soldiers
26:11and said,
26:13tell people.
26:14His disciples came by night
26:16and stole him away
26:17while we were asleep.
26:18Now, could you imagine
26:19a guard giving that report
26:21to a superior?
26:22Eh, it doesn't sound
26:23like a very healthy thing to do
26:25if you want to keep your head
26:26on your shoulders, right?
26:29Tell people,
26:30his disciples came by night
26:32and stole them away
26:32while we were asleep.
26:34And if this comes
26:35to the governor's ears,
26:36if Pilate finds out about it,
26:38we will satisfy him
26:39and keep you out of trouble.
26:40So somehow they'll make it
26:42that they're not in trouble.
26:43So they took the money
26:45and did as they were directed
26:46and the story has been spread
26:48among the Jews
26:50to this day,
26:51to the writing
26:51of the book of Matthew.
26:52They still talk about it.
26:53I find it interesting
26:56that the text says
26:57that some of the guards
26:59went to the chief priest.
27:00Not all of them.
27:02Some of them.
27:03Now, what happened
27:04to the other ones?
27:05I'm not sure.
27:05Did they believe?
27:06I don't know.
27:07Stuff like that,
27:08that happens.
27:09Get your attention.
27:11So some of them go
27:12and report.
27:13Some of them don't.
27:16And the guards trembled,
27:17we are told.
27:18The earth shook.
27:19It's the same word
27:20that we get the word
27:20earthquake from.
27:22Earthquake.
27:23Ground shook.
27:24Earthquake.
27:24It's the same word.
27:25They trembled.
27:25They shook.
27:26It's the exact same word
27:26from the word earthquake.
27:27That's how terrifying it was.
27:29It shook them
27:29to the core of their beings.
27:33And they claim,
27:34yeah,
27:34we saw all that was taking place.
27:36And I'm thinking,
27:37you're a bunch of liars
27:38to begin with.
27:39You're dead on the ground.
27:41How can you possibly
27:42see what's going on?
27:43You can't possibly
27:44know what happened.
27:46But they reported
27:46all that they had seen.
27:47Well, no,
27:48they didn't see very much.
27:50They saw,
27:51they heard the stone
27:52rolled away.
27:52They felt the earthquake.
27:54They saw the dazzling
27:55of the angel.
27:55And then it says
27:56they passed out
27:57like they were dead.
27:58They didn't see the rest.
28:02Yet,
28:02just that amount
28:03of information
28:04would have been enough
28:05for the Jewish religious
28:06leaders to change
28:08their opinion
28:08of what was going on.
28:11Didn't matter to them.
28:13See,
28:14once a person
28:14has their mind made up,
28:15it's very hard,
28:16it's very hard
28:17to change them.
28:17Don't confuse me
28:18with the facts.
28:19I got my mind
28:20made up already.
28:21This should have been
28:22enough information
28:23for them to change
28:23everything that they
28:24believed about this situation.
28:27In fact,
28:27even Jesus said something
28:28about someone rising
28:29from the dead.
28:30They wouldn't even
28:30believe that.
28:31In Luke 16,
28:32he said to him,
28:34if they do not hear
28:35Moses and the prophets,
28:36neither will they be convinced
28:37if someone should rise
28:39from the dead.
28:39Hey,
28:39don't confuse me
28:40with the facts.
28:41My mind's already made up.
28:43And there may be
28:43some here today
28:44that said,
28:44no,
28:44I don't think
28:45Jesus rose from the dead.
28:46And I'm giving you
28:47some factual information.
28:48You say,
28:49well,
28:49you know,
28:49I don't confuse me
28:50with the facts.
28:51My minds are already
28:51made up.
28:53Facts are
28:54pesty little things.
28:57They're true.
28:58They're facts.
29:00You got to do something
29:01with this information.
29:04It's the same
29:05with so many people today.
29:06They receive undeniable facts
29:08about the resurrection,
29:09yet they still
29:10will not believe
29:11because their minds
29:12are already made up.
29:14Remember Josh McDowell?
29:15He went and wrote a book
29:15to try to disprove
29:16the resurrection
29:17and what does he do
29:18at the end?
29:18God saves him
29:19and he proves
29:20the resurrection.
29:23The Jewish authorities
29:24now bribe the guards
29:26with such a large sum
29:27of money,
29:27a sufficient sum
29:28is what the text says.
29:29It just means
29:29a lot of money.
29:30They can live out
29:31the rest of their days,
29:32probably go buy
29:33a villa somewhere
29:33and live out.
29:34They just made
29:35a lot of money
29:35off this.
29:37But think about
29:38the irony here.
29:40The very thing
29:40that the Jewish
29:41religious leaders
29:42had hoped to prevent,
29:43the stealing of the body
29:45of Jesus
29:45by his disciples
29:46becomes the story
29:47they invent
29:48to tell people.
29:50That's the whole thing
29:51you didn't want
29:52someone to come
29:53and steal his body
29:54so that there would be
29:55a worse situation
29:56after this.
29:57Now this is the story
29:58you're going to tell
29:58that someone come
29:59and stole the body?
30:01It doesn't make any sense.
30:07And if the guards
30:08had been sleeping,
30:09how would they have known
30:11that the disciples
30:12stole the body?
30:14If that's the story,
30:16tell everyone
30:16you were asleep
30:17but the disciples
30:19how would you know
30:20the disciples
30:20stole the body?
30:22You're asleep.
30:25It doesn't make any sense.
30:27Didn't you hear the,
30:28feel the earthquake
30:29or hear this large stone
30:31with stone on stone
30:32being rolled away?
30:33You missed all that?
30:34You were asleep
30:35in all that?
30:36How could you possibly
30:36know what happened?
30:40The Jewish authorities
30:41guarantee,
30:42listen,
30:42we won't complain to Pilate.
30:43Your head's okay.
30:45It's not going to be
30:45removed from your shoulder.
30:46You'll be all right.
30:47We'll settle it.
30:49Pilate's probably
30:49not going to care anyway.
30:50What does he care?
30:51Some Jewish rabbi
30:52that claims to be alive.
30:54He doesn't care
30:54about this stuff.
30:57So the soldiers
30:58were told
30:58to preach
30:59an anti-gospel message.
31:02A contrary gospel message.
31:04Another gospel message.
31:05Oh, good news
31:07to the Jewish religious leaders.
31:08You were right.
31:09His disciples
31:09stole the body.
31:12I wonder,
31:13did any of the soldiers
31:15lay awake at night
31:16and think,
31:16man,
31:17I know this is a lie.
31:19I know it's not true.
31:21I mean,
31:21I saw it.
31:23Did they,
31:24did it plague their souls?
31:30Today,
31:30you can believe
31:31the lie of those
31:32who want to hide the truth
31:34or you can believe
31:34the message
31:35of the truth
31:36of the truth
31:36you heard today
31:36from the eyewitnesses
31:38that saw it happen.
31:39It's your choice.
31:40You can choose.
31:44The guards
31:44knew it was a lie.
31:46They knew it was a lie.
31:47How it must have
31:48weighed on their souls
31:49unless their souls
31:50were so,
31:50their conscience
31:51so far seared
31:52that it didn't matter
31:53to them anymore.
31:54They knew
31:54they were lying.
31:57The thing is,
31:58people still believe
31:59the lie today.
32:01Ah,
32:01he didn't really
32:02rise from the dead.
32:03Ah,
32:03they just made it up.
32:04Yeah,
32:05that's,
32:05really?
32:09Even when Matthew
32:10wrote his gospel,
32:11years later,
32:12they're still talking about
32:13that's what the Jews
32:14believed,
32:14the disciples
32:15stole his body.
32:18Two messages
32:19were proclaimed this day.
32:20Number one is,
32:21Jesus is risen
32:22just like he said
32:23he would.
32:24Or two,
32:25the disciples
32:27stole his body away.
32:28Those are the two
32:29messages that day.
32:30Those two.
32:32And for the religious
32:33leaders,
32:34the truth is harder
32:35for a person to believe
32:36than the lie
32:36and many today
32:38still swallow that lie.
32:42So I invite you today,
32:43all of us,
32:44whether you're a believer
32:45or someone that says
32:46I'm not quite sure
32:47I'm a believer,
32:48I haven't really trusted
32:49Jesus Christ,
32:49I'm not trusting him
32:50alone for my salvation,
32:52I don't,
32:52I don't,
32:53I don't understand
32:53this whole thing
32:54of him taking my sin
32:55upon himself
32:56and dying in my place,
32:57I don't get all of that.
32:59But I invite you
33:01and us
33:01to go and take a look
33:02at the empty tomb.
33:05And then I need
33:05for you to explain it
33:06to me,
33:06what happened?
33:09Are we going to believe
33:10the eyewitnesses
33:11who saw it
33:11or are we going to believe
33:12the ones that we know
33:13are liars?
33:17When the father
33:18raised Jesus
33:19from the dead,
33:19it was the confirmation
33:20that this was his son
33:22who accomplished
33:23all God's plan
33:25in this world
33:25for our salvation
33:27and he raised him
33:28from the dead
33:28to confirm it
33:29to us.
33:32And Jesus
33:33destroyed the one
33:35who had the power
33:36of death,
33:36that is the devil,
33:37and he delivered
33:38all who believe
33:40from the fear
33:40of death.
33:43The writer of Hebrews
33:44says this,
33:45since therefore
33:46the children share
33:47in flesh and blood,
33:48he himself
33:49likewise partook
33:50of the same,
33:51that's Jesus,
33:51he became human,
33:53God became human,
33:54that through death
33:55he might destroy
33:56the one
33:57who has the power
33:57of death,
33:58that is the devil,
33:59and to deliver
34:00all those
34:00who through fear
34:01of death
34:02were subject
34:02to lifelong slavery.
34:06Let me ask you,
34:07do you fear death
34:08today?
34:10Are you enslaved
34:11to this fear
34:12that you do not know
34:13what comes after death?
34:14You're afraid
34:15of death.
34:17I would like
34:17to introduce you
34:18to the one
34:19who has passed
34:20through death
34:21and is alive
34:22forevermore,
34:23that you never
34:24need to fear
34:25death ever again.
34:26If you were to die
34:27in this very moment
34:28right now
34:29because of his work
34:30on the cross
34:31and your salvation,
34:32you would spend
34:33eternity with him
34:34in heaven.
34:35There is no reason
34:36to fear death
34:37ever again.
34:39Are you afraid
34:40of death today?
34:43An anonymous author
34:44wrote,
34:44for mankind
34:45death
34:46had always been
34:47the final word,
34:49the inescapable end.
34:50By achieving
34:51victory over death,
34:53Jesus proved
34:54he was who
34:54he claimed to be.
34:56By demonstrating
34:57his power
34:57over man's
34:58greatest fear,
34:59he showed himself
35:00to be mankind's
35:01greatest friend,
35:03Savior and Lord.
35:05So I invite
35:06all today
35:07who have not
35:08believed,
35:08whether here
35:09this morning
35:10or there
35:10watching us
35:11at home,
35:13will you believe
35:14the eyewitnesses
35:15report of what
35:16happened that day
35:17that he truly
35:18is alive?
35:21Will you believe
35:22with your mouth
35:22that Jesus
35:24is Lord
35:25and will you
35:26confess with your
35:27mouth that he
35:27is Lord
35:28and believe in
35:28your heart
35:29that God
35:29raised him
35:30from the dead?
35:30If you do,
35:31God says you
35:32will be safe
35:32today.
35:36Don't put it
35:37off.
35:38Please,
35:38don't put it
35:39off.
35:41He has come
35:42to redeem us.
35:43That's why he
35:43came.
35:44He came to
35:44redeem us.
35:47So believers,
35:48I want to talk
35:48to us now
35:48for a second.
35:50They are told
35:51to come and
35:51see and go
35:53and tell.
35:55That's the
35:56message on our
35:56lips, isn't it?
35:58Come and see,
35:58go and tell.
35:59We don't have
35:59to be pastors
36:00to do this.
36:01You don't even
36:01have to go to
36:01theological school
36:02to do this.
36:03You know the
36:04message.
36:05Come and see,
36:06go and tell.
36:07It's what he's
36:08asked us to do.
36:10And I invite
36:11all of us today
36:12who know Jesus
36:13as our Savior
36:14to the only
36:15appropriate
36:16response to
36:17the resurrection
36:18and that is
36:19worship.
36:21Worship him.
36:24Every time we
36:25gather together
36:26on a Sunday
36:26to worship
36:27the Lord,
36:28it gives
36:28testimony
36:29that we
36:30truly believe
36:31he has raised
36:32from the dead
36:33and he is
36:34alive forevermore.
36:36He is
36:37risen.
36:40Father,
36:41thank you.
36:41we thank you
36:43that we have
36:44here eyewitnesses
36:45that saw
36:46what happened
36:47that could
36:47report back
36:48to us.
36:49This is not
36:50some tale
36:51that was made
36:51up.
36:52Oh, the soldiers,
36:52they tried to
36:53spin a tale
36:54to spin a lie.
36:55We know it's
36:56not true.
36:57They didn't even
36:58see it.
36:58They were like
36:59dead men on
36:59the ground.
37:01But so many
37:01people, Father,
37:02believe the lie
37:03and I pray for
37:04all that are
37:05listening to me
37:06today.
37:07Do you believe
37:08the eyewitnesses
37:10or do you
37:11believe the
37:12lie of the
37:12soldiers?
37:13And that is
37:13the question,
37:14Father, that
37:15they have to
37:15answer.
37:17So, Father,
37:17I pray that
37:19you would open
37:19up understandings
37:21and that you
37:21would call
37:22people, that
37:22you would pour
37:23out your grace
37:24and mercy upon
37:25us and that
37:26you would
37:26gloriously redeem
37:28people today.
37:29That this would
37:30be the day of
37:31their salvation,
37:32that they would
37:32no longer fear
37:33death any longer
37:34for they have
37:35met the one
37:36who has conquered
37:37death, for
37:38death could not
37:39hold him and
37:41he is alive
37:42forevermore.
37:44Father, thank
37:44you.
37:45We live in
37:46this truth.
37:47We worship
37:48you in this
37:48truth and we
37:50will go and
37:50tell others
37:52about this
37:52truth.
37:53In Jesus'
37:54name, amen.
37:54Amen.
37:55Amen.
37:56Amen.
37:57Amen.
37:58Amen.
37:59Amen.
38:00Amen.
38:01Amen.
38:02Amen.
38:03Amen.
38:04Amen.
38:05Amen.
38:06Amen.
38:07Amen.
38:08Amen.
38:09Amen.
38:10Amen.
38:11Amen.
38:12Amen.
38:13Amen.
38:14Amen.
38:15Amen.
38:16Amen.
38:17Amen.
38:18Amen.
38:19Amen.
38:20Amen.
38:21Amen.
38:22Amen.
38:23Amen.