1 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:05,840 All right, if you want to turn your Bibles to Matthew chapter 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:19,520 28, Matthew chapter 28, we're going to read 1 through 16. 3 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:25,560 So follow along with you. Matthew 28, one through 16. 4 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:32,000 The Bible says in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn 5 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,400 toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and 6 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:38,240 the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 7 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:41,680 And behold, there was a great earthquake. 8 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,280 For the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came 9 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,920 and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 10 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,440 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white 11 00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,400 as snow. And for fear of Him the keepers 12 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:57,560 did shake, and became as dead men. 13 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,320 And the Angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for 14 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:04,720 I know that you seek Jesus, which was crucified. 15 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,160 He is not here, for He has risen as he has said. 16 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,920 Come see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly and 17 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,400 tell his disciples that He has risen from the dead. 18 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,720 And behold, he go with before you into Galilee. 19 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:21,920 There shall you see him. Lo, I have told you. 20 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:26,560 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and 21 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,920 great joy, and did run to bring his disciples word. 22 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,360 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met 23 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:38,440 them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by 24 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:43,160 the feed, and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be 25 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:47,760 not afraid, Go, tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and 26 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,080 there shall they see me. Now when they were going, 27 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,600 behold, some of the watch came into the city, and showed under 28 00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:56,920 the chief priests all the things that were done. 29 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:00,400 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken 30 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:05,200 counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say, 31 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,840 His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. 32 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:11,600 And if this come to the governor's ear, we will persuade 33 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:15,960 him and secure you. So they took the money and did 34 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,720 as they were taught. And this saying is commonly 35 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:21,360 reported among the Jews unto this day. 36 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,240 Then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain 37 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:30,040 where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they 38 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:32,400 worshipped him. But some doubted. 39 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:42,360 We begin our story with the inquiry at the sepulchre. 40 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:46,880 If you're taking notes, we're starting with point #1 the 41 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:51,200 inquiry at the sepulchre. It says in verse one in the end 42 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,400 of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the 43 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:58,440 week came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 44 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:04,400 We know that these ladies were bringing spices, that they were 45 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,200 coming to anoint Jesus body for his burial. 46 00:03:07,200 --> 00:03:11,760 They were expecting to find a tomb with a rock in front of it 47 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,560 and a body inside of it. And that is not what they're 48 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:20,160 going to experience. They're going to experience 49 00:03:20,640 --> 00:03:24,800 something totally different. One commentator says it this 50 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:26,360 way. Oh, this is, I guess I have a 51 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,720 couple pictures of, you know, maybe help you imagine in your 52 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,160 mind what these moments might have looked like. 53 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,960 They were coming early on Sunday morning with spices. 54 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,080 And one commentator said it this way. 55 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,960 They were the first people to come to the empty tomb, the 56 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:50,360 first to learn Jesus was alive, the 1st to see Him alive, and 57 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:53,760 the 1st to tell the good news of His resurrection. 58 00:03:55,280 --> 00:04:02,840 These ladies are the first witnesses, the first mouthpieces 59 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:05,640 of something so great that God had done. 60 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:10,200 So I put it to you this way, finding Jesus starts with what 61 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,360 you already know. They didn't know that he had 62 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:17,800 risen from the dead. They just said, what's the next 63 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,000 right thing to do? I guess we'll go anoint his 64 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:21,680 body. We'll take the spices. 65 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:23,800 Let's go prepare him. Let's be respectful. 66 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,040 He was a great rabbi. I don't understand how he's 67 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:29,040 dead. But we're just going to do the 68 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,240 next right thing. So if you don't know what to do, 69 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:37,640 if you don't fully understand your faith, you can do what you 70 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:42,120 already know to do is right. That usually is enough for us, 71 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:46,000 our conscience and what we know of of the word of God. 72 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,520 We simply just need to do what we know and that's how we find 73 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,680 Jesus is they're going to be able to be blessed by this 74 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,760 experience. Secondly, we find the revealing 75 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:03,520 of the empty tomb, revealing the empty tomb. 76 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,560 As you could imagine, to their surprise they came expecting, 77 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:10,800 they asked, how are we even going to open the tomb when we 78 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:16,160 get there and they show up and they're like, what's going on? 79 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:19,560 Verses 2 to 4 And behold, there was a great earthquake. 80 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:22,280 For the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came 81 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,680 and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. 82 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:28,680 His countenance was like lightning in his raiment, white 83 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:30,760 as snow. And for fear of him the keepers 84 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:33,880 did shake and became as dead men. 85 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:37,080 So there's a bit of a back story here. 86 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,240 We saw this on Friday night. If you go backwards into Matthew 87 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:47,160 chapter 27 and read in starting in verse 62, we see these 88 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:51,640 keepers appear in verse 62. Now the next day that that 89 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:53,880 followed, the day of the preparation, the chief priests 90 00:05:53,880 --> 00:05:58,240 and Pharisees came on together unto Pilate, saying, Sir, we 91 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,400 remember that this deceiver said, while he was yet alive, 92 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:03,560 after three days I will rise again. 93 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:06,880 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the 94 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:10,240 third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him 95 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,360 away, and say unto the people, he is risen from the dead. 96 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,560 So the last error shall be worse than the first. 97 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:19,800 Then in verse 65 it says, Pilate said unto them, You have a 98 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,840 watch, go make your way, Make it as sure as you can. 99 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:29,480 So the, the Pharisees, the, the religious elite that had Jesus 100 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:33,320 crucified, wanted to ensure that nobody was going to mess with 101 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:37,440 the body and, and, and fabricate some story because they all knew 102 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,360 he said he was going to die and rise again. 103 00:06:40,720 --> 00:06:45,200 And now we find in verses 2 to 4 of Matthew 28, these people, 104 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:49,040 they're called keepers. They were protecting this tomb. 105 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:55,040 We find them freaking out. It says as dead men. 106 00:06:55,960 --> 00:07:00,960 In verse 4, it says there was an earthquake, that there was an 107 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:02,800 Angel they were able to see in verse 3. 108 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,560 His countenance was like lightning, his raim and his 109 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:08,040 white as snow. So if you could just imagine the 110 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:11,920 brightest, most terrifying thing that you could ever see in your 111 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,720 life and the natural response, most of the time when people in 112 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,840 the Bible see angels and understand that it's an Angel is 113 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:20,440 that they fall flat on the ground. 114 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,920 They understand I'm in the presence of the supernatural. 115 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:29,200 This is I don't belong here. This is beyond me, and I find it 116 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:31,320 interesting. It says at the end of verse 2 117 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,000 that this Angel sat upon the rock. 118 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,320 This tombstone was open and he's just like, chilling, you know, 119 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:40,800 kicking back on the top of the rock. 120 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,120 Like, OK, I dare you to try to come and move it. 121 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:47,280 I'm here. And they became as dead men. 122 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,120 That's pretty scary stuff to see the supernatural. 123 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:55,800 This is the normal response to the natural man experiencing the 124 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,760 supernatural. But there's a message here we 125 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:05,160 see in verses 5 to 7. This Angel has something to say. 126 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,000 He says. Then the angels answered and 127 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,720 said unto the the woman, The women, fear not ye, for I know 128 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:14,840 that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 129 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:19,240 He is not here, for He is risen as he said, Come see the place 130 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,480 where he lay, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he has 131 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:25,000 risen from the dead. And behold, he goeth before you 132 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,520 into Galilee. There, shall you see him? 133 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:32,600 LO, I have told you so. The angels really are the first 134 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:34,480 ones to proclaim the resurrection. 135 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:39,600 He's not here. This is good news, they said. 136 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,480 This news, this message in verse 5. 137 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,400 Fear not. You don't have to be afraid. 138 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,600 There isn't a great contrast. We'll come back to these 139 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:50,800 soldiers at the end of our story. 140 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:55,040 There's a great contrast between the people basically dead on the 141 00:08:55,040 --> 00:09:00,760 ground and the believing women who were told not to fear. 142 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,000 This is the difference in the lost world and the saved world. 143 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:08,240 Christian people don't have to fear. 144 00:09:09,400 --> 00:09:12,400 The resurrection is for us. It says he was crucified. 145 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,160 He's not here, for he has risen. That is the gospel, the death, 146 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:19,880 burial and resurrection. That is good news that causes 147 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:23,040 us, as read out of Romans 5, not to fear. 148 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:27,320 What was it 55 it said hope maketh not ashamed. 149 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,520 Is that right? If you have hope in the 150 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,600 resurrection, I, I no longer have shame. 151 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:36,200 Jesus's blood has covered my sin. 152 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,440 I am right before God. I'm ransomed by my Father. 153 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:41,480 We sang in the Charity Gale song. 154 00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,040 This is good news. The gospel is good news. 155 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:46,920 And check this out, this good news. 156 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:49,040 You're allowed to do the math. Verse 6. 157 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,200 Come see the place where the Lord lay. 158 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:56,320 See. Christianity is unlike any other 159 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:59,800 cult or religion. You can do the math. 160 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,680 Hey, look, where's Jesus? Is he in the tomb? 161 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:11,520 No. We our faith rests upon an empty 162 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:15,160 tomb with no body in it. There is no burial place. 163 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:17,880 There are no bones. There is no there's no material 164 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,240 of Jesus's body on this planet. If there was, we would have 165 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,440 nothing. We would not have a 166 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:25,800 resurrection. So you can do the math. 167 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:27,840 I think I put it to you that way in your notes. 168 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:29,920 You can do the math on Christianity. 169 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:32,440 If you have questions, if you're skeptical, if you don't 170 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:36,640 understand, it's OK man. If you seek the truth, you will 171 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:41,120 find the truth in Jesus Christ. He says this message to share it 172 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:43,520 with others in verse 7. Go quickly and tell His 173 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:45,280 disciples that He has risen from the dead. 174 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:50,040 This is the first command really to go and spread this to the 175 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:52,640 rest of the world. And that's what we're told as 176 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:54,360 Christians. And Mark 16. 177 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:57,400 Jesus says after his resurrection, his final marching 178 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:01,040 orders go into all the world and preach the gospel. 179 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,200 That is the duty of Christians. And we see that here even in 180 00:11:04,200 --> 00:11:08,560 that first resurrection Sunday in verse 7. 181 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:14,360 It also says he goeth before you, there shall you see him. 182 00:11:15,680 --> 00:11:19,080 And Christians have this hope that we will see Jesus. 183 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:23,000 He's not dead, He is risen, He is alive. 184 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:27,280 We expect to meet with him when we open the Word and commune 185 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:28,880 with him. We expect to meet with him when 186 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,280 we come to church and we're ministered to by his body. 187 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:37,080 But we also have a day when we'll see Him face to face. 188 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:44,440 There is no sting in death. First John chapter 3, the Bible 189 00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:49,040 says when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall 190 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:54,720 see him as he is. We're actually going to get to 191 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:59,680 see him just like was told by this Angel to this people on 192 00:11:59,680 --> 00:12:04,120 this Easter Sunday. Next we see that they meet Jesus 193 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:10,960 in the way in verses 8 through 10 the Bible says. 194 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,600 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and 195 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,080 great joy, and did run to bring his disciples word. 196 00:12:17,880 --> 00:12:21,360 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met 197 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:25,200 them saying, all hail. And they came and held him by 198 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:29,400 the feet and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be 199 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,880 not afraid. Go, tell my brethren that you go 200 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:34,080 into Galilee, and there shall you see me. 201 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:44,160 This is the the drastic change that's made these ladies 202 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:50,480 approached the tomb ready for burial and they leave as it says 203 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,120 here, they departed with great joy. 204 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:57,080 And that is the the change in the gospel. 205 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:02,040 What happens when we believe the gospel is that we now have great 206 00:13:02,600 --> 00:13:06,440 joy and we're going to be able to see Jesus. 207 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:10,840 It says in verse 9, they held him by the feet and worshipped 208 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,640 him. So Can you imagine seeing 209 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:18,240 somebody that was dead for three days be alive again? 210 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,920 That'd be the freakiest, spookiest thing ever. 211 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:25,440 You'd be like, am I tripping? It must have been something in 212 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:27,040 the air. I'm walking around Portland, and 213 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:31,080 I inhaled something. I walk around the city all the 214 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:33,560 time, and I have a lost man's past. 215 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:35,960 And sometimes I catch a whiff and I'm like, whoa, man. 216 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,400 All right, that's all right. I got to shake that one off. 217 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,840 Wow. OK, But this is the right 218 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:45,560 response. I think I put it to you this way 219 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:48,880 in your notes. The right response to seeing 220 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:58,420 Jesus is to worship at his feet. By the way, Jesus does receive 221 00:13:58,420 --> 00:14:00,980 worship here. The cults and false religions 222 00:14:01,260 --> 00:14:04,460 that say Jesus is not a part of the triune God, that he's a 223 00:14:04,460 --> 00:14:07,460 separate being like Mormonism or Jehovah's Witnesses, do not 224 00:14:07,460 --> 00:14:10,500 worship Jesus. They worship the Father and they 225 00:14:10,500 --> 00:14:13,500 say it's wrong to worship Jesus. But here we clearly see Jesus 226 00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:15,940 and we'll see it again receiving worship. 227 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:22,120 He is the Lord. We see in Philippians chapter 2 228 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:27,680 verse starting in verse 9. Wherefore God also hath highly 229 00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:31,560 exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that 230 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:34,800 at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, 231 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,280 things in earth, things under the earth, that every tongue 232 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:40,680 should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the 233 00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:43,440 Father. That is the right response when 234 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:45,560 we see Jesus and understand who He is. 235 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,600 Another example of that, we won't go there, but Revelation 236 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:54,560 chapter 1 and starting in verse 12, you can see John the the guy 237 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,880 that wrote the Book of Revelation, see Jesus and he 238 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:02,440 falls on the ground and just says I'm not worthy. 239 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:06,520 He falls like a dead man. That's the right response, but 240 00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:11,160 that's not everybody's response. The majority of Portland 241 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:15,240 especially is lost. The majority of the world is 242 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:20,160 lost straight as the gate and arrow as the way and there's 243 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:25,680 another group of people that cover up this story. 244 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:28,760 We don't want to hear that. We don't like this. 245 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:30,360 Remember we tried to get rid of this guy. 246 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:33,840 We said crucify him. His blood be upon us and our 247 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:35,080 children. That's what they said. 248 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:41,800 And in verses 11 to 15 we see this, this shady deal. 249 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:45,440 Verse 11. Now when they were they were 250 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,360 going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and showed 251 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,160 under the chief priests all the things that were done. 252 00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:54,080 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken 253 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:57,520 counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, Say 254 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:00,920 ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we 255 00:16:00,920 --> 00:16:02,760 slept. And if this come to the 256 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:05,720 governor's ears, we will persuade him and secure you. 257 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:07,880 So they took the money and did as they were taught. 258 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,320 And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until 259 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:15,000 this day. What we have is a bribe. 260 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:19,520 OK? You experienced a supernatural 261 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:21,240 act. There's no way to deny what 262 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:25,280 happened. And if we understand, based on 263 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:28,560 the Philippian jailer, what would happen to a Roman guard 264 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,480 who failed in his duty is that this would mean the end of their 265 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:34,520 life. So the chief priests say, let's 266 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,280 just develop a conspiracy. We'll pay off the governor. 267 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:40,040 We'll persuade him. We'll pay you. 268 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:43,000 And we're just going to act like none of this ever happened. 269 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,520 That's literally what happened. It's reported unto this day. 270 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:53,920 It says they're still, the Jews still reject the crucifixion, 271 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:57,040 the resurrection. The Muslims also reject the 272 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:58,640 crucifixion and the resurrection. 273 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:08,960 And we see here a group of men experience the supernatural and 274 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,640 reject it. They were on the ground as dead 275 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:13,800 men. There was no denying the 276 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,760 earthquake and the bright light, the empty tomb. 277 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:29,680 But instead they were paid off. In Matthew 16, Jesus says for 278 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:33,000 what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and 279 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:37,200 lose his own soul? What shall a man give in 280 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,400 exchange for his soul? And I would say however much 281 00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:43,560 money that they were given that was in exchange, they chose to 282 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:47,800 deny the truth and receive payment for it. 283 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:53,680 Now I've been thinking about an example in our world today. 284 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:58,520 Can you think of 1? Somebody that's been paid off to 285 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:04,080 propagate a lie? I didn't want to be political or 286 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:05,640 anything. Come up with a modern 1. 287 00:18:05,640 --> 00:18:09,440 So I've got 1 from 1919. How about that? 288 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:19,480 In 1919, at the 1919 World Series, 8 Chicago White Sox 289 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:23,880 baseball players intentionally lost the to the Cincinnati Reds 290 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:27,040 in exchange for a gambling bribe of $100,000. 291 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:30,200 Says it's nearly $1.5 million today. 292 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:35,400 People grew suspicious when the White Sox athletes started to 293 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:39,400 play uncharacteristically bad in the Best of 9 championship 294 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,200 series. A grand jury investigated the 295 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:45,400 scandalous allegations when the crooked players, dubbed the 296 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:49,840 Black Sox for their shady sports conduct, were indicted on 9 297 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:55,360 accounts of conspiracy. They said, I don't know why I 298 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:59,720 did it, Pitcher Eddie Something told the grand jury. 299 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:02,720 I needed the money. I had a wife and kids. 300 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:08,760 No Black. Not for you, Sir. 301 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:09,680 What? No, no. 302 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:11,760 We're just going to be poor. We'll be fine. 303 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:17,720 But that's how it works, he says. 304 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:19,160 I'm not. I don't even know why I did it. 305 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:23,240 My family needed the money. And we all get into these 306 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:28,000 difficult, awkward social settings and we discover, am I 307 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,560 going to compromise? Am I going to believe the truth? 308 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:34,920 Am I going to wholeheartedly follow Jesus? 309 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:37,200 So I put it to you this way in your notes, what is your number? 310 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,280 Is there enough to get you to deny Jesus? 311 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:48,800 What would it take? How much money, fame, pleasure, 312 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:54,560 joy, protection, safety. These Roman soldiers were 313 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:59,600 protected. Now if you. 314 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:03,520 Reject the truth. There is no hope for you. 315 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:06,520 There's no hope of a good life, and there's no hope of an 316 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,800 afterlife. That's that's really a bummer. 317 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:10,960 So let's move on to the next one. 318 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:15,840 All right, Verses 16 and 17, there's a picture of what maybe 319 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:17,600 that looked like. I don't know. 320 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,000 I'd love to do some better storytelling with visuals and 321 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,080 stuff. I'm working on it. 322 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:27,400 But in verses 16 and 17, we see that Jesus meets these two 323 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:29,960 disciples. There's a bit of a pause in the 324 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:34,360 story from verse 15 to verse 16 and verse 16. 325 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,720 Then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain 326 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:41,160 where Jesus had appointed them, and when they saw him, they 327 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:42,640 worshipped him, but some doubted. 328 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:45,960 Now there are other events. If you have to put all four of 329 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,960 the Gospels together to get a complete picture of the 330 00:20:48,960 --> 00:20:52,720 chronology of the resurrection and all of that, Matthew's 331 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:54,440 version is a bit shortened right here. 332 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:59,480 Nevertheless, we see Jesus meet his disciples in Galilee where 333 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:03,440 he told them that he would be with them, and then we see this 334 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:08,040 response. There's two responses. 335 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:14,880 So what will your response to the resurrection be? 336 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:22,520 The first one is in verse 17. When they saw him, they 337 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:27,560 worshipped him. But in verse 17, it goes on to 338 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:32,920 say but some doubted. So even then among the disciples 339 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:35,840 there was doubt. I'm not sure. 340 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,160 I don't know. And certainly what's happening 341 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:44,400 in this moment is a a brief statement to describe Thomas the 342 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:46,480 disciple. Are you familiar with that 343 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:49,120 story? They call him doubting Thomas. 344 00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:51,480 I can relate to that. Obviously. 345 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:54,280 That's my name. But also, I have a skeptical, 346 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:57,240 analytical personality. It takes me a while to believe 347 00:21:57,240 --> 00:21:59,320 things I don't trust. Well, I've really got to figure 348 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:02,080 things out to be able to hang my hat on them. 349 00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:07,640 And if you go over to John's gospel in John chapter 20 in 350 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:09,800 verse 29, let me see if I can flip over there and read a 351 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:14,320 couple more verses from that John chapter 20. 352 00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:30,160 Let's look at this doubt. John chapter 20, verse 24. 353 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:34,400 But Thomas, one of the 12 called Didymus, was not with them when 354 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:37,400 Jesus came. The other disciples therefore 355 00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:39,360 said unto him, We have seen the Lord. 356 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:44,400 But he said unto them, Except I see in his hands the print of 357 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:48,560 nails, and put my finger into the print of nails, and thrust 358 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:50,560 my hand into his side, I will not believe. 359 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:54,000 And after 8 days again his disciples were within, and 360 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,880 Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being 361 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:59,680 shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. 362 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:03,880 Then saith he to Jesus, Check this out, Jesus has Thomas's 363 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:07,680 number. Reach, hit her thy finger. 364 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:11,920 And behold, my hands reach, hit her thy hand, and thrust it into 365 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:13,800 my side. And be not faithless, but 366 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:16,440 believing. And Thomas answered and said 367 00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,800 unto him, My Lord and my God, Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, 368 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:23,560 because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. 369 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:28,080 Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. 370 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:34,320 So this doubt from Thomas, he should have believed the other 371 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:36,080 disciples. He had every reason. 372 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:38,760 He saw Jesus, he saw the miracles. 373 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:40,400 There was a report of an empty tomb. 374 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,320 He still couldn't believe it for himself. 375 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:52,520 And what Jesus says in John 20 and 29 is blessed are they that 376 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:54,640 have not seen and yet believed. That's us. 377 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:58,280 You have not seen the resurrected Christ. 378 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,520 If you have, you might have been doing those psychedelics or 379 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:05,160 something you you did not believe because you saw Jesus in 380 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,720 the flesh. You have faith. 381 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,800 That's what we are all required. If you're looking to see the 382 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:15,360 resurrected Christ, you're going to be waiting a long time. 383 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:20,000 You'll be waiting too long because the Bible says today 384 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,040 that you're by grace. Are you saved through faith? 385 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:27,440 It is impossible to walk with Jesus without faith because he 386 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:31,320 is currently ascended in heaven. We are currently here on the 387 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:34,680 earth. He's not physically manifesting 388 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,800 himself to every person. If you hear of stories about 389 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:39,480 that, there's probably some weird stuff going on. 390 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:45,800 So today, what is your response? Is it worship, singing, Rejoice, 391 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:47,360 man, thank you, Jesus, for the blood. 392 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,600 Or is it still doubt? I still have some questions. 393 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,400 And if you still have questions, it's OK. 394 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,520 Let's do the math. Let's study, let's pray, let's 395 00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,920 seek the truth, let's open our hearts. 396 00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:02,000 We'll work with you on that. That's totally all right. 397 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,000 But I want to give us a moment now to pray. 398 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:08,960 And maybe there's one of these things that you can relate to 399 00:25:10,760 --> 00:25:12,960 the inquiry at the tomb. There's some people that came 400 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:16,920 sad but left rejoicing. Maybe you need to be encouraged. 401 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,000 The message of the Angel is good news. 402 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,240 Maybe we need to be bold to be able to share that with other 403 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:26,680 people. Maybe that response of worship 404 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:31,080 is I just need to surrender some stuff at his feet and say you're 405 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:36,040 the Lord. Maybe there's compromise to say 406 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:40,480 I I do have a number. I would rather have something 407 00:25:40,480 --> 00:25:45,640 else, or maybe you would just have an honest doubt to say. 408 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:47,600 I want to believe, but I don't know how. 409 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,520 I want to give us about 30 seconds for you to pray. 410 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,360 Then I'll lead us in a prayer and we'll have another song. 411 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:56,240 So let's pray.