1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:02,880 Aloha and welcome back to Amen Podcast. 2 00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:07,280 I'm lucky one of your host, and I'm joined by my husband, Alex, 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:11,280 who is preaching about something that hits close to home for a 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:14,360 lot of us. When Jesus was on the cross, the 5 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,880 men were deserting and the women were distant. 6 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,560 And Alex is going to walk us through what it looks like when 7 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:26,160 we pull away from God, what we hide behind, why we go distant, 8 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:31,800 and how He still brings us back. This one is for anyone who's 9 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:35,600 been present in name but far away in heart. 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:41,200 The verses for today are Matthew 27, verses 55 and 56. 11 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:44,520 I'll go ahead and read those, and then Alex will take it from 12 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:54,500 there. There were also many women 13 00:00:54,500 --> 00:00:57,780 there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus 14 00:00:57,780 --> 00:01:01,920 from Galilee, ministering to Him, among whom were Mary 15 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:06,400 Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph, and the 16 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,960 mother of the sons of Zebedee. Amen. 17 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:12,480 Welcome back. We're in our Death of Jesus 18 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:14,600 series and it's been a good time. 19 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,840 And we're looking at verse 55 today and 56. 20 00:01:17,960 --> 00:01:22,040 Verse 55 starts off with saying that there were also many women 21 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:23,880 there. So where are we? 22 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:27,880 We are on Golgotha, or as we it's been called in history, 23 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:29,960 Calvary. This is the death of Jesus. 24 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:35,920 He just yielded up his spirit in verse 50, and we're looking at 25 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,000 all the things that happened directly after he yields up his 26 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:43,000 spirit and he breathes his last. And this is like Part 2 of that, 27 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:44,800 right? So we're in this series that has 28 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,680 many parts, but there's a little Part 2 of the things that 29 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,480 happened directly after he died. Last week we talked about the 30 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:54,040 curtains splitting, the earthquakes and the rocks 31 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:56,560 opening, the tombs opening, all that stuff. 32 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:01,840 But now we look at the women who were present after Jesus died. 33 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:04,320 So they were present there the whole time during this 34 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,039 crucifixion, and it says many women. 35 00:02:08,039 --> 00:02:11,760 We're going to look at at least three women that are mentioned 36 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:13,920 and talked about. But there was a lot of women 37 00:02:13,920 --> 00:02:17,360 there, and that's because they have been following Jesus since 38 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:18,680 the beginning. We'll get into this. 39 00:02:18,920 --> 00:02:24,080 But they accompanied Jesus and the boys and the guys, the 40 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:28,160 apostles, and helped them cook and clean and take care of 41 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:29,960 wherever they were staying at the time as they were doing 42 00:02:29,960 --> 00:02:32,320 ministry. But notice it doesn't say many 43 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,880 men. There was many women, but there 44 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:37,680 wasn't many men. Where are the men? 45 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:42,560 Well, we can see they have deserted Jesus in the garden. 46 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,240 They first left Jesus, deserted him, ran away. 47 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:48,440 We see Peter hanging out a little bit at a distance as 48 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,080 Jesus is being charged in the Gospel account. 49 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:55,240 But the men have deserted Jesus. They are hiding. 50 00:02:55,520 --> 00:03:00,840 And so it is today with men 2000 years later, they're still 51 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:04,160 deserting Jesus. But not only that, if you, not 52 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:07,120 just your, your fault, you don't get this deserting problem from 53 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:08,640 your father or your or your grandpa. 54 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,800 We get it from our first father. Let's go all the way back to 55 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:16,280 Genesis chapter 3. In Genesis chapter 3 we see 3 56 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:21,480 different ways that Adam, our first father, deserts God. 57 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,200 In verse 7 it says that he sowed fig leaves. 58 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:32,280 In verse 8 of chapter 3 it says that he hid behind trees. 59 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:34,200 Why? He's hiding In his sin. 60 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,120 He's hiding he's deserting because of his sin. 61 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:42,600 But lastly in verse 12, he hides behind shifting the blame. 62 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,120 He blames Eve. What was the woman who gave me 63 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,040 God? That's why I ate of the tree. 64 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,920 So here's the three ways we desert God and we've been doing 65 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:54,160 this since the beginning as men and women are grouped into this 66 00:03:54,160 --> 00:04:01,440 too. We desert God by sewing, we 67 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:06,200 deserve, We desert God by sinning, and we desert God by 68 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:11,080 shifting. So they sewed fig leaves. 69 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:15,800 Adam sins. He starts coming up with his own 70 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:18,160 way to cover his sin. He starts coming up with his own 71 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:20,680 work. This sewing, take these fig 72 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:23,080 leaves, cover up my nakedness. What is he doing? 73 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,040 He's hiding behind a work that he's doing. 74 00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:28,320 He's hiding behind this sewing that he's doing. 75 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:30,080 So my question is, what is your sewing? 76 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,440 What is the thing that you run to or turn to to cover up 77 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:38,120 something that you've done? Or instead of running to God, 78 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:42,520 you desert God by running to work or rowing to a sewing 79 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:46,320 activity of some sort, something that you can do to keep yourself 80 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,960 preoccupied to, you know, hide behind so you don't think about 81 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,280 God. What is your sowing that work 82 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:56,320 that you turn to? But in verse 8, what is your, 83 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:58,160 you know, the sin that you're hiding behind? 84 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:00,400 Notice it says that they run behind some trees. 85 00:05:00,760 --> 00:05:03,760 It this is interesting. The thing that got them in 86 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:05,320 trouble is that they went to a tree. 87 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,320 And then in verse 8, it says they hid behind trees. 88 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,200 They hid themselves among the trees, It says. 89 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,840 So the thing that got in trouble with is the thing they run back 90 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:16,600 to. Now this is a different tree, 91 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:18,160 but that's just a picture of sin. 92 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,720 We, we're distanced from God. We're we desert God in our sin, 93 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,960 but then we keep running back to the same sin, the same trees. 94 00:05:26,280 --> 00:05:29,760 So the question is, what is your tree that you're deserting God 95 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:31,720 for? What is that tree? 96 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,800 You keep going back to thinking that, listen, they went to the 97 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:37,680 tree thinking that the tree will give them something that God 98 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,360 won't give them. And they go hide among the 99 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,640 trees, thinking that the trees can give them something that God 100 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:46,520 can give them. They could have hid themselves 101 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:51,000 in God, in God's grace and his gentleness, his forgiveness and 102 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,000 his justice, but they chose to hide behind other trees. 103 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,120 So what are those other trees? What is that sin that you're 104 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:01,800 deserting God for? But then lastly, shifting blame 105 00:06:01,800 --> 00:06:09,120 and verse 12, when God inexplicably and finds them, of 106 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,600 course, because you can't hide from God, he says, Adam, you 107 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:13,320 know what's going on, What'd you do? 108 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:19,080 And Adam's like, well, God, I got to shift the blame to Eve. 109 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:21,720 It's her fault. It was the woman you gave me. 110 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:27,960 Men desert God. Lastly, by shifting the blame, 111 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:30,720 men have been blaming their wives since day one. 112 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:34,800 Well, my life would be different if I didn't have this wife or my 113 00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:37,280 wife would My life would be different if my wife wasn't like 114 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:39,720 this. We are the culture makers. 115 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:43,520 We are the we are the leaders of the home. 116 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,960 How dare we shift the blame on our wives or shift the blame on 117 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:52,440 anyone. We'll blame the mailman for 118 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:54,720 something or we'll blame our next door neighbor for something 119 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,880 just so that we can desert God. Or we can keep our distance from 120 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:03,720 God and we run away from God by not taking responsibility and 121 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,320 shifting the blame. So sowing, we desert God for our 122 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,000 our sowing, our sin and our shifting. 123 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:14,840 But you know, when I play hide and seek with my kids, I've 124 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:16,560 noticed something. They can't hide from me. 125 00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:19,080 It's just it's inevitable I'm going to find them. 126 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:21,960 They snicker, they laugh, they fart, they do all this kind of 127 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:23,560 different things. It makes it easy to find them. 128 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,120 And what's interesting is the younger a kid is, the worse they 129 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,240 are at hiding because the younger kids like live and, and 130 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,280 Luke, for example, maybe not Luke as much, but he's coming 131 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:37,600 out of this stage. But there's a stage in early 132 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:39,920 development called object permanence. 133 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:44,160 And what it means is an object doesn't permeate or become 134 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:47,120 permanent in their mind if they can't see it. 135 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:50,320 And so if they sit in the middle of the room with a blanket on 136 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:52,320 them, they think I'm hiding from Dad. 137 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:54,240 Why? Because they can't see Dad. 138 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:58,000 If they can't see me, they think I can't see them. 139 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,960 And we are like this in our spirituality, in our walk with 140 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:05,240 God. We lack God's permanence in our 141 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:07,960 life. Not that he's not permanent, but 142 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:11,000 that we'd lack that he that that we think he's permanent. 143 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:14,440 We lack a spiritual object permanence. 144 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,800 We think if I can't see God, God can't see me. 145 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:22,520 So if I hide behind this sewing activity, this work that I can 146 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,960 cover myself up with, if I hide behind my sin in the darkness of 147 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:28,440 my sin, if I hide behind that, then God can't see me. 148 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:32,200 Or if I hide in shifting the blame, then God can't see that 149 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:36,799 I'm the one to blame. So we think because if we can't 150 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:40,280 see him, he doesn't see us. And The thing is, at times it 151 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:44,800 does work for a short stint, like if we, if we sew enough, 152 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,600 you know, SEW, we do forget about God. 153 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,000 We get buried in our work. If we do keep on sinning enough, 154 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,520 God is on the, you know, farthest point of our brains. 155 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,680 We don't think about him at all when we're deep in our sin. 156 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,040 But also on top of that, when we're shifting the blame, it's 157 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,800 very easy to think that, you know, God can't possibly see 158 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,240 what's in me if I'm always focusing and shifting the blame 159 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,240 onto this person. So again, if we can't see God, 160 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,640 we think he doesn't see us, but it just doesn't work. 161 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:16,520 It's inevitable He sees us. It's like my kids trying to hide 162 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:18,520 from me in my own home. I will find them. 163 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,600 But look at verse the second part of verse 55. 164 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:24,520 Because the women are not off the hook here too. 165 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:29,120 It says that many women were there also looking on from a 166 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,920 distance. So the women are present, but 167 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:34,360 they're distant. And this isn't the first time 168 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,600 that you see this in Scripture. 1000 years before this, there's 169 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:42,400 a Psalm, Psalm 38, that's written and in verse 11 it says 170 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:46,480 that my friends and nearest kin have distanced themselves from 171 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:48,520 me. So the psalmist is saying, at my 172 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:53,120 lowest when I needed help, I was alone and rejected and deserted 173 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:59,040 and also distanced from his closest friends and nearest kin 174 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:02,120 distance themselves. Now that part nearest kin and 175 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:03,440 friends is going to come back later. 176 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,600 So pay attention to that. They were present but distant. 177 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:13,840 Now someone who is present and not distant, present and near is 178 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:18,760 Mary, Jesus's mom. In John chapter 19 verse 25, we 179 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:21,440 see the same account of the crucifixion. 180 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:26,400 And John is highlighting who was nearest to Jesus when Jesus was 181 00:10:26,400 --> 00:10:28,920 on the cross. And one of the seven last 182 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:33,160 sayings of Jesus is when he says, woman, behold your son, 183 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:35,680 son, behold your mother. And he was talking to John the 184 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,720 beloved and he was saying, John, can you please take care of my 185 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,200 mom when I'm gone? And not that when he, you know, 186 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:46,280 definitely when he's gone to those three days being dead, but 187 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:47,720 also when he ascends into heaven. 188 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:49,320 Like, can you look out for my mom? 189 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,400 Because it's the oldest son's job to take care of the mom. 190 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,680 And he says, you know, I'm going to take care of her by giving 191 00:10:54,680 --> 00:10:58,160 her my Holy Spirit that's going to live within her by saving 192 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,080 her. Mary was a Sinner who needed a 193 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:04,640 savior, just as you, just as me, just as everybody else. 194 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:08,000 Some huge heresy that the Catholics get wrong. 195 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:12,360 She needed a Savior and Jesus was providing salvation for her. 196 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:15,440 But he is looking out for his mom and saying, hey, I want you 197 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:19,320 to go with John. And John does take her to 198 00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,320 basically be like his mom. He, the Bible says in John 199 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,680 chapter 19 that John takes Mary into his home to take care of 200 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:29,480 her. OK, so Mary is there and also 201 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:31,360 John is there. They're at the foot of the 202 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:32,680 cross. They're very close. 203 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,400 They were close. Are you close? 204 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:43,720 Where are you in this situation? The women, the other women who 205 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,600 were present but distant, following in line with that 206 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:48,840 prophecy of of Psalms 38 verse 11. 207 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:51,800 Why are they distant and how do we know they're distant? 208 00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:58,680 They're distant and women today are present but distant. 209 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:02,280 Women today, they're the first to sign up for a ministry. 210 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:04,840 They, they come to more Bible studies than men. 211 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:09,080 They church attendance. Historically, if you go to 212 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:13,920 websites like the Barna Group that looks at statistics on 213 00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:18,560 church attendance and church correspondence today, you'll 214 00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:24,120 find that women, especially more so in the past, have vastly 215 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:28,920 outnumbered men in attendance. Women are they're, they're down 216 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:31,000 to show up, but are they present? 217 00:12:31,160 --> 00:12:34,840 These women in this story, they showed up, but were they 218 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:37,880 present? No, they were they were present, 219 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:39,320 but they were distant. Why? 220 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:43,080 This is not what they signed up for. 221 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:46,520 I mean, this was they've seen Jesus do miracles, feed the 222 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:48,600 5000. They've heard about his walking 223 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:50,080 on water. They weren't in the boat when it 224 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:53,800 happened, but they they've seen Jesus heal people, lepers, the 225 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,480 lame, bring dead people back to life. 226 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,560 If they were anywhere near the vicinity when God when Jesus 227 00:12:59,560 --> 00:13:05,640 rose, the young lady, there was women present when Jesus rose 228 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:09,600 Lazarus, they'd seen all of it. But this was not at all what 229 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,320 they thought would happen now their Savior, their Lord, their 230 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,240 Messiah was on a cross. And so they were scared, they 231 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:16,720 were fearful and so they were distant. 232 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:21,640 How do we see this today in our in our world? 233 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:25,120 Women can be present with distant and it's seen and 234 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:30,720 they're showing us OK, so if we desert God through our sewing, 235 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:34,160 through our sin, through our shifting, women are distance 236 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,680 themselves from God because of their showiness, meaning they're 237 00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:43,960 present at church, but it's a show their their lips honor God, 238 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:45,600 but their hearts are far from God. 239 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,080 How many women in our church today are struggling with 240 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:56,160 immodesty, struggling with just being fake, just being the nice, 241 00:13:56,160 --> 00:14:00,800 kind, smiling, wear the dress, Christian girl, but not really 242 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:03,480 close to God. In their hearts they're present, 243 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:07,360 but they're distant because we've been Women have been told 244 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:10,680 girls are made of sugar, spice, and everything nice. 245 00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:12,720 This is all about what it means to be a woman. 246 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,600 You need to be smile and nod, smile and wave, smile and wave. 247 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:17,520 And women have fallen suit to that. 248 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:19,760 And So what? What's become of it is 249 00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:21,920 showiness. They're present, but they're 250 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:26,000 distant in their hearts. How do we change this? 251 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,240 Well, we're going to get into that, but just some more 252 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:32,200 evidence of how they were present but not distant. 253 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,520 Look at verse. I mean present but distant. 254 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,760 Sorry. In verse, the end of verse 55, 255 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,280 it says they had followed Jesus from Galilee. 256 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:46,320 What does that mean? Day one, they've been with Jesus 257 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:48,560 since day one, since he started his ministry. 258 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:52,920 Galilee is where Jesus is from Jesus of Galilee, Jesus of 259 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:57,880 Nazareth is that connected places. 260 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,960 Now not only that they were ministering to him to minister 261 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:07,680 in this verse means to wait upon or to take care of or to serve 262 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:11,800 or to help to host. It means also to host someone. 263 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:14,720 So Jesus was homeless, so he they went from house to house, 264 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,200 place to place as they did ministry and the women would 265 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,000 join them and host them like go into this new he plays, cook 266 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,320 them meals, make sure they had everything that they needed to 267 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:27,480 keep on doing ministry and they loved doing it. 268 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:31,400 Being with Jesus, being in his presence was so exciting every 269 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:33,560 day. You get to see Jesus, hear him 270 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:36,000 teach, you get to see him do miracles. 271 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:39,840 You get to see how the God in the flesh helping people, 272 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:41,840 talking to people, holding hands with someone. 273 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:43,480 It was beautiful to hang around him. 274 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:48,400 So they loved doing it. Where was that same energy when 275 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:51,240 he was on the cross? You see what I'm saying? 276 00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:52,960 They're present, but they're distant. 277 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,120 They had been ministering with him since day one. 278 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:01,840 Where was that same energy? The question, you know, of 279 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:04,520 today's culture is it's, you know, is it all a show? 280 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:08,760 Is it all a show? Are you really doing it with 281 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:11,520 your mind or with your heart? You should be doing it with 282 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:13,440 both. You know, if it's just your 283 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,080 heart, you're not putting thought into it, or if it's just 284 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:17,640 your mind, you're not putting heart into it. 285 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:19,360 It was both. Both of those could be a 286 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,400 problem. So are they really close to 287 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,080 Jesus in this scene? They're not. 288 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:26,400 They're distant and because of fear. 289 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:30,000 But praise God that they were even there, that they were 290 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,200 present because you think about Timothy's example with Paul. 291 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:37,600 Paul tells Timothy, a young pastor, Thank God for your mom 292 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,040 and your grandma who prayed over you and walked you through the 293 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:45,960 things of the faith. So better to be there than not 294 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:49,080 there, you know. And the men through the history 295 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:53,760 of the church have deserted God, but at least the women have been 296 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:55,200 present. We're going to talk about why 297 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:57,520 that's important even in these verses today. 298 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:00,160 So women, we need you to show up. 299 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:03,480 But before we get into that and men, of course, we need you to 300 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,960 show up too. Look at verse 56. 301 00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:08,160 Here are the some of the women that are mentioned. 302 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:14,680 Among them were Mary Magdalene. Now Mary Magdalene is one of the 303 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:17,480 first time she's mentioned is Luke chapter 8 verse 2. 304 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:20,040 Luke chapter 8 verse 2. It says that she had seven 305 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:22,319 demons in her and God delivered her. 306 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:25,240 Jesus delivered her. But she's also mentioned in Mark 307 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,680 chapter 1540 through 41 at the cross. 308 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,880 So in Mark's account, she's mentioned being at the cross and 309 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:35,240 then also in Mark's account, she's mentioned being at scene 310 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:37,280 where they laid the body of Jesus. 311 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,520 Mark chapter 15, verse 47. So Mary was there when Jesus 312 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:42,920 died. She saw Jesus die. 313 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:47,760 She saw where Jesus was laid. She also, we see her at the 314 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,000 resurrection site. You know, she's one of the first 315 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,040 people that speaks to Jesus and Jesus. 316 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:55,680 Remember the time that Mary thought Jesus was the gardener 317 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:59,800 and and then when Jesus says Mary, she says Rabboni or 318 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:03,880 teacher, it is you. And so Mary's there, Mary 319 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:06,160 Magdalene is there the whole time, but there's another Mary. 320 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:12,160 This is Mary the mother of James and Joseph, as it says in verse 321 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:14,520 56 of our main text today, Matthew 27. 322 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:16,640 Mary the mother of James and Joseph. 323 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:19,560 Now this gets interesting because the first time we hear 324 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:25,240 about this James, right, Mary the mother of James and Joseph. 325 00:18:25,240 --> 00:18:28,800 So we know this is not Salome. The Salome is the mother of 326 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,680 James and John, right? Zebedee's wife, the sons of 327 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:35,280 Zebedee, sons of Thunder, Peter, James and John. 328 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:39,240 They went with Jesus to more places than the other disciples 329 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,920 went, like secret missions. They went with Jesus. 330 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:44,960 This is a different James. Throughout history, he's been 331 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:50,400 called James the Less or James the Younger, not because he was 332 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,240 less important than James, the brother of John, the son of 333 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:59,200 Zebedee, but because he was possibly shorter or even more 334 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:03,000 possible younger. So he's called James the the 335 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,120 Less. Again, he, his mom's name is 336 00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:07,440 Mary, just like Jesus's mom's name is Mary. 337 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:12,160 But not to be confused with James the the apostle who wrote 338 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,760 the letter of James. They have the same mom, Jesus 339 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:17,000 and James. OK. 340 00:19:17,120 --> 00:19:18,480 And so this kind of gets confusing. 341 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:23,040 This is how we know it's real because it's confusing. 342 00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:29,400 No made-up fictional book author would have given all these 343 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,120 people the same name if he wanted his book to sell or if he 344 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:34,680 wanted people to read his book. So we know that these accounts 345 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,160 line up and they're biblical and they're historical and they're 346 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:39,520 accurate because of these little indiscrepancies. 347 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:44,200 But Mary not to be confused with Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary 348 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:50,200 the mother of James and Joseph. In Matthew chapter 10 verse 3 is 349 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:54,240 the first time we see this James and this James. 350 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:57,440 James the Less had a brother named Joseph who wasn't a 351 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,440 disciple. Now it says in Matthew chapter 352 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:04,440 10 verse three that James the son of Alpheus, James the son of 353 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:05,880 Alpheus. So who is Alpheus? 354 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:11,920 Alpheus is Mary the mother of James, Joseph's husband. 355 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,880 And Alpheus and Clopas are the same. 356 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:20,160 Translation of the same Greek word the the different 357 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:21,720 translation of the same Greek word. 358 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:24,360 So Alpheus and Clopus are the same people. 359 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:29,040 Also Cleopus is the same person as Clopus. 360 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:30,360 It's just a different way to spell it. 361 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:34,000 Why is that all important? Because in in Luke chapter 24, 362 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:39,400 verse 13 through 35, we see Jesus risen from the dead 363 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:44,080 walking on the road to Emmaus with a guy named Clopus or 364 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:50,960 Cleopus or Clopus or Alpheus. So that means James the less who 365 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:59,400 was a disciple, his dad hung out with the risen Lord, the 366 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:01,720 resurrected Lord and didn't know it at the time. 367 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:05,160 If you read that story and they go to Cleopas's house and they 368 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,800 Jesus goes to Cleopas's house, has dinner with them. 369 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:11,720 So the question is, was James there? 370 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:14,920 James the less. Mary was most definitely there 371 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:20,040 'cause Mary was Cleopas's wife, James LS and Joseph, you know's 372 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:22,360 mom. So she was there at the 373 00:21:22,360 --> 00:21:28,480 crucifixion, present but distant, but she was also having 374 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,120 dinner with the risen Lord days later. 375 00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:38,800 So this is heavy because there's a Jewish Christian from the 2nd 376 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:44,360 century named Hagasipus. Now the first century is where 377 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:46,280 Jesus lived, right? The double digits? 378 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:50,160 Jesus died in around 33 AD. The 2nd century would be the one 379 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:56,200 hundreds. OK102103 Adad is Latin for the 380 00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:58,320 year of our Lord. A no Damoni. 381 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:03,880 We base our calendar off of not when Buddha lived, not when 382 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:06,120 Joseph Smith lived, not when Muhammad lived. 383 00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:09,720 We base our calendar off of when Jesus came to earth. 384 00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:12,240 He is that influential, that important. 385 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:21,400 It's 2025 AD right now because of Jesus. 26 Sorry, 2026 because 386 00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:25,400 Jesus came 2026 years ago. That's why we, that's what we 387 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:27,600 base our calendar for. That was transformative for me 388 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:30,560 when I first became a Christian. This Jewish Christian from the 389 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:35,840 2nd century, Hagasipus is quoted by Eusebus Eusebius or you? 390 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,360 Yeah, Eusebius is the father of church history and he comes 391 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:44,080 around in the 4th century and in the 4th century this Eusebius 392 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:47,360 from Caesarea not not to be confused with another Eusebius 393 00:22:47,360 --> 00:22:51,680 at the time in the 4th century. This Eusebius quotes Hagasipus 394 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:57,600 in saying what Clopas is the brother of Joseph, Jesus's dad. 395 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,400 So all throughout church history, we have seen that this 396 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,280 Clopas is Jesus's uncle on his dad's side. 397 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:11,120 So step uncle, right? Which means Mary, who was 398 00:23:11,120 --> 00:23:16,400 present at the crucifixion, is Jesus's aunt and James their son 399 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:20,480 Mary and Clopis's son James. And Joseph was Jesus's cousin 400 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:22,800 through marriage. So that means one of the 401 00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,600 disciples, and there's more, we'll talk about it later. 402 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,160 One of the disciples was Jesus's cousin through marriage. 403 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,960 You know, we know that John the Baptist was Jesus's cousin. 404 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,080 Biological was first cousin because Elizabeth and Mary were 405 00:23:35,080 --> 00:23:37,760 cousins. But James the Less, one of the 406 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:40,040 James of the disciples, was also Jesus's cousin. 407 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:45,680 So when Psalms 38 verse 11 says that my friends and my nearest 408 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:50,240 of kin have deserted me, that is actually biblically accurate 409 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:54,360 because James the Less was not just Jesus's friend, meaning 410 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:57,240 they grew up together. They're cousins, but on top of 411 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:01,440 that he was Jesus's kin and they deserted and he deserted Jesus 412 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,600 and so his aunt is their present, but there's another 413 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:09,400 woman that's present. This is look at verse 56, it 414 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:13,760 says Mary, the mother of James and Joseph and then the mother 415 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,800 of the sons of Zebedee. Now who is the mother of the 416 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:18,960 sons of Zebedee? We have to do a little Bible 417 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:23,880 study to find out who she is. And Mark chapter 15 verse 40, it 418 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,800 says that Salome is present at the crucifixion. 419 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:31,200 So who is Salome? Let's let's dig deeper. 420 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:35,520 Let's go to John's account. John chapter 19 verse 25. 421 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:38,960 We have the suspicion that the mother of the sons of Zebedee 422 00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,320 and Salome could be the the same person. 423 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:43,960 We have to study to show ourselves, approved to study a 424 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:47,600 little bit more to find out. John chapter 19 verse 25, which 425 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:50,040 we've mentioned before, it says all the people who are 426 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:52,080 mentioned. Let's go and read that together. 427 00:24:52,520 --> 00:25:03,960 John chapter 19 verse 25, it says that but standing by the 428 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:09,360 cross of Jesus were his mother, Mary his mother, his mother's 429 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:13,440 sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. 430 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:18,440 Now historians have disputed this because look at where the 431 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:21,440 coma is. It says that Mary the mother of 432 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:26,280 Jesus was there, his mother's sister Comma, Mary the wife of 433 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:34,760 Clopas Comma and Mary Magdalene. So is Mary's sister Mary the 434 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:38,720 wife of Clopas? Or is Mary's sister Salome? 435 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,840 You see what I'm saying? So both of them are aunts and 436 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:49,200 I'll explain how. But which one is it? 437 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:55,440 Many, many commentators and historians have dug deeper and 438 00:25:55,440 --> 00:26:00,840 decided that Mary's sister, although not named, is Salome 439 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:03,360 and Mary the the mother of Clopas. 440 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:07,320 It's a different aunt right through marriage on Joseph's 441 00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:12,280 side, but Siloam and Mary are sisters most likely. 442 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:15,520 We can't know with 100% certainty, but I would argue 443 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:17,120 that that is what it is. Here's why. 444 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:22,040 In Matthew chapter 20, verses 20 through 21, Siloam comes up to 445 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:25,160 Jesus and says, can James and John, my kids, the sons of 446 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:30,280 Zebedee, can they sit on your right hand and your left when 447 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:33,520 you come into your Kingdom? So that is an outrageous thing 448 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:37,800 for her to ask if James and John are just like disciples, just 449 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,880 disciples. Where does she get the backbone 450 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,480 to ask a question like this? And so Jesus is like, you don't 451 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:46,560 even know the cup of suffering I'm going to have to drink from. 452 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:50,000 Now at the crucifixion, she sees the cup of suffering. 453 00:26:50,120 --> 00:26:55,280 She sees exactly why Jesus said no, because they would not be 454 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:59,800 able to do what Jesus did to get that throne, to lay down his 455 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:01,520 life like that. So now she's like humbled by 456 00:27:01,520 --> 00:27:03,800 that. But again, let's look at her 457 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:08,720 claim and her ask. That is a big ask, but it's not 458 00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:13,160 that big if she's Jesus's aunt. It's not that big if she's seen 459 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,760 Jesus in diapers. It's not that big if she's 460 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:20,800 changed Jesus's diapers. It's not that big if Jesus was 461 00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,840 there when James and John his first cousins were born. 462 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:33,040 If in John chapter 19 verse 25 by saying Mary was there, Mary's 463 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,680 sister was there, Mary the Cloepis was there, you can see 464 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:39,920 why John wouldn't want to put Mary, Mary, Mary or I'm sorry 465 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:42,920 Mary. He didn't want to confuse it all 466 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:45,440 so he just puts Mary's sister Salome. 467 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:51,680 If that's true then that means James and John the sons of 468 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,160 Zebedee were Jesus first cousins which means they. 469 00:27:55,400 --> 00:28:00,000 This also explains this six times in the book of John. 470 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,400 John refers to himself, right? In the Gospel of John, he refers 471 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,720 to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. 472 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:11,080 Again, that would sound very arrogant to to pit himself 473 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,080 against all the other disciples if he wasn't actually Jesus's 474 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:23,120 best friend, if they weren't childhood friends, first cousins 475 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:25,080 who have gone all throughout their life with them. 476 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:32,280 It also explains how quickly they are to leave their dad when 477 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,040 Jesus calls them to be disciples. 478 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:39,920 It was a matter of, oh, hey, dad, Jesus, your nephew, 479 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,720 remember how like perfect he was all the time? 480 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,520 Remember how like wise he was when we're at dinner and he 481 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:49,720 would just say stuff that was like, so beyond his ears? 482 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:52,920 Remember that time he was 12 and he was preaching in the in the 483 00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,800 temple? Yeah, that Jesus, he's actually 484 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,960 going to become a rabbi, and we love him like we're going to 485 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:01,560 follow him. What would Zebedee say? 486 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:03,440 Of course. Go ahead. 487 00:29:03,440 --> 00:29:05,520 I love Jesus. It's an honor. 488 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:09,520 We have a rabbi in our family. It's a huge honor in the 1st 489 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,720 century. So it explains so much how 490 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:16,520 Salome would be the blood aunt of Jesus. 491 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,480 But still, she's distant and present. 492 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:24,960 I mean, she's present but distant. 493 00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:31,440 So even being blood related, even being nearest of kin is not 494 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:36,960 enough for them to be near in heart and in mind to the Lord. 495 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:38,600 So where is the redemption of this? 496 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:41,000 Well, eventually the men stopped hiding. 497 00:29:42,400 --> 00:29:44,720 Eventually the men stopped deserting Jesus. 498 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,480 They never deserted Jesus this bad ever again. 499 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:50,520 They're there at Pentecost. They're there in the in the book 500 00:29:50,520 --> 00:29:54,760 of Acts. They, they stopped deserting. 501 00:29:54,840 --> 00:30:00,560 Why, how, how do we as men stop deserting Jesus? 502 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:06,320 Well, we have to see that Jesus never deserted God and yet he 503 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:12,840 was deserted on the cross. So we would see that God would 504 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:20,920 never desert us and also see that even that he took our 505 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,440 punishment so we could be with God. 506 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,920 So Jesus was deserted by the Father, even though he never 507 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:31,400 deserted the Father. So the Father would not have to, 508 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:37,680 in his justice desert us because God is just because he is good, 509 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:42,640 He is right and and He would be right in deserting us. 510 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:48,200 But because because God is loving and and perfect and and 511 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:53,520 honest and merciful, he comes up with a plan with the Son in 512 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:59,080 cahoots with the sun to save us. So Jesus vindicating the justice 513 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:02,000 of God and satisfying the love of God, is deserted by the 514 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,880 Father on the cross for those three hours that we talked 515 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,400 about. And an infinite amount of wrath 516 00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:10,320 fell on him in that moment, so it wouldn't have to fall on you. 517 00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:16,000 The men eventually saw that it clicked for them and that's what 518 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,600 changed them. That knowledge of who God is 519 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,840 change them forever. And they never deserted God like 520 00:31:22,840 --> 00:31:24,440 this again. They still made mistakes. 521 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,760 We still, we see Peter make mistakes and Paul has to call 522 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:29,720 him out. There's mistakes that are made, 523 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:31,640 but they never desert God like this again. 524 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:35,240 And when you really get saved, when you really get transformed 525 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:39,360 and you really start following him, you never desert God the 526 00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:43,000 way that you used to desert him. Now look at the women. 527 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:47,560 The women actually carry the witness and they eventually 528 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:52,360 stopped being distant. What I mean by that is Matthew 529 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:54,120 wasn't there when he was writing about this. 530 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:56,880 He's with the other boys that have deserted Jesus. 531 00:31:57,120 --> 00:32:02,440 So how does he get this account? Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the 532 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:08,320 mother of James and Joseph Cloepis's wife, but also Salome 533 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:12,280 there. These women are present at the 534 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,560 crucifixion. Some of them are present at the 535 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:17,400 resurrection. They carry the witness. 536 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:23,520 Now this goes from being a group of women who are practicing 537 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:28,080 their showiness and just being a part of the scene to a group of 538 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,880 women who are willing to stand up and speak even if their life 539 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:35,600 is on the line. Listen, for a woman to stand up 540 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:40,920 and say no, I saw him raise, could have got her killed. 541 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:46,080 For a woman to go against a man's witness and say, no, you 542 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,920 think he's dead, I know he's alive, could have got them 543 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:51,400 killed. So at some point it stopped 544 00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:54,720 being about being present but distant. 545 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:58,920 At some point it stopped being about just putting on a show and 546 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:01,720 and going through the motions and lip service. 547 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:09,080 At some point it stopped how they saw Jesus was always 548 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:12,320 present, and yet he never distanced himself from God. 549 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:16,320 With every person, every kid, every girl, every man, every 550 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:20,120 woman, every boy, everyone he talked to, he was completely 551 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:24,000 present. And he never distanced himself 552 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:25,640 with God. He always pursued God and would 553 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:27,880 often go off and pray to the Father. 554 00:33:28,560 --> 00:33:32,760 And even though Jesus was like that all the time on the cross, 555 00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:37,720 the Father is not present. On the cross, the Father 556 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:42,560 distance himself from Jesus. The Father's wrath is present, 557 00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:47,920 but this, this closeness to Jesus is not present. 558 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:52,600 He's distanced from God on the cross not because he deserved 559 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:57,280 it, but because we deserved it. When they saw that, it stopped 560 00:33:57,280 --> 00:33:59,960 being about a show to them. It stopped being about lip 561 00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:03,960 service and start started being about ultimate devotion and 562 00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:08,320 love. And even a sliver of that is 563 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,320 present. And that's why they're present 564 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,560 and not distant. And thank God for that sliver 565 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:20,239 because we have the gospel account and the witness because 566 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:24,280 of these women. And John, I'll end with this. 567 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:28,199 In Genesis chapter 3, verse 21, it says that God clothes Adam 568 00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:32,360 and Eve after they desert God, after they distance themselves 569 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:36,639 from God, God clothes them. It's the first Euan Gellion, the 570 00:34:36,639 --> 00:34:40,840 first gospel where it says that God killed a lamb and use the 571 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:46,000 wool to cover them, cover their nakedness to give them clothes. 572 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,760 So God clothes them. That's our redemption story, 573 00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:53,320 that when we desert and distance ourselves from God, he's still 574 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:54,440 clothed us. He's still he. 575 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:57,720 You are still clothed in the righteousness of Christ. 576 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:00,880 But not only that, right after that, in Genesis chapter 322 577 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:05,360 through 24, it shows us that God drove them out of the garden and 578 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:07,760 then put a flaming sword there to make sure that they don't go 579 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:09,880 back in and eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 580 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:12,840 Why? If they ate of the tree of life, 581 00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:15,360 I'm sorry. Make sure they didn't get into 582 00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:17,200 the tree of life. They already ate from the tree 583 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,160 of knowledge, good and evil. They're already in sin. 584 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:22,440 But they ate of the if they ate of the tree of life, they would 585 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:24,720 be stuck in their sin forever. And that is hell. 586 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:29,720 Eternal sin is hell. And so he drove them out. 587 00:35:29,720 --> 00:35:34,320 It's not a, it's not a gentle suggestion. 588 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:39,080 He drove them out. He forcefully pushed them out to 589 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:42,960 protect them. Seeing what this would do to 590 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:49,320 them, he drove them out. God in Christ has driven you out 591 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:52,160 of your old life, driven you out of hell, driven you out of your 592 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:54,640 sin. Why it wasn't a suggestion. 593 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:58,240 He's not suggesting. Please come to me. 594 00:35:58,240 --> 00:36:01,200 Just think about, just consider when Jesus says come to me, 595 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:04,960 that's an effectual call. He's saying those whom God has 596 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:08,000 chosen and elected, they will come to me because God is 597 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:11,680 driving them out of their old lives, driving them out of sin, 598 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:13,240 eternal punishment, eternal hell. 599 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:16,560 They do not have a choice and at the same time they have a 600 00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:18,560 choice. It's kind of paradoxical, but 601 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:23,520 the point is, thank God that when like us, like our father 602 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:25,760 and mother, Adam and Eve, we would have went back into the 603 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:28,040 garden and kept eating of the tree of life and been stuck in 604 00:36:28,040 --> 00:36:31,200 our sin forever. We know we would have, we would 605 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,840 have stayed the way that we were deserting him and dissing 606 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:37,400 themselves, dissing ourselves. But thank God in Christ and 607 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:41,000 praise be to God that he drove us out of that to protect us. 608 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:45,720 When you really see this, like the men and women in our 609 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:48,680 crucifixion story today, when you see this, you'll stop 610 00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:51,760 deserting God. You'll realize I can't desert 611 00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:54,200 God. I can't distance myself from 612 00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:56,160 God. What can separate me from the 613 00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:59,880 love of God in Christ Jesus? What distance could have come 614 00:36:59,880 --> 00:37:03,680 between me and God in Christ? Absolutely none. 615 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:13,400 How could I outrun God? How could I desert the one who 616 00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:15,640 made the Sahara Desert? How could I? 617 00:37:15,640 --> 00:37:18,080 I can't. This was bigger than them. 618 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:22,560 All the disciples who deserted Jesus, all the the women who 619 00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:24,600 were present but distant. It was bigger than them. 620 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:28,240 Christ knew. He knew way back in Psalms 38 621 00:37:28,240 --> 00:37:31,480 verse 11 when He was speaking through the psalmist that this 622 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:34,360 would happen. He knew it was plan A, not Plan 623 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:36,640 B. He knew what it would take to 624 00:37:36,640 --> 00:37:41,200 close that distance to refresh that desert between US and God. 625 00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:45,000 And He willingly did it because of how much He loves us when the 626 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:48,840 men and women in our story saw that love and everyone back to 627 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:51,320 the way they used to live. Let's pray. 628 00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:54,720 Father, we thank you so much for how you've spoken through your 629 00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:57,880 word, even this these two verses that are jam packed with so much 630 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:02,400 history, so much knowledge of your intricate design and 631 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:04,520 calling people to be a part of your story. 632 00:38:04,760 --> 00:38:07,880 And we're just like those people in the story. 633 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:12,920 Although not hardly as significant as them in their 634 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:16,200 role, You still love us just as much as you love them. 635 00:38:16,680 --> 00:38:19,320 You love all of us like Augustine says you love us all 636 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:22,800 as if we were one. And Lord, you, you call see a 637 00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:25,360 part of your story just like these people in our in our story 638 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:29,360 today. And we pray that we would not 639 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:31,880 try to distance ourselves that we've no longer desert you, 640 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,640 Lord, because you are much greater and bigger than that. 641 00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:37,040 And we love you and we thank you and your name, we pray. 642 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:40,240 Amen, Amen. This is the part of the episode 643 00:38:40,240 --> 00:38:43,360 called After the Amen where we ask you a question to help apply 644 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:47,360 this message to your life. Our question for you today is 645 00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:49,880 how are you deserting or distancing? 646 00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:54,480 How are you deserting or distancing yourself from God? 647 00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,800 I'll answer 1st and then it's your turn. 648 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:05,200 I first, I just have to say like, This is why preaching is 649 00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:07,640 so important. And I think, and it is a 650 00:39:07,640 --> 00:39:13,040 spiritual gift and it's we're so grateful you're here with us, of 651 00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:14,840 course, listening to this podcast. 652 00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:19,520 And Alex says like just dedication to studying the text. 653 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:25,240 And yeah, that you're able to hear the word preached through 654 00:39:25,240 --> 00:39:28,480 that study. And This is why we also believe 655 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:38,080 it's so important to sit under a biblically sound pastor who 656 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:43,560 preaches the word of God and shows the study, shows himself 657 00:39:43,560 --> 00:39:48,240 approved through his study. Because I think like if you just 658 00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:51,960 quickly read over this, you wouldn't capture all of those 659 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,120 things, you know, and we're supposed to study the word for 660 00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:59,600 ourself as well. But there's just also a 661 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:03,280 spiritual gift, you know, that really opens up the text and 662 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:05,360 helps you really understand and applies things. 663 00:40:05,360 --> 00:40:09,240 And it's just a beautiful gift. And so just wanted to say that 664 00:40:09,240 --> 00:40:11,040 first to reference everything but. 665 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:15,520 Yeah, I think, yeah, it was just so good and so spot on. 666 00:40:15,520 --> 00:40:20,320 And I totally, I love how you're saying like what? 667 00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:24,640 Once you've truly experienced, like his saving grace, like you, 668 00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:27,400 you cannot desert or distance him again. 669 00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:29,800 And I think, of course, in our flesh, there's little things 670 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:36,000 that we do, but ultimately he draws us back just like he drove 671 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:39,320 him out of the garden, like you were saying. 672 00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:44,920 And I, yeah, I think it's just, it's similar. 673 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:50,200 I, I think what really stood out to me was like what you had 674 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:53,600 brought up and what I was also just like recognizing too, 675 00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:56,880 before you brought it up while you're preaching was just like 676 00:40:57,720 --> 00:41:00,440 them being a part of his ministry since they want the 677 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:02,920 women being a part of his ministry since day one, like 678 00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:05,000 ministering to him. And I was thinking the same 679 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,280 thing. Like it's like when it's good or 680 00:41:07,280 --> 00:41:10,200 when things are exciting, it's fun to minister. 681 00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:12,960 It's fun to serve. It's fun to be a part of like 682 00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:16,800 whatever's going on at the church or whatever, you know, 683 00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:18,520 we're doing in the name of the Lord. 684 00:41:19,520 --> 00:41:25,000 But like when things are bloody and messy and hard, like where 685 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:26,640 are we going to be? Like? 686 00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:30,760 Are we going to have that same devotion and commitment or we're 687 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:35,040 going to distance ourselves? And I think it's really cool 688 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:42,760 that how you were saying that Mary and like Mary Jesus mother 689 00:41:43,200 --> 00:41:51,240 got to be specific in this section and John were like 690 00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:57,320 present, like the present and present, like there and fully 691 00:41:57,320 --> 00:41:59,160 present as well. Like they were near. 692 00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:07,160 And so I think that's cool because like you see just in 693 00:42:07,720 --> 00:42:12,800 their stories in ushering in Christ, like Mary becoming a 694 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:17,520 virgin before, while she's, you know, very married, not becoming 695 00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:20,800 a virgin, marry a virgin, becoming a mom before she's 696 00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:22,520 married. Everyone knows she's engaged to 697 00:42:22,520 --> 00:42:24,800 be married. And the hard task that is like 698 00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:27,320 people are not going to believe me, like they're not going to 699 00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:30,400 believe. But she bought with that for a 700 00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:33,960 second, but she submitted to it when she had that encounter with 701 00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:36,680 Angel. And like the same thing with 702 00:42:36,680 --> 00:42:41,040 John, like he's like he chose to live just very differently. 703 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:48,560 It's just so crazy, like like they like people who truly 704 00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:54,360 experienced the fullness of just who Jesus is. 705 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:59,240 Like they really knew him. They weren't just related to 706 00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:01,160 him. Like they weren't just because 707 00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:03,480 there's what we see other relatives in the story too, who 708 00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:07,240 are at a distance, but like it wasn't just their relationship, 709 00:43:07,240 --> 00:43:13,240 like their relative relationship with Christ, but like they 710 00:43:13,240 --> 00:43:16,320 really knew him. They knew who he was and they 711 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:21,840 believed like what God revealed. And so I think that is so 712 00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:23,680 beautiful. And it's like what you're 713 00:43:23,680 --> 00:43:26,920 saying, just like when we truly have been transformed by the 714 00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:31,440 gospel, like we, we won't distance or desert ourselves 715 00:43:31,560 --> 00:43:36,560 because it doesn't matter if it's like the hardest, you're in 716 00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:40,640 the thick of the hardest type of ministry or just hardest season 717 00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:46,560 of suffering as a Christian. Like we don't just show up when 718 00:43:46,720 --> 00:43:49,160 things are fun and exciting and we're getting praised or we're 719 00:43:49,160 --> 00:43:52,280 getting recognition for how we're serving or what we're 720 00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:55,800 doing or whatever. Like we just keep showing up 721 00:43:55,800 --> 00:44:00,640 because we know we believe and we know Jesus. 722 00:44:01,640 --> 00:44:03,920 Yeah. And so I think, yeah, I can 723 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:09,200 definitely in my flesh try to deserve a distance. 724 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:14,160 But it is true like, like it's his work and it's his work still 725 00:44:14,160 --> 00:44:16,600 working in me now. So it was his work to save me. 726 00:44:16,600 --> 00:44:19,920 And it's still his work drawing me back in when I'm like, oh, I 727 00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:22,120 got to like I shared kind of last week ago. 728 00:44:22,120 --> 00:44:25,880 I got to, like, distance myself a little bit to clean up or to 729 00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:29,920 distract from maybe shame or to just even figure out why maybe 730 00:44:30,200 --> 00:44:35,240 other people are not treating me well, you know, like it. 731 00:44:35,240 --> 00:44:38,960 That must be a God's like view. But he always brings me back and 732 00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:43,160 reveals the truth. And it's just, like, once again, 733 00:44:43,200 --> 00:44:46,720 we have nothing to do with it. Like, we all gore goes to him, 734 00:44:46,720 --> 00:44:52,480 you know, And so it's so. But yeah, this is just 735 00:44:52,480 --> 00:44:55,120 thrilling. Yeah. 736 00:44:55,120 --> 00:45:00,080 It's, it's crazy that like one thing that John Piper talks 737 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:04,360 about and Dane Ortland and many others, that Christianity is the 738 00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:08,720 happiest religion and it's own. I like what Dane Ortland calls 739 00:45:08,720 --> 00:45:09,560 it. He says it's almost 740 00:45:09,560 --> 00:45:13,200 embarrassingly happy. It's almost like embarrassing 741 00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:17,200 how happy we can be because of the gospel. 742 00:45:17,280 --> 00:45:21,960 You know, it's growing up evangelical in the church. 743 00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:27,280 It would have been so easy to end this sermon like you need to 744 00:45:27,280 --> 00:45:29,000 close the gap between you and God. 745 00:45:29,240 --> 00:45:32,880 You need to stop deserting God. You need to stop distancing 746 00:45:32,880 --> 00:45:37,520 yourself from God. And that is how this type, these 747 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:39,680 type of messages are really often preached. 748 00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:44,960 And they're effective because then people leave with this 749 00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:49,480 condemnation and shame and they're like, I got to do 750 00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:51,320 better, OK, I'm signing up for a ministry. 751 00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:54,760 I'm going to start giving more. I'm going to stop doing this and 752 00:45:54,760 --> 00:45:57,440 stop doing that. And and while all that is 753 00:45:57,440 --> 00:46:02,720 important, your motive behind it is huge, very important. 754 00:46:02,720 --> 00:46:05,200 If you're doing it because you think God will be happy with you 755 00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:08,040 if you do it, then you shouldn't do it. 756 00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:11,360 If you're doing it because you know God is already happy with 757 00:46:11,360 --> 00:46:14,240 you and you have the time outside of your responsibilities 758 00:46:14,240 --> 00:46:17,560 of taking care of your family and taking care of your own 759 00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:21,720 relationship with the Lord and all that kind of stuff, your own 760 00:46:21,720 --> 00:46:24,080 job that you have to afford. Like if you have time for it, 761 00:46:24,080 --> 00:46:28,120 then sure, do it. But like you said, it has 762 00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:31,400 nothing to do with us being able to close that gap. 763 00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:33,080 We can't like an overflow of gratitude. 764 00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:36,000 Yeah. Yeah. 765 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:38,600 What were we saying? Oh, I just said it's out of it. 766 00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:41,080 Like overflow of gratitude for what he's done. 767 00:46:41,080 --> 00:46:44,560 That's why we serve. Not because we think we have so 768 00:46:44,560 --> 00:46:48,240 much to offer the world or we're trying to win his favor. 769 00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:53,000 It's just, it's just crazy that like we, like you said, we 770 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:55,120 desert God, we distance ourselves, but then we also 771 00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:58,720 can't, we can't like how can a kid distance themselves 772 00:46:59,840 --> 00:47:02,560 ultimately forever from their father if their father is just 773 00:47:02,560 --> 00:47:05,240 loving, good and beautiful father? 774 00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:08,600 What we see is the kids always come back. 775 00:47:08,600 --> 00:47:12,040 They may have their teenage years or whatever, but they come 776 00:47:12,040 --> 00:47:13,560 back. Look at the the story of the 777 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:16,560 prodigal son. You know, the father was just 778 00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:19,840 too good. So the son came back, the 779 00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:22,960 father's love, even out in a distant land was still drawing 780 00:47:22,960 --> 00:47:26,200 that that young man back to his home and it and it worked. 781 00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:28,320 And so it is with us. We always come back to him 782 00:47:28,320 --> 00:47:31,000 because of how good he is and he's greater than us. 783 00:47:31,000 --> 00:47:34,720 His riches and mercy and grace and his love is so much bigger 784 00:47:34,920 --> 00:47:38,200 than any kind of deserting or distancing or sin that we find 785 00:47:38,200 --> 00:47:40,360 ourselves in our fig leaves we try to sew together. 786 00:47:40,960 --> 00:47:43,320 So it's just really encouraging. And then I read Peter this 787 00:47:43,320 --> 00:47:46,040 morning. Peter was saying, Peter says 788 00:47:46,040 --> 00:47:50,480 this phrase more than once in his in his two letters that he 789 00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:55,200 sends out to these exiles, these Christians scattered all along 790 00:47:55,200 --> 00:47:59,560 the 1st century. He says, may you grow in the 791 00:47:59,560 --> 00:48:01,720 grace of and knowledge of Jesus Christ. 792 00:48:01,960 --> 00:48:04,480 And he always comes back to that, that the the thing that is 793 00:48:04,480 --> 00:48:09,160 most important for them to do is to grow in the grace and the 794 00:48:09,160 --> 00:48:12,960 knowledge of Jesus Christ. Now you might be saying, how is 795 00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:15,400 that possible for them if they didn't have a Bible? 796 00:48:15,440 --> 00:48:18,120 Like we have a Bible and not only that, we have Bibles with 797 00:48:18,120 --> 00:48:19,480 numbers. You know, there's a lot of 798 00:48:19,480 --> 00:48:23,760 people who had handwritten Bibles in the 5th, 6th, 7th 799 00:48:23,760 --> 00:48:27,040 century didn't have numbers. We have this beautiful numbering 800 00:48:27,040 --> 00:48:30,440 system where it's Matthew 27 verse 55. 801 00:48:30,440 --> 00:48:32,680 You know, we that's nice. So we can look up individual 802 00:48:32,680 --> 00:48:34,280 stuff. They didn't have any of that. 803 00:48:34,640 --> 00:48:37,800 All they had was Paul's letters. And if you read the second 804 00:48:37,800 --> 00:48:42,720 letter of Peter, Peter actually likens Paul's letters to 805 00:48:42,720 --> 00:48:47,040 scripture. He says that people get reject 806 00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:52,160 Paul's letters or misconstrue Paul's letters as they do other 807 00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:55,400 scriptures. So he's, he knows Paul is 808 00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:59,600 writing and speaking the words of God because Paul is an 809 00:48:59,600 --> 00:49:05,040 apostle called by the risen Lord Jesus, which is a the physical 810 00:49:05,040 --> 00:49:08,360 risen Lord Jesus, which is a criteria of being a, an apostle 811 00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:13,720 called by the physical Lord. And so not because you had a 812 00:49:13,720 --> 00:49:16,960 dream and you're an apostle now or whatever God physical form 813 00:49:17,280 --> 00:49:20,840 Jesus called you. And so Peter's like Paul's words 814 00:49:20,840 --> 00:49:24,320 are scripture. And so it's just that's all they 815 00:49:24,320 --> 00:49:27,040 had was these letters, but they didn't have as much as we had. 816 00:49:27,040 --> 00:49:29,520 So what does that mean? That means if you are struggling 817 00:49:29,520 --> 00:49:32,960 to read the Bible, you know, as I talked to young, young people 818 00:49:32,960 --> 00:49:35,880 at our church who grew up in Hawaii and there's terrible 819 00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:38,560 education system here and they're just like, I struggle so 820 00:49:38,560 --> 00:49:40,920 much to read the Bible. I understand. 821 00:49:40,920 --> 00:49:43,720 But know that the first, the first Christians, a lot of them 822 00:49:43,720 --> 00:49:46,480 didn't have Bibles. And if they do did, there was 823 00:49:46,480 --> 00:49:48,800 one book at a time. They didn't have the full thing. 824 00:49:49,560 --> 00:49:53,200 And so an education was even worse back then. 825 00:49:53,520 --> 00:49:58,040 And so the grace and the knowledge of Lord Jesus, how do 826 00:49:58,040 --> 00:50:00,440 we grow in it? Reliance on the Holy Spirit. 827 00:50:01,440 --> 00:50:05,280 The Holy Spirit can speak God's truth to your heart. 828 00:50:05,760 --> 00:50:08,720 He does. Distant islands where people 829 00:50:08,720 --> 00:50:11,680 have no connection to the real, the the modern world. 830 00:50:11,960 --> 00:50:15,560 They meet God without a Bible. So does that mean we should just 831 00:50:15,560 --> 00:50:17,040 not read our Bibles? Of course not. 832 00:50:17,240 --> 00:50:20,160 If you have such a great resource in your lap, in your 833 00:50:20,160 --> 00:50:23,920 chapter or in your library, then take advantage of it. 834 00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:26,320 Read His word, it's sharper than any 2 edged sword. 835 00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:30,360 It'll transform you. How dare we those who can read 836 00:50:30,360 --> 00:50:33,840 even if we only know 10 words? How dare we not try to find 837 00:50:33,840 --> 00:50:36,840 those 10 words in scripture if we've been given this absolute 838 00:50:37,720 --> 00:50:40,880 treasure. But at the same time, if you are 839 00:50:40,880 --> 00:50:44,920 completely illiterate and blind and can't read, God is much 840 00:50:44,920 --> 00:50:50,760 bigger than your shortcomings. And so we rely on God when we 841 00:50:50,760 --> 00:50:54,920 open up Scripture. If we are without a time of 842 00:50:54,920 --> 00:50:58,560 intense Bible reading it or a season of that, we still rely on 843 00:50:58,560 --> 00:51:02,440 God and his Holy Spirit to to help us grow and the grace and 844 00:51:02,440 --> 00:51:06,040 the knowledge of Jesus Christ. And so because I read that right 845 00:51:06,040 --> 00:51:09,080 before I started studying and preparing the last finish 846 00:51:09,080 --> 00:51:11,640 touches on the message, I was like, you know what, I'm going 847 00:51:11,640 --> 00:51:15,680 to throw all this family tree stuff in because it, it may seem 848 00:51:15,680 --> 00:51:19,800 obscure, but it's important that we see that three of the 849 00:51:19,800 --> 00:51:24,920 disciples were Jesus's cousins, 2 by blood, one by marriage. 850 00:51:25,480 --> 00:51:29,440 That's so important because I just give us a rich history of 851 00:51:29,440 --> 00:51:32,840 who these apostles are, who Christ was, that he was a real 852 00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:39,000 living 1st century Jewish male with cousins that he fished 853 00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:42,320 with, that he walked with, that he hung out with, that he went 854 00:51:42,320 --> 00:51:46,760 through puberty with. This is a real 100% man all at 855 00:51:46,760 --> 00:51:49,520 the same time. They followed him and gave their 856 00:51:49,520 --> 00:51:52,680 lives to him because he was also 100% God. 857 00:51:53,320 --> 00:51:56,400 And that's huge just for our image of who our Savior is. 858 00:51:56,400 --> 00:52:00,320 So glad you guys got to learned some of that. 859 00:52:00,320 --> 00:52:02,320 Some of you guys might have known that already, but we love 860 00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:03,480 you guys. Thanks for being here. 861 00:52:03,480 --> 00:52:08,200 I would not be able to have this time of extensive study and week 862 00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:11,880 in and week out writing these sermons and doing this in 863 00:52:11,880 --> 00:52:17,600 detailifitwasntforyougiving@amenpodcast.com. So the way pastors and priests 864 00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:21,840 have always made a living, some more successful than others. 865 00:52:22,400 --> 00:52:25,280 Some have to do it by vocationally or God forbid, try 866 00:52:25,280 --> 00:52:28,640 vocationally, meaning they have to work other jobs outside of 867 00:52:28,640 --> 00:52:32,160 their ministry. But since the institution of the 868 00:52:32,160 --> 00:52:35,760 Tabernacle and the temple in the Old Testament, it has been God's 869 00:52:35,760 --> 00:52:40,840 plan that those who minister are taken care of by the people 870 00:52:40,840 --> 00:52:44,600 they're ministering to. And that very much is our story. 871 00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:48,800 You know, since AIM and podcast really started to grow, I 872 00:52:48,800 --> 00:52:52,120 haven't had to work another job. And that allows me to do this 873 00:52:52,120 --> 00:52:54,760 full time. It also allows me to be present 874 00:52:54,760 --> 00:52:57,080 with my family and not distant, you know. 875 00:52:57,520 --> 00:52:59,600 And then also we can do house church. 876 00:52:59,640 --> 00:53:03,440 And house church is very small. And so even if you know, yeah, 877 00:53:03,440 --> 00:53:05,560 house Church is just a little small thing we do on the side, 878 00:53:05,560 --> 00:53:08,560 but that all the money for that goes back into house church. 879 00:53:09,240 --> 00:53:12,440 And so this is very much our job and we can't do it without you. 880 00:53:12,440 --> 00:53:15,880 And we have some really good things planned for this podcast 881 00:53:15,880 --> 00:53:19,080 to bring you to allow you to support more, but also bring you 882 00:53:19,080 --> 00:53:24,320 further in into what we do here at Ayman Podcast and at House 883 00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:25,600 Church. And we're going to meet about 884 00:53:25,600 --> 00:53:28,560 that today after this. And so we're excited about that. 885 00:53:28,560 --> 00:53:33,240 But we love you guys so much. You can also rate and review 886 00:53:33,240 --> 00:53:37,040 this podcast on Spotify and Apple, like and subscribe on 887 00:53:37,040 --> 00:53:39,080 YouTube. Also, if you want to rate and 888 00:53:39,080 --> 00:53:44,960 review the house church podcast, there's a house church podcast. 889 00:53:45,560 --> 00:53:48,480 If you're on Spotify, you can go to the tab that says more like 890 00:53:48,480 --> 00:53:50,880 this and you'll see house church by Alex Wilson. 891 00:53:50,880 --> 00:53:54,120 You can rate and review that. It's essentially these messages, 892 00:53:54,120 --> 00:53:56,880 but live to our house church audience and that's a lot of 893 00:53:56,880 --> 00:53:58,520 fun. You can rate and review an Apple 894 00:53:58,520 --> 00:54:00,480 podcast, the house Church podcast. 895 00:54:00,480 --> 00:54:03,560 You can also like and subscribe to the house Church YouTube 896 00:54:03,560 --> 00:54:05,240 channel. Those are all great ways to 897 00:54:05,240 --> 00:54:06,920 support us. And and last but not least, 898 00:54:06,920 --> 00:54:10,800 following us on Instagram to keep up with little quotes and 899 00:54:10,800 --> 00:54:14,560 snippets from the message that may encourage you or you may 900 00:54:14,560 --> 00:54:17,120 want to post in your story and encourage your community. 901 00:54:18,080 --> 00:54:20,680 It's a good way for people to get introduced to Amen podcast. 902 00:54:20,680 --> 00:54:24,800 So that's a lot of help. And yeah, you can find all that 903 00:54:25,120 --> 00:54:28,000 kind of stuff at amenpodcast.com or in the description. 904 00:54:28,440 --> 00:54:30,920 And with that said, we love you guys and we'll see you in the 905 00:54:30,920 --> 00:54:33,160 next one. Until then, go out and be the 906 00:54:33,160 --> 00:54:34,400 church. Amen.