1
00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,080
The Holy Gospel of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, according to 

2
00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:07,760
Matthew. 
Now after the Sabbath, towards 

3
00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:12,880
the dawn of the first day of the
week, Mary Magdalene and the 

4
00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:19,280
other Mary went to see the tomb,
and behold, there was a great 

5
00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,120
earthquake. 
For an anger of the Lord 

6
00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:27,480
descended from heaven, and came 
and rolled back the stone and 

7
00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,320
sat on it. 
His appearance was like 

8
00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:34,520
lightning, and his clothing 
white as snow. 

9
00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:39,560
And for fear of him the guards 
trembled and became like dead 

10
00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,160
men. 
But the Angel said to the woman,

11
00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:49,440
Do not be afraid, for I know you
seek Jesus who was crucified. 

12
00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:54,760
He's not here, for he has risen 
as he said. 

13
00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:01,000
Come see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly and tell his 

14
00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:05,120
disciples that he has risen from
the dead. 

15
00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:09,200
And behold, he's going before 
you to guardian. 

16
00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:14,080
There you will see him. 
See, I have told you. 

17
00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:19,600
So they departed quickly from 
the tomb, with fear and great 

18
00:01:19,600 --> 00:01:22,680
joy, and reign to tell his 
disciples. 

19
00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:30,800
And behold, Jesus met them and 
said greetings, and they came up

20
00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:33,960
and took hold of his feet and 
worshipped him. 

21
00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:39,560
Then Jesus say to them, do not 
be afraid, go and tell my 

22
00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:46,920
brothers to go to Garin, and 
there they will see me the 

23
00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:51,760
gospel of the Lord. 
Would you pray with me? 

24
00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:54,640
Lord? 
We do thank you for the Holy 

25
00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:59,160
Spirit which gives us the power 
to say Alleluia and gave Jesus 

26
00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:01,520
the power to be risen from the 
grave. 

27
00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:05,280
And we pray now Lord, that your 
Holy Spirit would open up the 

28
00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,840
word of God to us. 
Lord, take us to that first 

29
00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,720
Easter Sunday and also show us 
the Easter to come. 

30
00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:14,160
We pray this in Jesus name, 
Amen. 

31
00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:20,520
Well, please be seated, and I do
invite you to turn in your 

32
00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:25,520
bulletins or your Bibles to 
Matthew chapter 28, our Gospel 

33
00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:29,520
reading this morning. 
Well, the resurrection of Jesus,

34
00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:34,440
friends, is for people who wish 
they could do more but can't. 

35
00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,960
It's the power of God breaking 
into the world for people at the

36
00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:43,640
end of their powers. 
Easter is for people who have 

37
00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:47,840
done everything they can, but 
they can't fix the problem. 

38
00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,480
They can't stop the good from 
slipping through their fingers 

39
00:02:51,480 --> 00:02:54,200
like sand. 
They can't change the past. 

40
00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,160
They can't save the people they 
love. 

41
00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,920
The first eyewitnesses of Jesus 
rising from the dead, they were 

42
00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:06,560
given prominence in all four 
gospels are women. 

43
00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:11,000
And the the most preeminent 
woman among them is a woman who 

44
00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,800
did everything that she could. 
She gave everything she had, but

45
00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,640
it wasn't enough to stop the 
nightmare. 

46
00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:24,440
Her name was Mary Magdalene, and
she's actually pictured in this 

47
00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,400
window over here. 
If you can see this window, 

48
00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:32,640
she's dressed in purple. 
And can you see the look of 

49
00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:39,400
devotion on her face, the 
expression of absolute devotion 

50
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:41,000
to Jesus? 
You can see the cross in the 

51
00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,920
background of this, of this 
stained glass window. 

52
00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,360
You know, the reason that she 
had all this devotion towards 

53
00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:50,960
Jesus is because Jesus met her 
in a time of great spiritual 

54
00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:55,440
crisis. 
She's described as having been 

55
00:03:55,440 --> 00:04:00,400
afflicted by 7 demons at once, 
and we can't even begin to 

56
00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,720
imagine the the amount of 
torment and confusion and 

57
00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:06,360
breakdown that she was 
experiencing. 

58
00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:09,440
But Jesus didn't judge her. 
Jesus healed her. 

59
00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,840
He brought her into not only to 
healing, but he gave her a 

60
00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,000
community and he gave her hope 
and a calling. 

61
00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,360
And in response, Mary Magdalene 
gave him that. 

62
00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:28,440
She gave him her everything. 
When all the disciples fled 

63
00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:33,120
Jesus at his hour of great need,
at his hour of death, she didn't

64
00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:35,760
bail, she didn't leave. 
She was right there. 

65
00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,440
But you know what? 
Even though she gave everything 

66
00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:49,160
she had, it wasn't enough. 
Wasn't enough to stop the 

67
00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:51,920
mockery. 
It wasn't enough to stop the 

68
00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:56,120
injustice, the rank injustice. 
It wasn't enough to stop the 

69
00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,000
whips. 
It wasn't enough to stop the 

70
00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:59,880
crown of thorns getting lodged 
into his skull. 

71
00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:06,720
It wasn't enough to stop Jesus 
from stumbling, to stop the 

72
00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:12,320
nails, to stop the mockery. 
She gave everything she had. 

73
00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:17,200
She gave everything she could, 
but she couldn't stop the 

74
00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:19,880
anguish. 
But the you know what? 

75
00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,720
The one thing that she could do,
Matthew records in verse one of 

76
00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,720
his chapter 28. 
The one thing that she could do 

77
00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:32,000
now after the Sabbath, Matthew 
says toward the dawn of the 

78
00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,880
first day of the week, Mary 
Magdalene and the other Mary 

79
00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,840
went to see the tomb. 
The dawn is breaking, but these 

80
00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:45,160
women don't know it's Easter. 
So what are they doing? 

81
00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:46,720
They're showing up with heavy 
hearts. 

82
00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:52,200
They're showing up with, with 
burial spices, you know, and how

83
00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:53,680
are they going to get past the 
guards? 

84
00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,520
Who knows who, how are they 
going to get past the the stone,

85
00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:02,240
the 1000 plus pound square 
shaped stone that's guarding the

86
00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:03,240
tomb? 
Who knows? 

87
00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:05,280
They're just showing up with 
what they have. 

88
00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:10,160
They're just getting up. 
They're just doing the next 

89
00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:11,640
right thing. 
It's all they can do. 

90
00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:13,520
They're giving everything they 
can do, they can do and 

91
00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,240
everything that they have. 
But what can God do? 

92
00:06:17,280 --> 00:06:22,120
Behold, Matthew says in verse 2.
And behold, they're about to 

93
00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:24,320
behold what God can do, and so 
are we. 

94
00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,560
There was a great earthquake, 
for an Angel of the Lord 

95
00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:32,160
descended from heaven and came 
and rolled back the stone and 

96
00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:34,800
sat on it. 
His appearance was like 

97
00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:37,920
lightning, and his clothing 
white as snow. 

98
00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,160
Right as the two Marys are 
approaching the tomb, there's 

99
00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,960
this great earthquake. 
And you know, the ground 

100
00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:48,000
underneath them is shifting. 
They have no idea what's 

101
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,160
happening. 
And maybe we can hear the the 

102
00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:54,920
trees crashing as an earthquake 
out of nowhere comes. 

103
00:06:55,840 --> 00:07:00,240
These women probably like took 
cover and maybe their spices 

104
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:02,920
fell on the ground as they're 
waiting to see like what's 

105
00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:06,600
happening right now. 
And as they're perhaps kneeling 

106
00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,280
up, they look and there is a 
lightning flash, but it's not 

107
00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:11,960
lightning. 
It's a it's an Angel. 

108
00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:16,640
It's the power of heaven come 
down to earth, blinding them 

109
00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:19,920
with light, pulsating with with 
heavenly power. 

110
00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,680
Now all angels have a message. 
That's what they are. 

111
00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:34,240
Angelus Messenger and this Angel
has come to display and declare 

112
00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:39,160
a message display visually and 
declare verbally the mighty 

113
00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:42,960
power of God. 
And he begins with the visual 

114
00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:46,480
display by rolling back the 
stone. 

115
00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:49,200
This, this boulder, it's not 
round shaped. 

116
00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:53,760
First of all, you know, if you 
can't just roll it, he moved it,

117
00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:58,000
he manhandled it. 
He Angel handled it. 

118
00:08:00,560 --> 00:08:04,640
He haven't handled it. 
This is the power of God. 

119
00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:08,120
And then he plants himself on 
top of it, like a white flag 

120
00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:14,080
declaring victory, his robes 
flapping in the early morning 

121
00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,560
breeze. 
Death, what are you going to do 

122
00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:19,400
now? 
This is the power of God. 

123
00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:26,040
Mary. 
Mary Magdalene did all she could

124
00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:30,880
do, but she couldn't stop what 
death could do. 

125
00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:34,320
And now she's bearing witness to
what God can do. 

126
00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:39,039
See, we have to come to the end 
of our powers, as the guards 

127
00:08:39,039 --> 00:08:43,360
found out verse 4 for fear of 
him, the guards trembled and 

128
00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:46,800
became like dead men. 
These, these tough guys, these 

129
00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,760
purveyors of death become like 
dead men themselves. 

130
00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,440
These guards that enforced the 
fear of man, the fear of empire,

131
00:08:54,760 --> 00:09:00,400
now taste the fear of God. 
And their world of of violence 

132
00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:05,360
and inane control is sort of 
like coming apart at the seams 

133
00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:10,480
because a greater power was 
being born, a new reality from 

134
00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,040
heaven into earth. 
A power greater than death is 

135
00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:18,080
breaking in like light from 
another world, like power from 

136
00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:21,000
another world, and it's melting 
them like wax. 

137
00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,360
Their powers we're indeed 
limited. 

138
00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,920
When was the moment we realized 
that our powers were limited? 

139
00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:37,280
Can you remember? 
Maybe it was the first time we 

140
00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:42,200
got second place, or the 100th 
time our kids told us no. 

141
00:09:48,160 --> 00:09:50,040
Or maybe it wasn't a kid who 
told us no. 

142
00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:55,240
Maybe it was an employer or a 
love interest or an admissions 

143
00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,600
team. 
When the biopsy came back with 

144
00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:04,400
some really scary news, when the
relationship ended. 

145
00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:10,320
When someone we cared about was 
suffering and we couldn't, we 

146
00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:16,240
couldn't fix it. 
Things were going so well. 

147
00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,360
We were moving from strength to 
strength to stop the tragedy, to

148
00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:26,600
change the past, to heal the 
world, to grasp the good, keep 

149
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:31,200
it from slipping away. 
Remember, Easter is for people 

150
00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:34,640
who wish they could do more, 
like everything earnestly in 

151
00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:36,600
their heart wants to. 
But they couldn't. 

152
00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:40,960
It's people like Mary Magdalene,
people like you, people like me.

153
00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,960
And when heaven broke in that 
first Easter morning, it didn't 

154
00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,080
come to melt us. 
It didn't come to frighten us. 

155
00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:56,160
It came to mobilize us as Mary 
Magdalene is about to 

156
00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:59,400
experience, because the Angel, 
having displayed God's power 

157
00:10:59,560 --> 00:11:05,520
visually, is now going to impart
God's power verbally and, and 

158
00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,400
give these women and give all of
us a way forward, a way forward 

159
00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:10,960
in this world in which we 
inhabit. 

160
00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:15,320
First, the Angel is going to 
invite these women to observe 

161
00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,520
God's new reality. 
He's going to invite them to 

162
00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:21,840
observe God's new reality. 
Verse 5 But the Angel said to 

163
00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:26,400
the woman, Do not be afraid, for
I know that you seek Jesus, who 

164
00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,880
is crucified. 
He is not here, for he is risen 

165
00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,720
as he said, Come see the place 
where he lay. 

166
00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:37,920
Let's notice a couple things. 
First of all, let's notice that 

167
00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:41,920
the stone was not moved to let 
Jesus out. 

168
00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,600
He was already gone. 
The stone was moved to let the 

169
00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:51,480
women in so that they could see 
that he was already gone, that 

170
00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:54,880
he was risen to see the evidence
of God's power. 

171
00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:58,000
Let's notice something else. 
There are two commandments. 

172
00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:00,600
One's a negative commandment, 
one's a positive commandment, 

173
00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,240
but they pair together so well. 
The negative commandment, do not

174
00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,640
be afraid. 
The positive commandment, come 

175
00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:11,080
and see the place where he lay. 
Now this is what's called 

176
00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,760
grounding. 
If you want to be done with fear

177
00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,080
and you want to move into 
reality, you begin to notice 

178
00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:19,960
what's right in front of you. 
The mind is spinning, the head 

179
00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,440
is spinning. 
Your, your body's responding to 

180
00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:26,240
sort of the, the false evidence 
appearing real in your head. 

181
00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:29,400
The fear. 
We got to get out of that. 

182
00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,080
We've got to not fear. 
How do we do that? 

183
00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:36,320
Let's observe what we can, what 
we can see and what we can smell

184
00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:38,160
and what we can touch and what 
we can taste. 

185
00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:42,240
And the Angel says, come and 
see, Duck your head under, you 

186
00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:46,640
know the sepulchre here and look
inside and see the grave clothes

187
00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:51,200
are folded as other gospel 
writers show us that Jesus is 

188
00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:53,800
not here. 
Look with your very eyes. 

189
00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:59,200
Fear was spinning. 
Fear was saying all hope is 

190
00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:01,880
lost. 
Mary, your Savior is dead. 

191
00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,800
Mary, you have no hope. 
Mary, all of that trauma you 

192
00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,920
endured and all that trauma that
Jesus that killed Jesus is 

193
00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:11,000
permanent. 
Mary, fear, fear. 

194
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:16,720
Fear tries to prophecy. 
The Angel says don't let it come

195
00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:20,440
and see, come and observe. 
The observable reality is that 

196
00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:23,960
Jesus rose from the dead. 
The reality is that God could 

197
00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:28,560
heal what Mary couldn't stop, 
but she needed to stoop her head

198
00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:32,840
under the entrance and see it, 
that there's no corpse to speak 

199
00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:37,400
of. 
She needed to see God's power 

200
00:13:37,640 --> 00:13:40,600
and let that ground her and melt
the fear. 

201
00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:45,120
Now how about us? 
How about all those situations 

202
00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,800
we can't fix? 
How about all the situations 

203
00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:51,160
that we couldn't fix, that we 
couldn't stop? 

204
00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:56,800
Like Mary, we are invited to 
step out of our fear and 

205
00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:01,200
observe. 
God has entered our world with 

206
00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:05,320
His saving power. 
He has actually fixed bigger 

207
00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:07,600
situations than the one that we 
face. 

208
00:14:07,680 --> 00:14:14,200
He has done impossible things 
already, and He loves us and 

209
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,320
he's for us, and He's very, very
good. 

210
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:22,080
Do you know that there's 
evidence in history there are 

211
00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:24,320
eyewitness accounts of God's 
goodness? 

212
00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:28,080
First of all, for the 
resurrection, there's eyewitness

213
00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:32,720
accounts, diverse witnesses to 
the fact that Jesus is alive. 

214
00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:37,280
That's the linchpin of all of 
the Christian faith, and it is 

215
00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:40,320
The Fountainhead of God's 
goodness for many, many other 

216
00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:42,040
ways that He has intervened in 
history. 

217
00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:45,400
Do you know that there's many 
times, do you know that whatever

218
00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,760
situation that you and I 
couldn't fix or are facing, 

219
00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,720
wherever you and I are coming to
the end of our powers, Do you 

220
00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:54,000
know that there are people 
walking this earth that have 

221
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,960
faced a similar situation where 
God intervened and His power was

222
00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,200
made known to them and His 
goodness was made known to them?

223
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,840
And do you know that we too can 
ground ourselves in this 

224
00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:09,400
eyewitness testimony in church 
history, in Scripture, and in 

225
00:15:09,400 --> 00:15:12,760
the testimony of His Saints? 
Friends, we, like Mary 

226
00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:16,560
Magdalene, can enter into God's 
new reality and let it melt our 

227
00:15:16,560 --> 00:15:18,800
fear. 
It's very empowering. 

228
00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,400
But it doesn't stop there. 
Once the women had first hand 

229
00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:26,280
evidence of God's new reality, 
the Angel invited to do 

230
00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:30,240
something else. 
He invited them to act with 

231
00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,080
humble confidence. 
He invited them to act with 

232
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:38,960
humble confidence. 
Verse 7 of Matthew 28 The Angel 

233
00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:41,640
continues. 
Then go quickly and tell his 

234
00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:45,000
disciples that he has risen from
the dead, and behold, he is 

235
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,040
going before you to Galilee. 
There you will see him. 

236
00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:53,360
See, I have told you so. 
Verse 8 So they departed quickly

237
00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:59,400
from the tomb with fear and 
great joy and ran to tell his 

238
00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:06,040
disciples. 
So here's a a very scary task 

239
00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:11,040
for the women. 
Go and tell, go tell Jesus 

240
00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,720
disciples that Jesus has risen 
from the dead and they must go 

241
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:19,440
to Galilee to see him. 
Now the gospel writers tell us 

242
00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:23,560
that the women went with fear. 
At the very least there was joy,

243
00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:27,360
but there was also fear. 
They were very intimidated and 

244
00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:28,960
we put ourselves in this 
situation. 

245
00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:32,760
You know, women were not 
believed in this time in in this

246
00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:35,400
culture. 
They were not admitted. 

247
00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,080
They were not considered 
admissible testimony in any 

248
00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:42,320
court of law. 
And so they have to move forward

249
00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:46,840
with weakness knowing that they 
would likely not be believed. 

250
00:16:47,080 --> 00:16:51,120
And also you're saying that 
something impossible is true, 

251
00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,240
something that the disciples 
will not by virtue of like 

252
00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,680
observable reality for them, be 
true that Jesus is alive. 

253
00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:06,520
But notice the Angel did not say
make everyone believe you. 

254
00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:12,160
He didn't say that. 
He didn't say make them see you 

255
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:16,640
as credible. 
He just said go and tell you 

256
00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,359
have a role to play and it's not
all on you. 

257
00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:23,160
Have you ever heard of the 
scientific theory called the 

258
00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,640
butterfly effect? 
The butterfly, flecked with a 

259
00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,840
butterfly flaps its wings in one
part of the world, and then 

260
00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:32,640
there's this massive weather 
event in another part of the 

261
00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:38,320
world. 
As a result, the women fly from 

262
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:41,240
the tomb with fear and great 
joy. 

263
00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:43,880
And when the time came, Mary 
Magdalene and the other Mary, 

264
00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:48,960
they would flap their delicate 
wings before a skeptical group 

265
00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,600
of disciples and say Jesus is 
risen. 

266
00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,400
He has appeared, and we must go 
to see Him in Galilee. 

267
00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:58,560
And the disciples, you know what
they would do? 

268
00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:02,320
They would huff and they would 
puff and they would scoff and 

269
00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,600
they would not believe the 
women's testimony. 

270
00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:09,120
Surprise, surprise. 
But you know what? 

271
00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:12,760
Making them believe wasn't their
job. 

272
00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:19,280
Mary Magdalene just had to flap 
those wings, and in time, it was

273
00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:23,400
the winds of the Spirit that 
would bring good news upon a 

274
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:27,720
parched and dry land and bring 
the storm of conversion and 

275
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:32,200
bring the storm of Pentecost, 
and the Lord would do the rest. 

276
00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:36,920
Now here's what Jesus's 
resurrection shows us, friends. 

277
00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:40,000
We're not called to be the 
weather. 

278
00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:43,320
We're just called to flap our 
wings. 

279
00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:51,760
We're not called to control all 
the conditions if the Lord 

280
00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:54,360
knows. 
We've tried to control all the 

281
00:18:54,360 --> 00:18:57,880
conditions, but that doesn't 
work. 

282
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:01,680
The Lord only calls us to flap 
our wings with humble confidence

283
00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:05,520
and let him take care of the 
weather, let him take care of 

284
00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,360
the outcomes, let him take care 
of the problems. 

285
00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:11,480
Let him take care of the people 
we care about. 

286
00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,720
And ultimately, we let him take 
care of the ending of the story.

287
00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,760
And that's where this leads to 
because as we act with humble 

288
00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:24,000
confidence, as we step out with 
fear and great joy, Jesus 

289
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:28,160
brought the surprise. 
Jesus brings the surprise. 

290
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,160
The women were on their way, 
right? 

291
00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:33,480
They're on their way. 
OK. 

292
00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,320
The job is to tell the 
disciples, you know, the 

293
00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:38,440
blinders are on. 
This is my job. 

294
00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,080
And verse 9. 
And behold, Jesus met them and 

295
00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:46,560
said greetings, you know, 
greetings. 

296
00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:48,600
It's in Greek. 
This is somewhat of a casual 

297
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,280
term, like good morning or 
what's up. 

298
00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:55,440
You know, it's kind of a flex, 
like, hey, I'm here. 

299
00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:02,440
And they came up and took hold 
of his feet and worshipped him. 

300
00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:07,280
And what a what a relief this 
must have been. 

301
00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:10,760
What a healing moment this must 
have been. 

302
00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:12,000
I thought you were dead. 
Look. 

303
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,480
And she's watching him die. 
And all she can clasp there are 

304
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:19,160
her own hands, but now she can 
clasp him in the flesh. 

305
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:22,880
This is my Savior and he. 
And she worships him. 

306
00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:26,880
She pours out her praise to him,
and so does the other Mary. 

307
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:31,920
They thought that duck was the 
end of the story, but there's 

308
00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,440
this like maybe it's starting to
sink in for them, like as 

309
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:38,600
they're grasping his feet or his
ankles, like this is just the 

310
00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:41,400
beginning. 
They're worshiping him as Lord. 

311
00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:42,760
So he's Lord. 
He's. 

312
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,800
He's reigning. 
He's he's won victory over 

313
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,120
death. 
This is only the beginning like 

314
00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:51,160
this. 
I never thought this could ever 

315
00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:57,240
happen and here it is. 
You know, verse 10, there's more

316
00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,440
surprises to come. 
Jesus said to them, do not be 

317
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:04,880
afraid. 
Go and tell my brothers to go to

318
00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:11,840
Galilee and there they will see 
me not Go and tell my disciples 

319
00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:18,360
they were his disciples. 
Go and tell my brothers to go to

320
00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:23,160
Galilee. 
The last time we heard from 

321
00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:28,720
Jesus disciples, they were 
deserting him and running away 

322
00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:32,000
in his hour of need. 
They fell short as Matt preached

323
00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:36,200
about on Good Friday. 
In the worst way they fell 

324
00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:38,600
short. 
In the worst moment they fell 

325
00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:43,960
short and they were hiding. 
They were, they were afraid of, 

326
00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:46,360
they were looking out for 
themselves at this point. 

327
00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:51,280
And not only did he not believe 
Jesus's resurrection, it would 

328
00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:54,120
be hard for them, especially 
Peter, to accept Jesus's 

329
00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:57,080
forgiveness. 
But Jesus has already forgiven 

330
00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:59,520
them. 
He is already calling them 

331
00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:01,880
brothers. 
Brothers means reconciliation. 

332
00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:07,480
Brothers means partnership. 
Brothers means I love you. 

333
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,480
Brothers mean I'm ready to trust
you again. 

334
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:17,200
Brothers mean you can't change 
the past, but Jesus can redeem 

335
00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:18,400
it. 
He can heal it. 

336
00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:24,000
Surprise, Jesus is more than 
enough. 

337
00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:26,400
You fell short. 
We fell short, didn't we? 

338
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:32,160
Jesus is more than enough and 
he's ready to call us sisters. 

339
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:37,280
He's ready to call us brothers. 
And the best is yet to come for 

340
00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:39,760
them and for us. 
That is what Easter is all 

341
00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,800
about. 
Would we dare let Jesus bring a 

342
00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:47,600
surprise ending to our stories? 
I don't know what your story is,

343
00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:55,320
but what if we could trust Jesus
with those unfinished stories 

344
00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:59,400
and say, here it is, Lord, bring
your surprise ending. 

345
00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:05,000
Bring your conclusion to our 
unfinished stories. 

346
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:09,800
Bring the surprise to our 
imperfection, to our past, to 

347
00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:12,800
our world. 
Because you know what his 

348
00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:17,680
surprise endings look like? 
Empty tombs and joyful reunions 

349
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:23,240
and Nets filled with fish. 
It looks like heaven handling 

350
00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:28,320
boulders that we can't move. 
This is the power of God 

351
00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:31,240
breaking into the world for 
people at the end of their 

352
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:33,800
powers. 
It starts with Jesus tomb. 

353
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:35,280
But it doesn't end there 
friends. 

354
00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:39,760
He has gone on ahead and he has 
invited us to join him, sisters 

355
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:44,400
and brothers, to see Him so that
he can wipe away every tear, so 

356
00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:51,080
that he can forgive every sin. 
He's invited us to come worship 

357
00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:54,640
him as the Lord, to receive a 
new Commission from him, one 

358
00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,120
that we didn't expect, one that 
we probably don't feel ready 

359
00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:01,200
for. 
A new calling filled with hope, 

360
00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:06,520
a new purpose, a new life. 
The stone is rolled away, 

361
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,640
friends, not just for him, but 
for us. 

362
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,640
So let us trust Him. 
Let us follow him. 

363
00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:17,280
And happy Easter, the Lord is 
risen.