1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,600 You can turn your Bibles to the book of John while we let them 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:10,360 transition. That's in the in the right hand 3 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:13,040 side of your Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke and then John. 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:28,670 We'll take you to John Chapter 11. 5 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,240 I'm going to take you to multiple passages this morning. 6 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:46,920 Typically for those who are are used to hearing my preaching, 7 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,000 you know that we typically go verse by verse. 8 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,840 So we've been going through the book of Matthew for a year and a 9 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:53,840 half at this point, verse by verse. 10 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:56,800 We're not in a hurry. And then we just keep walking 11 00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,160 through it. Today we have what's kind of 12 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:01,480 what you would call more of a topical sermon. 13 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:05,600 So the title for my note takers is The Divine Irony, and I'm 14 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:07,400 going to take you to multiple passages. 15 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,280 The Easter story is full of irony. 16 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,760 Irony is when something turns out the opposite of what you 17 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:17,000 expected it to be and what you had planned for it to be. 18 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:19,680 It's when someone tries to do one thing, but they end up doing 19 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:21,560 the very thing that they were trying to avoid. 20 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,520 That's ironic. The people thought that they 21 00:01:25,520 --> 00:01:28,280 were stopping a threat by killing Jesus, but they were 22 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,640 actually fulfilling A prophecy. And today we're going to see 23 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,280 multiple of the divine ironies that take place in the 24 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:35,880 resurrection story. So here in John Chapter 11, 25 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:38,040 we're going to read from verse 45. 26 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,800 Many of the Jews, therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen 27 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,640 what He did, believed in Him. What He did, by the way, was 28 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,960 raising Lazarus from the dead. But some of them went to the 29 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,280 Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 30 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,640 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the counsel 31 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,800 and said, what are we to do? For this man performs many 32 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:00,520 signs. If we let him go on like this, 33 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,560 everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and 34 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,760 take away both our place and our nation. 35 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,440 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was the high priest that year, 36 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:12,280 said to them, You know nothing at all. 37 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:17,000 Nor do you understand that it is better, nor do you understand 38 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,080 that it is better for for you that one man should die for the 39 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:24,400 people, not that the whole nation should perish. 40 00:02:24,920 --> 00:02:27,800 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest 41 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:31,680 that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 42 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,680 and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the 43 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,200 children of God who are scattered abroad. 44 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,320 So from that day on, they made plans to put him to death. 45 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:44,720 Lord, we thank you for Your Word, and I pray that you will 46 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,640 bring light and revelation as we continue to look into it today. 47 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,440 The Bible is awesome. The Bible is exciting because it 48 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,560 tells your story, the greatest story, the only story, the story 49 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:55,800 that we're all a part of, whether we chose to be or not. 50 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,480 And Lord, you invite us into it by Your grace and by your power. 51 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:01,880 Glorify your name through the preaching of Your Word. 52 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:05,080 Deliver faith to the hearer and bring whatever is needed. 53 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:10,280 Encouragement, correction, rebuke, healing, forgiveness. 54 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:14,240 You're fit for the task. Holy Spirit, we trust you for it 55 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,840 all in Jesus name, Amen. So isn't it interesting what 56 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,280 Caiaphas says, what he points out here, he says it is better 57 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,680 for you that one man should die for the people and not that the 58 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:28,720 whole nation should perish. This guy prophesied. 59 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,000 This is so interesting. So remember, we got Pharisees 60 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,760 and Sadducees, both Jewish leadership types, Together. 61 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:36,600 They form what's called the Sanhedrin. 62 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:38,800 So remember, Rome is ruling over everybody. 63 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,320 They've kicked everybody's butts all over the place, but then 64 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,880 they kind of let you have your subculture underneath them and 65 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,040 they go, hey, y'all are Jews. You can do your Jewish stuff. 66 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:48,920 But we are the real authority here. 67 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,160 We are the sword. You can have your religion. 68 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:53,360 So then the Jews, they have their infighting. 69 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,320 Well, we're the Pharisees. We believe things like this. 70 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,160 They would be more conservative in their theology. 71 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,240 And then you got the Sadducees. These guys wouldn't believe in 72 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:00,360 the afterlife. They don't believe in the 73 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,000 supernatural. But a Sadducee actually is 74 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,560 appointed that year to be the high priest. 75 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,000 That's Caiaphas. So Caiaphas is the high priest. 76 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:09,440 You see him in the book of Acts as well. 77 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:11,680 He's the same high priest that they're dealing with in the book 78 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:14,520 of Acts who's persecuting the church still, even after he 79 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:16,839 knows about the resurrection of Jesus. 80 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:19,680 Just a reminder for you, people don't need more evidence. 81 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:23,120 The gospel alone is the power to persuade and to cut people to 82 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:25,280 the heart. But Caiaphas, under the 83 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:29,360 inspiration of the Holy Spirit, somehow, someway in the 84 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:34,160 sovereignty of God, prophesied earlier that year that Jesus, 85 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:35,400 well, how do they know about Jesus? 86 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:37,600 Because everybody know about Jesus for three years. 87 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:39,680 Jesus doesn't have a following of 12. 88 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:42,120 Jesus has a following of thousands and thousands and 89 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:44,360 thousands. Yes, the 12 are close, but all 90 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,960 of Israel knows what's going on. You know somebody who knows 91 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,280 somebody who Jesus healed, you know somebody who's heard Jesus 92 00:04:50,280 --> 00:04:53,000 preach, you know somebody who knows somebody who saw a 93 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,360 miracle. If you've been around Israel for 94 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:57,400 the past three years, you know all about this. 95 00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:59,320 Each year Jesus would have come into Jerusalem. 96 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:00,720 This is the, this is the tradition. 97 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:03,080 This is the Passover. But this year, of course, was 98 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:05,400 different. All week long, Jesus has been 99 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,000 causing a stir. He has been going nuclear on 100 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:11,520 everybody on false doctrine and glorifying himself and telling 101 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,400 people finally who he is in preparation for himself to go to 102 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:17,520 the cross. And Caiaphas had prophesied. 103 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,360 Jesus is going to die so that we all don't have to. 104 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:22,080 Caiaphas, you don't know how right you are. 105 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:24,120 But that's not how Caiaphas meant it. 106 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,440 Caiaphas didn't mean Jesus going to die for our sins. 107 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:31,160 Caiaphas meant Jesus is going to lead a rebellion, which many 108 00:05:31,160 --> 00:05:32,920 people had done before against the Romans. 109 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:34,560 OK, it's kind of the cool Jewish thing to do. 110 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:37,400 Like, who's going to be our next leader to lead US against the 111 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:39,160 Roman armies? And they're going. 112 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:41,480 Jesus is building like we've never seen a movement like this 113 00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:43,280 before. We know what he's doing. 114 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:46,520 He's preparing for his big run. Oh, no. 115 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,600 If he makes a big run, then the Romans are going to come and 116 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,480 destroy us and overthrow us, and then we're going to lose our 117 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,160 seats of power. That was their concern. 118 00:05:55,320 --> 00:05:59,080 So Jesus can die so that all of us don't get killed and wiped 119 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:00,800 out by the Romans. One man can die. 120 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,000 We'll sacrifice him right now so that we don't have to deal with 121 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,280 the Romans later. Caiaphas prophesied accurately, 122 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:09,760 but he did not understand the meaning of his own prophecy. 123 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,480 That's an amazing lesson for us, for us Pentecostals who 124 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,600 prophecy, it's good instruction. And I've taught you this before 125 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:17,960 when we talk about the gifts of the Spirit. 126 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:19,640 This is a sidebar. This was totally free, by the 127 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:21,840 way, not in my notes. Whenever we prophecy by the 128 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:25,240 Spirit, you give only what the Holy Spirit gives you to give 129 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:27,880 and nothing more. And you do not interpret unless 130 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:29,600 the Holy Spirit gives you the interpretation. 131 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,280 So if the Lord tells you to say this to so and so, you say that 132 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:36,600 to so and so and nothing else. You say, hey, I feel like the 133 00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:38,680 Lord wanted me to say this. And then they go, what does that 134 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:39,920 mean? You got, I got nothing else for 135 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,200 you, unless of course you do. But be faithful with what the 136 00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:44,840 Lord has given you. Don't go beyond it. 137 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:47,640 Certainly don't go beneath it either. 138 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:51,640 So he was divinely inspired. Caiaphas was he thought Jesus 139 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:54,360 was going to lead a revolt against Rome, causing Rome to 140 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:56,200 retaliate and wipe out the Jewish people. 141 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,560 Caiaphas is focused on the Kingdom of man, of course, 142 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,040 instead of the Kingdom of God, which is what Jesus had been 143 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,760 preaching for three years now. But hard hearted and spiritually 144 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:09,320 blind Caiaphas cannot see the love of God right in his face. 145 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,560 Jesus come to save you, Caiaphas. 146 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:15,240 Jesus come to save Caesar. Jesus come to save the poor, the 147 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,680 wealthy, anyone who will recognize him for who he is. 148 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,280 So he's Caiaphas is extremely familiar with Jesus at this 149 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:24,080 point. He's heard his teaching, He's 150 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:26,640 seen his miracles. They know he raised Lazarus from 151 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:29,120 the dead and they're not going. Well, this is interesting. 152 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:30,520 Maybe we should slow down. They're going. 153 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:32,720 We got to kill him and Lazarus is what they said. 154 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:35,760 So for the hard heart, miracles aren't enough. 155 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:38,800 And tragically, Caiaphas, his own words will condemn him on 156 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:41,160 the day of judgment. Those words will be used against 157 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:42,680 him. Jesus said that multiple times 158 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:44,440 throughout our gospels, as we've been seeing. 159 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:47,400 Jesus says what you've said will be used against you and your 160 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:49,720 testimony and your life will be brought back before you. 161 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,400 That will be used against you. We won't use some exterior 162 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:54,080 judgment. We'll use an internal judgment, 163 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:57,680 Your own words, Caiaphas. Jesus died for the Jesus died 164 00:07:57,680 --> 00:07:59,880 for the nation. Yes he did, but you missed it, 165 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:02,920 Caiaphas. Caiaphas insultingly says you 166 00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:06,920 know nothing to the rest of the Sanhedrin as he proceeds to 167 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,800 reveal his ignorance. Yes, Caiaphas, Jesus should die 168 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:14,440 for the people, but it's not to stop the limited wrath of Rome, 169 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,240 who can only kill the body and then do nothing more. 170 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:20,400 There is a far greater ruler than Caesar, and there's a far 171 00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:24,840 greater ruling than Roman law. Jesus will absorb the full wrath 172 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:29,640 of God and save Jews and Gentiles like you and I from 173 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:31,720 being thrown into hell and receiving the penalty we 174 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:33,679 deserve. Jesus did way better than just 175 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,320 preserving a nation. Jesus saved the whole world, 176 00:08:36,320 --> 00:08:39,600 past, present and future by his death, his burial, and his 177 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:45,000 resurrection. Turn now to Matthew chapter 27. 178 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:48,120 We're looking. Our theme is the divine irony. 179 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:55,000 You're turning to your left if you were there in John Matthew 180 00:08:55,000 --> 00:09:01,840 27 verse 15. The divine irony continues now 181 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:08,600 with a man named Barabbas. Now at the feast, the governor 182 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,760 that's Pilate was accustomed to release for the crowd anyone 183 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,920 prisoner whom they wanted. So remember, Pilate is the one 184 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,160 ruling over this region. He's the one responsible for the 185 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:20,480 Jews. Probably not a a desired post, 186 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:21,120 right? Why? 187 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,000 Because you have to deal with Jerusalem and all the feasts and 188 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,840 all the Jews who come and your guard who beat somebody up and 189 00:09:26,840 --> 00:09:28,840 all the accusations and all the rebellions. 190 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:31,880 You're in the hot spot. So this is not a coveted seat 191 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,240 that Pilate has. So he's always trying to please 192 00:09:34,240 --> 00:09:36,920 Caesar and he's always trying to keep the Jews appease and he's 193 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:38,320 just trying to play this middleman. 194 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:40,280 Why? So he can preserve his power, of 195 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,840 course, so he can stay in his miserable position of power. 196 00:09:43,840 --> 00:09:46,760 So he, he's made it a custom every year now at the Passover 197 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:50,000 feast just to appease the Jews. Hey, pick a prisoner. 198 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,360 I'll release them to you. This is like an act of goodwill. 199 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:53,840 I kind of want to be your friend. 200 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:58,160 You hate me, I hate you. But yeah, I still want to earn 201 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:00,600 some favor with you. He's accustomed to release for 202 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:02,680 the crowd anyone prisoner whom they wanted. 203 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:06,000 And they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 204 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:08,760 Guess what Barabbas tried to do? He tried to start a rebellion 205 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,240 against the Romans, The very thing we're so terrified Jesus 206 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,040 is going to do. Barabbas is literally done. 207 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:17,600 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, Who do you 208 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,400 want me to release for you, Barabbas or Jesus, who is called 209 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:22,360 Christ? For he knew that it was out of 210 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:24,560 envy that they had delivered Jesus up to him. 211 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:27,880 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife 212 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:31,080 sent word to him, Have nothing to do with that righteous man, 213 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:33,200 for I have suffered much because of him. 214 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,240 Today in a dream. Now the chief priests and the 215 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:39,840 elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to destroy 216 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:42,640 Jesus. The governor again said to them, 217 00:10:42,760 --> 00:10:44,640 Which of the two do you want me to release for you? 218 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:48,480 And they said, Barabbas, Pilate said to them, then what shall I 219 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:50,280 do with Jesus, who is called Christ? 220 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:52,800 They all said, let him be crucified. 221 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,360 And they said, why, what evil has he done? 222 00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:58,720 But they shouted all the more, Let him be crucified. 223 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,560 So when Pilate saw he was gaining nothing, but rather that 224 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:06,160 a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands 225 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,600 before the crowd, saying, I'm innocent of this man's blood, 226 00:11:09,680 --> 00:11:13,000 See to it yourselves. And all the people answered, His 227 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:15,760 blood be on us and on our children. 228 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:17,960 Then he released for them Barabbas. 229 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,600 Having scourged Jesus, he delivered him up to be 230 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:25,640 crucified. The divine irony continues here 231 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:28,880 with Barabbas. He is a violent rebel, guilty of 232 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,120 the very insurrection that they fear Jesus is going to cause. 233 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:35,920 But of course, the guilty man is set free because the innocent 234 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:39,400 man takes his place. You and I are Barabbas. 235 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,120 We are the prisoner in jail to be tormented by our ruler, 236 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:45,520 Satan. Not forever an attorney. 237 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:47,480 Satan's not in charge of hell. It's not what I mean to imply, 238 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:49,280 but he torments people on the earth. 239 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:53,720 And we're we're helpless as he rules over us and as we are 240 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,200 slaves to our sin. In the same way, though the 241 00:11:56,200 --> 00:11:59,240 Father frees you from your prison, the Father frees you 242 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:02,760 from your condemnation because of the sinless substitute King 243 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:04,880 Jesus. He willingly took your place. 244 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:08,680 Keep going. Or or look again here, verses 18 245 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:10,600 and 19. For he knew that it was out of 246 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:12,000 envy that they had delivered him up. 247 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,720 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife 248 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:16,520 sent word to him. Have nothing to do with that 249 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,320 righteous man. For I have suffered much because 250 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:23,040 of him today in a dream. So remember the things I'm 251 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:25,320 quoting to you right now. We're on Friday morning, we're 252 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:27,880 back on Friday morning. Thursday night, Jesus had the 253 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:29,400 Passover meal with his disciples. 254 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,880 The meal they've celebrated for thousands of years all the way 255 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:36,640 back to Moses, Passover. But Jesus changed it that night. 256 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:38,800 He said this isn't about Egypt anymore, everybody. 257 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,480 And they go, what do you mean? We've had this meal together for 258 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:44,320 a couple of years now. Jesus, he says this is the new 259 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:48,680 covenant in my blood. And they have full revelation 260 00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:51,240 now. So Egypt really happened, by the 261 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:53,440 way. But it was all pointing to Jesus 262 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:55,920 because everything is about Jesus. 263 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:01,160 Jesus is the greater Moses. Jesus is the greater deliverer. 264 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,440 So that happened Thursday night and then front and then late 265 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:07,800 Thursday night, early Friday morning, in the middle of the 266 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:09,960 night while Jesus is praying in the garden, Judas betrayed him 267 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:12,760 and now Jesus has the sham trials all night long. 268 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:14,720 He goes back and forth. They take him to Herod, they 269 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:16,920 take him to pilot, take him back to Herod, they take him back to 270 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:18,080 pilot. Pilots. 271 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,040 Like I know that the Jews are mad at this guy because he's 272 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,120 more popular than they are. He can tell what's going on, but 273 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:25,920 also they put a lot of pressure on him. 274 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:28,680 So he's going, look, I'm not going to crucify this guy. 275 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,600 So he has him scourged the Roman whip. 276 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:34,080 They could whip him as many times as they wanted. 277 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,160 The Jews had a limit of 39. The Romans had no such limit. 278 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,360 So we don't know how severely he was beaten, except that we know 279 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:43,400 by the time Jesus was hanging on the cross for my sin and for 280 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,000 your sin, he didn't resemble the form of a human anymore. 281 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:51,760 The Scripture tells us innocent man, innocent man, that's the 282 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:53,920 man who hung on the cross. We got some sweet little baby 283 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:58,000 boys in this room this morning. Jesus Christ at 33 years old was 284 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,680 more innocent than those babies hanging on, than those babies 285 00:14:00,680 --> 00:14:02,680 hanging on the cross. So if that seems like a graphic 286 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:06,440 image and it is, Christ hanging on the cross is more graphic 287 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:10,240 than a newborn being crucified because he's perfect and sinless 288 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:12,280 in every way. And he chose it and he did it 289 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,120 because of his great love. But Pilate knows all what's 290 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:17,040 going on. And the Lord even met his wife 291 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,960 in a dream to preach the gospel to her about Jesus. 292 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:22,680 And she's warning Pilate. She sends a note and a message 293 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:24,760 to her husband while he's sitting on the judgement seat, 294 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,280 the seat of authority, the seat that's elevated as he's making 295 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,040 all these decisions. And the Jews woke him up early. 296 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:30,880 What's going on? What's happening? 297 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,360 Send him to Herod. Deal with your own religious 298 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:35,520 inner fights about who your Messiah is. 299 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:37,400 And Herod's gone. I'm not having anything to do 300 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:39,560 with this. And pilot's wife goes, don't, 301 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:42,120 don't comment, don't participate, don't kill this 302 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:43,760 man. So Pilot's scared because his 303 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:47,360 wife is spooked and he knows now he's got a man standing in front 304 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:50,080 of him who for the first time in his life is not afraid of pilot 305 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:53,440 and Pilots warning him, Dude, don't you know I can kill you? 306 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:57,440 Talk to me. And Jesus goes, you don't have 307 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:58,560 the power that you think you have. 308 00:14:59,320 --> 00:15:03,200 And Pilots go on. I'm not having, I'm not having 309 00:15:03,200 --> 00:15:04,440 anything to do with this. Keep going. 310 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,920 Verse 20, Verse 20 to 23. Now the chief priests and the 311 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:11,440 elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to destroy 312 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:13,360 Jesus. The governor again said to them, 313 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:14,840 Which of these you want me to release for you? 314 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:17,320 Barabbas? Pilate said, What shall I do 315 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:18,680 with Jesus? Who's called the Christ? 316 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:20,520 They all said, let him be crucified. 317 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:22,320 Why? What evil has he done? 318 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:24,520 But they shouted all the more, let him be crucified. 319 00:15:24,520 --> 00:15:26,640 That's the mob. There's no reason. 320 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:29,720 There's just fanaticism. There's just craziness. 321 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:33,320 There's just flesh. Remember what happened to the 322 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:34,680 triumphal entry just last Sunday? 323 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,360 We were rejoicing. Blessed is he who comes in the 324 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:39,520 name of the Lord, because they thought they were going to get 325 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:42,920 the Jesus that they wanted, not the Jesus who Jesus actually is. 326 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:45,320 We want the one who's going to lead us in the fight against the 327 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:47,040 Romans. That's my Jesus. 328 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:50,160 You mean my Jesus? There's just Jesus. 329 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,560 There's not my Jesus, there's not my truth, there's just 330 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:56,040 Jesus. Well, my Jesus would never be 331 00:15:56,040 --> 00:15:57,600 careful with whatever you're about to say. 332 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,560 My Jesus would always just just just stick with the word of God 333 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,000 because that's who Jesus is. He's not the God of my image. 334 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:07,840 We're actually made in his image. 335 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,720 So the crowd turns on Jesus because they're following the 336 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:18,040 Jewish rulership, unfortunately. But verses 24 and 25, we see 337 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:20,040 Pilots just Pilot distancing himself. 338 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,160 So when pilot saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that 339 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,960 the riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands 340 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,560 before the crowd, saying, I'm innocent of this man's blood, 341 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:32,600 see to it yourselves. And all the people answered. 342 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,360 His blood be on us and on our children. 343 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:40,960 So Pilate wants to distance himself from murdering the man 344 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:43,680 who he knows is innocent. The man who isn't afraid of him. 345 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:46,760 The man who warned Pilate's, The man God warned Pilate's wife 346 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,040 about in a dream. The man who told Pilate, you 347 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,920 have no power over me except which was given to you from 348 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:53,920 above. So what's Pilate doing? 349 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:58,280 It's symbolic to wash his hands. He's not actually guiltless, but 350 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:02,200 he has less guilt than the Jews do, according to Jesus himself. 351 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:04,400 That was the comfort that Jesus gave to Pilate. 352 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:06,760 So Jesus says, hey, it's hilarious. 353 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,200 Only the king of glory has to give you permission to crucify 354 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,280 him because pilots like I have the power to set you free. 355 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:13,400 Give me something to work with here. 356 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:16,359 And Jesus said, the ones who delivered me to you are guilty 357 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:20,440 of the greater sin. So he's like, it's OK, you can 358 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:23,520 crucify me. I give you permission to crucify 359 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,359 me, the one who has far more authority than you or your 360 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:30,760 Caesar or anybody else. So Pilate mysteriously, 361 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:34,160 strangely goes, I'm still not doing it. 362 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:38,200 It's a symbolic thing. It's not a true thing, but he's 363 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:40,280 doing it symbolically. He's he's essentially saying I 364 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,680 don't have a choice, which is what we always say when we're 365 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:45,000 being cowards, right? My hands are tied. 366 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,280 What was I supposed to do? I didn't have a choice. 367 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,160 I always, always, always have a choice. 368 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,120 I could choose wrongly, and many times I have. 369 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:55,040 But like Pilot, I always have a choice. 370 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:58,120 He looks at the crowd, Jewish leaders, and he says I am 371 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:02,520 innocent of this man's blood. And the divine irony reaches its 372 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,680 height now in the crowd's response. 373 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,520 His blood be on us and on our children. 374 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:13,120 They mean this as a sarcastic curse for themselves. 375 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:15,480 They're saying, fine, fine. Yeah, fine. 376 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,320 Pilot. It's it's our, it's our problem. 377 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:19,400 Fine, Pilot, it's nothing on you. 378 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:22,360 Let the record clearly show it's not Pilot's doing. 379 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:24,240 It was our doing. That's the way they're doing. 380 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:28,080 They're trying to comfort Pilot. They're saying it's our fault 381 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:30,720 and we're to blame. But don't you see the irony 382 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:32,160 there? For those of us who believe in 383 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:35,840 Jesus and love Jesus, we want his blood to cover us and we 384 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:37,560 want his blood to cover our children. 385 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,480 And thank God that it does His blood be on us and on our 386 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,040 children. It was a mockery to them, but to 387 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,280 us it's medicine. To those who reject the Lord, 388 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,200 it's a stain, the blood of Jesus on them. 389 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:53,840 The blood of Jesus has stained them. 390 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:55,240 They're going, I didn't want this on me. 391 00:18:55,760 --> 00:19:00,600 But to us it washes us clean. God in his loving mercy offered 392 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,280 us redemption even as we murdered him. 393 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,840 Jesus is tried, He is mocked, he is beaten, and he is crucified. 394 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:13,520 Then he hung on the cross from Friday morning at 9:00 AM until 395 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,160 3:00 in the afternoon, the only innocent man to ever live. 396 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:19,320 He suffered for all of us guilty. 397 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:24,520 And then he gave up his spirit. He laid down his life and he 398 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:28,120 died. Pastor, I'm ready for the Easter 399 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:29,160 sermon. Here it comes. 400 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,000 It's time to ramp up now. And they thought that was the 401 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:33,960 end. The Sanhedrin were satisfied. 402 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:36,960 Pilot was relieved. The crowd was pleased. 403 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,920 But it's not over the King. This is King Jesus we're talking 404 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:42,720 about here. So welcome to the punchline. 405 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,320 For this reason, the Father loves him because he lays down 406 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:48,720 his life that he may take it up again. 407 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,520 No one takes it from him, but he lays it down on his own accord. 408 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:54,480 He has the authority to lay it down. 409 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:56,720 He has the authority to take it back up again. 410 00:19:56,880 --> 00:19:59,640 This charge he has received from his Father. 411 00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:01,800 And now we come to the ultimate irony. 412 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,680 This is the part where they buried the one who is called the 413 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:09,320 resurrection and the life. Keep going here. 414 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,080 We're in chapter 27. I want you to skip now to verse 415 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:20,950 62. We're in Matthew 2762. 416 00:20:21,150 --> 00:20:25,230 The next day, that is, after the day of preparation, the chief 417 00:20:25,230 --> 00:20:30,280 priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, 418 00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:33,480 Sir, we remember how that imposter, while he was still 419 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:35,920 alive, said, After three days I will rise. 420 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,520 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the 3rd day, 421 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,520 lest his disciples go and steal him away until the people he was 422 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:45,280 risen from the dead, and then his last fraud will be greater 423 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:47,320 than his first. Pilate said to them You have a 424 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:49,600 guard of soldiers, go make it as secure as you can. 425 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,280 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and 426 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,680 setting a guard. So say Pilate, we can't let this 427 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:00,200 scam like we just need 3 days worth of guards and then this 428 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,960 thing is dead forever and taken care of forever. 429 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:05,360 The Roman guards will certainly keep Jesus dead, no doubt about 430 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:07,680 it. Now after the Sabbath, toward 431 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,600 the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the 432 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,400 other Mary went to see the tomb, and behold, there was a great 433 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:15,560 earthquake. For an Angel of the Lord 434 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:19,120 descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone and 435 00:21:19,120 --> 00:21:24,920 sat on it. His appearance was like 436 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:26,960 lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 437 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,840 And for fear the guards trembled and became like dead men. 438 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:34,640 But the Angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know 439 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,360 that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. 440 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,680 He is not here, He is risen, as he said. 441 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:42,080 He would come to the place where he lay. 442 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,320 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from 443 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:49,120 the dead, and behold, he is going to meet you in Galilee. 444 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:51,640 There you will see him. See, I have told you. 445 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,280 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great 446 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:57,200 joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 447 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,960 And behold, Jesus met them and said greetings. 448 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:03,120 And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him. 449 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,000 Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid, Go and tell my 450 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,440 brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me. 451 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:13,360 Hallelujah. And they most certainly did see 452 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:16,160 him. In fact, he spent 40 days with 453 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:17,880 them. And 1st Corinthians tells us 454 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,960 that Jesus appeared to over 500 people before he ascended into 455 00:22:20,960 --> 00:22:24,720 heaven after his resurrection. The divine irony, of course, 456 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,080 here continues. I love a lot of things that 457 00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,880 happened here. The Roman Roman soldiers are 458 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,520 intimidating guys and we don't know how many of them there 459 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:35,840 were, but it was enough to make things secure, so to speak. 460 00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:38,160 But when the Angel of the Lord shows up, they pretend to be 461 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:39,800 dead men. They're terrified. 462 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,320 I wonder how the Angel handled the situation. 463 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:44,040 We know there's actually a couple of angels, different 464 00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:46,000 accounts tell us all the details. 465 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:49,760 So they're terrified and they just are faking dead, horrifying 466 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,000 and afraid to move. And I love how the women walk up 467 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,280 and the Angel says don't be afraid. 468 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:55,840 So meanwhile the Romans are trembling on the ground, 469 00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:57,480 terrified to move. And the angels probably like 470 00:22:57,480 --> 00:22:59,920 flexing at them. And then the women walk, I 471 00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:01,400 guess. Good morning, ladies. 472 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:03,360 How are you? Don't be afraid. 473 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:04,960 I know. I know I'm scary. 474 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:06,280 I know. I could kill you easily. 475 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:09,200 Don't worry about them. They're not going to trouble 476 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:11,080 anybody. Good news. 477 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:13,520 Jesus is alive like he told you he would be. 478 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:14,800 What are you doing with the spices? 479 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:16,520 Are we going to prepare a dead body? 480 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:18,440 Why would Jesus be dead? Right? 481 00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,680 Remember, Jesus told the disciples over and over and 482 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:23,960 over. I am going to Jerusalem to be 483 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:28,080 crucified and I will be killed and I will be raised over and 484 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:29,440 over. But again, nobody was waiting at 485 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:31,200 the tomb with welcome back Jesus signs. 486 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:33,080 Nobody acted like he said it was true. 487 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:35,240 They're going. I guess it's all over, bro. 488 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,080 He told you what was going to happen and now it's happened. 489 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,640 But still I can't you relate to him. 490 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,440 I mean, I've got you know, we got hindsight and we're going. 491 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:44,600 How could you have missed it? But I can so relate. 492 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:48,480 It's too wonderful. It's just too wonderful. 493 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,960 Like Are you sure he's he's alive and Thomas is No, Thomas 494 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,400 comes back into the room. Thomas, while you went to the 495 00:23:56,400 --> 00:24:00,640 store to get you a Gatorade, Jesus came and walked him and 496 00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,960 they're all excited and thrilled and he's like, I want to believe 497 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,360 so bad, but I will not believe unless I put my finger into his 498 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:09,200 side and put my finger through his hand. 499 00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:10,840 And Jesus comes walking through the wall. 500 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:14,520 Scripture tells us all the doors are locked and his glorified 501 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:16,000 body, you can break the rules now. 502 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:19,480 So he comes walking through and says, Hey, Thomas, how about 503 00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:21,360 now? And Thomas says, My Lord and my 504 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:26,200 God, Thomas, you believe. But many are coming who won't 505 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:28,920 believe. But the ones who come and do, 506 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:30,400 there's a special blessing for them. 507 00:24:34,120 --> 00:24:37,240 The divine irony is that the Jews, who are the religious 508 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,320 leaders, and the Romans, who are the political and military 509 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:43,840 leaders, thought all they did was bury another dead man. 510 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:46,840 Well, what they really did was plant the seed in the ground 511 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:49,680 that would come up in new life and completely swallow death. 512 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:51,720 That's the irony. We're going to put him away. 513 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,200 No, no, He told you he's a seed. You forgot. 514 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:56,360 You made a mistake. You can't bury a seed. 515 00:24:56,360 --> 00:24:57,560 I'm going to get rid of this problem. 516 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,320 No, no, no, no, no. You just got a whole new problem 517 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:02,280 on your hands. The Kingdom is coming now. 518 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:07,000 The Kingdom started small with with Jesus and with 11, and it's 519 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,080 multiplied and multiplied until it takes over the whole earth 520 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,120 and the whole universe. Jesus reigns everywhere, over 521 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:16,440 everything, over everybody, and eventually every knee is going 522 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:19,000 to bow and every tongue is going to confess. 523 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,000 That's why you and I are here today, to happily bow, to 524 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,240 joyfully confess that Jesus is Lord. 525 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:26,000 The stone. Another irony. 526 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:29,320 The stone they rolled away would be rolled away to let witnesses 527 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:30,880 in. The stone they rolled in place 528 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:32,360 is rolled away to let witnesses in. 529 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,560 The manly guards meant to contain the Lord ended up 530 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:39,720 trembling and playing dead. The seal on the stone. 531 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:41,800 So whenever they seal, they would have, they would have 532 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,240 coated it with all kinds of wax, and then they would put the the 533 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,880 Roman seal on it. Symbol of power. 534 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:50,040 This is authority. That's real authority. 535 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:51,760 You will not break that Roman seal. 536 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:56,320 You will not break that Roman seal except under the penalty of 537 00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:59,280 death. The Roman seal easily broken. 538 00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:02,960 The Lord doesn't honor Rome's authority over the authority of 539 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,320 his Son, and the man from Nazareth, who was mocked as 540 00:26:06,320 --> 00:26:09,520 powerless, rose as the first born of the new creation with 541 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:11,960 all authority in heaven and on earth. 542 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:16,920 So why does it matter? Why does it matter that Jesus 543 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,440 was raised from the dead? It's not just that we love him 544 00:26:20,840 --> 00:26:22,600 and that we're happy that he's not dead anymore. 545 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:25,040 That's enough. That would be good. 546 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:27,520 But Jesus had to be raised from the dead. 547 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:29,840 It wouldn't be enough to just say, didn't he just didn't he 548 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,560 pay the price for our sins? Wasn't it technically finished 549 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,280 on Friday? Because the innocent suffered? 550 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:38,680 Now the guilty can go free. But that's not the whole story. 551 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:41,720 Because if that happened, like I said earlier, Jesus would just 552 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:45,360 be another dead teacher like every world religion and false 553 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:48,560 doctrine has. His resurrection proves his 554 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:52,480 identity as the Son of God. The resurrection is the receipt. 555 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:55,840 His death paid the price, but the resurrection is the Father 556 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,240 saying the payment is accepted. Without the resurrection, 557 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,280 there's no victory and death would still reign for you and I 558 00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,040 sin would still be undefeated. If there's no resurrection, 559 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,000 there's no hope for us. If Christ had not been raised, 560 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,240 then those who have fallen asleep and death, they have 561 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:15,880 already perished. It wasn't just about 562 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:20,560 forgiveness, it was about life. And that's where we're different 563 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,760 from Barabbas and we're closing. You and I are different from 564 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:27,560 Barabbas, and that Barabbas was simply a criminal who got 565 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:29,920 pardoned for his crimes temporarily. 566 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:33,120 That's where the analogy between you and I, Barabbas falls apart, 567 00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:35,560 because you and I don't just get pardoned for our crimes. 568 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:37,840 Hey, Joe. Michael, your sin is filthy. 569 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:40,240 Your sin is wicked. Your sin is gross, Your sin is 570 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:41,680 dark. All right? 571 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:43,600 I won't punish you for it. That's not all I got. 572 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,000 That's not all you got. We got new creation. 573 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:49,520 We got a new identity. It'd be one thing for God to 574 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:53,800 say, all right, I won't punish you for the crime. 575 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,200 It's another thing for God to say, I'm going to make you a new 576 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:58,200 creation, something you weren't before. 577 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:00,600 You were dead in your sins and your trespasses. 578 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,320 But I won't punish you for it. No, that's not where it stops. 579 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:07,360 That's what Barabbas got. You're free to go until you get 580 00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:09,600 yourself in trouble again, or until you get executed by the 581 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,880 Romans, or until you die of old age. 582 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:15,480 Jesus comes in and gives new life. 583 00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,640 And the resurrection of Jesus guarantees our resurrection, our 584 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,560 new creation as well. If there's no resurrection, then 585 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:25,280 we have no king. But Jesus rose in order to 586 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:28,200 reign. It proves that our resurrection 587 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,640 is coming. His victory guarantees our 588 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,400 victory. He is risen. 589 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:39,880 Amen. So what I do with all this? 590 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,880 We don't just admire it. You don't just admire the beauty 591 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,240 of the Bible. And the Bible is beautiful. 592 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:48,720 The Bible is not boring. If you think the Bible is 593 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:51,400 boring, then you're boring. The Bible is exciting. 594 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,600 The Bible is crazy awesome. The Bible is written by many 595 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:57,960 different men inspired by the Holy Spirit over hundreds of 596 00:28:57,960 --> 00:29:01,240 years in different continents, that they tell the same story, a 597 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:02,960 united story. And the more you see it, the 598 00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,320 more you read it, the more you go, That's crazy. 599 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:06,840 That's amazing what the Lord did. 600 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:08,000 That's beautiful what the Lord did. 601 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:10,160 But we don't just stop at admiration and go, Isn't that 602 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:12,320 neat? Isn't that ironic? 603 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,320 Isn't that interesting? What do you do? 604 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:19,600 You bow the knee to the Lord Jesus and you pray his blood be 605 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:24,920 on me and on my children. You die with Christ and you rise 606 00:29:25,040 --> 00:29:28,000 with him. The worst irony of all would be 607 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:29,840 this. To come to church on Easter 608 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:39,710 Sunday to hear about the blood that saves, to hear about the 609 00:29:39,710 --> 00:29:42,790 tomb that was emptied, to hear about the King who reigns and to 610 00:29:42,790 --> 00:29:46,480 walk away unchanged by it, that would be ironic. 611 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:48,320 But that happens all over the place. 612 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:50,680 That's happening all over this country this morning, 613 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,200 tragically. People are coming to church 614 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:54,960 because it's Easter. People come to church because 615 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:57,400 it's Christmas. The irony and the tragedy there 616 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:00,600 is to come and hear and be unchanged by it. 617 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:07,360 So what must I do? Turn from your sin and trust the 618 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:09,880 risen Son. He welcomes you, He loves you, 619 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:14,520 He forgives you, He cares for you, but he requires everything 620 00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:16,600 of you. He doesn't. 621 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:18,160 He doesn't give a small invitation. 622 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:23,240 He says, hey, I'm worthy of it all and I expect you to prove 623 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,360 that out with your whole life. I'm not asking for a part of 624 00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:29,000 you, I'm asking for all of you. The Bible describes his church 625 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,840 as his bride. I'm very protective of my bride. 626 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:36,360 I love my bride a lot and I won't share my bride in any way. 627 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:40,640 How much more does Jesus look over his church and say, I'm not 628 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:42,920 sharing you with the world, I'm not sharing you with anybody, 629 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,200 You're mine and I own you. And the bride of Christ says you 630 00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:49,360 do whatever you say and whatever you want. 631 00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,920 My pleasure, Lord, it's my pleasure to please you. 632 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:56,800 That's our delight. So I want to invite you this 633 00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:00,160 morning to do something with the risen sun. 634 00:31:00,840 --> 00:31:02,880 It might be to deepen your devotion, to make that 635 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,000 commitment and the privacy of your own heart. 636 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:10,480 You can kneel at your seat or if you've never done that and 637 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,680 you've never given your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, you say, 638 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,960 well, I've believed, I know, but there is a big difference 639 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:19,200 between believing with my brain and actually being changed by 640 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,880 the living God. So if you've never experienced 641 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:24,920 that, you go, well, you're, you're talking about this in a 642 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:27,760 different way, preacher. I've heard, I've heard sermons 643 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:29,800 before. I I believe the Bible is true. 644 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,440 I believe that Jesus is king. That's good. 645 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:36,040 The scary thing to go along with that is to know though, that the 646 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:38,640 devil believes all that. He knows it for a fact. 647 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:42,280 He knows that Jesus is king. He knows what the future holds. 648 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:44,200 He knows that Jesus will rule and reign forever. 649 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:46,760 So to believe with my brain is a good starting point. 650 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:49,320 But the Holy Spirit is prompting you even as you've heard the 651 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:51,920 Gospel message this morning, even as you've heard the good 652 00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:54,560 news about the resurrection of Christ, He's prompting you even 653 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:59,440 now to say, give me more of you. So to the Christian, I say give 654 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:03,520 more of yourself to him. Redouble your efforts and say, 655 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:05,560 Lord, help me surrender more fully. 656 00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:08,680 Not that you would go and accomplish and do and prove 657 00:32:08,680 --> 00:32:10,960 anything, but that you would just say, help me to find a 658 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:13,440 deeper surrender, Lord. And for those of you would say, 659 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:15,400 I don't, I don't know if that event has happened. 660 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,360 I don't know if I've experienced that miracle inside that you're 661 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:19,760 describing. I don't know if I've experienced 662 00:32:19,760 --> 00:32:21,920 that new birth as it's been called. 663 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:23,400 Jesus says you must be born again. 664 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,920 The first time you were born from your Mama, flesh and blood. 665 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:27,840 The second time you must be born from the Spirit. 666 00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:33,400 So we're going to close with a song and as we sing this song 667 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:35,880 together, I'm going to invite anyone who would like to. 668 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:37,880 I would love to join. I would love for you to join me. 669 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,360 I'd be happy to pray with you. I'll ask you, hey, what's going 670 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:43,080 on in your heart? Tell me what it is you want and 671 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:45,200 I can pray with you. I can lead you in prayer. 672 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,520 I'm going to be gracious. The Lord is loving and He wants 673 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:50,840 to welcome you home. So would you stand to your feet?