00:00 The Ignored Announcement

02:10 The Gospel's Big Announcement

03:03 Understanding the Resurrection

08:26 Opposition to the Resurrection

19:02 The Role of Heart in Belief

22:06 The Women at the Tomb

24:21 Jesus' Divinity and Worship

25:39 Emotions of Devotion, Fear, and Joy

28:30 True Worship Requires the Heart

37:04 The Joy of the Resurrection

39:21 Sharing the Joy of Jesus

47:08 Invitation to Everlasting Joy

I wanna tell you guys about, uh, an announcement that

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most people probably ignore.

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You guys ever see this sign before?

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Yeah.

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No one really cares

about this sign, right?

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It comes on and people

are just like, cool.

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And then the flight tent has

their thing and you're just like,

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on your phone or you're talking.

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People got their headphones in like this.

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They, they put this thing on

and they, and they come up and

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it's like, all right, whatever.

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Or sometimes it comes on in

the flight and you're like.

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Do I really need, like I'm sitting down,

do I really need to put my seatbelt on?

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I'm not gonna get up, right?

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This happens a lot.

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But one time I was on an airplane where

this really, really, really mattered.

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So my wife and I were on our way

back from our honeymoon in Hawaii,

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and there wasn't just this light on.

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This light was on.

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This light is the, you can't

use the bathroom light Now.

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The reason that light was on was

because we were about to take off.

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So we're like coming down the runway.

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We're getting ready to take off.

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There's a woman in the bathroom,

there's a woman in the bathroom, and

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they're like, you can't be in here.

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Like, we, we need to take off.

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Like, you're not supposed to be in here.

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And she's like, I'm

gonna go to the bathroom.

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I'm doing it, you guys, I have, I

have free rights in this country.

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I could do whatever I want on this plane.

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I'm gonna go to the

bathroom in this plane.

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And they didn't, they

didn't let her do that.

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They, they, they were like, no, like,

ma'am, it's not safe for you to do that.

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It's not okay when we tell you to.

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Put on your seatbelt, you need to put

on your seatbelt and be in your seat.

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You can't be doing this.

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So then they eventually, this

lady was getting really upset, so

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eventually they call, they have to

call the security to, so we have

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to go all the way back to the gate.

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They call the security, they come

in and escort her off the plane

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after she gave this whole speech

about rights and all that stuff.

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It was, it was hilarious.

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But so they, they escort her off

the plane and so she, and all

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her family gets kicked off too.

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Her husband, her kids, they

all get kicked off this plane.

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I'm sure they didn't get refunded, right?

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So they lost their plane trip, they

lost their tickets, they all got

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kicked off, and I'm sure other things

happened to them afterward too, that,

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that weren't necessarily super fun.

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So they, they all got kicked

off this plane because she

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ignored the announcement, right?

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If she had listened to this sign,

she would've been fine, right?

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But she, she ignored the announcement.

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She didn't take it seriously.

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And so she got in big trouble.

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Now, I wanna tell you guys about an

announcement that's happening in the

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gospel of Matthew, chapters 27 and 28,

the very end that we're looking at.

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That announcement is that Jesus is alive.

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Jesus is, he's alive.

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He, he's out of the tomb.

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He was raised from the dead, and a lot of

people take that announcement for granted.

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They treat it like the seatbelt sign.

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They're just like, whatever.

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All right, cool.

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Jesus is alive.

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Great.

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I love that.

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That's cool.

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Maybe they're like, oh,

well, did he really?

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I don't know.

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Eh, that's okay.

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Or maybe they're just like,

no, I don't believe that.

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Whatever.

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But I wanna ask you tonight,

what are you gonna do about

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an empty tomb in a risen king?

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Because Jesus tomb was empty and king.

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Jesus is alive.

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And that matters for you.

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That matters for me.

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That matters for how you live,

that matters for your future,

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and that's an announcement that

you have to do Something about.

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How you respond to that announcement

really, really, really matters.

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Matters even more than getting

kicked off an airplane.

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So turn within your Bibles.

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We're gonna be in Matthew

27 at the very end.

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Matthew 27 62 is where we're picking up.

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All right.

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So last week we ended with Jesus burial.

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Right?

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When it was evening, there was a

rich guy named Joseph who came, and

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he's, he, he was a disciple of Jesus.

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He said, look, I want to

put Jesus in in a real tomb.

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I don't know if I'm gonna be

thrown in a, in a common grave.

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I'm gonna give him my tomb.

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We're gonna bury him.

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We're gonna take care of his body.

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We're gonna do do things the right way

for Jesus, because we care about him.

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That's where we left off.

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So look with me at verse actually before

we get there, before we get to verse 62.

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The way this passage is

structured is actually.

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Really fun and really interesting.

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So normally we kind of work our way

straight through the passage, but

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the way this passage is structured

is actually, uh, if, if you wanna

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be fancy, there's this, there's

this word, it's called a, a chiasm.

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Or a chiasm.

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And what that really just means

is, it means it's like a sandwich.

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All right?

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This passage is like a sandwich.

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This is what it's gonna look like.

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Okay?

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So this, this chiasm means it's like this.

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So there's parallel sections that

work their way to the middle.

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The middle is the most important part.

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That's how this passage is structured.

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So when you're reading this passage,

you'll notice there's opposition to

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the resurrection at the beginning.

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There's opposition to the

resurrection at the end.

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And then around that section,

there's the, the woman arrive at

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the tomb and they leave the tomb.

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And in the middle is the angel's message.

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So that's the way we're

gonna look at this sermon.

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We're gonna put these chunks together.

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We're gonna put these chunks together,

and then this is what we're gonna end on.

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So.

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Fancy word for that.

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It's called a chiasm.

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Or a chiasm.

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It's modeled.

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The, the name comes from the

Greek letter key, which is an X.

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So see how it would, it would

be an X if it kept going.

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See that?

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That's why it's called that.

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But that's how we're gonna be looking at

this passage, is we're gonna be, we're

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gonna take the the outside, and then we're

gonna work our way in into the middle.

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Cool.

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All right.

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So it's gonna end up looking like this.

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See that?

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We went from here to here.

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Whoa.

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Right.

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All right.

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So Matthew.

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This slide says 26.

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It should say 27, Matthew 27 62.

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The next day, that is after the day of

preparation, the chief priest in the

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Pharisees, they gathered before Pilate.

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So the chief priest, Pharisees,

those are the guys who wanted to kill

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Jesus Pilate, the Roman governor.

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They're like, Hey, sir, we remember how

that imposter, Jesus said while he was

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alive, after three days, I will rise.

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So even the Jewish leaders

remembered what Jesus said.

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Jesus said, after three days,

I'm gonna rise from the dead.

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So then they're like, all right,

we don't want anyone to think that

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Jesus is actually gonna be able

to rise from the debt, verse 64.

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Therefore order the tomb to be made secure

until the third day less, or because his

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disciples might go and steal him away and

tell the people he's risen from the debt.

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So the Jewish leaders, they're scared that

the disciples are gonna steal Jesus' body

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and be like, oh, guys, look empty tomb.

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Jesus rose from the dead.

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Whoa, isn't that crazy?

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That's what they think is gonna happen.

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So they, they wanna prevent that, and

they're gonna say that the last fraud.

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Will be worse than the first.

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They're gonna say that fake, a

fake resurrection would be worse

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than a fake Messiah, right?

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Because they didn't

think he was a messiah.

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They thought he pretended

to be the Messiah.

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And so then they would say a

fake resurrection is even worse

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than being a fake Messiah.

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So pil, he says to them,

you've got a guard of soldiers.

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You've got some, some soldiers who,

who are security for the temple, go

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and make the tomb as secure as you can.

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So they went and they made the

tomb secure by sealing the stone.

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Setting a guard.

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So they station a guard outside the tomb.

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They're just like, all right, we're

not gonna let anyone mess with this

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tomb to fake a resurrection from Jesus.

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Now, spoiler alert, guess what happens?

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Jesus is raised from the dead walks

out of the tomb, and this doesn't help.

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Right?

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But they're trying to

prevent the resurrection.

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They're opposing the resurrection.

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Then if you skip down to verse 11 of

chapter 28, so remember we're we're

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looking at the beginning of the passage.

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The end of the passage, if you go

to the end of our passage, 28 verse

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11, we go back to the Pharisees.

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So the announcement happens,

angel, the woman, Jesus, all that.

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Then while they, the woman we're going,

behold some of the guard, so we're now

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we're, we're back to where we started.

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Behold, some of the guard went into

the city and they told the chief

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priest everything that took place.

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And when they assembled with

the elders and taken counsel,

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they decided what to do.

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They gave a sufficient sum

of money to the soldiers.

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They bribed them and they say, all

right, here's what we want you to

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tell People, tell people that his

disciples came by night and stole

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him away while we were asleep.

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So they say, Hey, we want you to, to

pretend like the disciples stole Jesus'

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body, and that's why the tomb is empty.

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Verse 14, if this comes to the

governor's ears, we'll satisfy him.

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We'll, you know, we'll protect you, um,

and we'll keep you out of trouble because

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if you were a guard and the body is no

longer in the tomb, you're in big trouble.

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Right.

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That's, I think of that scene.

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You know that scene in Captain America one

where Captain America needs a uniform, so

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he steals Captain or no, captain America

two, where he steals the uniform from

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the exhibit to wear, and then Stan Lee

shows up and he's like, I'm so fired.

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Right?

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That's the guard.

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That's what they're saying.

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So they need to figure out

something to keep it up, right?

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So verse 15, they took the money and did

as they're directed, and this story has

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been spread among the Jews to this day.

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So Matthew includes these two

sections about opposition to

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Jesus, resurrection, right?

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People trying to stop Jesus

resurrection and people trying

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to cover up Jesus resurrection.

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And the reason Matthew does

that is because he wants to show

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everyone, us included, that there

always are gonna be people who.

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Don't like Jesus resurrection.

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There's always gonna be people who

oppose it, who either want you not

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to believe that it's true or want

you to ignore it, or want you just

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to have nothing to do with it.

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They want you to think it's

made up or they don't like it.

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So our first point tonight is expect

opposition to the resurrection.

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Expect people to push back

against the resurrection.

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Expect people to say it's not true.

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Expect people to be like,

oh, you really believe that.

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You believe that some

guy rose from the dead.

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You believe that God actually did that.

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Or maybe people are just like,

oh, well, maybe he did, but

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it doesn't really matter.

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That's still opposition.

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So expect opposition to the resurrection.

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There's a lot of different theories

actually, that people try to come up

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with to disprove the resurrection, right?

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We saw one in our passage, the Jewish

leaders, they said, Hey, tell them

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that the disciples stole the body.

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So I'm gonna go through a few different

common arguments that if you, if you

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say, Hey, Jesus was raised from the

dead, people are gonna oppose you.

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And they might use some of these

arguments to say, you know what?

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This is really what happened.

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You know, Jesus didn't actually

get out of the, get outta the tomb.

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This is what really happened.

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So the first one.

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Is this disciples stole the body.

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Right?

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That's when we saw in our

passage, well, here's why.

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There's no way that this happened.

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First, what happened to all

disciples before Jesus died?

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Were they like, oh, we love Jesus.

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We're so excited about Jesus.

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We're gonna fight for Jesus.

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No, they were all scared, right?

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They ran away.

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So do you think they would come back

and be like, you know what guys?

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Let's do something about Jesus.

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No, they were hiding, right?

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Peter was scared of a servant girl.

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Do you think he's gonna go up

to a tomb and beat up a Roman

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guard and steal the body?

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No right sec.

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Second thing, right?

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These disciples would have

to go fight these guards and

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take the body out of the tomb.

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So that's

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definitely, you know, okay.

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These PE don't look like people

who would go steal a body.

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The third thing is that if they stole

the body, then they know Jesus didn't

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really rise in the dead, right?

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So then.

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Why did they all die?

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Or all of them except John, right?

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He went into exile for life.

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But why did they all die if

they stole the body, right?

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If you fake Jesus resurrection, you stole

the body and then you tell people, oh,

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hey guys, you just rose from the dead.

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And then someone's

like, oh, I'll kill you.

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If you keep saying that and

you knew it was fake, would

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you let them cut your head off?

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Would you let them crucify you for that?

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For a made up lie?

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You wouldn't do that, right?

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So that's pretty solid evidence.

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The disciples didn't steal the body.

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So if anyone ever tells you, Hey, I think

the disciples actually did steal the

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body, you can point them to this evidence

that says, you know what, actually.

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It's really not likely that

disciples stole the body, right?

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The disciples weren't very

likely to steal the body.

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They were all scared, and if

they did steal the body, why did

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they all die for their faith?

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Right?

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That doesn't make any sense.

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So it's not really a good conclusion

that disciples stole the body.

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Well, okay, let's say you're talking

to your friend at school, or you're

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a college professor in a few years,

and they're like, well, you know what?

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All the Gospel Council

of the Resurrection, they

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all contradict each other.

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Mark says that the, the woman

or the woman got to the tomb

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and saw it was already empty.

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Matthew says they got to the

tomb, and then the angel came.

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John says that it was

just Mary at the tomb.

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What?

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What is this?

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They're all contradicting each other.

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It's clearly made up, right?

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Maybe you hear that one.

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The gospels contradict each other.

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Well, first of all.

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The gospels, they're not all describing

the exact same moments, right?

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You can fit all these together.

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You could say, you know what?

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Maybe Mary did get to the tomb first,

and then the woman came, or maybe

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the woman left and Mary stayed,

and then Jesus appeared to her.

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You can fit all these together

in a way that makes sense.

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Also, they're eyewitness accounts.

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They're not like a timeline, right?

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John is giving his

account of what happened.

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Mark is giving Peter's

account of what happened.

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Matthew is giving his

account of what happened.

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They're not meant to be like, here's every

single thing that happened in Jesus' life.

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Remember at the end of the gospel of

John, it says Jesus did a bunch of other

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things enough to fill many books, right?

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There's a lot of different things that

happen, and the gospel writers are only

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giving us their perspective, the details

that they want you to know that fit

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with what they're sharing about Jesus.

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And if you want, you can actually

put all this together on a timeline.

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I found one online.

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That lines up all the different accounts,

John and Mark and Matthew and Luke.

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It puts 'em all together

to show you what happened.

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So this is from answers to Genesis.

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You don't have to copy all this

down, but I just want you to show

334

that it all, I just wanna show

you, it all fits together, right?

335

So if, if someone says, look, the

Gospels all contradict each other.

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They don't say the same thing

about Jesus Resurrection.

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You can say, well, actually they all

fit, they all make sense together.

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So if, if you want, I can send you

this, or you could take a picture

339

of this or whatever, but this is on.

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Answers in genesis.org.

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If you wanna find this

chart, you can do that.

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Um, but you can fit all this together.

343

See, we've got, we've got John,

we've got Matthew, mark and Luke.

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We've got Luke, we've got

First Corinthians and Luke.

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So it all fits all the accounts of Jesus

resurrection fits together really nicely.

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So if someone ever tells you the

gospel's for each other, that's not true.

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They, they all compliment each

other and share one unified story.

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They just share different

parts of the same story.

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So then here's my favorite one.

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Well, my second favorite one.

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My favorite one is that you just

didn't really die on the cross.

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That's the dumbest thing

you could ever say, right?

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Oh, he hung on the cross and was

beaten and all that stuff that I'm

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not, I didn't even put that one in my

slideshow because it's so ridiculous.

355

Right?

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Jesus, like faked his death on

the cross and then like came out

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of the tomb from the inside after

he'd been in there for three.

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Like, come on, we can do better than that.

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So this is my, my other favorite one is

that all the disciples are hallucinating.

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They're all crazy.

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They just, they just saw Jesus ghost and

they thought it was, it was actually him.

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And they said, oh, he's

raised from the dead Now.

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What could be wrong with this?

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Well, one, Jesus appeared multiple times

to different groups of people, right?

365

That's what we see in the Bible.

366

He's, he's appearing multiple times in,

in Luke, he shows up to these people and

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he talks to these people, and John, he

talks to these people without Thomas.

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Then he talks to people with Thomas,

and then in Matthew, we, we see him a

369

few different times talking to people.

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So he, all these people are

apparently having the same

371

hallucination over like a month.

372

That's not very likely.

373

Jesus ate with people.

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Right.

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We see this in, in, in John

and Thomas touched him.

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Can you touch a ghost?

377

No.

378

Right.

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Jesus appeared to large groups of people.

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So Paul says that he appeared to

a ton of people all at once, so

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all the people in the same time

having the same hallucination.

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I I read one guy online, he said that

there must, he literally said there

383

must have been something in the water.

384

Seriously, bro.

385

Come on.

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Like, no.

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All these people have the

exact same hallucination at

388

the same time, not likely.

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And then Paul, in one Corinthians

15, he lists names of people.

390

Now, if you're in, if you're in Corinth

and Paul says, oh yeah, this guy saw the

391

resurrected of Christ, what could you do?

392

You could go over and say,

Hey, did you see Jesus?

393

What was he like?

394

What did he say?

395

And you could go ask him.

396

So Paul is, is clearly open to people

asking people, Hey, did you see Jesus?

397

What did he say?

398

What did he teach?

399

What did he do?

400

So Paul's not afraid that someone's

gonna be like, oh, well actually

401

it was just a dream, or I was just

ghost Jesus floating around, right?

402

So if someone says, you know,

the disciples are just mass

403

hallucination, they're just going

crazy, that's also not true.

404

So expect people to push back on you.

405

If you, if you're someone

who says, you know what?

406

I believe that Jesus was

raised from the dead.

407

I believe that Jesus.

408

Is alive today.

409

I believe that Jesus walked outta the

tomb and we've never found his body, ever.

410

People are gonna maybe say some

things like this, oh, well, maybe the

411

disciples stole the body, or, well,

you know, it doesn't really happen.

412

I want you to be prepared for

that, and I want you to be

413

able to, to know these things.

414

You can say, you know what, that's

not, that's really not true.

415

And really you can just walk

through the the options.

416

Right.

417

Well, what do you think is more

likely, you think it's more likely

418

that Jesus didn't really die?

419

Or do you think it's more likely

that all these people had the same

420

hallucination at the same time?

421

So the, the logical, reasonable conclusion

is that Jesus actually is who he said

422

he is, and he's raised from the dead.

423

There's a bunch of other details in the

story even that you could point out to,

424

to show you that, that it's really true.

425

Maybe you're someone who says, I

don't really know if the Bible's true.

426

I don't really know if God's real.

427

I don't know if this is really,

this whole Christianity thing is

428

really what everyone says it is.

429

Well, think about this in this culture.

430

Matthew says the women were the

first people to go to the tomb.

431

Now, in this culture, did you know that

woman actually couldn't testify in court?

432

So if you're Matthew and you're

making up a story, why would you

433

have your primary witnesses be women?

434

Right?

435

Unless it was really the ca like

that actually what happened?

436

So that's another thing you could say.

437

You could even talk about, remember how we

saw that even the chief priest knew that

438

Jesus said he rose from the dead, right?

439

If you're saying, oh, well the Christian

just made it up a hundred years later.

440

Why are the chief priests also

saying, Jesus said he was gonna be

441

raised from the dead, so it's common.

442

It was common knowledge that

Jesus said stuff like this.

443

So there's a bunch of other details

in the stories, but I just want you

444

to know that that Christianity isn't

just like some made up, you know?

445

Oh yeah.

446

This is just something that the

church made up to teach people

447

how to be nice to each other.

448

That's not true, right?

449

Th this is actually the only religion

that's based on a historical event.

450

There's no other religion that.

451

Rises or falls on a real thing

that happened in history.

452

So Christianity is, is connected to, to

real events, real places, real people.

453

That really happened.

454

Um.

455

You're gonna get pushback if you say

stuff like that, people are gonna

456

be like, you don't really believe

that the Bible's true, do you?

457

You don't really believe that,

that Jesus rose in the dead.

458

Jesus fed all these people

with five loaves and two fish.

459

Jesus, really?

460

You don't believe that

Jesus walked on water?

461

You don't believe that, et

cetera, et cetera, right?

462

You're gonna hear that.

463

If you believe this, I want you

to expect it, and I want you to

464

be ready so you're not like, whoa,

I've never heard that before.

465

Right?

466

I want you to do the homework, do

the research, and I'm helping you

467

with some of it so you can expect

opposition to the resurrection.

468

Also opposition from the

resurrection usually doesn't really

469

come down to a mental question.

470

Usually the reason people are opposing

the resurrection is hard hearts.

471

People don't want God.

472

And maybe that's you.

473

Maybe you're like, well, I know that

the resurrection probably happened.

474

I, I think it makes sense.

475

I think the Bible's true, but I just, I

just don't wanna be a Christian, right?

476

I don't think God is very good,

or I don't want to do all the

477

things that, that God says.

478

You're still in your heart, you're still

pushing back against the resurrection

479

because what you're saying is that, well,

maybe that is true, and maybe you're not

480

arguing with it, but you're just like,

well, you're, I don't, I don't want that.

481

Right.

482

I don't, I don't want Jesus.

483

You're still opposing Jesus.

484

You're, you're looking at the

creator of the universe who rose

485

from the dead and saying, peace out.

486

I don't, I don't want

anything to do with you.

487

That's what you're doing, and it,

it always comes down to your heart.

488

If you, you could have all the

evidence you want, but if your heart

489

is hard and, and you're opposed

to Jesus, you're opposed to the

490

gospel, you're not gonna believe it.

491

Remember what Jesus said,

I think it was in Luke.

492

He said, if they don't believe Moses,

they're not gonna believe someone,

493

even if they came back from the

dead, because maybe you're like,

494

well, I want Jesus to prove it.

495

I want a sign from God, or I want this.

496

Why doesn't God do this?

497

Right?

498

If you are asking for more evidence, then

that probably says more about your heart.

499

If you're someone out there who's

saying, oh, I need more evidence to

500

believe in the Bible, there's plenty.

501

God's given you everything

you need to know.

502

Um, it, it really is a

matter of your heart.

503

If you've got more evidence, I'm

sure what you would do is make up

504

more ways to get around the evidence

or ask more questions, so it always

505

is gonna come down to your heart.

506

How?

507

Because you, you're never

gonna get enough evidence for.

508

For Jesus, for God's word,

for the existence of God, it's

509

gonna come down to your heart.

510

All opposition comes down

to a hard heart, right?

511

That's where it started with the

chief priest and the Pharisees.

512

They saw all of Jesus

miracles, and guess what?

513

They were like, nah, let's kill him.

514

Oh, he's gonna try to make up a story

about being raised from the dead.

515

Let's stop that.

516

And then the guards come and say,

Hey, this angel came and the tomb

517

was empty, and Jesus is alive.

518

And they're like, well, just

pretend it didn't happen.

519

No amount of evidence was enough

for them, and it's not gonna be

520

enough for you because ultimately

it's gonna come down to your heart.

521

You have the evidence you need,

and what you need to do is, is just

522

surrender to Christ because he's the

king, he's alive, he's, he's reigning.

523

So if you're that person who's

opposing the resurrection,

524

you know, do do your homework.

525

Look at the evidence you have,

and then come to your conclusion.

526

If you're someone who believes in

the resurrection, who says Jesus is

527

alive, you learn to defend it because

you're gonna get challenged as you

528

get older, especially, and I want

you to be prepared for those moments.

529

So we're working in, right, we started

with the first section in the last

530

section, opposition to the resurrection.

531

The next thing we're gonna see is how

Matthew is actually, he's focusing on

532

the different emotions of this passage.

533

Matthew really cares about the woman

who come to the tomb, hear the angel,

534

leave the tomb and talk to Jesus.

535

So look with me in chapter 28.

536

Now we're working our way to, towards

the middle of our sandwich, right?

537

We finished with, with the buns.

538

Now we're getting to like the, the

cheese or the vegetables or whatever.

539

That's what we're doing right now.

540

So verse one of chapter 28.

541

All right.

542

Now, after the Sabbath toward the dawn of

the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene

543

and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

544

Behold there was a great earthquake

for an angel of the Lord descended

545

from heaven and came back and

rolled back the stone and sat on it.

546

That's like so epic

when you think about it.

547

Like think how big this stone is.

548

And there's like lightning and

there's an earthquake, like if you

549

wanna talk about it, an entrance.

550

That's an entrance.

551

His appearance was like

lightning verse three.

552

And his clothing white as snow.

553

And for fear of him, the guards

trembled and became like dead men.

554

So they just pass out at

the sight of this guy.

555

They fall down as though they are dead.

556

So then verses five to seven, the angel's

gonna say what he's gonna say, and

557

then afterward, this is what happened.

558

So the woman, after they hear from the

angel, verse eight, they departed quickly

559

from the tomb with fear and great joy.

560

Those are the two emotions.

561

They, they feel, they feel they're

afraid, and they're super excited.

562

They're really happy.

563

Then they run to tell the disciples

and behold Jesus met them.

564

So they talked to the angels.

565

Now they talked to Jesus.

566

Jesus met them.

567

Now, isn't that like, that's wild.

568

They saw this guy die.

569

They saw him die on the cross, and now

they're talking to him like, I know you've

570

heard this before, but think about it.

571

You saw you watched some guy die,

and then three days later you're

572

having a conversation with him.

573

That's crazy.

574

Jesus met them and said,

I love this greetings.

575

He's like, hi.

576

And they came up and took hold

of his feet and worshiped him.

577

Now, if anyone ever tells you,

Jesus never claimed to be God,

578

what do you do when you see God?

579

You worship him.

580

If Jesus didn't claim to be God,

you know what Jesus would do?

581

Stop.

582

Don't worship me.

583

What?

584

We've seen angels do that in the Bible

before they, when someone worships

585

them, they're like, no, no, no, no, no.

586

Don't do that.

587

But Jesus, he's, he's taking it in.

588

He, he's like, yeah, that's right.

589

You should worship me.

590

Verse 10.

591

Jesus said to them, don't be afraid.

592

Go and tell my brothers, which

also, this is such a huge detail.

593

Who are these people?

594

The disciples, right?

595

Did they show very much loyalty to Jesus?

596

Did they love Jesus very well

up to leading up to his death.

597

Have.

598

Jesus says, he doesn't

call 'em my disciples.

599

He doesn't say, oh, those

losers who abandoned me.

600

He says, my brothers like my family.

601

I wanna see them go to Galilee, just

like I said, and they'll see me there.

602

I he's initiating a relationship

with these people who left him.

603

They, they abandoned him.

604

They were like, no.

605

Peter was like, I don't

even know who that guy is.

606

And Jesus says, I want him

to be part of my family.

607

So tell him to go meet me and Galilee.

608

So what Matthew is focusing on here is

he's focusing on these emotions that

609

the woman's have, that the woman have.

610

So if you go back this, he doesn't say

this explicitly, but think about this.

611

Think about what they're doing.

612

Mary and Mary, it's like Shane

and Shane before Shane and Shane.

613

Mary and Mary, they go to see the tomb.

614

Now they're gonna go and see dead Jesus.

615

They're just gonna go to his

tomb and they're gonna put.

616

More spices on us.

617

Doesn't smell terrible.

618

They're gonna, that's what they're doing.

619

They're showing devotion to Jesus.

620

Right?

621

In Matthew, if you look with me,

look back up at the, at verse 55,

622

in chapter 27, also, there are many

women there looking on from a distance

623

who had followed Jesus from Galilee

ministering to him, among whom were Mary

624

Magdalene and Mary, mother of James.

625

So Matthew mentions these women who

followed Jesus all the way from Galilee.

626

Then after Jesus is buried, verse 61, Mary

Magdalene and the other Mary were there.

627

So Matthew really wants you to

know these women care about Jesus.

628

They're devoted to him.

629

They're committed to him.

630

They love him, right?

631

They're super invested in

Jesus and, and following him.

632

So that's the first emotion,

is they're devotion.

633

The second emotion I want you to

see is that they're afraid, right?

634

They, they ran from the tomb with

fear and great joy with fear.

635

What are they afraid of?

636

Right?

637

The angels already told

'em, don't be afraid.

638

He said, Jesus says, don't be afraid.

639

But they're afraid.

640

And I think this is actually a good thing.

641

I think there's something good here.

642

There's also a lot of fear

in this passage, right?

643

The fear for fear of the

angel, the guards trembled.

644

So there's, there's a lot of devotion.

645

There's a lot of fear.

646

And then the last thing is joy, right?

647

Great joy.

648

Not just joy.

649

Great joy.

650

A lot of joy.

651

Those are the three emotions we've got.

652

Demotion, devotion, fear, and joy.

653

And then ultimately what

those end up with is worship.

654

And I think that's what Matthew

wants you to see in this passage.

655

I think he wants you to see that this

is what worship of Jesus looks like.

656

Worship of Jesus is actually

a combination of these three

657

emotions, devotion, fear, and joy.

658

And so write this down

as your second point.

659

Respond to Jesus with heartfelt worship.

660

Respond to Jesus with heartfelt, right?

661

Meaningful, emotional,

662

full worship, not empty worship.

663

That's the kind of follower that Jesus

is asking for, and that's the kind

664

of follower that these women are.

665

They're following him with, with

all of their, with all their heart,

666

all of their emotions are engaged,

they're devoted, and they're afraid.

667

They're joyful, they're excited.

668

Now, something that I hope you've

gathered from the gospel of Matthew

669

so far is that knowing and doing

does not always equal worship.

670

Right?

671

Knowing the right things about

Jesus and doing the right things for

672

Jesus doesn't always mean worship.

673

What group in the Gospel of Matthew

is really good at knowing things

674

about God and doing things for God?

675

Pharisees, right?

676

The Pharisees, they know a ton about

God and they do a lot of things for

677

God, but are, do they worship Jesus?

678

No.

679

They kill him.

680

So I think what Matthew is doing is

he's showing us at the very end, here's

681

what real worship of Jesus looks like.

682

It looks like these three emotions,

affections, desires, right?

683

Worship has to include your heart.

684

If all your worship is, is just your head.

685

Your, your actions.

686

There's, there's nothing that

you're really doing that's

687

different from a Pharisee.

688

There's nothing about

you that's different.

689

You know the right things about God.

690

Great.

691

Satan knows everything there is to know

that we could know about God, right?

692

Satan knows way more

about God than you do, so

693

that's not good enough, right?

694

That's not true worship, but

just knowing things about God

695

and then doing things right.

696

Well, about the Pharisee,

he did a ton of stuff.

697

Jesus said, if your righteousness

doesn't exceed that of the Pharisees,

698

you're not gonna make it to heaven.

699

So worship has to include your heart.

700

If your heart's not in it, it's

not worship, it's just empty.

701

Now, these three emotions

are crucial to worship.

702

The first one probably makes sense, right?

703

Devotion.

704

Okay.

705

Love and commitment to Jesus, right?

706

We're, we're faithful to Jesus.

707

We follow Jesus.

708

We, we care about him.

709

We're invested in him.

710

We're dedicated.

711

Right?

712

That makes sense.

713

Okay.

714

Contract with that, that that sounds

like real worship, but what about fear?

715

Right?

716

That doesn't make, why did

you include that Lewis?

717

I thought they said don't be afraid.

718

Well, I think fear of God is something

that maybe you, you've thought

719

about or you don't understand.

720

And I think Matthew is also including

that in here because true worship of God

721

always has right fear of God included.

722

Now, maybe you've heard

fear of God is respect.

723

That's part of it, but I

think it's more than that.

724

Because I can respect someone

without really trembling, right?

725

I'm not like, oh man, wow.

726

That's not respect.

727

So it's a little different than that.

728

The best way I can

describe it is being here.

729

Have you ever been to

the Grand Canyon region?

730

Have you been to the Grand Canyon?

731

I remember one time I always said to

the Grand Canyon during one of these,

732

one of the coolest moments of my life.

733

I was outside.

734

I think you were there and you were there.

735

You gave us all COVID when we

were there and you were there.

736

Um, being outside at the Grand Canyon

during a thunderstorm, coolest thing

737

ever because when you get to the

Grand Canyon, right, you look over

738

the edge, you feel so small, right?

739

You feel tiny, and you see a person down

there and you're like, that's a person.

740

You feel tiny.

741

But then with a thunderstorm,

man, I like 10 outta 10.

742

Highly recommend this.

743

You should definitely go to the green

hand during a thunderstorm because.

744

Thunder is loud and scary, but when

you're outside in a thunderstorm,

745

man, that's different, right?

746

If you go outside, whenever there's a

thunderstorm at the office, Mark Hogan

747

is always like, I love thunderstorms.

748

And he goes outside and he listens to it.

749

It's so fun, um, because it's, it makes

you realize how small you are, right?

750

You realize like this electricity

is literally creating a vacuum so

751

loud that the air is going boom

and clapping, and you have thunder.

752

It makes you feel so

small now in this moment.

753

Like, yeah, I'm scared, right?

754

I'm like, man, if one of

those hits me, I'm gone.

755

Right?

756

If I get hit by a lightning

bolt or if I fall off the edge

757

of this thing, right, I'm dead.

758

But at the same time, there's something

so like just amazing about it.

759

You're like, wow, that's so cool.

760

That's so awesome.

761

And that I think is a sense of.

762

Of how fear of God is.

763

Right?

764

When you look, when you, when you

hear about what God does, when you,

765

when you see God in his word, there

should be a sense of of awe, right?

766

Of wow.

767

And you're kind of scared.

768

But if you're a Christian, you

don't have to be afraid of what

769

God's gonna do to you, right?

770

Because Jesus paid for your sin.

771

He took all of God's wrath for you.

772

So God, God's power is never gonna be

directed at you if you're a Christian.

773

In a punishing way, right?

774

God is never gonna to direct his his power

at you in a way that's wrathful or angry.

775

So you don't have to be afraid of

God's wrath on you specifically.

776

But you should, I think sometimes look

over the cliff and be like, man, if I

777

fell that would, that would be terrible.

778

And that's a long fall.

779

When you're at Fritz's on the zip line and

you got to jump off the thing and commit

780

and trust the zip line, sometimes I don't

think Christians think enough about that.

781

And that's when you think about

all these passages in the Bible,

782

these warning passages like,

oh, can I lose my salvation?

783

Or whatever The reason for the warning

passage is so you stay on the path.

784

The warning passage keeps you on

the path if you're a Christian.

785

So you, you look over the

edge and you're like, oh man.

786

And then you stay on the path.

787

That's the point of a, of a, like a

warning in God's word is for you to

788

see God and not treat him casually.

789

Right?

790

Like if any of you guys, if your,

if your parents own a gun, they're,

791

or if they've ever, if you've ever

gone shooting with them, right?

792

They're very serious about it.

793

They're like, Hey, this thing is powerful.

794

You have to treat it properly.

795

You can't be, be flippant

about it or treat it casually.

796

Or maybe you're learning to drive,

or my, my mom, the first time that

797

I was gonna drive someone else.

798

My mom said, they're putting their

life in your hands right now.

799

Anytime someone gets in your

car, you could kill them.

800

Anytime you get in a car,

you could kill someone else.

801

There's an appropriate level of man that's

intense that you should feel about God.

802

But at the same time, we also see

the joy that these women have, right?

803

They're, they're so excited.

804

There was fear and there was great joy.

805

They were so excited about God.

806

They were delighted, they were

satisfied, they were full.

807

So Jesus isn't just to be

learned about or served.

808

He's supposed to be served in a way

that's worshipful, that's from the

809

heart, and you're learning about

Jesus should fuel your worship, right?

810

Just like wood fuels a fire

or gasoline will help a fire,

811

but it's not fire, right?

812

Wood is not fire, but wood helps fire.

813

Same thing.

814

Your learning helps you worship, but

learning is not worship unless there's

815

emotion in it, unless there's devotion,

unless there's fear, unless there's joy.

816

So your learning should fuel your worship.

817

But if all you're doing is stockpiling

information about God and memorizing Bible

818

verses and, and doing all this stuff,

and there's no worship, there's no heart

819

in it, then you're really just, you're

just piling up wood and you got no fire.

820

Same with doing things,

doing things for God, right?

821

I'm not saying doing

things for God is bad.

822

I'm saying doing things for God has to

have worshipful heart along with it.

823

So who has your heart?

824

Maybe you do a lot of things for God.

825

Maybe you serve at our church.

826

Maybe you serve in kids' ministry, or

you, you help set up, or maybe you,

827

you like learning about the Bible,

you know a lot of information about

828

God, but, but who has your heart?

829

When you do things, what is it for?

830

What do you get excited about?

831

What?

832

What's your, what's your treasure?

833

What's most important to you?

834

That's a worship question, and that's

what I want you to be thinking about

835

as we finish the gospel of Matthew.

836

I want you to think

about who has my heart?

837

Am I just doing things for God or learning

things about God, or am I worshiping God?

838

Am I just singing songs to

God, or am I worshiping God?

839

Am I just hearing sermons

or am I worshiping?

840

Am I just.

841

Acting like a Christian around

my parents or I worshiping

842

God with my actions at home.

843

Those are all things that, that

are the difference between real

844

worship and being a fake Christian.

845

So then the middle of this passage

is gonna show us where that joy and

846

where that genuine worship comes from.

847

The source of all this joy

is the angel's announcement.

848

The angel says something that

causes the woman to run out.

849

With great joy, and that's what we

see in the middle of this section.

850

We're at.

851

We're at the meat of our burger.

852

All right, so five through seven, but

the angel said to the women, so angel

853

shows up, lightning rolls a stone away.

854

Right?

855

Guard falls that down like he's dead.

856

Angel said to the women, don't

be afraid for, I know that you

857

seek Jesus who was crucified.

858

He's not here for, he has risen.

859

As he said, which I love that.

860

I love that this is here, right?

861

Jesus called it.

862

He's like, yep.

863

I said I was gonna be racing

the dead, and I, I am.

864

So then come see the place where he lay.

865

Then after you see it, go quickly

and tell his disciples that he's

866

risen from the dead, and behold,

he is going before you to Galilee.

867

There you will see him.

868

Look, I've told you so

the angel's announcement.

869

Is the middle of this passage

is the focus, and it's the

870

reason that there's so much joy.

871

Now, the, the reason that the

resurrection is, is all of this,

872

like, it's, it's the, the reason that

they're, they're so devoted, Jesus.

873

The reason they're so afraid, and

it's the reason they're so joyful

874

is because the resurrection is,

is everything to a Christian.

875

If Jesus is not alive, we're

not worshiping a living God,

876

we're worshiping a dead God.

877

Jesus isn't alive.

878

He doesn't make any, any difference in

anything that we're doing, so Jesus is.

879

Alive, and that's the source of joy.

880

But also what I want you to see is

there's a lot of, there's a lot of

881

movement in this passage, isn't there?

882

Like, come see the place, then go quickly.

883

He's going like, people are

moving all around, right?

884

The the women are coming this

way and they're supposed to go,

885

and then Jesus is going this way.

886

They're gonna all go to Galilee.

887

There's a lot of action here.

888

And that's because joy

is meant to be shared.

889

Joy.

890

What it is you have to

tell someone, right?

891

That's how joy works.

892

And so for our third point tonight, I

want you to join Jesus in spreading joy.

893

Join Jesus in spreading joy.

894

The resurrection is like an explosion

because after the resurrection, all

895

this, all these people come flying out

and they're telling everyone about it.

896

There's the angel, there's the woman,

there's Jesus, there's the disciples.

897

There's a lot of running.

898

There's a lot of.

899

Action.

900

There's a lot of people telling

people things, and that's because the

901

resurrection is the source of joy.

902

And so from Jesus in his resurrection,

it goes outward into everything.

903

And next week we're gonna see that

Jesus says, go to all nations and make

904

disciples, and in this case, spread joy.

905

See, joy comes from a living

savior, so the resurrection.

906

Because a lot of Christianity,

we talk about the cross, right?

907

We talk about all the cross and

we put crosses on our buildings

908

and we wear a cross on our neck.

909

We talk about so much about the cross.

910

The resurrection, arguably

is equally important, right?

911

The Bible, Romans four says

that the resurrection gives us

912

forgiveness from sin, that Jesus

was raised for our justification.

913

So the resurrection is a

source for forgiveness, right?

914

You, you can say, I don't have to pay

for any of my sins because of Jesus.

915

Jesus is alive.

916

He's alive.

917

And so I am free.

918

I'm not guilty anymore.

919

The resurrection gives victory

over, over death and over sin.

920

One Corinthians 15, right?

921

We that quote from Hosea, death is

swallowed up in victory, death wears

922

your victory, death wears your sting.

923

It's gone because of the resurrection.

924

Right?

925

If you ever make a, if you ever see

one of those lists online of like

926

what people are afraid of most.

927

Number two is always like public

speaking, and then number one is death.

928

That's like always the order.

929

You don't have to be afraid

of death anymore, right?

930

If, if you, if, if you're someone who,

who goes to sleep at night and you're,

931

you're not sure if you're gonna wake up

the next day or, or you, you know, are,

932

are terrified of, oh, what's gonna happen?

933

And if I go up in the airplane

and it starts getting bumpy, you

934

don't have to be afraid because

you know that death just takes you.

935

To God, and you know that you have

a God who's stronger than death,

936

who walked out of the tomb, so you

don't have to be afraid of that.

937

So there's joy in being forgiven.

938

There's joy in freedom from death.

939

The resurrection, Romans six,

four, tells us that there's new

940

life because of the resurrection.

941

So as a Christian, you don't have

to sin anymore because of of Jesus.

942

You don't have to spend your life

searching for satisfaction and happiness

943

and these things that leave you empty.

944

There's so much joy that comes from that.

945

There's also joy in a

certain future with God.

946

One Peter one says that according

to God's great mercy, he's caused

947

us to be born again to a living hope

through the resurrection of the dead.

948

The resurrection is the means by which

you are certainly going to heaven.

949

Jesus was raised from the dead.

950

Therefore, you can be confident.

951

If you're a Christian that

you're going to heaven.

952

So if you're someone who, maybe

you're not sure if you're a Christian

953

or you, you, you are a Christian,

you doubt your salvation a lot.

954

You can look back at Jesus resurrection.

955

The tomb is still empty.

956

Did nothing change.

957

You can look back and

say that tomb is empty.

958

Jesus is alive.

959

He will take me to heaven.

960

You can trust Jesus.

961

You can get joy from that.

962

You don't have to doubt anymore.

963

You don't have to be afraid anymore.

964

You can say Jesus is alive and I'm

certain of that, and he will He.

965

He's interacting with time

and history and space, and he

966

will take me safely to heaven.

967

He'll protect me from losing my faith.

968

You can trust him for that.

969

So there's so much joy to be

found in the resurrection.

970

But also once Jesus gives you this joy

of forgiveness, of victory over death, of

971

new life, of a certain future with God,

once Jesus gives you that joy, naturally,

972

you should want to share it, right?

973

If you, if you, if you're like,

oh, well that was kind of cool.

974

You're not gonna share it, right?

975

But if you are like, oh, wow, that

was amazing, you're gonna share it.

976

Joy is always the best

motive for spreading news.

977

If you don't believe me, why is

this always an Instagram post?

978

This is like always the biggest.

979

If you want to get the most comments

on your Instagram, get engaged.

980

Everyone's gonna comment.

981

You're gonna get a ton of

emojis, a ton of likes.

982

Like this is gonna blow up your

Instagram if you get engaged

983

because joy is meant to be shared.

984

And the more excited you are

about something, the easier

985

it is to tell people that.

986

Have you ever met an engaged woman

who's shy about being engaged?

987

If you do.

988

That's a rough situation.

989

Right.

990

But usually they're, they're like,

they can't wait to tell people, you

991

know, they're like, every time you're

talking to 'em, they're like, oh yeah.

992

Um, you know, I, I was on this

trip over the weekend and, and

993

they're, they're, they're shoving

their ring in your face, right?

994

Or they're typing on the

computer and they're like,

995

yeah, I'm, I'm doing some work.

996

You know, or.

997

They're like, oh, did you see

my, I just got my nails done.

998

Right?

999

If you, if you meet a girl

who just got engaged, this is

00:44:46,890 --> 00:44:48,209

happening all the time, right?

00:44:48,209 --> 00:44:49,649

They're, they're like, I got engaged.

00:44:49,649 --> 00:44:54,209

This is the cool, and they're posting,

you know, 185 days to the wedding.

00:44:54,270 --> 00:44:55,350

Oh my goodness.

00:44:55,350 --> 00:44:59,549

You know, they're posting all that

and then a week later, oh, 178

00:44:59,549 --> 00:45:01,950

days, guys can't believe it, right?

00:45:01,955 --> 00:45:04,109

Because they're excited and they should be

00:45:06,180 --> 00:45:06,390

right.

00:45:06,390 --> 00:45:09,899

Joy is always the best motive

for sharing news that that's.

00:45:10,260 --> 00:45:11,160

No brainer.

00:45:11,940 --> 00:45:17,430

And so if, if you are a Christian, you

have the, the biggest reason for joy

00:45:17,430 --> 00:45:22,050

of anyone on the planet, you should

be more joyful than anyone's fiance.

00:45:22,665 --> 00:45:24,540

You, you should be so excited.

00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:28,890

And if you're scared of evangelism,

the easiest way for you to, to get

00:45:28,890 --> 00:45:32,520

better at sharing your faith is to

be more excited about Jesus, right?

00:45:32,520 --> 00:45:35,070

The easiest way for you not to

be embarrassed about Jesus is for

00:45:35,070 --> 00:45:36,420

you to be like, Jesus is awesome.

00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:37,920

I love Jesus.

00:45:39,540 --> 00:45:41,280

That's the easiest way to do it, right?

00:45:41,310 --> 00:45:42,750

Why do you think a

sports team has a parade?

00:45:42,960 --> 00:45:43,590

They're excited.

00:45:43,590 --> 00:45:45,480

They wanna tell everyone, we

just won the championship.

00:45:45,990 --> 00:45:48,540

We just did this, and we want

everyone to know about it.

00:45:48,540 --> 00:45:51,150

So we're gonna block off the street

and we're gonna cause all this traffic

00:45:51,210 --> 00:45:56,040

and we're gonna potentially cause

harm by having this giant parade

00:45:56,580 --> 00:45:58,890

because we want you to know we're

excited, we're telling people about it.

00:45:58,890 --> 00:45:59,580

That's what they do.

00:46:00,750 --> 00:46:03,150

So joy is meant to be shared.

00:46:03,180 --> 00:46:05,550

And so if you aren't joyful.

00:46:06,180 --> 00:46:06,540

Jesus.

00:46:06,540 --> 00:46:08,490

If you're not excited about being

forgiven, if you're not excited

00:46:08,490 --> 00:46:11,070

about not having the fear of death

anymore, if you're not excited about

00:46:11,070 --> 00:46:14,430

the certainty of your salvation,

you're gonna be a terrible evangelist.

00:46:14,610 --> 00:46:15,000

Right?

00:46:16,020 --> 00:46:21,030

Like, imagine if you were trying to tell

someone about your fiance and you're

00:46:21,030 --> 00:46:22,470

like, yeah, well they're, they're okay.

00:46:23,010 --> 00:46:25,020

I mean, they're like sometimes nice to me.

00:46:26,235 --> 00:46:27,435

I'm terrible.

00:46:27,435 --> 00:46:27,675

Right?

00:46:27,675 --> 00:46:28,695

Terrible endorsement.

00:46:28,695 --> 00:46:29,025

Right.

00:46:29,145 --> 00:46:32,475

But if you're like, oh my goodness,

my fiance's amazing, and, and

00:46:32,475 --> 00:46:35,115

they're so cool, or they're so

gorgeous and they're, they're so

00:46:35,115 --> 00:46:36,855

helpful and they love me so well.

00:46:37,035 --> 00:46:37,365

Right.

00:46:37,545 --> 00:46:40,305

That's a, that's a good

evangelist for a fiance, right?

00:46:40,905 --> 00:46:41,535

For a wedding.

00:46:42,975 --> 00:46:47,625

And so if, if you're someone

out there, you, you, you, you

00:46:47,625 --> 00:46:48,675

believe in the resurrection.

00:46:48,675 --> 00:46:51,585

You say you're a Christian

and you're scared.

00:46:51,960 --> 00:46:54,000

I would just say focus on Jesus.

00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:56,220

Focus on how much joy you have in him.

00:46:57,690 --> 00:47:00,120

Focus on all the promises he makes to you.

00:47:00,120 --> 00:47:02,970

Focus on how good he is to you, and

that'll help you talk about him.

00:47:03,360 --> 00:47:06,750

It'll, it'll get easier because

you're, you're just, you can't help it.

00:47:06,750 --> 00:47:08,130

Joy is meant to be shared.

00:47:08,130 --> 00:47:10,920

And I also want you guys, maybe

you're not a Christian, or maybe you

00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:14,100

are, you never thought about this,

but did you know that the gospel is

00:47:14,100 --> 00:47:16,259

really just an invitation to Joy?

00:47:17,670 --> 00:47:19,680

Did you know that the gospel is good news?

00:47:20,370 --> 00:47:23,640

It's not like, oh, you

know, God said, do this.

00:47:23,940 --> 00:47:24,690

You stink.

00:47:25,589 --> 00:47:25,950

Right?

00:47:25,950 --> 00:47:27,270

The gospel is good news.

00:47:27,810 --> 00:47:31,440

The gospel is an invitation to the thing

that'll make you the happiest to God.

00:47:31,830 --> 00:47:34,890

God says, I want you to

be happy, so here I am.

00:47:35,220 --> 00:47:37,109

You can come to me if you trust Jesus.

00:47:37,109 --> 00:47:37,859

That's the gospel.

00:47:38,460 --> 00:47:42,750

The gospel is good news about how

to be happy forever, how to be the

00:47:42,750 --> 00:47:44,640

happiest for the most amount of time.

00:47:45,390 --> 00:47:48,180

That's, that's what the

gospel is really about.

00:47:48,180 --> 00:47:48,930

It's about joy.

00:47:50,190 --> 00:47:53,970

So maybe you, you've always thought

of Christianity as a bunch of rules or

00:47:53,970 --> 00:47:56,700

just something your parents make you do,

and I want you to see that the gospel

00:47:56,700 --> 00:47:57,930

is really just an invitation to joy.

00:47:57,990 --> 00:48:03,750

And Jesus is out here telling people

about it, spreading joy because God

00:48:03,750 --> 00:48:06,630

is ultimately gonna make you the

happiest for the longest amount of time.

00:48:09,030 --> 00:48:12,690

And so if that's you tonight, I,

I want you to think there's an

00:48:12,690 --> 00:48:16,320

empty tomb and there's a risen king

Jesus alive, and he's inviting you.

00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:19,260

You can find happiness in me.

00:48:19,500 --> 00:48:24,840

Stop trying to find happiness in whatever

you think is gonna make you happy, right?

00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:29,280

Whether it it's approval from others

or this dream school or career, or, or

00:48:29,730 --> 00:48:33,090

maybe you just want to your freedom and

autonomy and go do whatever you want.

00:48:33,090 --> 00:48:34,140

That's not gonna make you happy.

00:48:34,770 --> 00:48:36,390

It's gonna leave you

empty and regretting it.

00:48:36,570 --> 00:48:41,310

But Jesus is alive and he can free

you from sin and free you from death

00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:44,790

and give you the most amount of

joy for the longest amount of time.

00:48:45,330 --> 00:48:47,010

Let's pray and we'll go to small groups.

00:48:49,860 --> 00:48:51,900

God thank you that you

want us to be happy.

00:48:52,710 --> 00:48:56,550

You don't necessarily have to want

us to be happy, but you want us to

00:48:56,550 --> 00:48:58,890

be happy and so you give us yourself.

00:48:59,340 --> 00:49:03,360

I'm so grateful that you make a way

for us to relate to you, that you

00:49:03,360 --> 00:49:04,890

want us to be part of your family.

00:49:05,190 --> 00:49:11,430

You want to do good to us, you want

to um, you want to work for our joy.

00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:14,670

And so I pray that you would

help us to just remember that.

00:49:15,315 --> 00:49:18,165

Oftentimes when we don't trust you,

it's because we don't think you're

00:49:18,165 --> 00:49:19,695

looking out for our best interests.

00:49:20,025 --> 00:49:23,325

So I pray that you help all of us here to

trust that you know what's best for us.

00:49:23,325 --> 00:49:27,825

You love us more than we love

ourselves, and so you ultimately

00:49:27,825 --> 00:49:29,145

will make us the happiest.

00:49:29,145 --> 00:49:30,105

So help us to believe that.

00:49:30,255 --> 00:49:32,384

Help us to be focused and

honest in small groups.

00:49:32,835 --> 00:49:34,245

Um, and I pray all this in Jesus name.

00:49:34,485 --> 00:49:34,815

Amen.