The Resurrection

WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:11.759 The great truths by which we might know you and know how we ought to 2 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:16.239 live. Help us to understand them, help us to remember them and to 3 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:20.000 delight in them, to hide them in our hearts and walk in all your 4 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:24.480 ways through faith in Jesus Christ. We asked that you would bless us in 5 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:28.160 these things now, reading and preaching of your word, and we pray this 6 00:00:28.239 --> 00:00:35.200 in Jesus name. Man. I'm so I had planned to preach Ezekiel Twenty 7 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:38.960 six through twenty eight, but then at the last minute I changed my mind 8 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:44.039 and because I wanted to preach a little bit more on the Gospels and the 9 00:00:44.039 --> 00:00:48.280 resurrection this evening. So I'm going to share with you a message if shared 10 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:53.200 once before, Mark Sixteen. So if you turn with me, they're Mark 11 00:00:53.280 --> 00:01:06.680 Chapter Sixteen, and we'll read about the resurrection from this Gospel. Unsurprisingly to 12 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:12.239 me and hopefully to you, these passage is not unrelated to Ezekiel, twenty 13 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:17.239 five and twenty six, because all the scriptures are related to each other and 14 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:21.480 they're all connected. In those passages, which will come to the future, 15 00:01:21.560 --> 00:01:27.680 we see like the cities before tire is mocking Israel in her destruction and in 16 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:34.719 her downfall. Has This perspective that she the citied of tires, so great 17 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:38.480 and important, and God will help them to know that he is God, 18 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:42.439 he is the Lord. In a similar way, here in Mark Sixteen, 19 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:48.719 we see the Lord reminding us of how to truly think about him, how 20 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:53.239 to think about the work of Christ. And let's turn to it now and 21 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:59.959 remember. So Mark Sixteen verses went through eight. When the Sabbath was past, 22 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:04.280 Mary Magdalen, Mary the mother of James, and Salom a broad spices 23 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:07.599 so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first 24 00:02:07.680 --> 00:02:09.919 day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the 25 00:02:09.960 --> 00:02:15.120 tomb and they were saying to one another, who will roll away the stone 26 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:19.120 for us, from the entrance of the tomb, and looking up they saw 27 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:23.000 that the stone had been rolled back. It was very large. And entering 28 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:27.639 the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in 29 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:31.080 a white, white robe, and they were alarmed and he said to them, 30 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:35.840 do not be alarmed, you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. 31 00:02:36.439 --> 00:02:39.280 He has risen, he is not here. See the place where they 32 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:44.400 laid him, but go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before 33 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:46.520 you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you. 34 00:02:47.439 --> 00:02:52.919 And they went out and fled from the Tomb, for trembling and astonishment 35 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:58.639 had seized them. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid, 36 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:10.960 maybe seated. So, as we know, and as we've been singing 37 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:15.240 about and praying about and thinking about all day, the resurrection is a Great 38 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:22.000 Triumph of Christ, a triumph of believers. We sang a moment ago. 39 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:25.879 Rise O Church, lift your voices. Christ has conquered death and hill sing 40 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:31.680 as all the earth rejoices resurrection. Anthems Swell Right, the music is building, 41 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:38.879 everything is charged. There's great victory, common worship, come and worship, 42 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:44.680 worship Christ, the risen king. So the resurrection is we looked at 43 00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:49.360 this morning from first Corinthians fifteen. It proves our freedom from death and sin. 44 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:54.120 It guarantees our own resurrection, our own glory, are imperishable state, 45 00:03:54.719 --> 00:04:01.360 and so we rightly thank God and praise him and rejoice. But my question 46 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:06.280 to you is, where is any of that in Mark Sixteen? Where's the 47 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:12.719 rejoice the risen king? Where is the praising? Where's the excitement? Where 48 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:18.959 is the the the victorious feeling that comes with knowing Jesus has risen from the 49 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:26.879 dead. Is that what we hear in Mark Sixteen? It's not. Mark 50 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:30.160 ends his book with these followers of Jesus coming to the tomb of their dear 51 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:35.759 friend and teacher to anoint him, expecting the stone to be in place right. 52 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:40.399 Notice how they say who will roll away for the stone, the stone 53 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:44.759 at the entrance of the Tomb. They expected to be blocked. They expect 54 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:49.839 to come and anoint him, who is dead, unsure how even this small 55 00:04:49.879 --> 00:04:55.319 act of devotion won't end in failure. But when the time comes, they 56 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:58.879 see that the stone is not there, or it's there but it's rolled away, 57 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:01.439 and Jesus is missing. And this young man, who else where is 58 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:08.240 identified as an angel, says to them don't be alarmed, he has risen 59 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:12.959 from the dead. Well, it sounds like this was hard to take to 60 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:18.199 heart, because alarm is exactly how mark expresses their reaction here at the end 61 00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:23.199 of the section, in Verse Eight, he says they fled right, they 62 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:30.920 running away. They fled from the tomb, trembling right, shaking and astonishment. 63 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:39.879 Trembling and astonishment had seized them right when you are seized by an emotion. 64 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:43.560 That's a very intense thing right. It's a strong word to use. 65 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:46.680 They don't just feel this way or have this thing, they are seized by 66 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:56.199 it, seized by trembling. We might call it uncontrollable trembling, uncontrollable astonishment, 67 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:02.720 and even says and they were afraid. They became overwhelmed with fear to 68 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:09.639 the point of uncontrollable trembling. Now you might expect this reaction at the news 69 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:15.399 of someone's death, but what about the news of someone's resurrection from the dead? 70 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:21.120 Why were they so afraid? You might say that we are astonished at 71 00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:26.560 their astonishment. What makes sense of this, and I want to reflect on 72 00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:30.240 this with you for a few minutes. The first thing to remember is that, 73 00:06:30.279 --> 00:06:33.079 of course, we have the benefit of looking back. We look back 74 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:38.399 on the resurrection as an event and the well established past. They were the 75 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:45.480 very first ones to experience this, very first ones. At this point in 76 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:49.399 the history, no one was expecting Jesus to rise from the dead. Doesn't 77 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:53.040 mean they shouldn't have expected him to rise from the dead, but no one 78 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:57.560 was expecting him to rise from the dead. Before this point, everyone exists 79 00:06:57.560 --> 00:07:01.120 expecting him to become king of Israel, to throw off the Roman government, 80 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:05.879 to re establish a theocracy as it was under his father, great, great, 81 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:10.639 great, great, great great grandfather David. Just a week earlier, 82 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:16.120 Jerusalem was in a frenzy of throwing palm branches and a not and singing about 83 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:20.439 Jesus coming into the temple as a king. Hosanna, blessed is he who 84 00:07:20.480 --> 00:07:24.800 comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed in the coming of the king 85 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:31.959 is our father David, Hosanna in the highest but all these expression expectations, 86 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:39.720 all of these hopes, were crushed and the same people turned and crucified him 87 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:44.920 a few days later. Remember on his cross it said, ironically, or 88 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:48.800 meant to be ironic, King of the Jews. For the followers of Jesus, 89 00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:53.680 this seemed very much like the end of the story. The great hero 90 00:07:53.879 --> 00:08:01.319 who is going to change everything was now dead, publicly humiliated, shamed and 91 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:09.480 now in a tomb, utterly defeated and, worse, even killed. The 92 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:13.800 people had turned on Jesus and Jesus had failed to save himself, and now 93 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:18.360 these people would turn on them and the savior they thought was going to save 94 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:22.720 them was now dead. How who do they turn to for protection? Who 95 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.879 Do they go to for salvation, when their savior, the one who was 96 00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:31.360 supposed to save them, was not there? And so many of them, 97 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:35.320 like Peter, distance themselves from their former teacher. They doubted, they deserted, 98 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:43.000 they denied him before men and in their own hearts. Now, of 99 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:48.039 course, the three women here were not deserting Jesus. They were there at 100 00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:54.279 the tomb, but they were not eagerly awaiting the resurrection either. Note that 101 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:58.480 they did not get up early to worship their resurrected king. Let's go see 102 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:03.360 Jesus, it's the third day, right. They weren't excited and anticipating and 103 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:11.080 filled with expectation and hope. They got up early expecting to annoy their dead 104 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:16.240 teacher. When the stone was rolled away. They didn't give an another look, 105 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:20.919 a look and say look, it's happening. They were alarmed, they 106 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:28.039 were surprised, they were not filled with great joy. Know all of this 107 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:35.519 was very shocking. Instead, without the sure hope and expectation of Jesus's Resurrection, 108 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:41.559 the events of this past several days were likely the most overwhelming and emotionally 109 00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:48.639 overwhelming these people had perhaps ever experienced. So when they hear this angel say 110 00:09:48.039 --> 00:09:54.600 he is not here, he is risen. Perhaps this was just one more 111 00:09:54.679 --> 00:10:00.720 thing that they couldn't take. This was not good news, this was their 112 00:10:00.799 --> 00:10:05.360 world spinning out of control. But the fact of the matter is that, 113 00:10:05.360 --> 00:10:09.919 though the world as they perceived it, was spinning out of control, that 114 00:10:09.960 --> 00:10:16.039 was only their perception of things right, it wasn't really reality. What was 115 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:20.399 happening in the world, is it? It was all going exactly according to 116 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:26.240 how God had planned it since before he even made the world. Remember, 117 00:10:26.360 --> 00:10:30.600 the Messiah had come. According to the Scriptures and the fullness of time, 118 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:35.200 he had come. There wasn't a slight, the slightest hiccup in the entire 119 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:41.919 plan. Everything was working according to the Eternal Plan of God. So then, 120 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:46.320 why is everyone panicking, even at the good news of the resurrection? 121 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:52.080 I think they became unnerved because they failed to hear and to believe what God 122 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:58.879 had told them about them coming. Messiah, excuse me, Jesus, had 123 00:10:58.919 --> 00:11:03.759 been speaking about this, he'd been telling them this, he'd been teaching them 124 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:11.039 these but they misunderstood and they didn't remember and they didn't hear things that we 125 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:15.759 must remember, we must hear and we must believe. For one, they 126 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:20.519 misunderstood the Messiah's purpose. The scriptures tell us a lot about the savior of 127 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:26.039 God's people, about what he would accomplish once he came. The Promised Messiah 128 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:28.039 Would Have Dominion over the Earth. He would rule in a way that would 129 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:35.519 surpass Adam. Isaiah eleven six says this. The Wolf shall dwell down or 130 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:39.840 shall dwell with the lamb. The leopards shall lie down with the young goat 131 00:11:39.879 --> 00:11:41.879 and the calf and the lion and the fat and calf together, and the 132 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:48.480 little child shall leave them. Lead them the peace that's described here, and 133 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:54.360 Isaiah six eleven six is coupled with prosperity. Listen to Amos thirteen. Behold, 134 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:58.720 the days are coming to Claire as the Lord, when the Plowman shall 135 00:11:58.759 --> 00:12:03.320 overtake the reaper and the treader of the grapes, him who sows the seed. 136 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:09.879 The mountains shall drip with sweet wine and all the hills shall flow it 137 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:16.600 or shall flow with it. The Promise Messiah would bring about the second exodus, 138 00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:22.320 overwhelming and overcoming enemies and ruling his people in a way that surpassed Moses. 139 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:26.559 Listen to Jeremiah twenty three seven through eight therefore behold. The days are 140 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:31.320 coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say as the Lord 141 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:33.519 lives who brought up the people out of Israel, out of the land of 142 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:39.360 Egypt, but as the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of 143 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:43.559 the House of Israel out of the North country and out of all the countries 144 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:48.000 where he had driven driven them. They shall dwell in their own land. 145 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:52.159 The promise Massiga and other words, would be a king who would dwell in 146 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:56.799 righteousness and wisdom. He would dwell and rule a kingdom filled with peace and 147 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:03.279 prosperity that would surpass anything the world had ever known, anything Israel had ever 148 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:07.519 experienced, even under some of her greatest kings. Psalm one hundred and ten 149 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:13.360 one says that his enemies would be made his footstool. Psalm to six says 150 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:16.919 that the ends of the Earth would be his possession, and even the angels 151 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:22.879 would help accomplish this. Listen to Isaiah seven, the prophecy there of the 152 00:13:22.919 --> 00:13:30.519 increase of his government and of peace. There will be no end the increase 153 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:33.720 of his government and of peace. There will be no end. It just 154 00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:37.399 keeps going and going and going and on the throne of David and over his 155 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:41.559 kingdom, or on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish 156 00:13:41.559 --> 00:13:46.840 it and to uphold it with justice, with righteousness, from this time forth 157 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:52.000 and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. This 158 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:58.519 is just a sampling and we're only reading from the Old Testament and we haven't 159 00:13:58.519 --> 00:14:03.200 even gotten into things Jesus taught about, Jesus spoke, the examples that he 160 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:09.759 gave, the miracles that he did. This is a sampling, just a 161 00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:13.279 little bit, of the promises and the objectives of what would come with the 162 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:20.039 coming Messiah. But, as so often happens between men and God, we 163 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:26.639 expect so little of him. We expect so little, we trust him so 164 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:31.000 little, we remember so little. And so when Jesus came, when the 165 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:37.840 Messiah came, despite the grand announcements, despite angels and the sky and miracles 166 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:43.000 happening all over the place, they didn't understand his purposes. These prophecies were 167 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:50.639 promising a messiah who went far beyond anything Adam, Moses or David ever were. 168 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:54.200 The Messiah was not going to just bring his people into Jerusalem or even 169 00:14:54.399 --> 00:15:00.559 Eden. These earthly copies of the spiritual kingdom. But this exodus would be 170 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:07.039 for a world to come. Hebrews to five says, and opening up a 171 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:11.759 new age, even as Hebrews Twelve says, a new heavens and a new 172 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:18.120 earth. This place that Jesus went aug it would inaugurate would not just be 173 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:24.360 the temple complex under Rome. It would be an eternal, immense, indestructible 174 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:31.960 kingdom where only the most expansive rest, prosperity, peace and joy could reside 175 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:35.240 forever. And the people in that kingdom, as we talked about this morning, 176 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:39.840 from first Corinthias fifteen, would be us, people that he saved and 177 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:46.200 people that, in their resurrection, are made fit for that kind of kingdom. 178 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:50.799 But even if the disciples had understood the purpose of the Messiah, they 179 00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:58.440 also misunderstood the mode of the Messiah. These glorious ends would not be achieved 180 00:15:58.519 --> 00:16:03.559 all at once, nor they would they be inaugurated in some kind of glorious 181 00:16:03.720 --> 00:16:11.120 entrance or battle. The Great Messiah, Warrior King prophesied about in the prophecited 182 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:18.200 prophecies, would rule over the whole world. The first he would die by 183 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:23.840 its hands. This was highly unexpected and it's very counterintuitive to us, because 184 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:30.639 our constant hope is that man is going to achieve greatness somehow. Apart from 185 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:34.320 dealing with sin. We're always thinking and always falling into this era that somehow 186 00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:38.120 we can just ignore the sin in the world, ignore the sin in our 187 00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:42.080 lives, and just sort of start climbing the ladder until we get to the 188 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:48.840 Kingdom of God. We think goodness and holiness are on some kind of sliding 189 00:16:48.919 --> 00:17:00.320 scale, but God demands Absolute Holiness, absolute perfection. We need a deep 190 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:07.240 and everlasting change in our hearts. We need a forgiveness of sins that removes 191 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:15.920 our sins completely from our from God's judgment over us. So in order to 192 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:21.880 rule over the righteous, he first had to make us righteous, and that 193 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:26.000 would not be easy. It would involve the mode of the Messiah, would 194 00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:32.680 involve His crucifixion and his death and his suffering under the wrath of God, 195 00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:37.119 not because of anything he did, but because of the things we did, 196 00:17:37.799 --> 00:17:44.440 the things that we deserve. Jesus, the Scriptures say new no sin, 197 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:52.640 but he became sin so that sinners like us might become sinless. They didn't 198 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:57.960 see this coming. About a week before Jesus is crucifixion. James and John 199 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:03.640 and their mom saw enter up to Jesus and and asks demand that they place 200 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:08.680 are the he placed them in positions of honor when he comes into his glory. 201 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:12.319 Put us on your right hand and your left hand, Jesus. Of 202 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:17.640 course, they say this would out the other disciples listening. They try to 203 00:18:17.640 --> 00:18:23.920 sort of maneuver and and politically force themselves into this place of position to this 204 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:30.319 coming glory. It's really interesting is Jesus doesn't deny that the glory is coming, 205 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:33.720 but you know what he says to them? He says you don't know 206 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:40.960 what you're talking about. You don't know what you're asking. Mark Thirty eight 207 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:44.480 says, are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized 208 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:49.319 with the baptism with which I am to be baptized? It was going to 209 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:55.680 come in this mode that they weren't expecting. Peter says, all fight forever 210 00:18:55.759 --> 00:19:00.119 with you. He and he tried. He cut off the ear of one 211 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:03.440 of the the people in the mob that were coming to get Jesus, and 212 00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:08.319 Jesus Says No, not that way. And it was at that point that 213 00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:17.119 Peter started his denials. The mode of the Messiah was not what most people 214 00:19:17.160 --> 00:19:22.279 anyway were expecting. On the cross, Jesus would drink the cup of Wrath. 215 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:26.480 He would be baptized by the waters of Judgment for sin, so that 216 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:30.079 for us the Cup of the Covenant wouldn't be a cup of Wrath but a 217 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:36.240 cup of salvation, and our baptisms would not be the washing of judgment but 218 00:19:36.519 --> 00:19:42.079 the washing of regeneration. But for most of Jesus's ministry many people didn't understand 219 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:47.839 this. They didn't understand it when he had died. They did not understand 220 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:53.720 that this Kingdom of glory would come through a Ministry of suffering. And the 221 00:19:53.759 --> 00:20:00.119 final thing that they misunderstood where the specific details about his plan, not just 222 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:06.119 the mode in general. But remember, Jesus tells them so. For example, 223 00:20:06.200 --> 00:20:11.319 in Mark Ten, thirty three through thirty four, we read this to 224 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:14.759 Jay James, and Johnny says, see, we are going up to Jerusalem 225 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:17.960 and the son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the 226 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:22.359 scribes and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the gentiles 227 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:26.519 and they will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him 228 00:20:26.519 --> 00:20:33.640 and after three days he will rise. We are reminded of the level of 229 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:37.440 the detail revealed to his disciples and our passage as well. Remember, when 230 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:41.240 the angel speaks to the women, he tells them go, tell the disciples 231 00:20:41.240 --> 00:20:45.480 and Peter that he is going before you and Galilee, there you will see 232 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:53.319 him, just as he told you. All right, parents, perhaps you 233 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:56.839 have been in a position where you've said to your children, did you not 234 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:03.279 listen to what I was saying? I told you I didn't hear. I 235 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:08.960 told I didn't hear. Right, sometimes this happens. Kids, don't worry. 236 00:21:10.039 --> 00:21:12.880 Parents do this too. No, no, they don't. Now we 237 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:18.480 do. Sometimes we hear things and just sing one ear out the other, 238 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:25.720 and that somehow seems to have been what happened. Whether it was through a 239 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:33.400 lack of belief or not listening or something, Jesus was amazingly specific with his 240 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:40.400 disciples about what was going to happen, and he said it multiple times. 241 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:44.640 In Mark Fourteen, another passage, Jesus said, but after I am raised 242 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:53.079 up, I will go before you to Galilee. Sometimes when we don't listen, 243 00:21:53.799 --> 00:22:00.119 it's because we come with this these preconceptions about how something already is we're 244 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:04.279 not listening because we think we already know. We're not listening because we think 245 00:22:04.279 --> 00:22:07.960 we've already got it figured out. And so when these words come to us, 246 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:10.920 or like noise, noise, noise, noise, noise, noise, 247 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:15.079 nose, whatever, then I'm going to do what I'm going to do over 248 00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:19.279 and over again. His followers either misunderstood him or didn't listen to him. 249 00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:26.799 My guess is it's because they, like all these others, and would continue 250 00:22:26.839 --> 00:22:32.240 to happen in the Ministry of the apostles, misunders stood how great Jesus really 251 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:37.079 was, but also the mode by which he would achieve this greatness. And 252 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:41.920 this is why their world was turning upside down, this is why they were 253 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:45.680 so quick to turn away from Jesus as the Messiah once he was condemned to 254 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:53.160 death. And the Gospel does this. It is a stumbling block. It 255 00:22:53.200 --> 00:23:00.920 takes our bad presuppositions, are bad listening, our forgetfulness and it makes us 256 00:23:00.920 --> 00:23:04.720 fall. We come to the Cross of Christ, and I know what not 257 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:11.079 like that. The Gospel, in some ways, in our according to our 258 00:23:11.079 --> 00:23:15.119 flesh and according to our rhisdom and according to our power and according to the 259 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:21.799 ways that we think things ought to be. That makes us stumble. It 260 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:26.240 makes us, who seemed wise and seem powerful and whatever, actually see me 261 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:32.519 and look pretty foolish. Just as their world seem to be spinning out of 262 00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:38.359 control, so does ours. So do ours. When our when we misunderstand 263 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:45.720 and don't listen to God's word, when we don't listen and we don't remember, 264 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:51.240 and when we when we when we just fill it with the things that 265 00:23:51.319 --> 00:23:57.240 we already think are true, we often will find ourselves afraid, frustrated, 266 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:06.359 sometimes in bittered or confused. We think the things that God has promised are 267 00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:10.720 impossible, and so, out of that doubt, we begin to look for 268 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:15.480 those things in the world. You know this has happened to you, and 269 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:18.880 the things that you desire the most are the things of this world and not 270 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:26.240 the world to come. Do you desire pleasure more than holiness, or wealth 271 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:30.720 more than worship, or looking good more than being godly? These kind of 272 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:34.359 things tell us our heart is in the wrong place, that we're not listening, 273 00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:41.240 that we don't understand, because the peace and the prosperity that we rightly 274 00:24:41.400 --> 00:24:45.799 seek are impossible with man. They do not come through the things of this 275 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:53.240 world. They only come through God and through the suffering servant. They come 276 00:24:53.319 --> 00:25:00.279 through death, they come through denial, they come through giving up, not 277 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:07.440 by building them up. We receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken because we 278 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:12.119 ourselves have fortified it with a bunch of our works or whatever. We receive 279 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:17.920 a kingdom that cannot be shaken because it's not made with human hands and because 280 00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:23.640 it's given to us. The things of this world eventually come crashing down around 281 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:29.519 us, never delivering on what they deceitfully promised. And Ezekiel, that's what 282 00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:34.640 they're experiencing as as the temple falls, as the people are scattered. That's 283 00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:41.599 what the nations are experiencing, who are mocking Jerusalem. But the good news 284 00:25:41.640 --> 00:25:48.599 for the whole world is that what is impossible with man Mark Twenty seven is 285 00:25:48.680 --> 00:25:55.359 possible with God, and that's exactly what the resurrection proves. And what we 286 00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:59.720 see in this passage is that, despite our lack of perception and our weak 287 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:07.039 faith, despite our problems, God is continually and steadily working to carry out 288 00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:12.559 his plan. He doesn't see the fear of these ladies, or the Tomb, 289 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:17.400 or the absence of the disciples or any of this, and say okay. 290 00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:18.400 Well, I guess we have to shut it all down. It didn't 291 00:26:18.440 --> 00:26:22.400 work out after all. They were supposed to be here, they were supposed 292 00:26:22.440 --> 00:26:26.759 to be excited. No, God just keeps moving on, keeps moving on. 293 00:26:29.039 --> 00:26:33.359 Peace and prosperity and a kingdom ruled in righteousness seem always out of the 294 00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:40.160 grasp of men, and it is. But the Messiah came into this world 295 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:45.640 as the God man to achieve these ends, and he did. And the 296 00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:51.720 victory that he has, the righteousness that he has, his strength, his 297 00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:57.079 power, all of these things are made evident and vindicated in the resurrection. 298 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:06.519 There is no death in the resurrection, and we see it not only in 299 00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:11.759 that, but we see it in his in gathering of his disciples, despite 300 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:17.160 the desertion and des doubt of his disciples, specifically peters. The Lord is 301 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:22.599 then working him already. Go Tell Peter, go tell Peter, he says 302 00:27:22.680 --> 00:27:27.000 here he is bringing them back to himself. And, as we know from 303 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:30.559 other parts of the scripture, though, the women fled here in fear and 304 00:27:30.599 --> 00:27:36.799 said nothing more. This was brief. It didn't last forever. They quickly 305 00:27:36.839 --> 00:27:42.720 became evangelists, good news spreaders. The trembling stopped. Their hearts were filled 306 00:27:42.759 --> 00:27:49.480 with faith and they soon told the disciples what they saw and what they heard, 307 00:27:49.720 --> 00:27:53.720 and the good news of Jesus's work on the Cross and his resurrection from 308 00:27:53.759 --> 00:28:00.799 the dead began to spread, and spread fast. And this is how God 309 00:28:00.839 --> 00:28:03.640 works with us all the time. It's a picture of that and the beginning 310 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:08.400 of that here in human history. He steps into our lives and he reorients 311 00:28:08.440 --> 00:28:14.799 our hearts, he reorients our minds and our expectations. He makes us stumbled 312 00:28:14.839 --> 00:28:18.880 by the Gospel, but he also makes us live guy the Gospel by that 313 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:22.759 same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. He teaches us and he opens 314 00:28:22.759 --> 00:28:29.640 our minds and our hearts so that we might hear and understand and listen and 315 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:37.480 re member and believe. And when this happens and when we believe and we 316 00:28:37.559 --> 00:28:42.039 accept the truths of God, when we see the Messiah as he is, 317 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:48.119 that's when our trembling stops, that's when our fear starts to go away, 318 00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:52.720 because when we see that the Messiah has in fact come into the world, 319 00:28:52.759 --> 00:28:59.319 has in fact triumphed over his and our enemies, has in fact swallowed up 320 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:07.160 death in his victory, when we stop defining the ourselves and according to the 321 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:11.880 things of this world, and begin looking them them and defining ourselves and seeing 322 00:29:11.880 --> 00:29:18.039 ourselves in Christ and the Kingdom of God that is to come. We find 323 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:26.200 peace, we find rest, we find hope, and that's what eventually happens 324 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:30.599 here, a hope that spread out into the world and has continued from generation 325 00:29:30.680 --> 00:29:37.200 to generation even to here today, where we here, where we see and 326 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:42.200 we tonight believe in the word of God and the Messiah who came, our 327 00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:48.319 great king. May God open our eyes to see the great salvation that has 328 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:55.599 come in the resurrected Christ. It's so that we might see all of our 329 00:29:56.039 --> 00:30:03.359 lives by the light of heaven itself. Let's pray. Our Lord, God 330 00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:10.279 and King, Great Savior of all the earth, we praise your name for 331 00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:17.039 your mediation for us and for the work you did on our behalf. We 332 00:30:17.160 --> 00:30:22.640 thank you that you did not come into this world in your in your incarnation, 333 00:30:25.680 --> 00:30:30.359 and destroy us all. We're thankful that you did not come and glory 334 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:33.359 and put to death all of your enemies right there and then, for surely 335 00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:41.160 we, along with all else, would have died. But instead you knowingly, 336 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:48.079 willingly went to the Cross and died for our sins, so that our 337 00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:52.799 hearts might be subdued, so that we might live with you forever, so 338 00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:56.599 that we might no longer be enemies and children of Wrath, but we might 339 00:30:56.680 --> 00:31:03.920 become sons and daughters of the king, the risen king, so that we 340 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:10.319 might in receive an inheritance that is imperishable, so that we might receive bodies 341 00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:17.000 that are imperishable, so that we might no longer be afraid and astonished and 342 00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:26.240 shaking, but that we might be immovable, confidant and bold in this life 343 00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:30.599 and even more so in the life to come. Lord, we asked that 344 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:42.680 you would bust apart our our misconceptions, our misunderstandings, our doubt, our 345 00:31:42.799 --> 00:31:51.440 lack of faith. We asked that you would take away our confidence in ourselves 346 00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:56.279 and in the flesh and in the things of this world. We asked that 347 00:31:56.319 --> 00:32:01.839 you would break us and even cause us to die to ourselves, that we 348 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:07.200 might live in you forever. We asked that you would strengthen in the these 349 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:13.279 things in us, oh Lord, and that as we and as we grow 350 00:32:13.319 --> 00:32:17.039 in them, that we would grow more and more and that you would be 351 00:32:17.079 --> 00:32:22.880 glorified in your work through us. We pray this in Jesus name on men. 352 00:32:24.680 --> 00:32:25.519 All right, let's stand to