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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: For more resources to help you in your walk with Christ,

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Speaker 2: please visit us at Bible Studyheadquarters dot com. This morning,

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Speaker 2: we're going to be looking at a variety of things.

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Speaker 2: We're going to start off our morning by looking at

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Speaker 2: John chapter twenty, and I'm going to be reading the

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Speaker 2: first ten verses in particular John chapter twenty, starting with

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Speaker 2: verse one. But I'll mention to you even as you're

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Speaker 2: turning there this morning, what we're going to be talking

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Speaker 2: about is the fact that the resurrection passes the tests

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Speaker 2: of history. So in addition to looking at what we're

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Speaker 2: going to look at with scripture, there's some additional things

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Speaker 2: I'm going to share with us today, just from a

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Speaker 2: historical standpoint, things from a research standpoint, even the demonstrate

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Speaker 2: that the resurrection passes the test of history. But first

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Speaker 2: let's start with John chapter twenty. And at John chapter twenty,

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Speaker 2: we're going to look at the first ten verses. This

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Speaker 2: is what we read. Says now on the first day

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Speaker 2: the week, Mary Magdalene came and came to the tomb

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Speaker 2: early while it was still dark, and saw that the

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Speaker 2: stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she

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Speaker 2: ran and went to Simon Peter in the other disciple,

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Speaker 2: the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, they

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Speaker 2: have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we

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Speaker 2: do not know where they have laid him. So Peter

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Speaker 2: went out with the other disciple, and they were going

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Speaker 2: toward the tomb. Both of them were running together. But

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Speaker 2: the other disciple out ran Peter and reached the tomb first,

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Speaker 2: and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths

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Speaker 2: lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon

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Speaker 2: Peter came following him and went into the tomb. He

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Speaker 2: saw the linen cloths lying there, in the face cloth

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Speaker 2: which had been on jesus head not lying with the

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Speaker 2: linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself.

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Speaker 2: Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first,

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Speaker 2: also went in, and he saw and believed, where as

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Speaker 2: yet they did not understand the scripture that he must

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Speaker 2: rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to

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Speaker 2: their homes. Let's pray, Lord, thank you so much for

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Speaker 2: the privilege to be able to look at your word

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Speaker 2: together today. We're grateful for the fact that here on

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Speaker 2: this resurrection Sunday, that we have the opportunity to just

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Speaker 2: think about the resurrection, what it means, why it's important,

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Speaker 2: how it has value, how it's significant. And Lord, we're

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Speaker 2: grateful that we get to read and account like this

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Speaker 2: from John's Gospel, where you reveal what things were like

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Speaker 2: for the first group of people to discover the resurrection,

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Speaker 2: that it.

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Speaker 1: Had actually taken place.

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Speaker 2: And so Lord, we're grateful for the fact that now,

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Speaker 2: as we meditate on these things, as we look at

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Speaker 2: these things together today, that we have the privilege to

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Speaker 2: think about them just as this first group of people did.

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Speaker 1: We pray that you'd speak to our hearts.

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Speaker 2: We pray that you'd speak to our minds, and that

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Speaker 2: ultimately you would draw us close to you as we

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Speaker 2: seek to be men and women after your own heart.

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Speaker 2: We commit ourselves to you now, and we pray this all.

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Speaker 1: In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Speaker 2: So a few thoughts about John chapter twenty, even just

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Speaker 2: as we begin this morning. So, John chapter twenty, these

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Speaker 2: first ten verses that we just read together, it's a

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Speaker 2: portion of scripture that I love, and it brings us

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Speaker 2: to a moment that literally shifts human history. And when

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Speaker 2: I say that it shifts human history, I'm saying I'm

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Speaker 2: making the assertion that it shifts the entire course of

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Speaker 2: human history, and I'm going to explain why in just

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Speaker 2: a moment. But here, the events that we see taking

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Speaker 2: place in this portion of scripture begin in the early

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Speaker 2: hours of the.

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Speaker 1: Morning, while it's still dark.

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Speaker 2: So that's the setting that we're given, that's the picture

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Speaker 2: that we're given. We're told that Mary Magdalen goes to

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Speaker 2: the tomb, and at this point, she's still struggling with grief,

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Speaker 2: she's still struggling with confusion, she's still struggling with a

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Speaker 2: heavy heart. Just days earlier, so this has taking place

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Speaker 2: on Sunday, on Friday, she had watched Jesus die, Jesus

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Speaker 2: being the one she trusted, Jesus being the one that

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Speaker 2: she looked at and she believed he would the messiah,

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Speaker 2: Jesus being the one who was crucified. And now as

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Speaker 2: she approaches the tomb, she notices something unexpected. The stone's

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Speaker 2: been taken away. And these were massive stones. These weren't

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Speaker 2: just small things. These weren't things that one person alone

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Speaker 2: could move. The stone was taken away, and so her

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Speaker 2: first instinct when she sees this, it wasn't what she expected.

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Speaker 2: So her first instinct wasn't hope, it's actually concerned. She

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Speaker 2: runs to Simon Peter and the other disciple. It just

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Speaker 2: says the other disciple where it says this in verse two,

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Speaker 2: it says, so she ran and went to Simon Peter

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Speaker 2: and the other disciple. By the way, that's John, that's

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Speaker 2: the other disciple. He's the one writing this down. And

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Speaker 2: oftentimes when he makes reference to himself, he just talks

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Speaker 2: about himself in the third person. In this gospel, but

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Speaker 2: she runs to these two guys, Peter and John, and

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Speaker 2: she says, they've taken the Lord out of the tomb,

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Speaker 2: and we don't know where they've laid him, and she's concerned,

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Speaker 2: and she expresses this to them. And I look at that,

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Speaker 2: and I think, you know, at that reaction, fee that

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Speaker 2: seems familiar in many respects, because I think when something

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Speaker 2: in life is unexpected, when it doesn't initially make sense

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Speaker 2: to us, I think we have a tendency to automatically

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Speaker 2: assume the worst instead of assuming that the best thing

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Speaker 2: possible had happened. Her assumption here initially is something bad

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Speaker 2: must have happened. Why is this open? Why is it

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Speaker 2: you know, what's going on here, So she's assuming the worst.

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Speaker 2: We have the same tendency to do that same sort

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Speaker 2: of thing. We sometimes interpret confusion through a lens of

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Speaker 2: a loss instead of a lens of possibility, and that's.

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Speaker 1: What she's very much doing here.

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Speaker 2: But if she expresses this to Peter and John, we're

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Speaker 2: told that they immediately run toward the tomb, and you

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Speaker 2: could feel the urgency in their action when you look

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Speaker 2: at what takes place, or you could see that this

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Speaker 2: was something that they You get the impression that they

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Speaker 2: jumped up and then they dart, and we're told here

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Speaker 2: that John outruns Peter and he comes first. Now I

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Speaker 2: want to point that out here. It says both of

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Speaker 2: them were running, but the other disciple out ramps and

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Speaker 2: reached the tomb first.

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Speaker 1: When my sons, my two.

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Speaker 2: Sons were growing up, this is probably the portion of

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Speaker 2: scripture that they thought was the best. We have these

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Speaker 2: two guys brothers in the Lord, not biologically brothers, but

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Speaker 2: brothers in the Lord. Peter being kind of an outspoken guy,

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Speaker 2: John being a very loving and kind of tender personality,

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Speaker 2: and he's the one writing this gospel down And by

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Speaker 2: the way, when he writes this gospel, down. He's writing

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Speaker 2: it down as a man in his nineties. So when

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Speaker 2: you're in your nineties and you're thinking about the days

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Speaker 2: that you can run fast, that's a good day in

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Speaker 2: your mind. And so he writes it down, and he's like, yeah,

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Speaker 2: you know, Peter, the guy that's kind of the loud

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Speaker 2: mouth among us, I outran him that day, and I

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Speaker 2: want all history to know it. And so he writes

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Speaker 2: it down. He writes it down, I outran Peter. He

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Speaker 2: says it nicer, but we all know what's behind that statement.

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Speaker 2: But they run toward the tomb. You could feel the

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Speaker 2: urgency in this, and John outruns Peter. But he's also

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Speaker 2: honest about what happens when he gets there, because even

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Speaker 2: though he arrives first, what does he do. He hesitates

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Speaker 2: to go in. He's the more timid of the two personalities.

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Speaker 2: So he gets there first, but he doesn't go in.

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Speaker 2: But then Peter quickly arrives right after him. And true

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Speaker 2: to Peter's personality, he was the type of person that

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Speaker 2: would barge right in.

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Speaker 1: So he just goes right in.

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Speaker 2: He wants to see what's taking place, and we're told

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Speaker 2: that he sees the linen cloths and then the separate

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Speaker 2: face cloth folded and set aside. It's folded and set aside.

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Speaker 2: And so they're looking at this, and they're realizing, Okay,

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Speaker 2: the body isn't there. The tomb is open, the body

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Speaker 2: isn't there, and these cloths are basically there in an

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Speaker 2: orderly way. Nothing suggests deph nothing suggests chaos.

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Speaker 1: Something else has happened here.

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Speaker 2: And as they're looking at this, and John enters, as

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Speaker 2: he's seeing this now with his own eyes, the text

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Speaker 2: tells us something very very powerful, and I love what

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Speaker 2: it says.

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Speaker 1: Look what it says.

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Speaker 2: In verse eight, it says, then the other disciple who

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Speaker 2: had reached the two first.

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Speaker 1: Has to emphasize that a second time also went in.

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Speaker 1: But then look at what it says, and he saw

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Speaker 1: and what believed.

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Speaker 2: And he saw, he saw and believed. At that moment,

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Speaker 2: for John, something begins to click into place in his mind.

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Speaker 1: Something clicks.

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Speaker 2: He didn't have full understanding of everything he's seeing in

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Speaker 2: this moment. He didn't have full understanding of everything he

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Speaker 2: was witnessing. But John had seen enough to spark genuine belief.

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Speaker 2: He's like, ah, he sees this and he believes. And

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Speaker 2: then verse nine actually goes on to tell us and

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Speaker 2: remind us that they really didn't yet understand the scripture.

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Speaker 2: The scripture specifically that it revealed that the Messiah would

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Speaker 2: rise from the dead. So their understanding is still developing here.

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Speaker 2: But basically, what we have the privilege to do is

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Speaker 2: we look at a portion of scripture like this, even

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Speaker 2: on a day like today where we celebrate the resurrection,

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Speaker 2: We're literally watching their faith grow in real time. You're

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Speaker 2: seeing it develop a piece of a time. John tells

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Speaker 2: this story, and I look at a passage like this,

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Speaker 2: and I think that that's where it feels so highly

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Speaker 2: relatable to me as I watched this account, because I

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Speaker 2: think many of us live somewhere between seeing and fully understanding.

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Speaker 2: And what I mean by that is this, we've encountered

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Speaker 2: Jesus enough to know that he's not like anyone else.

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Speaker 2: We've seen glimpses of his work in our lives. Maybe

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Speaker 2: we've even sensed his presence, maybe he've even noticed aspects

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Speaker 2: of his grace, aspects of his truth. But maybe we

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Speaker 2: still have some questions, maybe we still have some gaps

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Speaker 2: in our understanding. I imagine that it's possible that there

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Speaker 2: are still moments where we're still.

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Speaker 1: Trying to piece some of these details together.

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Speaker 2: And that's sort of what you see as Peter and

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Speaker 2: John are observing what's taking place. Keep in mind, they

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Speaker 2: had just spent literally face to face three years with Jesus,

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Speaker 2: walking with him, talking with him, serving with him, traveling

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Speaker 2: with him, teaching with him, being given authority by him,

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Speaker 2: hearing him instruct them, and all sorts of things, and

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Speaker 2: yet they were still developing their understanding. Be patient with

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Speaker 2: yourself if you find yourself in that same spot. They

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Speaker 2: had literally just been walking with Jesus for three years.

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Speaker 2: But the scripture here admits John admits in the scripture

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Speaker 2: as the Holy Spirit inspires him to write this down,

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Speaker 2: they didn't fully understand the scripture related to the resurrection.

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Speaker 2: That was still they were blanking on that a little bit.

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Speaker 2: So I look at that and I think, all right,

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Speaker 2: this passage is a passage that gives us permission to

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Speaker 2: be in that I'm still trying to figure this out

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Speaker 2: phase for at least for a little while, although I

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Speaker 2: hope we don't stay there forever. But you're allowed to

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Speaker 2: be there for a little while. Just don't stay there

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Speaker 2: for the rest of your life. But notice what John does.

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Speaker 2: He doesn't have every answer, he doesn't yet grasp the

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Speaker 2: full theological significance of the resurrection, but he does see

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Speaker 2: what's right in front of him, and he believes he's

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Speaker 2: seen enough to believe. His faith begins with what he

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Speaker 2: can observe, even before he fully understands all the rest

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Speaker 2: of the details and how it all fits together.

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Speaker 1: He's seen enough to believe. And I look at that,

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Speaker 1: and I think, you.

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Speaker 2: Know what, there's value for us in that, especially as

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Speaker 2: we prepare our hearts to begin thinking about the historical

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Speaker 2: reality of the resurrection, And in just a moment, I'm

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Speaker 2: gonna show you why it's a historically reliable fact. I

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Speaker 2: also want to say this Christian faith isn't a blind

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Speaker 2: leap in the dark. I think sometimes people treat it

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Speaker 2: like it might be, but it's not. It's actually rooted

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Speaker 2: in real events, real places, real people, real eyewitness testimony,

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Speaker 2: very very real things.

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Speaker 1: The empty tomb that's mentioned in.

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Speaker 2: This passage in John chapter twenty, it's not a metaphor.

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Speaker 2: It's not symbolic for something. It was a physical reality

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Speaker 2: that actual people really encountered and actually saw with their

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Speaker 2: own eyes. They saw it, they examined it. They even

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Speaker 2: wrestled in that context with what on earth this meant

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Speaker 2: because they were surprised by it. Peter walks in he

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Speaker 2: sees those linen cloths. John also saw, and he believed.

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Speaker 2: We're told that Mary saw the empty tunes. She goes

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Speaker 2: searching for answers. You have all these people seeing it

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Speaker 2: with their own eyes, and they're trying to piece it

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Speaker 2: all together, and over time all of them would come

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Speaker 2: to understand that Jesus had truly risen from the dead,

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Speaker 2: just as he said he would.

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Speaker 1: But when we look at this.

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Speaker 2: Portion of scripture, we get to look at it and

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Speaker 2: see the moment where they're first figuring this out. And

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Speaker 2: in a moment we're going to move into some of

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Speaker 2: the evidence and this is going to be fun to

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Speaker 2: look at. But even before we do that, I think

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Speaker 2: it's worth pausing right here, and let's just pause and

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Speaker 2: ask a very personal question. And the personal question I

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Speaker 2: want you to ask is this, what have.

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Speaker 1: You seen now? What do I mean by that? What

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Speaker 1: have you seen now?

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Speaker 2: Not just intellectually, you know, we're going to talk about

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Speaker 2: some intellectual things, but I just I'm just curious and

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Speaker 2: wrestle with this in your own heart? What have you

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Speaker 2: seen in a personal way, meaning, where have you seen

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Speaker 2: God already at work in your life? Where can you

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Speaker 2: tell that He's been talking to you? Where can you

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Speaker 2: see that He's been orchestrating things in your life that

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Speaker 2: have no earthly explanation other than the hand of God,

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Speaker 2: orchestrating things where he's trying to get your attention. Where

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Speaker 2: have you seen God's face faithfulness already, even if you

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Speaker 2: don't feel like you fully understand it. Where have you

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Speaker 2: already seen it? Where have you noticed his provision where

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Speaker 2: he's meeting needs that you think in the back of

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Speaker 2: your mind there's no other way this need would have

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Speaker 2: been met apart from the divine intervention of God himself.

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Speaker 2: Where have you seen God's grace in your life where

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Speaker 2: He's showing you favor in ways you'd say, I know

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Speaker 2: I don't deserve this.

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Speaker 1: God must be being good to me. Well he is.

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Speaker 2: Where have you sensed that God actually is real? Where

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Speaker 2: have you sensed that God is present even if you

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Speaker 2: couldn't fully explain it.

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Speaker 1: What have you already seen?

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Speaker 2: Because I think sometimes that kernel of faith, that initial

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Speaker 2: seed of faith, I think it often begins right there

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Speaker 2: where you start to see the fingerprints of God all

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Speaker 2: throughout the course of your life. And it just kind

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Speaker 2: of begins with maybe like a little bit of an

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Speaker 2: honest observation, where it starts to become hard to deny

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Speaker 2: that God's actually doing something in you and through you

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Speaker 2: and around you. And then you start reflecting on that

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Speaker 2: and you think, I don't really have any other way

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Speaker 2: to explain what I'm starting to see. He must be

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Speaker 2: doing something in my life. And then I think what

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Speaker 2: ends up happening is that our understanding starts to deepen

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Speaker 2: over time, it catches up over time. That's certainly what

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Speaker 2: happened to these disciples, and it's something that I can

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Speaker 2: testify in a personal way has taken place in my life,

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Speaker 2: and it wouldn't surprise me if it's happened in your

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Speaker 2: life as well. But there's something else worth noticing in

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Speaker 2: John chapter twenty. The tomb is empty, but the story

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Speaker 2: isn't chaotic. The tomb's empty, but the story isn't chaotic. Again,

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Speaker 2: you have the linen cloths lying there, you have the

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Speaker 2: face cloth folded. This isn't the scene of a rushed theft.

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Speaker 2: This is something intentional and calm and purposeful, meaning Jesus

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Speaker 2: didn't escape death in a panic. That's not what took

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Speaker 2: place here. What Jesus did was he conquered death with authority.

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Speaker 2: So think about what that means for us. It means

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Speaker 2: death isn't the end. Do you see, death gets conquered

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Speaker 2: here with authority. This isn't a panic, This isn't running

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Speaker 2: from something. He's conquering it with intentionality. Death isn't the end.

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Speaker 2: He shows us. Death isn't the end. He shows us

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Speaker 2: that death isn't something he was afraid of. Also means

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Speaker 2: sin doesn't have the final word. It also means that

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Speaker 2: hope isn't wishful, thinking that when we have hope according

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Speaker 2: to what Scripture describes as hope, that it's grounded in reality.

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Speaker 1: It's not just a wish.

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Speaker 2: It also means, according to what Scripture reveals to us,

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Speaker 2: that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead

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Speaker 2: isn't something distant, and it isn't something abstract. It's an

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Speaker 2: active thing. It's present, it's available to us. That's something

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Speaker 2: he makes available, his power available to us. Now, in

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Speaker 2: just a moment, we're going to walk through the historical

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Speaker 2: evidence for the resurrection. And I'm going to do my

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Speaker 2: best to present it. I'm kind of excited about presenting it.

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Speaker 2: Greg saw my slides ahead of time. He goes, you

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Speaker 2: have a lot of slides for today. I was like,

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Speaker 2: I know, and I'm going to go through them quickly.

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Speaker 2: I think you don't have anything on the stove. Do

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Speaker 2: you never mind? Junesque, I don't want to know. But

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Speaker 2: here's the thing. As we look at this, we aren't

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Speaker 2: just exploring an idea. What I want to show you

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Speaker 2: is something that's the foundation of our faith.

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Speaker 1: The whole faith is based on this.

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Speaker 2: Meaning Christianity stands or falls on this moment. Christianity stands

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Speaker 2: or falls on the resurrection. If the tomb is empty

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Speaker 2: because Jesus actually rose from death, then everything he said

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Speaker 2: is true, every promise holds, every claim he made, it's

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Speaker 2: miraculously shown in that moment to be true. But before

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Speaker 2: we analyze, before we build the case, we personally we

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Speaker 2: start where John started. So what we're doing is we're looking,

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Speaker 2: we're considering, and we're allowing what we see to move

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Speaker 2: us toward belief. So do this as I present this information,

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Speaker 2: and I do hope you find it interesting as you

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Speaker 2: engage and as you think through this evidence, don't only

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Speaker 2: approach it as a skeptic, even if you're skeptical, And

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Speaker 2: don't only approach it as a student, even if you're

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Speaker 2: a studious personality. Approach it as someone who is open

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Speaker 2: to what God.

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Speaker 1: May be revealing to you.

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Speaker 2: Approach it as someone who recognizes that this must be

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Speaker 2: something that God superintended for your ears to hear. Because

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Speaker 2: the tomb being empty isn't just something to study. It's

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Speaker 2: interesting to study, but it's not just something to study.

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Speaker 2: It's something that actually invites a personal response. What does

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Speaker 2: it say John saw and believed? John Sawn believed. So

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Speaker 2: he saw the MP and he believed. And this is

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Speaker 2: what I'm contending. I'm contending that that same invitation reaches

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Speaker 2: us as well, that we can see and believe. Well,

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Speaker 2: let me elaborate. I have a few things. So if

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Speaker 2: the resurrection of Jesus truly happened, I want us to

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Speaker 2: wrestle with what implications does that have for how we

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Speaker 2: understand truth, how we understand hope, how we understand authority

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Speaker 2: in our lives. If it actually happened, it has to

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Speaker 2: have some implications. Now I want to show you a

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Speaker 2: quote that I often use in one of my classes.

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Speaker 2: This is a quote from an author's last name is hasting.

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Speaker 2: Sometimes he says things in a really worthy way, but

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Speaker 2: I actually think he's a theological genius. And he makes

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Speaker 2: a statement when he's looking at Acts, Chapter seventeen, verse

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Speaker 2: thirty one, he says this. He says, in Acts seventeen

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Speaker 2: thirty one, you have the apostle Paul actually speaking of

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Speaker 2: the resurrection.

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Speaker 1: He's doing this.

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Speaker 2: It's basically like a Ted Talk of the day where

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Speaker 2: he's in front of a whole bunch of thinkers of

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Speaker 2: the day, and he speaks of the resurrection, and he

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Speaker 2: doesn't seek to prove that what he's saying is true,

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Speaker 2: but he just weeks of it.

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Speaker 1: You just talked about it.

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Speaker 2: Next chapter seventeen, verse thirty one, and Hastings says this.

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Speaker 1: You know what I see when I look at this.

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Speaker 2: He says, this is important for how the church is

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Speaker 2: to be a witness and how it can influence the culture.

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Speaker 2: The church is a witness to resurrection, says, the church

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Speaker 2: is a witness to resurrection.

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Speaker 1: Even you and I living.

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Speaker 2: Right now in this era of history where we did

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Speaker 2: not with our own eyes see the empty tomb. We

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Speaker 2: are the witness to resurrection. How so the transforming power

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Speaker 2: that was demonstrated in that resurrection is present in your

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Speaker 2: life if you're united to Christ by faith, and the

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Speaker 2: same kind of testimony that the early Church had, where

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Speaker 2: they had complete confidence that the Resurrection was absolutely historical

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Speaker 2: fact is something that for you and for me is

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Speaker 2: a confidence that we can.

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Speaker 1: Possess as well. This is all I want to do.

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Speaker 2: I want to use the same historical methods, the exact

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Speaker 2: same historical methods that are used to verify other events

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Speaker 2: in the ancient world, using the same metric, the same

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Speaker 2: metad that we used to prove that Alexander the Great

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Speaker 2: was a world leader and that he conquered lands, the

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Speaker 2: same things that we used to say, all right, Genghis

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Speaker 2: Khan was a real guy and did real things. I

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Speaker 2: want to use the same historical methods that we used

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Speaker 2: to verify other events in the ancient world and apply

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Speaker 2: them to the resurrection to demonstrate that it actually happened.

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Speaker 1: So let's start with this.

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Speaker 2: I've got seven things I want to give to you,

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Speaker 2: and the first one is this early written accounts. So

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Speaker 2: the four Gospels we just read from the Gospel of John.

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Speaker 2: But the early written accounts include Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke,

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Speaker 2: and John. They are the primary sources for describing the resurrection.

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Speaker 2: That's where we find the most details related to the resurrection.

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Speaker 2: They were written between the year sixty and ninety five AD,

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Speaker 2: but within the lifetime of the eyewitnesses. They were written

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Speaker 2: when the people that are referenced in these passages were

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Speaker 2: still walking around and you could just talk to them,

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Speaker 2: and you could ask them like, did that actually happen?

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Speaker 1: He references your name? Did you see that? Did you

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Speaker 1: actually see? That?

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Speaker 2: Contained multiple independent perspectives And notice this, and I'll mention

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Speaker 2: this again in a minute, but it included details that

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Speaker 2: in the culture at the time would have been considered

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Speaker 2: embarrassing or counterproductive, including details of women being.

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Speaker 1: The first witnesses.

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Speaker 2: Now, ladies, I hope you take deep offense to that

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Speaker 2: fact that during the ancient world they didn't respect women

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Speaker 2: the way we do now. But if you live, be

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Speaker 2: grateful you live now, because if you live back then,

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Speaker 2: you weren't even allowed to be a witness in court.

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Speaker 2: And you're like, why, well, because you're a woman. That

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Speaker 2: feels great, doesn't it. But that's how women were treated

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Speaker 2: in that era except by Jesus, except by the Church.

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Speaker 2: The Church treated them differently. The Church showed them respect.

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Speaker 2: Why because they're created in the image of God. And

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Speaker 2: in fact, when you look at what the Book of

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Speaker 2: Genesis says, creation was called good when God had created

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Speaker 2: man and everything else, But it wasn't called very good

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Speaker 2: until He had also created Eve. That's when it was

436
00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:03,159
Speaker 2: called very good. And here the first witnesses were whom women.

437
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:04,959
Speaker 2: So if they were trying to make something up in

438
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,560
Speaker 2: that culture, you wouldn't say the first people to witness

439
00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:10,199
Speaker 2: this were women, but the Church would say that, and

440
00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:12,280
Speaker 2: the Gospel say it. Why does the Gospel say that,

441
00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:16,040
Speaker 2: because that's what happened, so they include the detail. But

442
00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:18,439
Speaker 2: that would be considered counterproductive if you're trying to make

443
00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:21,359
Speaker 2: up a story in that ancient culture. So historians look

444
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:25,240
Speaker 2: at this, and by the way, this is an ancient excerp, handwritten,

445
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:34,439
Speaker 2: one of the oldest existing copies. Historians often see early

446
00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:38,760
Speaker 2: multiple sources as strong as a strong indicator something significant happened,

447
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:41,720
Speaker 2: because you have multiple people talking about things that could

448
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:45,520
Speaker 2: be verified among people that were still living. And historians say, ay,

449
00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:47,879
Speaker 2: if you've got eyewitness accounts like that that could have

450
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:49,600
Speaker 2: been verified by the people at the time. They say,

451
00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,560
Speaker 2: that's a pretty strong indicator that something must have happened

452
00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,600
Speaker 2: something else. When you go into One Corinthians fifteen, and

453
00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:58,640
Speaker 2: by the way, I would say that in at least

454
00:22:58,680 --> 00:23:01,840
Speaker 2: half the churches in the world today, that's the chapter

455
00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:03,920
Speaker 2: that's being preached. It's one of the longest chapters in

456
00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:07,480
Speaker 2: the New Testament, and it's primarily about the resurrection and

457
00:23:07,520 --> 00:23:09,160
Speaker 2: the implications of the resurrection.

458
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:10,600
Speaker 1: So I want to highlight it.

459
00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:13,720
Speaker 2: But there's an early creed in the early verses of

460
00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,520
Speaker 2: First Corinthians fifteen. So one of the most important pieces

461
00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:19,520
Speaker 2: of evidence comes from that book. And when you look

462
00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:22,040
Speaker 2: at First Corinthians fifteen, verses three to seven, and I'm

463
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:23,719
Speaker 2: going to bring it up here for us in a second.

464
00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:26,800
Speaker 2: You have Paul, who is an apostle. He quotes a

465
00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:29,800
Speaker 2: creed and this is something that was being repeated among

466
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:33,080
Speaker 2: the early believers. They would repeat it in their worship services,

467
00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:34,960
Speaker 2: they would repeat it in front of their children, they

468
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,640
Speaker 2: would commit it to memory. But it was a creed

469
00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:41,119
Speaker 2: about Jesus death, burial, and resurrection. And most people believe

470
00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,320
Speaker 2: that that creed, that Paul's quoting was formulated within three

471
00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:47,480
Speaker 2: to five years of the crucifixion, that it just became

472
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:50,399
Speaker 2: standard practice for the church to repeat this creed. You know,

473
00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:52,560
Speaker 2: you've probably been in a context where we say the

474
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,159
Speaker 2: apostles creed or something like that. Well, in the early

475
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:58,160
Speaker 2: Church they would say this. Within three to five years

476
00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,800
Speaker 2: of it taking place. They said, you know this, like,

477
00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,000
Speaker 2: let's just say it, so it's something we can repeat

478
00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:03,840
Speaker 2: to one another.

479
00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:04,880
Speaker 1: And teach to our children.

480
00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:07,159
Speaker 2: And in that creed and I'll show it to you

481
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,359
Speaker 2: in a second, it includes claims that Jesus appeared to

482
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,720
Speaker 2: Peter the twelve and over five hundred people at once.

483
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:18,240
Speaker 2: This is an incredibly early thing by ancient historical standards.

484
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,680
Speaker 2: Look at what the creed says is from one Corinthians

485
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:23,600
Speaker 2: fifteen three through seven. So Paul says to them, he says,

486
00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:26,240
Speaker 2: for so he's saying to the Corinthian church, I delivered

487
00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:28,720
Speaker 2: to you, as of first importance, what I also received.

488
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,560
Speaker 2: And this is where the creed begins. He says, this is.

489
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:32,359
Speaker 1: What I delivered to you.

490
00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,160
Speaker 2: The Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures,

491
00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:38,600
Speaker 2: that he was buried, that he was raised on the

492
00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:40,560
Speaker 2: third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he

493
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,320
Speaker 2: appeared Decephis.

494
00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:43,760
Speaker 1: That's Peter. Then to the twelve.

495
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:46,840
Speaker 2: Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at

496
00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:49,520
Speaker 2: one time, most of whom are still alive, though some

497
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:52,439
Speaker 2: have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to

498
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:55,480
Speaker 2: all the apostles. So he's repeating this creed to them,

499
00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:58,760
Speaker 2: a very early creed that was repeated and accepted among

500
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,080
Speaker 2: the Church and the people that he's referencing in that

501
00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:03,560
Speaker 2: creed or that the church reference in that creed, people

502
00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:05,840
Speaker 2: could talk to hundreds of people that could testify that

503
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,920
Speaker 2: they had seen these very things. Two phrases worth noticing, though,

504
00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:14,119
Speaker 2: where he says I delivered to you what I also received,

505
00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,880
Speaker 2: Again that language commonly used for passing along a fixed tradition.

506
00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:20,240
Speaker 2: He wasn't trying to come up with something new. He's saying,

507
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,560
Speaker 2: I'm passing on to you what I received, a fixed tradition.

508
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:25,840
Speaker 2: In other words, Paul saying, I'm handing on something that

509
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,840
Speaker 2: was already thoroughly established even before I got it, and

510
00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:30,920
Speaker 2: now I'm passing it on to you. So it could

511
00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:32,960
Speaker 2: be something that you think about. So that it's something

512
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,440
Speaker 2: you could talk about, something you can share to your children,

513
00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:42,080
Speaker 2: something else. The empty tomb itself provides historical evidence. How

514
00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:45,159
Speaker 2: so well, all four gospels report that Jesus' tomb was

515
00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:49,280
Speaker 2: found empty, but some points to consider the burial by

516
00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:53,840
Speaker 2: Joseph of Aramathea very unlikely to be invented because he

517
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,040
Speaker 2: was a known member of the council that actually condemned Jesus. Now,

518
00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:01,000
Speaker 2: the gospels tell us that Joseph did not agree with

519
00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:03,439
Speaker 2: the idea of condemning Jesus, but he was part of

520
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:07,080
Speaker 2: the council that did condemn Jesus. He was a wealthy man,

521
00:26:07,119 --> 00:26:09,080
Speaker 2: he was a man of influence. He was alive at

522
00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,199
Speaker 2: the time that these things were taking place, obviously, or

523
00:26:11,240 --> 00:26:13,840
Speaker 2: that they were being talked about after having taken place.

524
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,280
Speaker 2: And it's very unlikely to be an invented thing because

525
00:26:17,280 --> 00:26:20,800
Speaker 2: it tells you exactly who took the body and buried

526
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:23,600
Speaker 2: the body and supplied the tomb. Joseph of Arimathea. You

527
00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:25,080
Speaker 2: want to talk to the guy, You could talk to

528
00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:27,239
Speaker 2: the guy, ask him if Jesus is still in the

529
00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:31,040
Speaker 2: tomb that he gave him. Also, again, as we already mentioned,

530
00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:34,240
Speaker 2: the earliest witnesses were women whose testimony carried less legal

531
00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:35,080
Speaker 2: weight in that culture.

532
00:26:35,320 --> 00:26:36,320
Speaker 1: But here's the other thing.

533
00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:40,440
Speaker 2: Even critics, even the critics, didn't deny that the tomb

534
00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:44,040
Speaker 2: was empty. They agreed, no, the tomb is absolutely empty.

535
00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:47,440
Speaker 2: They just tried to explain it away other ways. They said, well,

536
00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,520
Speaker 2: maybe people came and stole the body, or maybe something

537
00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,000
Speaker 2: else happened. But it wasn't denied that the tomb was empty.

538
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:55,240
Speaker 2: They're like, oh, no, it's empty. The critics believed it

539
00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:57,359
Speaker 2: was empty. The believers believed that it was empty, and

540
00:26:57,440 --> 00:26:59,000
Speaker 2: the guy that owned the tomb was like, no, the

541
00:26:59,000 --> 00:26:59,679
Speaker 2: tomb's empty.

542
00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:00,679
Speaker 1: It's empty.

543
00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,680
Speaker 2: So the empty tomb itself actually provides a valid form

544
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,600
Speaker 2: of historical evidence. But how about this. Then you have

545
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:11,720
Speaker 2: post resurrection appearances. Post resurrection appearances multiple sources report that

546
00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:16,119
Speaker 2: people claim to see Jesus alive after his death. So

547
00:27:16,160 --> 00:27:18,879
Speaker 2: you have individual appearances to people like Mary Magdalene and

548
00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,520
Speaker 2: Peter that we just read from John twenty. You have

549
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:24,119
Speaker 2: group appearances where Jesus appears in the upper room to

550
00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:26,840
Speaker 2: the disciples and then also on the shore to the disciples.

551
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:28,120
Speaker 1: He keeps appearing to them.

552
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:30,560
Speaker 2: But then you also have large groups of people five

553
00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:33,320
Speaker 2: hundred people. If somebody told you I looked at the

554
00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:35,480
Speaker 2: weather forecast today and it said, I guess sometime around

555
00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:37,560
Speaker 2: lunch it's supposed to rain. So I don't know if

556
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:39,359
Speaker 2: by the time we leave here if it's going to

557
00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:42,399
Speaker 2: be raining. But if one person from the church walks

558
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:44,359
Speaker 2: back in and says, hey, just so you know it's

559
00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:47,439
Speaker 2: raining out there, you know, if you have an umbrella,

560
00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:50,000
Speaker 2: use it, You'd be like, Okay, they might be right,

561
00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:52,040
Speaker 2: but maybe I could risk it.

562
00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:53,040
Speaker 1: Maybe it's not bad rain.

563
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:54,800
Speaker 2: And the next person comes in and they're like, hey,

564
00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:56,159
Speaker 2: just so you know it's raining out there, if you

565
00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,040
Speaker 2: have an umbrella, maybe you should use it, be like,

566
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:00,160
Speaker 2: all right, it's probably raining. You probably wouldn't need more

567
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,280
Speaker 2: than a second witness. But if a third person came

568
00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:04,080
Speaker 2: in and said, hey, do you have an umbrella started

569
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:05,439
Speaker 2: to run out there, you'd be like, no, I already know,

570
00:28:05,440 --> 00:28:07,760
Speaker 2: I already heard from a couple other people. Fourth person

571
00:28:07,760 --> 00:28:10,040
Speaker 2: tells you. Fifth person, now we're at the seventy fifth

572
00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:12,399
Speaker 2: person that's told you'd be like, I know, I know.

573
00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:15,240
Speaker 2: It was kind of like that with the five hundred.

574
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:18,440
Speaker 2: It's not just one person. It's not just twelve people.

575
00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:20,720
Speaker 2: You've got five hundred people that saw him all at

576
00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:25,720
Speaker 2: one time testifying to the fact that Jesus rose from

577
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:31,480
Speaker 2: the grave. It becomes a very convincing aspect of historical proof,

578
00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,160
Speaker 2: and even skeptical scholars this is fascinating when I read

579
00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:39,400
Speaker 2: into this. Even skeptical scholars generally agree that the disciples

580
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,040
Speaker 2: absolutely believed that they had seen the risen Jesus. So

581
00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,600
Speaker 2: the key question is what explains that belief. They absolutely

582
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,120
Speaker 2: believed it. Hundreds of people believed that they had seen

583
00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,440
Speaker 2: him with their own eyes, and so the even skeptical

584
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:56,479
Speaker 2: scholars are saying, well, they absolutely believed it. Why did

585
00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,880
Speaker 2: they absolutely believe it? Well, how about this? You also

586
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,680
Speaker 2: have transformation of the disciples, because before the resurrection, the

587
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,640
Speaker 2: disciples are fearful and scattered. What did they do. There's

588
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:08,680
Speaker 2: only one of them that's listed as being at the

589
00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:11,760
Speaker 2: crucifixion of Jesus, John is listed as being there. The

590
00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:13,960
Speaker 2: rest seem like they're fearful that they're going to get

591
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,560
Speaker 2: executed too. And then we know that they're hiding in

592
00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,800
Speaker 2: a room with the door locked when Jesus appears to

593
00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,320
Speaker 2: them because they're fearful that they're gonna get killed. But

594
00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:25,080
Speaker 2: you know what happens when someone who's defeated death shows up,

595
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,400
Speaker 2: You start getting courage, especially when it's someone you know

596
00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,360
Speaker 2: and you love and you realize, oh wait, so death

597
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:36,120
Speaker 2: really has no more power over me. Nope, the body

598
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:40,520
Speaker 2: that you're currently inhabiting that wears out. The older you get,

599
00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,960
Speaker 2: the less you find yourself able to run John. The

600
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,160
Speaker 2: older you get, the more you feel every injury that

601
00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:47,520
Speaker 2: you got since you were aged twenty five. By the way,

602
00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:51,040
Speaker 2: if you're under twenty five, you're great. If you're older

603
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,200
Speaker 2: than twenty five, every injury you ever get, you're gonna

604
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:54,760
Speaker 2: feel for the rest of your life. I hope you

605
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:57,800
Speaker 2: enjoy it. It's like you're a walking history lesson of

606
00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:00,960
Speaker 2: your life. Ask me about this hip shoulder. Sometimes I

607
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:05,800
Speaker 2: have a great skiing story for you all. Anyway, I'm

608
00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:08,120
Speaker 2: okay with getting a brand new body. And you have

609
00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:10,640
Speaker 2: the Disciples. What are they saying? They're basically saying, you

610
00:30:10,640 --> 00:30:12,800
Speaker 2: know what, we're afraid of them. Why were we afraid

611
00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:16,080
Speaker 2: of them taking this one? We now know the very

612
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:18,480
Speaker 2: author of life who's told us we're getting a brand

613
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,440
Speaker 2: new one, and we've seen him resurrected in his glorified body.

614
00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:23,880
Speaker 2: I'm not afraid of death anymore. Can you imagine being

615
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:25,400
Speaker 2: the disciples looking at each other.

616
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:28,360
Speaker 1: Like, we literally have nothing to be afraid of.

617
00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:31,000
Speaker 2: And so they go from being fearful and scattered to

618
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:35,000
Speaker 2: now boldly proclaiming the resurrection. But notice where they start

619
00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:39,520
Speaker 2: boldly proclaiming the resurrection in Jerusalem, the very town where

620
00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:43,240
Speaker 2: Jesus had been executed. What does that tell you about

621
00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:47,400
Speaker 2: what took place inside these men? They were hiding from

622
00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:49,920
Speaker 2: people in Jerusalem because they had just seen them kill

623
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:51,080
Speaker 2: their leader.

624
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:53,320
Speaker 1: But then he shows up.

625
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:57,840
Speaker 2: Again, very well, very alive, very fine, and they're like,

626
00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:00,200
Speaker 2: you know what, this doesn't bother us anymore, And they

627
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:03,600
Speaker 2: start preaching in the same town, in the same city,

628
00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:07,400
Speaker 2: right where Jesus had been executed. They start preaching, and

629
00:31:07,440 --> 00:31:10,120
Speaker 2: many of them suffered persecution and death for that belief.

630
00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:12,560
Speaker 2: The early believers certainly did. And I'll tell you what,

631
00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,240
Speaker 2: people may die for what they think is true. But

632
00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:17,840
Speaker 2: some people said, no, no, no, the Disciples stole the body.

633
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:21,400
Speaker 2: It was a hoax. They were all pretending. They all agreed.

634
00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:25,520
Speaker 2: I'll tell you what if this was a hoax and

635
00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:28,160
Speaker 2: they knew it was a hoax, Do you really think

636
00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:29,880
Speaker 2: that they would have suffered and died like they did.

637
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,520
Speaker 2: They've gone to the ends of the earth to perpetuate

638
00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:34,840
Speaker 2: a hoax. What do you know about human nature? Does

639
00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:37,160
Speaker 2: that make any sense to you that they would all

640
00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:39,239
Speaker 2: be willing to do that. Wouldn't you think the two

641
00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:43,320
Speaker 2: or three would give up on the story or maybe

642
00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:46,360
Speaker 2: like crack a little bit if it meant the loss

643
00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:50,320
Speaker 2: of their life course, they would. But that's not what happened.

644
00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:52,880
Speaker 2: They're like, no, it's absolutely true. What do you want

645
00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:55,800
Speaker 2: us to say, Like, it absolutely happened. Why would they

646
00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:59,080
Speaker 2: suffer for something they knew was false? The truth is

647
00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:03,560
Speaker 2: they wouldn't. Then you also see the conversion of skeptics.

648
00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:06,800
Speaker 2: And there's two key figures that oftentimes are worth honing

649
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:07,080
Speaker 2: in on.

650
00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:08,120
Speaker 1: You have James.

651
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:11,360
Speaker 2: He's referenced in scripture as the half brother of Jesus,

652
00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,520
Speaker 2: meaning Jesus being conceived through the Holy Spirit and Mary.

653
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,760
Speaker 2: Well after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had children,

654
00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:21,360
Speaker 2: James being one of them, and the Gospels tell us

655
00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,920
Speaker 2: that James, during the course of Christ's earthly ministry, didn't

656
00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:27,600
Speaker 2: believe that Jesus was the Messiah. He didn't believe that

657
00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:30,040
Speaker 2: Jesus was God come in the flesh. In fact, he

658
00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:31,840
Speaker 2: even kind of teased him a little bit about it

659
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:33,840
Speaker 2: at the feast of Tabernacles. He's like, why don't you

660
00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:36,200
Speaker 2: go out and draw a crowd unto yourself, teach people,

661
00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:39,080
Speaker 2: do some miracles, get some attention to yourself. Go out

662
00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:40,880
Speaker 2: there and get known. If you want to be the man,

663
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:43,960
Speaker 2: go out there and get known. But then after the resurrection,

664
00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:47,560
Speaker 2: what happens. James is like, he is who he says

665
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:51,160
Speaker 2: he is. Oh boy, hey, sorry about the other stuff

666
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,360
Speaker 2: I said. And he spends the rest of his life

667
00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:57,400
Speaker 2: worshiping him, and he becomes a very influential leader known

668
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:01,440
Speaker 2: for great wisdom in Jerusalem. And because he would not

669
00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:03,760
Speaker 2: deny Christ, he was thrown off the top of the

670
00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:06,360
Speaker 2: temple by those who hated Christ, and he didn't die

671
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:08,240
Speaker 2: from that, so they beat him with clubs until he

672
00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:10,719
Speaker 2: was dead because he wouldn't deny Christ. And then you

673
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,560
Speaker 2: have Paul, who initially hated the Church and hated Jesus,

674
00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:16,640
Speaker 2: and he would persecute the church.

675
00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:18,080
Speaker 1: And then Jesus appears to him.

676
00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:21,480
Speaker 2: The resurrected Christ appears to Paul, and he goes from

677
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:26,240
Speaker 2: actively persecuting Christians, to then encountering the risen Jesus, to

678
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,040
Speaker 2: then becoming someone who wrote many of the books of

679
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:32,720
Speaker 2: our New Testament, and then planted churches all throughout the known.

680
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:34,120
Speaker 1: World of that era.

681
00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,320
Speaker 2: Ye have both of these men changing dramatically, and they

682
00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:39,800
Speaker 2: were both willing to suffer and be executed for their

683
00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:43,160
Speaker 2: belief in Jesus Christ, and both of them indeed were executed.

684
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:47,040
Speaker 2: But then you also have some non Christian references. Some

685
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:48,440
Speaker 2: of these things that I just shared with you are

686
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,240
Speaker 2: some Christian references that are convincing enough, but there's also

687
00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:54,200
Speaker 2: non Christian references you have, And I'm just giving you

688
00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:56,320
Speaker 2: three here because they're three of the most prominent. You

689
00:33:56,320 --> 00:34:02,400
Speaker 2: have three first century historians, three century writers outside the

690
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:07,120
Speaker 2: Bible who confirm some key facts. You have Tacitus, he

691
00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:10,600
Speaker 2: confirms that Jesus was executed under ponscious pilot, writing this

692
00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:13,640
Speaker 2: detail down historically. He wasn't a believer, he's just writing.

693
00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:15,640
Speaker 2: He's like, yeah, it's a thing that happened. Jesus was

694
00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:18,480
Speaker 2: crucified by poncious pilot. Then you have Josephus, he was

695
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:21,680
Speaker 2: a Jewish historian. He mentions Jesus. He also mentions the

696
00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:25,400
Speaker 2: early Christian movement. He said, yeah, like they they follow

697
00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:27,480
Speaker 2: Jesus and this is how they operate, and this is

698
00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:30,160
Speaker 2: what they do. Then you also have Pliny the Younger,

699
00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:36,040
Speaker 2: and he was an authority in Roman culture, Roman politics,

700
00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:39,720
Speaker 2: roman history, and he describes Christians worshiping Jesus as God.

701
00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:43,080
Speaker 2: So these Christians, they believe that Jesus is God. These

702
00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:47,680
Speaker 2: are first century historians making these claims. Now, these sources

703
00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:50,880
Speaker 2: don't prove the resurrection directly, but what they do is

704
00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:54,120
Speaker 2: they confirm early belief in it. They're saying, no, people,

705
00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:56,520
Speaker 2: there are people among us. There are many people among

706
00:34:56,560 --> 00:34:59,000
Speaker 2: us who absolutely believe this happened. And these are non

707
00:34:59,080 --> 00:35:01,640
Speaker 2: Christian sources who wrote about these sort of things. So

708
00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:03,160
Speaker 2: let's pull it all together, and then I want to

709
00:35:03,160 --> 00:35:06,839
Speaker 2: show you a couple implications. Most historians, including many who

710
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:11,359
Speaker 2: are not Christians, agree on a few key facts. First

711
00:35:11,400 --> 00:35:14,479
Speaker 2: of all, they agree Jesus was indeed crucified. They also

712
00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,520
Speaker 2: agreed that his tone was absolutely found empty. How it

713
00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:20,040
Speaker 2: got empty, they debated, but they're like, no, that tone.

714
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:20,840
Speaker 1: Was absolutely empty.

715
00:35:21,120 --> 00:35:24,480
Speaker 2: They also agreed that his followers absolutely believed that they

716
00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:27,040
Speaker 2: saw him alive. And they also agree that the early

717
00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:31,160
Speaker 2: Church exploded rapidly even though it was experiencing severe opposition.

718
00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:33,360
Speaker 2: They're like, why is it exploding rapidly?

719
00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:34,680
Speaker 1: Well, so many of.

720
00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,560
Speaker 2: The people of that day had seen Jesus alive, and

721
00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:39,520
Speaker 2: then they start sharing and more and more, and people

722
00:35:39,560 --> 00:35:42,560
Speaker 2: were able to ask that first century group of people.

723
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,040
Speaker 1: Did this actually happen? Did you see this?

724
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,960
Speaker 2: And they confirm it's true, it actually happened. So the

725
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:52,440
Speaker 2: real debate isn't whether something happened, it's just what it

726
00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:56,920
Speaker 2: best explains these facts, And the most logical answer, using

727
00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:00,480
Speaker 2: the same methods we use to verify other historical events,

728
00:36:01,080 --> 00:36:03,320
Speaker 2: is that Jesus actually.

729
00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:07,880
Speaker 1: Rose from the grave? Did it actually happened? Now?

730
00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:11,239
Speaker 2: Why does it even matter? Why does it matter that

731
00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:13,320
Speaker 2: Jesus rose from the grave. Why do we as Christians

732
00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:17,680
Speaker 2: treat this like the biggest Sunday on the church calendar.

733
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:20,319
Speaker 2: Why do we get excited? Why do we dress up

734
00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:23,319
Speaker 2: and have meals and have all sorts of special events

735
00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:25,359
Speaker 2: leading up to it. Why does it even matter that

736
00:36:25,440 --> 00:36:27,440
Speaker 2: Jesus rose from the grave. By the way, the reason

737
00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:31,919
Speaker 2: we meet on Sundays every week is because Jesus rose

738
00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:34,799
Speaker 2: on a Sunday and the early church are calling it

739
00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:36,440
Speaker 2: the Lord's Day. They're like, hey, that's the Lord's Day.

740
00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:38,279
Speaker 2: It's a day he rose from the grave. So that's

741
00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:41,080
Speaker 2: why we even meet on Sundays. So in effect, every

742
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,279
Speaker 2: time we're gathering together, we're celebrating the resurrection, not just

743
00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:45,640
Speaker 2: on Resurrection Sunday.

744
00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:46,920
Speaker 1: But why does it even matter?

745
00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:49,880
Speaker 2: Is it historically and spiritually consequential?

746
00:36:51,040 --> 00:36:52,719
Speaker 1: Is there any like, what's the issue with it? Why

747
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:53,520
Speaker 1: does it even matter?

748
00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:55,719
Speaker 2: Well, I think this question gets to the heart of

749
00:36:55,719 --> 00:36:58,439
Speaker 2: why the resurrection isn't just a detail of the Christian faith.

750
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:01,560
Speaker 2: It's the center of the Christian faith. If Jesus truly

751
00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:05,400
Speaker 2: rose from the grave, it carries both spiritual and historical

752
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:08,200
Speaker 2: consequences that literally reshape everything.

753
00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:09,560
Speaker 1: Let me give you a few examples.

754
00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:14,160
Speaker 2: Spiritually, at the most basic level, the resurrection answers this question,

755
00:37:14,719 --> 00:37:18,799
Speaker 2: did Jesus actually accomplish what he claimed to accomplish and

756
00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:21,839
Speaker 2: it validates who Jesus is. So think about this from

757
00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:24,239
Speaker 2: the perspective of what Jesus did on the cross and

758
00:37:24,239 --> 00:37:28,120
Speaker 2: then what he confirmed with the resurrection. If Jesus stayed dead,

759
00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:32,560
Speaker 2: he'd be remembered as a teacher, as a moral leader,

760
00:37:32,719 --> 00:37:36,240
Speaker 2: as someone who was an influential person who did nice things.

761
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:41,560
Speaker 1: But he'd be dead. But if he rose, like he

762
00:37:41,600 --> 00:37:43,759
Speaker 1: said he was going to, and like.

763
00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:46,960
Speaker 2: The scriptures had prophesied for hundreds and thousands of years,

764
00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:50,400
Speaker 2: that he would, it confirms that he is exactly who

765
00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:54,160
Speaker 2: he claimed to be and who's that the son of

766
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:57,600
Speaker 2: God with authority over life and death. That's what he

767
00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:01,520
Speaker 2: said before he was crucial. That's what he said before

768
00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:04,520
Speaker 2: the resurrection, that he had authority to take up his

769
00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:07,480
Speaker 2: life again, that he had authority over life and death,

770
00:38:07,719 --> 00:38:11,239
Speaker 2: that all creation was spoken into existence by him, that

771
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:13,920
Speaker 2: it's all sustained by his powerful word, and that he

772
00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:18,719
Speaker 2: has authority over life and death. And when he rose

773
00:38:18,719 --> 00:38:22,360
Speaker 2: from the grave, he demonstrated that he actually does. He

774
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,799
Speaker 2: has authority over life and death. That's why Paul writes

775
00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:28,560
Speaker 2: in Romans Won four he says that Jesus was declared

776
00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:31,200
Speaker 2: to be the son of God in power according to

777
00:38:31,239 --> 00:38:34,640
Speaker 2: the spirit of Holiness by his resurrection from the dead,

778
00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:37,200
Speaker 2: proving that he was who he said he was, proving

779
00:38:37,239 --> 00:38:40,479
Speaker 2: that he actually does have authority over life and death.

780
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:44,640
Speaker 2: Something else that matters. The resurrection confirms that sin was

781
00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:47,760
Speaker 2: actually paid for. How well the cross is where Jesus

782
00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:50,200
Speaker 2: died for sin, but the resurrection is the proof that

783
00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:51,480
Speaker 2: the payment was accepted.

784
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:52,920
Speaker 1: Look at what it tells us.

785
00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:56,239
Speaker 2: In One Corinthians fifteen seventeen, Paul says, if Christ has

786
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:59,520
Speaker 2: not been raised, your faith is futile and you're still

787
00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:03,840
Speaker 2: in your sins. Without the resurrection, forgiveness is not verified.

788
00:39:03,840 --> 00:39:07,080
Speaker 2: But with the resurrection, forgiveness is secure. He shows that

789
00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:09,799
Speaker 2: the payment was accepted when he had atoned for our

790
00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:13,239
Speaker 2: sin on the cross. If he stayed dead, that must

791
00:39:13,239 --> 00:39:14,640
Speaker 2: have meant that he had sin of his own that

792
00:39:14,680 --> 00:39:17,359
Speaker 2: he had to atone for. But when he defeated death

793
00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:20,400
Speaker 2: and rose from the grave, he's showing the payment was accepted.

794
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,359
Speaker 1: Your sin just got paid for.

795
00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:27,279
Speaker 2: My sin just got paid for by the one who

796
00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:30,320
Speaker 2: has authority over life and death. Something else that's spiritually

797
00:39:30,360 --> 00:39:34,080
Speaker 2: significant is that the resurrection gives real hope, not just

798
00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:37,520
Speaker 2: wishful thinking. The resurrection didn't just affect Jesus. It also

799
00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:40,799
Speaker 2: confirms what will be experienced by those who trust in him.

800
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:43,640
Speaker 2: So because he rose, that means death isn't the end,

801
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:48,280
Speaker 2: Eternal life isn't something that's just theoretical, and future resurrection

802
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:50,680
Speaker 2: is promised. You know that There were religious groups that

803
00:39:50,719 --> 00:39:53,600
Speaker 2: lived during that era that Jesus was doing his ministry,

804
00:39:53,600 --> 00:39:57,000
Speaker 2: the two most prominent being the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

805
00:39:57,080 --> 00:39:58,920
Speaker 2: And one of the big things that they would argue

806
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,920
Speaker 2: over was whether an eternal life was actually real and

807
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:04,160
Speaker 2: whether or not there was such a thing as a resurrection,

808
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:06,960
Speaker 2: and they would debate it, and they would argue it,

809
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:10,400
Speaker 2: they would go back and forth, and the Sadducees were like,

810
00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:12,719
Speaker 2: none of that's real. They didn't believe in angels, they

811
00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:15,719
Speaker 2: didn't believe in eternal life, they didn't believe in resurrection, like,

812
00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:18,640
Speaker 2: we don't believe any of that stuff. And the Pharisees

813
00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:21,520
Speaker 2: were like, no, we do believe in that stuff. And

814
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:24,880
Speaker 2: the Early Church was like, not only do we believe

815
00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:28,560
Speaker 2: in that, but we've seen it confirmed through Jesus, the

816
00:40:28,560 --> 00:40:32,319
Speaker 2: one that both of you groups rejected. We've seen that

817
00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,960
Speaker 2: he is who he says he is, and that means

818
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:37,560
Speaker 2: for us, for you and me personally, think about things

819
00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:38,800
Speaker 2: to be excited about today.

820
00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:40,200
Speaker 1: I mean, don't get me.

821
00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:43,439
Speaker 2: Wrong, I'm excited about delicious food, time with family, nice

822
00:40:43,520 --> 00:40:46,000
Speaker 2: drive together, all of that, love that stuff, But think

823
00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,799
Speaker 2: about things that outlast that moment. That means that you

824
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:51,400
Speaker 2: and I get to approach the rest of our lives,

825
00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:56,120
Speaker 2: recognizing that death isn't the end, it's not the end.

826
00:40:56,520 --> 00:40:58,560
Speaker 2: That means we get to approach the rest of our lives,

827
00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:03,120
Speaker 2: knowing that eternal life isn't theoretical. Jesus himself rose from

828
00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:05,879
Speaker 2: the grave, and he assures all that those all those

829
00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:07,880
Speaker 2: who are united to him will rise from the grave

830
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,920
Speaker 2: as he did, that future resurrection is promised. What did

831
00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:13,200
Speaker 2: he say in John eleven twenty five? Jesus said this,

832
00:41:13,719 --> 00:41:18,040
Speaker 2: I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus didn't just

833
00:41:18,120 --> 00:41:20,440
Speaker 2: come to make you a better person. He didn't just

834
00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:23,360
Speaker 2: come to teach you morals where you lacked morals. He

835
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:26,840
Speaker 2: didn't just come to pass on wisdom and clever sayings.

836
00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:30,680
Speaker 2: He came to take dead people like us and make

837
00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:33,200
Speaker 2: us alive. He came to take people who are under

838
00:41:33,239 --> 00:41:36,000
Speaker 2: the condemnation that we deserved because of our own sin,

839
00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:41,160
Speaker 2: because of our own rebellion against our creator, and rescue

840
00:41:41,239 --> 00:41:44,919
Speaker 2: us from that fate. For the joy that was set

841
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,040
Speaker 2: before him, he was willing to endure all of it.

842
00:41:47,719 --> 00:41:49,160
Speaker 2: And he looks at you, and he looks at me,

843
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:51,719
Speaker 2: and he says you have real hope now. If you

844
00:41:51,760 --> 00:41:53,279
Speaker 2: want it. You could go the rest of your life

845
00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:56,000
Speaker 2: rejecting that. Many people in this world reject that. Many

846
00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,160
Speaker 2: people even during that era rejected it. But it was

847
00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:00,879
Speaker 2: hard to argue with it. And you lived in close

848
00:42:00,920 --> 00:42:02,880
Speaker 2: proximity too, it was hard to argue with it. And

849
00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:06,239
Speaker 2: it started. The Christian faith started spreading like wildfire because

850
00:42:06,280 --> 00:42:10,680
Speaker 2: people recognized it's true. And I recognize that sometimes it's

851
00:42:10,680 --> 00:42:12,480
Speaker 2: hard to look at certain things like that and say

852
00:42:13,560 --> 00:42:16,120
Speaker 2: it's true because it just seems too good to be true.

853
00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:17,160
Speaker 1: We get so.

854
00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:19,799
Speaker 2: Stuck in this mindset that we think that if it's

855
00:42:19,880 --> 00:42:23,600
Speaker 2: really really good, if it's a really wonderful thing, then

856
00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:26,200
Speaker 2: it's got to be too good to be true. Eternal life,

857
00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:29,799
Speaker 2: reunion with people that I loved and cared about, a

858
00:42:29,840 --> 00:42:32,799
Speaker 2: brand new body that's not susceptible to disease, and it

859
00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:36,719
Speaker 2: doesn't wear out, interaction face to face with my Creator

860
00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:39,600
Speaker 2: in such a way where I'm welcomed into his presence

861
00:42:40,239 --> 00:42:41,279
Speaker 2: daily delight, no.

862
00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:44,320
Speaker 1: More sorrow, no more pain, no more.

863
00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:47,560
Speaker 2: Conflict, and all the things that we deal with this

864
00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:49,520
Speaker 2: side of heaven. It sounds too good to be true,

865
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:52,520
Speaker 2: doesn't it? But then what do you have Jesus doing

866
00:42:52,560 --> 00:42:55,640
Speaker 2: on that day? He says, I know it sounds too

867
00:42:55,680 --> 00:42:57,520
Speaker 2: good to be true because your mind is so stuck

868
00:42:57,560 --> 00:42:59,320
Speaker 2: in what you see on a day to day basis.

869
00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:04,360
Speaker 2: But I'm telling you, look up, it is true. But fine,

870
00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:06,600
Speaker 2: maybe you don't believe it. Maybe you don't believe it,

871
00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:07,640
Speaker 2: So then what does Jesus do.

872
00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:09,200
Speaker 1: I'm gonna show you it's true.

873
00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:12,960
Speaker 2: I'm gonna prove it, and you're gonna have to deny

874
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:16,000
Speaker 2: very obvious historical.

875
00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:18,040
Speaker 1: Evidence to say it didn't happen.

876
00:43:18,760 --> 00:43:20,520
Speaker 2: You're gonna have to look at things that you would

877
00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:22,560
Speaker 2: take and you would say, yeah, that's a useful measure

878
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:25,319
Speaker 2: for everything else that we measure in history, other things

879
00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:27,239
Speaker 2: I didn't see with my eyes. I can use that

880
00:43:27,400 --> 00:43:29,919
Speaker 2: historical metric, and I can apply it to Alexander the Great,

881
00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:32,759
Speaker 2: Genghis Khan, even Abraham Lincoln. I can apply it all

882
00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:34,520
Speaker 2: to them, and it works for them. But I can't

883
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:35,400
Speaker 2: apply it to Jesus.

884
00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:38,320
Speaker 1: Why it's too good to be true that God would take.

885
00:43:38,120 --> 00:43:42,080
Speaker 2: On flesh, walk among us, suffer for our sin, die

886
00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:45,880
Speaker 2: on the cross, rise from the grave, ascend and say

887
00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:47,640
Speaker 2: I'm gonna be with you this whole time. But I'm

888
00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:49,839
Speaker 2: also coming back to rule and to reign, and you're

889
00:43:49,840 --> 00:43:51,600
Speaker 2: gonna be with me, and I'm gonna forgive your sin.

890
00:43:51,640 --> 00:43:55,280
Speaker 2: And if you trust me, Jesus says, you'll be united

891
00:43:55,320 --> 00:43:57,960
Speaker 2: to me for all time. You'll be welcome not just

892
00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:01,120
Speaker 2: into my club, not just in my kingdom, but into

893
00:44:01,160 --> 00:44:04,840
Speaker 2: my family. And you'll be sitting at the table with me,

894
00:44:05,280 --> 00:44:07,320
Speaker 2: and you'll enjoy meals with me, and you will be

895
00:44:07,440 --> 00:44:11,200
Speaker 2: part of my family forever. That's the offer that Jesus

896
00:44:11,239 --> 00:44:14,359
Speaker 2: makes to us. And on a day like today, when

897
00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:16,960
Speaker 2: we celebrate all these things, when we think about this stuff,

898
00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:19,799
Speaker 2: I think it's useful to think about this. Jesus said,

899
00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:22,640
Speaker 2: I am the resurrection and the life, and that's something

900
00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:25,440
Speaker 2: he wants for you. What he did on the cross,

901
00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:28,799
Speaker 2: what he did in resurrecting, he didn't do it for himself.

902
00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:31,239
Speaker 1: He didn't have to prove to himself who he was.

903
00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:33,799
Speaker 2: He didn't have to atone for his sin. There was

904
00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:36,320
Speaker 2: nothing we offered him that he needed. He had everything

905
00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:38,680
Speaker 2: that he needed. But he looks at you, and he

906
00:44:38,719 --> 00:44:40,439
Speaker 2: looks at me, and he saw our need and he said,

907
00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:42,680
Speaker 2: if I do this for you, this fixes everything for you.

908
00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:47,680
Speaker 1: And so he did it. Why Because he loved you

909
00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:48,400
Speaker 1: enough to do that.

910
00:44:49,120 --> 00:44:50,640
Speaker 2: So again, we could go through the rest of our

911
00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:53,040
Speaker 2: lives choosing to reject that. That's the option he gives us.

912
00:44:53,080 --> 00:44:56,319
Speaker 2: He doesn't force himself on anybody. But he also looks

913
00:44:56,320 --> 00:44:57,520
Speaker 2: at you, and he looks at me, and he says,

914
00:44:57,520 --> 00:44:58,920
Speaker 2: this is what I'm offering you, and I know it

915
00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:00,920
Speaker 2: sounds too good to be true, but he's also saying,

916
00:45:01,320 --> 00:45:04,719
Speaker 2: trust me, it is true, and you can have it.

917
00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:08,400
Speaker 2: It's yours if you want it. Your sin completely forgiven,

918
00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:11,120
Speaker 2: doesn't matter if you're the worst person that walked the

919
00:45:11,160 --> 00:45:13,600
Speaker 2: face of this earth. Your sin will be completely forgiven.

920
00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:16,160
Speaker 2: The righteousness of Christ will be added to your account,

921
00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:18,880
Speaker 2: and you will be brought into the eternal blessing of

922
00:45:18,880 --> 00:45:22,480
Speaker 2: being in God's presence for all eternity, completely forgiven, eternal

923
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:27,319
Speaker 2: life that'll be you and reconciliation with the one who

924
00:45:27,360 --> 00:45:30,239
Speaker 2: created you, where instead of living your life feeling like

925
00:45:30,280 --> 00:45:34,319
Speaker 2: God's at a distance, or that somehow you're in conflict

926
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:37,680
Speaker 2: with your creator, you get to spend your eternity knowing

927
00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:40,600
Speaker 2: that you're loved by him.

928
00:45:40,719 --> 00:45:43,560
Speaker 1: You're his family. And not only that.

929
00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:45,600
Speaker 2: Scripture even says you get to be called the Friend

930
00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:51,320
Speaker 2: of God. That's a beautiful thing. These are things for

931
00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:55,120
Speaker 2: us to think about today. I'm grateful that the early

932
00:45:55,160 --> 00:45:57,600
Speaker 2: disciples saw what they saw when they went to the

933
00:45:57,640 --> 00:46:00,520
Speaker 2: empty tomb. But you and I right now, even though

934
00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:03,120
Speaker 2: we didn't see that tune with our own eyes, you

935
00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:05,799
Speaker 2: have to deny a lot of logic to say it

936
00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:08,760
Speaker 2: didn't happen. And that also means that you and I,

937
00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:12,200
Speaker 2: living right here and now, by grace through faith in

938
00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:16,360
Speaker 2: Jesus Christ, can also live as witnesses to the power

939
00:46:16,640 --> 00:46:19,520
Speaker 2: of the resurrection. Jesus invites you and me to have

940
00:46:19,560 --> 00:46:22,400
Speaker 2: that kind of relationship with him. He simply asks you

941
00:46:22,440 --> 00:46:24,920
Speaker 2: to trust in him, And if you trust in Him,

942
00:46:25,560 --> 00:46:28,040
Speaker 2: that's a blessing that He gives to you, the blessing

943
00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:29,280
Speaker 2: he secured.

944
00:46:29,320 --> 00:46:30,160
Speaker 1: On your behalf.

945
00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:35,080
Speaker 2: Let's pray together, Father, thank you so much for the

946
00:46:35,120 --> 00:46:38,879
Speaker 2: privilege to be able to look at these things today. Lord,

947
00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:40,560
Speaker 2: it's so wonderful to be able to look at this

948
00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:43,560
Speaker 2: and to think about a variety of things.

949
00:46:43,560 --> 00:46:44,480
Speaker 1: Lord, that we see here.

950
00:46:44,520 --> 00:46:46,560
Speaker 2: We see what you did in and through the lives

951
00:46:46,600 --> 00:46:48,799
Speaker 2: of the disciples. We see what you revealed to them.

952
00:46:48,840 --> 00:46:52,160
Speaker 2: We see that even as we look at historical context,

953
00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:53,680
Speaker 2: and some of the things that you've given us that

954
00:46:53,719 --> 00:46:56,120
Speaker 2: are that are the same metrics that we would use

955
00:46:56,160 --> 00:46:59,319
Speaker 2: to verify anything taking place in history. We apply those

956
00:46:59,320 --> 00:47:02,040
Speaker 2: same metrics to to the empty tomb, and we discover

957
00:47:03,160 --> 00:47:09,520
Speaker 2: it fits, it meets and exceeds those expectations. Father, I believe,

958
00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:11,680
Speaker 2: and it's not even because of these things that I believe.

959
00:47:11,719 --> 00:47:14,600
Speaker 2: But I will tell you, Lord that these are certainly helpful.

960
00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:18,800
Speaker 2: But I actually believe that the only reason I believe

961
00:47:18,880 --> 00:47:20,719
Speaker 2: is because you open my eyes to see what I

962
00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:23,399
Speaker 2: wasn't seeing. And I actually believe that if any one

963
00:47:23,440 --> 00:47:26,360
Speaker 2: of us gathered together here today, believe it's going to

964
00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:28,440
Speaker 2: be for the same reason that you open our eyes

965
00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:31,600
Speaker 2: to see what we weren't seeing. So, Father, we pray

966
00:47:31,640 --> 00:47:33,480
Speaker 2: that you would help us to do that, help us

967
00:47:33,480 --> 00:47:36,319
Speaker 2: to stop placing our faith in lesser things, whether it

968
00:47:36,320 --> 00:47:39,240
Speaker 2: be ourselves or our good works, or our perfect lives

969
00:47:39,320 --> 00:47:41,399
Speaker 2: or anything like that, because we know we fall short.

970
00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:42,640
Speaker 1: We don't have a perfect life.

971
00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:45,200
Speaker 2: Your son is the only one who had the perfect life,

972
00:47:46,520 --> 00:47:50,319
Speaker 2: and he came to this earth one with you, came

973
00:47:50,320 --> 00:47:54,279
Speaker 2: to this earth, lived life on our behalf, died on

974
00:47:54,360 --> 00:47:57,320
Speaker 2: the cross, rose from the grave, demonstrating that the payment

975
00:47:57,360 --> 00:48:01,600
Speaker 2: he made on our behalf was absolutely accepted. And now

976
00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:04,520
Speaker 2: your word tells us that through faith and your son

977
00:48:04,640 --> 00:48:07,960
Speaker 2: Jesus Christ, we are spiritually united to him. As we

978
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:10,440
Speaker 2: trust in him to forgive our sins, we are spiritually

979
00:48:10,600 --> 00:48:13,239
Speaker 2: united to him. We're given new life, we're made a

980
00:48:13,239 --> 00:48:17,200
Speaker 2: new creation. His righteousness is added to our account. And

981
00:48:17,239 --> 00:48:20,319
Speaker 2: you look at us and you declare us justified. You

982
00:48:20,440 --> 00:48:24,280
Speaker 2: declare us righteous, not because we're righteous in and of ourselves,

983
00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:27,360
Speaker 2: but because the righteousness of your son just got added

984
00:48:27,400 --> 00:48:29,520
Speaker 2: to our account. And you tell us that there is

985
00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:31,280
Speaker 2: no condemnation for those.

986
00:48:31,120 --> 00:48:33,320
Speaker 1: Who are united to Christ Jesus by faith.

987
00:48:34,680 --> 00:48:36,880
Speaker 2: So, Father, we're grateful for these things, and we're grateful

988
00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:39,000
Speaker 2: that on a daylight today, we could celebrate the fact

989
00:48:39,000 --> 00:48:43,720
Speaker 2: that your son Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life.

990
00:48:44,160 --> 00:48:45,879
Speaker 2: And as you tell us in your word, no one

991
00:48:45,960 --> 00:48:50,120
Speaker 2: comes to you except through him. So we pray that

992
00:48:50,160 --> 00:48:54,000
Speaker 2: today would be the day that we are reconciled to you, father,

993
00:48:54,120 --> 00:48:57,239
Speaker 2: through your son Jesus Christ, That if we've been on

994
00:48:57,280 --> 00:49:00,719
Speaker 2: the sidelines observing him from a distance, that today would

995
00:49:00,719 --> 00:49:02,840
Speaker 2: be the day that we see him up close, that

996
00:49:02,880 --> 00:49:04,800
Speaker 2: we trust in Him, and that we become witnesses of

997
00:49:04,840 --> 00:49:07,040
Speaker 2: the resurrection in the midst of the generation in which

998
00:49:07,040 --> 00:49:10,080
Speaker 2: you placed us. Thank you, Father for all of these things.

999
00:49:10,160 --> 00:49:12,719
Speaker 2: We're truly grateful for it all, and we pray this

1000
00:49:12,800 --> 00:49:14,480
Speaker 2: all in Jesus' name.

1001
00:49:15,640 --> 00:49:16,000
Speaker 1: Amen.