The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

[0:00] Good morning everybody, greetings and love to all. I'm recording this the evening before,! regarding Easter 12th of April, as per the words that you can see next to my head on the screen.

[0:25] Our theme today, this morning and hopefully this evening is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And all the details are up there.

[0:40] It's traditional in Christian churches to say an assertion and a response, and perhaps we could do that in this peculiar technology way this morning. So if I say, Christ is risen, you can respond, he is risen indeed. Christ is risen.

[1:02] He is risen indeed. 1 Corinthians 15.3 says, Paul tells us that he received what he also passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to various people. This is of first importance. Let us pray.

[1:32] Almighty God, we come before you and humble ourselves before your mightiness. Christ, we thank you that in your power and grace, you sent Jesus Christ to be our Redeemer, Lord, that he died upon the cross for us and for our salvation, and that you raised him from the dead Lord, in glory and power, and that he is now seated at the right hand of the majesty on high.

[1:59] We appeal to his power, to his grace, to his mercy, to look upon us here on earth. Fill our hearts and minds with the knowledge of him. Convince us and reassure us afresh of his power over death and his ability to save to the uttermost. We pray that those who are your people would be encouraged, given strength and hope. We pray that those who are not yet your people also would come into that position of hope and assurance in this troubled time. We pray for our world just now, for many, many people, for all the leaders and governments, and ask that in your wrath and judgment you would remember mercy. We particularly think of those who are vulnerable, and we think of the great needs of our human race. Please be merciful, we ask. And as we think of these trials and troubles, we ask that we as your people might be able to lift up our heads and see beyond just trial and trouble and difficulty, and see the hope that is set before us through Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead on the third day. Hear our prayers. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.

[3:27] For the first part of our meeting, I'd like us to just hear the repeated testimony of the Gospel writers about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So we're going to read them one after another. Here is in Mark chapter 16, and then we'll sing in response to that.

[3:48] When the Sabbath was over, Mark 16 verse 1, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome brought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb, and they asked each other, who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?

[4:10] But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed, terrified. Don't be alarmed, he said. You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.

[4:32] He is risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, he is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you. Trembling and bewildered beside themselves, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. Well, they were afraid. It didn't stop there, of course. But that's where we leave that reading. And we sing with joy. Christ the Lord is risen today.

[5:09] Alleluia. All creation joined to say, Alleluia. Raise your joys and triumphs high. Alleluia.

[5:52] Sing you heavens and earth reply. Alleluia. God's redeeming work is done. Alleluia.

[6:12] God's ending. Alleluia. God's ending. God's ending. Alleluia. God's ending. Watch the seal, Alleluia.

[6:49] Christ has burst the gates of hell, Alleluia. Death in vain, forbidden rise, Alleluia.

[7:07] Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia. Who's again a glorious King, Alleluia.

[7:27] Where all death is now your sting, Alleluia. Once he died, our souls to save, Alleluia.

[7:45] Where's your victory boasting grave, Alleluia. Saw we now where Christ has led, Alleluia.

[8:05] Following our exalted head, Alleluia. Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia.

[8:23] Flowers across the greater skies, Alleluia. Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia.

[8:41] Praise to you by both begin, Alleluia. Every knee to you shall bow, Alleluia.

[9:00] Risen Christ, triumphant now, Alleluia. Let's read now the testimony that Luke gives us.

[9:38] In Luke 24. Does he say the same sort of thing? Well, yes he does. Luke 24, verses 1 to 8. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.

[9:54] They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering, perplexed about this, suddenly, behold, suddenly, two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

[10:13] In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground. But the men said to them, Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here.

[10:25] He is risen. Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee. The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day be raised again.

[10:39] And then they remembered his words. Glory to Jesus, risen conquering Son. Endless is the victory. Over death you won.

[10:51] Angels robed in splendour, rolled the stone away. Kept the folded grave clothes where your body lay. Glory to Jesus, risen conquering Son.

[11:21] Glory to Jesus, risen conquering Son.

[11:35] Endless is the victory. Over death you won. Angels in them slander, rolled the stone away.

[11:51] Kept the folded grave clothes where your body lay. Glory to Jesus, risen conquering Son.

[12:09] Endless is the victory. Over death you won. See, Jesus leads us.

[12:23] Risen from the tomb. Lovingly he greets us. Scatters fear and gloom.

[12:35] Let the church with gladness. Hymns of triumph sing. For her Lord is living.

[12:49] Death has lost its sting. Glory to Jesus, risen conquering Son.

[13:02] Endless is the victory. Over death you won. No more without you.

[13:15] Glorious Prince of Life. What is life without you. Aid us in our strife.

[13:27] Make us more than conquerors. Through your deathless love. Bring us safe through Jordan.

[13:40] To your home above. Glory to Jesus, risen conquering Son.

[13:53] Endless is the victory. Over death you won. Let's hear another testimony from John chapter 20.

[14:25] Verses 1 to 9. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

[14:36] So she comes running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and says, They've taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they put him.

[14:47] So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looks in at the strips of linen lying there, but did not go in.

[15:02] And then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrives and went into the tomb. He sees the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head.

[15:14] The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

[15:27] They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. We hear the testimony of John.

[15:40] Lo, in the grave he lay, Jesus my Saviour, waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord. Up from the grave he arose. As the victor over all his foes, he arose.

[15:54] Hallelujah. Christ arose. Jesus my Saviour, waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord.

[16:19] Jesus my Lord.

[16:36] Up from the grave he arose. As the victor over all his foes. He arose in triumph from the dark domain.

[16:49] And he lives forever with his saints to reign. He arose. He arose. Hallelujah.

[17:01] Christ arose. Jesus my Saviour, vainly they guard his bed, Jesus my Saviour.

[17:13] Vainly they sealed the dead, Jesus my Lord. Up from the grave he arose.

[17:26] He arose. As the victor over all his foes. He arose. He arose in triumph from the dark domain. And he lives forever with his saints to reign.

[17:40] He arose. He arose. He arose. Hallelujah. Christ arose. Death and earth keep his prey.

[17:55] Jesus my Saviour. Jesus my Saviour. He tore the bars away. Jesus my Saviour. He tore the bars away. Jesus my Lord.

[18:07] From the grave he arose. He arose. As the victor over all his foes. He arose in triumph from the dark domain. And he lives forever with his saints.

[18:18] He arose in triumph from the dark domain. And he lives forever with his saints to reign. He arose. He arose.

[18:29] Hallelujah. Christ arose. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Christ arose. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[18:40] Let's hear another testimony, this time from Matthew.

[18:59] Matthew 28. He arose as a victor over all his thrones. Matthew 28.

[19:13] After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

[19:32] His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

[19:43] The angel said to the women, Oh, sorry, to the women. Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here.

[19:54] He has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples. He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee.

[20:07] There you will see him. Now I have told you. So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid, yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

[20:20] And behold, suddenly, Jesus met them. Greetings, he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him.

[20:31] Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me. In a moment, we're going to have read to us by the wonders of the internet.

[20:52] Ruth is going to read on Corinthians 15. Let me just introduce the reading to you. Corinth. Paul writes to Corinth in the very early days of the Christian church.

[21:05] We understand it's one of the earliest of the Christian letters. There's a rough and ready seaport. The culture was not Jewish, but pagan, Greek. And in Greek thought or in Greek philosophy, at that time, spirituality and material, physical stuff, two opposite things.

[21:23] You can't mix them up. Therefore, the idea of a spiritual outlook or spirituality or faith based on bodily resurrection would have seemed to the people of Corinth a ridiculous, impossible, uncouth combination.

[21:40] So some people in the church tried to adjust Christianity to fit the idea of no resurrection. But in what we're going to hear read, Paul tells them that this completely undermines real Christianity and makes it useless and pointless.

[21:57] I'll be reading from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 from verse 1 to 28.

[22:19] Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.

[22:32] By this gospel you are saved if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

[22:42] For what I received, I passed on to you as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas and then to the twelve.

[23:03] After that he appeared to the apostles, and then to the apostles, and last of all, he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

[23:25] For I am the least of the apostles, and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.

[23:44] No, I worked harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether then it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

[24:00] But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

[24:13] And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God.

[24:24] For we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.

[24:38] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile. You are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.

[24:50] If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

[25:07] For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

[25:24] But each in turn, Christ, the first fruits, then when he comes, those who belong to him, then the end will come when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.

[25:43] For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he has put everything under his feet.

[25:56] Now, when it says that everything has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him, who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

[26:26] Thank you, Ruth, for reading that scripture to us. If Christ had not been raised from death, our faith would be in vain.

[26:41] Our preaching but a waste of breath, our sin and guilt remain. But now the Lord is risen indeed. He rules in earth and heaven. His gospel meets a world of need.

[26:53] In Christ we are forgiven. If Christ had not been raised from death, our faith would be in vain.

[27:25] Our preaching but a waste of breath, our sin and guilt remain. But now the Lord is risen indeed.

[27:40] He rules in earth and heaven. His gospel meets a world of need. In Christ we are forgiven.

[27:53] If Christ still lay within the tomb. Then death would be the end.

[28:05] And we should face the final doom. With neither guide nor friend. But now the Savior is raised up.

[28:20] So when a Christian dies, we mourn. Yet look to God in Christ. Yet look to God in hope. In Christ the saints arise.

[28:33] If Christ had not been truly raised. His church would live alive.

[28:45] His name should never all be praised. His words deserve to die. But now our great Redeemer lives.

[29:00] Through Him we are restored. His word endures. His church revives. In Christ our risen Lord.

[29:12] desde desde Some road. Thank you.

[30:13] Thank you.

[30:43] Help with this technology. Help with my speaking. Help with all our listening. So that if we have faith, may our faith be made strong and joyful.

[30:55] If we waver in faith, may our faith come to assurance. If we are without faith, bring us to faith. That we may be believers in Jesus Christ. Amen.

[31:05] Folks, I struggle with this technology. This is the second recording I've made because the first one went wrong. Let's use this time to think about why the resurrection is so crucial.

[31:20] At the moment, our world is facing this pandemic. And for a proportion of people, this disease will be a nasty one. And our thoughts and prayers go out to those people, those who help them and those who suffer in this way.

[31:37] For a proportion of people, whatever percentage it is, and these statisticians haven't quite got certainty about this, this disease will bring premature death.

[31:49] But I have to say that actually no human being will live on this earth forever. Death has a 100% success rate.

[32:00] And as Christians, we can be confident that the only deep, sure hope now, and in fact in any other time in our world's history, the hope is not a cure for COVID-19, although that would be great.

[32:20] But what we really need is a cure for death itself. And that's what Easter is all about. A cure for death itself. So before we get into it, let's just be clear what we actually mean about resurrection.

[32:37] What we mean by resurrection. It's a physical, bodily coming alive from being dead. So we could distinguish it from the following things. It's not like living on in memory.

[32:52] English people might think of Robin Hood, who lives on in legend and in memory. He lives in our hearts, if you like. That's not resurrection. Resurrection is not a moving corpse that has no relation to the living person.

[33:09] So I'm told that this is a zombie apocalypse. I have no idea what zombie apocalypse is. But there are movies and things about zombies.

[33:20] I know that. And the risen Jesus is not a zombie. He is a wholesome, living person, bodily raised, in continuity with the beauty and kindness and steadfastness that he had in his incarnation.

[33:39] And resurrection is not a disembodied spirit person, a ghost with no physical substance. So my illustration of this is Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, who appears to Luke and saying, trust your feelings, Luke, and all that sort of thing.

[33:57] To me, that's a contemporary reference. To many of you, that's a historical, cultural reference. But Jesus is risen from the dead physically. And fake versions of Christianity, it's fake versions that reduce or deny or are uncertain about what resurrection actually means.

[34:15] And to fail to teach that is to be fatal to Christian proclamation. And to fail to believe it is fatal to real faith.

[34:29] So the risen Jesus left no decaying corpse behind. Unlike Abraham, one of the great acts of his faith was to find a burial plot for himself and his family.

[34:45] Unlike Moses, who was buried, we know not where, but he was buried. And indeed, unlike David, who at the time of the New Testament, his tomb was there to be seen.

[35:00] Paul makes the point in Acts chapter 13, verse 36. It is stated, you will not let your Holy One see decay.

[35:11] For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep. He was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

[35:25] Jesus had a physical body. And in Luke's gospel, you get examples of this. In chapter 24. I'm finding verse 15, where Jesus came on the road to Emmaus and walked along with them.

[35:48] He had a physical body. He could walk. In verse 39, on a separate occasion, on that same day, I think, Jesus stands amongst his people, amongst the group of them, and says, Look at my hands and my feet.

[36:03] It is I myself. Touch me and see. A ghost does not have flesh and bones. He could be touched. And then he could eat fish. That's actually verse 42. Is there anything here to eat?

[36:14] He asked. And they gave him a piece of broiled fish. And he took it and ate it in their presence. So he had a real body. But it was different. So you find little clues of this.

[36:25] On that road to Emmaus, they didn't immediately recognize him. It says in verse 15, they were kept, their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he was able to disappear.

[36:38] The reference is incorrect there. It's actually verse 31. When their eyes were opened and they did recognize him in the breaking of bread, he disappeared from their sight.

[36:49] So his body was able to do things that our bodies can't do. And he appeared in verse 36. While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said, Peace be with you.

[37:02] So that's his body. That's what we're talking about. It's important for us to notice and believe and hang on to this, that he has not ceased to be human. He is now the first of the upgraded humanity.

[37:17] If you like, series two, Mark B. The sort of humanity that is physical, but is glorified without sin and without the possibility of sin.

[37:29] And his resurrection is in itself the promise of a new environment suitable to humanity type B, suitable to people with glorified bodies, a new heaven and a new earth.

[37:43] And before we leave this sort of zero point, let me say that the people of those days were not stupid. They would not have testified to this, nor would they have been prepared to die for this if they were not sensibly, rationally, honestly, evidentially convinced that this is nothing but sober, factual truth.

[38:12] So why is it central? How is it central? How does it fit around the person of Jesus?

[38:24] So first point, Jesus himself clearly foretold this. So I've just been skimming through Matthew's gospel and picked out some references here.

[38:35] In chapter 12, the Pharisees ask him for a miraculous sign and he says, No sign will be given to this generation except for the sign of the prophet Jonah.

[38:47] For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

[38:59] It's a sign. Clearly referring to his resurrection. And remember on each of those occasions when he foretold his death, he said, 1621, Jesus said that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

[39:26] So that's what he said. And he said it consistently. 1722. When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.

[39:39] They will kill him. And on the third day he will be raised to life. And it says the disciples were filled with grief. But he would be raised to life.

[39:49] That's the truth of it. And he said it consistently. 20 verse 17. As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, We're going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.

[40:08] They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life. As hints that the disciples didn't grasp it, didn't see the implications of it, didn't understand what he was getting at.

[40:26] But he did say it. I know there are major religions that say Jesus didn't die and therefore he wasn't raised from the dead. But the Gospels say he said he would die and he said he would be raised to life.

[40:39] And this has to do with Jesus' reliability as a prophet. If he had foretold it and it didn't happen, then that clearly undermines Jesus' basis to be believed as a prophet.

[40:55] He's deficient as a prophet. It's a very unlikely thing to prophesy, but he did prophesy it. And it did happen. So this vindicates him as a prophet.

[41:07] He said it. God endorsed him. And this is what happened. So he clearly foretold it.

[41:19] And secondly, Jesus clearly assumed it. So before his cross and looking beyond the cross, he often talked about his future work and ministry, quite often referring to himself by this title, the Son of Man.

[41:34] Now the fact of a Son of Man doing something in the distant future, in the sort of way described here, clearly assumes a bodily resurrection.

[41:46] So again, taking some of these examples, Matthew 13, 37. This is about the parable of the weeds in the field.

[41:58] And Jesus says that the one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. And it talks about the harvest. The harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels. The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire.

[42:11] So will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will weed out of his kingdom. Everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

[42:23] So he's looking forward to something that the Son of Man will do with his risen power, authority, physicality. That's what he will do.

[42:36] And I'm looking now at 2230, where in debate with the Sadducees, Jesus speaks about the coming resurrection.

[42:47] 2230. At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

[42:58] They will be like the angels in heaven. He looks forward to the resurrection. And he himself is a sort of spearhead of that resurrection.

[43:10] 2439. Looking ahead to the distant future. And the coming of the Son of Man, on that mysterious day, of which no one knows, but this is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

[43:29] So there will be a coming of a risen, glorious Jesus. 25 verse 13. Again, keep watch.

[43:42] You don't know the day or the hour. And verse 31. When the Son of Man comes in his glory and the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory, and he will separate the nations as the shepherd.

[43:59] Separates the sheep from the goats. There is a living, risen, powerful king in the future. And Jesus saw this as part of his whole long-term ministry.

[44:13] So it clearly assumes the resurrection. Thirdly, the conquest of death fits in with all his other authority. So just casting our minds, Jesus of Nazareth is portrayed to us in the Gospels in terms of his authority.

[44:31] The kingdom is an authority structure. He is depicted as a miracle worker. And no one who knew anything about anything tried to doubt or question this.

[44:48] His bitterest opponents don't deny that he does miracles. And he has authority over sickness. So here is his authority to do miracles.

[44:59] His authority over sickness. He has his reputation as a healer. You remember how he is summoned to help a little girl who's desperately ill.

[45:11] And the father says, if you come, you'll be able to heal her. But however, Jesus is interrupted and delayed on the way. And the father says, well, it's not much point now because we've gathered that she's dead.

[45:23] And Jesus says, I have authority over sickness. Let's hold that story for a moment. Jesus has authority over spiritual evil.

[45:35] He has authority over Satan and his hosts. So he can cast out demons with a word. And everybody's amazed what authority they say. He has authority, of course, to teach.

[45:47] And people are amazed at his teaching. Unlike the scribes and Pharisees, teachers of the law, he teaches as one with authority. He knows what's what. He knows what's what.

[45:57] He tells it like it is. People are amazed at that. He surely teaches spiritual truth. And he has this astounding authority over nature.

[46:10] Creation would be a better way of putting it. So on the storm on the lake, he stills the storm. Peace be still, he says. And the storm goes flat, goes, goes quiet.

[46:22] And the disciples are mega afraid. And they say, what manner of man is this? But he speaks to the wind and the waves and they obey him. And coming back to the story of the little girl, of course, Jesus says, I'll still come, even though she's dead.

[46:39] He has authority over death. And he gets to the place where the little girl is lying dead with all the mourners. And he tells them to push off because it's inappropriate for them to be mourning.

[46:53] He says, I'm here. So the death of the little girl is now transformed into sleep. And I can easily wake her from sleep, which is exactly what he does. So Jesus has authority in all these realms.

[47:07] Authority even over death. So it would be a strange thing if he himself could be mastered by death. He can defeat it for other people.

[47:18] It would be a strange thing if he was defeated by it. And in fact, the strange thing is that he entered death at all, wasn't it? The strange thing is that he allowed death even to touch him.

[47:32] And not only to touch him, but he ate it up. He tasted death for each one, it says in Hebrews. And the strange thing is that he who had no sin got paid the wages of sin for, as Paul tells us, the wages of sin is death.

[47:49] Why was he paid those wages if he never sinned? Well, here's the thing, of course. He went into death voluntarily. For us, he had authority to lay down his life and authority to take it again.

[48:05] It was necessary for him to die to make purifications for sins. He suffered death for us and for our salvation. And here's a fourth thing about the crucial nature of the resurrection.

[48:22] His resurrection fulfills the hopes of Israel. God willing, I'll say a little bit more about this for the evening.

[48:32] His resurrection fulfills the hope of Israel. Fulfills, in other words, all the trajectories, the promises, the unresolved issues of the Hebrew scriptures as they point forward.

[48:49] Jesus exactly and precisely is the fulfillment of all that. Now, let's be clear. Not all the Jewish leaders and teachers would have agreed where the Hebrew scriptures were heading.

[49:02] And they certainly wouldn't all have agreed that they were heading towards resurrection. In Acts 23, 6, Paul's put on trial before the Jewish court, the Sanhedrin, and he caused or inflamed a division between two major parties, the Sadducees and the Pharisees, on this exact matter.

[49:20] One of them believed in the resurrection and the other didn't. And they ended up arguing among themselves. So it would not be true to say that they all had a united voice in this. But, let me take this a bit further.

[49:34] The resurrection of Jesus fulfills the hope of a forever king. It's fulfilled only in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[49:44] What was the hope of Israel concerning the Messiah? The idea of a forever king is in many places. It runs through the Hebrew scriptures.

[49:59] And I'll pick on the reading that is so often read at Christmas in Isaiah chapter 9. For to us, this is verse 6, a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

[50:25] Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

[50:41] The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. He will establish justice and righteousness, and Mark can guess the Hebrew words there.

[50:53] I haven't looked them up, but I think we can have a pretty good guess. Here is the promise of the forever king. How can there be a forever king? Answer through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[51:07] And the resurrection gloriously marks out Jesus, par excellence, as the David-style king, marked out as son of God with power through his resurrection from the dead, as Paul says at the beginning of Romans.

[51:22] He talks about the sure mercies of David. Regarding his son, as to his human nature, was from David, a descendant of David, who through the spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the son of God by his resurrection from the dead.

[51:39] The hope of a forever king is found in the resurrection. The hope of a return from exile is fulfilled in the resurrection.

[51:51] Now, the exile was never simply about geography. Exile is always about failure, sinful failure, to live with God according to his word and according to his reasonable expectations and commands upon his people.

[52:15] Adam and Eve get exiled from the garden. Israel got exiled from the land and went off into Babylon. It was never, ever just about geography.

[52:28] It was about sin and death. Exclusion from God is exclusion from life, from the tree of life, from life with God. That's what it's about.

[52:39] And here's a passage in Ezekiel 37 that Chris took us through a while ago but I'd like us to come back to it. The valley of dry bones.

[52:50] The ankle bone connected to the shin bone, the shin bone connected to the knee bone, etc. The valley of dry bones. Now, what is this valley of dry bones?

[53:01] What are these dry bones? Ezekiel 37 11. Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, our bones are dried up and our hope is gone.

[53:12] We are cut off. They're saying, this is the problem. We have no life. We have no hope. Spiritually, we're dead like dry bones.

[53:24] And here is what God says to them in verse 12. Therefore, prophesy and say to them, this is what the Sovereign Lord says, O my people, I am going to open up your graves and bring you up from them.

[53:37] I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord. When I open up your graves and bring you up from them, I will put my spirit in you and you will live and I will settle you in your own land.

[53:52] Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and I have done it, declares the Lord. So, the hope of a place and of life is never going to happen without resurrection.

[54:10] When I bring you up, he says, I have to open your grave to bring you up. And when I give you life, I open up a grave and I put my spirit within you.

[54:20] And that's how I settle you in the place which you will call your home. And it's Jesus who does this. He brings resurrection into the equation.

[54:35] It's him who says, I go to prepare a place for you. If it were not like that, I would have told you. I want you to be with me where I am. It's him who prepares the new heaven and the new earth, which is the home for God's people.

[54:50] And it doesn't happen without graves being opened and new life and dead bones living. One more thought here.

[55:05] His resurrection fulfills all the hopes of Israel. they all lived happily ever after. It's a wonderful way to end a fairy story.

[55:16] Hugely in favour of that. They all lived happily ever after. Wonderful. But it is only fairy stories, isn't it? Well, apart from here. Adam and Eve didn't live happily ever after.

[55:29] They entered death the moment that they declared independence from God. As Paul said, the wages of sin is death. And the future hope of the Hebrew scriptures is the remedy for that.

[55:46] That's really what it's all about. The future hope has always been the defeat of death. Let me read to you from Isaiah 25, verse 6.

[55:56] And you will think this is New Testament, but it's the Hebrew scriptures. Sorry, I must remember to give a glass of water next time I do this.

[56:11] Too late now. Isaiah 25, verse 6. On this mountain, the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine, the best of meats and the finest of wines.

[56:31] On this mountain, meaning to say based in Jerusalem, based on that mountain, based around that headquarters, that centrality. On this mountain, listen, he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations.

[56:50] he will swallow up death forever. The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces. He will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.

[57:02] The Lord has spoken. That's the thing. That's the factor that captivates every man and woman and boy and girl, the prospect of death.

[57:15] that's the shroud that enfolds all the people and that's the very thing that God says that's what I will deal with. And here he is dealing with this in and through his son Jesus Christ puncturing that shroud, tearing it, breaking it so that death is swallowed up in victory, so that death no longer has dominion, so that the problem of death is solved in Jesus Christ.

[57:49] So what have we been talking about? We've been talking about Jesus' resurrection from the dead, which I tried to say is not wishy-washy floaty make-believe, it's physical reality, factual, sober truth.

[58:05] Why is it so crucial? Excuse me. Jesus clearly foretold it. He knew it was going to happen. He said it was going to happen. Jesus clearly assumed it.

[58:17] His depiction of his ministry as it goes on beyond the cross, beyond the resurrection, to his exaltation and his enthronement and his future coming, assume a living saviour.

[58:30] It fits with all his other mighty claims, their modest claims. Jesus is a very modest person, not full of himself, but his claims are mighty nonetheless, and that includes authority over death.

[58:45] And the point I try to make just at the end here, that he personally fulfills the hope and aim of all the scriptures. All the scriptures are heading towards resurrection, if one had eyes to see it.

[59:00] It's the hope of Israel, but it's also the remedy for all nations. Everyone needs this. at the resurrection of Lazarus, when Jesus called him out of the grave, he said this to Lazarus' sister, I am the resurrection and the life.

[59:24] He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. do you believe this?

[59:40] Believe it. All heaven declares the glory of the risen Lord.

[59:53] Who can compare with the beauty of the Lord? I will proclaim the glory of the risen Lord, who once was slain to reconcile man to God.

[60:29] All heaven declares the glory of the risen Lord, who can compare with the beauty of the Lord.

[60:49] Forever he will be, forever he will be, the Lamb upon the throne, the Lamb upon the throne, I gladly bow the knee, and let me and worship him alone.

[61:07] I will proclaim the glory of the risen Lord, who once was slain to reconcile man to God.

[61:25] Forever he will be, forever he will be, the Lamb upon the throne, the Lamb upon the throne, I gladly bow to me, I gladly bow to me, and worship him alone.

[61:56] grace and peace to you from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

[62:20] to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests, to serve his God and Father, to him be glory and power for ever and ever.

[62:37] Amen. Amen. Thanks for looking in. I hope to see you again soon, and goodbye from me.

[62:48] Bye-bye. Bye-bye.