WEBVTT

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 And we're looking at the question which is printed on your sheets which were on your chairs at the top there.

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! What kind of God gives people hope in the face of death?

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 That's what we're going to be thinking about over the next few minutes.

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 It is a really good question, isn't it?

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 It's maybe a slightly deep and heavy question.

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 And as we think about the issue of death, I'm aware as well that it's a sensitive subject.

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 And for many of you, I know that it's been a real struggle, that issue.

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 But if you'll allow me, I want to make this personal to you today for the next few minutes.

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 I want to invite you to think about your own death.

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 What sort of God do you need to give you real hope?

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 What sort of God reveals himself to us in the Bible?

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 And can he give us hope as we think about death?

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 I don't know how you think about your own death, if you think about it at all.

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 Maybe you're more of an optimist.

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 Maybe you'd say something like, well, death is just a doorway into another existence.

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 So it's neither good nor bad.

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 You just sort of reincarnate into something else or somebody else.

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 Or maybe you think about death as being just a bit of a non-event, really,

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 in that we don't have a soul that lives on.

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 And everything about you, your physical body, your personality, everything that makes you you,

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 just decomposes into a bunch of molecules.

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 So death really isn't anything to worry about.

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 We live and then we die.

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 That's it.

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 The novelist Peter Schaeffer wrote more soberingly about his own death.

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 He said this,

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 I'm going to die,

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 and the thought of that dark has for years rotted everything for me.

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 Maybe Schaeffer's a bit more of a pessimist, isn't he?

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 But maybe that's more like you.

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 You're really worried about death, about that issue.

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 You're really worried about your own death, like Schaeffer.

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 But the Bible speaks about death like a shadow.

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 It calls it the shadow of death.

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 So think of the shadow on the centre court at Wimbledon, if you watch tennis.

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 Imagine the final at Wimbledon.

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 And sometimes if the sun is shining, you see a little shadow, don't you, on the court.

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 It starts off as a little crack of darkness.

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 And it begins to move over the court.

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 No one really notices that happening, do they?

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 But eventually, by the end of the match, both players and the whole of that green grass at centre court is covered under that shadow.

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 And Schaeffer admits, as he talks about death, that death, just like that shadow, is inevitable.

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 But it's also horrific.

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 It's a darkness, he said, that rots his life.

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 Now, he may be a pessimist, but he admits, doesn't he, that there are actually very few places where we can find real comfort in the thought of death.

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 Schaeffer didn't have much hope in that quote, did he?

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 And in reality, I think most people, deep down, agree with him, rather than the we live and die and nothing happens opinion.

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 Just think of all the effort that goes into avoiding death for as long as physically possible.

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 We want to distance ourselves from death, don't we?

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 Because we know instinctively that it's wrong, it's horrific.

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 So we want to be young, don't we?

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 Because youth buys us time.

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 We want to be healthy, because good health buys us time.

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 We want good lifestyles, because we're told good lifestyles buy us time, don't we?

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 But eventually, death is like that shadow and it comes upon every one of us.

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 So the question we've got to ask ourselves, is the question that we're asking today,

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 who can we turn to, to get us through it?

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 Who can we trust with our own deaths?

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 Where can we find real hope?

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 Now it turns out that Jesus Christ has got a lot to say on the subject of death.

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 Jesus comes to us in the Bible and he says to you and me, you can trust me with your death.

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 In fact, he goes on to say, you must trust me.

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 There is nobody else to trust with your death.

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 So, if you'd like to take hold of the sheets that are on your seats there,

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 you've got a section there from John's Gospel.

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 It's a book that we looked at last week, here on Tuesday.

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 It's written by one of Jesus' closest followers and friends.

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 And it's in the New Testament, John's Gospel.

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 And you've got there a section printed from John chapter 11.

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 John is an eyewitness to the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

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 And this is about halfway through his book.

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 And as we look here, I want us to see three things as to why God,

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 Jesus shows us a God that we can have hope in, in the face of death.

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 Firstly, Jesus shows us the kind of God who is indignant towards death.

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 He's indignant towards death.

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 He's furious about death.

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 Now, in this part of John's book, we see that Jesus arrives in the town of two friends.

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 They're called Mary and Martha.

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 And it's the funeral of their brother.

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 The sisters of the dead man, Lazarus, are there with the community.

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 They're all there.

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 Emotions are high.

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 Jesus approaches the corpse.

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 He approaches the graveside of his friend Lazarus.

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 Have a look at number 35 there.

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 Halfway down the page.

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 We're told that as Jesus comes to the tomb,

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 Jesus wept.

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 Jesus wept.

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 Now, that's the shortest verse in the whole of the Bible.

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 It's only two words.

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 Jesus wept.

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 Jesus wept.

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 And it tells us, doesn't it, that with death, God is reduced to tears.

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 He feels the pain of death.

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 He weeps about death.

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 He feels the fear that we have of it as well.

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 But you know, his reaction is stronger than just tears, isn't it?

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 Look a couple of sentences before that to 33.

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 Just look there.

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 When Jesus saw her weeping.

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 And the Jews who'd come with her also weeping.

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 He was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

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 He was deeply moved in his spirit.

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 He was greatly troubled.

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 Now, that is not a kind of sentimental response that Jesus has.

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 Actually, the words that John uses in the Greek language that he wrote his book in,

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 mean more like that Jesus snorts with the fury of a war horse.

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 There.

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 So, whilst he weeps with grief, as we do, he's absolutely furious with the situation.

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 Jesus is outraged at death.

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 He sees the effects that death has in the world.

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 The effects it has on families.

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 He sees the weeping there.

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 And he is indignant.

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 He's furious about death.

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 Now, just think about how different Jesus' reaction is to the atheist reaction about death.

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 One famous atheist said,

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 In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic replication,

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 some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky,

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 and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice.

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 The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect

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 if there is at bottom no design, no purpose, no evil, no good,

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 nothing but pitiless indifference.

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 But Jesus sees death.

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 And he's furious.

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 He's indignant with it.

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 As God becomes a man, he's outraged at this intruder.

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 Death is not just being unlucky.

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 It is wrong.

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 He's indignant with it.

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 You know, if you're at home,

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 and you have the dreadful experience of having somebody break in through the kitchen window,

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 it's not going to give you much hope, is it?

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 If the person that you live with is someone who politely, politely just lets them ravage through all your things,

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 smashing stuff up in the kitchen,

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 there is no hope, is there, in somebody who just says, well, these things happen,

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 and just shrugs their shoulders and goes back to sleep.

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 No, I want to live with somebody who gets angry,

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 who gets up,

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 gets hold of the baseball bat and turfs them out.

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 And so Jesus shows us a God who gives us hope because he's indignant towards death.

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 He doesn't just shrug his shoulders.

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 Well, we all go there in the end, don't we?

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 Death is a natural part of life.

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 Some people get unlucky.

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 No!

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 How dare you, he says.

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 Deeply moved and greatly troubled.

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 He snorts like a furious horse.

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 He's indignant towards death.

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 And that's the sort of person we need, isn't it, with us,

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 as we face death, isn't it?

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 Someone who sees death for what it is,

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 and gives it the reaction it should get.

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 He's the kind of God who's indignant towards death.

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 So he says, you can trust me with your death.

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 So he's indignant towards death.

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 But the second thing,

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 Jesus shows us the kind of God

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 who is defiant towards death.

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 He's the kind of God who's defiant towards death.

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 You know, we can be angry at death, can't we?

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 And we are.

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 We can be angry at death, we can be furious,

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 just like Jesus, but it doesn't change anything.

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 But Jesus, whilst he is angry,

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 he can go much, much further than that.

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 So he prays a prayer at the graveside at this funeral.

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 Just imagine the scene.

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 Zoom in at number 43, will you?

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 And when he prayed this prayer,

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 when he said these things,

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 he cried out with a loud voice,

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 Lazarus, come out!

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 Now I don't know if you've ever been at a funeral

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 where the name of the deceased person

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 has been called out during the ceremony.

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 It's an awkward moment.

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 It does happen.

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 People get emotional, don't they, at funerals.

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 They shout out all sorts of things.

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 Funerals tend to be places where

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 inhibitions get lost.

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 People call out

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 the name of the dead person.

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 They're so angry and distressed

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 by death.

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 So is Jesus just reacting like that?

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 Is it just a reaction of distress?

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 Well, we get to one of the most shocking verses

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 in the Bible, don't we?

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 Number 44.

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 The man who had died

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 came out.

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 The man who died came out.

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 John is claiming here

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 that as Jesus shouts out,

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 Lazarus, come out,

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 it is not a hopeless cry.

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 It is not just a hopeless call.

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 It is a powerful command.

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 It's a powerful command.

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 I'm not saying it's easy to believe.

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 It's not easy to believe, is it?

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 Dead men don't just get up and walk

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 if you talk to them.

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 You cannot speak to a corpse

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 and expect a response.

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 But when Jesus shouts,

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 it's not a hopeless cry.

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 It's a powerful command.

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 You know, the New Testament,

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 it speaks about Christians

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 who have died.

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 And it uses a strange phrase.

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 It calls them

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 those who have fallen asleep.

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 It's lovely.

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 Some of them die, though,

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 in terrible circumstances,

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 under immense persecution.

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 So why does it call them

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 people who've fallen asleep?

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 Well, it does that

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 because Jesus' voice

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 is so powerful with death

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 that as he calls his people

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 from death,

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 it's as if he's calling them

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 from a snoot,

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 from a sleep.

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 It's a powerful command.

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 Come out, Lazarus.

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 Come out, Chris.

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 Come out, Ralph.

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 Morning.

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 And if that is true,

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 this man Jesus

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 shows us a God

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 who you can trust

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 with your death.

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 His words cross over

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 that barrier

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 between life and death,

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 between the living

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 and the death.

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 He's indignant towards death.

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 He's furious about it,

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 but he's got the power

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 to do something.

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 He says,

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 you can trust me

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 with your death.

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 It's not a hopeless cry.

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 It's a powerful command.

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 You want to trust somebody,

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 don't you?

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 But can we trust in somebody

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 who just cries about death,

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 although that is comforting?

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 We can trust somebody

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 who commands death, though.

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 Who says,

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 wake up.

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 He commands death.

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 He's indignant.

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 He's defiant.

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 But then thirdly,

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 in the last scene,

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 Jesus shows us

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 the kind of God

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 who is dominant

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 over death.

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 He's dominant

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 over death.

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 Now,

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 has Mary just witnessed

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 that sort of trick?

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 Is it a kind of

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 David Blaine

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 style illusion

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 with some mirrors

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 and smoke?

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 Well,

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 actually,

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 we read about Mary

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 being at another

00:15:11.980 --> 00:15:12.899
 graveside

00:15:12.899 --> 00:15:14.079
 in the book of John.

00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:16.039
 Later in chapter 20,

00:15:16.139 --> 00:15:16.980
 it's printed there

00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:18.079
 at the bottom

00:15:18.079 --> 00:15:18.939
 of those sheets.

00:15:20.139 --> 00:15:21.319
 It's the grave

00:15:21.319 --> 00:15:22.039
 of Jesus.

00:15:22.899 --> 00:15:23.939
 Three days

00:15:23.939 --> 00:15:24.779
 after he's been

00:15:24.779 --> 00:15:26.139
 publicly executed.

00:15:27.620 --> 00:15:28.519
 And it's a very

00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:29.779
 similar scene

00:15:29.779 --> 00:15:31.480
 in many ways.

00:15:32.059 --> 00:15:33.419
 So look at verse 11.

00:15:34.659 --> 00:15:36.319
 Mary is weeping

00:15:36.319 --> 00:15:38.059
 outside the tomb.

00:15:38.939 --> 00:15:40.059
 Some folk just get

00:15:40.059 --> 00:15:41.079
 all the bad news,

00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:41.679
 don't they?

00:15:42.459 --> 00:15:43.639
 Here is another one

00:15:43.639 --> 00:15:44.319
 she loves,

00:15:45.139 --> 00:15:46.340
 taken by death.

00:15:47.500 --> 00:15:48.399
 She turns around

00:15:48.399 --> 00:15:49.100
 to see a man

00:15:49.100 --> 00:15:50.139
 she doesn't recognise

00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:51.439
 and with one word

00:15:51.439 --> 00:15:52.679
 she sees who it is.

00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:53.379
 It's Jesus.

00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:54.559
 Look at number 16.

00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:56.500
 One word

00:15:56.500 --> 00:15:58.359
 Jesus said to her,

00:15:59.000 --> 00:15:59.579
 Mary.

00:16:01.799 --> 00:16:02.500
 And Jesus'

00:16:02.699 --> 00:16:04.559
 defiance towards death

00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:06.079
 is seen

00:16:06.079 --> 00:16:07.139
 most wonderfully

00:16:07.139 --> 00:16:08.479
 as he himself

00:16:08.479 --> 00:16:10.059
 goes to physical death

00:16:10.059 --> 00:16:11.059
 on the cross.

00:16:11.339 --> 00:16:12.579
 He rots in a tomb

00:16:12.579 --> 00:16:14.000
 for three days

00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:15.379
 and he rises again.

00:16:16.379 --> 00:16:17.359
 He himself

00:16:17.359 --> 00:16:18.159
 dominates

00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:18.959
 over death.

00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:21.240
 Jesus shows us

00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:21.980
 the kind of God

00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:22.560
 who actually

00:16:22.560 --> 00:16:24.139
 experiences the very

00:16:24.139 --> 00:16:24.820
 thing that we're

00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:25.920
 most afraid of

00:16:25.920 --> 00:16:27.160
 and he wins.

00:16:29.080 --> 00:16:30.019
 Now if you can

00:16:30.019 --> 00:16:30.940
 stretch your minds

00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:31.480
 for a moment,

00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:32.320
 just imagine

00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:33.240
 in a bizarre

00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:34.440
 chain of events

00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:35.879
 that we had to

00:16:35.879 --> 00:16:36.900
 stop this talk

00:16:36.900 --> 00:16:37.639
 for a moment,

00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:38.360
 we had to

00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:39.600
 pause this lunchtime

00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:40.700
 because a wolf

00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:42.800
 somehow had got loose

00:16:42.800 --> 00:16:44.180
 in the town hall.

00:16:44.560 --> 00:16:45.120
 Imagine it.

00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:46.580
 So we've got to

00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:47.460
 lock the doors,

00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:48.080
 we've got to

00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:48.700
 stay in here

00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:49.820
 and wait for a rescue.

00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:51.879
 But in a display

00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:52.480
 of bravery,

00:16:52.700 --> 00:16:53.200
 Paul says,

00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:53.379
 no,

00:16:53.460 --> 00:16:54.519
 I'm not waiting

00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:55.299
 here any longer,

00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:56.279
 I need my lunch,

00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:57.279
 I'm going outside

00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:57.799
 and I'm going to

00:16:57.799 --> 00:16:58.740
 get rid of the wolf.

00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:00.340
 I'm going to

00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:01.240
 kill the wolf.

00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:03.179
 So it's Paul

00:17:03.179 --> 00:17:04.099
 versus the wolf.

00:17:05.380 --> 00:17:06.559
 Now the only way

00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:07.319
 that we can know

00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:08.059
 who has won

00:17:08.059 --> 00:17:08.859
 is if we see

00:17:08.859 --> 00:17:09.559
 either of them

00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:09.900
 again,

00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:10.380
 isn't it?

00:17:10.380 --> 00:17:12.460
 And we know

00:17:12.460 --> 00:17:13.320
 that Paul has won

00:17:13.320 --> 00:17:14.160
 when he comes back

00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:14.900
 and he knocks back

00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:15.860
 on that door there

00:17:15.860 --> 00:17:16.640
 on the other side

00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:17.140
 of the window.

00:17:18.120 --> 00:17:19.180
 We can now know

00:17:19.180 --> 00:17:19.900
 that we can trust

00:17:19.900 --> 00:17:20.980
 Paul to kill the wolf.

00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:22.580
 It's a silly story

00:17:22.580 --> 00:17:23.240
 but I think you get

00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:23.620
 the point.

00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:24.880
 That's the wonder

00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:25.900
 of Easter though,

00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:26.480
 isn't it?

00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:29.960
 As someone once said,

00:17:30.020 --> 00:17:30.580
 it isn't that

00:17:30.580 --> 00:17:31.820
 Jesus is alive

00:17:31.820 --> 00:17:33.580
 but that Jesus

00:17:33.580 --> 00:17:34.500
 has risen.

00:17:35.760 --> 00:17:36.480
 He's back.

00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:38.440
 He's back

00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:39.180
 from the dead.

00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:41.360
 He's killed

00:17:41.360 --> 00:17:41.980
 the wolf.

00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:44.340
 As John Stott

00:17:44.340 --> 00:17:44.700
 said,

00:17:44.820 --> 00:17:45.580
 we live

00:17:45.580 --> 00:17:46.840
 and then we die

00:17:46.840 --> 00:17:49.100
 but Jesus Christ

00:17:49.100 --> 00:17:49.780
 died

00:17:49.780 --> 00:17:51.340
 and then he lived.

00:17:51.980 --> 00:17:52.660
 He's back.

00:17:53.840 --> 00:17:54.620
 His resurrection

00:17:54.620 --> 00:17:55.220
 says,

00:17:55.340 --> 00:17:56.700
 you can trust me

00:17:56.700 --> 00:17:58.400
 with your death.

00:18:00.580 --> 00:18:02.400
 In the 1970s,

00:18:02.460 --> 00:18:03.260
 dozens of

00:18:03.260 --> 00:18:04.480
 high-ranking officials

00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:05.400
 from the Nixon

00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:06.400
 administration

00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:07.420
 were shamed

00:18:07.420 --> 00:18:08.840
 by what's now

00:18:08.840 --> 00:18:09.440
 known as

00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:10.820
 the Watergate scandal

00:18:10.820 --> 00:18:11.920
 if you know about that.

00:18:12.320 --> 00:18:13.799
 It's come to symbolise

00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:14.820
 that investigation

00:18:14.820 --> 00:18:16.279
 that took place

00:18:16.279 --> 00:18:17.660
 where allegations

00:18:17.660 --> 00:18:18.700
 were made

00:18:18.700 --> 00:18:20.480
 towards the government

00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:21.240
 of the time

00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:22.420
 of phone hacking

00:18:22.420 --> 00:18:23.620
 and all sorts

00:18:23.620 --> 00:18:24.559
 of government

00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:25.700
 cover-ups

00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:26.519
 and it led

00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:27.380
 to Nixon's

00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:28.740
 eventual resignation

00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:30.320
 in 1974.

00:18:32.380 --> 00:18:33.559
 Charles Colson

00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:35.519
 had the job

00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:36.159
 of being

00:18:36.159 --> 00:18:36.919
 his special

00:18:36.919 --> 00:18:37.599
 counsel

00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:38.720
 for public

00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:39.240
 liaison.

00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:39.980
 He was there

00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:40.679
 throughout the whole

00:18:40.679 --> 00:18:41.119
 thing

00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:42.399
 and he was a

00:18:42.399 --> 00:18:42.779
 Christian

00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:44.139
 and he said

00:18:44.139 --> 00:18:44.599
 this,

00:18:45.399 --> 00:18:46.259
 I know the

00:18:46.259 --> 00:18:46.639
 resurrection

00:18:46.639 --> 00:18:47.639
 is a fact

00:18:47.639 --> 00:18:49.460
 and Watergate

00:18:49.460 --> 00:18:50.539
 proved it to me.

00:18:51.099 --> 00:18:51.599
 How?

00:18:52.460 --> 00:18:53.779
 Because 12 men

00:18:53.779 --> 00:18:54.339
 testified

00:18:54.339 --> 00:18:55.700
 they had seen

00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:56.539
 Jesus raised

00:18:56.539 --> 00:18:57.259
 from the dead,

00:18:58.279 --> 00:18:58.819
 the apostles.

00:18:58.819 --> 00:19:00.539
 then they

00:19:00.539 --> 00:19:01.099
 proclaimed

00:19:01.099 --> 00:19:01.879
 that truth

00:19:01.879 --> 00:19:03.159
 for 40 years

00:19:03.159 --> 00:19:04.559
 never once

00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:05.399
 denying it.

00:19:06.259 --> 00:19:06.839
 Everyone

00:19:06.839 --> 00:19:07.700
 was beaten,

00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:08.399
 tortured,

00:19:08.700 --> 00:19:09.019
 stoned

00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:09.439
 and put

00:19:09.439 --> 00:19:09.980
 in prison.

00:19:11.059 --> 00:19:11.500
 They would

00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:11.980
 not have

00:19:11.980 --> 00:19:12.819
 endured that

00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:13.419
 if it

00:19:13.419 --> 00:19:14.200
 weren't true.

00:19:15.619 --> 00:19:16.240
 Watergate

00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:16.939
 embroiled

00:19:16.939 --> 00:19:17.819
 12 of the

00:19:17.819 --> 00:19:18.579
 most powerful

00:19:18.579 --> 00:19:19.139
 men in the

00:19:19.139 --> 00:19:19.519
 world

00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:20.919
 and they

00:19:20.919 --> 00:19:21.539
 couldn't keep

00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:22.159
 alive for

00:19:22.159 --> 00:19:22.879
 three weeks.

00:19:24.159 --> 00:19:24.759
 You're telling

00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:25.399
 me 12

00:19:25.399 --> 00:19:25.859
 apostles

00:19:25.859 --> 00:19:26.519
 could keep

00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:27.099
 alive for

00:19:27.099 --> 00:19:27.980
 40 years?

00:19:27.980 --> 00:19:29.480
 Absolutely

00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:30.220
 impossible,

00:19:30.620 --> 00:19:31.420
 Charles Carlson.

00:19:32.900 --> 00:19:33.819
 The resurrection

00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:34.460
 of Jesus

00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:35.420
 is an unusual

00:19:35.420 --> 00:19:35.880
 thing,

00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:36.200
 isn't it?

00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:36.700
 As we come

00:19:36.700 --> 00:19:37.360
 up to Easter

00:19:37.360 --> 00:19:37.900
 and we think

00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:38.480
 about it,

00:19:38.620 --> 00:19:39.019
 putting it

00:19:39.019 --> 00:19:39.640
 mildly,

00:19:40.120 --> 00:19:40.839
 it's unprecedented.

00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:43.559
 And men

00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:44.059
 will often

00:19:44.059 --> 00:19:44.660
 die for

00:19:44.660 --> 00:19:45.920
 things that

00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:46.579
 they believe

00:19:46.579 --> 00:19:46.759
 in,

00:19:46.779 --> 00:19:47.120
 won't they?

00:19:47.180 --> 00:19:47.620
 There's nothing

00:19:47.620 --> 00:19:48.440
 unusual about

00:19:48.440 --> 00:19:48.880
 that.

00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:51.000
 But to

00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:51.819
 knowingly die

00:19:51.819 --> 00:19:52.460
 for something

00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:53.099
 they knew

00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:53.680
 to be a

00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:55.460
 lie is

00:19:55.460 --> 00:19:56.000
 much more

00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:56.440
 unusual,

00:19:56.680 --> 00:19:57.120
 isn't it?

00:19:57.980 --> 00:20:00.059
 So how

00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:00.299
 do you

00:20:00.299 --> 00:20:01.620
 respond to

00:20:01.620 --> 00:20:02.019
 the Easter

00:20:02.019 --> 00:20:02.980
 message this

00:20:02.980 --> 00:20:03.240
 Easter?

00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:03.700
 How do you

00:20:03.700 --> 00:20:04.160
 respond?

00:20:04.259 --> 00:20:05.240
 As one person

00:20:05.240 --> 00:20:05.559
 put it,

00:20:05.579 --> 00:20:06.160
 if Jesus

00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:06.779
 rose from

00:20:06.779 --> 00:20:07.339
 the dead,

00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:08.259
 then you

00:20:08.259 --> 00:20:08.740
 have to

00:20:08.740 --> 00:20:09.599
 accept all

00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:09.960
 that he

00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:10.440
 said.

00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:11.779
 If he

00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:12.380
 didn't rise

00:20:12.380 --> 00:20:12.740
 from the

00:20:12.740 --> 00:20:13.059
 dead,

00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:14.240
 then why

00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:14.900
 worry about

00:20:14.900 --> 00:20:15.380
 any of

00:20:15.380 --> 00:20:15.740
 what he

00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:16.099
 said?

00:20:17.059 --> 00:20:17.839
 The issue

00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:18.360
 on which

00:20:18.360 --> 00:20:18.880
 everything

00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:19.559
 hangs is

00:20:19.559 --> 00:20:20.079
 not whether

00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:20.740
 or not you

00:20:20.740 --> 00:20:21.240
 like his

00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:21.799
 teaching,

00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:23.160
 but whether

00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:23.819
 or not he

00:20:23.819 --> 00:20:24.380
 rose from

00:20:24.380 --> 00:20:24.920
 the dead.

00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:27.420
 So who

00:20:27.420 --> 00:20:27.779
 can you

00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:28.440
 trust with

00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:29.140
 your death?

00:20:30.340 --> 00:20:30.740
 Christopher

00:20:30.740 --> 00:20:31.160
 Hitchens,

00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:31.759
 the famous

00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:32.220
 atheist,

00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:32.720
 said,

00:20:32.800 --> 00:20:33.240
 I don't

00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:34.160
 trust false

00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:35.180
 consolations of

00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:35.620
 religion,

00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:37.340
 I trust in

00:20:37.340 --> 00:20:38.279
 medical science

00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:38.560
 and the

00:20:38.560 --> 00:20:39.100
 support of

00:20:39.100 --> 00:20:39.560
 friends and

00:20:39.560 --> 00:20:39.900
 family.

00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:40.360
 That's who

00:20:40.360 --> 00:20:40.920
 he trusted

00:20:40.920 --> 00:20:41.380
 with his

00:20:41.380 --> 00:20:41.759
 death.

00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:43.460
 Now those

00:20:43.460 --> 00:20:43.880
 things are

00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:44.480
 really good

00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:44.880
 things,

00:20:44.960 --> 00:20:45.400
 aren't they?

00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:47.279
 But you

00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:47.620
 know, I'm

00:20:47.620 --> 00:20:48.420
 not convinced

00:20:48.420 --> 00:20:48.820
 that they

00:20:48.820 --> 00:20:49.560
 are enough.

00:20:50.700 --> 00:20:51.380
 When we

00:20:51.380 --> 00:20:51.920
 face our

00:20:51.920 --> 00:20:52.460
 own death,

00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:53.100
 there is only

00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:54.000
 so far

00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:54.579
 that those

00:20:54.579 --> 00:20:55.299
 good things

00:20:55.299 --> 00:20:55.819
 of medical

00:20:55.819 --> 00:20:56.519
 science,

00:20:57.019 --> 00:20:57.599
 friends and

00:20:57.599 --> 00:20:58.179
 family can

00:20:58.179 --> 00:20:58.879
 help us.

00:21:00.099 --> 00:21:00.599
 There will

00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:00.899
 be a

00:21:00.899 --> 00:21:01.779
 moment where

00:21:01.779 --> 00:21:02.439
 what they

00:21:02.439 --> 00:21:03.000
 do for

00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:03.599
 us just

00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:03.919
 isn't

00:21:03.919 --> 00:21:04.359
 enough.

00:21:05.980 --> 00:21:06.679
 But Jesus

00:21:06.679 --> 00:21:07.259
 shows us

00:21:07.259 --> 00:21:07.539
 a God

00:21:07.539 --> 00:21:07.819
 who's

00:21:07.819 --> 00:21:08.419
 indignant

00:21:08.419 --> 00:21:09.740
 towards

00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:10.000
 death.

00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:10.259
 He's

00:21:10.259 --> 00:21:10.719
 furious

00:21:10.719 --> 00:21:11.159
 about

00:21:11.159 --> 00:21:11.539
 death.

00:21:12.339 --> 00:21:12.579
 His

00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:13.000
 reaction

00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:13.579
 is right

00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:14.179
 and proper

00:21:14.179 --> 00:21:15.079
 and he's

00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:15.719
 defiant

00:21:15.719 --> 00:21:16.299
 against it.

00:21:16.379 --> 00:21:16.699
 He gives

00:21:16.699 --> 00:21:17.059
 not a

00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:17.419
 hopeless

00:21:17.419 --> 00:21:18.019
 cry but

00:21:18.019 --> 00:21:18.559
 a powerful

00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:19.159
 command.

00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:20.939
 And he's

00:21:20.939 --> 00:21:21.379
 dominant

00:21:21.380 --> 00:21:23.160
 over death.

00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:23.960
 He's

00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:24.460
 killed the

00:21:24.460 --> 00:21:24.820
 wolf.

00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:25.820
 He says

00:21:25.820 --> 00:21:26.140
 to you

00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:26.400
 and me,

00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:26.760
 you can

00:21:26.760 --> 00:21:27.500
 trust me

00:21:27.500 --> 00:21:28.760
 with your

00:21:28.760 --> 00:21:29.220
 death.

00:21:30.600 --> 00:21:31.540
 We live

00:21:31.540 --> 00:21:32.820
 and then

00:21:32.820 --> 00:21:33.320
 die.

00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:34.980
 Jesus

00:21:34.980 --> 00:21:35.600
 Christ

00:21:35.600 --> 00:21:36.320
 died

00:21:36.320 --> 00:21:37.720
 and then

00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:38.140
 lived.

00:21:39.260 --> 00:21:39.780
 Let's

00:21:39.780 --> 00:21:40.120
 pray.

00:21:40.120 --> 00:21:40.120


00:21:40.120 --> 00:21:40.120


00:21:40.540 --> 00:21:41.120
 Let's

00:21:41.120 --> 00:21:41.120