WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.540 So what kind of God is Jesus Christ? Is he worth putting your trust in? Is he worth believing in? 00:00:10.539 --> 00:00:20.119 You might remember when we started this series on John, John's Gospel, John gives the aim for writing his Gospel right at the end, doesn't he? 00:00:20.579 --> 00:00:31.140 His aim in writing the Gospel is that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, God's chosen King, and that by believing in him, we would have life in his name. 00:00:31.140 --> 00:00:43.280 And as we come back into John's Gospel, as we continue through it, we come to this passage really where the question is, is Jesus Christ, is this God worth believing in? 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:54.760 Is he worth trusting in? Is he worth going to with the things that we fear the most? Is he worth trusting in, in the face of death? 00:00:54.759 --> 00:01:03.079 What sort of God do you need to give you hope? With that subject that we never really want to talk about, isn't it? 00:01:04.219 --> 00:01:10.920 Jesus arrives in the town of two friends, Mary and Martha, at the funeral of their brother, Lazarus. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:23.299 Now I don't want to be morbid just for the sake of it, but this passage, as we read through it, it forces us, doesn't it, to think about how death has touched us all 00:01:23.299 --> 00:01:29.539 when we've stood at a gravesite, and of course when we think about our own deaths. 00:01:31.159 --> 00:01:35.579 Society tries to hide it away, doesn't it? Or to try and sweeten it. 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:41.259 We don't talk about it, or we make light of it, we kind of use euphemisms like, 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:45.560 oh, he or she, they've gone into the next room, they've passed on. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:52.120 Or maybe we kind of think about death in another way, we think, oh, it's just reincarnation, isn't it? 00:01:53.299 --> 00:01:55.759 You die, but then you reappear as something else. 00:01:56.780 --> 00:02:04.039 Or that in death, everything about you, your body and your soul, just decomposes into a bunch of molecules, 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:07.379 so death really isn't anything to worry about, you don't feel a thing. 00:02:08.079 --> 00:02:11.240 We live, and then we die, and that's it. 00:02:12.819 --> 00:02:15.620 But the Bible speaks about death in a different way. 00:02:15.620 --> 00:02:18.840 The Bible speaks about death like a shadow. 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:22.000 Calls it the shadow of death. 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:27.800 And it's an experience that we instinctively fear. 00:02:28.900 --> 00:02:32.460 It is an evil thing that we instinctively want to avoid, isn't it? 00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:35.379 We try and ignore the darkness of death. 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:43.000 We instinctively anticipate, with fear, the gloom of that shadow, don't we? 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:47.419 Just think of the effort that goes into avoiding it. 00:02:48.219 --> 00:02:53.879 For as long as possible, for as long as we live, we want to avoid death. 00:02:54.580 --> 00:02:57.699 We try and buy ourselves time and health. 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:03.500 And so the question we've got to ask ourselves, and what John forces us to ask, 00:03:03.639 --> 00:03:08.360 is can we trust Jesus to get us through it? 00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:12.320 Who can we trust with are our deaths? 00:03:13.220 --> 00:03:15.000 Can we find real hope in him? 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:22.320 And it turns out that Jesus has got a lot to say on the subject in this passage, among other things. 00:03:22.940 --> 00:03:25.960 And Jesus comes to us here, and he says to us, 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:30.440 you can trust me with your death. 00:03:31.720 --> 00:03:33.440 You must trust me. 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:38.919 There is no one else, or anything else, that you can trust with death. 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:47.939 And there are three ways, I think, here, that Jesus shows us a God that we can hope in, in the face of death. 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:55.439 First of all, Jesus shows us the kind of God who is indignant towards death. 00:03:56.319 --> 00:04:00.319 Jesus is indignant towards death. 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:06.780 So the sisters of the dead man, Lazarus, are there with the whole community, aren't they? 00:04:06.859 --> 00:04:08.180 And emotions are high. 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:14.299 Jesus approaches the graveside, the corpse of his friend, Lazarus. 00:04:14.379 --> 00:04:17.219 And we're told, in verse 35, if you look there, 00:04:17.779 --> 00:04:19.819 that Jesus wept. 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:23.439 It's the shortest verse in the whole Bible. 00:04:23.659 --> 00:04:24.459 Just two words. 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:31.199 You see, with death, God is reduced to tears. 00:04:32.539 --> 00:04:35.939 He feels the pain of death. 00:04:37.219 --> 00:04:40.139 Jesus weeps about death. 00:04:41.259 --> 00:04:45.459 But actually, his reaction is far stronger than just tears. 00:04:45.599 --> 00:04:47.779 If you look back at verse 33, 00:04:48.659 --> 00:04:49.259 if you look there, 00:04:49.259 --> 00:04:51.879 when Jesus saw her weeping, 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:54.259 and the Jews had come with her also weeping, 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:57.060 he was deeply moved in spirit, 00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:59.360 and greatly troubled. 00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:02.939 Deeply moved in spirit, and greatly troubled. 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:07.620 Now this is not just a kind of sentimental response. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:09.680 The word used, 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:11.079 in the original Greek, 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:15.000 can be used for the snorting of a wild animal. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:18.180 Or the snorting of a war horse. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:22.800 And so whilst he can grieve at death, 00:05:22.860 --> 00:05:23.920 as we do, 00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:28.839 Jesus as well is absolutely furious with death. 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:32.660 He is outraged at death. 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:35.800 He is indignant against it. 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:39.100 He sees the effects of death on this world, 00:05:39.800 --> 00:05:41.360 and on his friends around him, 00:05:41.439 --> 00:05:42.920 the effects it has on families. 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:45.460 He sees the weeping, 00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:47.800 and he is indignant towards death. 00:05:49.620 --> 00:05:52.259 Just think for a moment about how different 00:05:52.259 --> 00:05:54.180 Jesus' reaction is, 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:57.340 to the reaction of many that we hear in the world. 00:05:57.460 --> 00:05:59.740 Just think about the atheist reaction. 00:06:00.700 --> 00:06:02.720 The reaction that says there is no God. 00:06:02.819 --> 00:06:04.480 Or the humanist reaction. 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:06.379 So Richard Dawkins, 00:06:07.080 --> 00:06:07.980 famous atheist, 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:08.639 he said, 00:06:08.639 --> 00:06:12.339 In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:13.879 blind physical forces, 00:06:14.099 --> 00:06:15.479 and genetic replication, 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:17.979 some people are going to get hurt, 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:20.259 other people are going to get lucky. 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:24.060 And you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:25.479 nor any justice. 00:06:26.599 --> 00:06:28.199 The universe that we observe 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:30.860 has precisely the properties we should expect 00:06:30.860 --> 00:06:32.199 if there is, at bottom, 00:06:32.300 --> 00:06:33.099 no design, 00:06:33.479 --> 00:06:34.379 no purpose, 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:35.579 no evil, 00:06:35.579 --> 00:06:36.359 no good, 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:39.019 nothing but pitiless indifference. 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:40.939 You see, 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:42.019 at the graveside, 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:43.019 atheism, 00:06:43.339 --> 00:06:45.300 if you push its logic, 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:48.099 it just puts its arm around you 00:06:48.099 --> 00:06:48.860 at the graveside, 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:49.419 and it says, 00:06:49.479 --> 00:06:49.959 oh well, 00:06:50.759 --> 00:06:51.599 some get lucky, 00:06:52.299 --> 00:06:52.979 some don't. 00:06:54.659 --> 00:06:56.599 But do you see how Jesus is different? 00:06:57.979 --> 00:06:59.459 Jesus sees death, 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:01.339 and he is furious with it. 00:07:01.339 --> 00:07:03.539 As God, 00:07:03.619 --> 00:07:04.419 becoming a man, 00:07:04.539 --> 00:07:05.939 he is outraged 00:07:05.939 --> 00:07:07.539 at this intruder. 00:07:08.519 --> 00:07:10.219 Death is not just being unlucky, 00:07:11.259 --> 00:07:11.579 no, 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:12.679 it is wrong. 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:15.259 He is indignant with it. 00:07:16.839 --> 00:07:17.459 Growing up, 00:07:17.479 --> 00:07:19.019 I had a friend who lived on a farm, 00:07:19.979 --> 00:07:21.079 Simon was his name, 00:07:21.179 --> 00:07:22.719 and we used to go and visit this farm, 00:07:22.779 --> 00:07:24.539 and it was a lovely place to go and play, 00:07:24.679 --> 00:07:26.759 there were apple orchards outside, 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:28.500 and lovely kind of things 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:29.459 that you can muck around with 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:31.379 in the fields of machinery 00:07:31.379 --> 00:07:32.659 you could play on. 00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:34.120 But there was one spot, 00:07:34.259 --> 00:07:34.939 as little boys, 00:07:35.019 --> 00:07:36.739 that we weren't allowed to play in. 00:07:37.180 --> 00:07:38.599 It was the kennel house. 00:07:39.719 --> 00:07:41.759 Because in there was Rex, 00:07:42.599 --> 00:07:43.939 the Alsatian. 00:07:44.979 --> 00:07:46.419 I never saw Rex, 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:48.139 but I often heard him. 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:51.000 And he was never let out 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:52.319 when children were around. 00:07:53.539 --> 00:07:55.599 He was a fierce brute of a dog. 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:57.439 And he was designed, 00:07:57.660 --> 00:07:58.260 and raised, 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:00.200 and trained for one thing, 00:08:00.260 --> 00:08:01.300 and for one thing only. 00:08:01.640 --> 00:08:03.060 To guard the stock, 00:08:03.200 --> 00:08:05.280 and the machinery on the farm at night. 00:08:06.100 --> 00:08:07.360 He was chained up, 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:09.300 in the kennels during the day. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:11.080 You see, 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:12.280 what you need, 00:08:12.340 --> 00:08:12.560 isn't it, 00:08:12.580 --> 00:08:14.480 and what you want to trust in, 00:08:14.520 --> 00:08:16.680 when there is the threat of an intruder, 00:08:17.400 --> 00:08:18.300 is a big, 00:08:18.640 --> 00:08:19.560 fierce dog. 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:22.680 Not someone who just says, 00:08:23.139 --> 00:08:23.600 oh well, 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:24.579 these things happen, 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:26.160 shrugs their shoulders, 00:08:26.339 --> 00:08:27.579 and sort of goes back to sleep. 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:30.420 You need a big dog, 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:32.919 who is angry with intruders. 00:08:34.700 --> 00:08:36.659 And Jesus shows us a God, 00:08:36.759 --> 00:08:37.759 who gives us hope, 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:39.399 because he is indignant, 00:08:39.559 --> 00:08:40.919 towards our greatest enemy. 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:43.919 He doesn't just shrug his shoulders, 00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:44.720 at the graveside, 00:08:44.779 --> 00:08:45.100 does he? 00:08:45.419 --> 00:08:45.740 Well, 00:08:45.820 --> 00:08:46.940 we all go there in the end, 00:08:47.019 --> 00:08:47.360 don't we? 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:49.860 Death is a natural part of life. 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:52.379 Some people get unlucky. 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:53.100 No. 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:55.580 How dare you? 00:08:56.220 --> 00:08:57.259 He says to death. 00:08:58.120 --> 00:08:59.159 He is deeply moved, 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:00.060 and greatly troubled. 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:00.899 He snorts, 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:01.980 like a wild animal. 00:09:02.899 --> 00:09:03.720 He is indignant, 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:04.659 towards death. 00:09:05.460 --> 00:09:06.519 He hates death. 00:09:08.100 --> 00:09:09.480 And that is the sort of person, 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:10.080 we need, 00:09:10.139 --> 00:09:10.600 isn't it, 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:12.340 as we face death. 00:09:13.379 --> 00:09:14.840 Someone who sees death, 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:15.519 for what it is, 00:09:15.580 --> 00:09:16.500 and gives death, 00:09:16.500 --> 00:09:18.120 the reaction that it deserves. 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:19.820 And so Jesus says, 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:21.700 that is one reason you can trust me, 00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:23.299 with your death. 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:24.179 He is indignant, 00:09:24.179 --> 00:09:24.919 towards it. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:26.940 Secondly, 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:28.259 Jesus shows us, 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:28.919 the kind of God, 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:30.100 who is defiant, 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:31.179 towards death. 00:09:32.120 --> 00:09:32.940 He is defiant, 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:33.799 towards death. 00:09:35.299 --> 00:09:36.679 We can be angry, 00:09:36.840 --> 00:09:37.360 can't we? 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:39.039 With death. 00:09:39.139 --> 00:09:39.480 But that, 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:40.879 that might not change, 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:41.679 anything actually. 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:43.539 But Jesus, 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:44.580 he is angry, 00:09:44.580 --> 00:09:45.580 but he goes further, 00:09:45.580 --> 00:09:46.200 than that. 00:09:47.500 --> 00:09:47.900 Notice, 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:49.240 he prays a prayer, 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:50.200 at the graveside. 00:09:50.300 --> 00:09:51.620 Just look at verse 43. 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:53.840 When he said these things, 00:09:53.920 --> 00:09:54.740 he cried out, 00:09:54.800 --> 00:09:55.860 with a loud voice, 00:09:56.900 --> 00:09:57.800 Lazarus, 00:09:58.180 --> 00:09:58.960 come out. 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:01.280 Lazarus. 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:03.860 I don't know, 00:10:03.900 --> 00:10:04.860 if you've been to a funeral, 00:10:05.020 --> 00:10:05.860 where the name, 00:10:05.900 --> 00:10:07.320 of the deceased person, 00:10:07.379 --> 00:10:08.540 has been called out. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:09.440 Can happen, 00:10:09.560 --> 00:10:09.900 can't it? 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:11.080 It's an awkward moment. 00:10:12.060 --> 00:10:12.980 But it does happen, 00:10:13.080 --> 00:10:14.379 people get really emotional, 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:15.360 at a funeral, 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:16.540 and they shout out, 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:17.500 all sorts of things, 00:10:17.560 --> 00:10:18.300 in their grief. 00:10:20.040 --> 00:10:21.280 Funerals tend to be places, 00:10:21.280 --> 00:10:22.160 where people lose, 00:10:22.220 --> 00:10:22.960 their inhibitions, 00:10:23.060 --> 00:10:23.379 isn't it? 00:10:23.440 --> 00:10:23.920 And so, 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.080 is Jesus here, 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:25.660 just, 00:10:26.280 --> 00:10:27.300 in his grief, 00:10:27.420 --> 00:10:28.780 just shouting out, 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:30.379 in a reaction, 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:31.820 Lazarus, 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:33.000 I wish you were alive. 00:10:33.280 --> 00:10:33.680 Come out, 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:34.300 Lazarus. 00:10:36.040 --> 00:10:36.640 But then, 00:10:36.640 --> 00:10:37.800 we get one of the most, 00:10:38.160 --> 00:10:38.640 shocking verses, 00:10:38.800 --> 00:10:39.259 in the Bible, 00:10:39.400 --> 00:10:39.700 don't we? 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:40.580 Verse 44, 00:10:40.580 --> 00:10:43.259 the man who had died, 00:10:43.820 --> 00:10:44.420 came out. 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:48.259 The big claim here, 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:48.660 is that, 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:50.020 as Jesus shouts, 00:10:50.120 --> 00:10:50.879 it is not just, 00:10:50.920 --> 00:10:52.180 a hopeless cry, 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:53.660 at a funeral, 00:10:53.860 --> 00:10:54.680 grief stricken, 00:10:55.420 --> 00:10:56.120 it is not, 00:10:56.160 --> 00:10:57.580 a hopeless call, 00:10:57.940 --> 00:10:59.020 but it is, 00:10:59.040 --> 00:11:00.440 a powerful command, 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:02.480 to the dead man. 00:11:04.379 --> 00:11:05.000 It's not, 00:11:05.100 --> 00:11:05.740 an easy thing, 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:06.180 to believe, 00:11:06.340 --> 00:11:06.680 is it? 00:11:06.800 --> 00:11:07.420 It's not easy, 00:11:07.540 --> 00:11:07.860 to believe, 00:11:07.940 --> 00:11:08.420 dead men, 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:09.320 don't just get up, 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:09.780 and walk, 00:11:09.860 --> 00:11:10.160 do they? 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:10.959 You cannot, 00:11:10.959 --> 00:11:12.199 speak to a corpse, 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:13.699 and get a response. 00:11:14.259 --> 00:11:15.519 But when Jesus shouts, 00:11:15.579 --> 00:11:16.199 it's not just, 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:17.360 a hopeless cry, 00:11:18.379 --> 00:11:19.600 it's a powerful command. 00:11:21.539 --> 00:11:22.620 The New Testament, 00:11:22.839 --> 00:11:23.439 speaks about, 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:23.919 Christians, 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:24.879 who have died, 00:11:25.019 --> 00:11:25.379 and it, 00:11:25.379 --> 00:11:26.360 describes them, 00:11:26.419 --> 00:11:28.019 with a strange phrase. 00:11:29.079 --> 00:11:30.019 It calls them, 00:11:30.679 --> 00:11:31.579 those who have, 00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:32.740 fallen asleep. 00:11:33.679 --> 00:11:34.379 Those who've, 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:35.120 fallen asleep. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:37.639 And it does that, 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:39.480 because Jesus' voice, 00:11:39.659 --> 00:11:41.139 is so powerful, 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:44.019 that in death, 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:45.580 when he calls people, 00:11:45.659 --> 00:11:46.539 from death, 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:47.379 it's as if they've, 00:11:47.500 --> 00:11:48.299 just been napping. 00:11:49.560 --> 00:11:51.120 They've just been snoozing. 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:53.539 And it's a command, 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:54.039 isn't it? 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:55.000 Come out, 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:55.700 Lazarus. 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:57.220 Rise and shine. 00:11:58.139 --> 00:11:58.500 Wakey, 00:11:58.539 --> 00:11:58.980 wakey. 00:11:58.980 --> 00:12:01.720 It's been said that, 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:03.279 had Jesus not used, 00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:04.659 the name Lazarus, 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:06.639 then everyone in the graves, 00:12:06.680 --> 00:12:07.279 in the graveyard, 00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:08.620 would have come back to life. 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:10.820 And if it's true, 00:12:10.920 --> 00:12:11.420 this man, 00:12:11.539 --> 00:12:11.779 Jesus, 00:12:11.920 --> 00:12:12.840 shows us a God, 00:12:12.940 --> 00:12:13.759 who you can trust, 00:12:13.820 --> 00:12:14.480 with your death. 00:12:15.539 --> 00:12:16.600 He is indignant, 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:17.480 he's angry, 00:12:17.680 --> 00:12:18.220 at death, 00:12:18.279 --> 00:12:19.500 and he has the power, 00:12:19.580 --> 00:12:20.759 to do something about it. 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:23.139 To be fair, 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:24.240 we can all get angry, 00:12:24.419 --> 00:12:24.700 with death, 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:25.159 can't we? 00:12:25.259 --> 00:12:26.360 But all we can do, 00:12:26.419 --> 00:12:27.580 is cry out in grief. 00:12:28.700 --> 00:12:29.899 But he cries out, 00:12:29.980 --> 00:12:31.159 with a powerful command. 00:12:32.580 --> 00:12:33.399 He's indignant, 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:34.659 he's defiant. 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:37.600 And thirdly and lastly, 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:38.740 Jesus shows us, 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:39.580 the kind of God, 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:41.399 who is dominant, 00:12:42.319 --> 00:12:43.080 over death. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:44.899 He is dominant, 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:45.740 over death. 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:48.980 Has Mary, 00:12:48.980 --> 00:12:50.179 just witnessed, 00:12:50.179 --> 00:12:51.879 a magic trick. 00:12:53.159 --> 00:12:54.159 Is this some kind of, 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:55.500 Paul Daniels, 00:12:55.500 --> 00:12:56.979 David Blaine trick? 00:12:58.659 --> 00:12:59.219 Well, 00:12:59.459 --> 00:13:00.579 we know that it isn't, 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:01.659 because we read about, 00:13:01.779 --> 00:13:02.799 another Mary, 00:13:03.579 --> 00:13:05.239 at another gravesite, 00:13:05.500 --> 00:13:06.659 later in John's Gospel. 00:13:06.979 --> 00:13:07.559 And it's another, 00:13:07.679 --> 00:13:08.779 very similar story, 00:13:08.899 --> 00:13:09.939 in chapter 20. 00:13:10.919 --> 00:13:11.859 You can read, 00:13:11.979 --> 00:13:12.399 again, 00:13:12.479 --> 00:13:13.459 about another grave, 00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:15.379 the grave of Jesus Christ, 00:13:16.359 --> 00:13:18.179 three days after he's executed. 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:19.339 And it's a really, 00:13:19.340 --> 00:13:20.040 really similar scene, 00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:20.340 isn't it? 00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:21.220 There is a Mary, 00:13:21.660 --> 00:13:22.780 outside a tomb, 00:13:22.899 --> 00:13:23.340 weeping. 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:25.620 And in chapter 20, 00:13:25.740 --> 00:13:26.460 verse 11, 00:13:27.460 --> 00:13:28.860 she is there, 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:29.620 in John's Gospel. 00:13:29.940 --> 00:13:30.540 And then, 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:32.580 with just one word, 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:33.759 she realises, 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:34.720 the dominance, 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:35.820 of Jesus Christ, 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:36.780 over death. 00:13:36.779 --> 00:13:36.899 death. 00:13:37.899 --> 00:13:38.779 In one word, 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:39.720 she turns round, 00:13:39.899 --> 00:13:40.779 he turns round, 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:41.360 and says, 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:42.179 Mary. 00:13:44.419 --> 00:13:45.959 The resurrected Jesus, 00:13:46.159 --> 00:13:46.919 calls to her. 00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:50.159 And Jesus' defiance, 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:51.159 towards death, 00:13:52.019 --> 00:13:53.679 is seen most wonderfully, 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:54.120 isn't it? 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:55.379 As he himself, 00:13:56.059 --> 00:13:57.459 goes to a physical death, 00:13:57.500 --> 00:13:58.159 on the cross, 00:13:58.620 --> 00:13:59.699 he rots in a tomb, 00:13:59.779 --> 00:14:00.480 for three days, 00:14:00.539 --> 00:14:01.779 and then he rises again. 00:14:01.779 --> 00:14:04.059 He himself, 00:14:04.259 --> 00:14:05.659 dominates over death. 00:14:07.059 --> 00:14:08.179 He is the kind of God, 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:09.699 who actually experiences, 00:14:09.699 --> 00:14:11.539 the thing that we are afraid of, 00:14:11.819 --> 00:14:13.000 and he wins. 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:15.079 Now, 00:14:15.079 --> 00:14:16.139 I've used this story before, 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:18.100 but I think it illustrates the point. 00:14:18.199 --> 00:14:18.879 Just imagine, 00:14:19.740 --> 00:14:21.459 in a bizarre chain of events, 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:22.600 that we had to kind of, 00:14:22.699 --> 00:14:23.699 stop this talk, 00:14:24.439 --> 00:14:24.779 immediately, 00:14:24.779 --> 00:14:25.500 immediately, 00:14:25.819 --> 00:14:26.839 because somehow, 00:14:27.179 --> 00:14:27.939 a wolf, 00:14:28.100 --> 00:14:29.220 from Hanwell Zoo, 00:14:29.319 --> 00:14:29.980 had escaped, 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:31.819 and made its way down, 00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:32.579 Uxbridge Road, 00:14:32.699 --> 00:14:33.679 and it was hanging around, 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:34.459 in Ealing Broadway. 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:37.079 We've got to lock the door, 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:38.179 and we've got to wait, 00:14:38.299 --> 00:14:39.339 for the RSPCA, 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:40.139 or someone to come, 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:41.039 and rescue us. 00:14:41.699 --> 00:14:43.399 But in a display of bravery, 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:44.699 David Jones, 00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:46.339 gets up at the front, 00:14:46.419 --> 00:14:46.779 and he says, 00:14:46.839 --> 00:14:47.360 no, no, no, no, 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:48.699 don't wait for the RSPCA, 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:50.079 I'm going to get rid of the wolf. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:52.159 I'm going to go out there, 00:14:52.199 --> 00:14:53.259 and I'm going to kill the wolf, 00:14:53.339 --> 00:14:53.819 myself. 00:14:54.779 --> 00:14:56.059 So it's David, 00:14:56.279 --> 00:14:57.120 versus the wolf. 00:14:57.399 --> 00:14:58.019 Sorry David. 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:00.319 So he disappears off, 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:01.159 he goes around the corner, 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:03.779 and then we hear some shouting, 00:15:04.579 --> 00:15:06.000 and we hear some howling, 00:15:06.620 --> 00:15:08.059 and then there's a silence. 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:10.039 Who's won? 00:15:10.939 --> 00:15:12.179 We don't know, do we? 00:15:12.740 --> 00:15:14.439 The only way that we're going to know, 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:15.319 who's won, 00:15:16.179 --> 00:15:17.939 is if either the wolf, 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:19.120 or David, 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:20.860 reappears around the corner. 00:15:22.319 --> 00:15:23.399 And so when David, 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:24.459 walks back around, 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:25.800 and he knocks on the glass, 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:28.500 we all know, 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:29.019 won't we, 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:31.379 that David has won, 00:15:32.300 --> 00:15:33.879 and that he has defeated the wolf. 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:37.700 And that is the wonder of the resurrection, 00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:38.680 of the Lord Jesus, 00:15:38.820 --> 00:15:39.240 isn't it? 00:15:40.440 --> 00:15:41.400 As someone has said, 00:15:41.519 --> 00:15:42.220 it isn't that, 00:15:42.460 --> 00:15:44.240 it isn't just that Jesus is alive, 00:15:44.379 --> 00:15:45.560 but that he's risen, 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:46.540 that is wonderful. 00:15:46.539 --> 00:15:48.819 That he is back. 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:51.199 He's back from the dead. 00:15:51.319 --> 00:15:53.860 He's back from killing the wolf. 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:56.980 John Scott said, 00:15:57.059 --> 00:15:58.559 we live and then die, 00:15:59.439 --> 00:16:01.219 but Jesus Christ died, 00:16:01.299 --> 00:16:02.219 and then lives. 00:16:02.219 --> 00:16:03.299 He's back. 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:06.219 His resurrection says, 00:16:06.379 --> 00:16:07.779 you can trust me, 00:16:08.099 --> 00:16:09.219 with your death. 00:16:09.220 --> 00:16:10.220 Now, 00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:13.560 if you struggle with the validity, 00:16:13.560 --> 00:16:14.620 of the resurrection, 00:16:15.720 --> 00:16:17.259 just think about the testimony, 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:18.200 of the apostles, 00:16:18.540 --> 00:16:19.440 who preached, 00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:21.639 the message of the resurrection. 00:16:23.560 --> 00:16:25.560 In the 1970s, 00:16:26.379 --> 00:16:28.220 dozens of high-ranking officials, 00:16:28.220 --> 00:16:29.840 from the Nixon administration, 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:30.779 were shamed, 00:16:30.899 --> 00:16:32.000 by now what's known as, 00:16:32.139 --> 00:16:33.519 the Watergate stat scandal, 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:34.000 isn't it? 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:37.059 And it's come to symbolise, 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:38.960 the investigation that took place, 00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:41.659 on allegations of phone bugging, 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:43.379 and government cover-ups. 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:45.039 And it led to Nixon's resignation, 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:45.659 didn't it, 00:16:45.659 --> 00:16:46.500 in 1974. 00:16:47.440 --> 00:16:47.620 Now, 00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:48.679 Charles Colton, 00:16:49.399 --> 00:16:51.200 was special counsel, 00:16:51.340 --> 00:16:51.960 to the president, 00:16:52.100 --> 00:16:53.179 for public liaison, 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:54.419 during that time. 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:55.440 And afterwards, 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:56.379 he said, 00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:59.379 I know that the resurrection, 00:16:59.720 --> 00:17:00.360 is a fact, 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:02.519 and Watergate, 00:17:02.659 --> 00:17:03.679 proved it to me. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:05.640 How do you make that connection? 00:17:06.019 --> 00:17:06.460 He says, 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:06.920 well, 00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:08.700 twelve men testified, 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:10.220 that they'd seen Jesus, 00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:11.420 raised from the dead. 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:14.220 Then they proclaimed that truth, 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:15.500 for forty years, 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:17.440 never once denying it. 00:17:18.599 --> 00:17:19.519 Every one of them, 00:17:19.660 --> 00:17:20.160 was beaten, 00:17:20.779 --> 00:17:21.200 tortured, 00:17:21.539 --> 00:17:21.900 stoned, 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:22.779 and put in prison. 00:17:23.740 --> 00:17:24.640 And they would not, 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:25.700 have endured that, 00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:26.900 if it weren't true. 00:17:28.440 --> 00:17:29.079 Watergate, 00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:29.960 on the other hand, 00:17:30.099 --> 00:17:31.240 embroiled twelve, 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:32.599 of the most powerful men, 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:33.299 in the world, 00:17:33.299 --> 00:17:34.379 and they couldn't, 00:17:34.379 --> 00:17:35.000 keep a lie, 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:36.019 for twelve weeks. 00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:36.419 Sorry, 00:17:36.500 --> 00:17:37.139 three weeks. 00:17:38.119 --> 00:17:38.779 You're telling me, 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:39.759 that twelve apostles, 00:17:40.139 --> 00:17:41.119 could keep a lie, 00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:42.299 that they knew was a lie, 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:43.460 for forty years? 00:17:44.299 --> 00:17:45.519 Absolutely impossible, 00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:46.759 Colton says. 00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:49.119 The resurrection, 00:17:49.339 --> 00:17:50.240 of Jesus Christ, 00:17:50.319 --> 00:17:51.240 is unprecedented, 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:51.960 isn't it? 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:53.639 And men, 00:17:53.700 --> 00:17:54.019 and women, 00:17:54.019 --> 00:17:54.879 will often die, 00:17:54.980 --> 00:17:55.399 for things, 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:56.460 that they believe in. 00:17:56.460 --> 00:17:59.140 But to knowingly die, 00:17:59.140 --> 00:17:59.759 for something, 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:00.600 that you know, 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:01.600 to be a lie, 00:18:01.779 --> 00:18:02.840 is unheard of, 00:18:02.900 --> 00:18:03.299 isn't it? 00:18:05.420 --> 00:18:06.720 Somebody asked me recently, 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:07.420 what is it, 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:08.840 that sets Christianity, 00:18:08.840 --> 00:18:10.819 apart from all other religions? 00:18:11.059 --> 00:18:11.259 Well, 00:18:11.500 --> 00:18:12.759 the answer is simple, 00:18:12.880 --> 00:18:13.940 it is the resurrection, 00:18:15.259 --> 00:18:16.360 among other things. 00:18:17.600 --> 00:18:18.240 That Jesus, 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:19.400 is defiant, 00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:20.820 and, 00:18:20.900 --> 00:18:21.780 he is dominant, 00:18:22.380 --> 00:18:23.660 over our greatest enemy. 00:18:26.100 --> 00:18:26.360 And so, 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:27.160 let me ask you, 00:18:27.240 --> 00:18:27.960 as we close, 00:18:28.060 --> 00:18:29.380 who can you trust, 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:30.500 with your own death? 00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:33.820 Christopher Hitchens, 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:35.060 another atheist, 00:18:35.259 --> 00:18:36.080 he's died now, 00:18:36.120 --> 00:18:36.519 hasn't he? 00:18:37.800 --> 00:18:38.940 Before his death, 00:18:38.980 --> 00:18:39.320 he said, 00:18:39.320 --> 00:18:40.380 I don't trust, 00:18:40.900 --> 00:18:42.280 false consolations, 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:42.920 of religion. 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:44.820 I trust, 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:45.960 in medical science, 00:18:46.080 --> 00:18:46.640 and the support, 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:47.680 of friends and family, 00:18:47.780 --> 00:18:48.180 he said. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:49.860 That's who he trusted, 00:18:49.960 --> 00:18:50.680 with his death. 00:18:52.019 --> 00:18:53.039 And friends and family, 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:54.039 they are good things, 00:18:54.060 --> 00:18:54.519 aren't they? 00:18:55.460 --> 00:18:56.840 But they are not enough. 00:18:58.480 --> 00:18:59.880 When we face, 00:18:59.880 --> 00:19:00.900 our own death, 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:01.660 and the death, 00:19:01.740 --> 00:19:02.960 of those that we love, 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:05.120 there is only so much, 00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:06.220 that friends and family, 00:19:06.360 --> 00:19:07.400 and doctors can do, 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:07.900 isn't there? 00:19:08.980 --> 00:19:10.019 And there will come a moment, 00:19:10.019 --> 00:19:11.360 where what all of those, 00:19:11.539 --> 00:19:12.680 people and things can do, 00:19:12.700 --> 00:19:13.340 isn't enough. 00:19:14.840 --> 00:19:16.500 But Jesus comes to us here, 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:17.220 and he says to us, 00:19:17.220 --> 00:19:19.039 you can trust me, 00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:20.480 completely, 00:19:21.299 --> 00:19:22.460 with your death. 00:19:23.900 --> 00:19:24.819 We live, 00:19:24.900 --> 00:19:25.640 and then we die, 00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:27.460 but Jesus Christ, 00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:28.200 died, 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:29.380 and then he lived. 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:32.120 And he is indignant, 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:34.160 he is furious, 00:19:34.160 --> 00:19:34.839 at death. 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:36.980 He doesn't just sit back, 00:19:37.059 --> 00:19:37.420 and say, 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:38.019 oh well, 00:19:38.500 --> 00:19:39.559 just stick the telly on, 00:19:39.620 --> 00:19:40.500 and forget about it. 00:19:40.500 --> 00:19:43.279 And he is defiant. 00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:45.599 He gives not just, 00:19:45.660 --> 00:19:47.119 a hopeless cry of grief, 00:19:47.220 --> 00:19:48.640 but a powerful command, 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:51.099 to raise his people, 00:19:51.299 --> 00:19:52.140 from the dead. 00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:53.880 And finally, 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.000 he is dominant. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:57.960 Jesus is the big dog, 00:19:58.160 --> 00:19:58.539 isn't he? 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:00.299 Who kills off the wolf. 00:20:01.880 --> 00:20:02.920 And so he says, 00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:03.799 you can, 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:05.799 trust me in your death. 00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:08.000 Let us pray.