WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.140 Well, good morning to all of you, especially if you are joining us for the first time, 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:11.620 if you're here from out of town, visiting, maybe here for one of the baptisms. 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:14.339 We're so delighted that you're here to celebrate Easter with us. 00:00:14.660 --> 00:00:17.780 I don't know if you can tell by the energy in the room, but this is a service that we 00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:19.000 look forward to all year. 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:21.980 Easter is a really big deal, right? 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:28.339 Easter is a holiday that most people look forward to and celebrate, regardless of what 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:31.179 they believe, if they consider themselves to be religious or not. 00:00:32.060 --> 00:00:37.780 Most people love Easter, and so it's easy because of that, because it's so widely loved 00:00:37.780 --> 00:00:42.939 and celebrated, it's easy to lose sight of what it actually means. 00:00:44.780 --> 00:00:49.379 It's easy to lose sight of the fact that if we actually take time to understand the meaning 00:00:49.379 --> 00:00:54.620 of Easter, it has the power to completely transform our hearts and lives. 00:00:54.619 --> 00:00:58.320 It goes way beyond just another holiday. 00:00:58.959 --> 00:01:03.299 So this morning, what we're going to do is look at this passage in Mark chapter 16 that 00:01:03.299 --> 00:01:04.099 Jeff just read. 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:10.939 Mark is likely the earliest gospel account to be written down, probably sometime between 00:01:10.939 --> 00:01:16.700 60 and 70 AD, within the lifetime of people who were there on that first Easter. 00:01:16.939 --> 00:01:21.500 So we're going to look at this passage together, and we're going to see that Easter is about 00:01:21.500 --> 00:01:22.500 three things. 00:01:23.500 --> 00:01:25.340 Easter is about mystery. 00:01:26.379 --> 00:01:29.420 It presents us with a mystery that we have to wrestle with. 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:30.760 It's about mercy. 00:01:31.799 --> 00:01:33.939 And finally, it's about mission. 00:01:35.260 --> 00:01:41.519 Easter reorients us toward a new set of purposes that God has laid out for our lives. 00:01:41.599 --> 00:01:44.900 So mystery, mercy, mission. 00:01:45.079 --> 00:01:45.560 Let's pray. 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:52.840 Lord, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for Easter, and we pray that by your grace 00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:58.579 and in the power of the Holy Spirit, you would open our hearts to the truth of Easter. 00:01:59.299 --> 00:02:05.079 Lord, that we would leave here changed as a result of that, as a result of these hallelujahs 00:02:05.079 --> 00:02:11.659 and these resurrection praises, Lord, that this would continue to ring in our hearts, Lord, 00:02:11.659 --> 00:02:13.979 long after we depart from this service. 00:02:14.060 --> 00:02:15.799 We pray this in your Son's holy name. 00:02:16.099 --> 00:02:16.400 Amen. 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:21.280 So first of all, the mystery of Easter. 00:02:21.539 --> 00:02:31.019 From our vantage point, in 2024, in a place like D.C. or wherever you have come from, from 00:02:31.019 --> 00:02:39.060 our vantage point, it's very easy to look back into history and to imagine all kinds of scenarios 00:02:39.060 --> 00:02:43.199 around the claims of the resurrection. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:46.599 You know, the early Christians had lost their leader. 00:02:47.360 --> 00:02:54.140 They wanted to keep the movement going, so they started spreading this idea that Jesus 00:02:54.140 --> 00:02:57.539 rose from death to lend legitimacy to their movement. 00:02:58.699 --> 00:02:58.879 Right? 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:00.719 Various versions of that. 00:03:00.860 --> 00:03:07.300 That's honestly what I thought for years before I came to faith and became a Christian. 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:13.360 My assumption is that the early followers of Jesus, they weren't ready for the movement 00:03:13.360 --> 00:03:19.240 to die, and so they started spreading this idea, Jesus is alive, Jesus is alive, to keep 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:19.939 things going. 00:03:21.700 --> 00:03:26.500 On closer examination, we see right away that that starts to fall apart. 00:03:26.660 --> 00:03:28.420 It just simply can't be the case. 00:03:28.419 --> 00:03:33.979 Let's imagine for a moment that we are the gospel writer, Mark. 00:03:34.379 --> 00:03:39.619 And imagine that we're wanting to sit down and write an account that will convince the 00:03:39.619 --> 00:03:41.719 world that Jesus has risen. 00:03:43.379 --> 00:03:49.979 Already in Mark's gospel, up to this point, Jesus has clearly told his disciples multiple 00:03:49.979 --> 00:03:50.639 times. 00:03:50.959 --> 00:03:57.339 In chapter 8, in chapter 9, in chapter 10, here's what Jesus says. 00:03:57.340 --> 00:03:59.680 He says to his disciples, here's what's going to happen. 00:04:00.700 --> 00:04:01.700 I'm going to suffer. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:03.640 I'm going to be killed. 00:04:04.379 --> 00:04:07.939 And then after three days, I'm going to rise again. 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:14.580 So if you're Mark and you get to this part of the story, chapter 16, what would you be 00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:15.800 inclined to say? 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:23.540 You would be inclined to say, well, after Jesus' crucifixion, all of his disciples remembered 00:04:23.540 --> 00:04:27.740 his words, and so they waited patiently for three days. 00:04:28.700 --> 00:04:32.220 And on Easter Sunday, they all walked arm in arm down to the tomb. 00:04:33.280 --> 00:04:37.220 And there was Jesus waiting for him just as he had promised. 00:04:37.700 --> 00:04:43.960 And they all hugged, and they laughed, and they sang, and they rang bells, and they all 00:04:43.960 --> 00:04:45.300 lived happily ever after. 00:04:45.500 --> 00:04:49.000 If you're Mark, that's the story that you're going to want to tell. 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:52.699 But that's not what he says. 00:04:54.339 --> 00:04:54.459 Right? 00:04:54.540 --> 00:04:56.500 The disciples are nowhere to be found. 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:02.459 Instead, we have these women, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:10.600 And I hate to say it, but if you're making up a story that's going to become the foundation 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:17.160 of your entire religion, you want it to be credible, and you want it to be convincing. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:25.520 And if that's your agenda, I hate to say it, but in this time, in this place, in this culture, 00:05:26.080 --> 00:05:30.800 you would never want to say that the primary witnesses to the foundational event that will 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:34.320 give legitimacy to your entire religion were women. 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:39.819 A woman's testimony didn't have any credibility in this culture. 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:46.459 And Mark had to have known that writing this would immediately undermine the credibility 00:05:46.459 --> 00:05:47.620 of his entire gospel. 00:05:48.659 --> 00:05:53.740 So the only explanation is that Mark is not actually making this up. 00:05:54.039 --> 00:05:59.639 He's writing down, and maybe cringing while he does it, the things that actually happened. 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:07.860 And then we notice that these women, when the Sabbath ends, the sun goes down on Saturday 00:06:07.860 --> 00:06:09.419 night, they're going to buy spices. 00:06:09.639 --> 00:06:10.819 Why are they going to buy spices? 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:19.319 So that they can finish the burial procedure by anointing Jesus' body. 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:23.759 They use spices to cover the smell of decomposition. 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:33.339 Because ideally, eventually other bodies would be placed in the same tomb where Jesus' body had 00:06:33.339 --> 00:06:33.899 been placed. 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:37.659 The point is, they're expecting to see a dead body. 00:06:38.719 --> 00:06:41.339 And they are completely unprepared for what happens. 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:44.099 They arrive early Sunday morning. 00:06:45.139 --> 00:06:47.019 They see this massive stone. 00:06:47.139 --> 00:06:49.500 They've been worrying about how are we going to move the stone. 00:06:49.599 --> 00:06:50.620 It's been rolled away. 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:58.180 And then they see a young man in a white robe, and this man says, you seek Jesus of Nazareth, 00:06:58.199 --> 00:06:59.280 who was crucified. 00:07:00.379 --> 00:07:01.019 He's risen. 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:02.560 He's not here. 00:07:03.780 --> 00:07:05.379 See the place where they laid him. 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:07.840 And look at their reaction. 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:08.740 Again, you're Mark. 00:07:08.819 --> 00:07:09.600 You're writing this down. 00:07:09.699 --> 00:07:10.939 Foundation of your whole religion. 00:07:11.699 --> 00:07:13.579 Look at the reaction of these women. 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:14.660 It's not joy. 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:16.199 It's not celebration. 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:19.180 It's shock. 00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:20.360 It's alarm. 00:07:20.620 --> 00:07:23.500 It's stunned silence. 00:07:25.019 --> 00:07:27.939 This is how Mark ends his gospel account. 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:33.399 The women see the empty tomb, and they're so terrified that they are trembling, and they 00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:36.379 cannot speak, and they run away in fear. 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:37.639 The end. 00:07:39.899 --> 00:07:45.560 This is because nobody in the ancient world anywhere believed in the bodily resurrection 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:47.660 of an individual. 00:07:47.660 --> 00:07:56.060 The Jews believed in a kind of national corporate resurrection at the end of all time when God 00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:57.980 restored the heavens and the earth. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:03.700 The Greeks speculated about other places where one might go after death. 00:08:04.540 --> 00:08:10.900 There were platonic ideas and stoic ideas about other worlds or some form of afterlife that we 00:08:10.899 --> 00:08:11.599 might enter into. 00:08:11.599 --> 00:08:21.639 As the historian N.T. Wright has said, the discovery that dead people stayed dead was not made by the philosophers of the 00:08:21.639 --> 00:08:22.039 enlightenment. 00:08:23.579 --> 00:08:29.719 Christianity was born into a world where everybody knew that its central claim was ridiculous. 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:31.760 Let me just say that again. 00:08:31.760 --> 00:08:38.680 Christianity was born into a world where everybody knew that its central claim was ridiculous. 00:08:39.160 --> 00:08:40.940 The early Christians knew it themselves. 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:51.560 So the idea that the resurrection was somehow concocted by Christians looking for legitimacy just doesn't hold any water. 00:08:51.760 --> 00:08:54.460 The idea itself sounded absurd. 00:08:56.040 --> 00:09:05.060 And what's more, the early Christians were ridiculed, and they were mocked, and they were tortured, and they were killed for making this claim. 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:08.959 They gained nothing by it. 00:09:09.299 --> 00:09:11.339 They suffered because of it. 00:09:13.259 --> 00:09:15.639 So the implication is this. 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:26.859 We need to resist the temptation to flatten the mystery of Easter by reducing it into spiritual platitudes and metaphors. 00:09:28.079 --> 00:09:34.379 Where people say, well, you know, Easter is really about the teachings of Jesus living on in our hearts. 00:09:35.059 --> 00:09:39.859 If they live on in us, then he lives on in us. 00:09:39.899 --> 00:09:44.619 Or people saying, well, Easter is really about how good things can come out of suffering. 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:48.859 Or people saying, you know, Easter is really about new beginnings. 00:09:50.239 --> 00:09:52.239 It's about reinventing ourselves. 00:09:54.579 --> 00:09:59.219 Now, maybe you think those are nice ideas, and they're nice ideas, but they have almost nothing to do with Easter. 00:09:59.220 --> 00:10:06.860 Easter confronts the world with a profound and fearsome mystery. 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:13.500 A man went into a tomb dead, and then he came out of the tomb alive. 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:15.680 I like it. 00:10:15.700 --> 00:10:16.259 Let's try it again. 00:10:16.560 --> 00:10:21.279 A man went into the tomb dead, and he came out of the tomb alive. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:21.720 Amen. 00:10:24.339 --> 00:10:24.699 Amen. 00:10:24.899 --> 00:10:30.980 Now, everybody, everybody, every human being on the planet has to answer the question of the resurrection. 00:10:32.500 --> 00:10:34.839 I don't care if you're religious, not religious. 00:10:34.959 --> 00:10:36.039 I don't care if you grew up Christian. 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:37.220 This is your first time in a church. 00:10:37.339 --> 00:10:39.279 I don't care where you come from in the world. 00:10:40.579 --> 00:10:42.819 I don't care what your tradition and background may be. 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:46.079 There's a huge variety of those things represented in this room. 00:10:46.500 --> 00:10:47.259 I have no doubt. 00:10:47.259 --> 00:10:54.059 Now, every single man, woman, and child on the planet has to answer the question of the resurrection, 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:56.919 the mystery that Easter confronts the world with. 00:10:57.139 --> 00:10:58.639 Did it happen or not? 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:04.399 So, everybody, at some point in your life, you have to be willing to look at the evidence, 00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:05.860 and there's a lot of evidence. 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:09.799 There's great, a lot of great work that's been done on this. 00:11:09.899 --> 00:11:13.600 I mentioned N.T. Wright, his book, The Resurrection of the Son of God. 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:18.500 If you've got the time and the energy, it's worth working through it. 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:22.180 Everybody has to look at the evidence and decide, did it happen or not? 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:24.120 Because here's the thing. 00:11:25.779 --> 00:11:30.279 If it didn't happen, just take it from me. 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:32.180 Don't waste your time with Christianity. 00:11:33.740 --> 00:11:36.639 I mean, there's not much to it apart from that. 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:40.180 Go figure out what you think will make you happy. 00:11:40.300 --> 00:11:40.860 Go do that. 00:11:40.860 --> 00:11:42.519 If it didn't happen. 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:49.519 If it did happen, right, if a man went in dead and he came out alive, 00:11:51.159 --> 00:11:56.519 that means that Jesus is the single most important person in history. 00:11:56.820 --> 00:11:59.539 That means that all of this is true. 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:05.480 That means that God worked through thousands of years of history 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:08.399 to make it possible for you to know him. 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:14.519 And that means that if it's true, this is worth giving your entire life to. 00:12:15.560 --> 00:12:15.800 Right? 00:12:15.920 --> 00:12:18.399 So if it's not true, don't waste your time. 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:21.700 But if it is true, this is worth giving everything to. 00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:25.580 Because it's the most important fact in all of history. 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:28.240 This is the mystery of Easter. 00:12:28.780 --> 00:12:30.560 And it confronts each one of us. 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:35.900 But as we delve deeper into the story, there's also profound mercy to be found 00:12:35.900 --> 00:12:37.860 if we know where to look. 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:44.980 If we know the story up to this point, we know that over the last week before Jesus' crucifixion, 00:12:45.779 --> 00:12:50.320 all of his disciples abandoned him, especially Peter. 00:12:51.820 --> 00:12:53.500 No one worse than Peter. 00:12:54.539 --> 00:13:00.580 At the Last Supper, Peter valiantly promises that he will never betray Jesus. 00:13:00.800 --> 00:13:02.159 He will die for Jesus. 00:13:02.320 --> 00:13:03.840 He will give everything to Jesus. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:13.139 And then later that same night, he forcefully, he vehemently denies even knowing Jesus multiple times. 00:13:14.420 --> 00:13:16.720 It was the ultimate betrayal. 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:21.639 And because of this, Peter knew very well he was no longer a disciple. 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:24.019 Right? 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:29.000 The one job of a disciple is to loyally follow their master. 00:13:29.560 --> 00:13:30.360 He had failed. 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:32.100 Peter had one job. 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:33.360 He failed. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:34.500 Peter had one job. 00:13:35.180 --> 00:13:41.560 So what would we expect this angelic messenger to say when these women encounter him in the tomb? 00:13:41.860 --> 00:13:49.440 By the way, if you ever see those spineless weaklings again, you tell them Jesus wants nothing more to do with them. 00:13:50.440 --> 00:13:51.800 That's what we would expect. 00:13:52.660 --> 00:13:55.259 To be totally honest, that's what I would be very tempted to say. 00:13:58.420 --> 00:14:00.000 That's not what Jesus says. 00:14:00.060 --> 00:14:01.519 That's not what the messenger says. 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:04.439 The messenger speaking on behalf of Jesus says this. 00:14:04.439 --> 00:14:15.159 Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:18.699 There you will see him just as he told you. 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:27.120 Not only does Jesus plan to reunite with his disciples, but he mentions Peter by name. 00:14:27.259 --> 00:14:30.520 Tell the disciples and Peter, meet me there. 00:14:30.520 --> 00:14:32.879 All the commentaries pick up on this. 00:14:34.040 --> 00:14:35.780 Peter had betrayed Jesus. 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:39.520 He no longer considered himself to be a disciple. 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:47.360 If Peter heard that the message was only aimed at the disciples, he wouldn't have come. 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:50.379 Because he said, well, that's not me. 00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:55.399 But Jesus wants Peter to be there. 00:14:55.539 --> 00:14:55.819 Why? 00:14:56.079 --> 00:14:59.100 Because Jesus plans to reinstate Peter. 00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:02.800 Because Jesus has already forgiven Peter. 00:15:02.800 --> 00:15:08.200 Because Jesus wants to fully restore him despite his failure of faith. 00:15:08.940 --> 00:15:11.860 And this shows us something incredibly important. 00:15:12.820 --> 00:15:18.560 That Jesus never gives up on us even when we give up on him. 00:15:19.340 --> 00:15:22.820 Jesus never gives up on us. 00:15:22.920 --> 00:15:24.899 He never stops pursuing us. 00:15:24.899 --> 00:15:27.419 And that's because of his mercy. 00:15:28.699 --> 00:15:35.299 And this is precisely why the gospel has the power to transform our hearts and lives. 00:15:38.179 --> 00:15:41.019 John Newton is known as an abolitionist. 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:46.059 He wrote one of the most well-known songs about God's mercy called Amazing Grace. 00:15:47.720 --> 00:15:50.699 In his early life, though, John Newton was a slave trader. 00:15:50.700 --> 00:15:57.320 In 1748, he had a near-death experience during a storm at sea. 00:15:57.820 --> 00:15:59.500 And he converted to Christianity. 00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:03.720 Now, what a lot of people don't know is this. 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:10.580 He converted in 1748 to Christianity because of a near-death experience. 00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:18.180 But then he continued to work in the slave trade for years after his conversion. 00:16:18.179 --> 00:16:23.859 A lot of people imagined that he got converted and then immediately everything changed. 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:25.139 He quit the slave trade. 00:16:25.579 --> 00:16:27.079 He became an abolitionist. 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.559 He continued to work in the slave trade for years. 00:16:32.439 --> 00:16:35.279 And then, after he left it, about six years later, 00:16:35.539 --> 00:16:40.859 it took three more decades before he publicly renounced it 00:16:40.859 --> 00:16:45.000 and began to speak against it and became an abolitionist. 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.559 You know, we tend to want stories of immediate transformation 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:53.960 because they're inspiring and because that's what we want for our own lives. 00:16:54.299 --> 00:16:57.740 We know the things that need to change and we want it all to happen tomorrow. 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:00.860 And we love stories that make it seem like that's possible. 00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:05.839 Now, that can happen and God can do that. 00:17:05.900 --> 00:17:09.339 But most often, that's not how real transformation happens. 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:14.279 Because most of us, quite honestly, are just like Peter. 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:19.779 You know, there are times when we feel deeply committed to following Jesus. 00:17:20.559 --> 00:17:24.000 Times of prayer where we say, God, I'm ready to give everything to you. 00:17:24.339 --> 00:17:25.879 Now I'm going to get serious about it. 00:17:27.099 --> 00:17:28.980 And then there are times when we really struggle. 00:17:30.259 --> 00:17:31.399 There are times when we don't care. 00:17:32.599 --> 00:17:34.839 There are times of deep apathy. 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:37.720 There are times of active rebellion. 00:17:39.019 --> 00:17:42.079 And all of that can happen over the course of the same day. 00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:47.659 You know, I can be fervently praying and giving my heart to Jesus 00:17:47.659 --> 00:17:49.539 first thing in the morning and by noon, 00:17:49.939 --> 00:17:52.139 I've already walked away. 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:53.199 I've already forsaken him. 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:57.779 Sometimes, trying to get our kids out the door to go to school on time. 00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:00.119 I've already forsaken Jesus. 00:18:01.599 --> 00:18:01.980 Right? 00:18:02.039 --> 00:18:03.819 It can all happen over the course of the same day. 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:08.859 And so it's so easy for us to think that God must reach a point where he gets fed up with us. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:13.960 Where he's tired of giving us more chances because he realizes it doesn't make any difference. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:19.200 But that is not how God's mercy works. 00:18:20.700 --> 00:18:22.700 It may be how our mercy works. 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:24.980 It's not how God's mercy works. 00:18:24.980 --> 00:18:25.960 It's not how God's mercy works. 00:18:25.960 --> 00:18:29.259 When we become followers of Jesus Christ, 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.319 at best, our commitment to him is shaky and conditional. 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:40.620 But his commitment to us is steadfast and eternal. 00:18:42.680 --> 00:18:46.920 Because of Easter, his mercy is infinite. 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:49.339 It never runs out. 00:18:49.339 --> 00:18:53.859 Let me just get a little more personal. 00:18:56.459 --> 00:18:59.319 I think that there are people here this morning 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:04.720 who are here because Jesus has asked for you by name. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:09.480 I think there may be people here this morning 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:16.079 who stopped considering yourselves to be disciple a long time ago. 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:20.039 And maybe you're just here out of obligation. 00:19:21.400 --> 00:19:24.620 Maybe you're just here and it feels like a coincidence. 00:19:24.619 --> 00:19:28.939 That may very well be how Peter felt. 00:19:29.879 --> 00:19:31.219 Are you sure he meant me? 00:19:34.479 --> 00:19:38.419 I think that you're here because Jesus has requested you by name. 00:19:39.379 --> 00:19:41.179 Because he wants to reinstate you. 00:19:42.339 --> 00:19:44.919 Because he wants you to know that he's already forgiven you. 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:49.199 Because he wants you to know that no matter where you go or what you do, 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:51.619 he's going to pursue you and pour his love into your life. 00:19:52.639 --> 00:19:54.299 And there's nothing you can do about it. 00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:58.779 You're here because he wants you to know that he will never, ever, ever let you go. 00:20:00.579 --> 00:20:02.139 And he wants to reinstate you. 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:04.959 And he wants to share his life with you. 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:08.899 And this is how we change. 00:20:08.899 --> 00:20:12.500 Not all at once, but over time, gradually. 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:14.959 We have victories. 00:20:15.419 --> 00:20:16.179 We have failures. 00:20:16.719 --> 00:20:20.000 We come back again and again to that well of mercy. 00:20:20.339 --> 00:20:21.419 And we drink deeply. 00:20:21.420 --> 00:20:27.940 And over time, our hearts are softened and they melt and they change. 00:20:27.940 --> 00:20:35.059 So Easter brings this mystery that confronts us, but it also brings profound mercy. 00:20:36.200 --> 00:20:37.740 Inexhaustible, infinite mercy. 00:20:38.100 --> 00:20:39.559 As much as we can drink. 00:20:39.559 --> 00:20:49.799 And then finally, Easter is the beginning of a new mission that God has inaugurated in the world 00:20:49.799 --> 00:20:53.639 that we are invited to become a part of. 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:57.259 The angelic messenger says this. 00:20:57.320 --> 00:20:58.540 He says, go. 00:20:59.360 --> 00:21:02.960 And then he says, Jesus is going before you to Galilee. 00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:05.680 Jesus is going before you to Galilee. 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:11.360 And the word that he uses doesn't just mean Jesus will meet you there. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:13.660 It's not a logistical word. 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:15.480 It's more of a military word. 00:21:15.980 --> 00:21:20.480 It's a word that describes a commander leading troops into battle. 00:21:21.240 --> 00:21:28.200 So you can imagine all those movies that you see where there's the battle scene and there's the leader, 00:21:28.200 --> 00:21:32.039 the commander, the commander is out front of the army and everybody's cheering. 00:21:32.380 --> 00:21:38.640 And then there's that moment where the leader turns with their sword and they just start running alone across the battlefield. 00:21:39.819 --> 00:21:44.120 And then all of the soldiers look at one another and then they all start running behind. 00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:46.019 Surely you've seen movies like that. 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:49.420 That's what this word is intended to convey. 00:21:50.059 --> 00:21:51.660 Jesus goes before you. 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:53.200 He's already charging. 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:54.940 The mission has begun. 00:21:55.940 --> 00:21:58.440 And he wants you to follow along behind him. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:01.279 Right? 00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:09.400 Not only do we see Jesus charging into battle, but we recognize that it's a very different kind of battle. 00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:11.460 It's not a military battle. 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:18.680 It's a spiritual battle against all of the darkness and all of the evil in the world. 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:29.320 What we need to understand is that in the decades before and after Jesus, there were dozens of messianic movements in Israel. 00:22:30.120 --> 00:22:32.779 Many of them were military uprisings. 00:22:34.120 --> 00:22:36.240 And in every case, the same thing happened. 00:22:37.259 --> 00:22:40.019 The messianic leader was eventually captured. 00:22:40.860 --> 00:22:41.740 They were killed. 00:22:41.740 --> 00:22:49.519 And then shortly after the leader's death, each of these dozens of movements collapsed. 00:22:51.140 --> 00:22:52.980 Nobody knows who they are. 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:55.440 Nobody knows what they were about. 00:22:55.779 --> 00:22:58.339 They fell apart and they're lost to history. 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:01.240 Everybody went home and that was it. 00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:15.599 After Jesus was crucified, not only did the movement continue, it exploded with a kind of power that was utterly unexplainable. 00:23:15.700 --> 00:23:21.420 In the course of about 300 years, Christianity spread throughout the entire Roman Empire. 00:23:22.200 --> 00:23:30.680 The Christians were the ones holding the empire together even as it crumbled, caring for the sick as the plagues ravaged the land. 00:23:31.240 --> 00:23:36.200 And there was a profound change in Jesus' followers. 00:23:36.380 --> 00:23:38.460 This also comes from N.T. Wright. 00:23:38.779 --> 00:23:48.799 Jesus' followers went from being fearful, living in hiding, to all of a sudden being extraordinarily inexplicably bold. 00:23:49.900 --> 00:23:54.039 They were ready to go to the ends of the earth and die for the gospel. 00:23:54.359 --> 00:23:56.079 And many of them did just that. 00:23:56.079 --> 00:24:01.679 Even more impressive is the fact that their agenda changed. 00:24:02.419 --> 00:24:09.659 Up until the resurrection, they were longing for Jesus to start a military uprising and get rid of the Romans. 00:24:10.539 --> 00:24:13.159 When Jesus is arrested, they draw their swords. 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:14.119 They're ready to fight. 00:24:14.119 --> 00:24:23.539 But after the crucifixion, after that first Easter weekend, we see them embodying Jesus' agenda. 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:26.919 We see them beginning to love their enemies. 00:24:27.500 --> 00:24:30.239 We see them beginning to pray for their persecutors. 00:24:30.240 --> 00:24:32.240 We see them beginning to pray for their sins. 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:32.859 We see them beginning to pray for their sins. 00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:32.920 We see them beginning to pray for their sins. 00:24:32.920 --> 00:24:36.460 We see them, the first Christian martyr. 00:24:37.740 --> 00:24:44.539 As he's dying, he's saying, Lord, do not hold their sins against them. 00:24:45.579 --> 00:24:48.579 Do not hold this sin against them. 00:24:49.420 --> 00:24:53.960 He's speaking the same words that Jesus himself spoke from the cross. 00:24:53.960 --> 00:24:59.759 The only explanation for this is Easter. 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:02.240 It's the resurrection. 00:25:03.779 --> 00:25:07.360 It's the truth that Jesus continues to lead his church. 00:25:07.779 --> 00:25:09.700 They are not just mimicking Jesus. 00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:17.000 This is Jesus in them, through them, going before them. 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:22.620 This is the risen Christ continuing to lead his church as he has always done. 00:25:22.619 --> 00:25:30.399 The mission is built around this hope that Jesus goes before us. 00:25:30.879 --> 00:25:32.459 He goes before us. 00:25:32.699 --> 00:25:34.039 He's already there. 00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:35.619 He's already working. 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:42.039 You know, I've been thinking a lot about this as we, we as a church, if you're visiting, 00:25:42.339 --> 00:25:45.919 we've bought a building in the Shaw neighborhood in D.C. 00:25:46.019 --> 00:25:51.059 And in about a year, year and a half, when the renovations are done, we're going to be moving there. 00:25:51.059 --> 00:26:00.319 It's going to become, God willing, our long-term home and ministry outpost and place of worship and formation and community outreach. 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:03.319 And we've been praying about this for years. 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:08.960 And we feel like God has miraculously provided this in ways that go beyond our expectations. 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:17.700 And I've been thinking about this idea, the mission that we see begin at Easter. 00:26:19.120 --> 00:26:21.460 Because I've been spending more and more time in Shaw. 00:26:22.420 --> 00:26:24.120 I've been spending a lot of time there. 00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:26.360 Deborah, other members of our team have been there. 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:29.819 And some unexpected things have started to happen. 00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:34.919 We're getting to know a number of neighbors there. 00:26:35.299 --> 00:26:40.359 And these neighbors have shared with us how excited they are that we are coming. 00:26:42.279 --> 00:26:46.960 One older African-American woman who's lived there for decades said, 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:50.240 we are so excited that you're coming. 00:26:50.679 --> 00:26:52.319 We need more churches. 00:26:52.319 --> 00:26:55.879 Which is extremely humbling. 00:26:57.599 --> 00:27:03.519 I mean, the kind of grace in that posture is, I was floored when I heard that. 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:07.720 And what's more, I've found that when I walk the streets there, 00:27:08.819 --> 00:27:11.980 as I pray for the neighborhood, so when I walk back and forth, 00:27:12.339 --> 00:27:16.379 when I'm down there to meet somebody or whatever, I just kind of pray when I walk. 00:27:16.380 --> 00:27:19.980 And as I meet people, as I meet more and more people, 00:27:20.280 --> 00:27:27.800 I have felt this kind of deep and growing sense of love and rootedness for that neighborhood. 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:32.940 And I have to just be honest, I'm feeling that more for the Shaw neighborhood 00:27:32.940 --> 00:27:38.660 than I have felt anywhere that I've lived in the 17 years that I've been in D.C. 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:41.280 And I can't explain it. 00:27:42.260 --> 00:27:45.840 And Deborah and I were talking about this, and she feels the exact same way. 00:27:46.380 --> 00:27:48.480 She was like, we want to move to Shaw now. 00:27:51.060 --> 00:27:56.360 And I believe that these are signs that Jesus is going before us. 00:27:57.520 --> 00:28:01.520 I believe that these are signs that Jesus is preparing the way, 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:04.460 that there are people of peace, you might say, 00:28:04.580 --> 00:28:11.240 who are already excited to welcome us because Jesus is already at work in them. 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:21.019 You know, we were invited to go to the Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting last week called the ANC. 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:25.799 It's a local form of government here in D.C., community leaders. 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:32.920 And we were invited to come to the ANC meeting for the area where our church is located 00:28:32.920 --> 00:28:36.240 and to introduce ourselves to some of the community leaders. 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:43.180 And when the woman leading the meeting got to the part of the agenda where we were to introduce ourselves, 00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:44.380 she said this. 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:48.120 She said, and now we have some good news. 00:28:49.059 --> 00:28:51.019 Let's meet the people from Church of the Advent. 00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:59.359 And I have to say, that really stuck with me and continues to stick with me, and I'll tell you why. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:02.900 It's because as soon as she said it, this question popped up into my mind. 00:29:05.299 --> 00:29:06.339 Are we good news? 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:11.579 And will we actually be good news? 00:29:15.019 --> 00:29:15.700 Or not? 00:29:15.700 --> 00:29:19.600 Of course, the answer is clear. 00:29:21.140 --> 00:29:22.400 Jesus is the good news. 00:29:24.059 --> 00:29:28.180 Jesus has already been at work in this neighborhood ever since long before we existed. 00:29:30.039 --> 00:29:35.680 Whether or not we are good news or bad news depends on this. 00:29:37.620 --> 00:29:39.200 Will we follow him? 00:29:41.180 --> 00:29:42.860 Will we follow his agenda? 00:29:43.819 --> 00:29:45.580 Will we follow his priorities? 00:29:45.700 --> 00:29:47.220 Will we follow his motivations? 00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:57.640 The church does not exist only for our comfort, our convenience. 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:03.500 The church does not exist only to meet our emotional needs. 00:30:04.620 --> 00:30:06.299 It can't ever really fully do that. 00:30:08.039 --> 00:30:12.259 The church exists primarily to follow Jesus on his mission, 00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:15.600 to bring the gospel wherever it is needed. 00:30:15.700 --> 00:30:20.539 The church exists to follow Jesus on his mission, 00:30:20.539 --> 00:30:22.220 to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth. 00:30:23.340 --> 00:30:28.980 The resurrection means that God cares deeply about this world, 00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:30.740 and he plans to restore it. 00:30:30.740 --> 00:30:34.380 And as people of the resurrection, 00:30:34.380 --> 00:30:38.240 following Jesus means joining in that work of renewal. 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:40.579 That means as a church, 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:44.000 we don't just focus on the areas that are most convenient for us, 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:46.160 or the most comfortable for us. 00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:51.000 It means we go where there might be high crime, 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:54.080 where there might be a need for tutors, 00:30:54.220 --> 00:30:57.700 or mentors, or foster families, or affordable housing. 00:30:57.700 --> 00:31:02.539 It means we go wherever Jesus is already at work, 00:31:02.539 --> 00:31:04.380 because he goes before us. 00:31:07.160 --> 00:31:09.039 So this is the meaning of Easter. 00:31:10.360 --> 00:31:11.740 This is the meaning of Easter, 00:31:11.740 --> 00:31:13.580 if we want to pull all of this together. 00:31:15.620 --> 00:31:18.340 Easter confronts us with a mystery, 00:31:18.339 --> 00:31:21.220 and we have to decide, 00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:23.839 did it happen or not? 00:31:24.119 --> 00:31:25.839 Was that tomb really empty? 00:31:27.500 --> 00:31:28.899 If it did happen, 00:31:30.119 --> 00:31:32.899 it means that we now know where to find 00:31:32.899 --> 00:31:34.779 infinite, unlimited mercy. 00:31:36.059 --> 00:31:38.639 And some of us are in touch with that mercy, 00:31:38.759 --> 00:31:40.159 and some of us, as I said earlier, 00:31:40.500 --> 00:31:42.980 you need to be reconnected to that mercy, 00:31:43.099 --> 00:31:44.599 you need to be reinstated. 00:31:44.599 --> 00:31:47.259 Some of us, you're here, 00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:49.399 and this is the first time you've ever heard about it, 00:31:49.519 --> 00:31:51.000 and you feel that stirring. 00:31:51.199 --> 00:31:54.199 This is the time where you need to respond to Jesus in prayer, 00:31:54.299 --> 00:31:56.039 and say, yes, I want to follow you. 00:31:56.099 --> 00:31:57.039 I want to give my life to you. 00:31:57.119 --> 00:31:57.939 Please forgive me. 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:01.879 We need to be reinstated, 00:32:01.980 --> 00:32:04.219 or reaffirmed as disciples, 00:32:04.379 --> 00:32:07.259 and then we need to be about what Jesus is about, 00:32:07.419 --> 00:32:09.759 recognizing that he's already at work, 00:32:10.659 --> 00:32:12.740 and he is calling us 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:15.079 to follow behind him, 00:32:15.079 --> 00:32:17.900 because he's already charging across the battlefield. 00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:21.740 And so the decision we need to make is, 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:23.099 will we follow him or not, 00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:24.200 wherever he leads us? 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:27.339 It calls us out of our comfort, 00:32:27.460 --> 00:32:28.759 it calls us out of our security, 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:32.539 because following the resurrected Jesus 00:32:32.539 --> 00:32:36.559 means recognizing that he has already gone before us 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:39.120 to bring about a resurrected world. 00:32:40.240 --> 00:32:40.859 Let's pray. 00:32:40.859 --> 00:32:46.159 Lord, we thank you for the resurrection. 00:32:46.559 --> 00:32:49.279 It goes beyond words to describe the difference 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:50.399 that this makes in the world, 00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:53.439 and we know that for centuries upon centuries, 00:32:53.439 --> 00:32:57.779 it has animated and catalyzed your people 00:32:57.779 --> 00:33:00.199 to be willing to give themselves, 00:33:00.679 --> 00:33:02.439 sometimes to give their lives, 00:33:02.439 --> 00:33:05.259 for the sake of the kingdom of God, 00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:07.879 and we pray that it would be the same with us. 00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:10.960 Lord, we pray that in all ways, 00:33:11.059 --> 00:33:12.359 we would be Easter people, 00:33:12.539 --> 00:33:13.879 we would be resurrection people, 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:15.099 we would be people of hope, 00:33:15.539 --> 00:33:17.180 we would be people of sacrifice. 00:33:18.200 --> 00:33:20.660 Lord, that we might make your name great, 00:33:20.759 --> 00:33:24.019 that one day bells might ring throughout this city, 00:33:24.640 --> 00:33:25.879 that this city would be known 00:33:25.879 --> 00:33:27.799 not as a center of human power and influence, 00:33:28.180 --> 00:33:30.619 but as a place where the risen Jesus Christ 00:33:30.619 --> 00:33:31.879 reigns as Lord and King. 00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:34.520 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:33:34.940 --> 00:33:35.240 Amen.