WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.360 I do turn to Mark 16. 00:00:02.500 --> 00:00:03.180 Mark 16. 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:15.200 And this is 1 to 8. 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:19.219 So in the field of music, there are unfinished symphonies, aren't there? 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:22.519 Schubert's 8th symphony, I'm told, is unfinished. 00:00:23.420 --> 00:00:24.699 It's an unfinished symphony. 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:29.219 In the world of literature, you've got Charles Dickens' unfinished novel, 00:00:29.959 --> 00:00:30.759 Edwin Drood. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:34.799 And here in the Bible, you've got Mark's Gospel. 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:36.820 And some people think that it's unfinished. 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:39.700 I think it was 9 to 20. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:44.439 Now, scholars agree that they are not part of the Gospel of Mark. 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:49.460 It's almost certainly an attempt by a ghostwriter 00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:54.259 to round off what was considered to be an unfinished Gospel. 00:00:57.140 --> 00:00:59.140 If you look at the margins on the footnote, 00:00:59.219 --> 00:01:01.100 if you look in capital letters in my Bible, 00:01:01.179 --> 00:01:06.420 it says some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16 verses 9 to 20. 00:01:08.359 --> 00:01:11.260 Everything from verse 8, I would want to argue, has been added. 00:01:11.859 --> 00:01:14.219 And actually, if you study it, I think you can see the join, 00:01:14.620 --> 00:01:17.819 if you're kind of familiar with Mark's style and Mark's content. 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:23.700 Verse 9 to 20 is quite different in style and in content from the rest of Mark's Gospel. 00:01:23.700 --> 00:01:28.140 It's not that there's anything wrong with verses 9 to 20, 00:01:28.939 --> 00:01:31.920 but I think it's pretty clear that those verses were added later. 00:01:33.219 --> 00:01:36.840 And so Mark's Gospel ends very abruptly, doesn't it? 00:01:36.859 --> 00:01:38.159 Look at verse 8, mid-sentence. 00:01:40.780 --> 00:01:41.920 Mid-sentence. 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:45.040 For trembling and astonishment had seized them, 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:46.519 and they said nothing to anyone, 00:01:47.379 --> 00:01:48.060 that for they were afraid. 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:49.180 It's a rather sudden ending. 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:52.540 It's like when you go to the cinema, remember that, 00:01:52.900 --> 00:01:54.820 and the film ends unexpectedly. 00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:59.079 And everybody leaves the cinema kind of in stunned silence. 00:01:59.159 --> 00:02:01.340 That is how Mark's Gospel is meant to leave you. 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:03.480 I think intentionally, stunned. 00:02:03.480 --> 00:02:07.439 And of course, whenever there's silence, 00:02:08.200 --> 00:02:09.840 somebody feels they've got to say something, don't they? 00:02:10.700 --> 00:02:13.620 And of course, that's probably where I think the ending of Mark has come from. 00:02:13.700 --> 00:02:15.340 Somebody feels that we've got to fill in the gap. 00:02:16.200 --> 00:02:17.640 Because it isn't quite complete. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:21.460 And so these other endings turn up later on. 00:02:24.180 --> 00:02:25.560 But neither of them should be there. 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:30.840 So verse 8 ends, and it ends with a full stop, 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:33.420 but really it should end with an exclamation mark, shouldn't it? 00:02:33.479 --> 00:02:37.459 Now, having said that, let's look at the four things 00:02:37.459 --> 00:02:40.859 about this dramatic ending on Easter Sunday. 00:02:42.299 --> 00:02:43.579 And so first thing to notice is this. 00:02:43.699 --> 00:02:45.859 There's a problem faced by these women. 00:02:46.979 --> 00:02:49.679 A problem faced by these women. 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:53.739 The stone. 00:02:55.079 --> 00:02:55.939 The stone. 00:02:58.179 --> 00:02:59.179 The egg, isn't it? 00:02:59.179 --> 00:03:01.299 I've just told the children, it kind of represents the stone. 00:03:01.419 --> 00:03:02.679 I'm not sure. 00:03:04.379 --> 00:03:05.780 But there's a problem here, isn't it? 00:03:05.859 --> 00:03:07.699 Mark tells us that Joseph of Arimathea, 00:03:07.899 --> 00:03:09.419 he was a secret believer, 00:03:09.620 --> 00:03:12.120 and he had rolled, I expect with his friends, 00:03:12.599 --> 00:03:14.319 a massive great stone. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:17.399 The other gospel writers tell it was a massive stone, 00:03:17.939 --> 00:03:20.539 and it was rolled against the entrance of the tomb. 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:24.120 Three times in Mark 1 to 8, 00:03:24.780 --> 00:03:25.739 the stone is mentioned. 00:03:25.740 --> 00:03:28.580 And that suggests, as one writer has put it, 00:03:28.640 --> 00:03:30.180 a vivid memory of a great problem. 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:34.600 So you notice, as the women make their way to the tomb, 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:36.900 we're told in those opening verses of Mark 16, 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:38.340 they ask each other, don't they, 00:03:38.540 --> 00:03:40.740 who will roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb? 00:03:40.740 --> 00:03:44.000 So guess what? 00:03:44.040 --> 00:03:44.659 When they get there, 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:46.360 the problem is solved. 00:03:47.420 --> 00:03:49.280 The stone has been rolled out away. 00:03:51.040 --> 00:03:52.100 The stone has been rolled away, 00:03:52.140 --> 00:03:53.360 not to let Jesus out, 00:03:53.960 --> 00:03:56.120 but to let the rest of us into the tomb. 00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:59.180 So that we can see that it is empty. 00:03:59.460 --> 00:04:00.840 Let's just think for a moment about that. 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:05.900 You see, this story has got all the marks of authenticity. 00:04:07.780 --> 00:04:10.819 They'd come to pay their last respects to Jesus of Nazareth. 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:12.659 They didn't believe in the resurrection. 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:15.560 Dead men don't rise. 00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:17.060 These women aren't stupid. 00:04:17.899 --> 00:04:19.120 They've come to anoint a body. 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:23.600 And so if you'd asked them on the way there that morning 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:24.560 about Jesus of Nazareth, 00:04:24.680 --> 00:04:26.240 they would have said, he's a great teacher, 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:27.899 he's a miracle worker, 00:04:28.220 --> 00:04:30.600 and we'd hoped that he would be the Messiah. 00:04:31.799 --> 00:04:32.819 But now he's dead. 00:04:34.339 --> 00:04:36.599 And they weren't expecting him to be alive that Sunday morning. 00:04:37.339 --> 00:04:39.219 They knew beyond any shadow of a doubt 00:04:39.219 --> 00:04:40.419 that he was dead. 00:04:40.519 --> 00:04:42.019 They'd seen the soldiers, these women. 00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:45.479 These same women were there at the end of chapter 15. 00:04:46.599 --> 00:04:49.459 They'd seen the soldier plunge the spear into his side 00:04:49.459 --> 00:04:50.699 and through his heart. 00:04:51.500 --> 00:04:53.439 They'd helped Joseph of Arimathea 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:56.439 take down his body and carry it to the tomb. 00:04:56.859 --> 00:04:57.759 A very public tomb. 00:04:57.759 --> 00:05:01.079 Joseph of Arimathea was a very public person. 00:05:02.719 --> 00:05:05.199 And there was no way they'd mistaken the tomb 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:07.079 on that very first Easter Sunday. 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:09.899 Everybody knew where Joseph of Arimathea's tomb was. 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:14.859 And they carried the body there two days earlier. 00:05:16.060 --> 00:05:18.439 They'd helped lay the body in that tomb. 00:05:19.339 --> 00:05:20.439 They knew he was dead. 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:23.379 And they're coming to finish the whole process. 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:27.439 The burial process had been interrupted by the Sabbath. 00:05:28.339 --> 00:05:30.579 And now they come early before it is light 00:05:30.579 --> 00:05:32.980 to finish off the whole thing. 00:05:32.980 --> 00:05:36.000 And it doesn't dawn on them halfway 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:37.740 until they're halfway there 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:39.040 that they haven't got the foggiest idea 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:40.240 of what they're going to do when they get there. 00:05:41.420 --> 00:05:42.720 Who is going to move the stone? 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:45.680 It's got all the marks of authenticity. 00:05:47.240 --> 00:05:47.920 Have you done that? 00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:50.920 I'm forever going to the co-op. 00:05:51.580 --> 00:05:52.540 And when I get to the co-op, 00:05:52.580 --> 00:05:53.580 I forget what I've gone for. 00:05:55.020 --> 00:05:57.100 And if you were making this story up, 00:05:57.680 --> 00:05:59.780 you wouldn't tell it like it is. 00:05:59.779 --> 00:06:02.699 Who is going to move the stone? 00:06:03.099 --> 00:06:05.259 And so no wonder they are stunned when they arrive 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:06.899 and they find their problem is solved. 00:06:06.979 --> 00:06:08.719 The stone has really been moved, rolled away. 00:06:08.779 --> 00:06:09.639 Look at verse 5. 00:06:10.059 --> 00:06:11.399 And entering the tomb, 00:06:11.799 --> 00:06:14.739 they saw a young man sitting on the right side 00:06:14.739 --> 00:06:16.379 dressed in a white robe. 00:06:18.579 --> 00:06:20.959 We assume that it was an angel. 00:06:22.259 --> 00:06:24.079 Mark's gospel doesn't tell us that, actually. 00:06:25.579 --> 00:06:26.559 And when they get there, 00:06:26.639 --> 00:06:28.099 it's no wonder that they're spooked out. 00:06:28.100 --> 00:06:30.520 They see a young man sitting on the right side. 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:31.300 Can you see the detail? 00:06:31.980 --> 00:06:33.320 Note the eyewitness testimony. 00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:36.460 You wouldn't bother to put that in 00:06:36.460 --> 00:06:37.520 unless it was there. 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:40.360 Where was this young man? 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:43.260 He was on the right side of the tomb. 00:06:45.540 --> 00:06:46.260 Like I say to you, 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:48.540 if you want to go to the toilets, 00:06:48.900 --> 00:06:50.580 you go on my left, your right. 00:06:50.820 --> 00:06:52.140 That's the kind of explanation. 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:53.340 Do you see the detail? 00:06:54.280 --> 00:06:56.020 He's a young man wearing a white robe 00:06:56.020 --> 00:06:57.240 sitting on the right side. 00:06:57.240 --> 00:06:58.000 And, 00:06:58.519 --> 00:06:59.980 the end of verse 5, 00:07:00.060 --> 00:07:00.600 they're alarmed. 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:03.220 And he says to them, 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:04.620 do not be alarmed. 00:07:05.900 --> 00:07:07.660 You seek Jesus of Nazareth, 00:07:07.660 --> 00:07:08.600 who was crucified. 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:10.019 He has risen. 00:07:10.400 --> 00:07:11.600 He is not here. 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:14.360 See the place where they laid him. 00:07:15.840 --> 00:07:16.460 Now notice this. 00:07:16.579 --> 00:07:18.000 Please read my lips, he says. 00:07:18.420 --> 00:07:20.460 He is not here. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:23.100 He is not here. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:24.240 He is risen. 00:07:24.620 --> 00:07:25.180 Do you get it? 00:07:25.180 --> 00:07:26.620 He is not here. 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:29.720 There are some, 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:30.160 aren't they? 00:07:30.199 --> 00:07:31.959 They call themselves Christian theologians. 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:33.079 That's not what they are, 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:34.300 but they flatly deny this. 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:37.040 They kind of hold a, 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:39.180 a John Brown's, 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:42.040 body idea of a resurrection. 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:42.400 Jesus, 00:07:42.400 --> 00:07:45.759 his body is a moldering in the tomb, 00:07:46.620 --> 00:07:48.540 but his soul goes marching on. 00:07:49.819 --> 00:07:51.540 That's not what this guy in white says, 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:51.780 is it? 00:07:52.960 --> 00:07:53.759 You see what he says? 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:54.400 He says, 00:07:54.540 --> 00:07:55.879 he is not here. 00:07:57.220 --> 00:07:58.199 Come and see for yourself. 00:07:58.699 --> 00:07:59.460 Look where they laid him. 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:01.939 He is not here. 00:08:02.220 --> 00:08:03.300 He is risen. 00:08:03.300 --> 00:08:06.340 And that's the message of Easter, 00:08:06.420 --> 00:08:06.639 isn't it? 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:07.879 So some say, 00:08:08.699 --> 00:08:11.360 I get really tired of this at the funeral, 00:08:11.460 --> 00:08:11.900 so people say, 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:12.000 well, 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:12.900 he lives on. 00:08:13.620 --> 00:08:14.079 This person, 00:08:14.340 --> 00:08:16.340 he will live on in the mind and the memory. 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:19.460 And so some people think, 00:08:19.540 --> 00:08:19.720 don't they, 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:22.439 that Jesus lives on in the mind and the memory of his followers. 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:26.300 Woody Allen. 00:08:27.480 --> 00:08:29.340 Woody Allen was once asked in an interview, 00:08:29.500 --> 00:08:31.840 don't you want to live on in people's hearts and minds? 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:33.079 No, 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:33.659 he said, 00:08:34.059 --> 00:08:35.360 I want to live in my apartment. 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:36.679 It's great, 00:08:36.779 --> 00:08:37.000 isn't it? 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:38.159 Now, 00:08:38.220 --> 00:08:38.559 Woody Allen, 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:39.740 what did Woody Allen understand? 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:41.299 He understood he wanted a resurrection. 00:08:42.939 --> 00:08:43.539 So do I, 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:43.939 don't you? 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:47.620 I don't want to live on in someone's mind. 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:51.199 I don't want to live on in someone's memory. 00:08:51.259 --> 00:08:52.879 How long will they actually remember me? 00:08:54.199 --> 00:08:56.039 I don't want to live on in the thoughts of people. 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:58.299 I want to live in the new heavens and the new earth. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:08:59.639 I want a resurrection body. 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:01.639 I don't want to sit on a cloud. 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:03.080 Twanging a harp. 00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:04.820 That isn't the message of the resurrection. 00:09:06.940 --> 00:09:07.820 And that's not willful, 00:09:08.840 --> 00:09:09.440 wishful thinking. 00:09:09.560 --> 00:09:12.860 That is a solid hope that is grounded in the resurrection of Jesus. 00:09:12.860 --> 00:09:17.740 It is grounded in the fact that he is not here. 00:09:17.960 --> 00:09:19.159 He is risen. 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:22.919 There are other people that say this. 00:09:22.980 --> 00:09:23.240 They say, 00:09:23.300 --> 00:09:23.419 well, 00:09:23.539 --> 00:09:24.700 it's a nice thought, 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:26.500 but surely it doesn't have to be true. 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:31.200 It doesn't have to be true for its lessons to be valid. 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:31.840 Do you get that? 00:09:33.580 --> 00:09:34.639 It's a kind of myth, 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:35.139 they say. 00:09:35.460 --> 00:09:39.399 So no one believes in the tale of Goldilocks and the three bears that it ever happened. 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:42.079 But it's a good reminder, 00:09:42.179 --> 00:09:42.319 isn't it, 00:09:42.319 --> 00:09:43.720 not to leave your porridge unattended. 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:48.899 And some people treat the resurrection like that. 00:09:50.319 --> 00:09:50.980 It's a myth, 00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:51.240 they say. 00:09:51.299 --> 00:09:52.819 It didn't actually happen. 00:09:52.820 --> 00:09:58.320 But that doesn't mean that it's got some helpful lessons for you and I. 00:10:00.800 --> 00:10:01.780 Read my lips, 00:10:02.020 --> 00:10:02.780 the young man says. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:03.940 He is not here. 00:10:04.160 --> 00:10:04.960 Not here. 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:05.500 Do you get it? 00:10:07.300 --> 00:10:08.480 The tomb is empty. 00:10:08.620 --> 00:10:10.820 There isn't a body in the tomb. 00:10:10.940 --> 00:10:11.500 He is risen. 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:12.640 That's the message of Easter. 00:10:13.040 --> 00:10:14.240 That's the message of the resurrection. 00:10:16.800 --> 00:10:22.780 H.G. Wells says that the resurrection is a story invented by the church to give a happy ending. 00:10:22.940 --> 00:10:23.800 To the story of Jesus. 00:10:26.980 --> 00:10:29.280 And I guess there are many people who think like that. 00:10:30.820 --> 00:10:32.760 But if this is a made up story, 00:10:32.760 --> 00:10:35.160 it would never be written in the way that it is. 00:10:37.700 --> 00:10:40.180 Mark would never have written in the women as witnesses. 00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:42.180 To an empty tomb. 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:45.360 Because sorry to say, 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:46.620 in Jesus' day, 00:10:46.760 --> 00:10:48.500 a woman's testimony was worthless. 00:10:49.860 --> 00:10:52.480 Her evidence was inadmissible in a court of law. 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:55.279 So if you were making up a story at that time, 00:10:55.539 --> 00:10:58.440 the last thing you would do is you would make the women the witnesses. 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:00.039 To the empty tomb. 00:11:01.420 --> 00:11:03.200 So why does Mark write it in this way? 00:11:03.259 --> 00:11:04.720 He writes it because it happened. 00:11:04.800 --> 00:11:06.139 It actually happened in that way. 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:08.860 And not only that, 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:09.779 not only that, 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:12.080 he goes out of his way to give the names of the women. 00:11:12.220 --> 00:11:12.700 Can you see that? 00:11:12.980 --> 00:11:13.460 Have you noticed? 00:11:13.820 --> 00:11:15.720 Not only he tells us their names, 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:17.740 but he tells us their children's names. 00:11:17.820 --> 00:11:18.420 Look at verse 1. 00:11:18.419 --> 00:11:19.159 Who are these women? 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:21.939 Well, there's Mary Magdalene. 00:11:22.819 --> 00:11:24.199 There's Mary, the mother of James. 00:11:24.339 --> 00:11:25.019 And Salome. 00:11:26.120 --> 00:11:27.339 Why do we need to know that? 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:30.719 Why do we need to know that? 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:33.399 Well, so that the earliest readers of Mark's gospel 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:36.559 could go and check it out for themselves. 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:40.699 That if Mary had passed away 00:11:40.699 --> 00:11:42.839 when this gospel was written, 00:11:43.019 --> 00:11:44.619 then they could talk with their children. 00:11:44.719 --> 00:11:46.559 They could talk with James and Salome. 00:11:47.879 --> 00:11:49.479 It's like the guy, isn't it? 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:51.459 Of carrying the cross for Jesus. 00:11:51.779 --> 00:11:52.979 Do you remember what he was called? 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:55.299 Mark says he was Simon of Cyrene, 00:11:55.539 --> 00:11:56.799 the father of Rufus. 00:11:57.919 --> 00:11:59.979 Why do we need to know that? 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:02.940 Because Rufus is still alive. 00:12:03.920 --> 00:12:05.680 And you can go and talk with Rufus. 00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:08.080 And you can check it out for yourselves. 00:12:09.700 --> 00:12:11.120 Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:12.779 1 Corinthians, again with Mark, 00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:14.920 written early on, very early, 00:12:15.019 --> 00:12:17.560 within a period of 20 years of these events. 00:12:19.180 --> 00:12:20.420 Paul writes, and he says, 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:24.420 Jesus appeared to very many on one occasion. 00:12:24.539 --> 00:12:26.500 He appeared to more than 500 at one time. 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:27.759 And most of them are still alive. 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:28.659 You go and interview them. 00:12:28.759 --> 00:12:29.460 Stick them on TV. 00:12:29.980 --> 00:12:34.159 So what I'm trying to say is this. 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:36.100 Why do we Christians believe in the resurrection? 00:12:36.340 --> 00:12:37.720 Is it just because we believe, 00:12:37.800 --> 00:12:38.659 because we believe, 00:12:38.940 --> 00:12:40.480 because we believe it? 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:43.840 Do we believe the resurrection 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:44.980 because it's a nice story 00:12:44.980 --> 00:12:46.240 and it makes us feel better? 00:12:48.460 --> 00:12:50.399 Is Jesus really a little bit like 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:52.600 an imaginary friend that we've got? 00:12:52.820 --> 00:12:55.259 How do I know that Jesus is alive? 00:12:55.399 --> 00:12:56.259 From my heart? 00:12:56.620 --> 00:12:57.759 We say that sometimes, don't we? 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.960 You ask me how I know he lives? 00:13:01.019 --> 00:13:03.299 He lives within my heart. 00:13:03.740 --> 00:13:06.399 No, no, no. 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:10.480 He does live in my heart by his Holy Spirit, 00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:12.259 but that is different truth. 00:13:13.379 --> 00:13:14.179 It's a different doctrine. 00:13:15.439 --> 00:13:18.120 That's the doctrine of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:21.960 No, Jesus is physically alive from the dead. 00:13:21.960 --> 00:13:25.980 And he is ascended physically into heaven. 00:13:26.440 --> 00:13:28.680 So tonight, in the glory, 00:13:29.160 --> 00:13:30.100 there is a man. 00:13:32.220 --> 00:13:33.560 And that is where Jesus is. 00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:37.440 And he comes and he lives in my heart 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:38.259 by his Holy Spirit. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:40.440 How do I know that Jesus is alive from the dead? 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:43.380 Because there are certain incontrovertible facts 00:13:43.380 --> 00:13:45.480 that no serious historian can dispute. 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:47.880 That on the third day, 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:49.460 when the women went to the tomb, 00:13:49.580 --> 00:13:51.640 it was empty and the body of Jesus was not there. 00:13:53.580 --> 00:13:55.460 And somehow you've got to come to terms with that. 00:13:58.200 --> 00:14:00.040 Somehow you've got to explain that. 00:14:00.039 --> 00:14:06.199 The authorities, they tried to explain it away, didn't they? 00:14:06.219 --> 00:14:08.500 They said the disciples must have stolen the body. 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:13.279 Well, if the disciples had stolen the body, 00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:15.000 why did all of them, without exception, 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:16.740 go to a cruel, bloody death? 00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:22.279 Why would you die for something that you know was not true? 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:27.279 Liars do not make good martyrs. 00:14:28.579 --> 00:14:29.740 No, the tomb was empty. 00:14:30.039 --> 00:14:33.439 And if the authorities had not taken the body, 00:14:34.179 --> 00:14:36.679 all they had to do was to produce it. 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:37.299 And yet they didn't. 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:40.719 And on the day of Pentecost, 00:14:40.860 --> 00:14:42.539 over 3,000 people became Christians 00:14:42.539 --> 00:14:44.679 because Peter told them that this Jesus, 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:45.659 whom you crucified, 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:47.379 God has raised from the dead. 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:52.259 And just streets away was the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:54.079 And all they had to do was go there. 00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:55.259 But they didn't. 00:14:56.459 --> 00:14:57.159 They didn't. 00:14:58.519 --> 00:14:59.639 Because he is not there. 00:15:00.039 --> 00:15:02.139 He is risen. 00:15:05.179 --> 00:15:07.099 In one of the debates between Richard Dawkins, 00:15:07.179 --> 00:15:07.939 you know, the famous atheist, 00:15:08.360 --> 00:15:10.599 and John Lennox, who's a Christian professor, 00:15:11.240 --> 00:15:11.939 Dawkins said, 00:15:12.099 --> 00:15:15.799 heaven is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:18.399 To which John Lennox replied, 00:15:18.620 --> 00:15:21.740 atheism is a fairy story for people afraid of the light. 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:28.240 Why do I believe in the resurrection of Jesus? 00:15:29.799 --> 00:15:33.500 Am I trying to believe what I know isn't true? 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:34.039 No. 00:15:34.379 --> 00:15:37.620 Faith is based on eyewitness testimony and facts. 00:15:38.659 --> 00:15:39.779 The fact of the empty tomb. 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:42.220 Now let me hurry on. 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:42.779 First of all, 00:15:42.800 --> 00:15:43.600 a problem faced. 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:45.100 That's the empty tomb. 00:15:45.220 --> 00:15:45.560 And secondly, 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:46.440 a prophecy fulfilled. 00:15:46.540 --> 00:15:47.200 Look at verse 7. 00:15:49.180 --> 00:15:50.540 The angel in white tells them, 00:15:51.060 --> 00:15:51.340 he says, 00:15:51.399 --> 00:15:52.300 come and see, 00:15:52.460 --> 00:15:53.200 he's not here, 00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:54.480 he's risen, 00:15:55.320 --> 00:15:56.180 now go and tell. 00:15:58.820 --> 00:15:59.500 Do you get that? 00:15:59.500 --> 00:16:00.500 Come and tell. 00:16:00.500 --> 00:16:01.500 Come and see. 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:03.299 He's risen. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:04.740 He's not here. 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:06.340 Go and tell. 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:08.360 Go and tell his disciples, 00:16:08.519 --> 00:16:08.940 his followers, 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:11.100 and particularly Peter, 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:14.519 that he is going before you to Galilee. 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:16.000 There you will see him just as he told you. 00:16:21.659 --> 00:16:22.740 I don't know if you can get them anymore. 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:26.159 My dad had a 10-year preaching diary. 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:27.360 So, you know, 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:28.259 you've got a diary, isn't it, 00:16:28.279 --> 00:16:28.620 for Sundays. 00:16:28.620 --> 00:16:29.860 Do you have one, Mr. Thomas? 00:16:31.019 --> 00:16:31.639 Do you have a preacher? 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:32.720 Isn't it? 00:16:32.740 --> 00:16:35.840 So you'd have a diary of just Sundays for 10 years. 00:16:36.860 --> 00:16:37.899 And you'd flick through it, 00:16:37.940 --> 00:16:39.379 and there'd be some in the next couple of months, 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:40.460 and then a few, 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:41.500 six months later. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:45.060 I can't imagine anybody was booked 10 years ahead. 00:16:45.399 --> 00:16:46.159 I would have thought, 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:47.519 it's very, very unlikely, isn't it? 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:49.279 You just wouldn't do that. 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.159 Nobody books people 10 years ahead. 00:16:54.560 --> 00:16:56.480 But here's a remarkable thing, isn't it? 00:16:56.480 --> 00:17:00.080 Jesus has made an appointment with his disciples, 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:02.100 for after he is dead. 00:17:02.300 --> 00:17:02.860 Can you see that? 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:06.839 So chapter 8, chapter 9, chapter 10, 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:07.480 Jesus says, 00:17:07.620 --> 00:17:08.360 I'm going to be crucified, 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:10.200 I'm going to be handed over, 00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:11.960 and on the third day, 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:12.940 I'm going to rise again. 00:17:14.259 --> 00:17:17.360 He's given notice to them that he will rise from the dead. 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:18.860 But in chapter 14, he says, 00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:19.960 all of you will be scattered. 00:17:21.100 --> 00:17:22.460 They're going to strike the shepherd, 00:17:22.600 --> 00:17:23.660 the sheep will be scattered. 00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:24.620 But he says, 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:25.600 after I've risen, 00:17:25.860 --> 00:17:27.519 I will go ahead of you to Galilee, 00:17:27.860 --> 00:17:28.779 put that in the diary. 00:17:28.779 --> 00:17:31.819 And now the reminder comes in. 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:35.920 Do you have reminders on your phone or your computer? 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:39.779 I've got one reminder that I can't seem to turn off, 00:17:39.879 --> 00:17:40.460 and it says this, 00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:42.099 every Sunday morning, 9.45, 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:45.119 remember refreshments at Drayton Manor High School. 00:17:45.460 --> 00:17:47.019 Like, I don't know where it comes from. 00:17:49.220 --> 00:17:50.559 You can imagine it, can't you? 00:17:50.660 --> 00:17:52.019 The reminder comes in, 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:53.379 meet Jesus of Nazareth, 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:55.460 is due in two days' time in Galilee. 00:17:55.600 --> 00:17:56.900 Go and tell my disciples, 00:17:57.240 --> 00:17:59.000 I'm going on ahead of you to Galilee, 00:17:59.579 --> 00:18:01.019 and I want you to keep that appointment, 00:18:01.180 --> 00:18:02.539 and especially tell Peter. 00:18:04.460 --> 00:18:06.259 Tell Peter we're going to have a team meeting. 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:09.200 Jesus says, 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:10.259 go and tell my disciples, 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:11.840 I'm back from the dead. 00:18:12.180 --> 00:18:13.819 We've got team meeting in two days. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:17.620 And make sure Peter gets the message, 00:18:17.740 --> 00:18:19.279 because Peter's got his phone off. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:22.960 Peter is thinking to himself, 00:18:23.100 --> 00:18:23.779 it's all over, 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:24.819 I've blown it big time, 00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:26.519 and there's no way back. 00:18:27.919 --> 00:18:29.579 There's no way I can be part of the team anymore. 00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:31.480 He won't want me, 00:18:31.539 --> 00:18:32.099 I've cursed him, 00:18:32.159 --> 00:18:32.919 I've blasphemed him, 00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:34.939 I'm not a very good advert for Christianity. 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:36.460 Peter's gone back fishing, 00:18:37.539 --> 00:18:40.279 which is where Jesus had called him from, 00:18:40.339 --> 00:18:40.639 do you remember? 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:43.599 Why does Jesus single out Peter? 00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:44.399 Why Galilee? 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:46.399 Because Galilee is where it all first began. 00:18:46.400 --> 00:18:50.680 And Jesus is regrouping them, 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:52.500 and Jesus is regathering them. 00:18:56.500 --> 00:18:59.880 There's a story about a social worker in the slums of Glasgow, 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:00.280 you know, 00:19:00.340 --> 00:19:02.400 the notorious Gorbals district of Glasgow. 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:06.160 And the social worker knocks on the door, 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:08.380 and she's visiting that area, 00:19:08.620 --> 00:19:10.620 and she says to the lady who answers the door, 00:19:10.700 --> 00:19:10.980 she says, 00:19:11.060 --> 00:19:12.759 how many people live in this house? 00:19:15.100 --> 00:19:16.200 And the lady said, 00:19:16.300 --> 00:19:16.440 oh, 00:19:16.560 --> 00:19:17.120 and there's Jimmy, 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:18.120 and there's Mary, 00:19:18.340 --> 00:19:19.220 and there's Sadie, 00:19:19.360 --> 00:19:20.080 and there's Billy. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:23.099 And the social worker says, 00:19:23.199 --> 00:19:24.539 I don't want to know their names, 00:19:24.659 --> 00:19:25.740 just give me the numbers. 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:30.379 There are no numbers in this house, 00:19:30.720 --> 00:19:31.299 the lady said. 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:33.460 They're all names to me. 00:19:36.740 --> 00:19:37.960 And I want to say to you tonight, 00:19:38.179 --> 00:19:40.500 that the risen Lord Jesus has given me the authority 00:19:40.500 --> 00:19:41.439 to say this to you. 00:19:42.399 --> 00:19:43.579 He sent me to you. 00:19:44.779 --> 00:19:45.839 I'm not dressed in white, 00:19:45.960 --> 00:19:46.659 and I have no wings. 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:49.639 I'm not an angel, 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:50.600 but I am a messenger. 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:52.540 And I'm a messenger from Jesus 00:19:52.540 --> 00:19:53.860 to say to you this evening, 00:19:55.040 --> 00:19:58.040 the risen Lord Jesus knows your name. 00:20:00.280 --> 00:20:01.980 The risen Lord Jesus knows your name. 00:20:05.100 --> 00:20:06.580 And he went to the cross for you. 00:20:08.580 --> 00:20:10.680 And it wasn't the nails that held him on the cross, 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:11.300 it was your sin. 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:15.360 That's why he went to the cross, 00:20:15.440 --> 00:20:16.820 and now he is back from the dead, 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:18.140 and he has dealt with your sin, 00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:20.400 and he comes to you through the gospel tonight, 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:22.320 and he says your name. 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:28.780 And he wants you and I to know that like Peter, 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:30.600 that there is full forgiveness, 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:32.259 and free forgiveness, 00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:35.140 through the blood that he shed. 00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:39.680 And Peter had a debt to pay, didn't he? 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:42.819 The old version of the Lord's Prayer, 00:20:42.900 --> 00:20:44.200 forgive us our debts. 00:20:44.299 --> 00:20:45.619 It's a good way of thinking about God. 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:48.460 We owe him what we cannot repay him. 00:20:49.879 --> 00:20:51.019 And we are his creatures, 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:52.200 and we're made in his image, 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:53.420 and we're made in his likeness, 00:20:53.460 --> 00:20:54.379 and we have a debt, 00:20:54.700 --> 00:20:56.559 and every one of us has a debt 00:20:56.559 --> 00:20:57.819 that we cannot pay. 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:00.259 But Jesus has paid that debt on the cross. 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:05.859 It is finished, he cried. 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:08.159 It is done. 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:10.819 And so tonight, 00:21:10.919 --> 00:21:12.759 how can I know that my sins are forgiven? 00:21:12.879 --> 00:21:14.639 How can I know that I am right with God? 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:16.859 How do I know because God has given me the receipt? 00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:21.479 And it's not written in a piece of paper 00:21:21.479 --> 00:21:22.899 that I can push away and forget about. 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:24.019 It is written in history, 00:21:24.219 --> 00:21:24.839 and in time, 00:21:25.159 --> 00:21:25.859 and in space, 00:21:25.879 --> 00:21:27.979 because God has raised Jesus from the dead. 00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:30.159 And in raising Jesus from the dead, 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:31.459 God is saying to you, 00:21:31.539 --> 00:21:32.039 and to me, 00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:32.899 to Peter, 00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:33.559 and to Paul, 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:34.979 who was the chief of sinners, 00:21:35.479 --> 00:21:36.740 who persecuted Christians, 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:38.479 however bad your sin is, 00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:41.139 however far you've fallen away, 00:21:42.639 --> 00:21:44.699 God says to you this Easter, 00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:49.120 received full payment 00:21:49.120 --> 00:21:51.500 from the hands of my son. 00:21:53.860 --> 00:21:55.120 There's a welcome at the table. 00:21:56.779 --> 00:21:57.940 There's bread and wine. 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:01.400 Your sins are forgiven. 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:04.240 If you will trust in Christ, 00:22:04.580 --> 00:22:05.380 you can join the team. 00:22:06.860 --> 00:22:08.279 The third thing I want you to notice, 00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:09.259 there's a problem faced, 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:12.140 and there's a prophecy fulfilled. 00:22:12.259 --> 00:22:13.259 Jesus has come back, 00:22:13.460 --> 00:22:14.200 as he said he would, 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:16.940 the third thing is, 00:22:16.980 --> 00:22:18.059 there's a pattern here to follow, 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:18.440 isn't there? 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:19.720 Do you hear in those words, 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:22.140 I showed you them in verses six and seven? 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:25.180 There's a pattern of, 00:22:25.360 --> 00:22:25.960 come and see, 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:27.640 and then verse seven, 00:22:27.740 --> 00:22:28.420 go and tell. 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:32.120 Come and see, 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:32.880 go and tell, 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:34.559 and I want to encourage you to do that. 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:38.880 Maybe tonight you're watching, 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:39.720 online, 00:22:39.980 --> 00:22:40.880 or you're here tonight, 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:43.360 and you're just not sure about these things. 00:22:43.560 --> 00:22:44.440 And I want to say to you, 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:45.000 come and see. 00:22:46.280 --> 00:22:46.980 Keep coming. 00:22:47.460 --> 00:22:48.440 It's the best thing you can do. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:51.060 You can read a gospel with someone. 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:52.140 Drop us an email. 00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:54.960 Don't ignore what happened on that first Easter Sunday. 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:56.340 Don't ignore it. 00:22:56.740 --> 00:22:57.320 Explore it. 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:59.000 Look at the evidence. 00:22:59.119 --> 00:22:59.700 Check it out. 00:23:01.339 --> 00:23:02.259 The angel says, 00:23:02.379 --> 00:23:03.200 come and see 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:05.200 if these things are true. 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:05.919 You owe it to yourself, 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:06.299 don't you? 00:23:07.779 --> 00:23:10.339 Because if Jesus did rise from the dead, 00:23:10.659 --> 00:23:12.119 that is not something that you can ignore, 00:23:12.259 --> 00:23:12.500 surely, 00:23:12.740 --> 00:23:13.679 so check it out. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:16.160 But for those who are convinced, 00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:17.580 for his church who do believe, 00:23:17.660 --> 00:23:18.560 let me say to you, 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:21.440 the message from the angel to us is, 00:23:21.560 --> 00:23:22.140 go and tell. 00:23:24.539 --> 00:23:25.440 Let's go and tell. 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:30.440 Verse eight, 00:23:30.539 --> 00:23:31.600 it's exactly what they didn't do. 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:33.400 Go and tell, 00:23:33.480 --> 00:23:34.200 the angel says, 00:23:34.259 --> 00:23:34.680 verse eight, 00:23:34.740 --> 00:23:36.060 they leave trembling and bewildered. 00:23:36.360 --> 00:23:37.220 And the women went out, 00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:37.840 and they fled. 00:23:39.279 --> 00:23:40.580 And they said nothing to anyone, 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:41.440 because they were afraid. 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:45.180 And I think that's why Mark leaves it hanging, 00:23:45.420 --> 00:23:47.660 because perhaps Mark wants you and I 00:23:47.660 --> 00:23:49.299 just to feel the uncertainty. 00:23:50.840 --> 00:23:51.960 Will they or won't they? 00:23:53.900 --> 00:23:54.940 And if they don't, 00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:55.420 who will? 00:23:57.820 --> 00:23:59.840 Who will go and tell this news to the world? 00:23:59.940 --> 00:24:01.440 And implied is this massive anticlimax, 00:24:02.740 --> 00:24:04.180 but actually it's a massive challenge 00:24:04.180 --> 00:24:05.440 to the church of Jesus Christ. 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:08.180 Jesus says, 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:08.519 no, 00:24:08.660 --> 00:24:09.840 are we as a church going to say, 00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:10.940 Jesus says, 00:24:11.059 --> 00:24:11.240 go, 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:12.220 are we going to say no? 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:15.279 And so the empty tomb 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:16.519 is not the finishing line, 00:24:16.599 --> 00:24:16.819 is it? 00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:18.140 It is the starting point. 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:19.500 That you and I, 00:24:19.660 --> 00:24:21.039 as part of Christ's church, 00:24:21.079 --> 00:24:22.079 are under starting orders. 00:24:24.339 --> 00:24:24.960 And I know that 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:26.240 that is a scary thought, 00:24:26.299 --> 00:24:26.620 isn't it? 00:24:29.460 --> 00:24:30.700 But this is the message 00:24:30.700 --> 00:24:31.500 of Jesus' people, 00:24:31.640 --> 00:24:31.880 go. 00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:35.700 The gospel must be preached 00:24:35.700 --> 00:24:36.460 to all nations 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:37.220 before the end, 00:24:37.339 --> 00:24:38.019 Jesus says. 00:24:38.220 --> 00:24:38.980 So who will go? 00:24:38.980 --> 00:24:42.299 And it's all very well 00:24:42.299 --> 00:24:42.880 as sitting here 00:24:42.880 --> 00:24:43.940 in our trendy new building. 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:46.819 And it is scary, 00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:47.140 isn't it, 00:24:47.140 --> 00:24:48.120 to think of going. 00:24:50.180 --> 00:24:50.920 Who would listen? 00:24:51.640 --> 00:24:52.400 Who would be convinced 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:53.039 by what they say? 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:57.019 A problem faced, 00:24:57.539 --> 00:24:58.899 a prediction fulfilled, 00:24:59.099 --> 00:25:00.079 a pattern for us to follow, 00:25:00.139 --> 00:25:00.599 and then lastly, 00:25:00.659 --> 00:25:01.740 a pronouncement of the Father. 00:25:02.399 --> 00:25:03.500 And here's the big encouragement. 00:25:05.639 --> 00:25:05.960 And again, 00:25:06.019 --> 00:25:07.480 let me take you to Romans 1.4. 00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:09.779 In Romans 1.4, 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:10.339 Paul says, 00:25:10.440 --> 00:25:11.559 Jesus is now declared 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:12.599 to be the Son of God 00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:13.220 with power 00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:14.039 by his resurrection 00:25:14.039 --> 00:25:14.740 from the dead. 00:25:14.740 --> 00:25:18.799 I remember at his baptism, 00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:20.960 you'll remember 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:21.480 that the heavens 00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:22.480 were torn open 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:24.299 and a voice was heard, 00:25:24.380 --> 00:25:25.420 this is my beloved son 00:25:25.420 --> 00:25:26.259 with whom I'm well pleased. 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:29.200 And that's heaven's imprimatur 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:30.339 on Jesus. 00:25:30.539 --> 00:25:31.500 That is the Father 00:25:31.500 --> 00:25:32.660 owning his son. 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:35.259 But not everybody 00:25:35.259 --> 00:25:36.099 heard that voice. 00:25:39.859 --> 00:25:40.339 In fact, 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:40.839 we're told that 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:42.000 some in the gospel 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:44.380 thought that it was thunder. 00:25:44.740 --> 00:25:47.000 at the moment 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:47.900 of transfiguration, 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:51.079 Jesus revealed his glory 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:52.660 to James and John, 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:53.359 Peter. 00:25:54.059 --> 00:25:54.759 There was a voice 00:25:54.759 --> 00:25:55.620 that was heard from heaven, 00:25:55.779 --> 00:25:56.859 this is my beloved son, 00:25:56.920 --> 00:25:57.799 you need to listen to him. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:25:59.559 But it was only Peter, 00:25:59.660 --> 00:26:00.120 James and John 00:26:00.120 --> 00:26:00.960 that heard that voice. 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:04.200 But now, 00:26:04.299 --> 00:26:04.720 Paul says, 00:26:04.799 --> 00:26:05.519 through the resurrection 00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:06.720 of Jesus from the dead, 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:07.359 he is declared 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:08.259 to be the Son of God 00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:08.759 with power. 00:26:12.819 --> 00:26:14.140 It's interesting, 00:26:14.140 --> 00:26:15.980 the word literally 00:26:15.980 --> 00:26:18.320 is the word 00:26:18.320 --> 00:26:20.160 we get horizon from. 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:21.700 Horus, 00:26:21.780 --> 00:26:22.300 thentos. 00:26:22.700 --> 00:26:23.700 We get the word horizon 00:26:23.700 --> 00:26:24.160 from it. 00:26:25.840 --> 00:26:26.180 Literally, 00:26:26.380 --> 00:26:27.200 Paul is saying, 00:26:27.400 --> 00:26:28.240 by the resurrection, 00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:30.100 Jesus is horizon. 00:26:31.840 --> 00:26:32.320 He's horizon. 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:33.400 Let me illustrate that. 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:34.300 You might not make much sense. 00:26:35.580 --> 00:26:36.300 So think of the news. 00:26:36.360 --> 00:26:37.100 Think of TV news. 00:26:37.360 --> 00:26:37.740 BBC, 00:26:37.980 --> 00:26:38.380 Who Edwards, 00:26:38.580 --> 00:26:38.800 you know, 00:26:39.020 --> 00:26:40.040 the news reporter. 00:26:40.039 --> 00:26:42.099 And the lights 00:26:42.099 --> 00:26:43.339 and the cameras 00:26:43.339 --> 00:26:44.139 go on. 00:26:45.159 --> 00:26:45.740 And Hugh Edwards 00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:46.539 is beamed 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:47.339 across the country, 00:26:47.659 --> 00:26:48.139 across the world. 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:51.299 A few moments before, 00:26:52.460 --> 00:26:53.019 he occupied, 00:26:53.240 --> 00:26:53.460 didn't he, 00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:54.240 just a few 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:55.819 cubic feet. 00:26:58.319 --> 00:26:59.519 He was just standing there. 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:02.079 But suddenly, 00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:03.039 he's horizoned 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:04.539 into every home. 00:27:05.399 --> 00:27:06.420 All around the UK, 00:27:06.579 --> 00:27:07.039 perhaps the world. 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:08.000 Moments before, 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.599 if you stood outside the door, 00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:11.920 you wouldn't have heard him 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:12.859 and you wouldn't have seen him. 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:15.779 If you were a quarter 00:27:15.779 --> 00:27:16.720 of a mile away 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:19.299 from the broadcast, 00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:21.079 you wouldn't have even known 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:21.640 that he existed. 00:27:23.119 --> 00:27:23.980 He's invisible. 00:27:24.299 --> 00:27:25.140 He's inaudible. 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:27.259 But now, 00:27:27.380 --> 00:27:28.079 thanks to the wonders 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:28.740 of technology, 00:27:28.900 --> 00:27:30.299 he is a horizon 00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:31.579 and the newsreader 00:27:31.579 --> 00:27:32.220 is broadcast 00:27:32.220 --> 00:27:32.779 to millions 00:27:32.779 --> 00:27:33.640 all around the world. 00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:38.840 And so it's not just you. 00:27:41.360 --> 00:27:42.280 It's not just us 00:27:42.280 --> 00:27:42.680 as a church 00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:43.300 when we go out 00:27:43.300 --> 00:27:43.840 trembling 00:27:43.840 --> 00:27:44.600 to tell the news 00:27:44.600 --> 00:27:45.620 and share the gospel 00:27:45.620 --> 00:27:46.560 maybe in our workplace 00:27:46.560 --> 00:27:47.460 or in our family 00:27:47.460 --> 00:27:48.720 when that opportunity comes. 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:51.340 You're not on your own. 00:27:53.600 --> 00:27:54.500 God declares 00:27:54.500 --> 00:27:55.180 his son, 00:27:55.420 --> 00:27:55.800 Jesus, 00:27:55.799 --> 00:27:58.899 to be his son 00:27:58.899 --> 00:27:59.639 with power 00:27:59.639 --> 00:28:01.119 through the resurrection 00:28:01.119 --> 00:28:03.680 from the dead. 00:28:05.339 --> 00:28:06.279 He never owned a home. 00:28:07.379 --> 00:28:08.200 He never wrote a book. 00:28:08.740 --> 00:28:09.559 He never had a family. 00:28:10.119 --> 00:28:11.359 He never held office. 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:12.819 He never went to college. 00:28:13.639 --> 00:28:15.019 He never put his foot 00:28:15.019 --> 00:28:16.119 inside a big city. 00:28:17.119 --> 00:28:17.940 He never traveled 00:28:17.940 --> 00:28:19.119 more than 200 miles 00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:19.639 from the place 00:28:19.639 --> 00:28:20.259 where he was born. 00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:22.299 He died penniless 00:28:22.299 --> 00:28:22.960 and powerless 00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:23.940 at age 33. 00:28:23.940 --> 00:28:28.039 And yet 00:28:28.039 --> 00:28:28.519 he has been 00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:29.180 horizoned 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:31.519 and billions 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:32.100 of people 00:28:32.100 --> 00:28:33.019 all over the world 00:28:33.019 --> 00:28:34.019 own him to be the Lord. 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:36.600 And they embrace him 00:28:36.600 --> 00:28:37.340 as their saviour. 00:28:38.580 --> 00:28:39.279 And they know 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:40.039 that he is alive 00:28:40.039 --> 00:28:41.100 from the dead. 00:28:42.360 --> 00:28:43.100 And that their sins 00:28:43.100 --> 00:28:43.640 are forgiven. 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:46.299 And they have a future 00:28:46.299 --> 00:28:46.840 and a hope 00:28:46.840 --> 00:28:47.700 beyond this world. 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:50.400 And so check it out 00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:50.860 for yourself. 00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:53.420 And then go 00:28:53.420 --> 00:28:53.980 and tell others 00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:54.779 the good news. 00:28:56.039 --> 00:28:56.580 Let's pray.