WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:06.320 Father, you know how easy it is for us to get distracted. 00:00:06.540 --> 00:00:08.460 You know how easy it is for me to get distracted. 00:00:08.800 --> 00:00:13.679 You know how easy it is for me to hear something and maybe get offended and then want to stop 00:00:13.679 --> 00:00:14.060 listening. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:22.620 You know how easy it is for me, Father, to cling to my own fantasies and preconceptions 00:00:22.620 --> 00:00:25.719 and idols rather than face the real world. 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:31.460 We ask, Lord, that you would gently but deeply pour out the Holy Spirit upon us this morning, 00:00:31.859 --> 00:00:36.640 not just those who are here but those joining with us online and those who will be joining 00:00:36.640 --> 00:00:39.600 with us online downstream, not live but downstream. 00:00:40.359 --> 00:00:45.140 We ask, Father, that you would gently but deeply pour out the Holy Spirit upon us, that you 00:00:45.140 --> 00:00:54.159 would form our minds and our wills and our imaginations and our affections and our desires. 00:00:54.159 --> 00:01:01.339 So that we might seek to know that which is true and beautiful and good. 00:01:01.739 --> 00:01:04.599 This we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:05.420 Amen. 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:07.079 Please be seated. 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:18.659 This could easily turn into a rant from an old guy about how the world has changed and 00:01:18.659 --> 00:01:19.959 not in good ways. 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:23.879 But I'm going to make my best effort to not do something like that. 00:01:23.979 --> 00:01:29.239 It's not becoming of a minister to ever do rants about how one time period was better than 00:01:29.239 --> 00:01:29.519 another. 00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:31.759 Only God knows that, actually, doesn't he? 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:41.040 But it is the case, I think, for many people in our culture today that they've lost a sense 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:42.420 of honouring the dead. 00:01:43.080 --> 00:01:44.719 And I don't mean ancestor worship. 00:01:44.900 --> 00:01:49.439 I just mean that the practice is around having a loved one or a neighbour die. 00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:52.840 That increasingly, there's no funerals. 00:01:53.080 --> 00:01:58.620 Increasingly, there's not really anything at all to mark the death of that particular person. 00:01:58.620 --> 00:02:02.939 We pay some money for some professionals to dispose of the body. 00:02:03.960 --> 00:02:06.359 And we just sort of keep on with our very life. 00:02:06.820 --> 00:02:11.599 And so if you're here and that's sort of your attitude, or if you're watching online and 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:16.040 that's sort of what you think, this next bit is going to be very weird to you. 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:22.360 But it is a very deeply human thing to desire to honour a loved one who has died. 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:26.879 It's, I think, deeply human to want to do this. 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:33.219 And the story that I've heard, and so I didn't hear this directly from the person who did it. 00:02:33.259 --> 00:02:34.840 I heard it one person removed. 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:36.659 And it's this. 00:02:36.799 --> 00:02:43.579 When I, before this, I looked after four little rural churches in Killaloo, Eganville, Clontarf, 00:02:43.740 --> 00:02:44.379 and Tremor. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:48.579 And three of those small churches had their own graveyards. 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:54.439 They're way up the Ottawa Valley, just small little churches with graveyards. 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:59.740 And I began my ministry there on June 1st, which is, of course, quite hot. 00:03:00.500 --> 00:03:05.079 And when I went to the church in Killaloo for the first time, I noticed that there was this shed 00:03:05.079 --> 00:03:11.500 just off to the side, a very big shed, but a shed off to the side, very big shed with sort of in the trees. 00:03:11.900 --> 00:03:17.939 And I just assumed that that was where they kept the yard maintenance stuff and ladders and all that type of stuff. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:19.300 I just assumed that was the case. 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:22.680 But in January, I discovered that that actually wasn't the case. 00:03:23.140 --> 00:03:27.939 I discovered that that's where they stored the caskets of people who died in the winter. 00:03:29.780 --> 00:03:39.120 Because I did a funeral in January, and I went with the hearse, and I went and we put the body in there. 00:03:39.540 --> 00:03:46.760 And I discovered that it was sort of like not just an Anglican body storage, but sort of for the community. 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:49.199 That's where we stored the bodies over the winter. 00:03:50.139 --> 00:03:57.879 And this is a story that I was told that had happened about 30 years earlier, but it was still very much talked about. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:03:59.579 And it's all about honoring the dead. 00:04:00.579 --> 00:04:03.780 There was a woman who had a, I guess we'd call it a phobia. 00:04:03.780 --> 00:04:16.240 She hated the idea that if she died in the winter, that her body would be in that shed, just with strangers, going down to minus 30. 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:19.259 And she hated the idea that that's what would happen to her body. 00:04:19.939 --> 00:04:21.480 And she talked about it a lot. 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:34.080 And as she got older, and as she got closer to death, she asked her sons and her sons-in-law if they would promise her that if she died in the middle of winter, that they would bury her. 00:04:35.200 --> 00:04:39.780 Now, some of us are city folks, and we don't know what the ground is like in the winter, but it's frozen. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:41.939 You can't just dig a hole. 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:43.759 Well, lo and behold, she did. 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:59.560 She died in mid-January, and so even as she died and her sons paid their respects, they left that place and began the preparation and planning to see that their mom would be buried in the hole. 00:05:01.019 --> 00:05:09.300 So they knew where the grave site was, and they had the others to make sure it was marked off, and then they cleared away the snow, and they made a very large fire to cover the area. 00:05:09.300 --> 00:05:22.160 And they let it burn for a little bit, and then they took the fire away, and they scraped off a little bit of dirt, and then they made another fire, took it away, scraped off a little bit of dirt, another fire, on and on and on. 00:05:23.259 --> 00:05:38.699 A long, long day in very, very cold temperatures, standing there, taking away a tiny little inch of earth at a time, until they finally got past that which was frozen, was able to dig the rest of the hole relatively quickly, says George. 00:05:38.699 --> 00:05:39.800 She's just standing there. 00:05:40.459 --> 00:05:41.319 I mean, now. 00:05:42.099 --> 00:05:45.719 And then that next day, they buried their mom. 00:05:47.579 --> 00:05:49.000 They buried their grandmother. 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:50.719 They buried their mother-in-law. 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:52.480 They buried their aunt. 00:05:53.000 --> 00:06:00.439 Because it was a group of about six or seven men, and that's what they spent the whole day doing, sometimes going back to get warmed up and do all that other types of stuff. 00:06:00.599 --> 00:06:05.139 But the women would bring food for them to eat during the day so that they did it. 00:06:05.139 --> 00:06:06.779 But that's how they honored their mom. 00:06:06.860 --> 00:06:09.919 And I think that's quite a remarkable story about honoring your mother. 00:06:10.939 --> 00:06:15.659 The story which we're about to read is a story about honoring the dead. 00:06:16.219 --> 00:06:21.439 It's a story about honoring the dead that goes sideways in a very remarkable way. 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:27.079 So if you have your Bibles, we're going to begin reading at Mark chapter 15, verse 40. 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:30.160 Mark chapter 15, verse 40. 00:06:30.279 --> 00:06:33.579 And Mark, I mean, there's two ways that you could look at Mark. 00:06:33.660 --> 00:06:37.259 On one hand, you could be like a Christian and believe that it's God's word. 00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:45.439 But another way to look at it, which would be how scholars or whatever literary critics would look at it, is it's an ancient biography. 00:06:45.439 --> 00:06:50.040 It's an eyewitness biography written while eyewitnesses were alive. 00:06:50.899 --> 00:06:53.120 And here's the story that they tell. 00:06:53.219 --> 00:06:58.439 And just immediately before this, we have the account of Jesus breathing his last. 00:06:58.620 --> 00:07:04.459 And the centurion, seeing Jesus breathing his last, makes a comment about Jesus. 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:08.180 And now here's where the story takes up at verse 40 of chapter 15. 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:13.100 There were also women looking on from a distance. 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:24.100 Among them were whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger, and Joses, and Salome. 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:28.259 When Jesus was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him. 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:32.579 And there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. 00:07:33.399 --> 00:07:35.040 And I just sort of pause here. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:39.000 The women had been observing the crucifixion from a distance. 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:43.439 They didn't want to be amongst the mockers, and they didn't want to be amongst the gamblers, 00:07:43.700 --> 00:07:48.020 and they didn't want to be amongst those who, in every culture, there are bloodthirsty. 00:07:48.460 --> 00:07:52.020 If we had a public crucifixion, there would be many people who would film it, 00:07:52.100 --> 00:07:55.580 because there's always people who like blood and gore. 00:07:56.620 --> 00:07:57.920 It's something they enjoy. 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:03.320 And they didn't want to be part of that, but they see him die. 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:05.719 They see him breathe his last. 00:08:07.139 --> 00:08:08.319 The story continues. 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:13.560 And when evening had come, since it was the day of preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 00:08:14.339 --> 00:08:20.839 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, 00:08:20.959 --> 00:08:25.219 took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:27.360 Now, once again, it's the body of Jesus. 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:28.300 He's clearly dead. 00:08:28.300 --> 00:08:31.840 But just as an aside, why is it that it took courage to do this? 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:34.139 Well, a moment's reflection will help us. 00:08:35.019 --> 00:08:40.860 Some of you know this, and some of you don't, but on the 16th of April, 2008, 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:44.620 this congregation voted to separate from the Anglican Church of Canada 00:08:44.620 --> 00:08:49.700 and come under a different jurisdiction, still remaining Anglicans, 00:08:49.820 --> 00:08:52.279 but not at all connected to the Anglican Church of Canada. 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:58.799 And when we did that, I, as a minister, had a lot of fears about it, anxieties. 00:08:58.899 --> 00:09:03.179 I had a peace about it, but I had anxiety, of course, because it's not unusual for people to say, 00:09:03.259 --> 00:09:07.699 yeah, we have your back, Pastor, but then when you take the step, they leave the pastor all alone. 00:09:08.299 --> 00:09:14.279 And in fact, the way my former diocese talked about it was there was just this one kooky guy named George Sinclair 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:16.659 who wanted it, but the congregation didn't want it. 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:21.980 And they, in fact, sent messages to the congregation assuring them that after the vote, 00:09:22.079 --> 00:09:26.919 Jesus, we would just fire George and that we'd provide another priest for all the people 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:29.939 who wanted to stay with the Diocese of Ottawa. 00:09:30.459 --> 00:09:34.419 So that was the way that everybody in the diocese expected that it was going to happen. 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:38.139 Maybe they'd know that there'd be two or three other weird people who would go with me, 00:09:38.219 --> 00:09:41.179 but fundamentally nobody would leave such a beautiful building 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:44.240 and all of the resources in the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa. 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:47.460 But, of course, I became persona non grata. 00:09:48.139 --> 00:09:51.139 There were well over 100 clergy in the Diocese of Ottawa, 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:57.799 so in the week after I left, how many of them called me up to say anything to me? 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:00.180 I'll give you the answer. 00:10:01.100 --> 00:10:07.539 Out of the 100, 120 active clergy and retired clergy, maybe 150, 180, how many called me? 00:10:09.659 --> 00:10:10.139 One. 00:10:10.139 --> 00:10:16.439 One minister called me and offered to bring me groceries because he didn't want to see me go hungry. 00:10:18.259 --> 00:10:19.600 To the rest, I was a leper. 00:10:24.340 --> 00:10:31.759 I mean, very truly, most of the diocese would have allowed a Wiccan to speak in church, but not allow me. 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:38.779 But we all know what it's like if you see somebody that they make a spectacular wrong move, 00:10:39.080 --> 00:10:42.200 and to associate with them is to be tainted by them. 00:10:43.019 --> 00:10:44.939 And so it took Joseph great courage. 00:10:45.139 --> 00:10:50.439 Even though Joseph, Jesus, was now dead, the threat was over, they had won. 00:10:51.620 --> 00:10:55.100 It takes great courage to want to ask for the body of Jesus. 00:10:55.100 --> 00:10:55.980 But you know what? 00:10:56.560 --> 00:10:59.899 Joseph wanted to honor the body of Jesus. 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:05.200 Because if he hadn't have done it, what would have happened is what happened to the other thieves, 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:06.980 which was the normal Roman custom. 00:11:07.500 --> 00:11:10.500 The bodies would be taken down and they would be thrown in a dump. 00:11:13.159 --> 00:11:16.740 And Joseph wanted to honor Jesus. 00:11:16.740 --> 00:11:19.720 And so he took this big risk. 00:11:21.200 --> 00:11:25.820 Now, Pilate's a bit confused about this. 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:27.740 Look what happens next, verse 44. 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:32.039 Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus should have already died. 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:39.980 He would have seen Jesus as a strong guy, and normally people wouldn't have died so quickly, 00:11:40.100 --> 00:11:44.259 and he'd probably forgotten the Jewish custom and the fact that they would guarantee the death. 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:47.120 He'd just forgotten why would he remember Jewish superstitions. 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:48.980 He was a great Roman. 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:50.519 But he's surprised. 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:54.120 Verse 44, Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus should have already died. 00:11:54.319 --> 00:11:58.860 And summoning the centurion, sort of like a captain or a major, 00:11:59.319 --> 00:12:02.460 he asked him whether Jesus was already dead. 00:12:03.819 --> 00:12:07.379 And when he learned from the centurion that Jesus was dead, 00:12:07.620 --> 00:12:10.639 he granted the corpse to Joseph. 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:10.799 Joseph. 00:12:11.500 --> 00:12:16.939 Now, once again, notice the text continually says dead, dead, body, corpse. 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:22.539 It continually emphasizes the, you know, if I had been doing the scene things for this, 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:25.860 this whole scene would have been called Jesus is dead, dead, dead, dead. 00:12:25.960 --> 00:12:28.740 That's what I would have called the scene if I was doing that with scenes. 00:12:28.819 --> 00:12:30.220 He's dead, dead, dead, dead. 00:12:30.220 --> 00:12:39.120 Now, sometimes people, when they're downstream trying to explain why the grave is empty, 00:12:39.500 --> 00:12:43.940 the tomb is empty, they'll talk about how Jesus maybe didn't die. 00:12:44.100 --> 00:12:47.080 And they'll say things like, Lazarus wasn't a doctor. 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:48.279 Maybe he didn't really die. 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:50.240 And that sounds very convincing. 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:55.820 But we forget that there's two types of people who are experts in being able to make this determination. 00:12:55.820 --> 00:12:57.340 One, of course, is doctors. 00:12:58.700 --> 00:13:04.100 And we do know that, in fact, if a doctor makes a mistake and issues, says somebody's dead when they're alive, 00:13:04.220 --> 00:13:07.120 there's, I mean, lots of people will make fun of them for a long time, 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:09.160 and there may be some questions of their judgment. 00:13:09.800 --> 00:13:14.800 But there's a whole other category of person who's expert in knowing when somebody's dead, 00:13:14.840 --> 00:13:16.080 and that's professional killers. 00:13:18.060 --> 00:13:19.240 I'm not being funny. 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:22.560 Professional killers are experts. 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:28.559 And the fact of the matter is, if a professional killer makes the mistake, 00:13:29.439 --> 00:13:31.599 people don't just make fun of them. 00:13:31.819 --> 00:13:34.079 Something far worse could happen to that guy, 00:13:34.219 --> 00:13:37.379 because they're paid to make sure the person's dead. 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:43.759 And the centurions and the duty officers connected with the bearer, 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:47.879 and they would have potentially, this same group of guys would have done dozens, 00:13:48.299 --> 00:13:51.959 scores of crucifixions, 00:13:52.559 --> 00:13:56.079 I think they estimated that when it came time a few years later, 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:58.699 when the Jewish people started to revolt against Roman rule, 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:02.319 they'd crucify a thousand at a time, a thousand at a time, crucified. 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:05.819 So Jesus was dead. 00:14:06.819 --> 00:14:07.859 Verse 46, 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:12.019 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:14.779 and he took Jesus down, 00:14:15.500 --> 00:14:18.619 and he wrapped Jesus in the linen shroud, 00:14:18.620 --> 00:14:22.299 and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. 00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:25.960 And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 00:14:27.139 --> 00:14:30.320 And Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph, 00:14:30.860 --> 00:14:32.560 saw where Jesus was laid. 00:14:32.620 --> 00:14:34.519 Once again, you notice the language, the tomb, 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:36.539 the laid, the body, 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:40.700 this continuing hammering away at this continuing thing, 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:42.600 which, as I said, if I had done the Netflix things, 00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:43.200 it would have been called, 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:45.140 Jesus is dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, 00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:46.420 like he's dead. 00:14:47.280 --> 00:14:50.420 Now, here's the thing which is going on in the text. 00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:52.020 If you could put up my first point, Claire, 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:53.020 that would be very helpful. 00:14:53.860 --> 00:14:55.140 On Friday afternoon, 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:56.640 April the 3rd, 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:57.900 33 AD, 00:14:58.300 --> 00:14:59.020 Jesus died. 00:14:59.019 --> 00:15:03.679 On Friday afternoon, 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:04.899 April the 3rd, 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:06.620 33 AD, 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:07.460 Jesus died. 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:09.799 I was talking to somebody the other day 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:12.379 who's sort of friendly towards Christianity. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:14.240 I'm not sure where they are with their Christian faith, 00:15:14.319 --> 00:15:15.259 but they're friendly to them, 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:16.600 and we were talking a little bit about it. 00:15:17.019 --> 00:15:18.240 And he assumed, 00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:20.779 he was actually completely floored 00:15:20.779 --> 00:15:23.019 that, first of all, 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:24.899 the things like the Gospel of Mark 00:15:24.899 --> 00:15:27.019 go back to being eyewitness accounts. 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:28.860 He had never dawned on him 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:30.740 that there are ancient Christian letters 00:15:30.740 --> 00:15:33.600 that talk about the death and resurrection of Jesus 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:34.600 that go way back. 00:15:34.699 --> 00:15:35.559 The first letter, 00:15:36.460 --> 00:15:37.460 Christian letter, 00:15:37.659 --> 00:15:38.379 which we have, 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:41.279 which is an undisputed letter 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:42.360 from that time period, 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:44.199 is from 15 years after this, 00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:45.960 15 or 16 years after this. 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:48.319 And he was floored 00:15:48.319 --> 00:15:50.500 that they actually know the date that Jesus died. 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:51.879 And the scholars debate 00:15:51.879 --> 00:15:53.559 whether it was the 7th of April, 00:15:54.199 --> 00:15:55.039 30 AD, 00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:56.419 or the 3rd of April, 00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:57.360 33 AD. 00:15:58.259 --> 00:16:00.980 But there's enough historical references 00:16:00.980 --> 00:16:03.419 in these ancient biographies 00:16:03.419 --> 00:16:05.120 connected to Roman emperors 00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:07.399 and other historical characters 00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:09.759 that they can sort of figure out 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:12.480 that there's only two possible dates 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:16.500 while Pontius Pilate was in that area 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:17.879 where you had the combination 00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:20.079 by solar calendar of a Friday, 00:16:20.819 --> 00:16:20.980 you know, 00:16:21.019 --> 00:16:21.480 the Thursday, 00:16:21.659 --> 00:16:21.860 Friday, 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:22.259 Saturday, 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:23.360 when the Passover 00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:24.759 and the Sabbath would happen. 00:16:25.100 --> 00:16:26.560 And I think the evidence is best 00:16:26.560 --> 00:16:28.320 for it being April 3rd, 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:29.100 33 AD. 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:31.000 But the point is 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:33.600 that what's being recorded here 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:34.220 is history. 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:36.879 That's why I can say, 00:16:37.220 --> 00:16:38.019 you could say, 00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:39.560 on Friday afternoon, 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:40.480 April the 3rd, 00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:42.019 33 AD, 00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:43.060 Jesus died. 00:16:43.059 --> 00:16:45.479 Now, 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:46.879 the next part of the story, 00:16:47.319 --> 00:16:47.599 you know, 00:16:48.719 --> 00:16:50.279 this is part of the thing about, 00:16:50.579 --> 00:16:51.399 and why you might like 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:53.579 want to have a little journal like this 00:16:53.579 --> 00:16:55.399 to reflect upon the text. 00:16:55.639 --> 00:16:57.579 The next part is deeply human. 00:16:57.779 --> 00:16:59.819 At least it's human in my experience. 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:01.079 Maybe it's not yours. 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:01.919 But, 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:02.679 you know, 00:17:02.739 --> 00:17:03.559 every one of us 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:04.759 probably knows people, 00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:06.980 and hopefully we aren't that person, 00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:08.700 who sort of says, 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:08.879 yeah, 00:17:08.919 --> 00:17:09.039 yeah, 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:09.220 yeah, 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:09.379 yeah, 00:17:09.379 --> 00:17:09.579 you know, 00:17:09.619 --> 00:17:10.440 the family members 00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:10.960 or my friends, 00:17:10.960 --> 00:17:12.340 they can sort of do those arrangements, 00:17:12.579 --> 00:17:12.660 but, 00:17:12.779 --> 00:17:12.860 you know, 00:17:12.900 --> 00:17:13.559 at the end of the day, 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:16.120 they don't really get it quite right. 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:18.519 They need somebody like me there 00:17:18.519 --> 00:17:20.940 just to make things better, 00:17:21.100 --> 00:17:22.700 just to make them really proper. 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:23.720 They do their best. 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:25.240 They mean well. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:27.240 But really, 00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:28.539 unless I sort of come and, 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:28.799 you know, 00:17:28.819 --> 00:17:29.700 fix up whatever, 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:31.680 it's not quite done well. 00:17:31.860 --> 00:17:33.319 And that's what's going on here. 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:34.440 Look how it goes. 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:35.460 It's chapter 16, 00:17:35.539 --> 00:17:36.019 verse 1. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:38.180 When the Sabbath was passed, 00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:39.299 Mary Magdalene, 00:17:39.600 --> 00:17:40.779 Mary the mother of James, 00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:41.539 and Salome, 00:17:42.059 --> 00:17:42.920 bought spices 00:17:42.920 --> 00:17:44.420 so that they might go 00:17:44.420 --> 00:17:45.279 and anoint Jesus. 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:45.579 Now, 00:17:45.639 --> 00:17:46.559 what's going on here? 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:47.619 Actually, 00:17:47.660 --> 00:17:48.460 if you could put up the point, 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:49.480 that would be very helpful. 00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:52.160 On Saturday evening, 00:17:52.379 --> 00:17:53.240 April the 4th, 00:17:53.259 --> 00:17:54.099 33 AD, 00:17:54.899 --> 00:17:56.480 some women bought spices 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:58.160 to cover the stench 00:17:58.160 --> 00:17:59.160 of Jesus' 00:17:59.539 --> 00:18:00.899 decomposing body. 00:18:02.420 --> 00:18:03.980 That's what's being communicated here. 00:18:04.059 --> 00:18:04.660 On the evening, 00:18:04.879 --> 00:18:05.440 Saturday evening, 00:18:05.539 --> 00:18:06.160 April the 4th, 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:06.879 33 AD, 00:18:06.879 --> 00:18:08.299 some women bought spices 00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:09.919 to cover the stench 00:18:09.919 --> 00:18:10.379 of Jesus' 00:18:10.680 --> 00:18:11.720 decomposing body. 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:14.059 You see, 00:18:14.159 --> 00:18:15.480 Jewish people didn't embalm. 00:18:16.619 --> 00:18:17.579 And so what they did 00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:18.759 is they would put spices 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:19.519 on the body, 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:20.740 if they could afford it, 00:18:21.220 --> 00:18:22.659 to help cover up 00:18:22.659 --> 00:18:23.319 the stench 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:24.119 of decomposition. 00:18:25.980 --> 00:18:27.440 And so what would have happened, 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:28.299 it's not mentioned 00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:29.480 in Joseph's case, 00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:30.099 is that Joseph, 00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:30.879 in another account, 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:31.480 knows that he had 00:18:31.480 --> 00:18:32.299 at least one person 00:18:32.299 --> 00:18:32.779 helping him 00:18:32.779 --> 00:18:33.519 and maybe servants. 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:35.339 And when they had 00:18:35.339 --> 00:18:35.940 the linen shroud, 00:18:36.019 --> 00:18:36.480 they would have put 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:37.299 the spices down 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:37.859 on the shroud. 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:38.359 They would have 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:40.639 put some spices 00:18:40.639 --> 00:18:42.059 on the part of Jesus 00:18:42.059 --> 00:18:42.779 that was probably, 00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:43.059 you know, 00:18:43.099 --> 00:18:43.940 he's probably on his back 00:18:43.940 --> 00:18:44.480 facing up. 00:18:44.639 --> 00:18:45.539 And then they wrapped 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:46.099 it all up. 00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:47.539 And the women probably thought, 00:18:47.639 --> 00:18:47.960 well, you know, 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:48.599 those guys, 00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:49.359 they're guys. 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:51.720 They meant well. 00:18:52.259 --> 00:18:52.779 But, you know, 00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:54.160 I bet they didn't get 00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:54.879 enough spices 00:18:54.879 --> 00:18:55.700 and I bet it's not 00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:56.579 tucked in right 00:18:56.579 --> 00:18:57.299 and I bet it's just 00:18:57.299 --> 00:18:58.379 not done right. 00:18:58.500 --> 00:18:59.460 You know people like that? 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:01.639 That's what they were thinking. 00:19:01.640 --> 00:19:03.580 And so, 00:19:03.820 --> 00:19:05.280 so they went 00:19:05.280 --> 00:19:06.280 and bought extra spices 00:19:06.280 --> 00:19:08.000 and they weren't 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:08.660 buying spices 00:19:08.660 --> 00:19:09.500 to make cookies 00:19:09.500 --> 00:19:10.160 to celebrate 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:10.780 the resurrection 00:19:10.780 --> 00:19:11.500 of Jesus. 00:19:12.180 --> 00:19:13.600 They were buying spices 00:19:13.600 --> 00:19:14.600 to put on the 00:19:14.600 --> 00:19:15.720 decomposing body 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:16.440 of Jesus 00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:17.620 so it wouldn't smell. 00:19:17.840 --> 00:19:18.580 That's what they were doing. 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:21.460 That's what they were doing. 00:19:22.360 --> 00:19:23.580 And they were doing it 00:19:23.580 --> 00:19:23.900 at night 00:19:23.900 --> 00:19:25.240 after the Sabbath is over, 00:19:25.340 --> 00:19:26.000 the stalls 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:27.120 and the business is open 00:19:27.120 --> 00:19:28.280 and they felt comfortable 00:19:28.280 --> 00:19:28.840 doing that. 00:19:29.500 --> 00:19:30.200 And those of you 00:19:30.200 --> 00:19:31.280 who are women, 00:19:31.640 --> 00:19:33.200 know what this is like, 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:34.020 you feel comfortable 00:19:34.020 --> 00:19:34.600 doing that 00:19:34.600 --> 00:19:35.440 because there's lots 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:36.200 of people around 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:37.060 and you feel safe 00:19:37.060 --> 00:19:38.380 but the idea of walking 00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:39.660 way out to a tomb 00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:41.080 in the middle of the night 00:19:41.080 --> 00:19:42.120 all by yourself, 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:43.160 just a couple of women 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:44.360 and it's going to be dark 00:19:44.360 --> 00:19:45.200 and you can't really do it, 00:19:45.259 --> 00:19:45.880 well that's a very, 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:46.920 very different proposition. 00:19:47.280 --> 00:19:47.940 So they go home, 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:48.580 they go to bed 00:19:48.580 --> 00:19:50.500 and the next morning 00:19:50.500 --> 00:19:51.320 they wake up 00:19:51.320 --> 00:19:53.580 and here's what they do. 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:54.360 It's verse 2 00:19:54.360 --> 00:19:55.440 and 3. 00:19:56.320 --> 00:19:57.100 And very early 00:19:57.100 --> 00:19:57.880 on the first day 00:19:57.880 --> 00:19:58.320 of the week 00:19:58.320 --> 00:19:59.280 when the sun had risen, 00:19:59.820 --> 00:20:00.820 they went to the tomb 00:20:00.819 --> 00:20:02.679 and they were, 00:20:02.740 --> 00:20:03.679 notice again the death, 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:03.919 right? 00:20:04.539 --> 00:20:05.679 And they were saying 00:20:05.679 --> 00:20:06.279 to one another, 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:07.220 who will roll away 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:08.200 the stone for us 00:20:08.200 --> 00:20:09.000 from the entrance 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:10.079 of the tomb? 00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:12.179 Now if you could just 00:20:12.179 --> 00:20:13.099 put up my next point 00:20:13.099 --> 00:20:13.859 that would be handy. 00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:15.319 With the first faint 00:20:15.319 --> 00:20:16.519 light of dawn, 00:20:17.659 --> 00:20:18.200 April 5th, 00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:20.099 33 AD, 00:20:20.899 --> 00:20:22.119 some women left 00:20:22.119 --> 00:20:23.220 for the tomb of Jesus 00:20:23.220 --> 00:20:24.879 to put additional spices 00:20:24.879 --> 00:20:25.700 on his body 00:20:25.700 --> 00:20:27.700 to cover up the stench 00:20:27.700 --> 00:20:29.100 of decomposition. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:32.080 They went to honour him. 00:20:34.200 --> 00:20:35.340 They went to honour him. 00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:36.559 I mean for us 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:37.819 it sounds pretty gross 00:20:37.819 --> 00:20:38.660 that you'd want to 00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:40.680 unwrap the body 00:20:40.680 --> 00:20:42.980 and touch the body 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:43.799 after it had been dead 00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:44.740 for that many hours 00:20:44.740 --> 00:20:45.559 and that sounds 00:20:45.559 --> 00:20:46.620 very gross to us, 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:48.180 some of us more than others. 00:20:49.360 --> 00:20:50.420 But for others of us 00:20:50.420 --> 00:20:51.120 you understand 00:20:51.120 --> 00:20:52.019 that great desire 00:20:52.019 --> 00:20:53.740 to have that one time 00:20:53.740 --> 00:20:54.279 to make sure 00:20:54.279 --> 00:20:54.799 that you can, 00:20:54.799 --> 00:20:56.740 they didn't have time 00:20:56.740 --> 00:20:57.839 on Friday 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:00.099 to really see him dead 00:21:00.099 --> 00:21:01.240 and just to be with him, 00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:03.359 to be with his body. 00:21:03.460 --> 00:21:04.639 They didn't have that time 00:21:04.639 --> 00:21:07.180 because there's soldiers around 00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:08.299 and people screaming 00:21:08.299 --> 00:21:08.899 and yelling 00:21:08.899 --> 00:21:10.480 and the hustle and bustle 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:11.740 and then it's taken away 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:13.099 and all they can do 00:21:13.099 --> 00:21:13.919 is look at a distance. 00:21:14.059 --> 00:21:15.099 They don't have that time 00:21:15.099 --> 00:21:17.000 and they want that time. 00:21:17.659 --> 00:21:18.659 They love Jesus. 00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:20.559 They're deeply sad 00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:21.319 that he's dead. 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:24.460 And yes, it's gross. 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:27.000 They would have been familiar 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:29.619 with those type of grossnesses 00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:30.079 back then 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:31.019 because you can't just, 00:21:31.099 --> 00:21:31.500 it was harder 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:32.700 just to pay a professional 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:33.579 to go and do it 00:21:33.579 --> 00:21:34.639 and you don't have to be bothered 00:21:34.639 --> 00:21:36.059 and they wanted 00:21:36.059 --> 00:21:37.179 to unwrap his body. 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:37.960 They wanted to put 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:38.879 the spices down. 00:21:38.980 --> 00:21:40.500 They wanted to wrap him back up. 00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:41.220 They wanted to make sure 00:21:41.220 --> 00:21:41.919 it was done well 00:21:41.919 --> 00:21:42.839 and they wanted 00:21:42.839 --> 00:21:43.919 a quiet time alone 00:21:43.919 --> 00:21:44.659 with him in the tomb. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:47.579 It's deeply human. 00:21:47.579 --> 00:21:47.619 It's deeply human. 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:52.599 And the text doesn't tell us. 00:21:52.659 --> 00:21:53.240 It might have even been 00:21:53.240 --> 00:21:53.759 that some others 00:21:53.759 --> 00:21:54.519 who couldn't handle 00:21:54.519 --> 00:21:55.419 the gross aspect 00:21:55.419 --> 00:21:56.279 were planning to come 00:21:56.279 --> 00:21:57.480 and do their respects later 00:21:57.480 --> 00:21:57.839 as well, 00:21:57.939 --> 00:21:58.980 privately, quietly, 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:01.439 just to see him. 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:05.460 See, all of these 00:22:05.460 --> 00:22:06.200 are stories 00:22:06.200 --> 00:22:08.139 of people who love Jesus 00:22:08.139 --> 00:22:09.439 who wanted to honor him 00:22:09.439 --> 00:22:10.159 in his death. 00:22:11.299 --> 00:22:12.099 And then 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:14.379 the story takes 00:22:14.379 --> 00:22:15.139 a weird turn. 00:22:17.419 --> 00:22:18.259 And by now, 00:22:18.339 --> 00:22:19.500 I hope you've gathered 00:22:19.500 --> 00:22:20.819 that what they're making 00:22:20.819 --> 00:22:21.500 is a claim 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:22.559 that it goes 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:24.660 really, really, really weird 00:22:24.660 --> 00:22:25.599 and completely 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:26.220 and utterly 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:27.940 against what they had expected 00:22:27.940 --> 00:22:30.400 and what they were preparing for 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:32.440 and how they were preparing 00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:33.240 to live for the rest 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:33.920 of their lives. 00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:35.319 Look what happens. 00:22:35.460 --> 00:22:36.319 Look at verses 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:38.099 four to seven. 00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:40.700 And looking up, 00:22:40.759 --> 00:22:41.460 they must have been coming 00:22:41.460 --> 00:22:42.140 from the bottom 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:44.079 and the cave 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:45.059 slash tomb 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:46.180 has been cut in the side. 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:46.900 And looking up, 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:48.880 they saw that the stone 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:50.340 had been rolled back 00:22:50.340 --> 00:22:51.380 and it was very large. 00:22:52.200 --> 00:22:53.600 And entering the tomb, 00:22:54.440 --> 00:22:56.140 they saw a young man 00:22:56.140 --> 00:22:57.540 sitting on the right side 00:22:57.540 --> 00:22:58.780 dressed in a white robe 00:22:58.780 --> 00:23:00.140 and they were alarmed. 00:23:00.360 --> 00:23:01.460 And just sort of pause here 00:23:01.460 --> 00:23:02.440 before I read any further. 00:23:03.400 --> 00:23:05.300 It's clear from the original language 00:23:05.300 --> 00:23:08.340 and it's clear from the other accounts 00:23:08.340 --> 00:23:09.380 that this is a way 00:23:09.380 --> 00:23:10.480 of describing an angel. 00:23:10.840 --> 00:23:12.320 They're seeing an angel. 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:15.940 Verse six, 00:23:15.940 --> 00:23:17.360 And he said to them, 00:23:18.100 --> 00:23:19.200 Do not be alarmed. 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:21.420 You seek Jesus of Nazareth 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:22.660 who was crucified. 00:23:23.539 --> 00:23:24.480 He is risen. 00:23:24.980 --> 00:23:25.779 He is not here. 00:23:26.840 --> 00:23:28.440 See the place 00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:29.160 where they laid him. 00:23:29.640 --> 00:23:30.220 But go, 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:31.620 tell his disciples 00:23:31.620 --> 00:23:32.220 and Peter 00:23:32.220 --> 00:23:33.539 that he is going before you 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:34.220 to Galilee. 00:23:34.759 --> 00:23:36.740 There you will see him 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:40.100 just as he told you. 00:23:40.099 --> 00:23:45.259 If you could put up the point. 00:23:47.819 --> 00:23:49.619 On the morning of April 5th, 00:23:49.639 --> 00:23:50.480 33 AD, 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:52.599 some women found 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:53.859 the stone rolled away 00:23:53.859 --> 00:23:55.439 from Jesus' tomb 00:23:55.439 --> 00:23:57.240 and his body was gone. 00:23:58.639 --> 00:23:59.719 Now up until now, 00:24:00.459 --> 00:24:02.039 you could go to the religion faculty 00:24:02.039 --> 00:24:02.759 at Ottawa U. 00:24:02.899 --> 00:24:04.299 You could go to the ultra-liberal 00:24:04.299 --> 00:24:05.199 religion faculty 00:24:05.199 --> 00:24:06.419 at St. Paul University. 00:24:06.559 --> 00:24:07.879 You could go to the religion faculty 00:24:07.880 --> 00:24:08.560 at Carleton. 00:24:08.800 --> 00:24:10.960 You could go to just about 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:12.000 any school. 00:24:12.420 --> 00:24:13.620 And they would not disagree 00:24:13.620 --> 00:24:14.600 with a single thing 00:24:14.600 --> 00:24:15.300 of my points 00:24:15.300 --> 00:24:16.440 that I've set up until now. 00:24:16.520 --> 00:24:16.780 They might, 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:17.040 you know, 00:24:17.100 --> 00:24:18.040 my explanation, 00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:19.600 they might have different nuances. 00:24:19.600 --> 00:24:20.180 That's fine. 00:24:20.620 --> 00:24:21.920 But the four points 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:22.860 that I've put up right now, 00:24:22.940 --> 00:24:23.580 that would be just, 00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:24.920 that's part of the bedrock thing 00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:26.060 that nobody would disagree with. 00:24:26.080 --> 00:24:26.860 Some of them might disagree 00:24:26.860 --> 00:24:28.060 with 33 and 30, 00:24:28.180 --> 00:24:28.320 but, 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:29.500 you know, 00:24:29.540 --> 00:24:30.200 at the end of the day, 00:24:30.600 --> 00:24:31.300 all of this stuff, 00:24:31.360 --> 00:24:32.540 I've completely and utterly, 00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:34.600 they all agree. 00:24:34.599 --> 00:24:37.539 But in that text, 00:24:37.659 --> 00:24:38.519 in particular, 00:24:39.419 --> 00:24:42.779 in verse 5 and 6, 00:24:43.139 --> 00:24:44.559 this is where they lose it. 00:24:48.139 --> 00:24:49.439 Okay, George, 00:24:50.139 --> 00:24:52.219 you're saying an angel 00:24:52.219 --> 00:24:53.179 talked to the women. 00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:56.039 Like, seriously? 00:24:56.579 --> 00:24:59.119 An angel talked to the women? 00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:01.239 George, 00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:03.319 and you say it's history? 00:25:04.219 --> 00:25:05.739 You say it's biography? 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:09.359 And you have an angel talking? 00:25:12.859 --> 00:25:13.339 George, 00:25:13.419 --> 00:25:14.459 that's completely 00:25:14.459 --> 00:25:15.599 and utterly ridiculous. 00:25:20.359 --> 00:25:20.819 Now, 00:25:20.859 --> 00:25:21.419 they might say it 00:25:21.419 --> 00:25:22.199 with more scorn 00:25:22.199 --> 00:25:22.979 and not affection. 00:25:24.099 --> 00:25:25.839 And we might get deeply red 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:26.839 in the face 00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:27.799 and uncomfortable 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:29.240 and not know what to say. 00:25:30.440 --> 00:25:31.740 And I'm not going to give you 00:25:31.740 --> 00:25:32.659 a whole account 00:25:32.659 --> 00:25:34.460 of what they, 00:25:35.379 --> 00:25:36.339 of what to say. 00:25:38.659 --> 00:25:39.259 But I am, 00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:39.799 if you could put up 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:40.579 the fifth point, 00:25:41.240 --> 00:25:42.500 I am going to maintain 00:25:42.500 --> 00:25:44.259 that this sentence 00:25:44.259 --> 00:25:46.240 makes complete sense 00:25:46.240 --> 00:25:49.859 as an historical account 00:25:49.859 --> 00:25:51.799 of what actually happened. 00:25:54.299 --> 00:25:55.119 Amongst other things, 00:25:55.180 --> 00:25:56.319 because I'm not going into it, 00:25:56.319 --> 00:25:58.240 the person who is, 00:25:58.359 --> 00:25:58.599 well, no, 00:25:58.659 --> 00:25:59.700 I'll make the point first. 00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:01.319 On the morning of April 5th, 00:26:01.399 --> 00:26:02.259 33 AD, 00:26:03.220 --> 00:26:04.740 an angel told the women 00:26:04.740 --> 00:26:06.819 that Jesus had been resurrected 00:26:06.819 --> 00:26:08.539 from death, 00:26:08.960 --> 00:26:09.579 from the dead. 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:11.919 Now, 00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:14.240 angels, 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:15.659 you know, 00:26:15.980 --> 00:26:17.619 that's completely impossible. 00:26:17.980 --> 00:26:20.179 It's completely implausible. 00:26:20.179 --> 00:26:20.579 Well, 00:26:20.740 --> 00:26:21.519 amongst other things, 00:26:21.579 --> 00:26:22.559 that only makes sense, 00:26:22.679 --> 00:26:22.919 of course, 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:24.559 if angels don't actually exist. 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:25.559 If they do exist, 00:26:25.679 --> 00:26:27.659 then there's nothing wrong 00:26:27.659 --> 00:26:28.700 with this. 00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:30.279 Now, 00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:32.259 here's what, 00:26:32.339 --> 00:26:34.000 here's what's going on, 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:34.440 you know, 00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:34.960 and that's why, 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:35.379 by the way, 00:26:35.480 --> 00:26:36.339 this is one of the reasons 00:26:36.339 --> 00:26:37.399 I've made all of my points 00:26:37.399 --> 00:26:38.720 by giving the actual date 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:39.480 of the resurrection 00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:40.579 and the claim 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:41.339 that's being made. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:43.159 That you can't read 00:26:43.159 --> 00:26:44.500 the Gospels 00:26:44.500 --> 00:26:45.559 and not realize, 00:26:46.099 --> 00:26:46.279 you know, 00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:47.200 if you want to think, 00:26:47.539 --> 00:26:48.339 if you think 00:26:48.339 --> 00:26:49.399 that they may be 00:26:49.399 --> 00:26:50.700 trying to just be symbolic, 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:52.660 well, 00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:53.500 the Bible has 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:54.580 an account 00:26:54.580 --> 00:26:55.880 of Christian truth 00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:56.720 which is symbolic. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:26:57.140 It's called 00:26:57.140 --> 00:26:58.039 the Book of Revelation 00:26:58.039 --> 00:27:00.059 and nobody can read 00:27:00.059 --> 00:27:00.980 the Book of Revelation 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:02.680 and read one of the Gospels 00:27:02.680 --> 00:27:03.740 and think that 00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:04.779 they're the same genres. 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:05.080 Like, 00:27:05.340 --> 00:27:06.319 early Christians, 00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:06.600 just, 00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:07.920 they weren't dummies. 00:27:08.420 --> 00:27:08.980 They're writing 00:27:08.980 --> 00:27:10.460 an ancient biography 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:11.259 and they're making 00:27:11.259 --> 00:27:12.039 these claims. 00:27:12.440 --> 00:27:13.220 They're claiming 00:27:13.220 --> 00:27:14.299 that that's what happened. 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:15.680 Now, 00:27:15.980 --> 00:27:17.259 here's the issue 00:27:17.259 --> 00:27:17.680 with it 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:18.799 and this is why 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:19.440 on one level, 00:27:19.440 --> 00:27:20.680 and I think increasingly 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:21.400 in our culture 00:27:21.400 --> 00:27:21.940 there's maybe 00:27:21.940 --> 00:27:22.840 going to begin 00:27:22.840 --> 00:27:24.340 a new openness to it 00:27:24.340 --> 00:27:26.000 and I want to park here 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:26.960 just for a couple of minutes. 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:27.660 I see the time. 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:28.460 I want to park here. 00:27:29.019 --> 00:27:29.320 I have, 00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:31.160 I know somebody who, 00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:32.779 I know several people now 00:27:32.779 --> 00:27:35.120 who might have been 00:27:35.120 --> 00:27:35.620 a bit far 00:27:35.620 --> 00:27:36.580 from the Christian faith 00:27:36.580 --> 00:27:37.180 for a while 00:27:37.180 --> 00:27:39.620 and I don't know 00:27:39.620 --> 00:27:40.279 if they're definitely, 00:27:40.440 --> 00:27:41.600 at least a couple of them 00:27:41.600 --> 00:27:42.200 that I'm thinking of, 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:42.660 they're definitely 00:27:42.660 --> 00:27:43.480 not Christians 00:27:43.480 --> 00:27:45.440 but they have a respect 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:46.160 for Christians 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:47.480 that they didn't have before 00:27:47.480 --> 00:27:48.940 and that's because 00:27:48.940 --> 00:27:50.900 on a very fundamental level 00:27:50.900 --> 00:27:52.120 they're starting to realize 00:27:52.120 --> 00:27:52.880 and recognize 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:53.720 something which has 00:27:53.720 --> 00:27:54.759 always been true 00:27:54.759 --> 00:27:57.080 that Christian truth, 00:27:57.220 --> 00:27:58.440 the Christian faith 00:27:58.440 --> 00:27:59.920 has been a bastion, 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:02.779 has been a bastion 00:28:02.779 --> 00:28:06.440 of truth 00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:08.200 and of evidence 00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:09.580 and of reason 00:28:09.580 --> 00:28:10.960 and of what is real. 00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:15.740 like I talk to people 00:28:15.740 --> 00:28:16.480 and once they start 00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:17.059 to realize 00:28:17.059 --> 00:28:18.759 what I think about things 00:28:18.759 --> 00:28:20.759 they come to realize 00:28:20.759 --> 00:28:21.680 that there's people 00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:21.940 in our, 00:28:22.180 --> 00:28:23.319 like there's actually 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:24.100 people in our 00:28:24.100 --> 00:28:25.259 educational institution 00:28:25.259 --> 00:28:25.819 that think that 00:28:25.819 --> 00:28:26.539 two plus two 00:28:26.539 --> 00:28:27.559 equals four 00:28:27.559 --> 00:28:28.319 isn't a statement 00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:29.440 of something which is true 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:31.180 but is a patriarchal construct. 00:28:32.440 --> 00:28:33.640 That there are people 00:28:33.640 --> 00:28:34.279 in our culture 00:28:34.279 --> 00:28:35.160 who think that 00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:36.360 you should have 00:28:36.360 --> 00:28:38.100 different ways 00:28:38.100 --> 00:28:38.579 of knowing 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:40.100 taught alongside science 00:28:40.099 --> 00:28:40.899 because they're both 00:28:40.899 --> 00:28:41.740 equally valid 00:28:41.740 --> 00:28:42.559 that something 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:43.059 that you get 00:28:43.059 --> 00:28:43.740 from a dream 00:28:43.740 --> 00:28:44.519 or a legend 00:28:44.519 --> 00:28:45.119 is going to be 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:46.000 equally as good 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:46.939 at treating people 00:28:46.939 --> 00:28:48.459 or handling things 00:28:48.459 --> 00:28:50.399 as evidence-based, 00:28:50.619 --> 00:28:52.439 scientific-based medicine 00:28:52.439 --> 00:28:53.119 and that's just 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:54.139 completely ridiculous. 00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:54.859 And the next bit, 00:28:55.379 --> 00:28:56.959 this isn't a political rant 00:28:56.959 --> 00:28:58.319 and I know normally 00:28:58.319 --> 00:28:59.279 I try to make 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:00.079 a whole pile of covering 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:00.579 for it 00:29:00.579 --> 00:29:02.579 and I don't want 00:29:02.579 --> 00:29:03.079 to offend 00:29:03.079 --> 00:29:04.219 and I'm going to offend 00:29:04.220 --> 00:29:07.160 and I'll take you 00:29:07.160 --> 00:29:07.799 out for coffee 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:08.900 and I'll give you 00:29:08.900 --> 00:29:09.779 lots of nuances 00:29:09.779 --> 00:29:10.440 around it 00:29:10.440 --> 00:29:11.860 but I know people 00:29:11.860 --> 00:29:12.799 who sit through 00:29:12.799 --> 00:29:13.700 and these are people 00:29:13.700 --> 00:29:14.680 who are scientists 00:29:14.680 --> 00:29:16.519 with graduate level 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:17.700 degrees in biology 00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:19.200 and they sit through 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:19.799 a workshop 00:29:19.799 --> 00:29:20.759 where they say 00:29:20.759 --> 00:29:21.860 that you can't refer 00:29:21.860 --> 00:29:23.680 to women breastfeeding, 00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:24.799 you have to refer 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:29.460 what's the word 00:29:29.460 --> 00:29:31.120 to milking agents 00:29:31.120 --> 00:29:31.900 like, you know, 00:29:32.400 --> 00:29:33.240 chest feeding? 00:29:34.220 --> 00:29:36.240 And they sit 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:36.940 through things 00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:38.240 where, you know, 00:29:38.339 --> 00:29:38.819 you might have seen 00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:39.720 an viral clip 00:29:39.720 --> 00:29:40.480 that you couldn't tell 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:41.220 in an autopsy 00:29:41.220 --> 00:29:42.740 whether the corpse 00:29:42.740 --> 00:29:43.980 was a male or female 00:29:43.980 --> 00:29:44.980 and they go, 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:45.880 like, what? 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:49.539 And I know several people 00:29:49.539 --> 00:29:50.240 who, you know, 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:51.319 ten years earlier 00:29:51.319 --> 00:29:52.559 or five years earlier 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:53.120 they would have been 00:29:53.120 --> 00:29:54.000 very dismissive 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:54.559 of Christians 00:29:54.559 --> 00:29:55.460 but all of a sudden 00:29:55.460 --> 00:29:56.759 they just look at Christians 00:29:56.759 --> 00:29:58.279 and they realize 00:29:58.279 --> 00:29:59.160 that Christians 00:29:59.160 --> 00:30:02.180 have had this long tradition 00:30:02.180 --> 00:30:03.839 deeply formed 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:04.980 that we're concerned 00:30:04.980 --> 00:30:05.959 with evidence, 00:30:06.379 --> 00:30:07.319 that we're concerned 00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:08.119 with the truth, 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:09.019 that we're concerned 00:30:09.019 --> 00:30:09.839 with reason 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:14.039 and they see our culture 00:30:14.039 --> 00:30:14.919 getting unmoored 00:30:14.919 --> 00:30:15.699 and all of a sudden 00:30:15.699 --> 00:30:16.279 they realize 00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:16.839 that if they're going 00:30:16.839 --> 00:30:17.939 to go and have some people 00:30:17.939 --> 00:30:18.459 they can at least 00:30:18.459 --> 00:30:19.679 have conversations with 00:30:19.679 --> 00:30:20.379 and maybe have, 00:30:20.899 --> 00:30:21.500 start to realize 00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:22.159 that there's something 00:30:22.159 --> 00:30:22.799 grounding, 00:30:23.079 --> 00:30:24.539 just actually what's real, 00:30:25.220 --> 00:30:26.259 that that's where you go, 00:30:26.359 --> 00:30:27.299 that's where Christians 00:30:27.299 --> 00:30:27.839 inhabit. 00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:31.480 and for some of them 00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:32.740 it's a very shocking 00:30:32.740 --> 00:30:33.679 realization 00:30:33.679 --> 00:30:35.159 that that's sort of 00:30:35.159 --> 00:30:36.079 that they're on the same 00:30:36.079 --> 00:30:37.359 side of the playing field 00:30:37.359 --> 00:30:39.579 with guys like me 00:30:39.579 --> 00:30:41.240 and you folks. 00:30:45.659 --> 00:30:46.439 You see, 00:30:46.659 --> 00:30:46.819 I mean, 00:30:46.879 --> 00:30:48.039 you just look at this story. 00:30:49.939 --> 00:30:50.779 Christians say 00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:51.679 that they didn't roll 00:30:51.679 --> 00:30:52.519 the stone away 00:30:52.519 --> 00:30:54.119 so Jesus could get out. 00:30:54.439 --> 00:30:55.879 They rolled the stone away 00:30:55.880 --> 00:30:57.380 so that people could go in 00:30:57.380 --> 00:30:58.000 and verify 00:30:58.000 --> 00:30:59.620 that the body was gone. 00:31:00.560 --> 00:31:01.200 Kathy Keller 00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:02.420 has a wonderful line. 00:31:02.540 --> 00:31:02.960 She says, 00:31:03.080 --> 00:31:04.080 it's always been part 00:31:04.080 --> 00:31:05.060 of the Christian tradition 00:31:05.060 --> 00:31:06.600 to trust and verify. 00:31:08.060 --> 00:31:10.020 Trust and verify. 00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:11.920 That that's part 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:13.100 of the Christian tradition. 00:31:13.840 --> 00:31:14.860 Even the angel says, 00:31:14.960 --> 00:31:15.060 look, 00:31:15.120 --> 00:31:15.860 the body's gone. 00:31:17.780 --> 00:31:18.800 Christianity would be 00:31:18.800 --> 00:31:19.420 a radically, 00:31:19.620 --> 00:31:20.060 radically, 00:31:20.220 --> 00:31:21.480 radically different religion. 00:31:21.620 --> 00:31:21.960 In fact, 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:22.480 it would be like 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:23.020 the religions 00:31:23.020 --> 00:31:24.080 of most of the world 00:31:24.080 --> 00:31:25.480 if we were to say, 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:25.620 yeah, 00:31:25.619 --> 00:31:26.739 Jesus rose from the dead. 00:31:26.859 --> 00:31:26.959 Oh, 00:31:27.019 --> 00:31:27.619 did he rise from the dead? 00:31:27.639 --> 00:31:28.099 How do you know? 00:31:28.500 --> 00:31:28.699 Well, 00:31:28.819 --> 00:31:29.079 you know, 00:31:29.119 --> 00:31:30.379 we know that the body's gone. 00:31:30.859 --> 00:31:31.639 Can I go? 00:31:31.679 --> 00:31:31.799 No, 00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:31.939 no, 00:31:32.179 --> 00:31:32.759 you know, 00:31:32.779 --> 00:31:33.479 it happened right here 00:31:33.479 --> 00:31:34.019 in this tomb. 00:31:34.539 --> 00:31:34.659 Well, 00:31:34.699 --> 00:31:35.259 can we go and look? 00:31:35.319 --> 00:31:35.439 No, 00:31:35.479 --> 00:31:35.579 no, 00:31:35.579 --> 00:31:35.699 no, 00:31:35.699 --> 00:31:35.839 no, 00:31:35.839 --> 00:31:35.959 no, 00:31:35.959 --> 00:31:36.259 no, 00:31:36.259 --> 00:31:36.559 no, 00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:36.779 no, 00:31:36.779 --> 00:31:36.959 no, 00:31:36.959 --> 00:31:37.079 no, 00:31:37.079 --> 00:31:37.199 no, 00:31:37.199 --> 00:31:37.299 no, 00:31:37.299 --> 00:31:37.399 no, 00:31:37.399 --> 00:31:37.479 no, 00:31:37.479 --> 00:31:37.500 no, 00:31:37.500 --> 00:31:37.519 no, 00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:37.539 no, 00:31:37.539 --> 00:31:37.559 no, 00:31:37.559 --> 00:31:37.579 no, 00:31:37.579 --> 00:31:37.679 no, 00:31:37.679 --> 00:31:37.719 no, 00:31:37.719 --> 00:31:37.799 no, 00:31:37.799 --> 00:31:38.019 no, 00:31:38.019 --> 00:31:38.679 no, 00:31:38.679 --> 00:31:39.319 no, 00:31:39.319 --> 00:31:39.500 no, 00:31:39.500 --> 00:31:39.599 no, 00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:39.919 no, 00:31:39.919 --> 00:31:40.059 no, 00:31:40.059 --> 00:31:40.839 no, 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:41.439 no, 00:31:41.439 --> 00:31:41.679 no, 00:31:41.679 --> 00:31:41.959 no, 00:31:55.619 --> 00:31:57.079 you know, 00:31:57.179 --> 00:31:58.639 maybe it's ancient myths 00:31:58.639 --> 00:31:59.779 and ancient stories 00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:00.659 and I'm not, 00:32:00.739 --> 00:32:02.859 I'm not putting them down at all 00:32:02.859 --> 00:32:04.879 and ancient practices, 00:32:05.059 --> 00:32:05.799 you have stories, 00:32:05.959 --> 00:32:06.559 you have myths, 00:32:06.699 --> 00:32:07.500 you have practices, 00:32:07.699 --> 00:32:08.419 you have legends, 00:32:09.119 --> 00:32:09.519 you have, 00:32:09.579 --> 00:32:10.500 you know, 00:32:10.599 --> 00:32:11.039 poetry, 00:32:11.399 --> 00:32:13.299 you have all of these types of things 00:32:13.299 --> 00:32:15.719 and the person who follows them 00:32:15.719 --> 00:32:17.059 has to follow those things. 00:32:17.159 --> 00:32:18.159 You follow the myths 00:32:18.159 --> 00:32:20.199 and you meditate upon the myths 00:32:20.199 --> 00:32:21.419 and you make them your own 00:32:21.419 --> 00:32:22.739 and you do the practices 00:32:22.739 --> 00:32:24.759 and that makes you acceptable to God. 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:25.720 But at the very, 00:32:25.839 --> 00:32:26.920 very heart of the Christian faith 00:32:26.920 --> 00:32:27.700 and this is something 00:32:27.700 --> 00:32:29.319 that Protestant and Catholics 00:32:29.319 --> 00:32:30.460 and Eastern Orthodox 00:32:30.460 --> 00:32:31.460 we all agree on. 00:32:31.500 --> 00:32:32.799 At the very heart of the Christian faith 00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:33.039 is, 00:32:33.259 --> 00:32:33.480 I mean, 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:34.900 it's obviously important to us 00:32:34.900 --> 00:32:35.900 what Jesus taught 00:32:35.900 --> 00:32:37.420 and it's important to us 00:32:37.420 --> 00:32:39.700 that we do what Jesus told us to do 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:40.759 but at the very heart of it 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:42.660 is that God in his son 00:32:42.660 --> 00:32:44.339 does something in history, 00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:46.960 that he accomplishes something. 00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:48.759 That's the heart of the Christian faith. 00:32:50.619 --> 00:32:54.059 That on April 5th, 33 AD, 00:32:54.059 --> 00:32:55.539 the tomb was empty 00:32:55.539 --> 00:32:56.819 because Jesus rose. 00:32:56.919 --> 00:32:58.579 That's the heart of the Christian faith. 00:32:59.539 --> 00:33:01.039 It's the heart of the Christian faith 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:02.679 that I'm not made right with God 00:33:02.679 --> 00:33:03.859 because I'm really good 00:33:03.859 --> 00:33:04.919 at keeping the teachings. 00:33:05.079 --> 00:33:06.179 You're not made right with God 00:33:06.179 --> 00:33:07.940 because you suck at keeping the teachings 00:33:07.940 --> 00:33:08.700 and you suck 00:33:08.700 --> 00:33:10.259 and I'm way better at it 00:33:10.259 --> 00:33:11.899 and so I'm acceptable to God. 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:12.319 No, 00:33:12.839 --> 00:33:14.519 that's not what the Christian faith is. 00:33:14.579 --> 00:33:15.960 The Christian faith is that 00:33:15.960 --> 00:33:18.200 I'm an unworthy person 00:33:18.200 --> 00:33:20.660 and Jesus did something for me 00:33:20.660 --> 00:33:22.840 that I cannot do for myself 00:33:22.840 --> 00:33:25.559 and I receive it by grace 00:33:25.559 --> 00:33:27.799 and so right in the very, very center 00:33:27.799 --> 00:33:28.580 of Christianity 00:33:28.580 --> 00:33:30.160 is a concern 00:33:30.160 --> 00:33:32.720 not just with stories and myths 00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:34.180 and allegories and symbolism 00:33:34.180 --> 00:33:35.240 and metaphors 00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:37.259 but of something actually happening 00:33:37.259 --> 00:33:38.360 in the real world 00:33:38.360 --> 00:33:41.200 which is why Christianity has miracles 00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:42.380 and the others don't. 00:33:42.380 --> 00:33:43.760 It's all about what happens 00:33:43.760 --> 00:33:44.560 in the real world 00:33:44.560 --> 00:33:46.280 and it's a very different way of living 00:33:46.280 --> 00:33:49.180 but at the same time 00:33:49.180 --> 00:33:50.080 and this is what makes 00:33:50.080 --> 00:33:52.140 Christianity so weird 00:33:52.140 --> 00:33:53.380 to people on the outside. 00:33:55.380 --> 00:33:56.660 I had a fellow, 00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:58.080 maybe he's watching this 00:33:58.080 --> 00:33:59.840 today or downstream 00:33:59.840 --> 00:34:02.980 and he's an engineer. 00:34:03.400 --> 00:34:05.300 He was from a communist country, 00:34:05.400 --> 00:34:06.400 raised an atheist. 00:34:07.300 --> 00:34:10.500 He fled the Iron Curtain, 00:34:10.640 --> 00:34:11.420 came to the West 00:34:11.420 --> 00:34:15.280 and I've had quite a few conversations 00:34:15.280 --> 00:34:15.760 with him 00:34:15.760 --> 00:34:17.019 and I got him all wrong 00:34:17.019 --> 00:34:18.300 for the first three or four months. 00:34:18.380 --> 00:34:19.680 I just assumed he was an atheist 00:34:19.680 --> 00:34:21.840 and it finally dawned on me 00:34:21.840 --> 00:34:23.599 that by his own thinking 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:25.260 he had rejected atheism 00:34:25.260 --> 00:34:26.960 and come to believe 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:29.019 that there were beings like angels. 00:34:31.480 --> 00:34:31.860 And you see, 00:34:32.019 --> 00:34:32.579 the other thing 00:34:32.579 --> 00:34:33.420 which is just so weird 00:34:33.420 --> 00:34:34.139 about Christianity 00:34:34.139 --> 00:34:35.440 is we have this concern 00:34:35.440 --> 00:34:36.200 for truth, 00:34:36.340 --> 00:34:36.940 for evidence, 00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:37.800 for reason, 00:34:38.780 --> 00:34:39.639 for thinking, 00:34:40.220 --> 00:34:41.220 for being careful, 00:34:41.420 --> 00:34:42.119 for being clear 00:34:42.119 --> 00:34:43.099 but at the other hand, 00:34:44.139 --> 00:34:45.420 we believe there's a soul, 00:34:45.579 --> 00:34:46.740 we believe there's angels, 00:34:46.980 --> 00:34:48.159 we believe there's meaning, 00:34:48.460 --> 00:34:49.559 we believe there's beauty, 00:34:49.720 --> 00:34:50.760 we believe there's goodness, 00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:52.460 we believe there's right and wrong, 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:53.639 we believe that there's 00:34:53.639 --> 00:34:55.740 these transcendent truths, 00:34:55.960 --> 00:34:56.760 we believe that 00:34:56.760 --> 00:34:59.159 because the creator God, 00:34:59.240 --> 00:34:59.840 the triune God 00:34:59.840 --> 00:35:00.920 has created all things, 00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:04.079 that different things in creation 00:35:04.079 --> 00:35:05.480 just aren't mere things 00:35:05.480 --> 00:35:06.320 or mere stuff 00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:07.720 or mere collections of atoms 00:35:07.720 --> 00:35:08.900 but that they communicate 00:35:08.900 --> 00:35:09.740 in some ways, 00:35:09.860 --> 00:35:11.820 that they point to things, 00:35:11.900 --> 00:35:13.340 that they're metaphors of things, 00:35:13.519 --> 00:35:15.460 that the body has a type 00:35:15.460 --> 00:35:16.900 of a significance to it 00:35:16.900 --> 00:35:18.139 and you can't discover that 00:35:18.139 --> 00:35:19.139 from science, 00:35:19.680 --> 00:35:21.079 from cutting it up 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:22.099 and dissecting it, 00:35:22.159 --> 00:35:23.460 that there's this whole world 00:35:23.460 --> 00:35:24.159 of meaning, 00:35:24.340 --> 00:35:24.880 of beauty, 00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:26.240 of goodness, 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:28.539 of dance, 00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:29.880 of poetry, 00:35:30.940 --> 00:35:32.180 of laughter 00:35:32.180 --> 00:35:33.320 and Christianity 00:35:33.320 --> 00:35:35.340 is not just the bastion of truth, 00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:37.000 it's also the bastion of that 00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:38.700 which believes that there is more 00:35:38.700 --> 00:35:41.160 and the two are held together 00:35:41.160 --> 00:35:42.940 with no contradiction whatsoever, 00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:45.440 hence if that statement is up there, 00:35:45.900 --> 00:35:46.960 why that statement makes 00:35:46.960 --> 00:35:48.260 all the sense in the world 00:35:48.260 --> 00:35:49.019 that on the morning 00:35:49.019 --> 00:35:50.960 that April 5th, 33 AD, 00:35:51.380 --> 00:35:53.119 an angel told the woman 00:35:53.119 --> 00:35:54.579 that Jesus had been resurrected 00:35:54.579 --> 00:35:55.440 from the dead 00:35:55.440 --> 00:35:57.179 and no Christian 00:35:57.179 --> 00:35:58.139 has to blush at that 00:35:58.139 --> 00:35:58.480 and we say, 00:35:58.559 --> 00:35:59.880 yeah, that's exactly what it is. 00:36:01.559 --> 00:36:03.380 Don't you believe in minds 00:36:03.380 --> 00:36:04.659 and souls 00:36:04.659 --> 00:36:05.420 and beauty 00:36:05.420 --> 00:36:06.139 and goodness 00:36:06.139 --> 00:36:06.699 and love 00:36:06.699 --> 00:36:07.359 and truth 00:36:07.359 --> 00:36:08.099 and justice? 00:36:09.059 --> 00:36:09.839 Don't you believe 00:36:09.839 --> 00:36:10.940 there's something more 00:36:10.940 --> 00:36:12.880 than what you can just consume 00:36:12.880 --> 00:36:13.960 or push around? 00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:16.460 Don't you believe 00:36:16.460 --> 00:36:17.500 there's something more? 00:36:18.179 --> 00:36:19.039 And don't you believe 00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:19.539 that in a, 00:36:20.159 --> 00:36:20.759 don't you wish 00:36:20.759 --> 00:36:21.500 there was a world 00:36:21.500 --> 00:36:22.199 where there's both 00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:22.980 something more 00:36:22.980 --> 00:36:23.760 and something that, 00:36:23.960 --> 00:36:25.480 and you can think about it 00:36:25.480 --> 00:36:26.599 and there's no contradiction? 00:36:27.619 --> 00:36:29.099 There's a coherence 00:36:29.099 --> 00:36:30.539 and doesn't that sound 00:36:30.539 --> 00:36:31.619 beautiful and attractive? 00:36:32.579 --> 00:36:33.440 And if you think 00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:34.679 that's beautiful and attractive 00:36:34.679 --> 00:36:36.400 then what you are being attracted to 00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:37.719 is only Christianity 00:36:37.719 --> 00:36:38.679 and nothing else. 00:36:41.840 --> 00:36:42.679 If you were, 00:36:42.840 --> 00:36:44.139 wish that there was a world 00:36:44.139 --> 00:36:45.679 where you could do science 00:36:45.679 --> 00:36:47.320 and do art, 00:36:48.199 --> 00:36:49.199 where you could 00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:50.579 analyze things 00:36:50.579 --> 00:36:51.380 very carefully 00:36:51.380 --> 00:36:53.179 and think really hardly 00:36:53.179 --> 00:36:54.719 and at the same time 00:36:54.719 --> 00:36:56.000 recognize beauty 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:56.559 and awe 00:36:56.559 --> 00:36:57.199 and mystery 00:36:57.199 --> 00:36:58.340 and you wish 00:36:58.340 --> 00:36:58.900 there was a way 00:36:58.900 --> 00:36:59.980 that both of those things 00:36:59.980 --> 00:37:00.759 could coexist 00:37:00.759 --> 00:37:01.400 in one, 00:37:01.619 --> 00:37:02.480 perhaps one way, 00:37:02.599 --> 00:37:03.440 what you are wishing 00:37:03.440 --> 00:37:05.420 for is that Christianity 00:37:05.420 --> 00:37:06.219 was true, 00:37:07.059 --> 00:37:07.799 is true. 00:37:08.380 --> 00:37:09.480 And I want to tell you, 00:37:09.559 --> 00:37:09.819 friends, 00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:10.480 I want to tell you, 00:37:10.519 --> 00:37:11.259 brothers and sisters, 00:37:11.259 --> 00:37:11.880 it's true. 00:37:11.880 --> 00:37:16.860 Go listen to some 00:37:16.860 --> 00:37:17.900 of Mike Lacona's tapes 00:37:17.900 --> 00:37:18.720 and many others. 00:37:19.099 --> 00:37:20.300 There is no better 00:37:20.300 --> 00:37:20.860 explanation 00:37:20.860 --> 00:37:22.720 for the historical facts 00:37:22.720 --> 00:37:24.519 around the death 00:37:24.519 --> 00:37:25.200 of Jesus 00:37:25.200 --> 00:37:26.640 than that he is 00:37:26.640 --> 00:37:27.760 resurrected from the dead. 00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:28.820 There is no better 00:37:28.820 --> 00:37:29.820 rational, 00:37:30.240 --> 00:37:31.320 reasonable explanation 00:37:31.320 --> 00:37:32.440 for the facts 00:37:32.440 --> 00:37:35.619 than what that angel 00:37:35.619 --> 00:37:36.240 just said. 00:37:36.240 --> 00:37:36.300 Amen. 00:37:36.300 --> 00:37:36.360 Amen. 00:37:36.360 --> 00:37:36.400 Amen. 00:37:41.880 --> 00:37:45.059 I have to wrap things up. 00:37:45.740 --> 00:37:46.539 My voice is going. 00:37:49.340 --> 00:37:50.380 April showers 00:37:50.380 --> 00:37:51.900 bring May flowers 00:37:51.900 --> 00:37:53.480 and they also bring allergies. 00:37:55.599 --> 00:37:58.599 Could you put up 00:37:58.599 --> 00:37:59.099 the next point 00:37:59.099 --> 00:37:59.700 just briefly? 00:38:03.980 --> 00:38:04.780 Excuse me. 00:38:06.220 --> 00:38:07.539 On Friday afternoon, 00:38:07.539 --> 00:38:09.160 April 3rd, 33 AD, 00:38:09.519 --> 00:38:10.400 death appeared 00:38:10.400 --> 00:38:11.519 to swallow Jesus. 00:38:11.519 --> 00:38:12.539 I just say it appeared 00:38:12.539 --> 00:38:13.759 not because he didn't die, 00:38:14.860 --> 00:38:15.579 but it appeared 00:38:15.579 --> 00:38:16.019 that death 00:38:16.019 --> 00:38:17.280 had swallowed Jesus 00:38:17.280 --> 00:38:18.219 and death had won. 00:38:18.880 --> 00:38:19.659 On Sunday, 00:38:19.920 --> 00:38:21.579 April 5th, 33 AD, 00:38:22.179 --> 00:38:23.559 people began to learn 00:38:23.559 --> 00:38:24.519 that Jesus 00:38:24.519 --> 00:38:26.599 had swallowed death. 00:38:31.340 --> 00:38:32.800 This tiny little man 00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:33.900 probably wasn't much taller 00:38:33.900 --> 00:38:35.119 than five foot tall, 00:38:35.980 --> 00:38:36.460 scrawny 00:38:36.460 --> 00:38:37.739 and not very good looking. 00:38:37.739 --> 00:38:40.839 scrawny 00:38:40.839 --> 00:38:41.500 because he was 00:38:41.500 --> 00:38:42.759 lower working class, 00:38:43.759 --> 00:38:45.519 not good looking 00:38:45.519 --> 00:38:46.119 because that's what 00:38:46.119 --> 00:38:47.319 the Bible tells us. 00:38:48.439 --> 00:38:49.559 He died on the cross 00:38:49.559 --> 00:38:50.759 amidst blood 00:38:50.759 --> 00:38:51.219 and gore 00:38:51.219 --> 00:38:51.919 and jeers 00:38:51.919 --> 00:38:53.159 on Friday, 00:38:53.619 --> 00:38:54.539 April 3rd, 00:38:55.159 --> 00:38:56.099 and on Sunday, 00:38:56.679 --> 00:38:58.000 April 5th. 00:38:58.799 --> 00:39:00.319 We began to learn 00:39:00.319 --> 00:39:01.419 that he 00:39:01.419 --> 00:39:02.879 had swallowed death. 00:39:02.880 --> 00:39:06.840 Now, 00:39:08.200 --> 00:39:08.640 I'm going to go 00:39:08.640 --> 00:39:09.760 through these things 00:39:09.760 --> 00:39:10.640 a little bit quick. 00:39:11.539 --> 00:39:11.780 You know, 00:39:11.900 --> 00:39:12.599 for Christians, 00:39:13.320 --> 00:39:15.260 this is why 00:39:15.260 --> 00:39:16.079 for Christians, 00:39:16.860 --> 00:39:17.660 the grave 00:39:17.660 --> 00:39:19.019 is a bed of hope 00:39:19.019 --> 00:39:20.400 for those in Christ. 00:39:20.400 --> 00:39:25.320 the sweetest lie 00:39:25.320 --> 00:39:26.619 that Canadians 00:39:26.619 --> 00:39:27.840 tell themselves 00:39:27.840 --> 00:39:29.920 is that they 00:39:29.920 --> 00:39:30.760 will never die. 00:39:32.099 --> 00:39:33.139 And the second 00:39:33.139 --> 00:39:34.160 sweetest lie 00:39:34.160 --> 00:39:35.320 that Canadians 00:39:35.320 --> 00:39:36.180 tell themselves 00:39:36.180 --> 00:39:37.079 is that even 00:39:37.079 --> 00:39:37.820 if they die, 00:39:38.360 --> 00:39:39.360 it will all work out. 00:39:41.280 --> 00:39:42.019 We know 00:39:42.019 --> 00:39:42.740 from the teachings 00:39:42.740 --> 00:39:43.280 of Jesus 00:39:43.280 --> 00:39:44.220 that those things 00:39:44.220 --> 00:39:45.019 are not true. 00:39:46.619 --> 00:39:46.980 Of course, 00:39:47.039 --> 00:39:47.920 it's just biologically 00:39:47.920 --> 00:39:48.680 the case that we're 00:39:48.680 --> 00:39:49.460 all going to die. 00:39:50.400 --> 00:39:52.980 And for many people, 00:39:53.280 --> 00:39:54.480 as their death becomes, 00:39:54.900 --> 00:39:55.840 their upcoming death 00:39:55.840 --> 00:39:56.840 becomes a reality, 00:39:57.039 --> 00:39:58.000 they face terror. 00:39:59.460 --> 00:40:00.660 But for Christians, 00:40:01.079 --> 00:40:01.760 for those who are 00:40:01.760 --> 00:40:02.660 in Christ, 00:40:04.300 --> 00:40:06.400 in his finished work, 00:40:07.300 --> 00:40:08.500 in his arms, 00:40:08.900 --> 00:40:09.680 where he has come 00:40:09.680 --> 00:40:10.220 into them 00:40:10.220 --> 00:40:11.119 to be their savior, 00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:12.360 and they are in him, 00:40:13.860 --> 00:40:15.220 the grave becomes 00:40:15.220 --> 00:40:15.980 a bed of hope. 00:40:18.059 --> 00:40:19.440 If Jesus tarries, 00:40:19.559 --> 00:40:20.380 there will be a time 00:40:20.380 --> 00:40:21.500 when my eyes close, 00:40:21.599 --> 00:40:22.079 and I don't know 00:40:22.079 --> 00:40:22.960 what I will see 00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:23.900 as my eyes close. 00:40:24.019 --> 00:40:24.660 Maybe I will be 00:40:24.660 --> 00:40:25.160 in a coma. 00:40:25.840 --> 00:40:26.579 Maybe I'll see 00:40:26.579 --> 00:40:27.160 the ceiling. 00:40:27.420 --> 00:40:28.039 Maybe I'll see 00:40:28.039 --> 00:40:30.019 the loved ones 00:40:30.019 --> 00:40:30.820 around me, 00:40:30.900 --> 00:40:31.900 and my eyes 00:40:31.900 --> 00:40:32.720 will close. 00:40:33.860 --> 00:40:34.420 And the moment 00:40:34.420 --> 00:40:35.700 my eyes close 00:40:35.700 --> 00:40:37.119 on my loved ones, 00:40:37.200 --> 00:40:37.960 my eyes open 00:40:37.960 --> 00:40:38.460 in glory. 00:40:40.400 --> 00:40:41.099 And that is 00:40:41.099 --> 00:40:41.900 the Christian hope. 00:40:41.900 --> 00:40:41.940 hope. 00:40:44.180 --> 00:40:45.539 That is the Christian hope. 00:40:49.619 --> 00:40:50.579 Why did they go 00:40:50.579 --> 00:40:51.280 without fear? 00:40:52.059 --> 00:40:52.579 Why did they go 00:40:52.579 --> 00:40:52.960 with fear? 00:40:53.119 --> 00:40:53.360 Look at, 00:40:53.440 --> 00:40:53.940 if you could put up 00:40:53.940 --> 00:40:54.440 verse 8, 00:40:54.440 --> 00:40:56.119 and they went out 00:40:56.119 --> 00:40:57.200 and fled from the tomb 00:40:57.200 --> 00:40:57.940 for trembling 00:40:57.940 --> 00:40:58.740 and astonishment 00:40:58.740 --> 00:40:59.440 had seized them, 00:40:59.480 --> 00:41:00.200 and they said nothing 00:41:00.200 --> 00:41:00.760 to anyone, 00:41:00.900 --> 00:41:01.740 for they were afraid. 00:41:02.700 --> 00:41:03.400 I put this, 00:41:03.519 --> 00:41:04.780 I had not talked about this 00:41:04.780 --> 00:41:05.380 all the way through 00:41:05.380 --> 00:41:06.039 Mark's gospel. 00:41:06.159 --> 00:41:06.519 If you go, 00:41:06.840 --> 00:41:07.480 I'm going to make 00:41:07.480 --> 00:41:08.099 this little point. 00:41:08.179 --> 00:41:08.720 If you go back 00:41:08.720 --> 00:41:09.079 and you read 00:41:09.079 --> 00:41:09.740 Mark's gospel 00:41:09.740 --> 00:41:10.260 on your own, 00:41:10.619 --> 00:41:11.079 one of the things 00:41:11.079 --> 00:41:11.740 you're going to find 00:41:11.740 --> 00:41:13.500 is his disciples 00:41:13.500 --> 00:41:15.480 kept getting it wrong. 00:41:15.960 --> 00:41:17.079 They kept not doing 00:41:17.079 --> 00:41:18.480 what he wanted them to do. 00:41:18.860 --> 00:41:21.039 They kept getting it wrong, 00:41:21.260 --> 00:41:22.440 like all the time, 00:41:22.440 --> 00:41:23.539 like his mom thinks 00:41:23.539 --> 00:41:24.280 he's insane. 00:41:24.659 --> 00:41:25.720 I'm not making that up. 00:41:25.800 --> 00:41:26.480 Like his sisters 00:41:26.480 --> 00:41:27.079 and brothers 00:41:27.079 --> 00:41:28.740 think Jesus is insane. 00:41:29.320 --> 00:41:29.860 Like, you know, 00:41:30.139 --> 00:41:31.519 just after Jesus says 00:41:31.519 --> 00:41:32.380 he's going to die 00:41:32.380 --> 00:41:33.019 on the cross, 00:41:33.119 --> 00:41:34.000 the disciples get 00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:34.679 in an argument 00:41:34.679 --> 00:41:35.420 about who's going 00:41:35.420 --> 00:41:37.000 to sit at Jesus' throne 00:41:37.000 --> 00:41:38.980 when he rules the world. 00:41:39.139 --> 00:41:39.960 Like they keep 00:41:39.960 --> 00:41:40.960 getting it wrong. 00:41:41.320 --> 00:41:42.099 And so the gospel 00:41:42.099 --> 00:41:42.860 of Mark ends 00:41:42.860 --> 00:41:43.900 in the most brilliant way. 00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:44.840 How do I believe 00:41:44.840 --> 00:41:45.480 that Jesus died? 00:41:45.539 --> 00:41:46.400 I couldn't go see 00:41:46.400 --> 00:41:47.220 the empty tomb. 00:41:47.519 --> 00:41:48.360 I believe it 00:41:48.360 --> 00:41:49.119 because the tomb 00:41:49.119 --> 00:41:49.639 is empty, 00:41:50.119 --> 00:41:50.880 and I've been told 00:41:50.880 --> 00:41:51.559 that Jesus rose 00:41:51.559 --> 00:41:51.980 from the dead. 00:41:51.980 --> 00:41:53.240 That's how all of us believe. 00:41:53.840 --> 00:41:54.960 And the question ends 00:41:54.960 --> 00:41:55.960 in a bit of an ironic 00:41:55.960 --> 00:41:56.780 type of way, 00:41:56.880 --> 00:41:57.980 like an odd type of way, 00:41:58.039 --> 00:41:58.940 because it's a challenge 00:41:58.940 --> 00:41:59.639 to you and me. 00:42:00.059 --> 00:42:01.019 Am I going to be 00:42:01.019 --> 00:42:01.579 like the woman 00:42:01.579 --> 00:42:02.360 and be afraid? 00:42:04.760 --> 00:42:05.619 Like, I'll be honest, 00:42:05.699 --> 00:42:06.659 when I made that comment 00:42:06.659 --> 00:42:08.059 about chest feeding units, 00:42:08.240 --> 00:42:09.240 I wondered whether 00:42:09.240 --> 00:42:10.179 I should say something 00:42:10.179 --> 00:42:11.079 like that in Canada 00:42:11.079 --> 00:42:12.619 in 2022. 00:42:12.920 --> 00:42:13.659 And you all know. 00:42:14.019 --> 00:42:14.719 You all know 00:42:14.719 --> 00:42:15.679 that that's the case. 00:42:17.199 --> 00:42:18.380 Because we can be afraid 00:42:18.380 --> 00:42:19.639 to speak and bear witness 00:42:19.639 --> 00:42:20.340 to the truth. 00:42:20.340 --> 00:42:22.000 And the text 00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:22.880 is calling you, 00:42:23.200 --> 00:42:24.280 it's calling me, 00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:26.100 to listen to what 00:42:26.100 --> 00:42:27.260 the angel said, 00:42:27.660 --> 00:42:28.539 to listen to what 00:42:28.539 --> 00:42:29.620 Jesus promised, 00:42:30.079 --> 00:42:31.800 to trust that it's true, 00:42:32.180 --> 00:42:33.360 and to not live out 00:42:33.360 --> 00:42:34.039 of fear. 00:42:35.940 --> 00:42:37.320 Not be like those women 00:42:37.320 --> 00:42:38.240 who obviously changed 00:42:38.240 --> 00:42:39.180 their mind later on, 00:42:39.240 --> 00:42:39.600 and, you know, 00:42:39.640 --> 00:42:40.660 there's all that other stuff, 00:42:40.780 --> 00:42:42.720 but not to be like that. 00:42:42.840 --> 00:42:45.300 To walk with a confidence 00:42:45.300 --> 00:42:46.740 not based in my flesh, 00:42:46.820 --> 00:42:48.120 not based on my accomplishment, 00:42:48.119 --> 00:42:49.339 but based on Christ, 00:42:49.440 --> 00:42:50.500 to not live in fear. 00:42:50.659 --> 00:42:51.859 Jesus doesn't want us 00:42:51.859 --> 00:42:52.699 to live in fear. 00:42:54.880 --> 00:42:55.759 He doesn't want us 00:42:55.759 --> 00:42:56.739 to live by fear, 00:42:57.039 --> 00:42:58.219 live by fear of death, 00:42:58.359 --> 00:42:59.279 live by lies, 00:43:00.159 --> 00:43:01.139 live by injustice, 00:43:01.819 --> 00:43:02.659 live by hatred. 00:43:03.219 --> 00:43:04.259 He wants us to live 00:43:04.259 --> 00:43:05.019 by the truth. 00:43:05.559 --> 00:43:06.440 He wants us to live 00:43:06.440 --> 00:43:07.139 by goodness. 00:43:07.400 --> 00:43:08.219 He wants us to live 00:43:08.219 --> 00:43:08.839 by beauty. 00:43:09.400 --> 00:43:10.400 He wants us to live 00:43:10.400 --> 00:43:11.019 by justice. 00:43:11.359 --> 00:43:11.960 He doesn't want us 00:43:11.960 --> 00:43:12.819 to live by fear. 00:43:13.000 --> 00:43:13.799 That's what he wants us, 00:43:13.859 --> 00:43:14.739 that's how he wants us 00:43:14.739 --> 00:43:15.119 to live, 00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:16.059 brothers and sisters. 00:43:16.059 --> 00:43:23.219 so the last two points very briefly if you put up number seven Jesus confers grace 00:43:23.219 --> 00:43:31.099 triune God-given life-giving grace to the unworthy his grace to the unworthy disciples his grace to 00:43:31.099 --> 00:43:37.079 the unworthy Peter the grace to the unworthy women his grace to unworthy George his ungrace 00:43:37.079 --> 00:43:44.059 his grace to unworthy Adam I mean Andrew his grace to the unworthy Joe his grace to unworthy 00:43:44.059 --> 00:43:53.739 Ken and unworthy Uzo and and and Amy and Deborah and and Diane and Louise grace to the unworthy 00:43:53.739 --> 00:44:03.759 George proclaimed and then the final point your only hope my only hope in life and death 00:44:03.759 --> 00:44:11.139 is the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that is my hope in life and death 00:44:11.139 --> 00:44:17.379 that is the only hope and he wants us to live as people of hope and we are people of hope when 00:44:17.379 --> 00:44:22.699 the life and death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ become the story that we live by when 00:44:22.699 --> 00:44:31.639 we are in him because we trust him as our Christ our savior our Lord and that is a life of hope your 00:44:31.639 --> 00:44:37.559 only hope in life and death is the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ invite you 00:44:37.559 --> 00:44:46.440 to stand please stand let's bow our heads in prayer 00:44:46.440 --> 00:44:56.119 father you know how frail we are you know how many fears we have and you know better than even we do 00:44:56.119 --> 00:45:04.119 how unworthy we are time and time and time again so father we thank you for grace we thank you for the 00:45:04.119 --> 00:45:10.119 grace that comes to us through Jesus we thank you for what he did for us on the cross we thank you for 00:45:10.119 --> 00:45:16.279 his defeat of death we thank you that he made sure that people understood that not only was the body 00:45:16.279 --> 00:45:21.819 gone but that it was gone because he was alive we give you thanks and praise that even now he is in 00:45:21.819 --> 00:45:28.579 heaven and that he intercedes for us that when he's he walks with us and intercedes for us that he is 00:45:28.579 --> 00:45:36.400 with us that he still is Emmanuel God with us and that one day he will come visibly powerfully in glory 00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:43.219 to bring this created world to its end to to knit together that which should be knit and and and to 00:45:43.219 --> 00:45:47.539 put to death that which should be put to death and to bring in the new heaven and the new earth and that 00:45:47.539 --> 00:45:52.619 he has died and risen from the dead to fit us for heaven father we thank you for what Christ has done 00:45:52.619 --> 00:45:58.579 we thank you for what he will continue to do in our lives and we ask Lord that you help the gospel 00:45:58.579 --> 00:46:05.920 to be real to our hearts so that we will not live by fear but that we will live by hope and we ask this 00:46:05.920 --> 00:46:11.059 in the name of Jesus your son and our savior and all God's people said amen 00:46:11.059 --> 00:46:20.259 Amen 00:46:20.320 --> 00:46:21.400 Amen 00:46:21.400 --> 00:46:23.719 Amen 00:46:23.719 --> 00:46:35.880 Amen 00:46:35.880 --> 00:46:36.219 Amen 00:46:39.579 --> 00:46:40.139 Amen