WEBVTT 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:05.879 Father, we ask that you would gently but powerfully pour out the Holy Spirit upon us. 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:10.480 Father, you know that we're afraid to talk about certain things. 00:00:10.679 --> 00:00:13.280 You know that we're afraid to think about certain things. 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:16.399 You know that we're afraid to speak about certain things. 00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:21.500 And Father, some of those things we shouldn't say are things that we shouldn't say. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:27.339 But others are that we need to learn, Father, how to talk about them and how to think about them. 00:00:27.339 --> 00:00:38.259 And so we ask, Father, that we would receive the healing medicine, the healing sustenance, the healing food that your word is. 00:00:38.659 --> 00:00:46.859 That as we think about Jesus and his death and resurrection, that your word would enter deep into our hearts, deep into the center of who we are. 00:00:46.859 --> 00:00:57.539 And that your word would rule there and form us so that we might live free lives for the good of others and for your great glory and the furtherance of your kingdom. 00:00:57.939 --> 00:01:02.480 And we ask this, Father, in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. 00:01:03.140 --> 00:01:04.060 Please be seated. 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:11.980 I'm going to talk about death. 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:15.620 I'm going to talk about death this morning. 00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:21.439 And it's not because I have a fixation about it or anything, but it's because the Bible text talks about it. 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:24.840 And we preach through books of the Bible. 00:01:25.240 --> 00:01:26.280 Is this mic all right? 00:01:26.320 --> 00:01:28.700 It seems closer to something than usual. 00:01:28.900 --> 00:01:29.680 Anyway, we're all fine? 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:30.000 Okay. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.079 I'm going to talk about death. 00:01:33.540 --> 00:01:44.159 And so just before we get into it, and I want to just, I mean, one of the things about being here, and not only those of you who are here and those of you who are online, 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:53.379 I have no idea whether just this week you've gotten very bad news about a very serious illness, maybe cancer. 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:59.359 Maybe you have had that over the last little while and you haven't even told anybody about it. 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:10.599 And so I just want to let you know that even though we're going to talk about some things here, and I acknowledge that I don't know your situation, and it might be hard to hear about death. 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:15.000 Maybe you've had the death of a loved one just recently, and you're here this morning or you're watching online. 00:02:15.159 --> 00:02:18.919 And some of this might be very difficult to think about and hear. 00:02:18.919 --> 00:02:34.339 But one of the things that we at Church of the Messiah are trying to do is that we're trying to learn more and more to trust the Bible and to trust Jesus and to walk towards those difficult things that he raises with us, 00:02:34.339 --> 00:02:42.639 rather than walking away from them or sticking our head in sand like an ostrich, to try to walk towards it with him and to get wisdom from it. 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:52.839 And if you are here today or online and you have had some very, very bad news, I mean, this is the best place to be able to share it. 00:02:54.099 --> 00:02:59.479 And if you're online and you have no one you can share it with, contact us and we'll see what we can do to try to help. 00:02:59.479 --> 00:03:07.299 But Jesus wants you to know his presence and power in the midst of the very hardest times in your life. 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:13.739 I personally take great comfort in the words of the 23rd Psalm. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:19.620 That go ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. 00:03:19.699 --> 00:03:21.639 Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 00:03:22.259 --> 00:03:28.560 And we have a good shepherd who walks with us in those hard times, even to the very point of death and beyond. 00:03:29.479 --> 00:03:33.439 But it was an odd text. It was a text about death. We're looking at the gospel. 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:36.639 Let's see what Jesus has to say about this. 00:03:37.639 --> 00:03:41.479 It's Mark chapter 12, verses 18 and following. 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:46.079 Mark 12, 18 and following. If you're using one of these, it's on page 74. 00:03:47.679 --> 00:03:54.899 And the Bible text is going to say something which is also, I mean, not only is it a bit hard because it talks about death, 00:03:54.900 --> 00:04:02.379 it's hard because he blows up the way that the average Canadian talks about death. 00:04:03.259 --> 00:04:05.280 So what happens? Let's see. 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:07.060 Verse 18, 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:09.520 And Sadducees came to him. 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:15.099 Now just Sadducees, by the way, were one of the sort of groups or denominations, if you want to call it, 00:04:15.099 --> 00:04:18.279 that existed in Judaism at the time of Jesus. 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:23.339 This isn't an anthropology lecture or archaeology lecture, 00:04:23.339 --> 00:04:27.279 so I'm not going to bore you with all of the things that they believed and didn't believe. 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:33.139 The two main things, one of them is that Mark himself lets you know the important piece of information, 00:04:33.819 --> 00:04:36.699 that they didn't believe there was life after death. 00:04:37.579 --> 00:04:39.839 They believed that when you died, you died. 00:04:40.060 --> 00:04:40.699 That was it. 00:04:40.699 --> 00:04:46.180 The other piece which isn't in here, which we know from ancient sources, 00:04:46.779 --> 00:04:51.000 is that most, if not all, priests at that time were Sadducees. 00:04:52.199 --> 00:04:56.680 And that's going to become relevant towards the end of the sermon. 00:04:57.079 --> 00:04:58.439 So I'll read it again. 00:04:59.060 --> 00:05:00.719 And Sadducees came to Jesus. 00:05:01.379 --> 00:05:03.800 They're the ones who say that there is no resurrection. 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:05.800 In other words, you die and you die. 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:06.800 You die and that's it. 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:07.699 Nothing else. 00:05:07.699 --> 00:05:10.699 And they asked Jesus a question, saying, 00:05:11.740 --> 00:05:18.599 Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, 00:05:19.079 --> 00:05:23.019 the man must take the widow, in other words, his brother's widow, 00:05:23.300 --> 00:05:25.199 and raise up offspring for his brother. 00:05:25.599 --> 00:05:26.199 In other words, 00:05:27.860 --> 00:05:32.719 Mary entered into a type of marital relationship with her to get her pregnant, 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:34.340 so that she can have a child. 00:05:34.700 --> 00:05:38.780 And this is while he's also potentially married to his own wife. 00:05:39.420 --> 00:05:41.260 Now, just sort of pause here again. 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:44.800 For many of us, there's a yuck factor to this. 00:05:45.460 --> 00:05:47.100 And for some of you, there's a bit of a, 00:05:47.220 --> 00:05:48.800 that is really weird. 00:05:49.660 --> 00:05:51.320 George, is that really in the Bible? 00:05:51.480 --> 00:05:52.480 Yes, it is in the Bible. 00:05:52.580 --> 00:05:53.900 It's in the book of Deuteronomy. 00:05:53.899 --> 00:05:57.339 And the other thing, in case some of you are wondering, 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:00.419 does that mean Christians are supposed to be keeping this law today? 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:03.159 And the answer, very briefly, is no, they're not. 00:06:03.599 --> 00:06:05.339 But here I have a bit of a decision. 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:09.299 I could talk about this law, 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:12.239 as found in the book of Deuteronomy, 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:15.839 or we could go on with the argument as Jesus develops it, 00:06:15.879 --> 00:06:17.399 and we're not going to talk about Deuteronomy. 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:19.339 When we preach through Deuteronomy someday, 00:06:19.459 --> 00:06:21.399 we'll talk about this for now. 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:25.819 Now, actually, what you need to really get from this, 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:31.319 the Sadducees, in a sense, 00:06:31.659 --> 00:06:34.379 were the typical Canadian atheists. 00:06:35.019 --> 00:06:35.839 They're just the same. 00:06:35.979 --> 00:06:37.060 I mean, obviously, they're different. 00:06:37.159 --> 00:06:39.939 I mean, the average Canadian atheist wouldn't be a priest. 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:42.879 Well, maybe in some denominations, 00:06:42.959 --> 00:06:44.399 but we're not going to talk about that. 00:06:45.219 --> 00:06:49.359 But so just to make it in terms of where Canada is, 00:06:49.459 --> 00:06:51.099 in a sense, what the Sadducees are 00:06:51.100 --> 00:06:53.580 is they're the modern Canadian atheists. 00:06:54.020 --> 00:06:56.180 And the Jewish people at the time, believe it or not, 00:06:56.240 --> 00:07:00.020 actually had similar views to most contemporary Canadians. 00:07:01.200 --> 00:07:02.520 And so that's the point. 00:07:02.620 --> 00:07:05.960 The Sadducees are the gadflies here in this case, 00:07:05.960 --> 00:07:09.480 and they're trying to puncture the common belief 00:07:09.480 --> 00:07:11.379 of the average Jewish person. 00:07:11.379 --> 00:07:15.120 And so just listen to the rest of this, 00:07:15.159 --> 00:07:16.519 and then I'm going to show you how this is actually 00:07:16.519 --> 00:07:18.259 a very, very Canadian question. 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:20.300 Like, it's... 00:07:20.300 --> 00:07:23.300 Don't get sidetracked with this odd law in Deuteronomy. 00:07:23.459 --> 00:07:25.079 Just if you listen to the rest of it, 00:07:25.079 --> 00:07:30.899 you'll realize this is as if Christopher Hitchens was among us. 00:07:30.899 --> 00:07:34.979 This is as if a group of Canadians were to get... 00:07:34.979 --> 00:07:38.539 have a full-blown discussion about issues 00:07:38.539 --> 00:07:40.759 that Canadians all have opinions on. 00:07:40.919 --> 00:07:45.759 So verse 20, here's how the argument goes, right? 00:07:45.819 --> 00:07:48.379 So in verse 19, you know, 00:07:48.859 --> 00:07:51.679 man's brother dies, leaves no child, 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:52.879 so the man must take the widow 00:07:52.879 --> 00:07:54.199 and raise up offspring for his brother. 00:07:54.279 --> 00:07:56.419 Verse 20, there were seven brothers. 00:07:56.420 --> 00:07:59.300 The first took a wife, and when he died, 00:07:59.400 --> 00:08:00.580 he left no offspring. 00:08:01.379 --> 00:08:03.400 And the second took her and died, 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:04.520 leaving no offspring. 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:05.860 And the third likewise. 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:08.120 And the seven left no offspring. 00:08:09.160 --> 00:08:10.840 Last of all, the woman also died. 00:08:10.900 --> 00:08:12.960 So all seven of them had been married to the woman. 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:13.939 Here's the question. 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:17.600 In the resurrection, ha, ha, ha, they think, 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:19.180 when they rise again, 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:22.180 whose wife will she be for the seven had her as wife? 00:08:22.180 --> 00:08:27.459 Now, how is this a very Canadian thing? 00:08:27.800 --> 00:08:30.139 Well, I've gone to lots of funerals. 00:08:31.040 --> 00:08:34.240 And I've led some funerals, obviously, 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:35.860 quite a few over the years. 00:08:36.560 --> 00:08:37.779 The average Canadian, 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:39.480 what does the average Canadian believe? 00:08:39.820 --> 00:08:43.299 When you die, you go to a better place. 00:08:43.779 --> 00:08:45.360 That's what the average Canadian says. 00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:47.460 I've been to piles of funerals 00:08:47.460 --> 00:08:48.320 where they say, 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:49.740 not only do you go to a better place, 00:08:49.820 --> 00:08:50.720 what else do they say? 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:51.360 They'll say, 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:54.899 mom is now reunited with dad 00:08:54.899 --> 00:08:57.200 or with the brother or the sister 00:08:57.200 --> 00:08:59.180 in a better place. 00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:01.580 It's a very, very Canadian thing, isn't it? 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:04.019 In fact, average Canadians sort of believe 00:09:04.019 --> 00:09:05.639 very similar to Jewish people. 00:09:05.779 --> 00:09:06.120 It's sort of, 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:08.879 I'll not really define what that better place is, 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:09.660 but fundamentally, 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:10.860 it's sort of like earth, 00:09:10.940 --> 00:09:12.379 only maybe, I guess, a bit better. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:14.279 And you're not going to die again. 00:09:14.680 --> 00:09:16.580 And that's sort of what happens when you die. 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:17.700 You go to a better place, 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:18.940 which is better than here. 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:20.700 You're not going to die again. 00:09:21.260 --> 00:09:23.200 And, well, the husband, 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:25.180 the novel I'm reading right now, 00:09:25.300 --> 00:09:26.420 a constant refrain, 00:09:26.540 --> 00:09:28.000 as the guy is, 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:30.680 the hero is thinking he might die, 00:09:30.800 --> 00:09:32.280 but it's not going to be a bad thing 00:09:32.280 --> 00:09:34.780 because he will be reunited with his wife, 00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:35.560 who's dead, 00:09:35.620 --> 00:09:37.220 and his daughter, who's died. 00:09:37.280 --> 00:09:38.520 And that's a very Canadian thing. 00:09:38.920 --> 00:09:40.300 So, think about it then. 00:09:40.380 --> 00:09:41.580 We now have these, 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:42.220 in a sense, 00:09:43.160 --> 00:09:45.140 ancient atheists 00:09:45.139 --> 00:09:46.759 who believe that when you die, 00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:47.240 you die. 00:09:47.319 --> 00:09:47.819 That's it. 00:09:47.819 --> 00:09:49.659 And they now are talking 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:50.860 to the average Canadian, 00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:51.860 and they're doing something 00:09:51.860 --> 00:09:52.960 that in Canadian culture 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:54.279 is considered to be rude 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:55.159 and ill-mannered. 00:09:55.879 --> 00:09:57.699 And so, maybe only stand-up comedians 00:09:57.699 --> 00:09:58.580 would talk about it, 00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:01.159 or me on this particular Sunday morning. 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:03.639 And only because 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:04.840 it's what the Bible says. 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:06.539 So, what happens 00:10:06.539 --> 00:10:07.519 if you have a woman, 00:10:07.659 --> 00:10:08.919 and she's married to a man, 00:10:08.919 --> 00:10:10.459 and the man dies of a heart attack, 00:10:10.519 --> 00:10:11.959 and then she marries another man, 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:13.839 and he dies of cancer, 00:10:13.959 --> 00:10:15.399 and then she marries another man, 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:16.939 and he dies of a stroke. 00:10:17.319 --> 00:10:19.399 She has very bad luck, obviously. 00:10:19.659 --> 00:10:21.299 And then finally, she dies. 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:23.079 Well, at the funeral, 00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:25.360 when they say she goes to a better place, 00:10:26.419 --> 00:10:29.379 what's she going to do? 00:10:29.779 --> 00:10:30.779 Is she going to have three husbands? 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:34.879 It's not going to be a better place 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:35.699 for the husbands, 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:38.219 and if only she picks one of them, 00:10:38.220 --> 00:10:39.980 sucks to be the other two. 00:10:40.040 --> 00:10:41.180 How's that a better place? 00:10:41.899 --> 00:10:42.700 Now, let's just sort of 00:10:42.700 --> 00:10:44.279 press into this argument a little bit, 00:10:44.340 --> 00:10:45.480 since we've opened the door 00:10:45.480 --> 00:10:48.019 of rudeness in Canadian culture. 00:10:48.820 --> 00:10:51.480 Imagine that there's a man and woman, 00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:52.680 and they're married. 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:53.879 They have a couple of kids. 00:10:54.420 --> 00:10:55.720 The woman, the husband, 00:10:55.980 --> 00:10:58.980 in very, very typical manner, 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:00.620 after the kids have gotten a bit older, 00:11:00.740 --> 00:11:03.160 he finds a younger, prettier model, 00:11:03.259 --> 00:11:04.379 in quotation marks, 00:11:04.820 --> 00:11:06.600 and he divorces his first wife 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:07.879 and marries his second wife. 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:10.279 And then, three years later, 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:11.399 or five years later, 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:13.379 the man and his new wife, 00:11:13.419 --> 00:11:14.620 they die in a car accident 00:11:14.620 --> 00:11:16.439 out in the west end of the city, 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:16.980 and the wife, 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:18.659 she dies of some other reason 00:11:18.659 --> 00:11:19.679 in the east end of the city, 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:20.960 and there's separate funerals. 00:11:21.439 --> 00:11:22.240 And at the funeral, 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:24.939 at the first wife's funeral, 00:11:25.159 --> 00:11:26.679 the priest or the minister 00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:27.860 or the officiant says 00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:29.299 she's gone to a better place. 00:11:29.740 --> 00:11:31.080 At the other funeral, 00:11:31.240 --> 00:11:32.639 of the man with his second wife, 00:11:32.700 --> 00:11:34.240 they say she's gone to a better place. 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:35.700 They've both gone to a better place. 00:11:35.700 --> 00:11:37.720 Well, how is it exactly a better place 00:11:37.720 --> 00:11:39.180 for the woman in the east end 00:11:39.180 --> 00:11:41.200 because she hates the guy's guts 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:44.300 and despises the trophy wife? 00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:45.560 How is that a better place? 00:11:46.460 --> 00:11:47.860 How is that a better place? 00:11:50.140 --> 00:11:51.220 You can multiply. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:52.080 As you can see, 00:11:52.180 --> 00:11:53.759 there's profound problems 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:55.800 with the average Canadian view. 00:11:57.100 --> 00:11:58.480 Now, just as an aside, 00:11:59.080 --> 00:12:00.900 obviously this is going beyond the text, 00:12:00.899 --> 00:12:02.360 but this is how I think 00:12:02.360 --> 00:12:03.600 the Sadducees would argue 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:05.100 or the average Canadian atheist. 00:12:05.860 --> 00:12:06.980 Many Canadians would say, 00:12:07.079 --> 00:12:08.419 okay, well, the better place 00:12:08.419 --> 00:12:10.840 isn't a physical place. 00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:14.819 It's sort of more of a spiritual place. 00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:16.439 In fact, that's actually how most people, 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:17.899 many Canadians would think about it. 00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:19.079 It's like a spiritual place. 00:12:19.179 --> 00:12:19.620 You go to a, 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:21.299 you're just like a spirit now. 00:12:21.299 --> 00:12:27.419 Well, some of you are big hockey fans 00:12:27.419 --> 00:12:28.979 and you know that you've heard of 00:12:28.979 --> 00:12:31.359 Borea Salming, 00:12:31.620 --> 00:12:33.519 who was a famous defenseman 00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:34.599 for the Toronto Maple Leafs 00:12:34.599 --> 00:12:35.120 for many years. 00:12:35.199 --> 00:12:36.240 I think he's in the Hall of Fame. 00:12:36.959 --> 00:12:38.059 And he just recently had 00:12:38.059 --> 00:12:40.479 a very emotional time in Toronto. 00:12:41.059 --> 00:12:42.819 He has Lou Gehrig's disease, 00:12:43.539 --> 00:12:45.779 very, very far advanced. 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:47.159 He's only 71 years old. 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:48.779 There was a very emotional ceremony 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:49.819 at Maple Leaf Gardens 00:12:49.820 --> 00:12:51.480 when he was wheeled out onto the ice 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:53.860 with some of his former teammates. 00:12:54.680 --> 00:12:56.780 And a long ovation, 00:12:57.800 --> 00:12:58.840 he went back to Sweden 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:00.820 and he just died a couple of days ago. 00:13:00.820 --> 00:13:02.160 And Chris Selle, 00:13:02.780 --> 00:13:06.260 a columnist for the National Post, 00:13:06.760 --> 00:13:08.760 he's written, interestingly enough, 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:12.460 he wrote a column yesterday in the paper 00:13:12.460 --> 00:13:16.000 arguing for medically assisted dying, 00:13:16.140 --> 00:13:17.140 as they have in Canada. 00:13:17.780 --> 00:13:19.780 And here's how he begins his column. 00:13:19.820 --> 00:13:24.760 There probably isn't any good way to die 00:13:24.760 --> 00:13:27.500 from ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:30.820 The cruel motor neuron disease 00:13:30.820 --> 00:13:32.940 that gradually renders its victims 00:13:32.940 --> 00:13:34.160 unable to speak, 00:13:35.060 --> 00:13:36.320 eat, move, 00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:38.420 and even breathe independently. 00:13:38.419 --> 00:13:42.599 It's among the most chilling diagnoses, 00:13:43.299 --> 00:13:43.620 surely. 00:13:44.159 --> 00:13:46.860 The idea of losing one's physical functions 00:13:46.860 --> 00:13:50.099 while one's mental functions remain mostly intact 00:13:50.099 --> 00:13:52.860 is the stuff of nightmares. 00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:54.839 And we would all agree. 00:13:54.839 --> 00:13:55.439 All agree. 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:59.440 But he's also just described heaven 00:13:59.440 --> 00:14:02.040 if it's spiritual with nothing physical. 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:08.480 The average Canadian envisions a life 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:11.280 that's like having ALS for all eternity. 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:18.279 A soul or a spirit with no physical connection. 00:14:18.279 --> 00:14:25.819 I guess some average Canadians would go, 00:14:25.959 --> 00:14:28.779 okay, but the other very typical way, 00:14:28.839 --> 00:14:30.679 and we'll move into the text 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:32.679 to see what Jesus has to say about everything. 00:14:33.259 --> 00:14:35.759 It's a very, very common thing to hear at funerals 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:38.500 and in movies at funerals. 00:14:38.500 --> 00:14:40.440 People say something like, 00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:42.559 don't grieve for me when I die. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:43.620 I am in the wind. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:44.980 I am in the flowers. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:46.360 I am in the sunshine. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:49.559 I am in the mountains. 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:54.700 And they go a range of very, very beautiful things 00:14:54.700 --> 00:14:56.039 that they're going to be into. 00:14:56.139 --> 00:14:58.220 So don't grieve because that's where they've gone. 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:03.360 To which the Sadducees would say this, 00:15:03.940 --> 00:15:04.419 really? 00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:07.259 You don't have the power to keep yourself alive 00:15:07.259 --> 00:15:08.939 and you have the power to do all that? 00:15:09.439 --> 00:15:10.379 Like, how does that work? 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:14.059 You don't even have the power to keep yourself alive, 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:15.439 but you think you have the power 00:15:15.439 --> 00:15:17.500 to go in all the wind and all the flowers 00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:18.439 and all the sunshine? 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:22.379 In fact, all that is is, 00:15:23.100 --> 00:15:24.539 sorry if I'm offending, 00:15:24.700 --> 00:15:26.059 it's a type of deep pride. 00:15:28.819 --> 00:15:30.360 Unmoored from thinking. 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:39.639 So the Sadducees are probably giving each other high fives 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:43.580 because they think that Jesus 00:15:43.580 --> 00:15:47.860 has the average Canadian view of the afterlife 00:15:47.860 --> 00:15:50.879 and that as such, 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:52.560 he'll have no answer to their question. 00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:55.639 Now just sort of a pause here. 00:15:55.639 --> 00:15:58.679 One of the things that this text 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:00.699 has really helped me to remember is, 00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:03.159 and it's an important thing for us, 00:16:03.399 --> 00:16:04.740 many of you will notice 00:16:04.740 --> 00:16:06.159 if you've come to the church before 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:08.340 that I often don't use just the word God. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:10.539 I mean, sometimes I say the word God, obviously. 00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:13.039 I mean, it's a church service. 00:16:13.620 --> 00:16:16.899 But increasingly, I try to use the word triune God. 00:16:17.819 --> 00:16:20.059 And that's because we need to remember 00:16:20.059 --> 00:16:23.299 that the average Canadian doesn't believe 00:16:23.299 --> 00:16:26.399 in the same God that the Christian believes in. 00:16:26.739 --> 00:16:29.979 That we as Christians have a fundamentally different view 00:16:29.979 --> 00:16:32.619 of what God is or who God is than most Canadians. 00:16:33.599 --> 00:16:35.759 I try to remember when people say 00:16:35.759 --> 00:16:37.719 they have problems with the idea of God 00:16:37.719 --> 00:16:40.059 or they don't see why it matters whether God exists, 00:16:40.119 --> 00:16:41.399 I try to remember to ask them, 00:16:41.579 --> 00:16:43.899 well, who or what do you think God is? 00:16:45.239 --> 00:16:47.199 And if I remember to do that 00:16:47.199 --> 00:16:48.599 and then they try to describe it 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:49.860 and then I tell them, well, I don't believe 00:16:49.860 --> 00:16:51.940 that God exists either, they're very surprised. 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:55.100 Because the average Canadian thinks 00:16:55.100 --> 00:16:57.240 that I'm going to agree with them, 00:16:57.300 --> 00:16:58.500 that we're going to agree with them. 00:16:58.540 --> 00:17:00.300 And the mistake that the Pharisees make 00:17:00.300 --> 00:17:03.600 is they think that Jesus has the average view 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:10.120 of resurrection as he just has that average view. 00:17:10.759 --> 00:17:12.880 But Jesus is going to show them that he doesn't. 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:15.940 Look how Jesus now answers this particular issue. 00:17:15.940 --> 00:17:19.140 And what he does, he's going to sort of give 00:17:19.140 --> 00:17:21.140 three different fundamental images. 00:17:21.340 --> 00:17:22.940 They're all very briefly written. 00:17:24.840 --> 00:17:26.460 They need to be unpacked a little bit. 00:17:26.820 --> 00:17:29.539 But what they are is an outline of reason, 00:17:30.600 --> 00:17:33.840 an outline of hope, and an outline of grace. 00:17:35.259 --> 00:17:38.880 They open a door to something which is both fully reasonable, 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:43.940 but is also fully grounded in a good reason to have hope 00:17:43.940 --> 00:17:45.880 and an understanding of God's grace. 00:17:45.960 --> 00:17:47.040 So let's see what happens. 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:49.380 Verse 24. 00:17:50.340 --> 00:17:51.380 So Jesus said to them, 00:17:52.380 --> 00:17:54.800 Is this not the reason you are wrong? 00:17:55.980 --> 00:17:57.020 That's how he begins. 00:17:57.880 --> 00:17:59.080 And as we're going to see in a moment, 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:00.920 he's not only saying that they're wrong, 00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:03.260 but he's saying that in a sense 00:18:03.260 --> 00:18:05.620 the average Jewish belief is wrong as well. 00:18:05.619 --> 00:18:07.979 He's saying both are wrong. 00:18:09.379 --> 00:18:11.919 Is this not the reason you are wrong? 00:18:12.039 --> 00:18:13.919 Because you know neither the scriptures 00:18:13.919 --> 00:18:15.399 nor the power of God. 00:18:16.459 --> 00:18:18.579 So he set before them that they're wrong. 00:18:19.439 --> 00:18:21.399 Second thing then is that the next thing 00:18:21.399 --> 00:18:24.219 is he gives the first of these three key sort of insights 00:18:24.219 --> 00:18:26.279 that we could meditate upon for a moment. 00:18:26.379 --> 00:18:27.959 The first one is this, verse 25. 00:18:28.619 --> 00:18:29.859 For when they rise, 00:18:29.959 --> 00:18:32.119 that is when people rise from the dead, 00:18:32.659 --> 00:18:35.439 they neither marry nor are given in marriage. 00:18:35.619 --> 00:18:38.159 But are like angels in heaven. 00:18:39.099 --> 00:18:40.859 Now just pause here for a second. 00:18:40.979 --> 00:18:43.000 It's a very, very short phrase. 00:18:43.239 --> 00:18:45.179 It's a very powerful and deep phrase. 00:18:45.239 --> 00:18:47.899 But it's easy to misunderstand it. 00:18:49.899 --> 00:18:52.959 He is not saying that when I die, 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:53.959 I become an angel. 00:18:54.659 --> 00:18:56.659 Or that when you die, you become an angel. 00:18:56.779 --> 00:18:58.039 He's not saying that at all. 00:18:58.700 --> 00:19:00.420 He's saying something different. 00:19:00.420 --> 00:19:01.420 He's saying... 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:06.299 Well, here is... 00:19:06.299 --> 00:19:07.279 Hear about it for a second. 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:08.579 If you think about it, 00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:10.740 basically what he's saying is 00:19:10.740 --> 00:19:13.599 what happens after death 00:19:13.599 --> 00:19:15.839 is going to involve a world 00:19:15.839 --> 00:19:17.420 where our categories 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:22.119 have next to no ability to comprehend it. 00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:25.319 I'll explain a little bit in a moment. 00:19:25.739 --> 00:19:27.359 So we know a few things about angels 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.739 for devout Christians. 00:19:28.879 --> 00:19:29.799 We know they exist. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:31.579 We know they're pure spirit. 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:34.739 We know that God can send them 00:19:34.739 --> 00:19:36.399 and that they can do some things 00:19:36.399 --> 00:19:37.659 in this physical world. 00:19:38.159 --> 00:19:39.479 And they can somehow or another 00:19:39.479 --> 00:19:40.799 communicate with human beings. 00:19:40.899 --> 00:19:41.599 But beyond that, 00:19:42.199 --> 00:19:43.859 do we know if they have friends? 00:19:43.859 --> 00:19:47.839 Do we know if they have anything 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:49.979 corresponding to what we understand 00:19:49.979 --> 00:19:51.619 as sex or gender? 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:56.099 Do we know how they communicate? 00:19:57.219 --> 00:20:00.379 Do we know what life is like for them? 00:20:00.899 --> 00:20:02.659 We don't know anything about them, really. 00:20:02.740 --> 00:20:03.779 We just know they exist. 00:20:05.500 --> 00:20:06.699 And the fact of the matter is 00:20:06.699 --> 00:20:09.559 is that God couldn't even communicate to us, really, 00:20:10.059 --> 00:20:11.919 anything about angelic existence 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:14.980 because it's in a completely different category. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:17.960 Like, we don't have any categories 00:20:17.960 --> 00:20:20.940 for creatures that are pure spirit. 00:20:21.060 --> 00:20:22.039 Like, we just don't. 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:27.259 I mean, that's just using our reason. 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:29.920 And so Jesus is saying 00:20:29.920 --> 00:20:31.120 that whatever is going to be 00:20:31.120 --> 00:20:32.340 in the new heaven and the new earth, 00:20:32.360 --> 00:20:33.060 and there is going to be 00:20:33.060 --> 00:20:33.920 a new heaven and new earth, 00:20:33.940 --> 00:20:34.860 there's going to be a resurrection. 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:35.779 You have to understand 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:37.039 that it's going into a realm 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:38.800 where we don't have the categories 00:20:38.800 --> 00:20:40.360 to comprehend it. 00:20:40.359 --> 00:20:42.399 I'll give you another example, 00:20:42.539 --> 00:20:43.779 which is a biblical example, 00:20:43.779 --> 00:20:45.139 not the one that Jesus uses. 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:46.359 And I'm going to circle back, 00:20:46.419 --> 00:20:48.619 I think, as to why Jesus doesn't use this one. 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:50.740 If you... 00:20:50.740 --> 00:20:53.439 I got this one from Sam Albury. 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:56.779 A carrot seed doesn't look anything like a carrot. 00:20:58.659 --> 00:21:01.719 And an acorn doesn't look anything like an oak tree. 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:05.799 And if you imagine a world of, you know, 00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:07.360 somehow vaguely sentient, 00:21:07.539 --> 00:21:09.799 like carrot seeds it could think, 00:21:10.319 --> 00:21:11.960 and maybe they get some rumors 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:13.299 from some divine being 00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:15.240 that there's something called carrots. 00:21:16.860 --> 00:21:18.440 Well, they wouldn't have anything at all, 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:19.539 they wouldn't have any way at all 00:21:19.539 --> 00:21:22.440 of understanding how when they die, 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:24.860 they don't just become like a bigger seed, 00:21:25.360 --> 00:21:26.579 they become a carrot. 00:21:26.579 --> 00:21:26.740 Carrot. 00:21:27.779 --> 00:21:30.099 Like, carrots like water. 00:21:31.419 --> 00:21:33.199 Seeds don't, because it'll kill them, right? 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:35.519 Like, they don't have the categories for that. 00:21:35.639 --> 00:21:37.579 It's just completely different. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:39.480 Acorns and oak trees are so different, 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:41.899 and an acorn can be carried around. 00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:43.819 They think, okay, that must mean oaks are better, 00:21:43.919 --> 00:21:45.299 so they get easier to carry around. 00:21:45.399 --> 00:21:47.220 No, no, no, no, you can't carry oak trees. 00:21:47.339 --> 00:21:48.439 No, no, that just doesn't make, 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:50.539 they have no place to understand it. 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:52.440 And so that's what Jesus is saying, 00:21:52.579 --> 00:21:55.680 that human beings do not have the categories 00:21:55.680 --> 00:21:58.460 to comprehend what the resurrected life 00:21:58.460 --> 00:21:59.259 is going to be like. 00:21:59.980 --> 00:22:01.200 Now, here's the second piece, 00:22:01.259 --> 00:22:02.259 because he doesn't just say this, 00:22:02.299 --> 00:22:03.019 he says this thing, 00:22:03.420 --> 00:22:05.220 and this is a very puzzling piece, 00:22:05.659 --> 00:22:07.359 and so you need to take a step back, 00:22:07.420 --> 00:22:08.819 and then you'll see how wonderful it is. 00:22:08.899 --> 00:22:11.259 Look at what he says next in verse 26. 00:22:12.339 --> 00:22:13.480 So, by the way, back there, 00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:14.099 he doesn't say, 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:15.619 the first thing that he's saying 00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:17.879 doesn't mean that there's no connections 00:22:17.879 --> 00:22:19.200 between husbands and wives, 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:21.240 or kids and children, or parents. 00:22:21.539 --> 00:22:22.360 He's just saying, 00:22:22.539 --> 00:22:23.700 whatever's going to be there, 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:25.620 there's no category in our experience 00:22:25.620 --> 00:22:26.580 for what that means. 00:22:26.920 --> 00:22:27.840 That's what he's just saying. 00:22:28.140 --> 00:22:29.220 I can't answer it. 00:22:30.819 --> 00:22:31.799 Verse 26, 00:22:31.940 --> 00:22:33.539 and as for the dead being raised, 00:22:34.100 --> 00:22:35.779 have you not read in the book of Moses, 00:22:36.580 --> 00:22:38.160 in the passage about the bush, 00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:40.120 how God spoke to him, saying, 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:41.299 I am the God of Abraham, 00:22:41.460 --> 00:22:42.240 and the God of Isaac, 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:43.200 and the God of Jacob? 00:22:44.779 --> 00:22:46.620 Now, how does this prove anything at all? 00:22:46.619 --> 00:22:49.679 Well, it's a very subtle type of argument 00:22:49.679 --> 00:22:50.699 that he's making, 00:22:51.339 --> 00:22:52.839 that you only really understand 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:54.799 if you understand all of the book of Genesis, 00:22:55.479 --> 00:22:56.579 and Exodus, 00:22:56.819 --> 00:22:58.059 and all those first five books, 00:22:58.199 --> 00:22:58.979 and it's this. 00:22:59.179 --> 00:23:00.579 We use a human analogy. 00:23:01.979 --> 00:23:03.019 Imagine for a moment 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:06.319 that your dad lives in another country, 00:23:06.879 --> 00:23:07.299 actually, 00:23:07.739 --> 00:23:08.779 and you've been promising, 00:23:08.959 --> 00:23:10.139 or just lives very far away, 00:23:10.199 --> 00:23:11.979 and you've been promising for a long time 00:23:11.979 --> 00:23:13.939 that you're going to return to that country 00:23:13.940 --> 00:23:15.000 to visit your father, 00:23:15.320 --> 00:23:16.580 or you're going to go to return 00:23:16.580 --> 00:23:17.519 to visit your mother, 00:23:18.259 --> 00:23:19.980 and then, I mean, 00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:20.860 apart from COVID, 00:23:21.120 --> 00:23:22.559 you're busy with jobs, 00:23:22.680 --> 00:23:23.779 you're busy with your kids, 00:23:23.900 --> 00:23:25.380 there's some financial crunches, 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:26.860 you always mean very well, 00:23:26.880 --> 00:23:28.200 and you continually promise 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:29.620 that you're going to come back, 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:31.420 and you're going to see your parent, 00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:32.940 but then the parent dies, 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:38.600 and you didn't keep your promise, 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:41.039 right? 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:44.080 For some people, 00:23:44.180 --> 00:23:45.360 it can be very, very hard. 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:46.740 It doesn't even have to be another country. 00:23:46.860 --> 00:23:48.039 It could be something as simple 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:51.299 as your grandfather, 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:52.740 or some other loved one, 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:54.080 really wants to return 00:23:54.080 --> 00:23:56.140 to the cottage that they grew up in, 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:58.720 and experience just one more time, 00:23:58.820 --> 00:23:59.039 maybe, 00:23:59.120 --> 00:24:00.440 being able to be up there 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:01.480 and have a campfire, 00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:03.680 or just enjoy the cottage, 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:05.180 and you keep promising them 00:24:05.180 --> 00:24:05.820 you're going to take them, 00:24:05.880 --> 00:24:06.480 you're going to take them, 00:24:06.519 --> 00:24:07.140 you're going to take them, 00:24:07.160 --> 00:24:07.740 you're going to take them, 00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:08.620 and you just never get around 00:24:08.620 --> 00:24:09.200 to taking them, 00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:10.039 and then they die, 00:24:10.519 --> 00:24:11.920 and everybody would say, 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:13.240 and you yourself would feel 00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:15.120 that you did not keep your promise, 00:24:16.120 --> 00:24:20.400 and it's the stuff of books and movies 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:22.360 about how people wrestle 00:24:22.360 --> 00:24:23.200 with the guilt 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:24.700 of not keeping their promise. 00:24:26.220 --> 00:24:27.900 Now, when we were reading 00:24:27.900 --> 00:24:29.680 through the book of Genesis, 00:24:30.180 --> 00:24:31.420 the story of Abraham, 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:34.060 earlier on in this year, 00:24:34.620 --> 00:24:35.259 one of the things, 00:24:35.420 --> 00:24:36.060 if you notice, 00:24:36.180 --> 00:24:37.080 and if you don't remember, 00:24:37.160 --> 00:24:37.660 you can go back 00:24:37.660 --> 00:24:38.380 and you can read, 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:39.820 that God made a series 00:24:39.820 --> 00:24:41.160 of promises to Abraham, 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:43.320 but at the end of the book, 00:24:43.600 --> 00:24:44.740 many of those promises 00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:45.600 weren't kept, 00:24:46.259 --> 00:24:46.920 or were they? 00:24:47.620 --> 00:24:48.880 If they weren't kept, 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:49.600 does that mean 00:24:49.600 --> 00:24:51.300 that God didn't keep his promise? 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:52.880 Does God, 00:24:53.040 --> 00:24:53.880 the triune God, 00:24:53.960 --> 00:24:54.640 have regret 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:55.960 that he didn't get 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:57.440 to keep his word to Abraham? 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:02.079 Well, the answer is, 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:05.960 if Abraham is still alive, 00:25:07.360 --> 00:25:09.539 if Isaac is still alive, 00:25:10.539 --> 00:25:12.579 if Jacob is still alive, 00:25:14.019 --> 00:25:15.000 then you can't see 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:16.519 that God didn't keep his promise. 00:25:21.500 --> 00:25:22.860 And that's what's significant 00:25:22.860 --> 00:25:23.720 about the quote. 00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:25.360 And here's the thing 00:25:25.360 --> 00:25:26.940 which is very important for us. 00:25:27.559 --> 00:25:28.259 And this is maybe 00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:28.980 part of the reason 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:30.779 why Jesus uses the example 00:25:30.779 --> 00:25:32.860 of angels rather than seeds. 00:25:33.339 --> 00:25:34.000 See, the problem 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:35.279 with the seed analogy 00:25:35.279 --> 00:25:36.740 is that we human beings 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:37.240 might think, 00:25:37.380 --> 00:25:38.460 well, seeds turning, 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:39.319 a carrot seed 00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:40.200 turning into a carrot 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:41.600 is just a natural process. 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:43.299 If you plant the carrot seed, 00:25:43.380 --> 00:25:45.220 unless the dogs dig it up, 00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:46.940 and so there's no, 00:25:47.180 --> 00:25:47.860 it doesn't grow, 00:25:48.000 --> 00:25:49.360 or unless a bunny rabbit 00:25:49.360 --> 00:25:51.180 comes as the green leaves 00:25:51.180 --> 00:25:51.700 are coming up 00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:52.140 and eats it 00:25:52.140 --> 00:25:53.000 and kills the carrot, 00:25:53.120 --> 00:25:53.519 that it's just 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:54.640 a natural process. 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:56.140 And we human beings 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:56.600 might think 00:25:56.600 --> 00:25:57.960 it's just a natural process. 00:25:58.080 --> 00:25:58.319 In fact, 00:25:58.360 --> 00:25:59.100 that's what the average 00:25:59.100 --> 00:25:59.940 Canadian thinks, 00:26:00.080 --> 00:26:00.700 that it's just 00:26:00.700 --> 00:26:01.600 a natural process. 00:26:01.600 --> 00:26:02.200 You live, 00:26:02.299 --> 00:26:02.759 you die, 00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:03.580 and then you live 00:26:03.580 --> 00:26:04.420 in this new type 00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:05.440 of resurrected life, 00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:06.160 although you don't know 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:06.620 how to answer 00:26:06.620 --> 00:26:07.220 the questions 00:26:07.220 --> 00:26:08.660 of the Sadducees, 00:26:08.740 --> 00:26:10.380 of the Canadian atheists. 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:11.340 And Jesus is saying 00:26:11.340 --> 00:26:12.880 it's not a natural process. 00:26:13.380 --> 00:26:14.500 People are kept alive 00:26:14.500 --> 00:26:15.259 after death 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:16.960 because of 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:18.220 the promise 00:26:18.220 --> 00:26:19.019 of God. 00:26:20.660 --> 00:26:21.379 You and I 00:26:21.379 --> 00:26:22.099 are dependent 00:26:22.099 --> 00:26:23.440 on the promise 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:24.440 of God. 00:26:25.700 --> 00:26:27.460 It's not natural. 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:30.500 It's dependent 00:26:30.500 --> 00:26:31.839 on his promise. 00:26:33.420 --> 00:26:35.240 It's his promise 00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:37.000 that gives you life. 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:40.700 See, 00:26:40.779 --> 00:26:41.140 this actually 00:26:41.140 --> 00:26:41.660 is going to talk 00:26:41.660 --> 00:26:42.359 about another thing 00:26:42.359 --> 00:26:43.559 which is undergirding 00:26:43.559 --> 00:26:44.880 the average way 00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:45.839 that we Canadians 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:46.900 think about things 00:26:46.900 --> 00:26:47.299 like this. 00:26:47.400 --> 00:26:48.079 We tend to think 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:48.880 of it in terms 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:50.859 of either 00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:55.579 I defeat death 00:26:55.579 --> 00:26:56.460 and live 00:26:56.460 --> 00:26:58.819 or death defeats me 00:26:58.819 --> 00:27:00.119 and I die. 00:27:01.660 --> 00:27:03.420 I defeat death 00:27:03.420 --> 00:27:05.720 or death defeats me 00:27:05.720 --> 00:27:07.420 and Jesus 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:08.140 is saying 00:27:08.140 --> 00:27:09.900 there's a 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:11.539 that's not the right 00:27:11.539 --> 00:27:12.500 way to think about it. 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:15.620 It's not whether 00:27:15.620 --> 00:27:16.079 you defeat 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:16.900 you're not going 00:27:16.900 --> 00:27:17.720 to defeat death 00:27:17.720 --> 00:27:19.100 you're just not 00:27:19.100 --> 00:27:20.140 going to defeat death. 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:21.100 It is going to win. 00:27:21.900 --> 00:27:23.380 But there's another option 00:27:23.380 --> 00:27:27.339 that there can be 00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:28.500 a promise from God 00:27:28.500 --> 00:27:29.819 that you can share 00:27:29.819 --> 00:27:30.319 in the defeat 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:31.240 of death of Jesus. 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:35.059 But to do that 00:27:35.059 --> 00:27:35.899 requires 00:27:35.899 --> 00:27:37.519 humbling yourself 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:40.659 and letting go 00:27:40.659 --> 00:27:41.379 of your proud 00:27:41.379 --> 00:27:41.940 determination 00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:42.879 that unless you 00:27:42.879 --> 00:27:43.599 defeat death 00:27:43.599 --> 00:27:44.339 you want death 00:27:44.339 --> 00:27:44.779 to win 00:27:44.779 --> 00:27:45.779 and Jesus says 00:27:45.779 --> 00:27:47.359 no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:27:47.799 --> 00:27:49.000 What you really need 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:49.659 is the promise 00:27:49.659 --> 00:27:50.179 of God. 00:27:51.879 --> 00:27:52.879 And then the final 00:27:52.879 --> 00:27:54.039 piece of the puzzle 00:27:54.039 --> 00:27:55.039 is the third thing 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:55.639 that he says 00:27:55.639 --> 00:27:56.319 that's verse 00:27:56.319 --> 00:27:58.639 27. 00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:00.579 He is not 00:28:00.579 --> 00:28:01.019 the God 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:01.659 of the dead 00:28:01.659 --> 00:28:02.599 but of the living. 00:28:02.919 --> 00:28:03.960 You are quite wrong. 00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:04.640 And note here 00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:05.259 how he says 00:28:05.259 --> 00:28:06.220 wrong at the beginning 00:28:06.220 --> 00:28:07.059 and wrong at the end. 00:28:07.420 --> 00:28:08.600 And why is this interesting? 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:10.160 This is a very powerful 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:10.980 emotional 00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:12.860 not only is it 00:28:12.860 --> 00:28:14.039 an intellectual statement 00:28:14.039 --> 00:28:15.799 but it's an imaginative 00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:16.279 statement 00:28:16.279 --> 00:28:17.740 and an emotional statement. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:18.620 And we all 00:28:18.620 --> 00:28:19.700 intuitively understand 00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:19.980 that. 00:28:20.039 --> 00:28:20.900 That there's a radical 00:28:20.900 --> 00:28:21.920 difference between 00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:23.160 the God of the dead 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:24.720 and the God of the living. 00:28:25.420 --> 00:28:26.039 They're radically 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:27.160 different images 00:28:27.160 --> 00:28:27.860 of God. 00:28:28.180 --> 00:28:28.720 Those of you 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:29.840 who like movies 00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:31.019 and books 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:32.359 about drug cartels 00:28:32.359 --> 00:28:33.119 out of Mexico 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:33.639 you'll know 00:28:33.639 --> 00:28:34.220 that there's a 00:28:34.220 --> 00:28:35.419 apparently 00:28:35.419 --> 00:28:36.099 if the books 00:28:36.099 --> 00:28:36.639 are accurate 00:28:36.639 --> 00:28:37.259 there's sort of 00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:37.919 a cult 00:28:37.919 --> 00:28:38.980 of a worship 00:28:38.980 --> 00:28:39.799 of a particular 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:40.939 type of 00:28:40.939 --> 00:28:41.839 sort of 00:28:41.839 --> 00:28:42.859 Mexican type 00:28:42.859 --> 00:28:43.480 of goddess. 00:28:43.639 --> 00:28:44.480 I think she's called 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:45.299 Santeria 00:28:45.299 --> 00:28:46.179 and she's the goddess 00:28:46.179 --> 00:28:46.799 of death. 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:48.019 And you go there 00:28:48.019 --> 00:28:49.059 and there's skulls 00:28:49.059 --> 00:28:49.459 and there's 00:28:49.459 --> 00:28:51.079 and it inspires them 00:28:51.079 --> 00:28:51.720 to kill 00:28:51.720 --> 00:28:52.519 and to rape 00:28:52.519 --> 00:28:53.299 and to loot 00:28:53.299 --> 00:28:54.299 and to do 00:28:54.299 --> 00:28:55.059 complete and other 00:28:55.059 --> 00:28:55.859 atrocities. 00:28:55.980 --> 00:28:56.439 And you all 00:28:56.439 --> 00:28:57.079 would understand 00:28:57.079 --> 00:28:57.639 that if you were 00:28:57.639 --> 00:28:58.879 to go to a temple 00:28:58.879 --> 00:29:00.039 devoted to the 00:29:00.039 --> 00:29:00.759 God of death 00:29:00.759 --> 00:29:01.220 it would look 00:29:01.220 --> 00:29:01.839 very different 00:29:01.839 --> 00:29:02.319 than going to 00:29:02.319 --> 00:29:02.759 the temple 00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:03.299 devoted to 00:29:03.299 --> 00:29:04.179 the God of life. 00:29:04.399 --> 00:29:04.899 That they're 00:29:04.899 --> 00:29:05.720 emotionally 00:29:05.720 --> 00:29:06.859 intellectually 00:29:06.859 --> 00:29:08.379 completely and 00:29:08.379 --> 00:29:09.299 utterly different 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:09.839 images. 00:29:11.439 --> 00:29:12.500 And what Jesus 00:29:12.500 --> 00:29:13.359 is saying is 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:13.960 the God 00:29:13.960 --> 00:29:15.039 the triune God 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:15.839 who does exist 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:16.919 is not the God 00:29:16.919 --> 00:29:17.379 of death 00:29:17.379 --> 00:29:18.500 he is the God 00:29:18.500 --> 00:29:19.379 of life. 00:29:20.099 --> 00:29:20.839 He is living 00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:21.419 alive 00:29:21.419 --> 00:29:22.659 the God of life. 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:24.839 And our 00:29:24.839 --> 00:29:25.799 entering into 00:29:25.799 --> 00:29:26.579 a life after 00:29:26.579 --> 00:29:27.000 death 00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:27.779 a resurrected 00:29:27.779 --> 00:29:28.519 life that we 00:29:28.519 --> 00:29:29.000 have no 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:29.900 categories for 00:29:29.900 --> 00:29:30.460 in our mind 00:29:30.460 --> 00:29:31.099 is dependent 00:29:31.099 --> 00:29:31.980 not upon 00:29:31.980 --> 00:29:32.579 anything that 00:29:32.579 --> 00:29:32.859 you have 00:29:32.859 --> 00:29:33.099 done 00:29:33.099 --> 00:29:33.779 but upon 00:29:33.779 --> 00:29:34.359 the promise 00:29:34.359 --> 00:29:35.039 of God. 00:29:39.980 --> 00:29:40.920 It is based 00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:41.599 on the promise 00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:42.200 of God. 00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:48.880 And then of 00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:49.200 course 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:50.660 in a couple 00:29:50.660 --> 00:29:51.180 of days 00:29:51.180 --> 00:29:51.980 see what 00:29:51.980 --> 00:29:52.799 I didn't tell 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:53.319 you and some 00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:53.700 of you do 00:29:53.700 --> 00:29:54.279 know is that 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:54.839 this incident 00:29:54.839 --> 00:29:55.740 in this story 00:29:55.740 --> 00:29:57.240 happens a 00:29:57.240 --> 00:29:57.620 couple of 00:29:57.620 --> 00:29:58.180 days before 00:29:58.180 --> 00:29:58.960 Jesus dies 00:29:58.960 --> 00:29:59.640 on a cross 00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:04.299 and happens 00:30:04.299 --> 00:30:04.759 then a day 00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:05.160 or two 00:30:05.160 --> 00:30:05.960 before Jesus 00:30:05.960 --> 00:30:06.559 will rise 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:06.940 from the 00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:07.200 dead. 00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:10.160 He will 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:10.740 physically 00:30:10.740 --> 00:30:11.859 literally 00:30:11.859 --> 00:30:13.180 rise from 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:13.539 the dead. 00:30:13.640 --> 00:30:13.880 He will 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:14.500 enter into 00:30:14.500 --> 00:30:14.779 death 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:15.279 taste all 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:15.599 there is 00:30:15.599 --> 00:30:15.980 to taste 00:30:15.980 --> 00:30:16.440 of death 00:30:16.440 --> 00:30:16.799 and he 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:17.299 will emerge 00:30:17.299 --> 00:30:17.599 on the 00:30:17.599 --> 00:30:18.140 far side 00:30:18.140 --> 00:30:18.640 of death 00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:19.580 having 00:30:19.580 --> 00:30:20.320 defeated 00:30:20.320 --> 00:30:21.100 the sin 00:30:21.100 --> 00:30:22.340 the rebellion 00:30:22.340 --> 00:30:23.100 against God 00:30:23.100 --> 00:30:23.860 which causes 00:30:23.860 --> 00:30:24.400 death 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:25.500 and have 00:30:25.500 --> 00:30:26.000 defeated 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:26.360 death 00:30:26.360 --> 00:30:27.000 itself. 00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:30.140 And the 00:30:30.140 --> 00:30:31.080 good news 00:30:31.080 --> 00:30:32.240 and see 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:32.600 by the way 00:30:32.600 --> 00:30:33.080 that's the 00:30:33.080 --> 00:30:33.640 power of 00:30:33.640 --> 00:30:34.040 God. 00:30:35.740 --> 00:30:36.680 Earlier on 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:37.500 when Jesus 00:30:37.500 --> 00:30:38.100 says you 00:30:38.100 --> 00:30:39.300 know neither 00:30:39.300 --> 00:30:39.920 the scriptures 00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:40.660 nor the power 00:30:40.660 --> 00:30:41.040 of God 00:30:41.040 --> 00:30:41.460 he's not 00:30:41.460 --> 00:30:41.980 talking about 00:30:41.980 --> 00:30:42.420 the fact 00:30:42.420 --> 00:30:43.420 that God 00:30:43.420 --> 00:30:44.740 is omnipotent. 00:30:44.860 --> 00:30:45.240 He doesn't 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:45.680 say you do 00:30:45.680 --> 00:30:46.000 not know 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:46.580 the scriptures 00:30:46.579 --> 00:30:46.919 you know 00:30:46.919 --> 00:30:47.439 neither the 00:30:47.439 --> 00:30:47.779 scriptures 00:30:47.779 --> 00:30:48.439 nor divine 00:30:48.439 --> 00:30:49.759 omnipotence. 00:30:50.399 --> 00:30:50.599 In the 00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:51.159 Bible the 00:30:51.159 --> 00:30:51.759 power of 00:30:51.759 --> 00:30:53.139 God is 00:30:53.139 --> 00:30:53.919 the death 00:30:53.919 --> 00:30:54.599 and resurrection 00:30:54.599 --> 00:30:55.439 of Jesus 00:30:55.439 --> 00:30:56.039 which is 00:30:56.039 --> 00:30:57.019 available for 00:30:57.019 --> 00:30:57.419 you to 00:30:57.419 --> 00:30:58.099 receive by 00:30:58.099 --> 00:30:58.480 faith. 00:30:59.039 --> 00:30:59.480 I am not 00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:00.059 ashamed of 00:31:00.059 --> 00:31:00.579 the gospel. 00:31:01.019 --> 00:31:01.279 Why? 00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:02.019 For it is 00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:02.619 the power 00:31:02.619 --> 00:31:03.179 of God 00:31:03.179 --> 00:31:03.960 for salvation 00:31:03.960 --> 00:31:04.539 to all 00:31:04.539 --> 00:31:05.299 who believe. 00:31:06.099 --> 00:31:06.779 That's the 00:31:06.779 --> 00:31:07.240 message of 00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:07.720 the Bible. 00:31:08.179 --> 00:31:08.980 The message 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:09.419 of the Bible 00:31:09.419 --> 00:31:09.740 is the 00:31:09.740 --> 00:31:10.339 power of 00:31:10.339 --> 00:31:11.199 God is 00:31:11.199 --> 00:31:12.159 the gospel 00:31:12.159 --> 00:31:12.579 the good 00:31:12.579 --> 00:31:13.059 news that 00:31:13.059 --> 00:31:13.819 Jesus lived 00:31:13.819 --> 00:31:14.199 the life 00:31:14.199 --> 00:31:14.579 you could 00:31:14.579 --> 00:31:15.099 not live. 00:31:15.199 --> 00:31:15.659 He died 00:31:15.659 --> 00:31:16.159 the death 00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:16.480 that you 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:16.880 deserve. 00:31:17.019 --> 00:31:17.460 He takes 00:31:17.460 --> 00:31:18.100 upon himself 00:31:18.100 --> 00:31:18.519 the doom 00:31:18.519 --> 00:31:19.060 you deserve. 00:31:19.580 --> 00:31:20.140 He is 00:31:20.140 --> 00:31:20.940 your substitute. 00:31:21.160 --> 00:31:21.440 There's an 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:22.400 active exchange 00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:23.700 and when you 00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:24.080 put your 00:31:24.080 --> 00:31:24.600 faith and 00:31:24.600 --> 00:31:25.100 trust in 00:31:25.100 --> 00:31:25.480 Jesus 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:26.440 that which 00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:28.380 keeps you 00:31:28.380 --> 00:31:28.820 far from 00:31:28.820 --> 00:31:29.080 God 00:31:29.080 --> 00:31:29.660 that which 00:31:29.660 --> 00:31:30.279 means that 00:31:30.279 --> 00:31:30.740 death will 00:31:30.740 --> 00:31:31.500 triumph over 00:31:31.500 --> 00:31:32.160 you justly 00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:32.560 that 00:31:32.560 --> 00:31:33.380 Jesus 00:31:33.380 --> 00:31:34.680 takes all 00:31:34.680 --> 00:31:35.240 of that 00:31:35.240 --> 00:31:36.360 and he 00:31:36.360 --> 00:31:36.920 emerges on 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:37.279 the far 00:31:37.279 --> 00:31:37.759 side of 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:38.019 death 00:31:38.019 --> 00:31:38.420 and he 00:31:38.420 --> 00:31:39.160 speaks to 00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:39.480 you and 00:31:39.480 --> 00:31:39.920 me today 00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:40.240 on the 00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:40.700 far side 00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:41.019 of death 00:31:41.019 --> 00:31:41.279 saying 00:31:41.279 --> 00:31:41.860 come to 00:31:41.860 --> 00:31:42.180 me 00:31:42.180 --> 00:31:43.060 all who 00:31:43.060 --> 00:31:43.500 labor and 00:31:43.500 --> 00:31:43.800 are heavy 00:31:43.800 --> 00:31:44.220 laden and 00:31:44.220 --> 00:31:44.540 I will 00:31:44.540 --> 00:31:44.900 give you 00:31:44.900 --> 00:31:45.100 rest. 00:31:45.099 --> 00:31:45.579 Take my 00:31:45.579 --> 00:31:46.099 yoke upon 00:31:46.099 --> 00:31:46.419 you and 00:31:46.419 --> 00:31:46.859 learn from 00:31:46.859 --> 00:31:47.179 me for 00:31:47.179 --> 00:31:47.339 I am 00:31:47.339 --> 00:31:47.859 gentle and 00:31:47.859 --> 00:31:48.259 lowly of 00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:48.879 heart and 00:31:48.879 --> 00:31:49.119 you will 00:31:49.119 --> 00:31:49.639 find rest 00:31:49.639 --> 00:31:50.019 for your 00:31:50.019 --> 00:31:50.439 souls. 00:31:50.819 --> 00:31:51.500 That is the 00:31:51.500 --> 00:31:52.399 constant message 00:31:52.399 --> 00:31:53.159 of the gospel 00:31:53.159 --> 00:31:54.379 the promise of 00:31:54.379 --> 00:31:55.000 God that if you 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:55.699 put your faith 00:31:55.699 --> 00:31:56.359 and trust in 00:31:56.359 --> 00:31:57.019 Jesus you are 00:31:57.019 --> 00:31:57.819 united with 00:31:57.819 --> 00:31:59.419 Christ in 00:31:59.419 --> 00:32:00.059 his death and 00:32:00.059 --> 00:32:02.240 resurrection and 00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:03.859 you get to 00:32:03.859 --> 00:32:04.519 share in his 00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:05.159 resurrection. 00:32:05.160 --> 00:32:05.279 salvation. 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:10.120 Just a couple 00:32:10.120 --> 00:32:11.860 of things in 00:32:11.860 --> 00:32:12.300 closing. 00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:14.080 First of all 00:32:14.080 --> 00:32:15.120 one of the 00:32:15.120 --> 00:32:15.680 things which is 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:16.400 really interesting 00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:17.000 about this 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:18.000 text you see 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:18.880 Jesus in a 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:19.420 sense says 00:32:19.420 --> 00:32:20.420 that both the 00:32:20.420 --> 00:32:21.600 Sadducees and 00:32:21.600 --> 00:32:22.019 the average 00:32:22.019 --> 00:32:22.720 Jewish belief 00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:23.340 are wrong 00:32:23.340 --> 00:32:24.740 but at the 00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:26.019 same time he 00:32:26.019 --> 00:32:26.860 fulfills them 00:32:26.860 --> 00:32:27.660 in a surprising 00:32:27.660 --> 00:32:28.580 way in a far 00:32:28.580 --> 00:32:29.320 deeper way than 00:32:29.320 --> 00:32:29.840 they could ever 00:32:29.840 --> 00:32:30.480 have possibly 00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:31.040 imagined. 00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:33.779 In Acts 00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:34.539 chapter 6 00:32:34.539 --> 00:32:35.180 verse 7 00:32:35.180 --> 00:32:35.619 there is a 00:32:35.619 --> 00:32:36.200 very small 00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:36.839 little verse 00:32:36.839 --> 00:32:37.359 which says 00:32:37.359 --> 00:32:37.859 that many 00:32:37.859 --> 00:32:38.799 priests came 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:39.359 to believe in 00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:40.059 Jesus after 00:32:40.059 --> 00:32:40.779 his resurrection. 00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:42.119 In other 00:32:42.119 --> 00:32:42.700 words what he is 00:32:42.700 --> 00:32:43.440 saying is that 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:44.700 many Sadducees 00:32:44.700 --> 00:32:46.299 came to believe 00:32:46.299 --> 00:32:47.119 in Jesus after 00:32:47.119 --> 00:32:47.819 his resurrection. 00:32:48.639 --> 00:32:49.000 I mean he 00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:49.399 physically 00:32:49.399 --> 00:32:50.599 literally proved 00:32:50.599 --> 00:32:51.960 that resurrection 00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:52.680 was true. 00:32:53.680 --> 00:32:54.220 He physically 00:32:54.220 --> 00:32:54.920 literally proved. 00:32:55.180 --> 00:32:55.619 See the 00:32:55.619 --> 00:32:56.500 Sadducees 00:32:56.500 --> 00:32:57.659 wanted to 00:32:57.659 --> 00:32:59.019 emphasize reason 00:32:59.019 --> 00:33:00.579 and the 00:33:00.579 --> 00:33:01.559 average Canadian 00:33:01.559 --> 00:33:02.419 what they 00:33:02.419 --> 00:33:02.740 want to 00:33:02.740 --> 00:33:03.960 emphasize is 00:33:03.960 --> 00:33:04.619 intuition. 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:07.399 And for 00:33:07.399 --> 00:33:08.659 Canadians there 00:33:08.659 --> 00:33:09.439 is no way to 00:33:09.439 --> 00:33:11.059 reconcile reason 00:33:11.059 --> 00:33:12.119 and intuition. 00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:13.220 Reason tells 00:33:13.220 --> 00:33:13.759 you that all 00:33:13.759 --> 00:33:14.179 die. 00:33:14.759 --> 00:33:15.759 Intuition tells 00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:17.659 you that death 00:33:17.659 --> 00:33:18.460 can't win. 00:33:21.279 --> 00:33:21.740 And so we 00:33:21.740 --> 00:33:22.619 have these two 00:33:22.619 --> 00:33:23.859 different desires 00:33:23.859 --> 00:33:25.000 and there is no 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:25.799 way to reconcile 00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:26.539 them within the 00:33:26.539 --> 00:33:27.259 categories of 00:33:27.259 --> 00:33:28.059 Canadian thought 00:33:28.059 --> 00:33:28.699 but in the 00:33:28.699 --> 00:33:29.199 gospel. 00:33:30.579 --> 00:33:31.679 Jesus says 00:33:31.679 --> 00:33:33.480 there's good 00:33:33.480 --> 00:33:35.099 historical reasons 00:33:35.099 --> 00:33:35.819 to believe that 00:33:35.819 --> 00:33:36.639 Jesus rose from 00:33:36.639 --> 00:33:37.019 the dead. 00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:39.519 And reason 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:40.919 itself points 00:33:40.919 --> 00:33:41.299 to the 00:33:41.299 --> 00:33:41.980 reasonableness 00:33:41.980 --> 00:33:42.879 of how Jesus 00:33:42.879 --> 00:33:43.740 has described 00:33:43.740 --> 00:33:44.740 what this new 00:33:44.740 --> 00:33:46.279 life, the 00:33:46.279 --> 00:33:47.139 resurrected life 00:33:47.139 --> 00:33:47.919 will look like. 00:33:48.579 --> 00:33:48.919 And to 00:33:48.919 --> 00:33:49.720 Canadians he's 00:33:49.720 --> 00:33:50.099 saying your 00:33:50.099 --> 00:33:51.000 intuitions are 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:51.379 true. 00:33:51.559 --> 00:33:53.099 They don't come 00:33:53.099 --> 00:33:53.519 from anywhere. 00:33:53.720 --> 00:33:54.559 I'm telling you 00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:55.319 your intuitions 00:33:55.319 --> 00:33:56.240 ultimately come 00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:57.000 from me. 00:33:58.639 --> 00:33:59.220 Love is 00:33:59.220 --> 00:33:59.839 stronger than 00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:00.220 death. 00:34:01.079 --> 00:34:01.940 I defeat 00:34:01.940 --> 00:34:02.600 death for 00:34:02.600 --> 00:34:02.960 you. 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:08.980 This text is 00:34:08.980 --> 00:34:09.599 also telling 00:34:09.599 --> 00:34:10.119 us that your 00:34:10.119 --> 00:34:11.099 body matters. 00:34:13.460 --> 00:34:14.039 In the 00:34:14.039 --> 00:34:14.840 resurrection I 00:34:14.840 --> 00:34:15.300 will have a 00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:15.960 body and so 00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:16.320 will you. 00:34:17.740 --> 00:34:18.360 See a human 00:34:18.360 --> 00:34:19.179 being, there's 00:34:19.179 --> 00:34:19.800 two ways to 00:34:19.800 --> 00:34:20.300 look at a 00:34:20.300 --> 00:34:20.860 human being. 00:34:21.059 --> 00:34:21.860 I mean every 00:34:21.860 --> 00:34:22.460 human being is 00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:22.880 made in the 00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:23.440 image of God 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:23.800 and every 00:34:23.800 --> 00:34:24.519 human being is 00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:25.380 on one hand 00:34:25.380 --> 00:34:26.059 looked at 00:34:26.059 --> 00:34:26.519 from one 00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:26.880 angle. 00:34:26.880 --> 00:34:28.579 I am an 00:34:28.579 --> 00:34:30.019 embodied soul. 00:34:31.300 --> 00:34:31.800 And looked at 00:34:31.800 --> 00:34:32.320 from another 00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:33.780 way I am an 00:34:33.780 --> 00:34:35.660 ensouled, sorry, 00:34:36.019 --> 00:34:36.599 looked at from 00:34:36.599 --> 00:34:37.539 one way I am an 00:34:37.539 --> 00:34:38.660 embodied soul, 00:34:38.900 --> 00:34:39.480 looked at from 00:34:39.480 --> 00:34:40.500 another way I am 00:34:40.500 --> 00:34:42.980 an ensouled body. 00:34:44.380 --> 00:34:45.440 We are meant to 00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:46.599 be soul and 00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:48.420 body, mind, 00:34:48.619 --> 00:34:49.440 heart, will, and 00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:50.500 body in a 00:34:50.500 --> 00:34:50.820 unity. 00:34:51.180 --> 00:34:52.160 That's how we 00:34:52.160 --> 00:34:52.920 were meant to 00:34:52.920 --> 00:34:53.160 be. 00:34:53.720 --> 00:34:54.380 That's how God 00:34:54.380 --> 00:34:56.099 designed us to 00:34:56.099 --> 00:34:56.539 be in his 00:34:56.539 --> 00:34:56.900 image. 00:34:57.719 --> 00:34:58.319 And what this 00:34:58.319 --> 00:34:59.039 text is telling 00:34:59.039 --> 00:34:59.779 us is that the 00:34:59.779 --> 00:35:00.679 body matters. 00:35:01.480 --> 00:35:02.219 We in our day 00:35:02.219 --> 00:35:02.980 and age we tend 00:35:02.980 --> 00:35:03.440 to think that 00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:03.839 what really 00:35:03.839 --> 00:35:04.500 matters is that 00:35:04.500 --> 00:35:05.460 the mind matters 00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:06.039 or that the 00:35:06.039 --> 00:35:07.460 feelings matter 00:35:07.460 --> 00:35:08.599 or our desires 00:35:08.599 --> 00:35:09.059 matter. 00:35:09.179 --> 00:35:09.639 As if somehow 00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:10.839 or another I am 00:35:10.839 --> 00:35:11.980 a set of desires 00:35:11.980 --> 00:35:12.779 trapped in a 00:35:12.779 --> 00:35:13.480 body, sometimes 00:35:13.480 --> 00:35:14.239 not the body 00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:14.960 that I want or 00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:16.360 I'm a mind 00:35:16.360 --> 00:35:16.940 trapped in a 00:35:16.940 --> 00:35:17.219 body. 00:35:17.480 --> 00:35:18.480 But the Bible 00:35:18.480 --> 00:35:19.059 says no, no, 00:35:19.099 --> 00:35:19.219 no. 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:21.079 God made you to 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:21.940 be body and 00:35:21.940 --> 00:35:22.239 soul. 00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:23.219 You're to live 00:35:23.219 --> 00:35:24.239 now as a body 00:35:24.239 --> 00:35:24.599 and soul. 00:35:24.699 --> 00:35:25.199 You are to be 00:35:25.199 --> 00:35:26.319 redeemed as a 00:35:26.319 --> 00:35:27.159 body and soul 00:35:27.159 --> 00:35:27.739 and you will 00:35:27.739 --> 00:35:29.000 live forever as 00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:30.039 a body and 00:35:30.039 --> 00:35:30.659 soul, as an 00:35:30.659 --> 00:35:31.559 ensouled body 00:35:31.559 --> 00:35:32.139 and embodied 00:35:32.139 --> 00:35:32.539 soul. 00:35:32.939 --> 00:35:33.839 That is what 00:35:33.839 --> 00:35:35.759 it, you matter, 00:35:35.919 --> 00:35:36.439 your body 00:35:36.439 --> 00:35:37.259 matters. 00:35:38.099 --> 00:35:39.419 And just as 00:35:39.419 --> 00:35:41.239 death is the 00:35:41.239 --> 00:35:42.079 separation of 00:35:42.079 --> 00:35:42.779 the body and 00:35:42.779 --> 00:35:43.699 soul, and so 00:35:43.699 --> 00:35:44.619 to do things on 00:35:44.619 --> 00:35:45.059 this side of 00:35:45.059 --> 00:35:45.639 the grave as 00:35:45.639 --> 00:35:46.339 if you can 00:35:46.339 --> 00:35:47.079 further that 00:35:47.079 --> 00:35:47.980 separation of 00:35:47.980 --> 00:35:48.539 body and 00:35:48.539 --> 00:35:49.379 soul and have 00:35:49.379 --> 00:35:49.779 either the 00:35:49.779 --> 00:35:50.799 body despise 00:35:50.799 --> 00:35:51.359 that which is 00:35:51.359 --> 00:35:51.839 of the soul 00:35:51.839 --> 00:35:52.279 and the mind 00:35:52.279 --> 00:35:52.739 or the soul 00:35:52.739 --> 00:35:53.619 despise that 00:35:53.619 --> 00:35:54.019 which is of 00:35:54.019 --> 00:35:54.460 the body, 00:35:54.460 --> 00:35:55.300 that that is 00:35:55.300 --> 00:35:55.639 wrong. 00:35:55.720 --> 00:35:56.240 That is not 00:35:56.240 --> 00:35:56.880 the direction 00:35:56.880 --> 00:35:57.599 of redemption. 00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:00.260 That we 00:36:00.260 --> 00:36:02.820 are to learn 00:36:02.820 --> 00:36:03.420 through the 00:36:03.420 --> 00:36:04.099 gospel to be 00:36:04.099 --> 00:36:04.639 at peace, 00:36:05.500 --> 00:36:06.139 to have 00:36:06.139 --> 00:36:06.579 peace. 00:36:07.420 --> 00:36:07.900 And it's 00:36:07.900 --> 00:36:08.380 also a 00:36:08.380 --> 00:36:08.740 profound 00:36:08.740 --> 00:36:09.380 message of 00:36:09.380 --> 00:36:09.679 hope. 00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:12.940 Sam Albury 00:36:12.940 --> 00:36:13.500 talks about 00:36:13.500 --> 00:36:13.960 this very 00:36:13.960 --> 00:36:14.920 movingly. 00:36:14.980 --> 00:36:15.300 When I 00:36:15.300 --> 00:36:16.220 look at my 00:36:16.220 --> 00:36:16.840 hand, 00:36:17.380 --> 00:36:17.960 and this 00:36:17.960 --> 00:36:18.420 hand will 00:36:18.420 --> 00:36:18.760 die. 00:36:18.760 --> 00:36:18.820 Okay. 00:36:18.820 --> 00:36:18.880 Okay. 00:36:18.880 --> 00:36:18.920 Okay. 00:36:18.920 --> 00:36:18.940 Okay. 00:36:18.940 --> 00:36:18.960 Okay. 00:36:18.960 --> 00:36:18.980 Okay. 00:36:18.980 --> 00:36:19.039 Okay. 00:36:19.039 --> 00:36:19.480 Okay. 00:36:19.480 --> 00:36:19.559 Okay. 00:36:19.559 --> 00:36:19.960 Okay. 00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:19.980 Okay. 00:36:19.980 --> 00:36:20.079 Okay. 00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:20.960 Okay. 00:36:20.960 --> 00:36:20.980 Okay. 00:36:20.980 --> 00:36:21.519 Okay. 00:36:21.519 --> 00:36:21.980 Okay. 00:36:21.980 --> 00:36:22.079 Okay. 00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:22.920 Okay. 00:36:22.920 --> 00:36:22.960 Okay. 00:36:22.960 --> 00:36:22.980 Okay. 00:36:22.980 --> 00:36:23.920 Okay. 00:36:23.920 --> 00:36:24.019 Okay. 00:36:24.079 --> 00:36:24.139 Okay. 00:36:24.139 --> 00:36:24.780 Come to the 00:36:25.340 --> 00:36:25.719 new hambriны. 00:36:25.719 --> 00:36:27.679 Let me 00:36:27.679 --> 00:36:29.719 I'll have a new body. 00:36:31.559 --> 00:36:34.599 And the new body will be connected to the new me, 00:36:34.859 --> 00:36:35.940 and it'll still be me. 00:36:37.359 --> 00:36:40.199 And it will be a soul and a body, a me, 00:36:40.440 --> 00:36:43.940 that can fully enjoy the fullness of God, 00:36:44.039 --> 00:36:47.399 to drink deeply of his love and of his beauty and of his goodness, 00:36:48.339 --> 00:36:54.119 and to see deeply and sing wondrously and dance 00:36:54.119 --> 00:36:58.659 and think deeply and profoundly of the beauty and the glory 00:36:58.659 --> 00:37:02.759 and the splendor and the love and the goodness that is God. 00:37:04.440 --> 00:37:08.400 And there will be no disharmony or fight 00:37:08.400 --> 00:37:11.059 between my inner thoughts and my body. 00:37:11.259 --> 00:37:14.599 My soul can drink deeply forever, 00:37:15.059 --> 00:37:18.699 and the body is a fit body for my soul and my body to drink. 00:37:18.699 --> 00:37:25.559 And that is my destiny, and my hope of glory is Christ. 00:37:27.839 --> 00:37:30.519 And so we remember the words of Jesus at the beginning, 00:37:30.679 --> 00:37:34.119 you were wrong because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. 00:37:35.299 --> 00:37:38.819 And this is a call for us to be people who have the habit 00:37:38.819 --> 00:37:41.000 and the discipline of reading God's word 00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:45.759 and thinking upon God's word deeply, continually, 00:37:45.760 --> 00:37:49.860 and to think about God's word in light of the gospel 00:37:49.860 --> 00:37:52.440 and to understand the gospel in light of God's word, 00:37:52.540 --> 00:37:54.720 that we are to be people of the book, 00:37:55.360 --> 00:37:58.240 people of truth, people of life, 00:37:58.720 --> 00:38:01.780 people of justice, people of goodness, 00:38:02.440 --> 00:38:04.380 people of resurrection, 00:38:05.040 --> 00:38:07.980 that we are to be people of all of these things 00:38:07.980 --> 00:38:12.140 as we reflect upon God's word in light of the gospel. 00:38:12.620 --> 00:38:13.700 Let's bow our heads in prayer. 00:38:13.699 --> 00:38:15.939 Actually, please stand and bow our heads in prayer. 00:38:24.679 --> 00:38:28.099 Father, there's a songwriter by the name of Crowder 00:38:28.099 --> 00:38:28.639 who said, 00:38:28.739 --> 00:38:31.179 Earth has no sorrow that heaven can't heal. 00:38:32.579 --> 00:38:36.419 And Father, we ask that you help us to hold on to this great hope 00:38:36.419 --> 00:38:40.099 that you have made promises to us 00:38:40.099 --> 00:38:42.980 who put their hope and trust in Jesus, 00:38:42.980 --> 00:38:45.480 that you have made a promise to us 00:38:45.480 --> 00:38:48.500 to have a resurrected body, 00:38:48.699 --> 00:38:50.719 to be received and accepted by you, 00:38:50.860 --> 00:38:51.840 to be yours forever. 00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:53.460 And you have made a promise to us 00:38:53.460 --> 00:38:55.679 and you never break your promises. 00:38:55.920 --> 00:38:57.579 You only keep your promises. 00:38:58.840 --> 00:39:01.800 And we ask, Lord, that you would help us to live as people, 00:39:01.980 --> 00:39:04.059 remembering your promises to us 00:39:04.059 --> 00:39:09.059 and that you will never fail to keep or break your promise. 00:39:10.059 --> 00:39:12.779 And Father, if there are any here or any who are watching 00:39:12.779 --> 00:39:15.599 who have not yet come to believe or accept your promise, 00:39:15.719 --> 00:39:19.179 we ask that even now you would help them to turn to Jesus 00:39:19.179 --> 00:39:23.519 and accept this promise that he can be their Savior and their Lord 00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:27.340 and that he will share his resurrection with all who put their faith and trust in him. 00:39:27.340 --> 00:39:31.700 So we ask, Father, that you help us to set our mind on Christ, 00:39:32.039 --> 00:39:34.519 on Christ crucified and Christ glorified, 00:39:35.280 --> 00:39:38.280 that he would be, Father, 00:39:38.480 --> 00:39:40.820 this would be more and more real to our heart 00:39:40.820 --> 00:39:43.200 as we live our day, day by day. 00:39:43.460 --> 00:39:44.980 And we ask this in the name of Jesus, 00:39:45.120 --> 00:39:46.079 your Son and our Savior. 00:39:46.740 --> 00:39:47.039 Amen. 00:39:47.039 --> 00:39:47.160 Amen. 00:39:47.160 --> 00:39:47.180 Amen. 00:39:47.180 --> 00:39:47.200 Amen. 00:39:47.200 --> 00:39:47.220 Amen. 00:39:47.220 --> 00:39:47.240 Amen. 00:39:47.240 --> 00:39:47.280 Amen. 00:39:47.280 --> 00:39:49.180 Amen. 00:39:49.180 --> 00:39:49.240 Amen. 00:39:49.240 --> 00:39:49.280 Amen. 00:39:49.280 --> 00:39:51.240 Amen. 00:39:51.240 --> 00:39:51.280 Amen. 00:39:51.280 --> 00:39:53.240 Amen. 00:39:53.240 --> 00:39:53.280 Amen.