00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 Well, good morning, everyone. My name is Nick. I am pastor for discipleship here at this church.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:08 It's my joy to be sharing God's word with you on this Easter day.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:16 On Friday, we heard the gravity of Jesus last night before his death.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:27 That in the Gethsemane Garden, Jesus glimpsed the cup of God's wrath that he must drink for the sin of all humanity.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:34 But it was not the pain or the shame or the torture of his death that was causing him to sweat blood.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:43 It was the abandonment from God, his Father, if he continued to plan their plan to save the world.
00:00:44 --> 00:00:51 Jesus showed us that there is nothing worse than being torn apart from God, the Father.
00:00:51 --> 00:01:00 And Jesus faced that greatest loss to give us the greatest thing imaginable, to have God.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:11 And on the third day after Jesus' burial on the cross, his followers were trying to come to grips with a similar loss.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:16 Because they thought they had found God, but he was dead.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:22 They'd lost God and they'd lost all their hope.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:29 The man on the screen, well, thank you tech team for trying to make things work.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 Can you see this strange looking man up here?
00:01:31 --> 00:01:32 His name is Pete Holmes.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 He is a fairly famous comedian.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:43 And he has this perspective that he brings into his comedy act about God and people.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:52 He thinks it's ridiculous that we as humans could ever think that we might be able to understand who God is.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:58 He says that humanity is, together we are like characters in a book.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:06 Characters in a book written by an author, but we can't get to the author.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:12 We can't get ourselves out of the book because God, we are in it and God is not in it.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 We are stuck in the book.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:20 We are like Harry Potter trying to figure out who J.K. Rowling is.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:27 Some of the author is reflected in Harry.
00:02:28 --> 00:02:33 As Pete says, like some of God is reflected in us.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:38 But that's as far as we can hope according to this guy.
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 And this is helpful because, not because Pete is right,
00:02:43 --> 00:02:53 but because it shows how aware we in our world often are of our hopelessness without God.
00:02:53 --> 00:02:59 Even if we can see that there is an author and a writer and a creator of all of this,
00:03:00 --> 00:03:06 he needs to write himself into the story or else we have no way to have him.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:12 If we can't get God, there is no hope.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:18 The Bible describes human hopelessness very clearly.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:24 That all humanity is without hope and without God in the world.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:31 The world is our place and it seems like this is all we have while we live.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:40 We are hopeless spiritually without God and we are purposeless without meaning and hopeless.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:47 But Christians claim that there is proof that God wrote himself into the book.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:50 And when he didn't do it just to star in it,
00:03:51 --> 00:03:57 he did it to rescue the characters and give himself to us.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:09 So, we have Luke 24 before us and we're going to join Jesus' followers as they witness Jesus' unbelievable resurrection.
00:04:10 --> 00:04:18 The disciples were experiencing an acute spiritual hopelessness in this moment.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:20 They were anxious.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:23 They were asking, what do we do now?
00:04:23 --> 00:04:24 They had no leader.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 Their Messiah had just died.
00:04:28 --> 00:04:36 The disciple John adds in his gospel in chapter 20 that they even locked the door for fear of the Jewish authorities.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 Fearing violence against them.
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 They were also disconnected, asking, who are we now?
00:04:46 --> 00:04:51 Earlier that day, two of the disciples had left Jerusalem.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:56 Instead of hiding in safety together, maybe that wasn't the safest option, they thought.
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 And so, they left altogether.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 What if I stay with...
00:05:01 --> 00:05:03 Why would I stay with Jesus if he's not the Messiah?
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 Incidentally, that was the video we were going to watch.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:14 We were going to hear about what happened on the road to Emmaus to those two disciples.
00:05:14 --> 00:05:18 And they were also confused.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:23 Do we dare hope that this isn't the end?
00:05:24 --> 00:05:28 Because that same two who left earlier that morning had now returned.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 They'd knocked on the locked door.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 They had said they'd seen Jesus.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 Luke even reports that Peter had seen Jesus too.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:46 And they either haven't heard or don't trust the women's report of the tomb being empty that Rachel read out during the singing today.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 They were standing in the locked room.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:56 Even hearing that angels had testified Jesus was alive.
00:05:56 --> 00:05:57 And they were wrestling.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:04 Would they give in to hope of these reports?
00:06:04 --> 00:06:06 Or would they give in to their doubt?
00:06:07 --> 00:06:11 And then in verse 36, as Janet read, Jesus appeared.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 And they still do not believe.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 Even when they heard his voice, they saw him.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 They saw his likeness.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 Standing in a locked room with them.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 They didn't lose their confusion or their unbelief.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:34 So how unbelievable is this hope?
00:06:35 --> 00:06:39 If you have a Bible in your hands, you hold eyewitness testimony.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:43 Gathered by a, what we now call Syrian.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:45 That's where Luke is from.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 Syrian, Greek-speaking journalist.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:56 Soon after these events occurred, he wrote all of this down to share it with you.
00:06:56 --> 00:07:02 And you need to decide whether it is reasonable to hope in something so unbelievable or not.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:10 There are four common doubts about Jesus' resurrection that this passage speaks against.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:17 And the first is to doubt the event itself, that the resurrection can't even happen.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:31 And for doubt to grow, for this doubt to grow, it's often planted in the assumption that people of this day weren't as educated as us nowadays.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 They were more gullible.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 They'd just believe anything.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 But this is upside down.
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 Think about this.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:48 In modern day Chatswood, we are far more comfortable than Luke's audience with the idea that death can be held back.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 That death can be pushed away.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:56 Our life expectancies are more than double what they were back then.
00:07:57 --> 00:08:05 We have healthcare and medical miracles and resuscitations and those things that bring you back to life on the walls everywhere,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:08 including over there on the other side of church.
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 It's common.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:17 But living under Rome, without hospitals, without modern medicine, death was closer than recovery.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 You cut your leg, it might be a death sentence.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 They were far more experienced with death.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:29 And arguably, they would have believed in a resurrection less than we might.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:44 But to add to this, no religion at the time in the known world included any expectations or the acceptance of a bodily resurrection.
00:08:44 --> 00:08:54 So, when the leaders of Israel react to Jesus being executed,
00:08:54 --> 00:09:01 they convince Pilate to seal Jesus' tomb and place a guard of Roman soldiers outside.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 Not because they were afraid of Jesus coming out.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:09 But because they'd heard what Jesus had said about rising again.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:14 And they worried that the disciples might break in and pretend that Jesus had risen.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:17 If you want to read about that, it's in Matthew 27.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:27 But even though Jesus had promised that he would rise, his disciples themselves had no belief the resurrection was possible.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 They made no attempt to fake it.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:39 Nobody in their right mind would create a story at the time based on resurrection.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 And that brings us to doubt too.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 The accounts of what happened must be fake.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:53 This assumes that the disciples in Luke created a lie,
00:09:55 --> 00:10:01 knowing that a Jewish audience would accept a resurrection.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:03 That's the assumption.
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 Surely God's people expected their Messiah to rise.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 Well, according to modern day scholar N.T. Wright,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:17 there was no promise in the Old Testament of a bodily resurrection at all.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 Not one.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:26 The only similar resurrection is in Daniel 12 on the screen, verses 2 and 3.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 But it describes God's people rising together.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 Potentially the end of all things.
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 With bodies that shine.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:39 Nothing like this mundane, normal body of Jesus that we've just heard about.
00:10:41 --> 00:10:47 Jesus' resurrection would have been the least believable lie that the disciples could tell.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:57 Luke is reporting eyewitness testimony that we must, just like them, either believe or make an alternative argument.
00:10:57 --> 00:11:05 You could start by trying to argue that, thirdly, the disciples didn't really believe Jesus had risen.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:10 And there's two reasons that doesn't make sense either.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:22 Firstly, some who were in that room in Luke 24 died testifying that Jesus was risen from the dead.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 Is a lie worth dying for?
00:11:25 --> 00:11:31 And they didn't just get killed because of their faith.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 They faced death with joy.
00:11:34 --> 00:11:39 Christians were known at the time to be hunted down and brutally killed while singing.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 They were joyful.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 They had the confidence that this was not going to be their end.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:51 That they too would be raised because they'd seen Jesus raised.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 And secondly, they lost the tomb.
00:11:57 --> 00:12:03 You can go to Jerusalem nowadays and you can pay money to see a tomb of Jesus.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 But there's no historical proof that that's the one.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:11 And the reason why we don't know where the tomb is is because the disciples lost it.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:12 No one cared.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:19 Church leaders ever since had graves that were venerated.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:25 People wrote down the date when they died and marked the place where they had been buried.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:30 People traveled long distances to pay respects to their church fathers.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:38 But the followers of Jesus completely forgot about Jesus' final resting place because he didn't have one.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:45 The disciples really believed that Jesus rose from the dead as a real person.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:51 And fourthly, they did not just have a spiritual experience.
00:12:53 --> 00:13:01 If you doubt that Jesus physically rose again in this passage, I offer you this.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:07 Did you think it was weird that Jesus asked to eat some fish?
00:13:08 --> 00:13:11 Why is this broiled fish story in there?
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 It's so strange.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:26 Literature experts say that these kinds of verses in Luke prove that he's trying to convey history.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 Not write a myth or a legend.
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 Because it makes no sense.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:39 Jesus either stood on the floor, talked, showed them the scars of his execution,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:43 and then asked to eat something and ate in front of them,
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 or Luke's a crazy, terrible myth writer.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:54 It's far more likely, in fact, I believe it is true,
00:13:54 --> 00:13:59 that Luke is writing down what the disciples and he believe is the truth of what happened.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 That's Luke's testimony.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 Jesus is no ghost.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 He's eating.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:10 And Luke himself was talking to fellow Gentiles,
00:14:11 --> 00:14:15 knowing how outrageous Jewish religion was to the rest of the world already.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:20 So he would never tell something so outrageous and unbelievable
00:14:20 --> 00:14:24 is someone being provably killed and executed,
00:14:24 --> 00:14:31 and then on the third day rising to life and asking for some dinner?
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35 Unless it happened.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:40 You can't argue that there's only a spiritual resurrection.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 And as Jesus says in the first 39,
00:14:45 --> 00:14:49 a ghost has not flesh and bones, as you see I have.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 Either the resurrection and all Christianity itself
00:14:54 --> 00:14:59 is an illogical lie made up by insane people
00:14:59 --> 00:15:04 that no one would expect or believe to be true.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:07 or it's true.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:14 Either unbelievable nonsense or unbelievable hope.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:23 So let's see if Jesus can resurrect your hope in himself.
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 And you might be like the disciples,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:30 a little frightened, troubled, confronted even.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 Even as doubts rise in your minds,
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 just like the disciples,
00:15:36 --> 00:15:40 Jesus wants to prove to you that he is really him.
00:15:40 --> 00:15:44 Look at my hands and my feet.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:47 It is I myself.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 Touch me and see.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:55 Jesus really is himself.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 The friendship of God
00:15:58 --> 00:16:01 that the disciples had experienced
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 was back on.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:08 Hope is resurrected in front of them.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 Jesus' physical body has been restored,
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 not replaced.
00:16:14 --> 00:16:18 As he chewed fish and was held down by gravity,
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 just like my hand here,
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 and breathed the stuffy air,
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 it's a bit nicer than it would have been
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 in that locked room hiding from the Jews
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 in that space.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:33 Jesus was recognisable
00:16:33 --> 00:16:36 by sight and sound.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 And he was touchable,
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 flesh and bone like you and I.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 The disciples had their friendship
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 with Jesus resurrected.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:50 One of the best parts about living in this city
00:16:50 --> 00:16:53 is enjoying food together.
00:16:53 --> 00:16:56 It is one thing that has always been a part
00:16:56 --> 00:17:00 of living in this community.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:02 I have had the privilege
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 of going around to your houses
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 and you giving me a meal.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:09 And that felt like an extension of
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 I want to be your friend.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 I want to get to know you.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:12 And that is wonderful.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 But it was so much deeper than that back then.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 If you ate with someone,
00:17:18 --> 00:17:21 it was an invitation into friendship
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 that everyone understood.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:27 And when Jesus ate the fish,
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 know that he didn't have to do that.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 It doesn't mean he was hungry.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:35 It means he wanted to show
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 that he wanted friendship,
00:17:39 --> 00:17:42 that we can have him back.
00:17:42 --> 00:17:45 And if you are someone
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 that has a sense that
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 there's a somebody out there
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 who's going to complete you,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 think of Jerry Maguire
00:17:54 --> 00:17:59 or any movie or book
00:17:59 --> 00:18:02 or like pretty much every story
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 has this longing in it.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 We're trying to find that person
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 or we can never find that person
00:18:08 --> 00:18:10 or we're dealing with the grief
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 of losing that special person.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 Jesus is that person
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 who can bear the weight
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 of all of our expectations
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 of that special someone.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 Even if you have someone
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 in your life right now
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 who comes pretty close
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 and won't be sitting next to you.
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 Death always separates,
00:18:34 --> 00:18:36 but Jesus never dies.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 And he is saying,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:41 you can have me for real, forever.
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 Our relationship with him
00:18:44 --> 00:18:47 will continue face to face
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 for eternity.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:51 Jesus is really with us.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:54 He's not an imagined presence
00:18:54 --> 00:18:57 that we sometimes speak of in grief
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 when someone dies.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 They're looking down on us.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 No, Jesus is really alive
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 alive and one day
00:19:05 --> 00:19:08 will be physically present with you
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 for he will raise you up
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 like him
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 to be with him.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 And he proves
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 the depth of his love
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 for his friends
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 in his scars
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 on his hands
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 and his feet.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 He says,
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 touch me
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 and see.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 And he showed them
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 his hands
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 and his feet.
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 the scars
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 that bear the nail marks
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 of crucifixion
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 on his physical body,
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 he still has them
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 right now.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 They're scars
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 that show us
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 that Jesus didn't just die
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 for himself
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 in some kind
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 of self-justifying act
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 before God
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 as a martyr.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 No,
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 they prove
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 his suffering
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 achieved something
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 for his followers.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:01 He suffered
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 on their behalf.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 He achieved
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 forgiveness
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 of them.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 Steve mentioned
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 this on Friday.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 Jesus' scars
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 are like
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 our receipt.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 There I claim
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 that our debt
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 of sin
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 is paid.
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 Just like
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 when we leave the store
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 and we're holding
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 on to our receipt.
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 This is our ticket
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 to freedom.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 We're not going
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 to get tackled
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 by a security guard.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 We have proved
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 that Jesus
00:20:29 --> 00:20:32 has paid
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 our debt
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 of sin.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 When we hold
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 Jesus' scarred hands
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 one day,
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 we will hold
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 the receipt
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 that our debt
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 for sin
00:20:42 --> 00:20:44 is paid.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 His scars
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 are hope
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 also
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 for our own
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 scars.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54 if you are
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 suffering
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 through life.
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 It might be
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 pain,
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 illness,
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 physical,
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 mental,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 events in the past,
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 trauma in the past,
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 things happening
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 right now.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 All of what
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 you face
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 one day,
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 you will see
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 how it matters.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 you might not
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 be aware
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 of it yet,
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 but one day,
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 if you follow
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 Jesus,
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 you will
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 one day
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 be you
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 in your body
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 restored
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 beyond your
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 tears
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 and your
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 troubles
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 and your
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 story will
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 continue.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 It will not
00:21:37 --> 00:21:37 be deleted
00:21:37 --> 00:21:40 and you will
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 step out
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 of your
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 suffering,
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 carrying your
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 language
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 and your
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 personhood
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 into the
00:21:47 --> 00:21:47 physical
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 embrace
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 of Jesus
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 scarred
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 hands.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 Your scars
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 on that
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 day
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 will be
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 shown as
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 worth it
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 following
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 Jesus
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 and his
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 scars
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 are proof
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 to you
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 of that.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 And you
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 will never
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 have to be
00:22:06 --> 00:22:06 apart from
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 Jesus
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 like Jesus
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 was
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 from his
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 father
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 and from
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 his
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 disciples
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 for those
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 three days.
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 And the
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 proof of
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 this is
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 that
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20 Jesus
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 passes
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 through
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 walls.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 Here's an
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 interesting
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 question that
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 I found in
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 my reading
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 in the last
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 few weeks.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 I don't
00:22:30 --> 00:22:30 think I'd
00:22:30 --> 00:22:30 ever just,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 it's so
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 simple,
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 but I'd
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 never thought
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 about it.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 Why was
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 the stone
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 rolled away
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 from the
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 tomb?
00:22:36 --> 00:22:40 Why was
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 the stone
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 rolled away
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 from the
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 tomb?
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 According to
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 this passage,
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 it's not so
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 Jesus could
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 get out.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 Walls
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 couldn't hold
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 him,
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 he was
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 physically
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 resurrected,
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 and yet
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 he can
00:22:54 --> 00:22:56 never be
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 limited by
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 something like
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 a stone
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 or a
00:22:59 --> 00:22:59 wall.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 The stone
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 was rolled
00:23:01 --> 00:23:01 away,
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 not so
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 Jesus could
00:23:03 --> 00:23:03 get out,
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 but so we
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 could see
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 it was
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 empty.
00:23:06 --> 00:23:09 Jesus could
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 have knocked
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 on the
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 door of
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 this room
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 with his
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 fearful
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 disciples
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 inside.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 After all,
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 he's not
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 a ghost,
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 but he
00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 wanted to
00:23:20 --> 00:23:20 show his
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 disciples that
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 he could be
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 with them
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 anywhere,
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 in the
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 darkest hour
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 of their
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 life,
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 in the
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 darkest hour
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 of their
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 soul.
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 There is
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 no limitation
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 for Jesus
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 Christ.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 He will
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 be with
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 you.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 Just like
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 Jesus didn't
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 need to
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 eat the
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 fish to
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 show that
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 he was
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 himself,
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 he wanted
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 to.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 And unlike
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 Lazarus,
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 who died
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 again,
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 Jesus,
00:23:52 --> 00:23:54 the death
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 has lost
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 its grip
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 on Jesus.
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 Jesus can
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 disappear,
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 as happened
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 before the
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 very eyes
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 of the two
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 on the road
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 to Emmaus,
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 and he
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 can
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 reappear.
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 He lives
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 in a
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 realm beyond
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 decay and
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 limits.
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 He isn't
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 like any
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 other religious
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 founder,
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 or any
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 other
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 resurrected
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 person.
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 He will
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 never be
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 held back
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 from his
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 people.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 We no
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 longer need
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 a temple
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 or a
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 priest to
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 get close
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 to God.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 We have
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 Jesus
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 himself.
00:24:30 --> 00:24:34 But none
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 of this
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 lands as
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 true for
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 his audience
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 yet.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 Even with
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 all this
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 before them,
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 the disciples
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 didn't believe
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 the women,
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 the returning
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 to,
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 even Peter,
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 and now
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 they can't
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 even believe
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 their eyes,
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 even with
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 Jesus in
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 front of
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 them.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 And so
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 Jesus
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 needed,
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 needed to
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 open their
00:24:58 --> 00:25:00 minds so
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 they could
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 understand.
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 Look at
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 verse 45.
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 Don't
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 downplay the
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 spiritual
00:25:06 --> 00:25:09 experience of
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 believing in
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 Jesus'
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 resurrection.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 Luke has
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 given us
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 evidence for
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 it, yet
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 we now
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 still need
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 the same
00:25:18 --> 00:25:20 power to
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 open our
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 minds and
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 illuminate these
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 scriptures today
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 as the
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 disciples did in
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 that room,
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 or else
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 we're going
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 to stay
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 just like
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 Jesus'
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 followers in
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 verses 41.
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 at best,
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 we can be
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 joyful and
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 amazed,
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 but stuck
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 in unbelief.
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 So Jesus
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 opened their
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 minds to
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42 the word
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 of God
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 and the
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 truth in
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 it about
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 himself,
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 gifting
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 them
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 understanding
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 that carried
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 with it
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 belief.
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 And it's
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 specific
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 belief in
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 Jesus,
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 Jesus,
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 that he
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 is the
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 one who
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 fulfills
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 all that
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 the Old
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 Testament
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 promised,
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 that he
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 rose from
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 the grave
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 on the
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 third day,
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 and that
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 forgiveness
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 of sins
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 comes through
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 repentance
00:26:11 --> 00:26:13 in his name.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15 God
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 today,
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 you do not
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 have to
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 have all
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 the answers,
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 all the
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 understanding,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 but if you
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 believe that
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 Jesus was
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 raised from
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 the dead,
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 and that
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 his scars
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 have the
00:26:30 --> 00:26:33 power to
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 offer
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 forgiveness
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 from sins,
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 sins,
00:26:35 --> 00:26:37 then you
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 need only
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 turn and
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 repent
00:26:39 --> 00:26:43 and believe
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 in him.
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 You will
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 receive
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 everything in
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 Jesus,
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 eternal life
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 with God
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 and a
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 living hope
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 that puts
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 all the
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 struggles and
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 darkness of
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 this world
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 in a
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 perspective
00:26:55 --> 00:26:57 that goes
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 beyond it.
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 Nothing
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 else can
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 offer you
00:27:00 --> 00:27:00 that.
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 Jesus
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 has
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 reasoned
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 with our
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 anxious
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 minds,
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 and he's
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 come near
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 to those
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 who are
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 disconnected,
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 and he's
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 given them
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 belief,
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 and for
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 all those
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 who believe
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 in Jesus,
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 he also
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 destroys
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 our confusion
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 at what
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 is going
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 on in the
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 world,
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 what do
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 we do
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 with our
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 life,
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 and our
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 hopelessness,
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 and graciously
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 gives us
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 purpose.
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 Have a look
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 at verse
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 48.
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 You are
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 witnesses to
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 these things,
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 Jesus says.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 Witnesses
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 testify.
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 They
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 testify.
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 Think of
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 it this
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 way.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 There have
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 been countless
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50 people from
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 that moment
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 in that
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 room to
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 now who
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 have testified
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 of the
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 truth of
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 Jesus raised
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 from the
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 dead.
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 Think of
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 it like a
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 chain.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 I'm thinking
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 of one of
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 those big
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 industrial
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 chains that's
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 like holding
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 a ship
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 in place
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 on the
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 dock.
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 Huge,
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 big chain.
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 Each link
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 leads out
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 of that
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 room
00:28:13 --> 00:28:16 with these
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 followers.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 It leads
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 out across
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 history,
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 across
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 hundreds of
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 generations
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 of believers
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 who have
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 each carried
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 the gospel
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 to the
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 world to
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 witness what
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 they've
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 seen.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:29 not in
00:28:29 --> 00:28:29 the room
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 on that
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 day,
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 for there
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 were only
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 a few,
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 but what
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 they have
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 seen through
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 the testimony
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 of the
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 Bible.
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 And that
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 chain has
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 led all
00:28:41 --> 00:28:41 the way
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 into this
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 room.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 We're still
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 connected.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 And this
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 happens because
00:28:47 --> 00:28:47 Jesus'
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 followers have
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 a purpose,
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 and it's
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 three things.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 Spirit,
00:28:52 --> 00:28:52 the word,
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 and the
00:28:53 --> 00:28:53 plan.
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 First,
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 Jesus promises
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 that we
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 will be
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 clothed
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 with power
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 from on
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 high,
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 verse 49.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 And this
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 is a
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 reference to
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 the coming
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 of the
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 Holy Spirit.
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 The Spirit
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 is God
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 with us
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 wherever
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 we are,
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 not just
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 wherever
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 Jesus stood.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 Because when
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 he's in
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 that room,
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 that's where
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 God is.
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 That's how
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 to be
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 close to
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 him.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 But there
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 is an
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 unbreakable
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 connection
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 with God
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 through the
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 Spirit that
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 every Christian
00:29:24 --> 00:29:26 wears like
00:29:26 --> 00:29:26 a garment
00:29:26 --> 00:29:29 that empowers
00:29:29 --> 00:29:31 us to
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 achieve
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 Jesus'
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 purpose.
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 The
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 confidence
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 the disciples
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 discovered
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 through the
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 Spirit was
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 like having
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 Jesus with
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 them every
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 moment of
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 their life.
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 He is
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 with us
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 in the
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 Spirit.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 And that
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 same Spirit
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 speaks through
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 the Scriptures.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 It's the
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 Word of
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 God in
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 the Bible.
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 It guides
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 our life
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 and it
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 is our
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 message.
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 And Jesus
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 is specific
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 again.
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 What words
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 in particular?
00:30:01 --> 00:30:01 His
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 summary in
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 verse 44
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 refers to
00:30:03 --> 00:30:05 the law
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 of Moses,
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 the prophets
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 and the
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 Psalms.
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 And that's
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 a description
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 of how the
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 Jewish Bible,
00:30:10 --> 00:30:10 what we now
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 call the
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 Old Testament,
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 was structured.
00:30:13 --> 00:30:13 The law,
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 the prophets
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 and the
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 writings.
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 All of
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 that,
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 that we now
00:30:17 --> 00:30:17 call the
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 Old Testament,
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 everything in it
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 points to
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 Jesus.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 And it's
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 also the
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 words spoken
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 through the
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 apostles and
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 the eyewitnesses
00:30:27 --> 00:30:29 to Christ in
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 the New Testament.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 It's the
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 activity of the
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 Holy Spirit
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 that inspired the
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 prophets,
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 historians,
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 and the early
00:30:36 --> 00:30:38 church who
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 witnessed these
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 things.
00:30:40 --> 00:30:40 See,
00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 Christians find
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 hope for
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 living in the
00:30:44 --> 00:30:44 Bible.
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 We're like
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 trees,
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 reliant on
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 the sap
00:30:49 --> 00:30:51 of Scripture.
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 All of
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 us came to
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 faith through
00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 words spoken
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 by the
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 Spirit in
00:30:58 --> 00:30:58 the Bible
00:30:58 --> 00:31:00 because we
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 were not in
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 the room
00:31:01 --> 00:31:01 with Him.
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 And as
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 the Spirit
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 empowers us
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 to share
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 the words of
00:31:07 --> 00:31:07 Scripture,
00:31:08 --> 00:31:08 we are given
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 a plan,
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 a plan to
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 share it
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 with the
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 world.
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 And the
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 plan is
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 clear.
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 Verse 47
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 says,
00:31:15 --> 00:31:26 It's a
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 plan that
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 we partner
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 with God
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 in while
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 He works
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 the miracle
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 of saving
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 the world
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 along the
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 way.
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 And Luke
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 himself knew
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 about the
00:31:36 --> 00:31:36 Spirit,
00:31:37 --> 00:31:37 the Word,
00:31:37 --> 00:31:37 and the
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 plan.
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 He knew
00:31:39 --> 00:31:41 because people
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 from that
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 room
00:31:41 --> 00:31:44 followed
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 Jesus'
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 plan.
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 The
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 gospel of
00:31:46 --> 00:31:48 Jesus had
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 reached Luke
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 where he
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 was,
00:31:51 --> 00:31:51 countries
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 away,
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 speaking a
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 different heart
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 language.
00:31:56 --> 00:31:56 And he was a
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 Gentile,
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 he was an
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 enemy of
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 the Jews,
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 but he
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 found out
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 that Jesus
00:32:03 --> 00:32:05 rose to
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 give him a
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 living hope.
00:32:06 --> 00:32:09 back in
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09 chapter 1
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 of Luke,
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 Luke tells
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 us why
00:32:12 --> 00:32:14 he's gone
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 and wrote
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 all this
00:32:15 --> 00:32:15 down.
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 It's to
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 bring certainty
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 about what
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 he had
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 heard,
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 to go
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 directly to
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 the eyewitnesses
00:32:23 --> 00:32:25 and report
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 back.
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 And Luke
00:32:28 --> 00:32:28 calls those
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 eyewitnesses,
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 the people he
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 spoke to,
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 or the people
00:32:32 --> 00:32:32 who he heard
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 about Jesus
00:32:33 --> 00:32:33 from,
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 servants of
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 the word.
00:32:36 --> 00:32:36 I think
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 that's a
00:32:37 --> 00:32:37 beautiful
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 description
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 of the
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 purpose of
00:32:40 --> 00:32:40 Jesus'
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 people,
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 to be
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 servants
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 of the
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 word.
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 And how
00:32:46 --> 00:32:46 thankful we
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 should be
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 to Luke
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 that a
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 servant of
00:32:49 --> 00:32:49 the word
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 himself,
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 nearly 2
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 years later,
00:32:52 --> 00:32:52 we are
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 hearing from
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 eyewitnesses
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 through his
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 journalism.
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 And Luke,
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 at the
00:33:01 --> 00:33:01 beginning of
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 his gospel,
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 started by
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 reporting what
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 happened in
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 the temple.
00:33:07 --> 00:33:07 When
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 Zechariah was
00:33:08 --> 00:33:10 the first to
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 hear of the
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 good news of
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 the coming
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 Messiah, and
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 Luke finishes
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 his gospel back
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 at the temple.
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 Look at verse
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 51 and on to
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 the end of
00:33:22 --> 00:33:22 this book.
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 Jesus ascended
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 into heaven
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 physically,
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 visibly,
00:33:27 --> 00:33:29 as if ascending
00:33:29 --> 00:33:31 to the throne,
00:33:31 --> 00:33:33 the throne of
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 heaven, and
00:33:34 --> 00:33:34 then he was
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 gone from
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 their sight.
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 But this
00:33:37 --> 00:33:37 time with
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 Jesus gone,
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 the disciples
00:33:38 --> 00:33:40 were joyful,
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 continually, it
00:33:42 --> 00:33:42 says.
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 They went to
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 the temple
00:33:44 --> 00:33:46 praising God.
00:33:47 --> 00:33:47 Their
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 darkness was
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 gone.
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 And they
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 went to the
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 temple where
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 they could be as
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 close to God as
00:33:54 --> 00:33:54 possible,
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 grateful that
00:33:56 --> 00:33:56 their Messiah
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 had risen,
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 and they
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 were waiting
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 for the
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 Spirit to
00:34:01 --> 00:34:01 come.
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 And from
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 that point
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 on, once
00:34:04 --> 00:34:04 the Spirit
00:34:04 --> 00:34:07 came, they
00:34:07 --> 00:34:07 went everywhere.
00:34:08 --> 00:34:08 They didn't
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 need to go to
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 the temple
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 anymore.
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 They went
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 from hiding
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 in the
00:34:12 --> 00:34:12 darkness,
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 anxious,
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 disconnected,
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 and confused,
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 to believing
00:34:16 --> 00:34:18 united and
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 purposeful.
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 Jesus is a
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 hope for
00:34:23 --> 00:34:23 living.
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 It's a
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 living hope.
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 No person
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 need live
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 without hope
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 and without
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 God in
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 the world.
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 Anxious,
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 disconnected,
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 and confused.
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 No person
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 need fear
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 that we
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 can't know
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 the author
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 who created
00:34:41 --> 00:34:43 this story.
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 So let the
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 resurrection of
00:34:46 --> 00:34:46 Jesus confront
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 your mind and
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 your heart
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 and your
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 whole life.
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 There is
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 one who has
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 defeated the
00:34:53 --> 00:34:53 darkness of
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 sin and death
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 and rose to
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 life, who
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 now offers
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 the light
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 of life
00:34:58 --> 00:34:58 to you.
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 So repent
00:35:00 --> 00:35:03 today and
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 find forgiveness
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 in him and
00:35:05 --> 00:35:06 a living hope.
00:35:06 --> 00:35:07 ending
00:35:07 --> 00:35:07