WEBVTT

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Well, Jesus is risen. He's risen indeed. Good

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morning. Welcome to the house. My name is Gregg

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Hampton. I'm one of the pastors here. If we've

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never met before, this is your last chance for

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a while. This Wednesday, I begin a three -month

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sabbatical, so you literally won't see me for

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a little while. So I want to make sure that you

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get the chance to meet one of the pastors or

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one of the team leaders. Really, anybody with

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a lanyard, you know that there's someone that

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serves here. So we have Pastor Jen, we have Pastor

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Marissa, and I didn't think you were going to

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be here, Pastor Marissa. I was going to say,

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please keep Marissa and her family in your prayers

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as her father is still at the hospital in Iowa

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City. But he's making some improvements. Yeah.

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You said that he was moving his leg. Amazing.

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Yeah. I came out to Iowa City to visit them the

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other day, and they had a whole corner of, what

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did you call it? Yeah, your settlement. Yeah,

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they have a couch and a couple of those chairs

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that lay flat, and they had started in different

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spots, and as different people left, they were

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like, all right, we got that. So they're expanding.

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It's beautiful. And I know that he can tell.

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I know he can tell that you're with them. a new

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series called The Gospel According to Matthew.

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And then if you look real close, it says in the

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Bible. We all know someone named Matthew. This

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one's the Matthew in the Bible. I know that probably

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didn't need to be explained, but I thought it

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was funny, so I put it on there. So that is a

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joke that you're going to have to live with for

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the next three months. You're welcome. Consider

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it a parting gift. Just about every year, we

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walk through one of the Gospels, because no matter

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how many times you read the Gospels, you will

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always learn something new about Jesus. You cannot

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talk about Jesus too much, and a church cannot

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talk about Jesus too much. So we're just going

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to jump right in. If you'll grab your Bibles,

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we're going to be in Matthew, Matthew chapter

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28. Matthew is the first book of what's called

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the New Testament or the Second Testament. It

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goes Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, so you know where

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you are in the neighborhood. If you don't have

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a Bible, we have blue Bibles on the tables. They're

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out on the bookshelf in the lobby. Feel free

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to take one of those home. It is not stealing.

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We give you permission. If you need a Bible,

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take a Bible. Otherwise, if you have a smartphone,

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you can download really any version of the Bible

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that you'd like from one of the digital app stores.

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When we read the scriptures in the context of

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the sermon, we have a tradition of just giving

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it our full attention. You can do that, whatever

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makes the most sense to you. This is how I give

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my full attention. If you would like to, you

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are also welcome to stand with me as you are

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able as we read these scriptures. Matthew 28,

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starting in verse 1, it says this. After the

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Sabbath at dawn on the first day of the week,

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Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look

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at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake for

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an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and

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going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and

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sat on it. His appearance was like lightning

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and his clothes were white as snow. The guards

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were so afraid of him that they shook and became

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like dead men. The angel said to the woman, do

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not be afraid for I know that you are looking

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for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here.

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He is risen. Just as he said, come and see the

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place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell

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the disciples he is risen from the dead and is

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going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will

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see him. Now I have told you. So the woman hurried

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away from the tomb, afraid, yet filled with joy,

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and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly, Jesus

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met them. Greetings, he said. They came to him,

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clasped his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus

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said to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my

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brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see

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me. Let us pray. God of every tribe, every tongue,

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every color, every nation, we thank you for the

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scriptures that they have persisted throughout

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the millennia. We still have them to read and

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to consider and to learn from. And I pray that

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whatever you have for us today, that it would

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stick. would become a part of the framework of

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our faith, that our faith would become stronger

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as we become more like your son, Jesus. Amen.

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Thanks, everyone. You can have a seat. Okay,

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so first of all, in all four Gospels, it is always

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the women that are at the tomb first. It is always

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women that make the initial discovery that Jesus

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is risen, see Jesus first, meet Jesus first,

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that are asked to spread the word of his resurrection

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first. So turn to someone and say, thank God

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for women. But why are they there? Why is it

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the women that are there? Well, for at least

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two reasons. First, is to anoint his body for

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his long -term burial, and second is to mourn

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his death. In their cultural context, they did

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not embalm a body the way that we do now. If

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you were being buried, you were being buried

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with all the stuff that was already inside of

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your body, and so there was going to be a period

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that was going to emit a lot of unpleasant odors.

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The primary combatant and preparation for those

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orders were spices, things like myrrh and resins.

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The body would be cleaned, covered in spices,

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and then wrapped tightly for burial. Now, in

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the Gospel of John, it says that Nicodemus and

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Joseph of Arimathea do this before he is buried

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and placed in the tomb. It says that they used

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75 pounds of myrrh, but the synoptic gospels,

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Matthew, Mark, Luke, these are actually the earlier

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gospels. They were written before John, and they

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all described that that had not yet happened,

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and that it was the women that were coming to

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do that on Sunday morning. Now, there's a whole

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sermon there about why John tells his stories

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differently, but for now, I'll just say it is

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more likely that it was Now why? For a couple

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reasons. Primarily because it was typical for

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the women to be the ones that prepared a family

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member in this way or someone that was dear to

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them. It was typical for the women to be the

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ones that cared for the preparation of a body

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for burial. Mark, the oldest gospel, and Luke,

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the one written by a physician, both mention

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that the women... had planned to prepare the

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body that Sunday morning. And while the passage

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that we read today in Matthew didn't mention

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the spices, we actually know that Matthew is

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essentially copying and plagiarizing Mark. And

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so a lot of his homework is directly from Mark.

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And so even though he leaves out the words about

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the spices, he's telling the same story. But

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the reason for them to be there is also... More

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complicated than that. It's too simple to just

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imply that they're only there because they're

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the women. Women in the Gospels just had a way

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of showing up places where the men were missing.

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For instance, when you turn back the pages and

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read about the crucifixion, you'll find that

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the women that had followed Jesus were often

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much closer to the action. Much closer to the

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cross than any of the men. Again, only John explicitly

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mentions any of the male disciples near the cross

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with the women. And even then, he only mentions

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one. Does anybody know who he mentions? Himself.

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So why? Why aren't the men around? Not just at

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the tomb, but at the cross. Do they not care?

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Are they not mourning his death as well? Well,

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the easy answer and true answer is that they're

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afraid to get arrested. Jesus, their leader,

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had been killed by capital punishment by the

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ruling empire, and they were technically guilty

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by association. The day of the crucifixion, Peter

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had... denied knowing Jesus three different times

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for fear of also being arrested. There were soldiers

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at the cross. There were guards at the tomb.

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And so one of the reasons they stayed away was

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for fear of arrest. Okay, but then why would

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the women go without fear of arrest? They were

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followers as well, right? Has anyone heard of

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patriarchy? Women and children, first century

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Jerusalem, just weren't recognized as posing

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the same political or spiritual threat as the

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male disciples. And so they did have fear in

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going just a little less. So the women are at

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the tomb to prepare the body for burial. And

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the women... are at the tomb because they were

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less likely to be arrested. But then, I think

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there's really one more reason that the male

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disciples weren't there, and it might be the

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biggest reason. In the end, it's really a reason

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that they share with the women as well, but it's

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expressed differently. They're not there because

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they weren't expecting a resurrection. None of

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them were. It did not matter that Jesus had promised

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that he would be resurrected. Resurrection just

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was not something any of his followers, even

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the closest ones, had actually taken literally.

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Do me a favor. Everyone say literally. And by

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literally, I don't mean figuratively. You know

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what I'm saying? Because some people are like,

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literally. No, literally. They did not take him

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literally. He told them and he showed them that

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this was going to happen. In Luke, it says that

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a funeral procession was coming out as he approached

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the village gate. The young man who had died

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was a widow's only son and a large crowd from

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the village was with her. When the Lord saw her,

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his heart overflowed with compassion. Don't cry,

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he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and

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touched it, and the barrier stopped. Young man,

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he said, I tell you, get up. Then the dead boy

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sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him

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back to his mother. He showed them. How about

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Lazarus? Martha says, if you had just been here

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sooner, you could have saved him. He said, no,

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he will rise. And she says, I know, he will rise

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again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus

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says, I am the resurrection and the life. She

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says, yes, Lord, I believe. What did we talk

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about last week? That you are the Messiah, the

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Son of God who has come into the world. And then

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he raised Lazarus from the dead, proving that

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resurrection could happen now, not only later.

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Then in Matthew 16. It says from that time on,

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Jesus began to explain to his disciples, he must

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be killed and on the third day raised to life.

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Matthew 17, he said to him, the son of man is

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going to be delivered into the hands of men.

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They will kill him and on the third day he will

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be raised to life. Matthew 20, we are going up

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to Jerusalem and the son of man will be delivered.

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He will be raised back to life. Not only did

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he show them that it could happen, he told them

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that it would happen explicitly. This is what

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he told them multiple times, but they did not

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take him literally. I wonder how many of us have

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stopped believing in something Jesus has said

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because we just can't take it literally. And

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that way, we are like the men and the women that

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followed Jesus first. Whether at the tomb or

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in hiding, because that morning, they were not

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just mourning the death of Jesus, they were saying

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goodbye to their faith in Jesus. A double death,

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a double funeral, one for Jesus, one for their

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faith. Some of us are here today in that same

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way. We have come to the tomb not expecting him

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to do anything. Because we don't believe that

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he's alive. What the women, what no one expected

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and what I hope that you will find today is that

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Jesus is alive. And if Jesus is alive, then your

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faith can have new life. Hear me say it. Today

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can be the dawning of a new faith. They were

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there at dawn on the first day of the week. And

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they saw something they never expected. Today

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can be the dawn of the first day of the week.

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And whatever. Whatever you think is in the way,

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the soldiers, the guards, they're on the ground.

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The stone, it's been rolled away. Whatever you

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think is in the way has been removed. Nothing

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is standing between Jesus and his beloved. Nothing

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is standing between Jesus and you. And if you

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can accept it, I know that I am not as bright

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as lightning or dressed all in white like an

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angel sitting on top of a stone. But let me fill

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the role of the angel at the tomb telling you,

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Jesus is not here in the tomb. He is now alive.

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Jesus is not dead. He has risen just as he said.

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Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed. Jesus is

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risen. He is risen indeed. My prayer, my hope

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for you today, men, women, people of every identity,

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is that if you are here for the tradition of

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Easter, because this is the culturally correct

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thing to do, but you found your place thinking

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he is dead. I hope that just like the women leaving

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the tomb, running to go and tell the disciples

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that whether you feel it or see it, that you

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will be met by Jesus on your way. That maybe

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before you leave this building, you will be met

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by Jesus. Maybe before you get out of the parking

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lot, you will be met by Jesus. Maybe before you

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leave this place, you just need to say it in

00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:15.059
your heart, God, I will give you another chance.

00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:23.160
I will open my heart today to see you on the

00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:29.279
way. I came here to prepare my death, my faith

00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:35.579
for the burial of death. I came here today for

00:17:35.579 --> 00:17:39.259
tradition. But I'm leaving here today looking

00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:49.039
for you along the way. I'm in. My faith needs

00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:56.339
new life. Meet me on the way. If you will, just

00:17:56.339 --> 00:18:00.880
pray with me just for a second before I finish

00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:05.980
this sermon. Just pray with me and be gentle

00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:11.609
with your heart. Be kind to yourself. Be gentle

00:18:11.609 --> 00:18:13.930
with where you are in your faith and what you

00:18:13.930 --> 00:18:17.809
believe. And just take a moment, if you would,

00:18:17.950 --> 00:18:33.369
say, my eyes will be open. Yeah. So I was looking

00:18:33.369 --> 00:18:35.509
up the date, everybody. I was looking up the

00:18:35.509 --> 00:18:41.319
date of... the most likely first Easter. I was

00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:45.299
at Starbucks the other day, and I'm there all

00:18:45.299 --> 00:18:47.039
the time at this particular Starbucks, and they

00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:49.460
know I'm a pastor. And so they're like, oh, do

00:18:49.460 --> 00:18:51.740
you have a busy weekend? And I said, yeah, I

00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:54.960
went to a friend of mine, a bunch of their churches

00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:57.160
did a Good Friday service together. I went to

00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:00.299
that at noon, but I'm not nearly as busy as some

00:19:00.299 --> 00:19:02.059
other pastors. They've got like Easter egg hunts

00:19:02.059 --> 00:19:06.369
on Saturday and sunrise services on... And they're

00:19:06.369 --> 00:19:08.890
like, oh, is this busier than Christmas? And

00:19:08.890 --> 00:19:11.930
I was like, oh, yeah. Easter weekend is far busier

00:19:11.930 --> 00:19:14.210
than Christmas for a church. And they're like,

00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:16.690
oh, well, why? I was like, well, part of it is

00:19:16.690 --> 00:19:19.210
because being a Christian is not just about whether

00:19:19.210 --> 00:19:21.509
Jesus was born. It's that, like, all right, he

00:19:21.509 --> 00:19:25.089
died at our hands saying that, okay, you can

00:19:25.089 --> 00:19:28.490
be reconciled back to God, that all of your sins

00:19:28.490 --> 00:19:32.410
are forgiven by him. And Sunday Easter is the

00:19:32.410 --> 00:19:34.470
day that we believe that he came back to life.

00:19:35.340 --> 00:19:37.440
And the other part of it is that, you know, Christmas,

00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:39.359
the day is kind of made up. Like, we don't know

00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:41.480
if that's the act. That's not the day that Jesus

00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:43.779
was born. But you can actually go all the way

00:19:43.779 --> 00:19:47.599
back and track when the first Easter would have

00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:49.339
been. And they were like, oh, wow, no way. And

00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:51.240
I was like, yeah, yeah. But I was looking it

00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:58.200
up. And it was 1 ,993 years ago in the year 33

00:19:58.200 --> 00:20:07.589
on Sunday, April 5th. Today is the 1994th Easter.

00:20:11.609 --> 00:20:16.750
But it could be the first Easter for you. The

00:20:16.750 --> 00:20:21.250
first Easter where you take him literally. Where

00:20:21.250 --> 00:20:24.730
you decide this isn't a tradition, this isn't

00:20:24.730 --> 00:20:29.190
a cultural concept. But Jesus is risen. He is

00:20:29.190 --> 00:20:32.609
risen indeed. And I will open my eyes to see.

00:20:33.589 --> 00:20:42.670
Amen? Let's pray. Jesus, we thank you for your

00:20:42.670 --> 00:20:47.349
life, that you are alive, that you did not stay

00:20:47.349 --> 00:20:54.529
in the tomb, that your life gives all of us life.

00:20:57.029 --> 00:21:01.029
And I just pray today. And in my heart and the

00:21:01.029 --> 00:21:05.349
hearts of each of us here, that we would see

00:21:05.349 --> 00:21:11.369
you. That our faith would not dwindle and die.

00:21:11.470 --> 00:21:15.410
That our faith would have new life because of

00:21:15.410 --> 00:21:16.970
everything that you are and everything you've

00:21:16.970 --> 00:21:21.150
done. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.