WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.220 So let's welcome Lindsay Johnson. She comes up 00:00:03.220 --> 00:00:08.779 to speak with us today Thank you Jenn and yes, 00:00:08.779 --> 00:00:13.359 I can corroborate Gregg was not exaggerating Israel 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:17.160 is very very very hot Among other things it's 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:20.160 wonderful. It is really good to be with you guys 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:23.359 I've known Greg since I started grad school and 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:27.960 I have to tell you one thing as an outsider He 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:33.359 loves this church very, very much. That is something 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:35.119 that I have known about him since the moment 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:37.759 I met him. He loves this city and he loves this 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:40.140 church and so I can vouch for that as someone 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:43.280 who is an outsider and it is a gift for me to 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:45.759 be here to be able to bless him so he can get 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:48.740 a little bit of a break and be with you and it 00:00:48.740 --> 00:00:50.520 actually worked out really well for me because 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:53.380 my husband is from Geneseo and we actually came 00:00:53.380 --> 00:00:56.880 in yesterday and spent time at a family farm 00:00:56.880 --> 00:00:59.539 and we were some of the enthusiasts but we would 00:00:59.539 --> 00:01:04.219 do not live in a town area, so it was spread 00:01:04.219 --> 00:01:07.739 out and not over people's homes. But it was really 00:01:07.739 --> 00:01:10.920 nice to come in yesterday and be just around 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:12.879 family and get to know this community a little 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:16.319 bit better. So thank you for having me. But on 00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:18.680 a pivot, I don't know if you noticed this, but 00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:21.980 I noticed this a lot. Our world exists in a lot 00:01:21.980 --> 00:01:25.200 of opposites. There's the basic ones that we 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:28.640 see. There's day and night, push and pull, there's 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:30.920 work and rest. Those are all kind of things that 00:01:30.920 --> 00:01:35.549 we just know exist. Even things, a lot of things 00:01:35.549 --> 00:01:38.790 that function in the tension between the two. 00:01:39.390 --> 00:01:41.890 So an airplane, for example, needs both gravity 00:01:41.890 --> 00:01:46.349 and lift to fly. Without gravity, the plane is 00:01:46.349 --> 00:01:49.430 just going to yeet people into outer space. And 00:01:49.430 --> 00:01:52.129 without lift, it is just a very expensive, very 00:01:52.129 --> 00:01:55.010 uncomfortable car ride to wherever you're going. 00:01:55.430 --> 00:02:00.189 Your heart needs to both expand and contract 00:02:00.189 --> 00:02:03.370 in order to pump blood. If it's only doing one 00:02:03.370 --> 00:02:06.250 of - of those things, things are not going well 00:02:06.250 --> 00:02:09.330 for you. Get to the hospital. One of the favorites 00:02:09.330 --> 00:02:11.930 of mine that makes me giggle is riding in a car. 00:02:12.710 --> 00:02:15.469 Because you are both inside and outside. You 00:02:15.469 --> 00:02:17.789 are both sitting still and moving very fast. 00:02:18.110 --> 00:02:20.990 I just think that that's ironic. And we have 00:02:20.990 --> 00:02:25.719 a cat. We call her meowsers. And if you know 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:29.060 any house cats, they need a hand that pets them 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:32.840 and a nemesis that haunts them. They exist in 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:36.099 opposites. And the Bible really isn't any different. 00:02:37.379 --> 00:02:39.979 The Bible is full of these tensions and these 00:02:39.979 --> 00:02:43.990 opposites, justice. and mercy. This morning we 00:02:43.990 --> 00:02:47.530 prayed for rest, yet James talks about work. 00:02:47.889 --> 00:02:51.590 There's goodness and there's evil. There's judgment. 00:02:51.979 --> 00:02:54.900 and forgiveness, and those things all seem to 00:02:54.900 --> 00:02:57.520 work in partnership with each other, but as we 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:00.960 walk through Matthew today, we're actually gonna 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:04.860 see how Jesus highlighted some of those oppositions 00:03:04.860 --> 00:03:07.939 and used it to flip our expectations of what 00:03:07.939 --> 00:03:10.599 the kingdom of heaven is really like, flip our 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:13.199 expectations of the kingdom of God completely 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:17.539 upside down, and he does it on purpose. So you've 00:03:17.539 --> 00:03:19.479 been walking through Matthew as a church for 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:21.800 the past several months, and I love that. And 00:03:21.800 --> 00:03:24.500 today we're actually gonna see how Matthew continues 00:03:24.500 --> 00:03:29.139 to use his unique perspective to talk about Jesus' 00:03:29.939 --> 00:03:31.979 pre -resurrection life. We're gonna talk about 00:03:31.979 --> 00:03:34.379 the recounting details that point us to Jesus 00:03:34.379 --> 00:03:37.520 as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:40.139 Hopefully you've seen that as you've walked through 00:03:40.139 --> 00:03:45.180 that. Jesus as the... new Moses, Jesus as God 00:03:45.180 --> 00:03:48.159 with us, Jesus as a king from the line of David, 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:52.039 but something else Matthew also does, all throughout 00:03:52.039 --> 00:03:56.960 this gospel and especially here, is uses Jesus' 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:01.479 words, Jesus' life to show how he opposed power 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:05.139 in the world, how far Jesus went to subvert expectations, 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:09.280 and truly show us that the kingdom of God actually 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:11.419 looks like and what God is doing in the midst 00:04:11.419 --> 00:04:13.120 of it all. So we're gonna actually capture that 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:15.960 in one moment today and see how this flip of 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:19.360 expectations is really intentional in the life 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:23.920 of Jesus. So who's in? Okay, awesome. Thank you, 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:26.740 Cindy. One percent, great. Y 'all are coming 00:04:26.740 --> 00:04:28.519 along anyway, whether you're here for it or not. 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:32.939 All right, let's... Let's pray first. All right, 00:04:32.959 --> 00:04:35.660 God, we are grateful that we have these stories. 00:04:35.779 --> 00:04:39.959 We are grateful that we have the life of Jesus 00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:44.519 to point us to you, to point us to what is really 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:47.439 happening in the world and what you are really 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:49.660 doing in the world. And so I pray that these 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:53.519 words would be from you and not from my own thoughts. 00:04:54.120 --> 00:04:56.920 and whatever is my own thoughts would fall away, 00:04:57.120 --> 00:04:59.360 and you would just lay on the hearts of this 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:02.439 whole community the truth that you want them 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:06.399 to experience today. In Jesus' name, amen. All 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:10.139 right, so I'm gonna quickly recap for those that 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:11.980 I'm sure none of you have missed any Sundays 00:05:11.980 --> 00:05:14.139 in the book of Matthew, so good job, excellent, 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:17.139 but just in case, just in case, I'm gonna catch 00:05:17.139 --> 00:05:18.860 us up where we are in the book, because we're 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:21.500 at kind of an important moment. So Matthew's 00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:23.860 strategy, like I said, throughout this book is 00:05:23.860 --> 00:05:26.379 to just show Jesus as the fulfillment of the 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:28.980 Old Testament promises. So he's a new Moses, 00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:31.920 he's a king from the line of David, he is God 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:36.240 with us. And he uses different stories to point 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:38.100 out what the kingdom, that the kingdom of God 00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:41.319 is actually not what people expected it. He's 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:44.779 actually a suffering servant king, and he shared 00:05:44.779 --> 00:05:47.839 a message of love and forgiveness to those on 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:51.120 the margins. And so those on the margins, so 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:54.399 Jesus has been accepted by some of the people 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:57.420 in Israel. Mostly it's those people on the margins, 00:05:57.579 --> 00:05:59.660 the people he healed, the people he blessed, 00:05:59.779 --> 00:06:02.579 those people that found freedom and hope in his 00:06:02.579 --> 00:06:07.439 message. But Jesus also clashed with just about 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:09.720 anyone in power. If you've been paying attention 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:12.740 to this book so far, he flipped tables, condemned 00:06:12.740 --> 00:06:16.279 religious leaders, he paraded into Jerusalem 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:19.779 as a king, he healed those even death had seemingly 00:06:19.779 --> 00:06:23.439 defeated, contended with nature in waves and 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:27.899 storms. The peacemaking Jesus really knew how 00:06:27.899 --> 00:06:32.879 to ruffle. feathers. He was not afraid of conflict. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:36.120 But most recently, he's been betrayed. He's been 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:38.120 arrested. He was brought before the religious 00:06:38.120 --> 00:06:40.339 leaders and brought before the government ones. 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:43.519 He's been condemned to be crucified as both a 00:06:43.519 --> 00:06:46.379 false prophet and a political rebel. And that 00:06:46.379 --> 00:06:50.399 is how we got here to the end of chapter 27. 00:06:51.079 --> 00:06:53.779 And so today's verses, we're gonna be in Matthew 00:06:53.779 --> 00:06:59.860 chapter 27, verses 27 to 54. And so what are 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:04.519 we gonna see? this section I talked about points 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:07.040 of opposition things that exist in opposites 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:10.319 and so we're gonna see opposition contending 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:13.180 with each other and it's gonna highlight what 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:16.959 really actually matters in the kingdom of God 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:20.019 when I taught when Greg sent me this topic he 00:07:20.019 --> 00:07:21.939 said it's cross versus kingdom and I said what 00:07:21.939 --> 00:07:25.220 do you mean he's like what do you mean and so 00:07:25.220 --> 00:07:28.800 I got to just play with this idea. And what I 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:31.759 really saw was it is the cross versus the kingdom. 00:07:31.860 --> 00:07:35.600 It is the cross of Jesus versus the kingdoms 00:07:35.600 --> 00:07:39.480 of this world, the cross of the empire versus 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:43.439 the kingdom of heaven. We have reached a cosmic 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:48.459 showdown. Insert showcase showdown music, WWE 00:07:48.459 --> 00:07:52.379 voiceovers for all of those millennials that 00:07:52.379 --> 00:07:55.920 watch too many reruns in their grandma's basement. 00:07:56.509 --> 00:07:58.829 This is for you. All right, so the upside down 00:07:58.829 --> 00:08:01.250 gospel of Jesus is actually gonna be on full 00:08:01.250 --> 00:08:05.129 display here. Jesus is gonna make a final stand 00:08:05.129 --> 00:08:08.389 against anything and all things that are worshiped 00:08:08.389 --> 00:08:11.430 and hold power in the name of redemption and 00:08:11.430 --> 00:08:13.230 restoration of all things. So we're gonna see 00:08:13.230 --> 00:08:17.170 power versus Jesus' hope and restoration. So 00:08:17.170 --> 00:08:19.410 let's dive in. I'll give you a second to grab 00:08:19.410 --> 00:08:22.250 your Bibles. If you brought one, feel free to 00:08:22.250 --> 00:08:25.470 open up. We're at Matthew chapter 27, verse 27. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:29.139 Or you can follow along on your Bible app, on 00:08:29.139 --> 00:08:31.639 your phone, and I promise I will assume that 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:34.460 you're in your Bible and not waiting for Taylor 00:08:34.460 --> 00:08:38.779 and Travis's photos to get dropped. Or you can 00:08:38.779 --> 00:08:40.360 just listen along, because I'll read it for you, 00:08:40.440 --> 00:08:45.570 too. All right, so verse 27. Then the governor's 00:08:45.570 --> 00:08:48.470 soldiers took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered 00:08:48.470 --> 00:08:51.149 the whole company of soldiers around him. They 00:08:51.149 --> 00:08:53.649 stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him and 00:08:53.649 --> 00:08:56.370 then twisted together a crown of thorns and set 00:08:56.370 --> 00:08:59.250 it on his head. They put a staff in his right 00:08:59.250 --> 00:09:03.570 hand. This is King symbolism. Then they knelt 00:09:03.570 --> 00:09:06.549 in front of him and mocked him. Hail Jesus, King 00:09:06.549 --> 00:09:10.690 of the Jews, they said. They spit on him, and 00:09:10.690 --> 00:09:12.809 they took the staff and struck him on the head 00:09:12.809 --> 00:09:16.009 again and again. After they had mocked him, they 00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:17.909 took off the robe and put his own clothes on 00:09:17.909 --> 00:09:20.789 him. Then they led him away to crucify him. Verse 00:09:20.789 --> 00:09:23.309 32, as they were going out, they met a man from 00:09:23.309 --> 00:09:26.450 Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry 00:09:26.450 --> 00:09:29.470 the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha, 00:09:29.610 --> 00:09:32.440 which means the place of the skull. There they 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:34.720 offered Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall, 00:09:34.940 --> 00:09:37.700 but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 00:09:38.340 --> 00:09:40.200 When they had crucified him, they divided up 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:43.000 his clothes by casting lots, and sitting down, 00:09:43.100 --> 00:09:46.879 they kept watch over him there. Verse 37, above 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:49.899 his head, they placed the written charge against 00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:56.360 him. This is Jesus, King of the Jews. So the 00:09:56.360 --> 00:09:59.600 first contention we are confronted with, that 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:03.700 first seemingly opposite thing, is king versus 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:07.500 kingdom. So Jesus has just been brought before 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:10.700 the powers of his day the governor of Judea Pontius 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:13.600 Pilate and Pilate was actually given the authority 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:17.740 to represent Rome in the occupied province of 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:22.340 Judea and Pilate's job was to serve as the chief 00:10:22.340 --> 00:10:25.879 judge and carry out all Roman legal authority 00:10:26.409 --> 00:10:30.789 Now Jesus is an ethnic Jew, and so he lives in 00:10:30.789 --> 00:10:34.889 this occupied territory. He does not have the 00:10:34.889 --> 00:10:37.090 rights of a Roman citizen, nor the protections 00:10:37.090 --> 00:10:41.389 that come with it, but he is actually subject 00:10:41.389 --> 00:10:47.590 to Rome under Pilate. So to Jesus the man, Pilate 00:10:47.590 --> 00:10:50.340 is the kingdom. might as well be the kingdom. 00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:52.960 He does not get another chance in front of the 00:10:52.960 --> 00:10:55.960 emperor like a citizen would. This is it. To 00:10:55.960 --> 00:11:00.360 Jesus the man, Pilate is the kingdom. But if 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:04.220 you remember, it was Israel that was supposed 00:11:04.220 --> 00:11:06.679 to be set apart as a kingdom. They were first 00:11:06.679 --> 00:11:09.299 a kingdom of priests, and then when they failed 00:11:09.299 --> 00:11:12.299 and they asked for a real king, God gave them 00:11:12.299 --> 00:11:16.570 David, a man mostly after God's own heart. And 00:11:16.570 --> 00:11:18.710 David established a hilltop city, brought the 00:11:18.710 --> 00:11:22.129 Ark of the Covenant into the city so the presence 00:11:22.129 --> 00:11:25.990 of God would be with the people in their kingdom, 00:11:26.450 --> 00:11:29.409 blessed by God. And God promised a king that 00:11:29.409 --> 00:11:31.669 would be in the line, reign forever from the 00:11:31.669 --> 00:11:35.590 light of David. And yet somehow, despite God's 00:11:35.590 --> 00:11:39.980 promises and God's presence, David failed. Israel 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:44.059 failed, and then in exile and afterwards, they 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:47.480 lost the entire narrative, they lost the vision 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.340 that God had given them as a kingdom. And so 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:53.360 instead, they grappled for power and influence 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:57.299 within the ruling empire. They lost their way 00:11:57.299 --> 00:11:59.879 as a covenant kingdom of God that was supposed 00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:03.919 to bless the nations. And in the mind of the 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:07.120 religious leaders of Jesus' day, the king from 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:09.600 the line of David was going to come and overthrow 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:13.039 the ruling power and dominate through might and 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:15.639 strength and give them the power and privilege 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:20.580 that they believed was their birthright. All 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:25.759 of that, despite the fact that Isaiah called 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:29.299 the promised king a suffering servant and the 00:12:29.299 --> 00:12:34.190 prince of peace. They lost. their vision along 00:12:34.190 --> 00:12:37.730 the way. And then the soldiers actually give 00:12:37.730 --> 00:12:40.649 us the most incredible example of dramatic irony 00:12:40.649 --> 00:12:43.190 as they attempt to humiliate and mock Jesus. 00:12:43.250 --> 00:12:45.350 They are attempting to mock Jesus. They dress 00:12:45.350 --> 00:12:48.690 him up with a crown and a sash and even a sign 00:12:48.690 --> 00:12:52.129 that calls him a king, all while missing the 00:12:52.129 --> 00:12:55.710 reality that the king of the universe was kneeling 00:12:55.710 --> 00:13:00.289 in submission before them. The king is standing 00:13:00.289 --> 00:13:04.309 up to the kingdom and they genuinely have no 00:13:04.309 --> 00:13:09.649 idea. They completely missed it. And yet Jesus 00:13:09.649 --> 00:13:13.029 is showing the world what it truly means to be 00:13:13.029 --> 00:13:16.450 a king, to give away power instead of hoard it, 00:13:16.649 --> 00:13:20.029 to sacrifice for the sake of others, to choose 00:13:20.029 --> 00:13:25.759 humility over domination. Jesus as king is over 00:13:25.759 --> 00:13:30.000 defiance to the powers and the ways of Israel 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:35.559 and Rome So king versus kingdom Jesus is confronting 00:13:35.559 --> 00:13:38.879 that but we've got more than that Jesus is also 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:40.899 gonna face off a bunch more things Let's find 00:13:40.899 --> 00:13:43.519 out what's next and keep going. We are jumping 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:49.539 back in in verse 38 Verse 38 two rebels were 00:13:49.539 --> 00:13:52.360 crucified with him one on his right and one on 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:55.059 his left Those who passed by hurled insults at 00:13:55.059 --> 00:13:57.779 him, shaking their heads and saying, you who 00:13:57.779 --> 00:14:00.279 are going to destroy the temple and build it 00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:03.899 in three days, save yourself. Come down from 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:07.000 the cross if you are the son of God. In the same 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.480 way, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:13.080 and the elders mocked him. Verse 42, he saved 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:16.480 others, they said, but he can't save himself. 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:19.120 He's the king of Israel. Let him come down now 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:22.100 from the cross and we will believe in him. He 00:14:22.100 --> 00:14:24.820 trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants 00:14:24.820 --> 00:14:28.580 him, for he said, I am the son of God. In the 00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:30.519 same way, the rebels who were crucified with 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:34.820 him also heaped insults on him. From noon until 00:14:34.820 --> 00:14:37.159 three in the afternoon, darkness came over the 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:39.820 land. About three in the afternoon, Jesus cried 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:43.559 out in a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lemme sebektani, 00:14:43.899 --> 00:14:48.580 which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:51.840 me? When some of those standing there heard this, 00:14:51.899 --> 00:14:55.059 they said, he's calling Elijah. Immediately, 00:14:55.179 --> 00:14:57.340 one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it 00:14:57.340 --> 00:14:59.700 with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered 00:14:59.700 --> 00:15:03.840 it to Jesus to drink. Verse 49, the rest said, 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:07.940 now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:11.370 to save him. All right, so I will admit, in this 00:15:11.370 --> 00:15:14.710 whole section of scripture, there is a lot here, 00:15:14.750 --> 00:15:17.610 but for today's purposes, the primary image I 00:15:17.610 --> 00:15:20.970 want you to see is that we get that of the prophet 00:15:20.970 --> 00:15:24.649 and the contention of the prophet versus power. 00:15:25.450 --> 00:15:27.929 Alright, so to give you a little context the 00:15:27.929 --> 00:15:31.049 prophets of the Old Testament used poetry and 00:15:31.049 --> 00:15:34.409 imagery and storytelling to rebuke sin to call 00:15:34.409 --> 00:15:37.090 people to repentance and point people towards 00:15:37.090 --> 00:15:40.710 the justice of God They are called to remind 00:15:40.710 --> 00:15:44.360 Israel of their covenant with God And they used 00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:48.059 everyday analogies and items to talk about things 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:51.899 that had cosmic implications. And their job was 00:15:51.899 --> 00:15:55.720 to serve as the mouthpiece of God to the people. 00:15:56.679 --> 00:15:59.840 They were the confronters of power gone awry 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:04.000 in their time. Prophets like Nathan rebuked King 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:06.639 David for his sin against Bathsheba and Uriah. 00:16:07.059 --> 00:16:10.080 Isaiah rebuked a sinful nation. Jeremiah rebuked 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:13.779 Jerusalem for idolatry. Even John the Baptist 00:16:13.779 --> 00:16:17.480 rebuked the religious leaders of his day. Ezekiel 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:21.059 and Micaiah put on spoken parables. Jeremiah 00:16:21.059 --> 00:16:23.639 put on performance art to point to the truths 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:26.259 of God's kingdom, all calling towards and pointing 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:30.440 towards the mercy and justice of God. Moses freed 00:16:30.440 --> 00:16:33.840 a captive people. Elijah and Elisha performed 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:38.220 miracles mostly to care for those on the margins. 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:43.980 And now, if that doesn't sound like Jesus' ministry, 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:50.580 I'm not sure what does. Jesus rebuked religious 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:53.059 leaders for false and empty worship. He healed 00:16:53.059 --> 00:16:55.899 the sick and the hurting. He forgave and restored 00:16:55.899 --> 00:17:00.100 those society had cast aside and used story after 00:17:00.100 --> 00:17:02.919 story to show people what the kingdom of heaven 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:07.390 was really like. As God here on earth, he served 00:17:07.390 --> 00:17:10.730 as a mouthpiece, closely tethered and connected 00:17:10.730 --> 00:17:14.130 to the Father to return Israel to its rightful 00:17:14.130 --> 00:17:18.690 place, as a light on a hill to point the world 00:17:18.690 --> 00:17:23.630 back to God. He contended with earthly power 00:17:23.630 --> 00:17:28.740 to remind them of the covenant promise. And if 00:17:28.740 --> 00:17:31.660 you remember from Matthew 5, you were there a 00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:34.319 while ago, Jesus said he didn't just come to 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:38.480 remind them of the covenant, he came to fulfill 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:44.700 it. And again, we see attempts of shame and humiliation 00:17:44.700 --> 00:17:47.299 thrown at Jesus, mocking, again, what they were 00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:50.619 too blind to see. They throw his words back at 00:17:50.619 --> 00:17:53.039 him about rebuilding the temple in three days. 00:17:53.420 --> 00:17:55.700 If they would have just shut their mouths and 00:17:55.700 --> 00:17:58.480 hung on a minute, maybe they would have gotten 00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:01.359 what he was talking about. They challenge him 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:04.279 to perform miracles on himself as if he had something 00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:06.920 to prove, and they even claim he's calling on 00:18:06.920 --> 00:18:09.400 a more powerful prophet, the prophet Elijah, 00:18:09.819 --> 00:18:14.880 for help. The religious leaders wanted the firstborn 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:18.779 killing rebel prophet that Moses had been before 00:18:18.779 --> 00:18:24.359 Pharaoh, rather than the suffering servant truth 00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:28.759 teller that nearly every prophet these religious 00:18:28.759 --> 00:18:34.109 leaders had studied actually was. But instead 00:18:34.109 --> 00:18:36.690 of raging and doing what he truly had the power 00:18:36.690 --> 00:18:39.970 to do, he acted as the shepherd prophet promised 00:18:39.970 --> 00:18:43.569 in Deuteronomy that knew Moses and put his flock 00:18:43.569 --> 00:18:47.769 before himself. He even quotes his shepherd king 00:18:47.769 --> 00:18:50.809 ancestor David when he says, my God, why have 00:18:50.809 --> 00:18:53.410 you forsaken me? That is a direct quote from 00:18:53.410 --> 00:18:59.210 Psalm 22. Lamentation is a very prophet -like 00:18:59.210 --> 00:19:03.980 thing to do. And in this moment Jesus is showing 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:08.000 what it truly means to be a prophet. A prophet 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:11.200 that is encountering power. To be so connected 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:14.839 to God that you would do whatever it takes to 00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:18.819 save the people you are called to shepherd. That 00:19:18.819 --> 00:19:22.299 the truth of God is both merciful and just and 00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:24.359 the ultimate goal of the kingdom is that the 00:19:24.359 --> 00:19:29.019 world will be restored. It's not about power 00:19:29.019 --> 00:19:32.259 and privilege because you have access to God's 00:19:32.259 --> 00:19:36.019 voice. It's about trusting that the call of that 00:19:36.019 --> 00:19:39.799 voice is greater and more powerful than any one 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:45.359 moment in time. And so we've seen king versus 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:47.960 kingdom. We've seen prophet versus power. But 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:50.640 wait, there's more. We're gonna keep going. All 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:54.380 right, so let's keep going, verse 50. Just a 00:19:54.380 --> 00:19:57.039 couple of verses here verse 50 and when Jesus 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.740 had cried out again in a loud voice He gave up 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:03.680 his spirit verse 51 at that moment the curtain 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:08.019 of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom 00:20:08.019 --> 00:20:13.299 We have reached the climax of our story This 00:20:13.299 --> 00:20:17.000 is the moment when Jesus crucifixion is complete 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:20.640 He cried out and he gave up his spirit the king 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:25.640 of the Jews has been killed And what happens 00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:29.319 next continues to confront the powers of the 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:31.900 world face -to -face. Because in the moment where 00:20:31.900 --> 00:20:34.559 he surrendered his spirit, the curtain in the 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:37.319 temple is torn from top to bottom. That does 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:39.200 not sound like a very big deal, but I promise 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:44.980 you it really, really is. The forever priest 00:20:44.980 --> 00:20:48.299 prophesied by both David and Zechariah is now 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:53.059 giving us the priest versus the priesthood. Again, 00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:56.119 a little context, the priesthood in Israel is 00:20:56.119 --> 00:20:58.839 an established role. It is actually a role that 00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:01.559 we have a lot of information about from the Old 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:03.960 Testament, and it's designed to be an intercessor 00:21:03.960 --> 00:21:07.680 between the people and God. The role of the priest 00:21:07.680 --> 00:21:10.980 in the temple was to come before God on behalf 00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:15.140 of the people. So the prophet was the mouthpiece 00:21:15.140 --> 00:21:19.559 of God to the people. The priest is the intercessor 00:21:19.559 --> 00:21:25.039 for the people before God. And so their job is 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:27.660 to make sacrifices and atonements on behalf of 00:21:27.660 --> 00:21:30.019 the people and allow the people to come into 00:21:30.019 --> 00:21:33.319 God's presence. Their job is to help the people 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:35.819 who, because of their sin, have been separated 00:21:35.819 --> 00:21:40.519 from God come near the presence once again. Petitioning 00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:44.359 God for forgiveness is the role of the priest. 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:49.059 But the priesthood of Jesus' day has become a 00:21:49.059 --> 00:21:53.220 vacuum of power and control. It's a list of rules 00:21:53.220 --> 00:21:56.440 to follow, a list of reasons to be cast aside, 00:21:56.980 --> 00:22:00.960 a ruling class of very judgy leaders obsessed 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:03.960 with clinging to their influence and status. 00:22:04.589 --> 00:22:07.650 They were a select few set apart for privilege 00:22:07.650 --> 00:22:11.509 instead of a pathway to the inclusive and radical 00:22:11.509 --> 00:22:15.509 love of God. The priesthood of Jesus' day had 00:22:15.509 --> 00:22:18.829 succumbed to the captivating allure of political 00:22:18.829 --> 00:22:25.880 and social power. And Jesus has actually also 00:22:25.880 --> 00:22:28.279 just been in front of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:32.880 there. He's the one who sent Jesus to go in front 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:35.119 of Pilate. Jesus has just been in front of Caiaphas, 00:22:35.220 --> 00:22:40.079 who's the high priest of Israel. Caiaphas' high 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:43.420 priest would have been the only one with true 00:22:43.420 --> 00:22:46.140 access to the presence of God in the temple and 00:22:46.140 --> 00:22:49.180 the Holy of Holies. One day a year, the job of 00:22:49.180 --> 00:22:52.079 the high priest was to make atonement for Israel 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:54.880 and he would access the space behind that temple 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:57.279 curtain, behind the Holy of Holies, the place 00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:59.680 where the presence of God dwelled in between 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:03.579 the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant. Caiaphas' 00:23:03.779 --> 00:23:06.359 most important job is to come into the presence 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:10.140 of God. That is Caiaphas' job on behalf of the 00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:14.829 people. And he even asks during Jesus' trial, 00:23:14.890 --> 00:23:17.009 he says, are you the anointed one? Basically, 00:23:17.009 --> 00:23:19.730 he's asking like, is this your job? Because I'm 00:23:19.730 --> 00:23:23.150 pretty sure it's mine. There's a reason that 00:23:23.150 --> 00:23:26.990 the Pharisees got really mad when Jesus would 00:23:26.990 --> 00:23:30.069 forgive people of their sins when he healed them, 00:23:30.410 --> 00:23:32.509 because that was their job. It was their job 00:23:32.509 --> 00:23:36.329 to ask God for forgiveness. Who did this guy 00:23:36.329 --> 00:23:42.190 think he was? Except if Caiaphas had been paying 00:23:42.190 --> 00:23:46.130 attention, I wonder if he would have recognized 00:23:46.130 --> 00:23:50.470 the presence of God that stood before him. How 00:23:50.470 --> 00:23:54.970 could he have had unique access to God's presence 00:23:54.970 --> 00:23:59.829 in the past and missed it when it stood before 00:23:59.829 --> 00:24:05.039 him in the body of a man? He missed it. And now 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:07.859 they knew the Messiah would serve as eternal 00:24:07.859 --> 00:24:10.779 high priest. They knew this was coming. David 00:24:10.779 --> 00:24:13.400 called him a priest forever in Psalm 12. Zechariah 00:24:13.400 --> 00:24:16.720 called him a priest on his throne. Isaiah describes 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:20.700 a royal priest offering his own body as a sacrifice. 00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:25.059 Jesus is fulfilling every one of these prophecies 00:24:25.059 --> 00:24:27.440 that these leaders would have studied and he's 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:29.500 fulfilling them in this moment in front of them 00:24:29.500 --> 00:24:32.980 and he's claiming the eternal priesthood as his 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:38.380 own. And what happens when it is finished? The 00:24:38.380 --> 00:24:42.420 curtain in the temple tears into, it splits from 00:24:42.420 --> 00:24:46.819 top to bottom. It opens up and makes a way for 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:49.579 everyone, not just the high priest, but for all 00:24:49.579 --> 00:24:53.319 people to access the very presence of God. The 00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:57.380 holy of holies is opened up, offered to us through 00:24:57.380 --> 00:25:00.000 the sacrifice, the presence, and the anointing 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:02.819 of the high priest, Jesus. The curtain has torn 00:25:02.819 --> 00:25:05.299 in two. The holy of holies is open to everyone. 00:25:07.629 --> 00:25:13.369 Amen. All right, we've got one last power to 00:25:13.369 --> 00:25:15.049 contend with. I told you there's a lot here. 00:25:15.069 --> 00:25:17.349 I did my best to make it so we weren't here until 00:25:17.349 --> 00:25:19.589 dinner. All right, so we've got one last power 00:25:19.589 --> 00:25:22.509 to contend with. So, you guys still with me? 00:25:22.730 --> 00:25:25.089 All right, awesome. Thank you. Whoever's over 00:25:25.089 --> 00:25:27.150 here that's very excited, I appreciate that. 00:25:27.549 --> 00:25:32.170 All right, so verse 51, where we left off. The 00:25:32.170 --> 00:25:36.130 earth shook, the rocks split, and the tombs broke 00:25:36.130 --> 00:25:39.690 open. The bodies of many holy people who had 00:25:39.690 --> 00:25:42.829 died were raised to life. They came out of the 00:25:42.829 --> 00:25:45.329 tombs after Jesus' resurrection and went into 00:25:45.329 --> 00:25:49.509 the holy city and appeared to many people. All 00:25:49.509 --> 00:25:53.329 right, so the earth shakes. People come out of 00:25:53.329 --> 00:25:57.549 their graves. Jesus is taking on the final thing 00:25:57.549 --> 00:26:02.089 to show us the holistic nature of his rule. It 00:26:02.089 --> 00:26:07.019 is creator versus creation. Jesus is taking on 00:26:07.019 --> 00:26:11.279 creation itself. Earlier in the reading, I kind 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:12.960 of skimmed over this, but earlier in the reading 00:26:12.960 --> 00:26:16.019 it got dark in the middle of the day. Now the 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:20.039 earth is shaking and even death holds no power 00:26:20.039 --> 00:26:24.880 over Jesus in the face of Jesus. even the earth 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:27.680 and death have no power. John 1 tells us that 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:30.279 Jesus was there in the beginning when the dark 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:32.940 chaotic nothingness was given order and beauty, 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:35.720 when humanity was created in the image of God 00:26:35.720 --> 00:26:38.119 to bless and to rule and live in the presence 00:26:38.119 --> 00:26:41.859 of God. And yet when that was broken, the earth 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:44.740 and everything in it began to feel the weight 00:26:44.740 --> 00:26:49.019 of the grief of the fall. And so when Jesus comes 00:26:49.019 --> 00:26:52.539 and makes atonement for all things, even creation 00:26:52.539 --> 00:26:59.680 submits to the power of Jesus. Creation feels 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:05.019 the weight of the death of Jesus uniquely. Death 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:07.819 surrenders to the might and the power of God. 00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:11.279 The people of God came out of their tombs. Even 00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:15.460 creation bows before this prophet, priest, king. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:22.220 And so many missed what was happening. I'm so 00:27:22.220 --> 00:27:25.660 glad we have the hindsight to get to look at 00:27:25.660 --> 00:27:28.339 this story. These people let their blindness, 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:31.500 their grappling for power, their fear of losing 00:27:31.500 --> 00:27:34.859 control, their need to rule get in the way of 00:27:34.859 --> 00:27:37.420 seeing what was happening in their very midst. 00:27:38.900 --> 00:27:41.700 But I love it in scripture when every once in 00:27:41.700 --> 00:27:44.019 a while there's one person who's able to see 00:27:44.019 --> 00:27:46.759 what's really going on. Usually there's just 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:49.259 one and that's okay because sometimes we just 00:27:49.259 --> 00:27:52.799 need one So let's meet let's meet this one. All 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:54.740 right verse 54 the last verse We're gonna be 00:27:54.740 --> 00:27:57.519 in today verse 54 when the centurion and those 00:27:57.519 --> 00:28:00.680 with him were guarding Jesus Saw the earthquake 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:02.519 and all that had happened. They were terrified 00:28:02.519 --> 00:28:10.660 and exclaimed Surely he was the son of God Surely 00:28:10.660 --> 00:28:16.140 he was the son of God So we've got a centurion, 00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:19.640 a Roman soldier who had no insight to the prophecies 00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:22.819 that came before, had no investment in these 00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:25.680 people that call themselves the people of God. 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:28.640 He didn't even worship the God of Israel, and 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:31.500 yet when he sees all that's happening, the confrontation 00:28:31.500 --> 00:28:34.420 and the submission, the power and authority on 00:28:34.420 --> 00:28:37.980 display, the humility and surrender of Jesus, 00:28:38.059 --> 00:28:41.579 the trembling submission of the earth itself, 00:28:42.099 --> 00:28:45.920 the holistic embodied supernatural experience 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:49.740 of the crucifixion, his response is, surely this 00:28:49.740 --> 00:28:56.880 was the son of God. Amen. At least someone got 00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:59.359 it, because I'm going a little crazy here looking 00:28:59.359 --> 00:29:00.980 at all these people that should have known better. 00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:06.339 But that's all of us, right? So we've unpacked. 00:29:06.359 --> 00:29:10.640 all the opposition and contention and symbolism. 00:29:11.220 --> 00:29:13.200 And I had to Bible geek out with you for a little 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:15.900 while. And we looked at this part of Matthew. 00:29:17.960 --> 00:29:21.099 And now we ask the question that I hope all of 00:29:21.099 --> 00:29:25.059 you are asking when you study the Bible. So what? 00:29:26.799 --> 00:29:30.660 So what? Why, what do these opposing forces teach 00:29:30.660 --> 00:29:33.920 us about God and Jesus and the kingdom of heaven? 00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:37.039 I mentioned at the beginning, and we unpacked 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:39.839 this upside -down kingdom of Jesus that Matthew 00:29:39.839 --> 00:29:44.799 wants us to see, but to what ends? As you're 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:48.420 studying the Bible in your own time and together, 00:29:49.059 --> 00:29:51.700 be brave enough to ask those questions. So what? 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:54.660 What does this mean? Why is the story told this 00:29:54.660 --> 00:29:58.880 way? Why is this the turn of events that occurred 00:29:58.880 --> 00:30:01.579 in the last moments of Jesus' pre -resurrection 00:30:01.579 --> 00:30:07.490 life? And the simplest thing to say is that Jesus 00:30:07.490 --> 00:30:10.390 is simply showing us what God has been doing 00:30:10.390 --> 00:30:15.089 the whole time. In the beginning, God created 00:30:15.089 --> 00:30:18.950 a garden on a hill where humans lived in shalom 00:30:18.950 --> 00:30:21.890 with each other, and they shared God's authority 00:30:21.890 --> 00:30:25.609 to rule and to bless, and they were designed 00:30:25.609 --> 00:30:28.890 to rest and delight in communion with God forever. 00:30:29.289 --> 00:30:34.089 That was God's plan the whole time. That's why 00:30:34.089 --> 00:30:36.690 there is no there was evening and there was morning 00:30:36.690 --> 00:30:40.130 on day seven that resting delightful presence 00:30:40.130 --> 00:30:43.710 was never supposed to end that was God's plan 00:30:43.710 --> 00:30:49.690 the whole time and so when it was broken and 00:30:49.690 --> 00:30:52.529 Humanity was cast out in the garden and power 00:30:52.529 --> 00:30:55.630 over each other and over creation fell out of 00:30:55.630 --> 00:31:00.960 balance God began to move God has always been 00:31:00.960 --> 00:31:04.779 in the process of restoring what always should 00:31:04.779 --> 00:31:11.380 have been. Do you feel the weight of what that 00:31:11.380 --> 00:31:15.839 means? The grief we feel over the loss of a loved 00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:21.539 one? The pain of broken relationships? The fear 00:31:21.539 --> 00:31:25.119 of a provision and an economy that doesn't seem 00:31:25.119 --> 00:31:29.500 to have our best interests in mind? A government 00:31:29.500 --> 00:31:33.000 that is more focused on who's right than what's 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:37.960 good. In my own life, I'm walking next to my 00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:40.160 sister whose husband is in the hospital and he 00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:43.500 is fighting to get well. There is grief in all 00:31:43.500 --> 00:31:47.079 of our stories. Sickness, illness, addiction, 00:31:47.319 --> 00:31:49.940 grief, loneliness, heartache, however you came 00:31:49.940 --> 00:31:56.809 in here today, it's not as it should be. And 00:31:56.809 --> 00:32:00.910 your heart knows it. And your God, I can promise 00:32:00.910 --> 00:32:04.309 you this, your God has always been working to 00:32:04.309 --> 00:32:07.630 redeem it. That is what we see in this story. 00:32:08.990 --> 00:32:11.990 And so my home church, I am a pastor at Willow 00:32:11.990 --> 00:32:14.230 Creek in the Chicagoland area, and we are spending 00:32:14.230 --> 00:32:16.230 the summer reading through and studying the book 00:32:16.230 --> 00:32:19.509 of Revelation. So happy summer, here's a little 00:32:19.509 --> 00:32:24.049 tribulation. And it's funny, because Revelation 00:32:24.049 --> 00:32:27.920 gets really bad. PR, people think it's scary 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:31.440 and doomsday -ish, and they tend to avoid it. 00:32:31.740 --> 00:32:33.960 People love the feel -good parts of scripture. 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:36.980 I knew you before you were born, and this is 00:32:36.980 --> 00:32:39.319 the day. And they don't love, like, bulls and 00:32:39.319 --> 00:32:42.920 dragons. I don't know. They steer clear of possibly 00:32:42.920 --> 00:32:46.839 confusing, apocalyptic, prophetic, cosmic literature. 00:32:47.859 --> 00:32:53.019 Understandable. But Revelation is actually full 00:32:53.019 --> 00:32:56.950 of hope. If you haven't read it, give it a whirl 00:32:56.950 --> 00:32:59.730 again, because it is full of hope. Just like 00:32:59.730 --> 00:33:03.849 this story in Matthew, we just read a story that 00:33:03.849 --> 00:33:08.690 the climax of it is that God has been killed 00:33:08.690 --> 00:33:15.250 by the human powers. And yet, there is hope in 00:33:15.250 --> 00:33:18.589 the story because of what it actually means. 00:33:19.029 --> 00:33:21.009 In the end of Revelation, again, if you haven't 00:33:21.009 --> 00:33:24.190 read the book of Revelation, Go for it, but especially 00:33:24.190 --> 00:33:28.789 chapters 21 and 22 are the best parts of the 00:33:28.789 --> 00:33:33.009 whole Bible. It's the culmination of what Jesus 00:33:33.009 --> 00:33:36.690 is doing at this moment in our story in Matthew. 00:33:37.049 --> 00:33:40.289 It's the overthrowing of broken power, the return 00:33:40.289 --> 00:33:43.930 of the king of the universe to his rightful throne 00:33:43.930 --> 00:33:46.569 as the people of God live in perfect communion 00:33:46.569 --> 00:33:50.410 with each other, with creation, and with God. 00:33:52.329 --> 00:33:55.630 Jesus is showing us a priest that forgives us 00:33:55.630 --> 00:33:59.369 and invites us into the presence of God. Jesus 00:33:59.369 --> 00:34:02.710 is showing us a king that rules with love and 00:34:02.710 --> 00:34:07.630 hope and sacrifice. Jesus is showing us a prophet 00:34:07.630 --> 00:34:10.889 that speaks true and glorious blessings over 00:34:10.889 --> 00:34:14.730 the people he loves. It is a creation united 00:34:14.730 --> 00:34:20.079 in worship of the one who created it all. Jesus 00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:25.139 is ushering in the kingdom before us. Jesus spent 00:34:25.139 --> 00:34:28.099 his ministry telling the people about the kingdom 00:34:28.099 --> 00:34:31.139 of God, and in this moment, he is showing it 00:34:31.139 --> 00:34:36.739 to us. And that is the good news of the gospel. 00:34:38.880 --> 00:34:43.280 All right, let's pray. God, thank you for your 00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:46.420 sacrifice, for your goodness, for the hope that 00:34:46.420 --> 00:34:52.519 comes even in the bleakest of seasons. We stand 00:34:52.519 --> 00:34:55.800 before you in awe of all you are doing, the lengths 00:34:55.800 --> 00:35:00.659 you will go to return us to your presence. We're 00:35:00.659 --> 00:35:03.239 grateful for the accounts we have that we can 00:35:03.239 --> 00:35:06.360 begin to see all that you are doing in the simplest 00:35:06.360 --> 00:35:08.980 moments. and the most magnificent ones god and 00:35:08.980 --> 00:35:10.960 I pray that you would bless this community with 00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:13.880 the hope of that forever king that is coming 00:35:13.880 --> 00:35:17.900 that uh Jesus that has made a way for us to come 00:35:17.900 --> 00:35:20.559 into the holy of holies right now and so I pray 00:35:20.559 --> 00:35:23.480 this whole community into the holy of holies 00:35:23.480 --> 00:35:27.380 god that we would see you in new ways that we 00:35:27.380 --> 00:35:30.760 would experience your voice in new ways that 00:35:30.760 --> 00:35:34.739 we would come before you humbled and free and 00:35:34.739 --> 00:35:39.449 truly loved Amen. All right. Thank you, friends.