1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,640 Amen. 2 00:00:01,640 --> 00:00:05,080 If you look at Luke chapter 23 and verse 32, 3 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:11,360 we see the final arrival of the story of Jesus 4 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:14,280 as a man who is about to die. 5 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,520 Now, before I jump into the text, 6 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,520 I'm supposed to give a special announcement about tonight. 7 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,220 As many of you know, we've been in the building process 8 00:00:25,220 --> 00:00:28,600 and in the building process 9 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:30,520 for the last over 12 months. 10 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,060 And tonight, there is a special meeting 11 00:00:33,060 --> 00:00:35,880 with special guest Alfredo Sanchez and Sean Denoske 12 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,400 from DC Building Group for a building update meeting. 13 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:40,760 For those of you who are new to the church, 14 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:43,000 we're building a new auditorium right beside us. 15 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:44,680 That's why we have the new parking lot. 16 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,120 That's why you may see the new office 17 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:49,560 that is out there representing the building project 18 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:50,600 that's gonna start. 19 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,720 If tonight at 6 p.m., you would like to, 20 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:54,600 we've got a special meeting tonight at 6 o'clock 21 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:56,200 to talk about the future project. 22 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:57,040 It's very exciting. 23 00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:58,840 We've got a lot of momentum of movement, 24 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:02,040 but we've been halted within the process a little. 25 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:03,120 And tonight, we're gonna give answers 26 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:04,440 on why that's the case 27 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,080 and really excited about some of the permits 28 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:08,840 that have come through even this last week. 29 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,240 So tonight at 6 p.m. for those who are interested in that. 30 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,400 I also wanna say a special thank you 31 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,220 to those who have been really working on this F1 race. 32 00:01:16,220 --> 00:01:18,000 I know a lot of you have been really affected 33 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:19,620 by what's going on downtown. 34 00:01:19,620 --> 00:01:22,440 A lot of the workers, you've been called in 35 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:24,360 and you've had a very long weekend. 36 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:25,960 I know one guy this morning, 37 00:01:25,960 --> 00:01:27,240 his name is Jason. 38 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:30,040 And Jason today, last night was called in, 39 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:31,360 he's worked all week long. 40 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,840 He worked from midnight to 6 a.m. even this morning. 41 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,000 And he left work, he came to the church 42 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,200 and he served in the sound booth at 8.30 43 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:42,480 to make sure the 8.30 service was ready to go. 44 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:45,280 I think that kind of faithfulness to Christ in his work 45 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:46,480 deserves appreciation. 46 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:48,480 Why don't we just thank him for that at this time? 47 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:53,320 Praise God for that. 48 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,280 You know, every job has its good parts and its bad parts. 49 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:58,120 Every single one of us have a job 50 00:01:58,120 --> 00:01:59,680 where we have the things that we like 51 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:01,960 and the things that we don't like. 52 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:03,720 I as a pastor do the same thing. 53 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,640 I have things in my job that I love 54 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,800 and I have things in my job that I do not love. 55 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,800 One of the things that I love in my job are doing weddings. 56 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:13,380 And I really do. 57 00:02:13,380 --> 00:02:14,640 It's not something that a lot of people 58 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:15,800 I think would enjoy doing. 59 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,520 Like I really love doing wedding. 60 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:20,600 I just this last week had an opportunity 61 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:22,200 of talking with one of our church members. 62 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:23,440 Her name is Jessica. 63 00:02:23,440 --> 00:02:25,000 She grew up at the church. 64 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,120 Jessica Graves is getting married. 65 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:28,880 How many of you remember Jessica when she was very little? 66 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:29,720 She grew up at the church. 67 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:30,680 Raise your hand. 68 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:32,800 So this is a very important person. 69 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:34,880 She was like, you know, five, six years old growing up 70 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:37,040 and now she's getting married. 71 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:38,520 And I have a chance to do the wedding. 72 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,800 And we met at Starbucks to talk about 73 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:42,540 like what the wedding was gonna be. 74 00:02:42,540 --> 00:02:43,840 We're walking through the details 75 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:45,640 and I met the man for the first time. 76 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:49,240 And I looked at the man and I said, 77 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:53,160 you on behalf of our whole church, 78 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:01,320 you know that you're not worthy of this woman. 79 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:04,180 And he said, yeah, I know I said, I'm not joking. 80 00:03:04,180 --> 00:03:05,020 Don't laugh. 81 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:09,200 And I love weddings. 82 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:10,460 I love all the aspects of them. 83 00:03:10,460 --> 00:03:11,300 I really do. 84 00:03:11,300 --> 00:03:12,140 I love putting them together. 85 00:03:12,140 --> 00:03:12,980 I love performing them. 86 00:03:12,980 --> 00:03:13,800 I love being part of that. 87 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,040 I don't put them together as much as I used to. 88 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:17,280 You have other people that do that now, 89 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:18,120 but I love being. 90 00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:19,920 And one of the reasons I love doing it 91 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:22,340 is because of the spot I get to stand. 92 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,600 I get to stand right in the center of attention 93 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:27,000 just like I love every day. 94 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,880 And it's the bride show and me and me. 95 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:32,200 It's always fun, you know. 96 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:35,720 And the moment she starts coming down the aisle 97 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:38,600 is really a beautiful moment. 98 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,160 And I know you all love it like I love it. 99 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:42,760 And as she comes down the aisle, 100 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:46,440 what I've noticed about a really great wedding 101 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:49,440 and really to understand the beauty of the moment 102 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:53,200 is to not just look at the beauty of the bride, 103 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:56,980 but to see the beauty of the bride 104 00:03:56,980 --> 00:03:59,020 from other people's perspective. 105 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,420 A lot of you do this with a groom, like I do, right? 106 00:04:02,420 --> 00:04:03,560 You look at the bride, you see, 107 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:05,040 and then you wanna see the face of the groom. 108 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,280 So you look over and you see like the joy 109 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,800 or the tears or the terror. 110 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,080 You know, it's different for different grooms 111 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,040 have different faces, you know what I mean? 112 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,200 And to look down and see the mother 113 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:19,720 and the father of the bride. 114 00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:23,560 And to look over at all the groomsmen 115 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:25,640 standing there with pride and smiles. 116 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:28,680 Look over at all the ladies and their tears coming down 117 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,080 and trying to keep the mascara coming, you know. 118 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:38,080 And you get a fuller picture of the bride and the joy 119 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:40,920 by not looking directly at the bride, 120 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:43,680 but by seeing the bride from different points of view. 121 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,120 That's what Luke does in his account 122 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:51,000 of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. 123 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,560 Whereas Mark, there's four gospels in Mark's account, 124 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:56,480 he points right at the cross 125 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:01,480 and you see the entire story right at the cross. 126 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:05,240 Luke does something very different. 127 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,320 Luke wants it to be almost like looking at the sun. 128 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:11,280 You're only taking a glimpse of the sun 129 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:13,120 and then you're looking around at the things 130 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:14,600 that are illuminated by the sun. 131 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:16,600 And when you arrive in this passage, 132 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:18,360 you see this main concept. 133 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,400 Yes, humanity kills Jesus, 134 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,160 but there are a few who choose to believe. 135 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,480 And what Luke does is he says, look at Jesus, 136 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:33,400 now I wanna point out four different people 137 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:35,480 that are all looking at Jesus. 138 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:37,880 And that's what our story will be today. 139 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:40,040 Our text begins in verse 32 140 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,880 where we get a glimpse of the cross, 141 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:48,240 where we are momentarily looking at the beauty 142 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:52,440 of the crucifixion and the tragedy all at the same time. 143 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:54,160 Verse 32 through 38, 144 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,320 there were also two other criminals 145 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:58,720 led with Jesus to be put to death. 146 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:00,840 And when they had come to the place of Calvary, 147 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:03,800 they crucified him and the criminals. 148 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:06,000 One on the right hand and the other on the left. 149 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:11,000 At this time it is nine AM in the morning, Friday. 150 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,120 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, 151 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,160 for they do not know what they do. 152 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,320 And the Roman soldiers divided the garments 153 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:25,880 and cast lots and the people stood looking on. 154 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,040 But even the rulers when they had snared saying, 155 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,520 he saved others, himself he cannot save. 156 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,160 If he is the Christ, the chosen of God. 157 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:36,000 And the soldiers also mocked him, 158 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,280 coming and offering him sour wine and saying, 159 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:42,160 if you really are the king of the Jews, then save yourself. 160 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:45,480 And an inscription also was written over him 161 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:48,880 in letters of Greek, Latin and Hebrew saying, 162 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:53,880 this is the king of the Jews. 163 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:00,680 There is your image of the cross. 164 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:04,360 Now Luke says, look over here. 165 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,680 And he points to the first individual in our story today, 166 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:12,160 number one, the thief on the cross. 167 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,240 Say it with me, the thief on the cross. 168 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:17,160 He says, look over here. 169 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:20,880 Let's go ahead and look at what Luke points us to, verse 39. 170 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:23,280 Then one of the criminals who were hanged, 171 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,080 blasphemed Jesus saying, 172 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,800 if you are the Christ, save yourself and us. 173 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:34,520 Jesus, the Bible says, was crucified between two thieves. 174 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,280 Above Jesus' head is a placard. 175 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:38,640 And it says the king of the Jews. 176 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:40,240 It was traditional during that time. 177 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:42,320 If you were gonna do a public execution, 178 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:44,600 was for the people that were walking by 179 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:46,680 to see what the accusation was. 180 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,480 What was their criminal offense? 181 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:51,320 And the criminal offense of Jesus 182 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:55,040 was that he was claiming to be a king in the Roman Empire. 183 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,800 And in the Roman Empire, there was only one king, 184 00:07:57,800 --> 00:07:58,960 that Caesar. 185 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:00,280 You see? 186 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,480 So their accusation was king of the Jews. 187 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:05,600 On the right hand or on the left of Jesus, 188 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:07,040 they too were being crucified. 189 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:10,960 And on their placard it said, thief, criminal, thief, 190 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:14,840 criminal, Jesus, among the thieves, among the criminals, 191 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:16,520 among the sinners. 192 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:18,080 There Jesus hung. 193 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:21,280 And one of them, they picked up on what was going on. 194 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:23,160 He noticed the religious leaders 195 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,000 looking up with a snaring attitude saying, 196 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:27,840 he said he was the Messiah. 197 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,200 If he's the Messiah, he should save himself. 198 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,080 Then the thief watched as the Roman soldiers were like, 199 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:36,280 he said he was a king. 200 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,360 If he was a king, why would he be up on the cross? 201 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,440 And the one thief picked up on this terminology 202 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:43,840 and picked up on this attitude. 203 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:46,680 And with the last ditch effort of sarcasm 204 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:49,160 and gallows humor, he looked over to Jesus and said, 205 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:50,840 yeah, that's right. 206 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:54,040 If you are the Messiah, then save yourself. 207 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:57,960 And by the way, save us too. 208 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:02,560 And then there was a believer. 209 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:08,640 Now let me ask you a question about this other thief. 210 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:10,440 Was he a good guy or a bad guy? 211 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:13,520 He was a bad guy. 212 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:17,880 The Bible calls him a thief and a robber. 213 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:18,720 Was he a sinner? 214 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:20,080 Yes or no? 215 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:23,760 Yes, he was a sinner. 216 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:25,400 But look what he says in verse 40. 217 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,520 But the other answering Jesus, answering the thief, 218 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:32,920 rebuked him saying, do you not even fear God? 219 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:36,880 Seeing you are under the same condemnation? 220 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:41,000 And we indeed justly for we receive the due reward 221 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:44,960 of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. 222 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:49,360 Suddenly this thief recognizes what's really going on here. 223 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:53,120 And he rebukes the other thief and says, hey, hey, 224 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:55,800 don't you see what's happening? 225 00:09:55,800 --> 00:09:58,800 You and I deserve to die for our sin, 226 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,800 but this man does not deserve to die for his sin 227 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:04,480 because he hasn't sinned. 228 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,480 This thief is going to be saved 229 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:12,840 because he recognizes who he is 230 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:15,560 and he recognizes who Jesus is. 231 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:17,000 Do you know how somebody gets saved? 232 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:18,720 Diamante, somebody gets saved. 233 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:23,120 When they recognize I'm a sinner who deserves damnation. 234 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,160 He's a savior who did not deserve to die. 235 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,120 That is the beginning point of salvation. 236 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:32,840 And here in this moment, we see a thief 237 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:37,160 who is filled with hopelessness. 238 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:39,280 Now imagine what it is to be somebody who's about to die. 239 00:10:39,280 --> 00:10:42,440 Imagine what that final night is in the prison cell. 240 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:44,920 Imagine what it's like to eat your final meal 241 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:46,760 to wake up the next morning, 242 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:48,760 probably did not sleep. 243 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:51,720 You walk out of the prison cell, you pick up your cross, 244 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:53,720 you're on your way to die. 245 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,720 They nail you or tie you to a tree 246 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,800 and then the rest of the community is going to sit there 247 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:03,680 and watch you die and bleed out in front of them. 248 00:11:04,960 --> 00:11:09,320 You know you're about to die and face God. 249 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:12,720 You talk about a hopeless scenario. 250 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:16,880 What do you do when you're hopeless? 251 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:19,800 One man makes jokes and prays and hopes 252 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:23,200 that all of this will just end. 253 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:28,240 Maybe from the one thief's perspective, maybe, maybe his hope, 254 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:34,400 maybe his hope was that once you die, it's all over. 255 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:35,880 So he can mock the guy beside him 256 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:38,240 because we're all going to be dead soon anyway. 257 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:40,400 So what does it matter? 258 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:42,000 Maybe his hope was in the philosophies 259 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:45,120 of the Roman Empire or the Greek philosophies of the day. 260 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:48,680 And that is maybe once I die, I'm not really the bad guy, 261 00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:50,080 but these people are the bad guys 262 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,480 because I'm really innocent and they're really guilty. 263 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:54,160 And maybe the gods will see that 264 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:56,480 and they'll resurrect me to some new life. 265 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:02,480 Maybe his hope was still intact in the philosophies of the day. 266 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:05,440 But the other man was hopeless. 267 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:09,720 The other man realized he was guilty 268 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:13,800 and he deserved death. 269 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:18,800 Jesus Christ was not guilty and could save his soul. 270 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:21,240 And so look at what happens. 271 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:25,520 The Bible says the man looks over at Jesus and says, 272 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:28,680 Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. 273 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:33,200 And Jesus looked and gave him a promise. 274 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:40,200 Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. 275 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:47,000 Imagine feeling hopeless, ready to die. 276 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,200 And Jesus himself looks at you and says, 277 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,400 it's okay, today you'll be with me in paradise. 278 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:56,240 I want you to engage your imagination today, will you? 279 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,520 I want you to engage your imagination with me. 280 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:01,240 Can you imagine with me multiple times 281 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:02,080 throughout this sermon today, 282 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:03,360 I'm gonna ask you to imagine. 283 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:08,360 Imagine with me what it would be like 284 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:10,320 to arrive at the gates of heaven. 285 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:13,840 A lot of you have done this over the years, 286 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:15,960 at funerals or when you got saved 287 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:17,600 or in a dark moment of your life, 288 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:19,160 you thought this is what it will be like. 289 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:21,480 I'll die, there'll be darkness and then bright light 290 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:23,840 and then we stand before the gates of heaven, 291 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:25,760 the pearly gates, the Bible calls them. 292 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:30,200 And for some of you, you imagine St. Peter being there. 293 00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,600 For some of you, you imagine your grandparents being there. 294 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:34,640 And others imagine Jesus Christ coming 295 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,040 to the gates of paradise and opening them up. 296 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,160 And Jesus himself is there to welcome you. 297 00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:42,560 Now, I want you to imagine what it was like for Jesus 298 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:45,800 to die and arrive at the gates of paradise. 299 00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:52,360 Jesus has just finished being executed. 300 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:56,160 His body is empty of his own very spirit. 301 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:58,040 His soul is gone. 302 00:13:58,040 --> 00:13:59,360 Where does it go? 303 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:03,120 According to Jesus' own words, paradise. 304 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,880 And when Jesus arrives at the gates of paradise, 305 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:08,880 do you know who is there to greet him? 306 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:12,000 The thief on the cross. 307 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:19,240 We know that Jesus dies at 3 p.m. on Friday. 308 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,880 We also know the criminals were dead before Jesus dies, 309 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:24,840 which means when Jesus finally shows up 310 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:26,320 at the gates of paradise, 311 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:30,400 his promise is fulfilled as a thief 312 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:32,360 who should have died and gone to hell 313 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,320 is standing there saying, thank you. 314 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:41,320 Let me ask you this question. 315 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:43,480 Which thief are you? 316 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:48,560 Like, are you so cynical in your life 317 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:50,840 that you've got to a place of hope? 318 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,000 Are you so cynical in your life toward God 319 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:57,720 that you've got to a place where you think, 320 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:00,200 I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be okay after death. 321 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,280 I don't need Jesus Christ. 322 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:06,120 Or if you got to a place of such hopelessness 323 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:08,320 with your own self-righteousness 324 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:12,080 that you realize the only possible chance I have 325 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:17,080 at paradise is if I die 326 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,960 and he pays for my sin 327 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,480 instead of me dying and paying for my own. 328 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,640 This is what it means to repent 329 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:25,920 and receive Christ as Savior. 330 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:27,080 I see it all the time. 331 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:29,720 I love it when a sinner repents and receives Christ as Savior. 332 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:31,880 I did it when I was very young, 333 00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,440 and now I see many of you who have made the same decision. 334 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:36,200 I could tell you about a story of a man. 335 00:15:37,480 --> 00:15:40,320 I'll tell you about Dylan as an example. 336 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:42,200 Dylan's been coming to the church ever since 337 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:43,560 about eight weeks ago. 338 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:45,680 He was invited to church because his friend 339 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:48,440 or his brother Joshua was getting baptized. 340 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:50,680 And Joshua had just become saved and baptized 341 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:53,360 because his wife Daisy had gotten saved and baptized. 342 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,800 And Joshua was told, okay, I'm gonna go get baptized. 343 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,640 And I told Josh, I said, look buddy, this is exciting. 344 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,480 You get special seats for all of your friends and family. 345 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,520 Who are you going to invite to your baptism? 346 00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:05,960 And I remember Josh saying, well, 347 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:07,680 I wanna invite my brother Dylan. 348 00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:10,960 Dylan came and Dylan sat right over here 349 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,120 at the 10 o'clock service and was looking 350 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,160 and watching his brother get baptized. 351 00:16:15,160 --> 00:16:18,160 And then he kept coming every single week to church. 352 00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,120 And he would sit right up here in the front row 353 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:22,560 and Dylan's paying attention 354 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:24,600 and he's learning about Jesus for his first time. 355 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:26,600 And he's just fallen in love with this whole concept 356 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,160 of God who loves him and that he sent his son Jesus 357 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:30,640 to die upon the cross for his sin. 358 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:32,560 And so Dylan came up to me after service 359 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:34,800 probably about a month or so ago. 360 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,160 And he said, hey, can we go to coffee and talk about this? 361 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:39,240 Because I know Daisy got saved and Josh got saved 362 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:40,240 and all my friends are getting it. 363 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:41,360 And I wanna do this too. 364 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,160 Dylan's 19 years old, 19. 365 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:45,800 I said, sure, let's go. 366 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:46,800 So we went to coffee. 367 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:48,200 I sat down with Dylan. 368 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:49,800 And I said, Dylan, tell me your story. 369 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:50,800 You went through his story. 370 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:51,800 It was a very short story. 371 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:52,800 He's only 19 years old. 372 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,800 And I said, Dylan, do you know Jesus as your savior? 373 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:56,800 He said, no. 374 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:57,800 He said this. 375 00:16:57,800 --> 00:16:58,800 He said, but I've been watching. 376 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:00,800 And once Josh would got saved a few months ago, 377 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:02,800 his whole life has changed. 378 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:05,800 By the way, if you think you know Jesus 379 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:07,800 and your life hasn't changed because of Jesus, 380 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:08,800 you don't know Jesus. 381 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:10,800 And I said, Dylan, tell me your story. 382 00:17:10,800 --> 00:17:11,800 He said, I know Jesus. 383 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:12,800 He said, I know Jesus. 384 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:13,800 He said, but I've been watching. 385 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:14,800 And I said, Dylan, tell me your story. 386 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:15,800 He said, but I've been watching. 387 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:17,800 You may have known religion. 388 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:19,800 Your parents may have had a special ceremony 389 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:21,800 where you got baptized or something. 390 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:24,800 But if you don't know, if your life hasn't been changed 391 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:26,800 by Jesus, you don't know Jesus. 392 00:17:26,800 --> 00:17:27,800 That's what he does. 393 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:28,800 He changes people. 394 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:31,800 And so Dylan said, I just, I want to do what he did. 395 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:33,800 I said, you want to get saved? 396 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:35,800 He's like, yep, that's the thing. 397 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:37,800 So I walked through the gospel. 398 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:38,800 Christ loves you. 399 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:39,800 He died upon the cross to pay for your sin. 400 00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:40,800 Are you a sinner? 401 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:42,800 Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for you? 402 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:44,800 Do you believe he rose from the grave? 403 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:45,800 Would you like to ask him to save you? 404 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:46,800 Call? 405 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:47,800 And he's like, yep, yep, yep. 406 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:48,800 I'm very matter of fact. 407 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:49,800 Yep, yep, yep. 408 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:50,800 I'm ready for it. 409 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:51,800 Yep. 410 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:53,800 I said, do you understand what we're talking about? 411 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:55,800 You have to give your whole life to Jesus Christ. 412 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,800 He's like, yeah, let's go. 413 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:00,800 I'm like, all right. 414 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:02,800 Dylan bowed his head right there. 415 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:04,800 Prayed to receive Jesus Christ as a savior. 416 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:06,800 He looked up at me. 417 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,800 He said, now I want to get baptized. 418 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:10,800 And I said, great, let's do it. 419 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:13,800 We got one coming up in, you know, December. 420 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:15,800 And he's like, okay, great. 421 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:16,800 And then he went just like this. 422 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:19,800 He said, do I get special seats for my family and friends? 423 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:22,800 I'm like, absolutely you do. 424 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:24,800 He said, good, because I've been thinking about it. 425 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,800 I'm going to invite my mom and my dad, 426 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,800 because I don't think they know yet. 427 00:18:31,800 --> 00:18:35,800 Now look, look, look. 428 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:40,800 That's what it means to repent and receive Christ. 429 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,800 Your whole world changes, your perspective changes, 430 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:47,800 and your desire to bring people to Jesus blossoms. 431 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,800 That's what happened with the thief on the cross. 432 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:52,800 Number one, we see the thief on the cross, 433 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,800 and his feelings of hopelessness led to his salvation. 434 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:58,800 What I'm saying in this first point is if you're here 435 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:00,800 and you say, I feel hopeless, 436 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,800 the answer to that question is look to Jesus Christ. 437 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,800 Number two, the second person that Luke points to, 438 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:08,800 as we see the crucifixion, 439 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:10,800 he points to the thief on the cross. 440 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:13,800 Then he points to a person we call the centurion. 441 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:15,800 Save the centurion. 442 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,800 Some of you are a picture in a half horse, half man. 443 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:21,800 That's a different thing. 444 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:23,800 Okay. 445 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:26,800 A centurion was a Roman soldier 446 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,800 who was in charge of 100 other Roman soldiers. 447 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,800 If you like saying the captain of the guard. 448 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:34,800 This is a big shot, you understand? 449 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:37,800 This is a captain of 100 Roman soldiers. 450 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,800 He is the man in charge. 451 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,800 He's the guy in charge of the whole crucifixion. 452 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:45,800 He's not the guy whipping Jesus. 453 00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:50,800 He's the guy standing back making sure somebody's whipping Jesus. 454 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:54,800 He's not the guy pounding the nails into Jesus' hand. 455 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,800 He's the guy standing back to making sure that nails are being pounded. 456 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:03,800 That's who we're talking about, the centurion. 457 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:07,800 Verse 44, and it was about the sixth hour. 458 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:09,800 This is now noon, high noon. 459 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:13,800 Jesus has been on the cross now for almost three hours. 460 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,800 And there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 461 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:22,800 Suddenly darkness swept in over the range. 462 00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:27,800 We don't know if that means there was an eclipse. 463 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,800 We don't know if that means just dark clouds and thunder and lightning. 464 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:35,800 We don't know if it felt as if the sun itself was darkened, 465 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:38,800 but that's what the next verse says, verse 45. 466 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:42,800 Then the sun was darkened and the veil in the temple tore in two. 467 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:50,800 The Gospel of Matthew tells us an earthquake takes place in Jerusalem at the exact same time. 468 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:57,800 Between noon and 3 p.m. there are all these signs and wonders. 469 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:02,800 These physical manifestation miracles around nature, 470 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:14,800 that it's like nature itself was groaning, saying, you're killing God. 471 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:20,800 And Jesus cried with a loud voice and said, 472 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:30,800 Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. 473 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:44,800 And having said this, Jesus breathed his last. 474 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:49,800 Now the lifeless body of Jesus hangs on a tree 475 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,800 and Luke says, look over here. 476 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:55,800 Look at the centurion. 477 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:59,800 And so now our eyes are diverted and we see the guy in charge of this whole thing. 478 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:03,800 And it's almost like Luke at first wants us to hate him, hate him. 479 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,800 He's the one who killed Jesus. 480 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:09,800 And Luke doesn't want us to hate him. 481 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:14,800 Luke wants us to have compassion on him because look at what the centurion says to himself. 482 00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:25,800 And so when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God saying, 483 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:34,800 certainly this was a righteous man. 484 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,800 I know you've had the feeling of hopelessness. 485 00:22:37,800 --> 00:22:43,800 I wonder if you've ever had the feeling of shame. 486 00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:47,800 Have you ever got to a place of shame in your life like I have? 487 00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:49,800 Shame is not good. 488 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:51,800 It does not feel good. 489 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,800 It is not a great place to be. 490 00:22:54,800 --> 00:23:02,800 Shame is that aspect of your life that you say, if people knew, 491 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:04,800 they would hate me. 492 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:12,800 Shame, fear combined with the idea of being known. 493 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:16,800 You know what's amazing about the gospel? 494 00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:24,800 The gospel tells us that God fully knows you and fully loves you. 495 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:30,800 He knows everything there is about you and he loves you. 496 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,800 And God loves the centurion. 497 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,800 But in this moment, he feels shame. 498 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:39,800 Okay, why does he feel shame? 499 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:41,800 The answer is right in this statement. 500 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:46,800 He feels shame because he just oversaw the death of an innocent man. 501 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,800 He looks around and he's not a fool. 502 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:52,800 He's not a believer at this moment. 503 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:56,800 He's not an individual who has studied the scriptures. 504 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,800 He's not a rabbi who understands the Old Testament. 505 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,800 He's not in the temple where he sees the temple of Veltorn. 506 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:04,800 He knows none of that. 507 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:09,800 But as he looks around, he's like, okay, something's going on here. 508 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:13,800 We're killing this guy and the world is going crazy. 509 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:16,800 What did I do? 510 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:23,800 And that shame brought him to a place of repentance. 511 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:33,800 Shame can only be healed by repentance. 512 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,800 We live in a world today that says if you feel shame, 513 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:43,800 the one way out of feeling shame is to take pride in your shame. 514 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:47,800 And the problem with trying to take pride in your shame 515 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,800 is that you already know you should be ashamed of your sin, 516 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:53,800 not proud of your sin. 517 00:24:53,800 --> 00:24:59,800 And this is why depression and anxiety and self-harm and escapism 518 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:03,800 and self-medication is to the place where it is in our society 519 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:07,800 because our society says if you feel shameful about something, 520 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:14,800 take pride in your shame and we just self-destruct. 521 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,800 God doesn't come and say, don't feel shameful 522 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,800 for destroying yourself or sinning. 523 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:26,800 God comes and says, you feel shame because you sinned. 524 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:31,800 But if you acknowledge your sin, I'm a sinner. 525 00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:36,800 I killed an innocent man. 526 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:41,800 When you acknowledge your sin, you repent of your sin. 527 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:45,800 Oh God, I turned my back on who I was and what I've done. 528 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:47,800 I do not take pride in my sin. 529 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:49,800 I repent of my sin. 530 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:55,800 The Bible says at that moment God will save your soul. 531 00:25:55,800 --> 00:26:02,800 Just as He does for the Roman soldier. 532 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:06,800 Imagination. 533 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:12,800 I want you now to imagine this Roman soldier's life. 534 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:14,800 Think about it now. 535 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:17,800 Spoiler alert, Jesus doesn't stay dead. 536 00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:19,800 He raises from the grave, amen? 537 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:21,800 But the Roman soldier doesn't know this. 538 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:26,800 Roman soldier's like, oh my God, what did I do? 539 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,800 I killed an innocent man. 540 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:36,800 And then three days later, the innocent man is walking around alive. 541 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:39,800 Imagine what that would have been like for the Roman centurion 542 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:42,800 to show up at one of these Christian early meetings 543 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:43,800 and there's Jesus. 544 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,800 He literally watched him die and now he's alive. 545 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:51,800 And now all the people that follow Jesus are becoming his friends 546 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,800 and they're telling them about the history of who Jesus is. 547 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,800 The Son of God, the Messiah come to save the world 548 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,800 and that He can believe too, repent of His sin and be born again. 549 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:04,800 And the Roman centurion now becomes a believer in Jesus Christ. 550 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:08,800 Now imagine a moment five years later 551 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,800 when He's done with His tour of Judea. 552 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,800 You see, this was a soldier who wasn't from the land. 553 00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:17,800 He was deployed to the land. 554 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:18,800 And he's going home. 555 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:22,800 This Italian man is finally returning to the peninsula. 556 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:26,800 And he goes back to Rome five, three, seven years later 557 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:28,800 and when he arrives back at home, 558 00:27:28,800 --> 00:27:33,800 none of these people know anything about Jesus, the Son of God. 559 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,800 He spent the last few years learning about Jesus, 560 00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:39,800 about Christianity, about how to be saved, 561 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:41,800 about how to spread the gospel. 562 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:44,800 I imagine the moment that this Roman centurion 563 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,800 goes to the local church leadership there in Jerusalem 564 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:49,800 and says to Peter, 565 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:51,800 Peter, they're going to send me back. 566 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:52,800 What do I do? 567 00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,800 Peter said, what do you mean, what do you do? 568 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:56,800 I have to go back to Italy. 569 00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:57,800 I'm going to miss the church. 570 00:27:57,800 --> 00:27:59,800 He said, no, no, you're not going to miss the church. 571 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:02,800 You are the church. 572 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:03,800 What am I going to do? 573 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:04,800 What do you mean, what are you going to do? 574 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,800 Jesus said, go into all the world and preach the gospel. 575 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:08,800 Guess what? 576 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,800 You're the guy. 577 00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:17,800 Christian history has lost track of who started the church in Rome. 578 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:19,800 We don't know. 579 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:21,800 Some people falsely say Peter, 580 00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:23,800 but no, we know from the writings of Peter, 581 00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:26,800 Peter, the church had already been started for years 582 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:28,800 before Peter ever showed up for the first time. 583 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:30,800 Some say it was Paul. 584 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,800 No, Paul wrote the book of Romans to the Romans 585 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,800 saying, I want to meet you someday. 586 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:38,800 So who started the church in Rome? 587 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,800 Could it be possible that the centurion that is standing 588 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,800 at the foot of the cross goes back to Rome 589 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:46,800 and begins to tell everybody about the false gods 590 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:48,800 that we worship are nothing. 591 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:53,800 There is the one true God who sent Jesus Christ to be a son. 592 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:58,800 And so this feeling of shame leads to the great evangelistic 593 00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:02,800 work in the heart of the empire. 594 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,800 Luke doesn't want us to just focus on the cross. 595 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,800 He wants to see the cross from various points of view. 596 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:09,800 Yes, it's true. 597 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,800 Humanity killed Jesus, but there were a few who believed. 598 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:14,800 We see the thief on the cross. 599 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:15,800 We see the centurion. 600 00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:22,800 Next, we see Joseph of Arimathea. 601 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:24,800 Look at verse 48. 602 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,800 And the whole crowd who came together to that site 603 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:29,800 seeing what had been done, 604 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:35,800 they beat their chest and their breasts and returned. 605 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:37,800 But all of his acquaintances and the women who followed him 606 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:41,800 from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. 607 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:44,800 The Bible tells us that the broader crowd was grieved over it. 608 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:46,800 They beat their chests and walked away. 609 00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:49,800 The women of Galilee, there was a large group of believers 610 00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:53,800 that was led by Mary and Martha and Jesus' mother Mary. 611 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:58,800 And the Bible says they departed in sorrow. 612 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:02,800 But there was one man who was standing on the edge of the crowd. 613 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:04,800 His name was Joseph. 614 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,800 And Luke wants us to see him. 615 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:10,800 He was a council member, a good and just man. 616 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:11,800 What does it tell us about him? 617 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:12,800 He was a good guy. 618 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:14,800 He was a righteous guy. 619 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:16,800 He was also a council member, 620 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:19,800 which means he was a member of the Sanhedrin. 621 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:22,800 Do you all remember the Sanhedrin from a few weeks ago? 622 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:24,800 That was the religious leadership community 623 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,800 that sentenced Jesus to death and turned him over to the Romans. 624 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:31,800 Now, if you're not careful as you read the Bible, 625 00:30:31,800 --> 00:30:33,800 you're going to assume that the entire group 626 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:35,800 of religious leaders of the Jewish community, 627 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:36,800 they all hated Jesus. 628 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:38,800 They all wanted him to die. 629 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:39,800 Not true. 630 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:42,800 Joseph of Arimathea was one of the ones 631 00:30:42,800 --> 00:30:45,800 who did not vote for the death of Jesus. 632 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,800 He either voted against it or he abstained from voting. 633 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:50,800 Why? 634 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:51,800 Here's why. 635 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:56,800 Because Joseph was a secret believer. 636 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:58,800 Say it with me. 637 00:30:58,800 --> 00:30:59,800 Secret believer. 638 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:00,800 Say it again, say it again. 639 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:02,800 Secret believer. 640 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:05,800 Say it with me, Pastor Josh. 641 00:31:05,800 --> 00:31:07,800 Are you telling me there are secret believers, 642 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:08,800 people who believe in Jesus, 643 00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:11,800 but they just don't tell people? 644 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:14,800 Yes. 645 00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:16,800 I don't want to point you out. 646 00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:18,800 I'm sure there are some in this room. 647 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,800 And they're not just secret believers. 648 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:23,800 Like guys like me, this is all I do. 649 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:24,800 Tell everybody this about it. 650 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:25,800 There are other people who have different layers 651 00:31:25,800 --> 00:31:26,800 of their secrecy. 652 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:27,800 Right? 653 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:29,800 At church, you're like super Christian, right? 654 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:30,800 You walk around and you're like, 655 00:31:30,800 --> 00:31:31,800 hey everybody, press God. 656 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:32,800 Praise the Lord. 657 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:33,800 You've got your light so shining 658 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:34,800 so that all the church can see. 659 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:35,800 Right? 660 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:37,800 Bless you, my friend. 661 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:38,800 God bless your soul. 662 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:39,800 God bless your soul. 663 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:41,800 God bless everybody's souls. 664 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:44,800 And then there are even maybe communities outside. 665 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:46,800 Like you go to a small group and you're like, 666 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:47,800 oh, that's right, Christian man. 667 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:49,800 I'm a Christian man here. 668 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:53,800 And then you go around other people 669 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:56,800 and you're just, you're a secret Jesus person. 670 00:31:57,800 --> 00:31:58,800 And you know why? 671 00:31:58,800 --> 00:31:59,800 Here's why. 672 00:31:59,800 --> 00:32:02,800 Because you're afraid. 673 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:05,800 Because you're afraid. 674 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:12,800 Your fear of rejection keeps you from being honest 675 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:13,800 about your faith. 676 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:16,800 Now I do think it goes both ways. 677 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:17,800 I think there are people that come to church 678 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:19,800 who pretend to be Christian. 679 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:20,800 They're really not. 680 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:22,800 They're here for other nefarious purposes. 681 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:25,800 But there are also Christians who are really Christians 682 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:28,800 and they pretend not to be when they go out. 683 00:32:28,800 --> 00:32:29,800 Why? 684 00:32:29,800 --> 00:32:30,800 Because of fear. 685 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:31,800 Joseph was one of these guys. 686 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:33,800 He was a very wealthy man. 687 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:35,800 He was a very powerful man. 688 00:32:35,800 --> 00:32:37,800 He was a very connected man. 689 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:39,800 And so to come out and just say, 690 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:41,800 I'm a follower of the guy you just crucified 691 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:43,800 is probably not good for his political career 692 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:44,800 or his professional career. 693 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:45,800 Does that make sense? 694 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:50,800 But something happens to where suddenly this secret Christian 695 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:55,800 because says, no longer I need to come out of the closet. 696 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:01,800 I need to let the world know that I'm a believer. 697 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:02,800 Amen. 698 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:03,800 Look what happens. 699 00:33:03,800 --> 00:33:04,800 This is amazing. 700 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:05,800 This is really cool. 701 00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:07,800 He was from Arimathea, city of the Jews, 702 00:33:07,800 --> 00:33:09,800 who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 703 00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,800 He was waiting for the Messiah to come, verse 52. 704 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:18,800 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 705 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:21,800 You can picture him, can't you? 706 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:23,800 As he's standing at the cross looking around, 707 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,800 realizing what's going to happen to the body of Jesus. 708 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,800 Like literally, like, who's going to take the... 709 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:37,800 What, the fishermen and the carpenters and the homeless people? 710 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:39,800 They're going to go to Pilate and ask for the body. 711 00:33:39,800 --> 00:33:42,800 This body is going to be taken to a dump heap 712 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:45,800 where all the other criminals and thrown into a mass grave. 713 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:51,800 And suddenly with his power, his wealth and his influence 714 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:55,800 realizes I'm the only person who can get the job done. 715 00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:57,800 And so what does he do? 716 00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:01,800 Well, it's not in this gospel, but in the gospel of John, 717 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:05,800 the Bible tells us that he goes to go talk to a friend of his, 718 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:08,800 another very well-known, wealthy leader. 719 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:09,800 In the community. 720 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:11,800 Does anybody know what his buddy's name is? 721 00:34:11,800 --> 00:34:12,800 Anybody know his name? 722 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:13,800 Nicodemus. 723 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:18,800 So Joseph of Arimathea goes to Nicodemus and he's like, 724 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:22,800 buddy, I know that you know what I know. 725 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:26,800 And you know that I know what you know. 726 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:30,800 And we both know, but nobody else knows that we know that we know. 727 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:35,800 And Nicodemus is like, yeah, I know. 728 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:36,800 What are we going to do? 729 00:34:38,800 --> 00:34:40,800 And I don't know what that conversation was like. 730 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:41,800 I would have loved to be in the room. 731 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:45,800 But in that moment, both Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea 732 00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:49,800 decided to come out for Jesus and they stand in front of the 733 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:55,800 governor of Rome and they say, hey, we want his body. 734 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:00,800 Then they take it and wrap it in a linen cloth 735 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:02,800 and he puts it in his very own pocket. 736 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:05,800 It was hewn out of a stone, which means this was a very 737 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:07,800 expensive tomb, a sepulcher. 738 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:12,800 A tomb would have not been built for one person. 739 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:15,800 It would have been built for large families. 740 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:20,800 You place the body on the tomb on a slab inside of the tomb. 741 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:22,800 You let the body decay until it becomes bones. 742 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:24,800 Then you take all the bones, gather them up. 743 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:26,800 You put them in little boxes called sarcophagus. 744 00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:28,800 You put those in and you put them in a small box. 745 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:29,800 And you put them in a small box. 746 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:30,800 And you put them in a small box. 747 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:32,800 So you put those in a small box for sarcophagus. 748 00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:34,800 You put those in and you stack those against the wall. 749 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:38,800 You can have scores if not hundreds of family members in one tomb. 750 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:42,800 This was a brand new tomb that nobody had ever been laid in. 751 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:44,800 Joseph's own family tomb. 752 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:48,800 And he goes and he stands and says, he's mine. 753 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:50,800 I want him. 754 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:55,800 Can I ask you a question? 755 00:35:55,800 --> 00:36:03,800 Is there anybody in your life that you're too afraid to talk to Jesus about? 756 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:07,800 Like the people in your life, do they know you're a follower of Jesus Christ? 757 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:13,800 For some of you at work, you say, well, how would they know that? 758 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:15,800 The same way they know your favorite sports team is? 759 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:21,800 Like the same way they know about your obsession with your hobby. 760 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:26,800 The same way they know about your favorite movies that you like. 761 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:28,800 Do you know why they know? 762 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:30,800 Here's how people know about you. 763 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:31,800 You say, they don't know anything about me. 764 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:32,800 They don't need to know anything about me. 765 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:34,800 Then why do they know about your favorite restaurant? 766 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,800 Because you talk about it all the time. 767 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:41,800 So why don't you talk about Jesus all the time? 768 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:43,800 Do you know why they know about your sports team? 769 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:47,800 It's because you wear memorabilia all the time. 770 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:50,800 If you said to them, you know I'm a bulls fan, they'd be like, duh, everybody's like, 771 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:52,800 everybody knows you're a bulls fan. 772 00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:56,800 I wonder if you said, you know I'm a Christian, they're going to be like, duh, everybody knows you're a Christian. 773 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:02,800 Or is your loyalty so strong to your sports team and kind of, you know, 774 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:06,800 I mean, they don't need to know about Jesus because you got to focus on the important things. 775 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,800 The reason people know things about you is because you talk about it, 776 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:16,800 you demonstrate it through symbols on your body. 777 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:21,800 There's another reason because you change your schedule to make sure you prioritize 778 00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:24,800 whatever it is that is important to you. 779 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:26,800 You change your schedule for it. 780 00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:30,800 This is why your boss knows anytime such and such is going to take place, 781 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:32,800 you're going to come in and you're going to ask for time off. 782 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:36,800 Why? Because he already knows what's really important to you. 783 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:40,800 My question to you is, would they be surprised that you're a Christian 784 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:43,800 because you're like Joseph, you're a secret Christian. 785 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:46,800 And I'm not saying that to make you feel with shame. 786 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:51,800 I'm saying that to say, what needs to happen for you to come out 787 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:53,800 and say, I'm a believer in Jesus. 788 00:37:54,800 --> 00:37:56,800 And everybody needs to know it. 789 00:37:56,800 --> 00:37:57,800 And I love him. 790 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:04,800 This is one of the reasons why Luke points to Joseph of Arimathea, 791 00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:06,800 the last group. 792 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:09,800 See, Luke wants us to see the crucifixion, 793 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:13,800 but he wants us to see it from different points of view. 794 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:17,800 The thief on the cross, the centurion, Joseph of Arimathea, 795 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:21,800 and then lastly, the women of Galilee. 796 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:29,800 Verse 54, that day was the preparation in the Sabbath, Junior. 797 00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:33,800 It's Friday. 798 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:37,800 Friday is the preparation day for the Sabbath, which is Saturday. 799 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:41,800 Now, you have to understand, Sabbath does not begin on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. 800 00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:45,800 Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday, 801 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:48,800 which means you have to be very, very busy getting ready 802 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:52,800 because the moment Sabbath hits, everything has to stop. 803 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:54,800 There's no cooking, there's no cleaning. 804 00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:55,800 Can I get an amen? 805 00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:58,800 How many of you are like, we should do a Sabbath, amen? 806 00:38:58,800 --> 00:38:59,800 Yeah, you should, you should. 807 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:02,800 No cooking, no cleaning, no traveling, just rest. 808 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:04,800 And so traditionally for the Jewish community, 809 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:09,800 these ladies were getting ready for 5.30, 6 p.m. 810 00:39:09,800 --> 00:39:11,800 whenever the sun went down, that was it. 811 00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:15,800 The moment the sun disappeared behind the mountains 812 00:39:15,800 --> 00:39:18,800 was the moment they were done. 813 00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:25,800 Now, you have to understand that to understand the frustration of these women. 814 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:29,800 Jesus died at what time? 815 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:30,800 3 p.m. 816 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:33,800 3.30 p.m. 817 00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:36,800 Joseph and Nicodemus are talking near the temple. 818 00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:38,800 We should go get the body of Jesus. 819 00:39:38,800 --> 00:39:39,800 4, 4.15 p.m. 820 00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:42,800 They finally get an audience in front of Pilate before Pilate is done for the day. 821 00:39:42,800 --> 00:39:45,800 Hey, hey, can we get the body of Jesus? 822 00:39:45,800 --> 00:39:48,800 4.45, near 5 o'clock, now they're at the cross. 823 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:50,800 The women of Galilee are like, what are we going to do? 824 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:51,800 What are we going to do? 825 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:52,800 You say why? 826 00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:56,800 Because it was the tradition of the culture 827 00:39:56,800 --> 00:39:58,800 that when your loved one died, 828 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:03,800 it was your responsibility to prepare that body for burial. 829 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:06,800 You needed to have the ointments together. 830 00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:08,800 You needed to have the spices together. 831 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:10,800 You needed to wrap the body in a certain way. 832 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:12,800 You had all of these things to do. 833 00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:14,800 And you have to get it done now. 834 00:40:14,800 --> 00:40:16,800 You got to get it done quick. 835 00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:17,800 Why? 836 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:21,800 Because very soon at 6 o'clock, we won't be able to do it because Sabbath is there. 837 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:26,800 And so now, according to the text, you must understand the pressure in this moment. 838 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:28,800 The day of preparation was there. 839 00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:30,800 The Sabbath was drawing near. 840 00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:32,800 And the women who had come from Galilee followed after, 841 00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:34,800 and they observed the tomb and how the body was laid. 842 00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:36,800 So now it's near 5 o'clock. 843 00:40:36,800 --> 00:40:40,800 The women are all gathered, and they notice the person taking it down, 844 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:44,800 taking Jesus' body down, was a Sanhedrin member. 845 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:47,800 That's Joseph. 846 00:40:47,800 --> 00:40:50,800 Everybody knew this man. 847 00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:54,800 And Nicodemus, the rabbi from Galilee, 848 00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:58,800 what are they going to do with Jesus' body? 849 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:00,800 And so they follow far off, and they say, 850 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:02,800 okay, there's the tomb. 851 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:04,800 We know where it is. 852 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:06,800 And so they rushed back to their home, 853 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,800 probably the home in Bethany of Mary and Martha. 854 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,800 They rushed back to make sure they get rid of, take care of all the spices. 855 00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:14,800 Look at what it says in verse 56. 856 00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:20,800 And they returned, and they prepared all the spices and the fragrant oils 857 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:23,800 to anoint Jesus' body for burial. 858 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:27,800 And they run out of time. 859 00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:39,800 Can you picture it as Mary, Martha, and everybody's running around in the kitchen, 860 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:42,800 putting this together, that together, and Mary walks over to the window, 861 00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:49,800 and she notices the sun is set. 862 00:41:49,800 --> 00:41:59,800 And she quietly walks back to the ladies and says, it's too late. 863 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:05,800 The only way they could honor the one they loved, 864 00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:13,800 the only thing they could do to show Jesus how much Jesus meant to them, 865 00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:17,800 and they couldn't get it done. 866 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:19,800 So now they all sit down. 867 00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:24,800 Can you imagine this moment with me? 868 00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:29,800 In their sorrow, in their pain, 869 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:36,800 as the oils and the spices build a fragrance that fills that house, 870 00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:41,800 and they think we failed. 871 00:42:41,800 --> 00:42:44,800 We have no choice. 872 00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:48,800 So we have to wait all weekend, and wait until Sunday morning 873 00:42:48,800 --> 00:42:52,800 before the sun comes up, and then we'll get there. 874 00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:54,800 And before the sun even comes up, nobody will know, 875 00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:57,800 we'll get there before the sun comes up, and then we'll anoint this body, 876 00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:03,800 and they're crying. 877 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:15,800 And you know something about the story that they don't know yet. 878 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:22,800 I wonder if God knows something about your story that you don't know yet. 879 00:43:22,800 --> 00:43:26,800 I wonder if you've been sitting in that house of sorrow, frustration, 880 00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:32,800 trying to get it all together. 881 00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:35,800 And God in this moment is saying to you, 882 00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:40,800 it's okay, you don't know what's going to happen on Sunday morning, 883 00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:42,800 but it's going to be fine. 884 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:46,800 The oil, it's not even necessary. 885 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:53,800 Yeah? 886 00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:58,800 One last thing to imagine. 887 00:43:58,800 --> 00:44:03,800 Imagine feeling like you're running out of time frustrated and exhausted. 888 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:07,800 I don't want you to think of them. I want you to think of you. 889 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:09,800 What are you doing here in that place? 890 00:44:09,800 --> 00:44:13,800 I think Luke would say, look to Jesus. 891 00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:17,800 Imagine being a secret believer afraid of the consequences. 892 00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:20,800 Say, what are you doing here? Look to Jesus. 893 00:44:20,800 --> 00:44:25,800 Imagine awakening to the seriousness of your sin, your shame, your guilt. 894 00:44:25,800 --> 00:44:29,800 Like finally you get it. It's not a game anymore. 895 00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:32,800 You really are as bad as you think you are. 896 00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:36,800 It was your sin that put him there. 897 00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:40,800 What do I do? Look to Jesus? 898 00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:43,800 Imagine the desperation, the feeling of hopelessness, 899 00:44:43,800 --> 00:44:48,800 that need of one last chance, like a criminal about to die. 900 00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:50,800 What do I do? 901 00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:53,800 The answer is look to Jesus. 902 00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:56,800 The reason is because this one who died upon the cross 903 00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:59,800 holds all the power to rise from the grave. 904 00:44:59,800 --> 00:45:24,800 That's what we see next week. Let's pray. Father.