WEBVTT 00:00:00.799 --> 00:00:04.440 Christ the Lord is risen. He is risen indeed. 00:00:05.940 --> 00:00:09.380 The title of our sermon today is The Garden in 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:14.480 the New Creation, subtitled Jesus Keeps His Word. 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:20.399 Let us pray. Glory be to you, O God, the Father 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:23.059 who did raise your Son Jesus Christ from the 00:00:23.059 --> 00:00:26.100 dead and made us partakers of his victory over 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:29.179 sin and death. Glory be to you, O Jesus Christ, 00:00:29.339 --> 00:00:32.259 who for our sakes became flesh, has overcome 00:00:32.259 --> 00:00:34.780 death, and has opened up the gates of eternal 00:00:34.780 --> 00:00:39.280 life for us. O glory be to you, O Holy Spirit, 00:00:39.659 --> 00:00:42.219 who has made us your people, your temple, and 00:00:42.219 --> 00:00:45.740 who day by day does lead us in all truth in Jesus 00:00:45.740 --> 00:00:49.700 Christ. We entreat you to make the words of my 00:00:49.700 --> 00:00:52.320 mouth and the meditations of all our hearts acceptable 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:55.640 in your sight, O Lord, our nearest kinsman, Redeemer. 00:00:55.880 --> 00:01:04.939 Jesus Christ amen I'm expanding the gospel reading 00:01:04.939 --> 00:01:12.280 by a few verses our sermon text 27 beginning 00:01:12.280 --> 00:01:17.719 in verse 57 Now when evening had come there came 00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:21.480 a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph who himself 00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:25.019 had also become a disciple of Jesus This man 00:01:25.019 --> 00:01:27.379 went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:30.659 Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to 00:01:30.659 --> 00:01:33.579 him. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:36.799 it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:40.340 new tomb, which he had hewn out of rock. And 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:43.159 he rolled a large stone against the door of the 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:46.439 tomb and departed. And Mary Magdalene was there 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:49.579 and the other Mary sitting opposite of the tomb. 00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:52.959 On the next day, which followed the day of preparation, 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:55.319 the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:59.879 to Pilate, saying, sir, we remember while he 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:02.939 was still alive how the deceiver said, after 00:02:02.939 --> 00:02:07.739 three days, I will rise. Therefore, command that 00:02:07.739 --> 00:02:10.680 the tomb may be made secure until the third day, 00:02:10.979 --> 00:02:13.719 lest his disciples come by night and steal him 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:17.120 away. And say to the people, he is risen from 00:02:17.120 --> 00:02:20.449 the dead. The last deception will be worse than 00:02:20.449 --> 00:02:24.669 the first. Pilate said to them, you have a guard. 00:02:25.009 --> 00:02:27.969 Go your way. Make it as secure as you know how. 00:02:28.270 --> 00:02:30.689 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing 00:02:30.689 --> 00:02:35.789 the stone and setting the guard. Now, after the 00:02:35.789 --> 00:02:38.990 Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to 00:02:38.990 --> 00:02:41.710 dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came 00:02:41.710 --> 00:02:44.610 to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great 00:02:44.610 --> 00:02:47.139 earthquake. for an angel of the Lord descended 00:02:47.139 --> 00:02:50.180 from heaven and came and rolled back the stone 00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:53.840 from the door and sat on it. His countenance 00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:57.039 was like lightning, his clothing white as snow. 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:03.439 Fear him and became like dead men. But the angel 00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:06.460 answered and said to the women, Do not be afraid, 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:10.020 for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 00:03:10.539 --> 00:03:14.180 He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:17.599 Come see the place where the Lord lay go quickly 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:19.800 and tell his disciples that he is risen from 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:24.060 the dead and Going before you into Galilee where 00:03:24.060 --> 00:03:28.379 you will see him Behold I have told you so they 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:31.060 went out quickly from the tomb with fear and 00:03:31.060 --> 00:03:35.000 great joy and Ran to bring his disciples word 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:38.520 and as they went to tell his disciples behold 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:43.990 Jesus met them saying rejoice So they came and 00:03:43.990 --> 00:03:47.129 held him by the feet and worshiped him and then 00:03:47.129 --> 00:03:51.330 Jesus said to them Do not be afraid go and tell 00:03:51.330 --> 00:03:54.129 brethren go to Galilee and there they will see 00:03:54.129 --> 00:03:57.689 me Now while they were going behold some of the 00:03:57.689 --> 00:04:00.189 guard came into the city and reported to the 00:04:00.189 --> 00:04:02.409 chief priests all the things that had happened 00:04:02.409 --> 00:04:05.590 and when they assembled with the elders and consulted 00:04:05.590 --> 00:04:09.469 together They gave them a large sum of money 00:04:09.469 --> 00:04:12.889 the soldiers saying tell them his disciples came 00:04:12.889 --> 00:04:17.709 by night and stole him away while while we slept 00:04:17.709 --> 00:04:21.430 Comes to the governor's ear will appease him 00:04:21.430 --> 00:04:24.930 and make you secure So they took the money and 00:04:24.930 --> 00:04:27.889 did as they were instructed and this saying is 00:04:27.889 --> 00:04:31.069 commonly reported among the Jews until this day 00:04:31.069 --> 00:04:35.410 These are the words of Almighty God receive them 00:04:35.410 --> 00:04:39.730 in your heart Now as we look through this passage 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:45.259 I want us to see three things. Three things. 00:04:45.660 --> 00:04:51.279 One, the great reset of creation. The great reset 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:57.540 of creation. Two, there are always two competing 00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:01.379 messages. Every day in your life, there are always 00:05:01.379 --> 00:05:06.439 two competing messages. And finally, the good 00:05:06.439 --> 00:05:12.819 news. Rejoice! Christ Jesus is resurrected. Rejoice! 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:19.240 Christ Jesus is resurrected. One of the reasons 00:05:19.240 --> 00:05:22.379 that the religion of evolution is so dangerous 00:05:22.379 --> 00:05:26.600 is that it attempts to change the narrative concerning 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:30.920 creation. And in doing so, it pushes people to 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:33.079 a place where they do not understand what is 00:05:33.079 --> 00:05:36.319 truly happening. Not only through the scriptures 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:39.579 as a whole, but particularly through the death 00:05:39.629 --> 00:05:43.889 burial and resurrection of Jesus. At the first 00:05:43.889 --> 00:05:46.470 creation, Adam finds himself in a garden with 00:05:46.470 --> 00:05:51.290 a tree and a woman. Adam does not guard the woman 00:05:51.290 --> 00:05:56.730 from the serpent. And in his obedience, Adam 00:05:56.730 --> 00:05:59.589 brings death from a tree and so both Adam and 00:05:59.589 --> 00:06:03.730 Eve, that woman, and all men since are separated 00:06:03.730 --> 00:06:10.370 from God. That is, enmity with God. Now for those 00:06:10.370 --> 00:06:12.610 of you kids look up this way you probably don't 00:06:12.610 --> 00:06:15.949 use the word enmity all the time in your vocabulary 00:06:15.949 --> 00:06:19.389 But when I hear the word enmity we need to understand 00:06:19.389 --> 00:06:25.410 that that is war So that is to say that those 00:06:25.410 --> 00:06:29.949 that are separated from God are at a rebellious 00:06:29.949 --> 00:06:36.490 war with God and so see death as Hebrews 9 27 00:06:36.490 --> 00:06:40.040 tells us it is appointed for men to die once 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:43.939 but after this the judgment and so all men see 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:49.279 death. Death from the garden seems so hopelessly 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:52.879 permanent and for those outside Christ Jesus 00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:56.959 it is permanent in that they will be in eternal 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:01.160 hostility and suffer judgment and not just in 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:06.720 this life. Revelation 21 8 tells us but the cowardly 00:07:06.730 --> 00:07:12.769 the unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, sexually 00:07:12.769 --> 00:07:18.250 immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars 00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:20.250 shall have their part in the lake which burns 00:07:20.250 --> 00:07:23.529 with fire and brimstone, which is the second 00:07:23.529 --> 00:07:28.750 death. When we were left together on Friday evening, 00:07:28.970 --> 00:07:33.930 we memorialized Jesus' arrest, his innocent sufferings, 00:07:34.149 --> 00:07:38.149 and his death. At his death, Jesus cried out, 00:07:38.250 --> 00:07:43.470 it is finished signifying that the debt for the 00:07:43.470 --> 00:07:46.110 sins of his people were paid in full at that 00:07:46.110 --> 00:07:50.889 very moment. Just like during the first creation 00:07:50.889 --> 00:07:54.990 where God rested, Jesus completed his work and 00:07:54.990 --> 00:08:00.910 then he rested on the seventh day. Only he rested. 00:08:02.170 --> 00:08:07.660 The work was done. Jesus worked for our redemption 00:08:07.660 --> 00:08:12.699 and reconciliation was complete. Now our passage 00:08:12.699 --> 00:08:15.240 today bridges the gap between where we left off 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:18.720 on Good Friday. Remember now it said now when 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:20.660 the evening had come there was a rich man from 00:08:20.660 --> 00:08:24.420 Arimathea named Joseph who himself had become 00:08:24.420 --> 00:08:27.819 a disciple of Jesus. This man also went to Pilate 00:08:27.819 --> 00:08:30.540 to ask for the body of Jesus and then Pilate 00:08:30.540 --> 00:08:33.659 commanded that the body be given to him. So let's 00:08:33.659 --> 00:08:35.679 talk about Pilate. You have Pilate, the governor, 00:08:36.279 --> 00:08:40.259 who not only gave permission for the death of 00:08:40.259 --> 00:08:43.899 Jesus after questioning him at length and was 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:49.840 fearful of Jesus when he realized that he is 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:53.580 the Son of God. But of course, remember what 00:08:53.580 --> 00:08:57.740 did he say when Jesus says that here is he is 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:01.820 the truth. What is truth? And he goes about, 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:06.340 to preserve himself. And Pilate, the governor 00:09:06.340 --> 00:09:10.000 there, he's the one that has the power. Jesus 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:13.779 is dead. Joseph, we know from reading through 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:17.379 across all the gospels, Joseph of Arimathea was 00:09:17.379 --> 00:09:19.320 a believer. He believed in Christ. As a matter 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:22.919 of fact, he sat on the Sanhedrin, the grand council, 00:09:23.419 --> 00:09:26.519 and the scriptures tell us in Luke that he actually 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:30.259 voted against He didn't agree with all of the 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:32.759 conspiring against Jesus to put him to death. 00:09:34.539 --> 00:09:38.919 And like most of us, he had some fear. But it 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:41.580 tells us he had courage because he took that 00:09:41.580 --> 00:09:44.299 courage and he went and he talked to the governor, 00:09:45.259 --> 00:09:50.059 the one who put Jesus to death. And he asked 00:09:50.059 --> 00:09:55.460 for his body. And when Joseph had taken the body, 00:09:55.639 --> 00:09:57.960 he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid 00:09:57.960 --> 00:10:00.139 it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out of 00:10:00.139 --> 00:10:03.759 the rock. And he rolled a large stone against 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:07.799 the door of the tomb and departed. And Mary Magdalene 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:10.539 were there and the other Mary sitting opposite 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:12.600 of the tomb. So there was Japhav, Arimathea, 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:14.980 these ladies were there. They did what they could. 00:10:15.019 --> 00:10:17.580 They wrapped him in linen clothing and they put 00:10:17.580 --> 00:10:22.370 him in there. But they had to stop. because the 00:10:22.370 --> 00:10:24.029 Sabbath was beginning. The day of preparation 00:10:24.029 --> 00:10:27.490 was almost over and at dusk they had to stop 00:10:27.490 --> 00:10:31.570 work so they had to cease. Now there's some interesting 00:10:31.570 --> 00:10:37.169 things in this passage. Why did Joseph of Arimathea 00:10:37.169 --> 00:10:39.350 put him in a linen cloth? Why does God give us 00:10:39.350 --> 00:10:42.350 this detail? Well if you look at Leviticus chapter 00:10:42.350 --> 00:10:46.909 16 verse 4 we see that on the day of atonement 00:10:46.909 --> 00:10:49.750 that the high priest had special linen garments 00:10:49.750 --> 00:10:52.850 that he put in to go into the Holy of Holies 00:10:52.850 --> 00:10:55.889 and make an atonement for the sins of the nation 00:10:55.889 --> 00:11:02.590 of Israel. So here we see Joseph putting him 00:11:02.590 --> 00:11:06.509 in high priestly linen garment and putting him 00:11:06.509 --> 00:11:13.500 in the tomb seeing the Holy of Holies here. We 00:11:13.500 --> 00:11:15.600 also see that we are given the detail that he's 00:11:15.600 --> 00:11:21.700 put into a new tomb among the rich Which means 00:11:21.700 --> 00:11:24.039 only one person per tomb only the rich could 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:28.679 do that This is a this is a fulfillment of the 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:36.139 prophecy in Isaiah 53 verse 9 and This we need 00:11:36.139 --> 00:11:41.019 to see and understand is important because Jesus 00:11:41.019 --> 00:11:44.159 fulfilled everything that the scripture said 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:47.779 about him. And finally, we see that he rolls 00:11:47.779 --> 00:11:51.200 a rock in. Now, to give you context, typically 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:54.720 a normal stone for a tomb like this would take 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:58.860 about six men to roll across. But when they use 00:11:58.860 --> 00:12:02.000 the emphasis of a large stone, that's more like 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:06.860 20 men. I'm assuming that Joseph of Arimathea 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:09.799 Rich man being the leader of Israel. He had some 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:13.460 helpers with him and They pushed that large stone 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:18.500 into place And he says they rolled the rock in 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:23.799 place And this is a different word rolled that 00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:28.200 is used on the day of resurrection This is just 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:32.139 kind of they kind of rolled it over Just softly 00:12:32.139 --> 00:12:34.299 and it's interesting this I'm gonna come back 00:12:34.299 --> 00:12:37.029 to this later But there's a difference between 00:12:37.029 --> 00:12:39.850 all the resurrection rolled away and this one. 00:12:39.870 --> 00:12:45.710 This is just normal men rolling it away. And 00:12:45.710 --> 00:12:48.450 all this happened on Friday before sunset as 00:12:48.450 --> 00:12:51.750 the Sabbath was about to begin, the seventh day, 00:12:52.029 --> 00:12:55.129 the day of rest. Passage continues saying on 00:12:55.129 --> 00:12:57.350 the next day, which followed the day of preparation. 00:12:57.429 --> 00:12:59.870 So that's the Sabbath day. The chief priests 00:12:59.870 --> 00:13:02.149 and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate 00:13:02.149 --> 00:13:05.769 saying, sir, we remember while he was still alive 00:13:05.769 --> 00:13:09.529 how the deceiver said, after three days, I will 00:13:09.529 --> 00:13:13.389 rise. Therefore, the tomb be made secure until 00:13:13.389 --> 00:13:16.929 the third day, lest his disciples come by night 00:13:16.929 --> 00:13:20.269 and steal him away and say to the people he has 00:13:20.269 --> 00:13:23.350 risen from the dead so that the last decision 00:13:23.350 --> 00:13:26.230 will be worse than the first. And of course, 00:13:26.309 --> 00:13:29.539 what does Pilate say? You have a guard. Go on, 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:34.179 get as secure as you know how. So they went and 00:13:34.179 --> 00:13:38.220 made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting 00:13:38.220 --> 00:13:42.120 a guard. It's interesting. Here we have the day 00:13:42.120 --> 00:13:44.700 of rest. And the Pharisees and the chief priests 00:13:44.700 --> 00:13:47.220 in particular, they've been very careful all 00:13:47.220 --> 00:13:49.279 through. They have all these extra rules for 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:53.460 the Sabbath day. They think all through the ministry 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:56.840 of Christ, they are railing against Jesus doing 00:13:56.840 --> 00:13:59.240 miracles, restoring people, healing people, bringing 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:01.639 people back to life, doing all these wonderful, 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:06.340 good, kind, and restorative things for people 00:14:06.340 --> 00:14:09.600 on the Sabbath, and they hated it. But they didn't 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:11.659 want anybody to know what it was they were doing. 00:14:13.340 --> 00:14:17.000 Right? Here on this Sabbath day, it would seem 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:20.820 that they didn't consider conspiring work meetings 00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:25.799 to be against the Sabbath rules. Right about 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:27.679 you, but if somebody wants to call a meeting 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:30.600 on the Lord's Day there better be a really good 00:14:30.600 --> 00:14:36.200 reason for it Right somebody dies Somebody has 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:38.559 a flat tire. Well, okay together. We'll go out 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:42.519 there and change it right That's not what these 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:45.960 guys were doing they were conducting can spy 00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:50.860 conspiring against God and the Lord Jesus and 00:14:50.860 --> 00:14:52.399 they were having this meeting man. We got to 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:55.639 make sure In no way can there be any deception 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:58.480 here, which is interesting because what are they 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:03.899 full of? Lies and deception. It's interesting 00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:08.360 also that God haters remember what God said. 00:15:09.240 --> 00:15:12.159 They remember what Jesus said, and they're actually 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:17.779 afraid. We read that the disciples, what do you 00:15:17.779 --> 00:15:20.779 see? After the resurrection, after Jesus shows 00:15:20.779 --> 00:15:24.440 up, then they remember. After Jesus breathed 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:27.100 the Holy Spirit on them, they remember all the 00:15:27.100 --> 00:15:31.179 things that God had said. All the things that 00:15:31.179 --> 00:15:35.200 Jesus had said. James chapter 2 verse 19 tells 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:39.259 us this. He's actually speaking to Christians. 00:15:39.820 --> 00:15:43.039 You believe that there is one God. You do well. 00:15:43.620 --> 00:15:49.039 Even the demons believe. And they tremble. These 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:52.600 men did not tremble. except out of fear that 00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:56.179 Jesus might come back to life and remove them. 00:15:57.440 --> 00:16:00.460 We also see that they remembered the words. What 00:16:00.460 --> 00:16:02.159 did they remember? Well, they remembered Matthew 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:06.000 12 where they asked for a son. Jesus says, for 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:08.460 as Jonah was three days and three nights of the 00:16:08.460 --> 00:16:11.559 belly of the great fish, the son of man be three 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:13.899 days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:17.769 We also know that Jesus told, His disciples in 00:16:17.769 --> 00:16:20.029 Matthew 16, and there's always other people around, 00:16:20.450 --> 00:16:24.990 Matthew 16, Matthew 17, and in Matthew 20 about 00:16:24.990 --> 00:16:29.049 his death, burial, and his resurrection. In chapter 00:16:29.049 --> 00:16:31.850 20 we read, now Jesus going up to Jerusalem took 00:16:31.850 --> 00:16:34.169 the twelve disciples aside on the road and said 00:16:34.169 --> 00:16:36.950 to them, Behold we're going up to Jerusalem, 00:16:37.409 --> 00:16:39.950 and the Son of Man will be betrayed by the chief 00:16:39.950 --> 00:16:42.570 priests and the scribes, and they will condemn 00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:45.570 him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles 00:16:45.570 --> 00:16:49.200 and mock him. Scourge and crucify. And the third 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:55.000 day He will rise again. The disciples we know 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:58.220 had all fled. They'd all deserted Jesus. They're 00:16:58.220 --> 00:17:01.659 hiding in locked rooms, waiting in fear and dread. 00:17:02.919 --> 00:17:07.160 Why? Because they didn't remember the words of 00:17:07.160 --> 00:17:12.289 Jesus. The Pharisees they did remember and fearing 00:17:12.289 --> 00:17:15.950 any truth to Jesus's words They conspired with 00:17:15.950 --> 00:17:19.049 Pilate to have a Roman guard seal up the tomb 00:17:19.049 --> 00:17:22.009 and guard over it This would have been like today 00:17:22.009 --> 00:17:25.269 us going to Fort Bragg getting Delta Force guys 00:17:25.269 --> 00:17:27.970 and saying We need you to come over here and 00:17:27.970 --> 00:17:30.509 guard this and you need to seal it most secure 00:17:30.509 --> 00:17:35.970 thing in the world right here This Roman Legion 00:17:35.970 --> 00:17:41.829 was no joke They were hardened battle men. They 00:17:41.829 --> 00:17:44.690 understood the task at hand. They also understood 00:17:44.690 --> 00:17:47.849 that if they fell asleep, if they didn't do their 00:17:47.849 --> 00:17:51.730 duty, they'd be put to death. That's motivation. 00:17:53.289 --> 00:17:55.190 So what did they do? They did everything they 00:17:55.190 --> 00:17:57.529 could to seal up that tomb, put guard around 00:17:57.529 --> 00:17:58.930 it. They were ready. This one's just a couple 00:17:58.930 --> 00:18:02.069 guys. This was probably a group of about eight 00:18:02.069 --> 00:18:05.809 to 16 men. They never went out in twos. It was 00:18:05.809 --> 00:18:12.700 too dangerous. The worst thing for these self 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:15.720 -preserving, at all costs, chief priests and 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:19.779 Pharisees would be for Jesus to rise again. They 00:18:19.779 --> 00:18:22.220 feared that Jesus would take away their power, 00:18:22.819 --> 00:18:27.000 their influence, their glory, and their money. 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:30.720 So having done everything they could to prevent 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:38.019 Jesus from rising, they went home. For all men. 00:18:38.140 --> 00:18:40.519 The greatest day in history is about to come 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:44.180 to pass in this text. And we need to remember 00:18:44.180 --> 00:18:48.240 that no efforts by men or anything in creation 00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:54.339 could thwart the plans of Almighty God. It says 00:18:54.339 --> 00:18:56.500 this, now after the Sabbath that the first day 00:18:56.500 --> 00:18:58.599 of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:01.759 the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:07.279 children, behold, there was a great earthquake. 00:19:08.170 --> 00:19:11.089 And the angel of the Lord descended from heaven 00:19:11.089 --> 00:19:15.910 and came and rolled back the stone from the door 00:19:15.910 --> 00:19:19.049 and sat on it. You know, sitting down, that's 00:19:19.049 --> 00:19:25.190 an important visual thing, right? If you have 00:19:25.190 --> 00:19:30.529 an honored person, nobody else sits down until 00:19:30.529 --> 00:19:34.029 the honored person sits down. The powerful kings 00:19:34.029 --> 00:19:38.690 would walk and then go and sit down. And then 00:19:38.690 --> 00:19:41.750 the other people could sit down. That's authority. 00:19:41.809 --> 00:19:45.069 He's sitting on that stone. He authoritatively 00:19:45.069 --> 00:19:50.509 moved it. He was visible. He was there. His countenance 00:19:50.509 --> 00:19:53.069 was like lightning. That is, his face and everything 00:19:53.069 --> 00:19:56.289 was so glorious. His clothing was white as snow. 00:19:57.289 --> 00:20:02.849 And these battle -hardened Roman soldiers, they 00:20:02.849 --> 00:20:07.829 shook for fear of him and became like dead men. 00:20:09.789 --> 00:20:12.609 There's a few interesting things here. One, there's 00:20:12.609 --> 00:20:14.990 the first day of creation. This is the eighth 00:20:14.990 --> 00:20:17.369 day, the first day in the new creation. We're 00:20:17.369 --> 00:20:21.349 going to see this eighth day theme coming through 00:20:21.349 --> 00:20:26.710 the rest of Easter season. You'll find the eighth 00:20:26.710 --> 00:20:29.029 day returning again and again, which is why we 00:20:29.029 --> 00:20:33.089 worship on Sunday, the eighth day, and celebrate 00:20:33.089 --> 00:20:38.650 the new creation. We see that this also happens. 00:20:39.769 --> 00:20:42.190 If you look through the other passages, you understand 00:20:42.190 --> 00:20:44.910 that this isn't just a stone tomb, but it's a 00:20:44.910 --> 00:20:48.309 stone tomb in a garden. And we see women in the 00:20:48.309 --> 00:20:52.529 garden reminding us, giving us that imagery of 00:20:52.529 --> 00:20:55.630 the first garden with a woman in it and a man 00:20:55.630 --> 00:20:59.170 and what he's going to do to deliver or not deliver 00:20:59.170 --> 00:21:05.859 this woman. Now back to that stone size a big 00:21:05.859 --> 00:21:10.339 giant stone Probably took 20 men to roll it back 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:13.220 Now this is interesting this word rolled back 00:21:13.220 --> 00:21:15.759 now You got to think about this if the writer 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:18.839 by the influence of the holy writing and they 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:25.559 use rolled back the stone use one wording And 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:28.299 just a few lines later use an entirely different 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:31.720 word that is important And of course, you might 00:21:31.720 --> 00:21:34.680 not see that in your English text, but if you 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:37.240 look at the Greek, you see this. And there's 00:21:37.240 --> 00:21:39.660 one other place, other than all of the places 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:42.319 in the gospels where the stone is rolled back, 00:21:42.380 --> 00:21:46.059 where we see that word being used. If you go 00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:50.420 to the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old 00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:54.869 Testament, that rolling back of the stone. is 00:21:54.869 --> 00:21:58.349 the same word used in Genesis chapter 29, three 00:21:58.349 --> 00:22:01.910 times, where Jacob goes and he rolls the stone 00:22:01.910 --> 00:22:07.970 off the well to water the sheep. So that he can 00:22:07.970 --> 00:22:12.490 get the bride. The stone is rolled off, that 00:22:12.490 --> 00:22:16.029 the waters, the living waters of life are proceeding 00:22:16.029 --> 00:22:21.690 to feed the sheep, to water the sheep. And Jacob 00:22:21.690 --> 00:22:30.670 gets The woman We back to our text we see But 00:22:30.670 --> 00:22:32.890 the angel answered and said to the women do not 00:22:32.890 --> 00:22:36.329 be afraid For I know that you seek Jesus who 00:22:36.329 --> 00:22:39.769 was crucified You know he's bringing terror like 00:22:39.769 --> 00:22:43.029 dead men to the enemies of God and he speaks 00:22:43.029 --> 00:22:46.329 with kindness He knows I know why you're here 00:22:46.329 --> 00:22:49.769 You don't have to be afraid of me You're here 00:22:49.769 --> 00:22:55.250 to see Jesus And He says, He is not here, for 00:22:55.250 --> 00:23:00.349 He is risen. Come, see the place where the Lord 00:23:00.349 --> 00:23:04.009 lay, and go quickly and tell His disciples He 00:23:04.009 --> 00:23:07.450 is risen from the dead. Every time that you have 00:23:07.450 --> 00:23:10.750 this moment, the Word of God says, here, see 00:23:10.750 --> 00:23:14.470 the proof? Now go and rejoice and tell others. 00:23:18.589 --> 00:23:26.720 And indeed, And so they do look. And he says, 00:23:26.779 --> 00:23:29.400 gonna go before you into Galilee, and there you 00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:33.700 will see him. Behold, I have told you. So they 00:23:33.700 --> 00:23:36.220 went out quickly from the tomb with fear, a little 00:23:36.220 --> 00:23:39.059 bit of okay, it's not what we were expecting, 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:41.660 not what we thought was gonna happen, kind of 00:23:41.660 --> 00:23:44.640 perplexed, but they're obedient even in fear. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:51.130 And. In that obedience and fear, they have great 00:23:51.130 --> 00:23:55.750 joy. Can it be so? And they ran to bring his 00:23:55.750 --> 00:24:00.509 disciples word. Now, of course, this is actually 00:24:00.509 --> 00:24:03.789 where the story of Matthew becomes so dramatic. 00:24:03.990 --> 00:24:06.410 We thought it was dramatic already, big earthquake, 00:24:07.009 --> 00:24:08.910 stone being tossed, big stone being tossed away. 00:24:09.369 --> 00:24:14.890 We see all that, right? A glorious angel present. 00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:21.220 No, this is what the real joy is the real dramatic 00:24:21.220 --> 00:24:25.359 moment and As they went to tell his disciples, 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:28.680 so as they're going they turn leaving the they're 00:24:28.680 --> 00:24:33.519 going out. They're gonna run Jesus met them saying 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:37.839 rejoice So they came and held him by the feet 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:42.019 and worshiped him Then Jesus said to them do 00:24:42.019 --> 00:24:45.799 not be afraid go and tell my brethren to go to 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:51.339 Galilee and there they will see me. Jesus meets 00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:54.420 the women in the garden and declares, rejoice. 00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:57.839 The women held his feet and worshiped him. This 00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:01.039 word held means to take possession of. They actually 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:04.180 touched and held on to the resurrected physical 00:25:04.180 --> 00:25:09.859 body of Jesus. Jesus is alive in a real and tangible 00:25:09.859 --> 00:25:13.809 way. Jesus sends the women to tell his brethren 00:25:13.809 --> 00:25:16.670 the good news, not only of the resurrection, 00:25:17.150 --> 00:25:20.509 but also that they would see and embrace Jesus 00:25:20.509 --> 00:25:26.109 as well. So the women went right away rejoicing 00:25:26.109 --> 00:25:33.970 in Jesus. Jesus kept his word. But as Matthew 00:25:33.970 --> 00:25:37.089 points out, the women are not the only ones on 00:25:37.089 --> 00:25:40.660 their way to tell of the resurrection. Remember 00:25:40.660 --> 00:25:42.859 in verse 11, now, while they, that's the women, 00:25:43.279 --> 00:25:45.660 were going, behold, some of the guard came into 00:25:45.660 --> 00:25:48.660 the city to report to the chief priests all the 00:25:48.660 --> 00:25:51.640 things that had happened. When they had assembled 00:25:51.640 --> 00:25:53.460 with the elders and consulted together, they 00:25:53.460 --> 00:25:56.579 gave them a large sum of money to the soldiers 00:25:56.579 --> 00:26:00.119 saying, tell them his disciples came at night 00:26:00.119 --> 00:26:03.640 and stole him away while he slept. And if this 00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:06.200 comes to the governor's ears, we'll appease him 00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:08.279 and make you secure. Because remember, if they 00:26:08.279 --> 00:26:10.359 fail in their duty, they're to be put to death. 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:14.579 That's a fear that they have. A large sum of 00:26:14.579 --> 00:26:18.039 money. We don't know how much it was. But you 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:20.559 think about it. If you're going to lie in public 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:24.279 and take the risk of being executed by the governor, 00:26:24.920 --> 00:26:28.079 it had to be a pretty large sum of money. The 00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:30.160 kind of money where you could say, I'm going 00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:34.259 to casually report in. Then asked for my retirement 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:37.579 time to check out of this job and then go live 00:26:37.579 --> 00:26:44.599 off all this money. I just got It said took the 00:26:44.599 --> 00:26:46.680 money and did they were instructed and this saying 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:49.619 is commonly reported among the Jews today, so 00:26:49.619 --> 00:26:55.019 they went and did it and Those that that don't 00:26:55.019 --> 00:26:57.119 want to follow Christ did not want to hear the 00:26:57.119 --> 00:27:02.220 gospel Wanted to stay at war with God For their 00:27:02.220 --> 00:27:07.799 own selfish reasons They're the ones that commonly 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:12.980 say all the disciples just These guards who experienced 00:27:12.980 --> 00:27:17.019 the earthquake Saw the angel and saw that great 00:27:17.019 --> 00:27:20.579 stone tossed away. They were there with the women 00:27:20.579 --> 00:27:26.880 They saw Jesus These guards came to Jerusalem 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:31.609 to report all that they had seen So here we see 00:27:31.609 --> 00:27:36.410 two sets of messengers. One set full of joy with 00:27:36.410 --> 00:27:41.970 good news. And one set full of fear and bad news 00:27:41.970 --> 00:27:46.650 for all those conspiring against Christ. One 00:27:46.650 --> 00:27:49.750 set of messengers bringing the joy of the words 00:27:49.750 --> 00:27:55.910 of Jesus because his words are true. And the 00:27:55.910 --> 00:27:59.779 other set of messengers bringing dread. knowing 00:27:59.779 --> 00:28:04.720 that the words of Jesus are true. So what do 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:08.099 these chief priests and elders do? Do they repent 00:28:08.099 --> 00:28:11.039 in the face of Jesus' words being validated, 00:28:11.480 --> 00:28:15.420 proven? Do they admit their mistakes in the face 00:28:15.420 --> 00:28:21.259 of absolute proof? No. They do as all idolaters 00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:26.920 do. Turn back to their idols. They bribe the 00:28:26.920 --> 00:28:33.720 guards. to promote lies. And they paid a very 00:28:33.720 --> 00:28:35.799 large amount of money and probably had to pay 00:28:35.799 --> 00:28:42.240 off Pilate. No matter the proof or sign or argument, 00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:47.119 the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:51.039 desire only in preserving their own interests, 00:28:51.859 --> 00:28:57.200 even at great cost of money and death. Especially 00:28:57.200 --> 00:29:03.079 the last death Dearly beloved Jesus did rise 00:29:03.079 --> 00:29:06.759 first Corinthians chapter 15 tells us that Jesus 00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:10.099 was not only seen by just a few but among his 00:29:10.099 --> 00:29:15.359 appearances Beyond the Gospels that at one time 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:18.359 one of the times he appeared that more than 500 00:29:18.359 --> 00:29:21.859 persons saw him and many of them were living 00:29:21.859 --> 00:29:27.509 in the years to come Jesus is alive and even 00:29:27.509 --> 00:29:30.750 though there are competing messages messengers 00:29:30.750 --> 00:29:35.150 of joy and good news and messengers fear and 00:29:35.150 --> 00:29:40.849 conspire eight Jesus words are true and So we 00:29:40.849 --> 00:29:44.349 are called to be messengers of joy and good news 00:29:44.349 --> 00:29:48.990 Jesus has come and destroyed death. He is the 00:29:48.990 --> 00:29:51.890 firstborn in the new creation. He is the greater 00:29:51.890 --> 00:29:54.950 Adam And he delivered his bride, the church, 00:29:54.970 --> 00:30:00.289 from Satan. Jesus did crush Satan's head. We 00:30:00.289 --> 00:30:03.029 have good news on this Easter Sunday morning. 00:30:04.930 --> 00:30:13.509 No, we have great news. He is risen. Now, we're 00:30:13.509 --> 00:30:15.869 right there at the end of the book. So you have 00:30:15.869 --> 00:30:18.589 this big dramatic story of Christ's resurrection, 00:30:19.289 --> 00:30:22.069 His proof, those that are conspiring against 00:30:22.069 --> 00:30:25.099 Him. Just like there are those out there conspiring 00:30:25.099 --> 00:30:28.700 against God and His church today, His bride. 00:30:30.099 --> 00:30:35.640 I want you to hear the last three verses of this 00:30:35.640 --> 00:30:39.400 chapter. And I want you to hear all the times 00:30:39.400 --> 00:30:43.660 that the word all is used. So these are just 00:30:43.660 --> 00:30:47.299 the next verses right here. Remember it said 00:30:47.299 --> 00:30:49.720 go to Galilee and obviously this we know from 00:30:49.720 --> 00:30:51.839 the Gospels. There's some other things that happen 00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:53.359 in there We're going to cover that in the coming 00:30:53.359 --> 00:30:58.819 weeks But I want you to hear this They go to 00:30:58.819 --> 00:31:03.279 Galilee and Jesus came to saying all Authority 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:07.779 has been given to me where in heaven and on earth 00:31:07.779 --> 00:31:12.759 Go therefore and make disciples of what all nations? 00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:15.819 Baptizing them in the name of the Father and 00:31:15.819 --> 00:31:20.160 the Son, Holy Spirit. Teaching them to what? 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:23.480 Observe all things that I have commanded you. 00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:27.680 And lo, I am with you always, even to the end 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:30.220 of the age." And it closes, the book closes with 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:34.200 the word, amen. So all authority has been given 00:31:34.200 --> 00:31:38.160 to him, prophesied from the very beginning of 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:40.880 history, human history, world history, creation 00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:43.470 history. We see it right there in the garden. 00:31:44.549 --> 00:31:46.690 It's promised that He'll destroy the serpent 00:31:46.690 --> 00:31:50.569 and that we will be given life in the Son of 00:31:50.569 --> 00:31:53.769 God. It's prophesied all through the Old Testament 00:31:53.769 --> 00:31:57.390 that He will reign and that He will destroy death. 00:31:58.130 --> 00:32:00.589 And so truly all authority has been given to 00:32:00.589 --> 00:32:03.650 Him in heaven and on earth. And so because of 00:32:03.650 --> 00:32:06.690 that great authority, we can be great heralds 00:32:06.690 --> 00:32:09.599 of the good news that Christ is risen. And we 00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:11.819 are told that it isn't just being the herald, 00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:15.259 be the herald. But then baptize them. Make them 00:32:15.259 --> 00:32:17.819 the people of God. Enter them into the covenant. 00:32:18.980 --> 00:32:24.440 And then teach them all that I observe. Or excuse 00:32:24.440 --> 00:32:27.220 me. Teach them to observe all things that I've 00:32:27.220 --> 00:32:32.079 commanded. So here's the deal. This observing 00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:35.200 all the things I've commanded. That's both speaking 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:40.789 and by our example. If we, in fact, take our 00:32:40.789 --> 00:32:44.549 lives, that God has given us this new life and 00:32:44.549 --> 00:32:47.470 the new creation in Christ Jesus, in the resurrection, 00:32:49.170 --> 00:32:52.849 and we take all these given us, and we live in 00:32:52.849 --> 00:32:57.529 obedience to Him, heralding the good news of 00:32:57.529 --> 00:33:00.130 Christ's resurrection, and we demonstrate by 00:33:00.130 --> 00:33:03.069 showing that we are different. We live differently. 00:33:04.349 --> 00:33:09.319 We speak differently. And yes, We even rejoice 00:33:09.319 --> 00:33:14.000 in the face of hardship and fears. This morning 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:16.019 you might be feeling a little bit like those 00:33:16.019 --> 00:33:19.819 women, a little fearful. What about God? What 00:33:19.819 --> 00:33:21.900 about what he can do? What about the work of 00:33:21.900 --> 00:33:26.579 Jesus? Just obey and go and herald and speak 00:33:26.579 --> 00:33:34.319 and follow him and declare him king. In our gospel 00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:37.259 today we witnessed the great reset of creation. 00:33:38.119 --> 00:33:41.960 Two competing messages on life and one to death 00:33:41.960 --> 00:33:45.460 and the joy and peace found in Christ Jesus the 00:33:45.460 --> 00:33:49.019 resurrected King So like our our psalm reading 00:33:49.019 --> 00:33:52.259 this morning said we can say in confidence Psalm 00:33:52.259 --> 00:33:57.039 118 verse 24 This is the day that the Lord has 00:33:57.039 --> 00:34:01.000 made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. He 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:07.319 is risen Let us pray heavenly father We thank 00:34:07.319 --> 00:34:09.559 you that you did send your son to be a redeeming 00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:12.159 sacrifice for us and his death on the cross. 00:34:12.599 --> 00:34:15.059 We humbly ask that you would, by the power of 00:34:15.059 --> 00:34:17.940 the Spirit, remember the words that we would 00:34:17.940 --> 00:34:20.380 remember the words that Jesus told us that we 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:23.579 might be joyful, obedient, and loving messengers 00:34:23.579 --> 00:34:28.300 of the Gospel. Good news of our resurrected Lord 00:34:28.300 --> 00:34:30.599 Jesus Christ, who reigns with you in the Holy 00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:36.000 Spirit, world without end. Amen. Let us continue 00:34:36.090 --> 00:34:38.869 are worshiped by the giving of His tithes and 00:34:38.869 --> 00:35:18.039 our offerings. Let us pray. Blessed are you, 00:35:18.159 --> 00:35:20.039 O Lord God, for through your goodness we have 00:35:20.039 --> 00:35:23.780 these gifts to share. Accept and use your tithes 00:35:23.780 --> 00:35:27.260 and our offerings for your glory and for service 00:35:27.260 --> 00:35:30.260 in your kingdom. Blessed be God forever and ever. 00:35:30.579 --> 00:35:30.840 Amen.