WEBVTT 00:00:02.829 --> 00:00:05.509 Well, thank you to our musicians for a wonderful 00:00:05.509 --> 00:00:08.330 morning leading us in the worship of Jesus Christ 00:00:08.330 --> 00:00:13.169 the risen King We intentionally take a little 00:00:13.169 --> 00:00:16.309 extra time on Easter Sunday morning for this 00:00:16.309 --> 00:00:19.489 celebration of music and I just take what's ever 00:00:19.489 --> 00:00:21.910 left over of course that's not much different 00:00:21.910 --> 00:00:23.570 than the other Sunday morning is it when you're 00:00:23.570 --> 00:00:25.469 the last thing on the program you take whatever 00:00:25.469 --> 00:00:30.100 you've got and This morning. I'm delighted to 00:00:30.100 --> 00:00:33.640 share with you this wonderful music that praises 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:37.880 the risen King Jesus Christ. Thank you Paul and 00:00:37.880 --> 00:00:41.460 all of your team. Let's open our Bibles together 00:00:41.460 --> 00:00:52.020 please to John chapter 20. Those skeptics who 00:00:52.020 --> 00:00:56.960 proposed that the resurrection story was a fabrication 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:01.289 of hopeful disciples. who were wishing for it 00:01:01.289 --> 00:01:07.010 to be true, failed to deal honestly with the 00:01:07.010 --> 00:01:12.090 historical record. The disciples did not anticipate 00:01:12.090 --> 00:01:16.810 that Jesus would rise from the grave. They did 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:19.629 not even understand the statements that He made 00:01:19.629 --> 00:01:23.310 to them in those two and a half years they walked 00:01:23.310 --> 00:01:25.549 with Him, that He would rise from the grave. 00:01:27.310 --> 00:01:29.989 They were not sitting there around the grave 00:01:29.989 --> 00:01:32.689 waiting for him to come out on that Easter Sunday 00:01:32.689 --> 00:01:39.230 morning. Indeed, they were secreted away in homes, 00:01:40.349 --> 00:01:45.109 fearful, mourning, and weeping. Even the first 00:01:45.109 --> 00:01:48.870 reports of his appearances fell upon largely 00:01:48.870 --> 00:01:53.489 unbelieving ears and hardened hearts. They were 00:01:53.489 --> 00:01:59.049 by no means eagerly waiting for Him to come forth 00:01:59.049 --> 00:02:02.950 from the grave, they were not in any frame of 00:02:02.950 --> 00:02:07.530 mind to concoct a story fabricating the resurrection 00:02:07.530 --> 00:02:13.629 of their Lord. Indeed, the only satisfying explanation 00:02:13.629 --> 00:02:18.550 for their dramatic transformation from disillusioned 00:02:18.550 --> 00:02:24.169 disciples to a bold band of apostles is a factual 00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:31.039 historical resurrection of their Lord. They became 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:35.800 thoroughly, unequivocally convinced that Jesus 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:41.379 actually rose from the grave. Scaffers through 00:02:41.379 --> 00:02:45.120 the centuries have been unable to refute the 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:48.379 historical evidence of the resurrection, not 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:52.120 to mention the radical transformation in the 00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:57.379 lives of his followers. the one who died on the 00:02:57.379 --> 00:03:01.780 Friday before as the King of the Jews, after 00:03:01.780 --> 00:03:06.060 three days showed himself alive as the King, 00:03:06.539 --> 00:03:12.219 eternal and immortal. He rose again to reign 00:03:12.219 --> 00:03:16.360 over his people, and one day to reign over his 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:22.050 world. John gives us one account of the Easter 00:03:22.050 --> 00:03:26.330 Sunday events that we celebrate today. I'm going 00:03:26.330 --> 00:03:31.509 to begin reading with verse 1 of John 20. Now 00:03:31.509 --> 00:03:34.629 on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene 00:03:34.629 --> 00:03:37.849 came early to the tomb while it was still dark 00:03:37.849 --> 00:03:40.909 and saw the stone already taken away from the 00:03:40.909 --> 00:03:45.610 tomb. And so she ran and came to Simon Peter 00:03:45.930 --> 00:03:50.370 and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved. That 00:03:50.370 --> 00:03:54.569 is John's way of referring to himself. He does 00:03:54.569 --> 00:03:57.729 not call himself by name. He's the other disciple. 00:03:58.810 --> 00:04:03.610 Okay? And she said to them, They have taken away 00:04:03.610 --> 00:04:07.370 the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know 00:04:07.370 --> 00:04:11.129 where they have laid him. Peter therefore went 00:04:11.129 --> 00:04:14.060 forth, and the other disciple, and they were 00:04:14.060 --> 00:04:16.879 going to the tomb, and the two were running together. 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:20.899 And the other disciple ran ahead faster than 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:25.019 Peter. John was considerably younger than Peter. 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:29.019 And he came to the tomb first, and stooping and 00:04:29.019 --> 00:04:33.620 looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying 00:04:33.620 --> 00:04:37.040 there, but he did not go in. When it says that 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:39.480 John saw them, it means that he looked in, and 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:43.519 he clearly saw the facts. That's all that it 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:49.800 means. But Simon Peter therefore also came, John 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:52.060 sort of rubs it in that Simon Peter got there 00:04:52.060 --> 00:04:54.560 second, didn't he? Simon Peter got there after 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:59.180 a while, following him, notice that, and entered 00:04:59.180 --> 00:05:02.439 the tomb and he beheld the linen wrappings lying 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:06.199 there. Now the word beheld here means that he 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:10.910 saw and closely observed. but he didn't really 00:05:10.910 --> 00:05:15.149 connect things yet. He beheld the linen wrappings 00:05:15.149 --> 00:05:18.509 lying there and the face cloth which had been 00:05:18.509 --> 00:05:21.029 on his head not lying with the linen wrappings 00:05:21.029 --> 00:05:25.810 but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other 00:05:25.810 --> 00:05:29.269 disciple who had come first, there's John again 00:05:29.269 --> 00:05:31.970 bragging about getting there first, to the tomb, 00:05:32.769 --> 00:05:36.509 entered then also and he saw, now here's another 00:05:36.509 --> 00:05:39.220 word, in the original language that means to 00:05:39.220 --> 00:05:46.040 see and to perceive. It clicked with John. It 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:47.879 was just beginning to, but it clicked with him. 00:05:47.980 --> 00:05:51.339 It connected what was taking place here. He saw 00:05:51.339 --> 00:05:55.060 and it says he believed. For as yet they did 00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:57.259 not understand the scripture that he must rise 00:05:57.259 --> 00:05:59.600 again from the dead. So the disciples went away 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:03.420 again to their own homes. But Mary was standing 00:06:03.420 --> 00:06:07.329 outside the tomb weeping. And so as she wept, 00:06:07.970 --> 00:06:09.829 she stooped and looked into the tomb, and she 00:06:09.829 --> 00:06:14.269 beheld two angels in white, sitting one at the 00:06:14.269 --> 00:06:17.189 head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus 00:06:17.189 --> 00:06:20.850 had been lying. They said to her, Woman, why 00:06:20.850 --> 00:06:25.029 are you weeping? And she said, Because they have 00:06:25.029 --> 00:06:28.470 taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they 00:06:28.470 --> 00:06:32.750 have laid him. When she had said this she turned 00:06:32.750 --> 00:06:35.189 around and beheld Jesus standing there and did 00:06:35.189 --> 00:06:38.930 not know that it was Jesus and Jesus said to 00:06:38.930 --> 00:06:42.949 her Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you 00:06:42.949 --> 00:06:46.709 seeking? Supposing him to be the gardener she 00:06:46.709 --> 00:06:50.629 said to him sir if you have carried him away 00:06:50.629 --> 00:06:54.430 Tell me where you've laid him and I will take 00:06:54.430 --> 00:07:03.750 him away Jesus said to her Mary. She turned and 00:07:03.750 --> 00:07:07.870 said to him in Hebrew, Rabonai, which means teacher. 00:07:09.269 --> 00:07:12.610 Jesus said to her, stop clinging to me, for I 00:07:12.610 --> 00:07:15.649 have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to 00:07:15.649 --> 00:07:19.009 my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father 00:07:19.009 --> 00:07:23.230 and your Father, and my God and your God. Mary 00:07:23.230 --> 00:07:26.629 Magdalene came announcing to the disciples, I 00:07:26.629 --> 00:07:30.060 have seen the Lord. and that he had said these 00:07:30.060 --> 00:07:34.040 things to her. Now when we put together what 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:38.680 Matthew, Mark, and Luke record regarding the 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:41.660 resurrection of Jesus, we arrive at a certain 00:07:41.660 --> 00:07:45.779 order, a sequence of Jesus' appearances on this 00:07:45.779 --> 00:07:50.100 first Easter Sunday. The first appearance of 00:07:50.100 --> 00:07:53.540 Jesus was to Mary of Magdala. It's the appearance 00:07:53.540 --> 00:07:56.420 that we've just read about. The very first one 00:07:56.420 --> 00:08:00.379 that he appeared to was Mary. She was the one 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:03.839 out of whom he had cast seven demons, and she 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:07.379 had come to faith in him. She was standing at 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:10.680 the tomb, stooped down to look in, saw the angels, 00:08:11.220 --> 00:08:14.639 and then she heard the voice behind her. She 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:17.399 didn't recognize that it was Jesus until he spoke 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:21.860 her name. And then the second appearance was 00:08:21.860 --> 00:08:24.100 to the other women who were returning from the 00:08:24.100 --> 00:08:26.519 tomb. with the angelic announcement that they 00:08:26.519 --> 00:08:29.160 had heard that Jesus is not here. He has risen 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:32.779 from the dead. The third appearance of Jesus 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:35.860 was apparently to Simon Peter, an appearance 00:08:35.860 --> 00:08:41.259 that Paul tells us about in 1 Corinthians. The 00:08:41.259 --> 00:08:45.320 fourth appearance was to the two disciples on 00:08:45.320 --> 00:08:49.299 the road to Emmaus as they were going home. You 00:08:49.299 --> 00:08:51.460 remember Jesus walked with them and explained 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:56.039 to them how the Son of Man must be killed and 00:08:56.039 --> 00:08:58.700 rise again from the dead. All of this time they 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:03.639 didn't know who he was until that time that they 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:05.519 gathered around the table and he broke the bread 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:08.240 and gave thanks for it. They recognized him and 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:12.279 he disappeared from their sight. And then finally 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:16.740 he appeared to the gathered disciples that Sunday 00:09:16.740 --> 00:09:21.700 evening of the first Easter. Our conspicuous 00:09:21.700 --> 00:09:29.750 claim is that King Jesus was dead. He was dead, 00:09:29.769 --> 00:09:34.090 dead. You couldn't be more dead than Jesus was 00:09:34.090 --> 00:09:39.309 on Friday afternoon. He was truly, actually, 00:09:39.529 --> 00:09:43.809 literally dead, gone. His spirit was no longer 00:09:43.809 --> 00:09:47.629 there. His body was left hanging on the tree. 00:09:49.370 --> 00:09:51.649 Two of his disciples took it down. They wrapped 00:09:51.649 --> 00:09:55.259 it up in the custom of the day. carried it to 00:09:55.259 --> 00:09:59.320 the tomb of Joseph, where they put it in and 00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:03.320 closed the tomb up. He was dead, really dead, 00:10:04.179 --> 00:10:11.440 but King Jesus is alive today. Three days after 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:16.340 he died, really died, he truly, authentically, 00:10:16.820 --> 00:10:20.700 genuinely, actually, historically rose from the 00:10:20.700 --> 00:10:25.500 dead. And because of that, there are some things 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:30.519 that are different. Just a few things. The King 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:38.519 lives again, but with a different body. Jesus 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:42.240 was born in a fully human body of flesh and blood 00:10:42.240 --> 00:10:45.399 and bones. That occurred through the incarnation 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:48.039 as He, the eternal Son of God, united Himself 00:10:48.039 --> 00:10:51.980 with genuine humanity. He was born of the Virgin 00:10:51.980 --> 00:10:55.620 Mary with a real body. He was a real baby, born 00:10:55.620 --> 00:10:58.240 in Bethlehem, laid in the manger, the Christmas 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:03.779 story. When he died on the cross, he died in 00:11:03.779 --> 00:11:08.519 a fully human body. He was fully and perfectly 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:14.220 man, who there took upon himself the sin of all 00:11:14.220 --> 00:11:21.570 humanity and died. When he bore our sins on the 00:11:21.570 --> 00:11:25.669 tree, he died in a truly physical human body. 00:11:27.049 --> 00:11:30.710 And it was that body that was taken down and 00:11:30.710 --> 00:11:36.769 buried put into the grave. On the first Easter 00:11:36.769 --> 00:11:40.649 morning, when the disciples looked into that 00:11:40.649 --> 00:11:46.990 tomb, that body was not there. That same body 00:11:46.990 --> 00:11:50.850 that had been buried three days before was gone. 00:11:52.529 --> 00:11:55.470 The grave clothes were undisturbed except that 00:11:55.470 --> 00:11:58.629 being in a cocoon form they were slightly sunken 00:11:58.629 --> 00:12:01.809 because his body was not within those wrappings 00:12:01.809 --> 00:12:05.330 any longer. The cloth that had been placed over 00:12:05.330 --> 00:12:07.990 his face was rolled up and away from it over 00:12:07.990 --> 00:12:13.580 to the side. The body of Jesus was gone. That 00:12:13.580 --> 00:12:19.259 same body was raised from the grave, but it was 00:12:19.259 --> 00:12:22.659 a different sort of body than the one that was 00:12:22.659 --> 00:12:30.860 buried. It was raised an immortal body, a glorified 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:36.899 body fitted for the spiritual dimension. It was 00:12:36.899 --> 00:12:39.220 a physical body, yet now it was supernatural 00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:43.360 as well. It was a material body, but it was not 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:48.940 limited to this material earth. In that body 00:12:48.940 --> 00:12:53.500 Jesus was able to appear or to disappear miraculously. 00:12:55.259 --> 00:12:59.519 It was a body that was recognizable. It still 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:05.080 bore the wounds of His crucifixion. In that body 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:09.580 He was able to eat, to drink, to speak to them. 00:13:10.570 --> 00:13:15.470 They heard Him. They saw Him. They touched Him. 00:13:16.809 --> 00:13:20.649 It was the very same body as the one that was 00:13:20.649 --> 00:13:23.789 crucified on the cross, and yet, being raised, 00:13:23.850 --> 00:13:28.809 it was wonderfully different. Wonderfully different. 00:13:30.149 --> 00:13:32.450 Paul talks about this a bit in 1 Corinthians 00:13:32.450 --> 00:13:36.950 15. Turn over there in your Bibles to that chapter. 00:13:37.629 --> 00:13:39.889 called the chapter of the resurrection where 00:13:39.889 --> 00:13:43.409 Paul is instructing the believers, instructing 00:13:43.409 --> 00:13:47.649 us regarding the resurrection. There was a question 00:13:47.649 --> 00:13:52.909 that was being asked apparently and Paul got 00:13:52.909 --> 00:13:56.889 wind of the question. In verse 35 he repeats 00:13:56.889 --> 00:14:00.230 it. He says, but someone will say, how are the 00:14:00.230 --> 00:14:05.129 dead raised and with what kind of body do they 00:14:05.129 --> 00:14:13.139 come? He says, you fool. You see, he had not 00:14:13.139 --> 00:14:15.700 been to Dale Carnegie's course yet, had he? You 00:14:15.700 --> 00:14:20.019 fool. That which you sow does not come to life 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:24.259 unless it dies. And that which you sow, you do 00:14:24.259 --> 00:14:28.480 not sow the body which is to be but a bare grain, 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:31.419 perhaps of wheat or something else. But God gives 00:14:31.419 --> 00:14:35.600 it a body just as He wished, and to each of the 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:40.250 seeds a body of its own. Here he is comparing 00:14:40.250 --> 00:14:44.309 the physical body to a seed that is placed into 00:14:44.309 --> 00:14:49.750 the ground and They're like a seed It decays 00:14:49.750 --> 00:14:52.409 but in that decay in a seed there's germination 00:14:52.409 --> 00:14:55.870 and new life and new seeds are produced a new 00:14:55.870 --> 00:15:01.490 stock and eventually new seeds Now he says the 00:15:01.490 --> 00:15:03.750 resurrection body is something like that that 00:15:03.750 --> 00:15:07.350 body the physical body is placed into the ground 00:15:09.459 --> 00:15:12.980 But one day, that body's not going to be there 00:15:12.980 --> 00:15:15.639 anymore. There's going to be a new body come 00:15:15.639 --> 00:15:20.340 out of it. So it's not that God is going to create 00:15:20.340 --> 00:15:22.860 a body over here and leave one in the grave. 00:15:23.480 --> 00:15:26.000 That very body is going to come out of the grave, 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:29.500 but it's going to come out renewed. It's going 00:15:29.500 --> 00:15:32.480 to come out different than the body that was 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:36.620 placed into the ground. He goes on to describe 00:15:36.620 --> 00:15:39.659 different kinds of flesh and glories of different 00:15:39.659 --> 00:15:42.740 bodies. But let me pick it up in verse 42. So 00:15:42.740 --> 00:15:46.159 also is the resurrection of the dead. It, the 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:50.039 physical body, is sown a perishable body. It 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:53.879 is raised and imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.220 It's raised in glory. It's sown in weakness. 00:15:56.440 --> 00:15:59.519 It's raised in power. It's sown a natural body. 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:04.019 It's raised a spiritual body. And he reassures 00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:07.120 us that if there is a natural body, there is 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:12.039 also a spiritual body. So also it is written, 00:16:12.600 --> 00:16:15.399 the first man Adam became a living soul. The 00:16:15.399 --> 00:16:19.019 last Adam, that's Jesus, became a life -giving 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:23.559 spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, 00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:28.019 but the natural, then the spiritual. It was the 00:16:28.019 --> 00:16:31.299 first Adam who came first in the Garden of Eden. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:34.759 And then it was the second Adam, the last Adam, 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:38.480 the Lord Jesus from heaven who came. So he says 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:41.379 the first body we have is like the first Adam. 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:45.019 It's natural. But the next body that we'll have 00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:47.700 is like the body of Jesus, the Lord from heaven. 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:52.039 The first man, he says, verse 47, is from the 00:16:52.039 --> 00:16:55.220 earth. It's earthy. The second man is from heaven. 00:16:56.460 --> 00:16:59.580 Also is the earthy. So as is the earthy, so also 00:16:59.580 --> 00:17:02.759 are those who are earthy. and as the heavenly, 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:06.440 so also those who are heavenly. And just as we 00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:10.099 have borne the image of the earthy, we shall 00:17:10.099 --> 00:17:14.680 also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say 00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:19.319 this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:23.880 the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit 00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:27.240 the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery, 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:29.539 we shall all, we shall not all sleep, but we 00:17:29.539 --> 00:17:32.279 shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.920 of an eye at the last trumpet. The trumpet will 00:17:35.920 --> 00:17:38.380 sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:43.000 and we, that's the living, shall be changed." 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:45.940 What is Paul saying here? He is saying that this 00:17:45.940 --> 00:17:53.299 mortal, natural, weak, perishable body that we 00:17:53.299 --> 00:17:58.789 live in now. cannot inherit God's kingdom. We 00:17:58.789 --> 00:18:03.009 can't go there in this body. This body will never 00:18:03.009 --> 00:18:06.470 get us out of this world. It's just made for 00:18:06.470 --> 00:18:10.930 this world. It will have to be changed some way, 00:18:11.009 --> 00:18:14.369 and that's what Paul is talking about. He says 00:18:14.369 --> 00:18:17.630 that our bodies, through that change, will become 00:18:17.630 --> 00:18:23.119 like Jesus' body. In one sense it'll be the same 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:26.759 body because we will still be identifiable. We 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:32.579 will still be us. Hopefully we'll look a little 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:36.740 better in some respects. But it will still be 00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:41.259 genuinely us, these bodies, but raised differently 00:18:41.259 --> 00:18:48.440 in a new order like Christ's. So when you and 00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:51.160 I read that The king lives again, but with a 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:55.019 new body it means something. Because it means 00:18:55.019 --> 00:18:57.259 someday we're going to have a body like his. 00:18:59.220 --> 00:19:02.779 Some of us on this Easter Sunday reflect on the 00:19:02.779 --> 00:19:06.400 fact that we have loved ones who have gone to 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:10.720 be with the Lord. We have laid their bodies, 00:19:11.339 --> 00:19:16.980 their natural bodies in the grave. Because the 00:19:16.980 --> 00:19:20.349 king lives again, someday, those graves are going 00:19:20.349 --> 00:19:23.490 to open up. And those bodies are going to come 00:19:23.490 --> 00:19:28.349 out not identical to the way they went in, supernatural, 00:19:28.690 --> 00:19:33.230 heavenly, glorious, spiritual, but real bodies 00:19:33.230 --> 00:19:37.009 will come forth from the grave. And it says that 00:19:37.009 --> 00:19:40.230 those of us who are alive on that day when the 00:19:40.230 --> 00:19:42.630 Savior comes to take us to Himself, when the 00:19:42.630 --> 00:19:46.839 trumpet blows, we too will be changed. We will 00:19:46.839 --> 00:19:49.559 get our new bodies without passing through the 00:19:49.559 --> 00:19:54.059 grave on the way there. But these natural, weak, 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:58.279 earthy bodies will be transformed in an instant. 00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:02.980 And we'll have the new body and be with the Lord. 00:20:04.980 --> 00:20:07.420 So on this Easter Sunday, we rejoice that the 00:20:07.420 --> 00:20:12.039 King lives again. But he lives again with a new 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:15.480 body. the kind of a body that all of us who love 00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:20.519 Him and trust Him will one day enjoy. It's the 00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:23.160 kind of a body that we see in John chapter 20 00:20:23.160 --> 00:20:28.539 when later Jesus appears in their midst. Just 00:20:28.539 --> 00:20:31.200 appears. The doors are locked. He just is there. 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.779 Suddenly He appears. Miraculously He appears 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:38.000 in their midst. But it's the same body that Mary 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:40.880 was able to reach out and touch and cling to. 00:20:44.080 --> 00:20:46.619 Well the king lives again, but with a new body, 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:49.279 but secondly we see here something else that's 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:54.519 different He has a new relationship Jesus has 00:20:54.519 --> 00:20:58.519 been the Lord of Mary and of the others all during 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:03.000 his earthly ministry But now something's different. 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:06.920 Oh, he's still the Lord He's still the Lord of 00:21:06.920 --> 00:21:10.440 Mary and all of the Apostles, but there's a new 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:14.450 relationship that is now established Up till 00:21:14.450 --> 00:21:18.210 this time, Jesus has been physically present 00:21:18.210 --> 00:21:22.710 with His disciples. Now, whether they were up 00:21:22.710 --> 00:21:25.769 in Galilee, or they were walking along the Jordan 00:21:25.769 --> 00:21:28.089 River, or they were at the Upper Room at the 00:21:28.089 --> 00:21:33.809 Last Supper, He was there with them. Now, He's 00:21:33.809 --> 00:21:38.349 not going to be there anymore. He says to Mary, 00:21:38.670 --> 00:21:42.690 stop clinging to Me, Mary. I must ascend to the 00:21:42.690 --> 00:21:47.390 Father. Jesus was going away. Something was going 00:21:47.390 --> 00:21:50.910 to be different. Before it was a relationship 00:21:50.910 --> 00:21:53.809 on this earth. Now there's a different relationship 00:21:53.809 --> 00:21:58.170 and there's a real advantage to it. Some people 00:21:58.170 --> 00:22:01.289 say, well why didn't Jesus just stay in the world? 00:22:04.230 --> 00:22:06.130 The answer to that is that if Jesus had stayed 00:22:06.130 --> 00:22:08.029 in the world he could only be at one place at 00:22:08.029 --> 00:22:11.980 a time. He might be here for the first service 00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:13.980 on one Easter Sunday, but he can never be here 00:22:13.980 --> 00:22:16.279 again because there's so many other churches 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:18.119 that would want him to come as a special guest 00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:21.259 on Easter Sunday. So he'd have to be all over 00:22:21.259 --> 00:22:25.299 the place, you see. The advantage of his going 00:22:25.299 --> 00:22:29.700 away to heaven is that now he can be with all 00:22:29.700 --> 00:22:37.500 of us all the time everywhere as our Lord. He 00:22:37.500 --> 00:22:40.599 is in heaven, but He came by His Spirit to indwell 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:45.119 us. He said, I will never leave you. He said, 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:47.759 I will not leave you as orphans. I will come 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:52.480 to you. So because He went back to heaven, He's 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:57.079 with all of us all the time. We have a new relationship 00:22:57.079 --> 00:22:59.500 with Him in that sense, and so do the apostles. 00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:02.140 Forty days later, He was going back to heaven. 00:23:04.099 --> 00:23:06.519 He was leaving them and yet he was going to come 00:23:06.519 --> 00:23:09.059 and be with them all and unto the end of the 00:23:09.059 --> 00:23:12.839 age. But there's something more here that I see 00:23:12.839 --> 00:23:15.099 in what happened in this conversation with Mary. 00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:21.059 Not only does he have a new presence with them, 00:23:21.059 --> 00:23:25.900 but he has a new family relationship with his 00:23:25.900 --> 00:23:29.440 own. Before Jesus had said to them, he called 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:35.269 them apostles. He said, you're my servants. Just 00:23:35.269 --> 00:23:37.269 a few days before this he said, you're no longer 00:23:37.269 --> 00:23:40.890 my servants, you're my friends. Now notice what 00:23:40.890 --> 00:23:48.150 he says in verse 17. Go to my brethren and say 00:23:48.150 --> 00:23:50.609 to them, I ascend to my father and your father 00:23:50.609 --> 00:23:56.009 and my God and your God. What Jesus is telling 00:23:56.009 --> 00:23:58.710 Mary is that he has a new relationship now with 00:23:58.710 --> 00:24:01.410 his own. No longer are we even friends, we're 00:24:01.410 --> 00:24:06.849 family. We are family. He says go to my brothers 00:24:06.849 --> 00:24:14.009 My God is their God my father is your father 00:24:14.009 --> 00:24:18.289 he says What a wonderful new relationship that 00:24:18.289 --> 00:24:21.329 we have and Paul says in Romans chapter 8 because 00:24:21.329 --> 00:24:25.529 of this relationship We are heirs with Christ 00:24:25.529 --> 00:24:29.930 We're part of his family. We're his brothers, 00:24:29.930 --> 00:24:35.200 and we are going to share His inheritance. And 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:38.819 by the way, that's merely everything. That's 00:24:38.819 --> 00:24:42.240 all it is, just everything. And He says He's 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:46.259 going to share it with us because we are family 00:24:46.259 --> 00:24:51.339 with Him. We are privileged to call God our Father. 00:24:52.660 --> 00:24:55.259 Now Jesus has a unique relationship with the 00:24:55.259 --> 00:24:59.259 Father. But he has introduced us to a relationship 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:03.160 also so that we can genuinely call God our Father. 00:25:08.500 --> 00:25:14.839 We are God's royal family. We are the royal family 00:25:14.839 --> 00:25:18.640 of the new order that's coming. The order of 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:21.420 the things that will be in the next stage. And 00:25:21.420 --> 00:25:24.299 we are privileged to be part of the royal family. 00:25:25.630 --> 00:25:30.210 ordinary people like most of us. And God has 00:25:30.210 --> 00:25:33.589 called us to be His children, to be part of His 00:25:33.589 --> 00:25:37.609 family. Do you know the King that way? Can you 00:25:37.609 --> 00:25:39.970 call God your Father? Have you been born into 00:25:39.970 --> 00:25:44.450 His family? You know, we aren't Christians just 00:25:44.450 --> 00:25:47.869 because we go to church a few times a year or 00:25:47.869 --> 00:25:50.630 because we've undergone some sort of ordinance 00:25:50.630 --> 00:25:55.609 or ritual. Christians are Christians because 00:25:55.609 --> 00:26:01.250 of a relationship. A relationship with God whereby 00:26:01.250 --> 00:26:05.349 we can call Him Father. Because we've been born 00:26:05.349 --> 00:26:09.009 into His family. And we're born into His family 00:26:09.009 --> 00:26:14.210 through faith. By believing and trusting in Him. 00:26:15.789 --> 00:26:18.670 But as many as received Him, Jesus Christ, to 00:26:18.670 --> 00:26:22.779 them He gave the right to be called the children 00:26:22.779 --> 00:26:27.039 of God, even to those who believe in His name. 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:30.579 Have you believed in Jesus Christ in that saving 00:26:30.579 --> 00:26:35.200 way? Have you received Him into your life to 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:39.880 be your Lord and Savior? If not, how about today? 00:26:40.980 --> 00:26:43.599 Because God wants you to know this special family 00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:46.880 relationship that belongs to all of those who 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:51.200 are Jesus Brothers. And He wants you to have 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:54.460 the hope of the resurrection so that if you would 00:26:54.460 --> 00:26:57.220 die, you would know that one day you were going 00:26:57.220 --> 00:27:03.599 to stand in that body once again before God and 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:06.559 be invited to enter into His kingdom and to reign 00:27:06.559 --> 00:27:10.579 with Him. You can have that hope today if you 00:27:10.579 --> 00:27:15.500 will trust Him. There was a church in Grand Rapids, 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:17.819 Michigan some years ago that put up a sign on 00:27:17.819 --> 00:27:22.930 Easter Sunday And it said on the sign, our God 00:27:22.930 --> 00:27:28.990 is alive, sorry about yours. That sounds a little 00:27:28.990 --> 00:27:32.150 braggadocious, doesn't it? And yet I understand 00:27:32.150 --> 00:27:35.109 what they meant because there are so many who 00:27:35.109 --> 00:27:38.250 worship dead gods and even claim to be followers 00:27:38.250 --> 00:27:42.349 of Jesus Christ, but the religion is empty. It's 00:27:42.349 --> 00:27:45.930 dead. We're talking about a living Savior, a 00:27:45.930 --> 00:27:48.069 King who is alive again. We're talking about 00:27:48.069 --> 00:27:51.900 a relationship with Him. Is your God alive today? 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:57.519 The God that you truly serve and worship? Jesus 00:27:57.519 --> 00:28:04.200 Christ is not the I was. He is the I am. He is 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:08.299 the one who was truly dead but who three days 00:28:08.299 --> 00:28:12.700 later truly rose from the grave. He is the King 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:15.740 who gave his life as a ransom for all people. 00:28:16.359 --> 00:28:19.940 He is the King who lives again to save all of 00:28:19.940 --> 00:28:23.480 those who will come in faith to Him. Will you 00:28:23.480 --> 00:28:27.779 come that way this morning? And if you have, 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:31.279 will you let the joy of the Lord fill your heart 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:35.160 about who He is and who you are in Him? Will 00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:38.000 you recognize that you're part of His family? 00:28:39.370 --> 00:28:42.750 Will you rejoice in His kingship recognizing 00:28:42.750 --> 00:28:45.509 that that means that you're part of what it means 00:28:45.509 --> 00:28:47.710 to reign in the kingdom? You're going to reign 00:28:47.710 --> 00:28:51.910 with Christ? Will you allow your heart to be 00:28:51.910 --> 00:28:55.970 filled with the joy of knowing that someday this 00:28:55.970 --> 00:29:00.509 earthly physical part of you is going to be changed 00:29:00.509 --> 00:29:06.839 to be like His body? Let's pray together. If 00:29:06.839 --> 00:29:09.119 you're here today without the Lord Jesus Christ 00:29:09.119 --> 00:29:15.220 as your Savior, would you open your heart right 00:29:15.220 --> 00:29:19.619 now before you go? Would you recognize your need 00:29:19.619 --> 00:29:25.900 of Him? He came in the world to save sinners. 00:29:26.839 --> 00:29:30.180 If you understand that you're a sinner, and your 00:29:30.180 --> 00:29:33.700 heart is broken over that, and you bear this 00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:38.890 morning the load of your guilt, Know that Jesus 00:29:38.890 --> 00:29:41.410 Christ has borne that load that you might not 00:29:41.410 --> 00:29:45.349 carry it anymore. You may come to Him right now 00:29:45.349 --> 00:29:47.809 and receive Him into your heart, into your life 00:29:47.809 --> 00:29:54.549 as an act of faith. Will you do that? And if 00:29:54.549 --> 00:29:57.950 you're a Christian, if you have trusted Christ, 00:29:58.970 --> 00:30:03.349 is the joy of the Lord in your heart today? The 00:30:03.349 --> 00:30:06.259 joy of the resurrection? Do you know who you 00:30:06.259 --> 00:30:10.599 are? Are you living like it? If not, will you 00:30:10.599 --> 00:30:13.259 come to Him on this Easter Sunday and say, Lord 00:30:13.259 --> 00:30:18.480 Jesus, my heart is filled with doubt like those 00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:24.059 disciples. My heart is even hardened like theirs. 00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:28.240 But I recognize that you rose from the dead and 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:32.500 I come in fresh dedication of my heart and life 00:30:32.500 --> 00:30:37.299 to you. on this Easter Sunday. Oh friend, how 00:30:37.299 --> 00:30:40.420 He would delight in your coming to Him that way 00:30:40.420 --> 00:30:46.859 this day. Father, I pray that all of us will 00:30:46.859 --> 00:30:49.680 respond to you this morning in such a way that 00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:53.940 as we leave here, we will not only be able to 00:30:53.940 --> 00:30:58.539 sing that you're the King, but we will experience 00:30:58.539 --> 00:31:01.690 that in our own hearts. You'll be in control 00:31:01.690 --> 00:31:07.630 on the throne of our lives and we'll be off We 00:31:07.630 --> 00:31:10.549 pray that you will speak to the friends here 00:31:10.549 --> 00:31:16.690 without Jesus May they at this moment trust him 00:31:16.690 --> 00:31:20.309 and Father as we go from here may all of us go 00:31:20.309 --> 00:31:23.549 in the joy of the Lord Rejoicing that you are 00:31:23.549 --> 00:31:27.289 the King who came and died and rose again and 00:31:27.289 --> 00:31:30.700 who's coming again soon And may that joy fill 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:36.880 our hearts this Easter In Jesus name Amen, we're 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:40.839 going to sing together number 228 rejoice the 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:45.960 Lord is king We're going to sing verses 2 3 and 00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:50.240 4 All right number 228