The Empty Tomb and the Appearance of Jesus

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physical resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is really the Father's Amen to the
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Son's exclamation, it is finished. When Jesus says it is finished,
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He didn't say the story's ended. He was basically saying paid in full.
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The story was really just beginning. He was just warming up. So isn't that wonderful to know that the physical bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the one final most important point as I mentioned about the pyramid, you turn it upside down, that great pyramid and everything that Paul says, the apostles says, the prophets say is what the writing by the inspired
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Holy Spirit, you turn that great pyramid over and balances on that one fine point is the resurrection.
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And if you think of it, if you take away that one fine point, everything collapses.
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It is the key to everything, the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the essence, the very heart and soul of Christianity.
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If you remove the resurrection of Jesus Christ from Christianity, we would not have a Christianity. You literally take out the heart, life, soul of it.
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So that's the story and the account we're going to be looking at is really what's most important here is the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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So no other religion, think of it, no other religion in all the world has a resurrected
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Christ from the dead. Only Jesus did this.
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And this is the crowning miracle of God himself. And that's what we're going to be looking at is that crowning miracle today.
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So let me read these 18 verses and we're going to go through it as fast as we can.
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So pray, we've got a lot of territory to cover. Hear the word of the living
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God, chapter 20 verses 1 through 18. Now the first day of the week,
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Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the tomb had been taken away from the tomb, the stone that had been taken away from the tomb.
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Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom
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Jesus loved and said to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him.
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Peter therefore went out and the other disciple were going to the tomb.
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So they both ran together and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.
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And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying there. Yet he did not go in.
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Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb and he saw the linen clothes lying there and the handkerchief that had been around his head not lying with the linen clothes but folded together in a place by itself.
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Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also and he saw and believed.
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For as yet they did not know the scripture that he must rise again from the dead.
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Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary stood outside of the tomb weeping and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
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And then they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? And she said to them,
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Because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him.
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Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was
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Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?
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She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away.
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Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him,
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Reboni, which is to say teacher. And Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father.
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But I go to my brethren, but go to my brethren and say to them,
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I am ascending to my father and your father and to my God and your
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God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the
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Lord and that he had spoken these things to her. Let us pray and seek our
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Lord's face once again. Our Father in heaven, we thank you that we here today, as we have heard this great word of truth, we are forever, forever thankful for the greatest gift of all.
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If the wages of sin is death, and surely it is, then the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
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Lord. That is the answer to the death in which we have all earned.
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Father, we thank you for your one and only Son, as it has already been spoken this morning, your beloved
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Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself to die so that we can live forever and ever in glory.
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Your beloved Son in whom you are most pleased in, Lord him we exalt and you have highly exalted him alone above all kings and principalities and princes.
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And now he is risen sitting at your right hand in heaven, forever make an intercession for the saints.
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Now Father, as we seek your face this morning, we would pray that your Holy Spirit and as our we worship you.
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And Lord, as the hymn writer said many years ago, let me like Mary through the gloom come with a gift for thee, show me now the empty tomb,
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Lord lead me to Calvary. Least we forget Gethsemane, least
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I forget thy agony, least I forget thy love for me, lead us to Calvary Lord.
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This is our prayer as we pray Father, this morning as we would be careful to give you all the praise and all the glory and all that is said and done, we ask this in the name that is above all names,
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Jesus Christ the Lord. And what a wonderful thing it is
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Father, and we ask this in your name, Amen and Amen. Well chapter 20 of John's Gospel, no doubt to the end of the book, which speaks of two more chapters and two more chapters is really all about the risen
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Lord Jesus Christ. That is a physical resurrection and it's important and critical for us to understand that the resurrection of the
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Lord Jesus Christ is not just a feature of Christianity as we've already said but it is the main event of Christianity.
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That's why there's such an importance here of this day as we speak about the physical resurrection of the
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Lord Jesus Christ. And there's much to be said, but we're going to focus on these 18 verses and as we begin, let me first of all quote you one of my favorite pastors that's still living and it's
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John MacArthur, Pastor John MacArthur and I'm sure right now three hours difference in California, he's, is it ahead or behind?
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He's behind, so I'm sure they're preparing to have worship. So let's pray for him.
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But anyway, I really appreciate his ministry and I've learned so much through the years and let me give you a quote by him and his commentary on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and I think you'll really like this in my introduction.
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That gives us insight of the great importance of the resurrection. And I quote
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Pastor John MacArthur, he says this about the resurrection. Resurrection is the point of redemption.
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The whole purpose of God in creating and redeeming his people is to raise them, to raise them to eternal glory so that they can worship him forever.
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This is the point of redemption. Resurrection to eternal glory is not only glorified spirits, but glorified bodies.
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Our resurrection is secured by the power of God and the power of Christ demonstrated in his resurrection and because he lives, we will live.
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The resurrection is not only a demonstration of power, but it also is a validation of his offering because God was satisfied with the sacrifice
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Christ offered for the sins of his people. God raised him from the dead validating his work on the cross.
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He said it is finished, God says I am satisfied. Raised him and ascended him to eternal glory, sat down at the right hand of God to intercede for his saints and bring them all into eternal glory, spiritually and in resurrected form.
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The resurrection then is the greatest event in history, in redemptive history or history period.
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It is the most significant expression of the power of God on behalf of believers.
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It is the cornerstone of the gospel promise. We are saved to be raised from the dead and into heaven we go forever in that resurrected form.
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The purpose of salvation again is a resurrected people.
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That is the importance of the resurrection, the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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So the resurrection of Jesus Christ is central to the Christian faith. The incarnation and the crucifixion are critical but they were necessary preludes for the resurrection.
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The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, it is the keystone of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
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Take away the resurrection, everything collapses. Everything in scripture collapses.
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Everything is hinging whether Jesus Christ was raised from the dead or he is not. We know thanks be unto
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God who gives us the victory. God the Father has risen, has rose, has brought again up the
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Lord Jesus Christ. You see this being read this morning, 1 Corinthians 15, the
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Apostle Paul, and I am going to quote a few verses here as he has already read, but it has a primary importance to it.
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In verse 14, if Christ has not been raised from the dead then our preaching is vain and your faith is vain.
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If Christ has not been raised your faith is vain and you are still in your sins. But now
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Christ has been raised from the dead, don't you love the Apostle Paul putting the emphasis right there, but now he has been risen from the dead.
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He became the first fruits of those that are asleep. So we see that, the
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Apostle Paul is bringing that out, seeing then that the risen Christ transformed a little band of discouraged disciples and then gave them courage to come out from behind the closed doors and then in Jesus' name shows us and shows to everyone that there is no other explanation for their new found and persistent courage then that they had seen with their own eyes, handled with their hands, the risen
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Lord. The risen Jesus Christ. It changed their lives forever.
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It changed the disciples and did you ever think of this, it is indisputable evidence that they were propelled in a dynamic way by the power of God to turn the world upside down with their message.
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You see this throughout the book of Acts. That was the central message. It was Christ crucified and the resurrection.
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Jesus Christ, he died, buried and rose again from the dead.
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Within 30 days they were seen proclaiming the risen Christ from the very spot where their lives were being threatened.
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Think of that. They were preaching to the very people who were seeking to arrest and execute them and only one thing, think of this, could cause them to adopt this kind of strategy to be such powerful witnesses for the
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Lord. It was the risen Lord Jesus Christ. They preached a
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Christ that was alive. He is risen from the dead. He is glorified.
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So we see with the apostles and then the apostles preach the mighty resurrection and then you start in the book of Acts with the first sermon by Peter as he is full of the
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Holy Ghost and he preaches Christ crucified from the scriptures, it is expository and then he preaches the resurrected
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Christ. He is alive. The subject was the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to show the
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Messiah had to suffer and then rise again and establish a glorious kingdom.
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And then the church began at that very beginning to meet on the first day of the week known as the
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Lord's day. You know that is why we commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the
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Lord's day, the first day of the week right here in this text. We will see that. That is why we meet.
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We celebrate and commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and it is the first day of the week that we see in chapter 20 of the
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Gospel of John and how this marvelous story unfolds in this chapter.
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18 verses. And I would like to bring to your attention, there are two major points that we would like to look at.
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I am trying to summarize it to two major points but believe me, these two major points are going to cover a lot of territory.
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These two major events concerning the resurrection as He appeared to Mary Magdalene. And I would like to set before you two to observe with me this morning of His resurrection, the
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Lord's day morning. First of all, the great number one event that we will look at is the great discovery, the great discovery, the empty tomb.
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We will see that in verses 1 through 10. Verses 1 through 10, the great discovery.
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Next, we will look at the second event that is the great recognition, the great recognition that Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene in verses 11 through 18.
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So let's take our journey and look at these two great events before us. Event number one, the great discovery.
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What is the great discovery? We see it in verses 1 through 10. It is the empty tomb.
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The empty tomb. Now keep in mind, apparently Mary has arrived ahead of the other women.
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We will see this and you also can read this in Matthew chapter 28 verse 1, Mark 16 1,
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Luke 24 verse 10. Keep in mind also that Mary Magdalene is out of whom
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Jesus had cast seven demons, was the last one at the cross and she was the first one at the tomb.
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That tells us a lot about Mary, that she supremely loved the Lord Jesus Christ.
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She had a deep profound love for Him and we will see why after a while. Now Mary Magdalene had an unquestionable, unquestioning discovery and it was the unsealed tomb and this seems, this is actually seen in verses 1 and 2.
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Let me read it again. Now the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early and while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
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And verse 2 says, then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and said to them, they have taken away the
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Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid Him. Now notice closely with me this fascinating scene simply recorded for us.
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There are four important facts we can observe here as we break this down. The first being Mary Magdalene visits the tomb early.
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It was early, when it was still dark as John says.
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Matthew actually says it was the end of the Sabbath in Matthew 28 .1
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meaning between 3 or 6 a .m. in the morning. Mark says it's very early and the sun had risen, interesting.
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Luke says it is early dawn and Matthew again says it began to dawn and here
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John tells us it was still dark. Now I want you to think of this. There is a pure honesty here in the
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Holy Writ and I love this. These eyewitnesses tell us their account of what they saw.
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No editor is saying, well, it's a little bit different here. No. We might want to harmonize all this.
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No. The integrity of Scripture is maintained in the honesty of these statements.
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There is integrity in the Scripture. That shows you the purity of the Scriptures. Clearly all the
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Gospel writers place the arrival at the same time. It's daybreak and when it is daybreak it's very early and when it is daybreak as Mark says the sun has risen.
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As Luke says it is early dawn and as Matthew says it became dawn. And John says it is still dusky dark.
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But this is beautiful simple credibility is untampered with and the perspectives by the different perspectives by the four
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Gospel writers tells us that John says it was still dark and when
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Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. Now why is this fact important to us? It tells us that Mary Magdalene was the first one to arrive at the tomb.
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She's the first one there and like I said she was the last one to leave the cross. Dawn happens rapidly, doesn't it?
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So as I read one commentator says as it was dawning over the Mount of Olives, as the sun was beginning to rise, each
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Gospel writer gives a different account of their testimony of how it happened.
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See and as it was arising it was probably shadowed a little bit different geographically.
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Dawn happens rapidly but nonetheless when she came being the first one, Mary Magdalene, it was still one, it was on the dark side of the dawn.
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That's what it's saying. Now she didn't start out alone, did she? If you read in other accounts it also in Matthew chapter 27 according to Matthew chapter 27
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Mary had another Mary with her. That Mary was the mother of James and Hosea, Hosea, I'll say it right, that pronunciation, was with her.
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So she wasn't alone but we do know that she was the first one to arrive.
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So important to note this also that there were women at the foot of the cross and she was it and she was the last one to leave the foot of the cross and same women who were at the foot of the cross were there on Friday.
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So here they come. When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were preparing to bury the body of Jesus it says in Luke 23, 55, the women, the women who had come with the
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Lord out of Galilee saw the tomb and where the body was laid.
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So they knew where to go, right? So that's important to know these facts of the reasons of she's not alone, she has another
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Mary with her, so they were at the cross and were at the burial and of course they don't go anywhere or travel anywhere on the
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Sabbath. Think of that for a second. There was no traveling on the Sabbath.
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So what does that tell us? The Sabbath is over. Now, there's an important truth here.
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There gives to us the second important fact here recorded in the word of God, the Sabbath is over.
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So why is this fact so important and significant to us and I'm going to tell you why. The reason
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Jesus arose before dawn, he was already risen from the dead. Before the sun arose on Sunday morning, this was significant to the early believers because it broke away from the common division of the week which began with the
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Sabbath being on Saturday. Boy, I wish I had some Sabbath day Adventists with me today. Because the facts are here to prove this from the recorded scripture.
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They began to count their days beginning with the first day of the week.
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Isn't that interesting? The first day of the week is the resurrection of Jesus Christ according to the verses that I've just read.
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That's why Christians call it the Lord's day. Right here. He is risen from the dead.
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So these women actually have awakened on the morning of the first day of the week. The first thing they think about here is getting back to the tomb.
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Why? Why are they thinking about getting back to the tomb? Well they have in mind to go back probably to pour more anointing oil on the body of Jesus.
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They were not expecting a resurrection. You see, we know this.
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We know this today because Jesus is risen from the dead. But they were, at that time, were not expecting the resurrection of Christ.
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They were going back to anoint the body. They were not expecting a resurrection.
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Now that's the scene as we see here when we come to this verse 1. And the next thing we see important here is the third fact that Jesus arose on the first day of the week again on Sunday morning.
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This means that he had been in the grave just as he said, and you can look at the, go back and read the gospel writers,
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Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and how many times he mentioned that the Son of Man must suffer under the hands of sinners, be buried, and on the third day rise again.
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They didn't get it. But that's what he said for three days.
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So his arising from the dead on the third day was a triumph, and it is a conquest over death, and isn't that wonderful?
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I mean, think of that. We have hope of eternal life because of Jesus rising physically from the dead.
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Death could not hold him. The grave has no victory over him. Death has lost its sting.
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The grave has no victory as we sung. Death reigns no more because Jesus took it by the throat.
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Its rule has been broken. Now I want you to think of this, just not in time, but for eternity.
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He has broken the power of death, and death will be completed one day in the future, completely broken forever.
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The last enemy destroyed will be death. Now the fourth important fact about this great event is that Jesus arose on the first day of the week on Sunday morning.
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Another reason why this is so important is that he was in the grave on the Sabbath, and I want you to think of this, unable at this time to observe the laws governing the great season of the
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Passover and the Sabbath. Now so what does that tell us? And that he was dead to observe the law, though he fulfilled it in life, to the letter and to the
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T. Now in death, or should I say in Christ's death, this is symbolic of the believers, our believers' identification with Jesus Christ.
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Where are you going with this, Pastor? I'm going to tell you where I'm going with this. We have gained this in his death, and we as believers are become dead to the law as well.
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Now you've got chapter and verse, you bet I do, and there's a lot of them, but I'm going to give you one, because we've got to get back to this account.
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The Romans 7, 4, Paul had this in mind when he said this in Romans 7, verse 4,
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Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, to him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
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So in other words, in response to faith of the Lord Jesus Christ being raised from the dead while he was buried, that's why it includes the burial, has a significant truth to it.
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God makes us, the believing sinner, forever dead to the condemnation and the penalty of the law.
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Isn't that great? We're dead to the law. The law cannot save us anyway.
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The purpose of the law is to be a tutor and a schoolmaster, that we may see our sin, that we may go to the cross of Jesus and be saved.
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See, that's the purpose of the law. It has no power to save. It condemns.
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That's why Paul says in Romans 8, verse 1, Therefore, there's no condemnation in Jesus Christ.
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Do you see? It's not the law we have faith in. It's grace. It's Christ.
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It is his power over death. That's the gospel. Now we have a first line of evidence here of the resurrection.
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That is the empty tomb, right? Now you will love this great truth as well. In the reality, the stone wasn't rolled away to let
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Jesus out. It is to let and rolled away to let the witnesses in.
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Amen, Keith. Keith took my thunder, but that's okay. Amen, brother.
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Amen. But that's okay. That's why we're here, right? We let the thunder roll because it's the gospel.
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You see, it's the resurrection of Jesus Christ that doesn't need a stone to be removed.
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I always used to think, you know, wow, he burst it out and Jesus had to get out of there.
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Hey, look, that stone was nothing to him. It was nothing.
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Actually, I believe it was probably the power of the angels. They were sitting there as you're reading Matthew's gospel. They were sitting there waiting and you know the
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Roman centurion soldier was, you know, it was the end of the line for him. He fell as a dead man and Jesus burst it out of there, but that, hey, it wasn't to let
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Jesus out. It was to let the witnesses in. A resurrected Jesus doesn't need a stone to be removed.
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So as Mary arrives, what does she see? She sees the stone's been taken away from the tomb. And this strong evidence for the resurrection of the stone is not rolled back for the benefit of Christ, but as the case of Lazarus, see,
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Lazarus had, Jesus said, roll the stone. Different with Jesus, you see, completely different.
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But the stone was rolled back to let the witnesses in. Think of that. When Christ arose, he was in his physical, yet glorified, resurrected body, a spiritual body, yet physical and spiritual dimensions, which has no physical bounds.
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As you see in verses 19 and 20 in this chapter, as he appears to the apostles, the disciples in the room,
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Jesus didn't need a door to go through. He demonstrated to the disciples he doesn't need doors. After all, he is the door.
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That's what he said in John 10. However, witnesses are needed. The accounts are needed for people to believe.
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That's why there are witnesses. And you've got Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And next, next we see in verse 2 that Mary ran to Peter first.
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Notice in verse 2, then, she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, that's
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John, whom Jesus loved. Now this act is important, and I'm going to tell you why. It shows that Peter was still an accepted leader among the apostles.
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He was a man of courageous stature. Surely his cowardice had been broadcasted,
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I'm sure, and during that time period and well -rumored, that he denied the Lord three times and here yet repeated and picked up himself and resumed his duty as the lead apostle.
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Now how? How? Because this was a prayer that the father answered when
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Jesus said to him, Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for thee that your faith would not fail.
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That's why Peter came back. I've read even some commentators where he picked himself up by the bootstrap and there he goes.
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No, it was because Jesus himself prayed for him. And keep in mind, Jesus is praying for you as a believer at the right hand of God that your faith would not fail.
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Now that will encourage you. Now next we see in the text that Mary Magdalene reveals unquestioning love.
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There's an unquestioning love. She tells Peter and John, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they've laid him.
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Here we see Mary Magdalene as a supreme example of one who believes and loves, although she did not understand it.
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She was one of the last to leave Jesus at the cross in Mark 15, 40 through 47.
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She was also the one of the first to come to the tomb and one who still called
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Jesus Lord. My Lord, she says. My Lord. Her belief was one of great love and true love of the
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Lord Jesus Christ and Jesus was her Lord. My Lord. And she knew that Jesus, what
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Jesus had done for her and she loved him for it. Jesus was her Lord, dead or alive.
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Mary says, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him.
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Now, we don't know what she's referring to. Scripture doesn't tell us a they. It could be the Roman soldiers. It could be the
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Jewish leaders. It could be the Sanhedrin. Whatever they is, but it doesn't tell us.
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But in her mind, she's saying they. So this is clear evidence that they hadn't actually planned to steal away the body of Jesus as people have said.
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You know, I was browsing about in a bookstore and I was looking at many, many books,
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Christian books in the theology section and you would be quite surprised of books this thick that has been written about the accounts of the empty tomb and the facts and the evidence.
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And a great deal has gone into this, but it is very important for us to know today that the body of Jesus Christ was not stolen away.
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She doesn't expect a resurrection. She is not part of a plot or a fake resurrection, by the way.
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I don't believe that the disciples would become martyrs to a fake resurrection, would you?
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And if you read the history by tradition, that each and every one of the apostles after Jesus rose again from the dead, each one of them were put to death in a horrible way except for John.
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John died at an old age, but they did attempt to put him to death when they dipped his body in the boiling hot oil at an old age.
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But all the rest of them were martyred. It would have to be the real thing, beloved, for them to be martyrs.
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Think of that. To put your life down for something worth dying for.
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And the resurrection of Jesus Christ was worth dying for. Next we see
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Peter and John's shocking discovery. Notice in verses 3 through 6, the shocking discovery of Peter and John.
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It's what? The linen clothes. Now, you may not think that the linen clothes matters very much, but it does matter a great deal.
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Notice what the verse says, 3 and, I'm sorry, let me read verses 3 through 6. Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, which is speaking of John, and were going to the tomb in verse 4.
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So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter, interesting comments on that,
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I believe it's because John was a little bit younger than Peter, and so he outran him, and came to the tomb first.
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It's kind of comical, a little bit. And he's stooping down, and looking in the tomb, saw the linen clothes lying there, yet he did not go in, verse 6, then
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Simon Peter came, he caught up with him, following him and went into the tomb.
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See that's Peter, isn't it? He's just very bold and courageous. He takes the plunge.
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He looks inside, and he goes into the tomb, and he saw the linen clothes lying there.
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Let me stop right there. Peter and John's shocking discovery at the empty tomb was the linen clothes.
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That's the shocking discovery. Scripture tells us that they went forth, or went out to the tomb.
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John again outran Peter, because of him being younger, so he outran, and he was faster, and John arrived at the tomb, and just glanced in when
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John first got there, and he didn't go in like Peter, but he noticed the linen clothes. He noticed them.
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And Peter actually entered the tomb, and he too noticed the linen clothes, but they both knew the significance of this.
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They knew it was important. Why? Well, it's important because if the body had been removed by the authorities, or stolen by someone, the linen clothes would have been taken away, or plummeted, or the body left in a disarrayed mess.
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You see what I'm saying? Thrown somewhere down on the floor, or taken away, but there they were.
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And the description and the impact of the event upon the two disciples, neither one discussed his thoughts about it, did he?
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You ever think of that? Not while standing there at the time, at any rate. Look at verse 7, and a handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but folded together in a place by itself.
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Now this is very significant, because here's a wonderful contrast between the resurrection of Lazarus, and Jesus, and Lazarus being raised from the dead, and John 11, 44, he had to be unbound, loose him and let him go,
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Jesus said. But here, that of Jesus, not like Lazarus wearing his grave clothes,
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Jesus' body, though he was physical and material, was glorified, was now able to even pass through the grave clothes in a powerful way, when he was resurrected, and later appeared in the locked room.
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In other words, he went right through the linen clothes. Powerful. The linen clothes tells us they were lying undisturbed.
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Now I looked into this a little bit, and I've got some Greek words for you, okay, I'm not a Greek scholar, but I love this, and I'm not going to try to pronounce the
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Greek words, because I'll make a fool of myself. But the Greek word folded together, or wrapped together, is the verb which is used for actually winding the linens around the body for burial.
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That's how they did it, they wound them up. The Greek word is saying to us that the linen were still in their fold, wrapped, just as they would be wrapped around a body as if the body just had evaporated right through it.
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Isn't that wonderful? The state of those items, and the state of those items are so strong evidence for several things to observe, and I'm going to tell you why.
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Number one, it would be impossible to extract the body from its wrappings and leave them in such good order.
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Think of that. Two, the wrappings would have been taken with the body if the body had been removed.
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Two. Three, the wrappings would have been dishelved and disarrayed, as I said, and scattered if thieves had ransacked the tomb.
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Third. Fourth, the wrappings under the circumstances that might be conceived in removing the body could never be placed in the exact spot on the rock slab where the body lay.
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Now I want you to think of that. Yet this is just how it says it would happen in the scriptures.
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They were lying according to the Greek text, and what this was that led
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John to immediate belief. This is what led John to believe, right here. All appearances indicate that no one had taken the body, but that it had moved through the clothes and left it behind in the tomb, in verse 8.
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And then the other disciple, John, it came to the tomb first. He went in, also Peter went in, and he also saw him, and what did he do?
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Believed. This was the reason he believed. It was right here that John saw the grave clothes and was convinced by them that he had been risen from the dead.
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Verse 9 says, for as yet they did not know or understand the scripture that he must rise again from the dead.
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At this moment, in time, neither Peter nor John really understood the scripture, said
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Jesus would rise from the dead. By the time John wrote the gospel, and by the way, John's gospel was the very last written, the church had developed an understanding of the
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Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah's resurrection. You see, verse 10 says this, let's move on, then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
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They returned to where they had been staying, probably in Jerusalem, and then concluded to tell the other disciples what they saw.
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Now, we come to event number two. We're going to look at the latter part where we see the great recognition that Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene.
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We witness this great event in verses 11 through 18. This no doubt, beloved, is one of the most precious events in history.
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It was our Lord's first appearance after the resurrection, and it was an appearance to a woman,
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I want to emphasize, not to the apostles, but to a woman who had been saved from the depths of human depravity.
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Don't you love this? Jesus picked Mary specifically,
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Mary Magdalene, by the way, and it was the appearance to Mary Magdalene, who loved Jesus with the deepest love because of what our
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Lord had done for her. The first thing we see in this glorious event, the first is
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Mary returned to the tomb in verse 11. She returns to it. Mary stood outside in verse 11 by the tomb, weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb, and I love this.
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I love the way John begins this verse, but Mary, but Mary. These two words are striking.
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Why? Because the other disciples went home. But Mary, but Mary.
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Here again, we love her devotion to the Lord, as this woman so loved our
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Lord. She had been forgiven much, Scripture tells, and what does the Bible say? Therefore, she loved much.
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And here before us, we see her weeping, and she noticed, first, as she's without, by the way, outside of the tomb in the sepulchre, weeping, and she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb.
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Verse 12 and 13, and she saw the two angels in white sitting, and at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
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Mary has a sense of deep grief and loss here. Actually, I can honestly say
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I believe her deep grief and loss is to the point of despair. She's in despair.
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Where have they taken the body of the Lord? She couldn't figure it out. She doesn't understand, and she sees the first startling sight, two angels, two angels, one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus lain.
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Angels are messengers of God, as you well know. They are ministering spirits, as it says in the book of Hebrews, servants of the
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Most High Living God, and they send messages, and they serve the
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God of heaven and earth. They're sent from heaven specifically for this occasion, because it's an important one, to carry out
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His will. And on this particular occasion, they're sent to add the spectacular significance of the glorious resurrection of Jesus the
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Messiah. And also John's reason, I believe, is to believe the mention of the angels is the demonstration that no grave robbers took the body of Jesus.
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That is important. There was also an operation of the power of God. They were clothed in white, speaking to these angels, signifying their holiness and purity of God from whose presence they come from.
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And as you well know in Matthew, as they came on the scene, the soldier went down like a dead man.
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And them soldiers were not wimps. And here we read that the angels asked her only one question.
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I love this. Notice in verse 13, then they said to her, woman, why are you weeping?
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Why are you weeping? That's all they asked her. And she said to them, but because they, notice she says they again, they have taken away my
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Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him. She cannot understand or figure out where they have laid the body, what has happened to the body of Christ.
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Interesting that Mary did not seem to have any fear or surprise of seeing these angels.
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Maybe because she couldn't recognize them because of her tears. There's been so many commentators just give a suggestion of what is happening with Mary here, but you can actually see the event.
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She's weeping strongly. And you know how it is, if you're weeping in a very convulsing way, your vision does become blurred.
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Here they were before her in white, glowing, probably like glistening whiteness and brilliance, and yet Mary doesn't get caught up in seeing these angels.
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There's been one of us, oh boy, look at the angels. But she doesn't say that. You know what her focus is on?
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Jesus. And that's where our focus should be on. Not angels. Even though angels are great sights, and I'm sure they are wonders to behold, but here
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Mary, it's like, maybe it's because she doesn't recognize them because of her tears, but if she does recognize them as angels, her focus is on Jesus.
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Her love is on her life, that's the love of her life. And she truly has a loving heart for the
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Lord, and we don't know who she's referring to again. They? It could be the Roman authorities, or the
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Sanhedrin, or the Pharisees, or whoever it may be, but we don't know. Mary answers the two angels, and what does she say?
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Because they have taken away my Lord. And I don't know where they've laid him. She's in despair.
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We don't know. Think of it, she wasn't expecting the resurrection. She really thinks, where have they taken the body? So she answers them their question to her, and she answers them as if they were quite normal, really.
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It's obvious from the answer that she did not realize that Jesus had risen, or is alive again, right?
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But then in verse 14, it says this, now when she had said this, she turned around.
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Now we don't know exactly what caught her attention, but she saw Jesus standing, and the
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Scripture says, did not know that it was Jesus. Mary fails once again to recognize who this was.
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Perhaps her vision has clouded her because of her tears, but John says, as she turned around, something caused her to look back from her.
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And it was Jesus himself standing, and here we do not know. Mary is weeping continually.
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She has clouded vision, tears, and maybe the sun was just dawning.
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It got in her eyes, we don't know. But it was possibly God preventing her from recognizing the
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Lord. Did you ever think about that? Like the disciples on the road of Emmaus?
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They didn't recognize the Lord. So maybe it's because at the proper time, the
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Lord wanted her to see Him. I personally believe the latter there. But we don't know for sure because the
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Scripture does not say specifically, but I do believe personally that the Lord withheld her seeing
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Jesus, but at the right time, you'll see. In these verses, we see that Mary saw a startling sight.
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Oh, what a marvelous sight this must have been. Mary saw Jesus, and there, in a sense, while Mary was still speaking to the angels, she sensed another presence, and she looks behind, and we read about the startling question
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Jesus said to her. Woman, then Jesus said to her, Why are you weeping?
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Whom are you seeking? And Jesus repeats the question that the angels just asked, and then next part of the verse 15, she supposing Him to be the gardener said to Him, Sir, and by the way, if you look, that word
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Sir in the Greek means Lord. Lord, if you have carried Him away, her submission, her humility, tell me where you've laid
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Him, and I will take Him away. That is love. She don't understand, but she's willing to take
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Him. Boy, are we willing to take Jesus. In her devotion to Jesus, Mary seeks to learn where she might find
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Jesus' body so that she might take Him away, a task that would be very difficult emotionally, physically for her as a woman.
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But she was perfectly willing to do this. Think of that. She believes that Jesus' body had been dishonored, and she is determined to see that He deserves honor, and if she could persuade this man, thinking he's the gardener, tell her, please, where can
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I find the body of Jesus? And find a way to do it needs to be done. One commentator says this.
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I love this. I wrote this. There's an irony here. Jesus' opponents, because of their hostility, failed to see the
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Messiah in their midst. Now Jesus' friends, because of her love, also fail to see.
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There's something lovely about Jesus making His first resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalene. We would think that He would grant
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His honor to one of the inner circle disciples or to His mother. But God's ways are not our ways.
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We would not have picked Mary Magdalene, would we, for this honor. But neither would we have picked
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Jacob to carry the promise of a great nation. Or the boy
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David, amen, to slay the giant. Or the persecutor
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Saul of Tarsus to become one of the greatest missionaries. God calls whom
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God calls. I love that, don't you? Because God's God and we're not.
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And God chooses little, humble Mary Magdalene. Verse 16, Jesus said to her,
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Mary, don't that run all over you.
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Mary, she turned and said to Him, Rabboni, don't you love that?
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Teacher, this is significant, this is very significant. Because whatever reason, her failure to recognize
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Jesus, but for the very moment Jesus spoke a single word, she immediately recognized
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Him. And as Brother Keith has said in John 10, just as the disciples of Emmaus recognized
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Jesus and broke bread, through the breaking of the bread, Mary recognized Him as He calls her by name, as John 10 says.
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And I got the verse here, John 10, 3 and 4. He calls His own sheep by name. And leads them out.
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Don't you love that? It's personal. God knows your name. Whenever He brings out
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His own sheep, He goes before them and the sheep follow Him. There's no question about it, they follow
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Him. And because they, what? Know His voice.
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Mary knew the voice of Jesus. Instantly, like that. All her despair was gone.
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And everything changed. From darkness to light. Verse 17, isn't that wonderful?
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Jesus said to her, don't cling to Me. I have not yet ascended to My Father, but go to My brethren and say to them,
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I'm ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God. This verse of Scripture has been, generated a great deal of controversy, by the way, among the scholars.
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I don't have time really to break this down, but why does Jesus prohibit Mary from touching
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Him, but later invites Thomas to do so in verse 27? When Jesus speaks of His brothers,
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He is talking about His earthly brothers, or is He talking about His disciples? Well, how does the
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Ascension account in John's Gospel relate to that in Luke and Acts? Those are very important questions.
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Now, scholars differ on these matters, but most believe that Mary had thrown herself down at Jesus' feet and clinging to Him.
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Now, I want you to picture this. You could see this happening because she doesn't want to lose her
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Lord again. You see, now she's found Him. And I don't know if you was in her shoes,
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I think we would have done the same thing. We would have fell at His feet and took a hold of Him.
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And I like what MacArthur says here. Jesus' reference to His Ascension signifies that He would only be temporarily with them, and though she was desperately wanting
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Him to stay, He could not stay. Jesus was with them 40 more days and then ascended in Acts 1, 3 -11.
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And after He went to the Father, He sent to the Holy Spirit. The Helper sent the Holy Spirit by the promise of the
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Father. And MacArthur says this, so that they would not feel abandoned. Disciples have been called servants or friends in John 15, 15, but not brothers until here.
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Because Jesus' work on the cross in place of the sinner, this new relationship to Christ has been made possible.
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Now, verse 18, Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples she had seen the Lord and that He had spoken these things to her.
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She obeys the commission and became what I like, what people have said, the apostle to the apostles.
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Isn't that amazing? Mary Magdalene. You know, you think of it.
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Jesus is no one like Jesus Christ that has elevated the woman. And that's amazing.
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You know, in our society, women are looked down on. And even in that society.
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But you know something? Jesus elevated the woman. He liberated her. He liberates all of us, but He really liberated the woman.
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Read the gospel accounts. Most of them are women that comes to Jesus. The woman that had the issue of blood many years.
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And she was persistent, going and touching Jesus' garment. And that was her faith that took a hold of Jesus.
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Well, here, faith. It was Mary's faith. Can we doubt that this great privilege was given to her as a reward for her devotion?
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I've got one application. I've got to hurry. This is an important application, but I want to focus on just one.
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And as most of us are believers in this room, we cannot undermine or underestimate the grave significance and importance of the resurrection, can we?
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It is so important. The Bible says that God came to earth as a man to pay the penalty of death because of the sins of the world.
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And you read that in John 1, verses 1 -29. Brother Keith, you were right on this morning.
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Romans 6 -23, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
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Lord. Brother, I already had that in my notes before you even said that. That's the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that if Jesus Christ did not overpower death's grip to escape that cold, rocky tomb,
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He would not be able to provide us the victory over death. And that's what Brother Ben read this morning in 1
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Corinthians 15. So the implications of the resurrection of Jesus Christ must be considered honestly.
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And by the way, everything depends on it. Can I say that? Everything depends on it.
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Everything. That's where our hope lies. Now, it's going to narrow down to one thing, and I want you to think of this.
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This is what the Apostle Paul says on Mars Hill in Acts 17 when he was preaching that great sermon.
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God commands all men everywhere to repent. Now, I want you to think of this. Because He has appointed a day on which
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He will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom He has ordained.
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That's Jesus Christ. But notice what Paul says. He has given assurance of this.
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Of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Even the judgment to come.
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Now, I'll tell you this. If Jesus Christ is not risen from the dead, there's no hope for none of us.
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And our faith is vain, and we're still in our sins. And the heathen can just go to the ground and know that there's no judgment.
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But I've got news for them. There's a judgment. And how can I say that?
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And how can I say that without God's assurance? Because the Word of God is true to every jot and tittle and every prophecy that's been fulfilled to the
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T through Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ claims His claims and says who He is to this day.
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Not because of my personal belief, but because of the Word of God. And there's a judgment to come for sure because Jesus is risen from the dead.
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You see, everything is lying on that. And you could tell people that you witness to, but I witness to you because Jesus is risen.
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That's the assurance. Paul had that assurance. Now, according to the Bible, the Word of God, the eternal destiny of every human being is at stake.
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We can live forever under God's blessing in heaven. That's to receive eternal life through Jesus Christ our
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Lord. Or we can suffer endlessly under Satan's devastating tyranny in hell and forever suffer under God's wrath and punishment and hellfire and torment and not receive eternal life and reject
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Jesus Christ. That's called eternal death and damnation. Now, let me say this, and you know this as believers.
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That's the only two choices we have in life. It's eternal life or eternal death.
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And I heard a sermon years ago. My uncle preached. He said, it's holiness or hell. And he's right. It's Jesus or hell.
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There's no in -between. And this is sad to say, but Jesus said it.
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In Matthew, on the Sermon on the Mount, many will, according to Jesus, go into the way of destruction.
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But few will come to Jesus. And I tell you what, that's why if it says few are going to come in, then we need to make sure we're the one of the few.
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But can we get ourselves in the kingdom? No, we can't. But there is something that God...
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Jesus said many will strive to enter in and not be able to enter in. God doesn't delight in the death of the wicked, but He's made a way, beloved.
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And we can repent and believe the Gospel. That's what I'm leading to. All this depends on our response and your response to Jesus and the resurrection.
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His death, His resurrection. Period. Now, go with me very quickly to John.
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I'm trying to wrap this up, and I'm almost at that hour. Oh, my goodness. And I'm at the most critical part.
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Can you bear with me on this? Wow. I've got to thank you.
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Thank you for it all. I have labored, beloved. But I'm thankful for it. Go with me to John chapter 5 very quickly.
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Let's run through this. Just give me a few minutes, please. Look at chapter 5, verses 22 to 30.
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I want to read this very quickly. And I want to kind of go through it. And this is critical.
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Very, very critical. Because this is what we need to see in the Gospel. This verse in verse 22.
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Notice what Jesus says. Now, all of this is talking about life and judgment are through the Son.
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Notice the verse 20. Let me go back to verse 18. Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill
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Him because He not only broke the Sabbath, but He also said that God was His Father.
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He was right. Making Himself equal with God. He's right, beloved. That's why they killed
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Him. Jesus answered and said to Him, Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself.
01:00:30
And what He sees the Father do, and whatever He does, the Son also does in a like manner. For the
01:00:35
Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself does. And He will show Him greater works than these that you may marvel.
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For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even the Son gives life to whom
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He will. Notice the equality with God, the Father. Verse 22.
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For the Father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the Son. That's what
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I just read from Paul. Paul was saying this right here. Now notice verse 23.
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That all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the
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Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Now let me comment here. For this very reason, this verse gives a second reason that God entrusted all judgment to the
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Son. Verse 22. So that all men should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The honor is equal.
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Because Jesus is saying, I am God the Son. I proceed from the
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Father. He's God in the flesh. That's what He's saying. I'm God in the flesh.
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But I'm God the Son. God the Father is my Father. And then later on He talks about God the
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Holy Spirit, doesn't He? So this verse goes far beyond making Jesus just a mere ambassador, a representative, right?
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Who's acting in the name of a monarch. What is it saying? It gives
01:02:02
Him full, complete equality with the Father. That's why it's important to know who
01:02:08
Jesus is. And He's saying... Look at His claims. And Paul talks about this in Philippians 2.
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The honor of the Father. Notice what He's talking about. The honor of the Father. So Jesus turned the tables on the Jewish accusation against Him in blasphemy.
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They were basically saying to Jesus, You're blaspheming. But Jesus turned the tables on them and said,
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No, you're blaspheming. Because Jesus affirmed the only way anyone can honor the
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Father is through receiving the Son. So what did they do? They rejected the
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Son. So they were guilty of the sin of blasphemy. So the Jews were the ones actually blaspheming the
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Father by rejecting the Son. And so is everyone else if we do not receive the
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Son as who He says He is. Now, let me go on real quickly. Look at this verse 24.
01:02:59
This develops the truth of verse 21. Verse 24. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears
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My word... Notice how many times Jesus says it. ...hears My word and believes in Him who sent
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Me, has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death unto life.
01:03:18
Now what's He saying? This develops the truth of verse 21. That Jesus gives life to whomever
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He desires to give life. No one can come to God on their own power and will, right?
01:03:32
It takes the Holy Spirit. It takes the Father that has ordained it before the foundation of the world.
01:03:39
The Son is involved in that too. But the Holy Spirit applies it.
01:03:45
You see that? Jesus gives life to whomever He desires to. Isn't this humbling?
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That we don't have the controls of this. God does. But you must be willing to come in.
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Let me say this, beloved. People say, well, I'm not willing. Then you're in bad shape. But if you're willing, thank
01:04:05
God for it. You know the way Augustine looked at this? If you will not to, then that's sin.
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But if you have a will to come to God, then that's God's grace that is empowering you to come to Him.
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Do you see that? That is awesome. It is the Holy Spirit that's doing the work.
01:04:27
See, a lot of people get involved in the mechanics of this. Is it my free will? Well, really our will is not free.
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We're in bondage. We're not capable of coming to God. It takes the Spirit of God to pull you in, draw you in.
01:04:41
But the Father already knows who's ordained. You see that? Now, these verses, if you study these verses, you can get this.
01:04:50
Because there is an identification. The people who receive that life who are identified as those who hear the
01:04:57
Word and what? Believe. You see? The believing is not something that I can pull up.
01:05:05
It is outside of myself. It is God the Father and the
01:05:12
Son and the Spirit all working together and creating a new person. Isn't that beautiful?
01:05:17
They are the people. See, the people who come to God that believe the Father, the Son and the
01:05:23
Spirit and all of this, they are the people who have eternal life and never will be condemned or lost.
01:05:30
You cannot slip right into hell after this, beloved, when you are a true believer. Look at verses 25 through 29 very quickly.
01:05:40
Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming. And now is. Now and yet to be.
01:05:47
Now we are going to get to that. When the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
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For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself.
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Now, this is powerful. And He has given Him authority to execute judgment also because He is the
01:06:06
Son of Man. Do not marvel at this. And Jesus is basically saying in our terminology, don't be surprised for the hour is coming when all who are in the graves will hear
01:06:17
His voice. Wow! And come forth. Can you imagine that?
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Every dead human being in history that's in dust and skeletons and in the ocean and everywhere, they're going to all come forth.
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Now you're talking about power, beloved. We think this is something so hard, but to God this is nothing because He's created the stars and the universe by the power of His Word.
01:06:43
Beloved, the Scripture says He upholds everything by the Word of His power. Now let me say this.
01:06:48
Those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation.
01:06:55
And Jesus says in verse 30, I can of Myself do nothing. Why? What did
01:07:01
He tell us? As I hear, I judge. And my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own will but the will of the
01:07:09
Father who sent me. Now, let me explain this. In verse 24, this develops to truth in verse 21, that Jesus gives life to whomever
01:07:22
He desires. So the people who receive that life are identified as those who hear the
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Word of God, believe the Father and the Son. They are the people who have eternal life. Now, here we see
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Jesus is relating that all men saved or unsaved will literally and physically be resurrected from the dead.
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This is what Scripture teaches. It's just not going to be a resurrection for the saved but for the unsaved. However, the saved experiences a spiritual, those are the ones that are born again as well as a physical resurrection of eternal life in the now.
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Why? Those are the ones, God's people are born again. The unsaved will be resurrected into the judgment, eternal punishment through the separation of God.
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Now, the second death that speaks of in Revelation 20 and 21 speaks of this.
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These verses constitute proof, beloved, that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh since the
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Son has resurrection power. No one else has. Verse 25 -26 later physically proves that in John 11, 1 -44, by raising
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Lazarus from the dead, that the Father has granted Jesus the status of the judge of all the earth and all of mankind.
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Jesus will be that judge over all flesh. That's why in John 17,
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He prayed that. He says, He has the power over all flesh. Now, in light of other
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Scripture, I don't have time to break this down, it's clear that Jesus speaks generally about a resurrection, not only about one general resurrection.
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But in verses 25, the hour is coming and now is.
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This phrase reveals an already not yet tension regarding the resurrection. I'm almost finished.
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Ephesians 2, And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses of sin.
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See, you were dead in your sins. Dead. Dead men can't raise themselves, can they?
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It takes the power. It takes the resurrection power of God's Word to raise a dead man from the life.
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And that's what He's done in the spiritual new birth. And that's what's got to happen for you to have eternal life.
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All of us. Jesus says, The hour is coming. There's a coming hour. And we talked about this earlier in 1
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Corinthians 15. Verse 26, He's granted to the Son, the Son from all eternity, to have the right to grant eternal life.
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The distinction involves Jesus' deity versus the incarnation. Now, in becoming a man,
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Jesus voluntarily laid aside and exercised His independent privileges and divine attributes and His prerogatives.
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He laid that aside. And Jesus affirms here in His humanity that the Father has granted
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Him life -giving power. The power of the resurrection. Aren't you glad for the resurrection?
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He rose from the dead. You can rise from the dead. Here and now. If you believe and repent.
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Now, I want to close with this. Now, I want to say this one thing. Jesus is not teaching here about justification by works when
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He talks about good deeds or evil deeds. In context, the good is the believing on the
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Son as receiving a new nature and produces good works. Okay? Because our good works cannot get us into heaven, right?
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But in James chapter 2, James basically is saying good works follows the saved.
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The evil done is to reject the Son. I'll tell you, the greatest evil right now is those who reject
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Jesus Christ. And that's what we do not want to do. That's why Paul says the love of God constrains him.
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The terror of the Lord persuades him to tell people the truth of the
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Gospel. And that's what we need to do as believers, right? So in essence, works merely evidence that one nature is saved or unsaved.
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Human works can never determine one's salvation. Now, I'm almost done. In summarizing all that is said in verses from 19 to 30 and what
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Jesus says about His equality with God, Jesus claimed that the judgment
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He exercised was because everything He did, everything that He did was dependent upon the
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Father's Word and the Father's will. Now, if you study that, you can go from Genesis to Revelation.
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The Father's Word and the Father's will. What's God's plan? What is the big picture? Beloved, when
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I started studying the Scriptures and when you see the big picture, it just revolutionizes your life.
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You start to realize I am so small in this, but God has a plan so big and I'm part of it.
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It's beautiful. It's beautiful. So I'm saying this, and it boils down to this one thing.
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You can turn with me. Turn back with me to John chapter... I'm sorry, John... Where is it?
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I almost lost it. John chapter 3.
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Yes. Look at me. Verse 35 and 36.
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And this is the conclusion to what I'm saying. Everything that this message says today and it's this, and I know
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I've gone over my time, but this is so important. Scripture says,
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The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands. This is John the Baptist.
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Verse 36, He who believes in the Son has everlasting life and he who does not believe the
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Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
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Beloved, that's a message you do rarely hear today. But it's the truth. This is the climax of this verse, of the whole chapter.
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What's happening? John the Baptist is basically being pulled aside, laid aside. And he's given us two alternatives.
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Genuine faith, number one, genuine faith, or defiant disobedience.
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Either we have genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ or we have defiant disobedience.
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Thereby bringing to the forefront the threat of looming judgment which is the wrath of God.
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Now, I want you to think of this. Jesus took that judgment. That's why it's
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Jesus or hell. As John here was fading from the forefront and going into the background, he offered the invitation to faith in Jesus Christ.
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And what is he saying? The Son of the living God. Who He is.
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The Messiah. The only Savior. The only Lord to rescue us from the wrath of God and bring us into eternal life.
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And He clearly expressed the ultimate consequences of failure to believe which will suffer the wrath of God.
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That's something we do not want, right? Then there's a cost. I would rather pay that cost for Jesus Christ now in a short time than suffer
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God's wrath for all eternity. How about you? That's my choice.
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We need to make Jesus our choice. And that's why God commands.
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And that reason, that's why I just said, that reason is why Paul says and the
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Word of God says that God commands all men to repent. It's not a suggestion.
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It's a command from God. Repent and believe the Gospel. That is our message.
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Jesus Christ has risen again. Has risen from the dead because of who
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He is and who He said He is. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank You for this wonderful time we have joined together to worship
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You and to hear Your Word, to sing Your praises. And oh, Father, how we thank You. Oh, how we thank
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You for a joyful heart of thanksgiving that You, through Your Son, have given us and through the power of the
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Holy Spirit that You have raised us from the dead. Because Jesus has risen from the dead and He's alive.
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We can live. And He lives. We can live because He's the resurrection and the life.
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Thank You, Father, for this great promise. Thank You for Your Word. Without this, there's no hope. But we thank
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You. We do have a living hope. And that's all in Jesus. All in Jesus. Nothing else should warm our hearts more than Jesus.
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Nothing should fire our hearts and consume our thoughts more than Jesus. Father, help us.
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Help us in our bodies today as we, even as believers, battle remaining sin.
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That we would sanctify ourselves and sanctify the Lord God in our hearts and put Jesus before us in the
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Gospel. He is on Your right hand of power now forever interceding for Your people.
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He's glorified. And Father, we thank You that we can put all of our trust in Him and all of our trust in His physical resurrection this day that He is our only hope and He's the resurrection and the life and therefore has become our righteousness that we can enter into the
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Kingdom of God. He's become our salvation and our rock, our everything.
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The Lord Jesus Christ, the firstfruits from the dead to those who have fallen asleep in the grave.
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Father, may we put our whole faith and trust in Him for now and our future.