Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
Beyond Death: How One Weekend Changed Everything (Easter)
The profound significance of Easter stands at the very heart of the Christian faith. This message takes listeners on a comprehensive journey through the final days of Jesus' life, exploring each significant moment from his betrayal in the garden to his glorious resurrection.
Throughout this exploration, we discover how every detail of Jesus' suffering fulfilled Old Testament prophecies written centuries before his birth. From the soldiers casting lots for his garments to his burial in a rich man's tomb, these fulfilled prophecies serve as powerful evidence of God's sovereign plan of redemption. We witness Jesus' extraordinary compassion even amid his own suffering—forgiving the repentant thief, caring for his mother, and extending grace to those who persecuted him.
Easter isn't merely historical—it's deeply personal. The invitation to recognize our sinful condition and receive Jesus' freely offered forgiveness remains as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago. This Easter, take time to truly reflect on history's most consequential weekend and consider what Christ's sacrifice and resurrection mean for your life. Then share this transformative message with those around you.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Well, it's arrived, everybody. You can officially say that this is the most important columnation of our Christian calendar. It really is all about Jesus, jesus. Now I want to make sure that we give this the well. I have to make sure that we actually truly give every part of this message the true. I don't know, know, how would you say it, I suppose I suppose it's a matter of saying the importance of this cannot be overlooked in any way, shape or form, and I think that a lot of people, uh, when they get a, a Good Friday message, I mean this is going to be my whole Easter message. All right, so I need some down time, like everybody else. But the thing is with this is that, because this is the entire Easter message, normally because of people's commitments, family events and all that sort of stuff, this is condensed down quite a lot, and so what they do is they do a quick Good Friday message and then they do a quick Sunday service message. Well, I don't want to do that. I want to make sure that we understand the significance of this before we actually really get into it.
Speaker 1:Good friday was the last day of jesus life on earth before his resurrection. He was betrayed by judas, as predicted, and denied by peter, as predicted. His disciples scattered. As predicted, he was arrested and was placed on trial. Falsely. He was condemned, beaten, mocked and required to carry his own cross to the place where he was going to be crucified and die. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. Though he was offered something of dull and physical pain, he refused it. He chose to face the pain of death head on. They stripped him of his clothes and cast lot for them, fully fulfilling another prophecy.
Speaker 1:Every part of that lead up was to fulfill what was prophesied in the Old Testament. Fulfill what was prophesied in the Old Testament and to further be noteworthy is that two prisoners were crucified alongside Jesus. One mocked him, but the other said Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus answered him truly, I tell you today you will be with me in paradise. That's Luke 23, 39 to 43. Now that clearly states there that he was going to be with the father before he had to go down and get the keys off of Satan, because he went to there first and the, I suppose, the better of the two robbers on the cross were. You know he was going to go as well, and that just goes to show.
Speaker 1:Also just a little side note here they were already convicted to receive punishment for their crimes. Right, receive punishment for their crimes, right. But right then on the cross, the last thing that one of the robbers did is he asked for forgiveness and Jesus gave it to him. So it's never too late for anybody. And the main thing is you've got to recognize that you are a sinner and then you've got to ask for forgiveness. So it's a twofold thing. You've got to admit that, yep, you've sinned, and a lot of people that live a very good, wholesome life will tell you that they haven't done anything wrong. But yes, if you have a very, very close look at their life, as far as God is concerned, they sin because they were born into sin, even if they lived a very, very crisp, perfect life. So and another thing to note here is, amidst the most cruel, unfair, unjust and painful death a human body could endure, jesus chose to respond in grace to the criminal beside him and care for his mother and his best friend. John 19, 25, 27 says this right. When Jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her woman here is your son. And to the disciple here is your mother. At noon, jesus cried out Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. And he died. It was at about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Now, let's just go. I'm going to give you a few more scriptures, because I can spend a little bit more time on this. Let's go to the book of Luke, or the gospel of Luke, 23, 44 to 46. And it says this it was now about noon and the darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. When he had said this, he breathed his last breath. All right. Jesus was taken down from the cross, wrapped in linen and placed in a tomb. All right, and so, okay, we'll just go to. Let's see. Let's go to John 18, 19,. All right, john 18 and 19. The betrayal and the arrest okay.
Speaker 1:When he had finished praying, jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kindro Valley. On the other side of this was the garden, and he and his disciples went into it. Now, judas, who betrayed him, knew the place because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the garden guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they were there carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them who is it you want, jesus of Nazareth? They plied I am he. Jesus said, and Judas, the traitor, was standing there with him. When Jesus said I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. Again. He asked them who is it you want, jesus of Nazareth? Who is it you want Jesus of Nazareth? And Jesus answered I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, let these men go. This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fully fulfilled. All right, that's just like a little overview. Okay, to you know. Let you know what was going on, okay.
Speaker 1:So one other thing why is this called good friday? Romans 8, 28, remember, and we know that in all things, god works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. This doesn't mean we are protected from all things that are bad. Jesus' death was terrible. It was awful, the most painful thing physically, mentally and spiritually that any human could have endured. Why would Jesus choose to obey his Father's will and why was his will for the Son to suffer God's way truly above all other things, truly above all other things? And the good news is that Jesus came to die so that we could have our souls saved for eternity. See, the thing is, god can't look upon sin. So what used to happen is that you used to actually do sacrifices on a regular basis to cover up our sin, but the sin was still there. Jesus came to be the perfect sacrificial lamb, the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Have mercy on him. So Jesus stands in the gap between us and God, so that we can come to the Lord and Saviour and say I want to speak to God. And he goes yeah, no worries, I'm standing here for you. That's a blasé way of doing it, but that's what it is. He stands in the gap for us.
Speaker 1:See, on the Saturday of Holy Week, jesus' body rested in the tomb. It was a rich man's tomb, fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 53.9. Fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 53.9. You notice every step of his journey. From the moment that he entered on Palm Sunday, he was fulfilling prophecy that had already been told beforehand. Right Now Isaiah 53.9 says this he was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich. In his death, though, he had done no violent, nor was deceitful in his mouth. So Jesus was given a burial site. Preparations were made for Jesus' body and placement in the tomb by 6 pm when preparations for the Sabbath began.
Speaker 1:Now let's read through. I'm just look, I'm probably jumping all over the place a little bit here, but I want you to really understand every step of his journey and the importance of it. So he was still doing the work of the Father right up until that day, like I said last week. Right up until that day, like I said last week, if you've been told you only had a couple of weeks to live, that you would be doing everything for yourself. It wouldn't be about anybody else. You would be actually doing whatever you wanted to do to try and fulfill as much things as you possibly could before that date. It is highly unlikely, and I mean there's always going to be exception to the rule. It's highly unlikely that if you only had two weeks or one week left to live and it was 100% guaranteed that you're going to die on that particular day, that your thoughts concerns love and compassion would be poured out for other people. Realistically, it's not humanly viable that most people would do that. This is why it's important that I put this into the right perspective.
Speaker 1:Now let's go to Luke 23, 55 to 56. And it said this the woman who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes, but they rested on the Sabbath in obedience with the commandments. So they took their time doing this because they were able to rest on the Sabbath. There are varying theories as to where Jesus' soul was in between his death on the cross and his resurrection. The Bible doesn't really say too much about where he was, but from the statement to the criminal on the cross we know that when he said you will be with me today in paradise, we can only assume that he was in the presence of his Father in heaven on Holy Saturday right, only on the Saturday, right, and it may have only been for a short time, because in Matthew 28, 6, we go to this. He is not here. He has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
Speaker 1:Now, on Easter Sunday, jesus rose from the dead, fulfilling the prophecy. Early in the morning, the woman who had prepared the spices before the Sabbath returned to the tomb to find it empty. Mary Magdalene was the first to arrive. Now let's go to John 10, 20, verse 1. Now, on the first day of the week, mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Two men, angels, appeared to the woman to tell them Jesus has risen. Now we can go to Matthew 28, 2 through to 7, mark 16, 4 through to 7, and Luke 24, 2 through to 7. Right, please read them. The woman, both afraid and joyful, remained first silent and then, quickly finding the 11 disciples, mary ran ahead to tell Peter and John they have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him. John 20, 13. Verse 2, jesus met with the other woman on their way, and this is Matthew 28, 9 to 10. And behold, jesus met them and said Greetings and they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him. After all eleven had been informed, they rushed to the empty tomb. Jesus appeared to Cleopas and another on the road to Emmaus and to Peter. That evening he entered a room with a locked door to greet the other ten disciples. Peace to you. Luke 24, 36 to 43 and John 20, 19 to 23.
Speaker 1:In ten ways Easter changes everything is Easter changes everything. Matthew Harmon observes it and he says it can see like a claim that the resurrection changed everything in an example of hype. But as you read the Bible and you understand all the flaws of Jesus' resurrection, it is no exaggeration to say that Jesus rising from the dead literally changed everything. Now let's just read through that. I'm going to go through Luke 24, 36 first. Just bear with me. I've got a lot of scriptures here. I'll have to flick through Luke 24, 36 to 43.
Speaker 1:Now this is when Jesus appeared to his disciples while they were still talking about this. Jesus himself stood among them and said to them peace, be with you. They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them why are you troubled and why do doubts rise in your mind? Look at my hands and my feet. Is it I myself? Touch me and see, the ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet and while they were still not believing it, because of the joy and the amazement, he had asked Do you have anything to eat? And they gave him a piece of boiled fish and he took it and ate it in their presence.
Speaker 1:Now, before I go on to John 20, 19, do you notice that there's certain things that actually show? See, when Jesus was born? Right, we're just going to skip back there just for a second. When Jesus was born, you know he was the. He'd given up his deity to live on earth amongst us as a human being. So until he was filled with the Holy Spirit, with John the Baptist, he was just like us, normal flesh and blood. He couldn't do miracles, he couldn't do a lot of things, but now he is showing that he has his deity back. He is both man and God at the same time, and he could walk through walls, but he could have fellowship with them and eat. Eating is a very, very important aspect because to a lot of people, you could have someone who's an you know, if you believe that, you could have someone who's an affirmation, but they can't consume anything. They're just an entity. Now let's go to John 20, 19. All right, I just want to get through this, okay. John 20, 19 to 23.
Speaker 1:This is where Jesus is appearing to his disciples and through the eyes of John. On the evening of the first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the door locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, jesus came and stood amongst them and said Peace, be with you. Now you notice they make a point of saying they were hiding from the Jewish leaders, so they were behind a locked door, but Jesus came through the door and said Peace, be with you. After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord Again. Jesus said Peace, be with you, as the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven. And you notice this. This is when Jesus breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit. They weren't filled with the Holy Spirit. They received the Holy Spirit. Okay, they weren't filled with the Holy Spirit. They received the Holy Spirit, okay. So they were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, which is in Acts 1.
Speaker 1:But we're not going to go there, okay, now this is the Gospels according to the written word of God. It is undisputable. The Bible has been translated into more languages than any other book. The Bible is the most read book in the world. The Bible is the most stolen book in the world and the Bible is the most desired book in the world, and the Bible is the most desired book in the world.
Speaker 1:It is clear from the scriptures, both Old and New Testament, that these things did happen. Now, to put it right in perspective now, when the Old Testament ended, there was silence for 400 years. So in other words, everybody that was living under the Old Covenant by the time Jesus came and the New Covenant was started with the book of Matthew, with the Gospels okay, everybody who was around was already dead. So they only had the scriptures to tell them what had taken place back then. And so now they were not only made aware of this by Jesus coming and spending time with them. He fulfilled the Old Testament and he fulfilled the New Testament and he went to the cross at Calvary. And he went to the cross at Calvary, he died and rose again and now is seated at the right hand of the Father and he has sent the Comforter to us, the Holy Spirit, to come and dwell within us.
Speaker 1:Acts 1. So and look, I mean just to finish off, I will go there, all right, just so you know what the next stage of this is. Right, let's just go to the book of Acts. I haven't got this marked, so I wasn't going to do this. Acts 1, the book of Acts. Now, this is the Holy Spirit promise. Okay, acts 1, number 4.
Speaker 1:And, being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said you have heard from me, for John truly baptized you with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
Speaker 1:Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him saying Lord, will you, at this time, restore the kingdom of Israel? And he said to them it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and to all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, and then, after that, jesus ascends to heaven. So he has set the picture at Easter. So if you get the opportunity to go to a Good Friday service or a mass, whatever you like to call it, to go to a Good Friday service or a mass, whatever you like to call it, and you get the opportunity to be there on Easter Sunday, then please invite other friends, relatives and anybody you know, because this is the message that is truly needed for all of us to know, remember, remember and reflect on. God bless you. Talk to you soon. Bye for now.
