The Resurrection As God’s Stamp Of Approval

The resurrection is not just a claim to be defended, it’s a verdict that changes what’s true about your Bible, your Savior, and your future. We open in 1 Corinthians 15 and follow Paul’s gospel core: Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. Then we ask the sharper question many Easter messages skip: what does the resurrection of Jesus actually prove for everyday life and for saving faith?

We connect the empty tomb to Bible reliability and fulfilled prophecy, tracing the storyline from the Old Testament into the apostles’ preaching in Acts. If the resurrection validates Jesus, it also validates the Scriptures that point to Him and the witnesses who stake their lives on what they saw. From there, we go personal and direct: the resurrection proves the deity of Christ, not merely Jesus the teacher or martyr, but Jesus the Son of God with power. That identity is why the cross can forgive sins and why Easter morning is more than inspiration.

We also talk about assurance of salvation when feelings wobble, using Romans 4 to tie Good Friday and Easter Sunday into one saving work: delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification. Finally, we face the forward edge of the resurrection: judgment is coming because Jesus is appointed Judge, and heaven is offered because He prepares a place for His people in John 14. If Jesus rose, He will be either our judge or our advocate.

Listen, share this with someone who needs clarity about Easter, and subscribe so you don’t miss what’s next. After you listen, what do you believe the resurrection proves?

Transcript

Opening Joy And Easter Focus

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Isn't it great to see the children worshiping the Lord, learning the stories of Christ, having it implanted at a young age on their hearts? If you have your Bibles this morning, let me ask you to turn to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, I want to read to you what I consider the greatest gospel passage in all the Bible. And as we celebrate the resurrection this morning, may it be food for thought and food for our souls. The last several Easters I've had the privilege of reading to you this great story of the resurrection. And I've given to you many times over the proofs of the resurrection. And we can easily prove it, and we see that it is the evidence is overwhelming. And today we're not going to do that.

Proofs Set Aside For Meaning

SPEAKER_00 0:52

Today I don't want to just give you proofs for the resurrection. I want to give you today what the resurrection proves. What does the resurrection prove? We could talk about what proves it, and we could talk about how Jesus was really dead. Anybody think that Jesus wasn't actually dead on that cross? That maybe the Romans messed it up and he'd survived. The only one ever that survived crucifixion, no, he was dead. Or do we want to think that the women who came to the empty tomb and that if you were going to create a hoax, you would use these women who their testimony wasn't even valid in court. And if you'll read church history, you'll see they all died terrible, awful deaths. By the way, would you die a terrible, awful death, give your life for a crook or a liar or a scam? Or would you? Not one of them said, all right, it was all a joke. No, they all went and died terrible. I mean, there's just evidence is there, and there's not one piece of literature. You'd think of all the Roman Empire, of all the Jewish Sanhedrin court, there'd have been one piece of paper somewhere that said, here's what happened, we stole his body, we have his body, it's in a box, we have the bones. Not one. Not one. In fact, it was a major cover-up, and everybody knew, and the soldiers that lost him, that were there guarding the tomb, they all got paid off to tell the story that we all fell asleep on duty, which is a criminal offense punishable by death. But we all got promoted and got a raise. You know, just like any local government would do. The evidence is there. I want to share with you today, not what proves the resurrection, but I want to tell you what the resurrection proves. You see, this is the point. This is the whole point. The resurrection is the cornerstone. It is the stamp of approval, it's the period at the end of the sentence. Because he lives, we can live also. Had he never raised from the grave, Christmas would mean nothing. Good Friday would mean nothing. Kill them all if they don't come back from the grave, victorious over sin, death, hell, and the grave, and decay. This is what promises us heaven, the resurrection. Read with me in 1 Corinthians 15.

Paul’s Gospel And Eyewitnesses

SPEAKER_00 3:30

The Apostle Paul says, Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel, which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand. That gospel, verse 2, by which also ye are saved, if you keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. That means they heard it, but it didn't change them. Let me ask you rhetorically, and that means you don't answer back. Have you been changed by the gospel message? Verse 3 For I delivered unto you first of all, which I received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. The Bible says that. Old Testament, New Testament. That we he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. He's gonna go on to say, and there was he was seen of Cephas. Peter saw him, then of the twelve. They all saw him there. And after he was seen of above five hundred brethren at one time, they all saw the resurrected Christ. They saw him nail pierced in his hands, hole in his side, pierced feet. They saw him, and he goes on to say, a hundred brethren, five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are falling asleep. He says, in fact, you can go ask them. When Paul wrote this, most of the 500 that saw Christ, they were there. And you could go, did you see him? I did. The guy that with the fish and the loaves, the guy on the cross, the guy walking on the water, the guy that healed the blind, the guy that raised up the lame kid. Yeah. And you saw him crucified. The one we saw, and you saw him after that? Yeah. Paul says, Go ask them. They saw it for themselves. I want to tell you today.

Resurrection Confirms Scripture Is True

SPEAKER_00 5:27

Number one, this book that you're holding right here is the inspired infallible word of God, and you can trust every word of it. Why? Because of the resurrection. Number one, the resurrection proves the validity and the truth of the Bible. It proves it. All of the prophecies, let's just start with the Old Testament. The Old Testament is the beginning part of the Bible from Genesis to Malachi. It's all of that right there. And it all is the story of Jesus' coming. We're just starting our new series of D groups, and we're starting in the Old Testament. And people say, ah, the Old Testament, it's kind of, you know, hither and thither, and they kill a lot of people, and the animals die. And there's a lot of that going on. And so-and-so begat so-and-so, who begat so-and-so, who begat so-and-so. And guess what? Begat so-and-so, right? It's all there to tell the story and to give validity. Jesus is from Adam. Adam to Moses, Moses to David, David through Malachi, Malachi to John the Baptist. And John the Baptist, here he comes, the Lamb of God that takes away. The whole Bible is the calling for Jesus, and the prophecies are there. Like, do you remember in Isaiah 53? Turn there with me if you will. Isaiah 53, you gotta see it yourself. Isaiah 53 is that great prophetic passage of Christ dying on the cross. Now keep in mind, this is 700 years before the Roman Empire was the Roman Empire. And therefore, crucifixion wasn't a thing. The Romans invented that. So hear me now when I read to you in Isaiah 53, beginning in verse, say 4. Isaiah prophesied, surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him. And listen, by his stripes we are healed. That is the first time ever in world history of literature that phrase has been used and documented by his stripes. What stripes? The stripes that would be there on his back and on his body. Because of the cat of nine tails, where the Romans whipped him. The Bible says that he was whipped by two different men at the same time, and more than 170 lashes tore his body open. Historians say that you would have seen his bones, his ribs. You'd have seen him. They said you would probably have seen his intestines, his stripes, whereby we are healed. You see, that's before they even invented that. Go to Psalm 22 with me. Psalm 22. I want to read to you this prophetic passage that David writes down. But he says the things that Jesus says. Listen to what it says in verse 1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Well, what does that sound like? Does that sound exactly like Jesus on the cross? Look in verse 6. But I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men, and despised of the people. Look in verse 14. I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint. The Bible says not one bone was broken, but that his shoulder was pulled out of joint. They're on the cross. My heart is like wax, it melts in the midst of my bowels, my strength is dried up like a potshered, my tongue cleaveth to my jaws. The Lord said, On the cross, I thirst. Now this is five hundred years before Jesus. The Bible is wildly accurate. Verse 16, For dogs have compassed me. They, the assembly of the wicked, have enclosed me, they pierced my hands and my feet. Was crucifixion invented in the no. No one's piercing anyone's hands and anyone's feet. This is God saying in the Old Testament, my son is coming, he's gonna die, and he's gonna die in this way. In a minute, I'm gonna show you how he dies on the exact day that God says he's gonna die. Proving that everything from Genesis to Malachi, Matthew to Revelation is verifiably true. And let me just say this to you: if any of the Bible is proven false, none of it is true, and you shouldn't believe it. Paul the apostle says, If Christ did not raise from the dead, then we are all dead in our sins, and we have believed a lie, and we are of all men most miserable. Go to Psalm 16. Just flip back once. Psalm 16, in verse 10, David again writing, but he's in prophecy mode. God's giving him this. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. You see, Jesus did die on the cross and went into hell and retrieved for us keys of death and hell in the grave. He says that in the book of Revelation. He will not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. In that wild verse right there, you've got David prophesying 500 years pre-Jesus that Jesus would die, go to hell, but he would not decay in the grave. Isn't that a great one single verse? That's the whole death, burial, and resurrection in one verse. He died, he was buried, but he wasn't there long enough to decay. Go with me to the book of Acts, chapter 2. And this is why we can believe our Bibles. And by the way, this is all dawning on the disciples little by little. Post-resurrection, now they're getting it. I mean, because when he went in the grave, what did they do? Did they go preaching? Did they go hold a revival? No, they hid. They hid for their and it begins to dawn on them, little by little. Didn't he say he was gonna Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinners, he'd be crucified, and he would rise again on the third day. Didn't he say something like that? It begins to dawn on them. Peter is here in Acts chapter 2, and I want to read to you what he says in Acts 2, verse 32. Probably help if I gave you the verse, wouldn't it? Jesus saith, God raised up whereof we are witnesses. This Jesus that God hath raised up, we are all witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God, he exalted, having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost. He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David, he's gonna quote that Psalm 16 and verse 10, for David is not ascended into the heavens. That wasn't David talking, but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know, assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye crucified, Lord and Christ. You see, our Savior in his resurrection verifies the text. This is Peter now recently emboldened. You know this Jesus that we've been talking about? The one that I denied on that night? Do you remember how Peter denied him? Boy, he has changed his tune. He has changed his tune, and it's going to cost him his life. It's gonna cost him his life, and it's gonna cost him the wife, his the life of his wife. By the way, how many of you are willing to die for Jesus? Just raise your hand. Okay. How many of you are willing to let your spouse die for Jesus? That's different, isn't it? Did you raise your hand? Thanks a lot. Real quick, that hand went up. It did, though. Peter saw his wife. They they they the Romans took her and they were commanding him to stop preaching, and he would not stop preaching. He said, It is better for me to obey God rather than man. They go, but but he's a he's a joke, he's a quack, he's a kook, he's a lunatic, he was a con man. Peter said, He's a son of God. And they grabbed his wife and they said, How do you feel about it now? He told his wife, he said, Remember Jesus. And they nailed her to a cross and they lit the cross on fire. And he they made him watch, and over and over again he shouted to her, Remember the Christ, remember the Christ, remember the Savior. Why? Because he was real, he's worth it. And then they said, Now you're next. And he said, No, no, don't crucify me. Like Jesus, crucify me upside down. I'm not worthy to die like my Lord. You see, these are not the actions of a people who have been part of a con. They are actions of a people who say, Oh, did you know the entire Old Testament is absolutely verifiable? And it's verified by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection proves the truthfulness of the word of God. It says this over and over again, not just Old Testament, not just in Acts. Jesus said this. John verse 20. On the road to Emmaus, there were two of his disciples that were going, and Jesus is resurrected. He's covered in some kind of clothing. He's hidden himself somehow, and he says, How's it going? And they said, This is a terrible day ever. He said, What do you mean? They go, Have you been living under a rock? Are you the only one who doesn't know? Our Lord has been crucified. The whole town knows. Everybody knows. The Bible says that Jesus began to minister to them. He began to talk to them. It's in Luke 24. I'll just read it to you. In Luke 24, and he begins to tell them how that this was all planned, and he has risen from the dead. Luke 24 and verse 25 says this. All that the prophets have spoken, that's the Old Testament. All that the prophets have spoken, ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory, that he was going to both, at the same time, both suffer and enter into his glory. That means crucifixion and burial, no decay, and resurrection and victory. And he began at Moses and all the prophets and expounded unto them all the scriptures, the things concerning himself. You see, he wasn't saying, now let me give you this New Testament passage that'll tell you that I'm really who I say that I am. He began at Moses and the old law and Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and it's all about me, fellas, and I'm him, and I have come, I have suffered, I was buried, and I am alive forevermore. You think they saw their scriptures in a different light after that? I'm here to tell you the Bible is precious, Old and New Testament. It's all about the redemptive story leading up to Jesus' resurrection. Resurrection's the entire point.

Resurrection Declares Jesus Is God

SPEAKER_00 16:58

Resurrection proves the validity of God's word, and it proves the deity of Christ. Number two, it proves that Jesus is who he says that he is. Maybe you're here this morning and I'm going to just answer a question that you might have. Many are here and they're going. I was invited, I was made to come, I was threatened. They told me there'd be lunch afterwards. I'm glad you're here regardless. I have had people show up to church that have been some measure trafficked into church. One lady came to church and she said, My neighbor's here with me. I said, Wonderful. Goes, yeah. I tricked her and told her we were going to lunch, and I brought her here. She's a witch and she's furious. It was right before the choir sang. She was like, Go get them. I was like, oh no. Like, I need to keep an eye on her. Like, I'm glad you're here, regardless of how you got here. Whether Richard trafficked you here or not. Because maybe you think, how in the world does a man in the Middle East, in a nowhere town, who was a stonemason carpenter, whose mother was probably some unclean woman, that's why he was born out of wedlock, and he, you know, ticked off the Romans, ran his mouth about some kind of insurrection, he's the new king, and got himself killed. Isn't that what Jesus is? That's what the world thinks he is. How does his crucifixion on the cross, because let me tell you this, he was 100% human being. At the same time, he's 100% God, and my son informed me that's 200%. You can't do that. He spilled regular blood, church. He spilled regular blood. What does that do for me? Nothing, except he's also the only son of God. His blood was special in the sense that only he could have shed that blood. He had to be deity, God in the flesh. And all through the Bible, we have proclamations of his special deity, of his special the angels at his birth. Remember that? The angels at his birth came to Mary and they said, Mary, don't be afraid. What is conceived in you is of the Holy Spirit. And they went to Joseph, thank God. Joseph, your wife that you're not married to, she's pregnant. Don't freak out. What's in her is of the Lord. Even the demons knew that he was Jesus. The Bible says one time they were out fishing and they came to the shore, and a wild man out of the Gatarenes was a demon-possessed man, and he came, and the man, the man came to Jesus saying, Help me, help me. And then the demons talked. And they said, We know who you are, thou son of God. Are you here to destroy us now? So you can think whatever you want about Jesus, but the ones that exist in realms that you don't see in both heavenly realms and they know who he is. And let me also tell you something. You just get a few years here to decide who you think Jesus is. Because I can tell you this: in hell, everyone believes who Jesus is. I'm telling you, I have examined the evidence, I have studied it, I have YouTube, you know, rabbit-hold, I mean all the live-long day. I'm telling you, the evidence is overwhelming. He's the God man. And besides him there is none other. There was a man born blind, and Jesus healed him, and he said, You are the Son of God. Peter, James, and John, all three at different times said, Who do you think I am? We think you are the Christ. They all acknowledge his deity. Remember that soldier at the foot of the cross who nailed Jesus there, for whom Jesus prayed as they're nailing him to the cross, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. The one who pierced his side, he was recorded as saying two different times, Oh no, what have we done? This truly is the Son of God. He knew it. It was obvious. Even his brothers and sisters, that might be the greatest proof of his deity, is that he has brothers and sisters. Any of you have brothers and sisters? Any of you willing to consider that they might be God? Anybody? Like you know them, you see them, and how awful would that be to be Jude, the brother of our Lord. Jude? Why can't you be more like Jesus? Right? Jude, he's the one that wrote Jude, James, the epistle of James, brothers of the Lord. They come and they say, We are servants of the most high God. I want you to know that the resurrection proves the validity of his deity. Romans chapter 1 says this beautiful thing by the Apostle Paul. Romans 1 and verse 3 says, Concerning the Son of Jesus Christ, the Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. That means he's human, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness. By the resurrection from the dead. You see, it's the resurrection that verifies his holiness, that he is the son of God. He's not just Jesus of Nazareth, not just the Nazarene, not just the carpenter, not just the Son of Mary and Joseph, but that he is the Son of God, the Spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. And then that passage I just read to you in Acts chapter 2, where Peter says that, the one that you crucified, that God raised from the dead, he is the Son of God. You see, had he just been buried, well, we'd still be dead in our sins. We'd still be dead in our sins. We'd still be the ones that uh, well, of all men, we would be the most miserable, but the resurrection proved the deity of the Son of God.

Resurrection Secures Salvation Assurance

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Number three, the resurrection completes the salvation of God. You see, had Christ just died on the cross, we would be unsaved. And if you are unsaved this morning, in a minute, I'm gonna ask you to pray a prayer. I want you to give your life to Christ. The evidence is there. I don't know what you're doing. You're floundering outside of Christ. I've had so many people come to me and ask me at funerals, where's dad? Where do you think mom is? Where do you think, and and I don't, and that's not for me to say. Amen? You ever been to a funeral where they preach bad people into heaven? Like, oh, he's the greatest. He gave his shirt off his back. And everybody's going. Am I at the right funeral? Let me just say this to you: don't die and make me tell your kids where you may or may not be. Get right with Jesus. Listen to what the Bible says. That what Jesus started in the cross when he said to Stelesty, God the Father said amen on Easter Sunday morning. Romans chapter 4 and in verse 24 says this great passage. It says, But for us to whom it shall be imputed, that means the righteousness of God, the forgiveness God's giving it to us, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. You see, what happened on the cross and what happened on Easter Sunday morning, hear me, it's not two different events. It's not Friday, you know, Good Friday, and Silent Saturday, and then hallelujah resurrection Easter Sunday. They're all the same event where God is in the midst of forgiving our sins. I'll read it to you again. Romans 4 24. But for us to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus, our Lord, from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses on Good Friday and raised up for our justification on Easter Sunday morning. You see, the resurrection is what validates our salvation. Have you ever doubted your salvation? Have you ever doubted your relationship with God? Let me just tell you this: you have an enemy, the evil one, who would love to plant seeds of doubt in your mind that, you know, when you went to the altar, when Pastor came over and we prayed, and when you surrendered yourself going down the road or thereby your washing machine down there in the basement, that wasn't real, and God didn't do. It's not based on how you feel, it's based on what Jesus did on Easter Sunday morning. Sometimes you might have doubts and you might have concerns, and you can call Pastor John and I will tell you. All right? Because I don't feel like you feel, and we can't live on our feelings, amen. Sometimes I don't feel holy or feel worthy or feel good or feel righteous or loving some of you people, but I'm gonna do it regardless of how I feel. I'm gonna do it based on God's word. Did Jesus die? Yes. Was he the God man, the deity? Is the scriptures true? Yes. Did he rise again the third day as it exactly portrayed in scripture? Yes. Then you are forgiven of your sins. But I don't feel like it. No one cares how you feel. The facts don't care how you feel. The scriptures are all that matters. And the divinity of Christ is proven here. The salvation of Christ is proven here. John 14 says, Because I live, you shall live also. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that wonderful? Did he rise? The evidence is overwhelming that he did. Is your trust in what he did? Yes. Well then salvation belongs unto you if you believe. Have you repented of your sins? Yeah, but I'm not doing a very good job. That's okay. That's not I'm not doing a very good job either. You could ask my wife. Don't ask my wife, she knows everything. She still loves me. She'll tell you I'm not perfect. I'm struggling. She might not tell you. She's a very nice person. She might lie to you. I don't know to save face for me. I'm telling you, church, I'm not doing a great job. I'm not some kind of superhuman, super holy, super Christian. I have a little faith this morning in a big God. A little faith in a big God. I believe that the Bible is true, that Jesus is the Son of God, and salvation was completed on the cross. I believe that what Adam and Eve did in the garden, right? What do they do? They went to a tree and they picked off some fruit. And God said, Don't do that. And they substituted themselves on that day for God. They decided, we will be God. Sound familiar? You doing any of that this morning? That's all we're doing. We're just deciding who's going to be God in our lives. Well, God gave us his only son, and he came, born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, gave himself under the Roman authorities to be crucified on a tree. What they plucked off the tree, God the Father put back on the tree. Do you see that? He undid their disobedience for us on our behalf and completed salvation for us. Last two things, I'll do them in five minutes. The resurrection not only proves the validity of God's word, the deity of Christ, the completion of salvation, but go to John chapter 5.

Resurrection Guarantees Coming Judgment

SPEAKER_00 28:20

It gives us assurance that judgment is coming on the world. Judgment is coming on the world. John chapter 5, I want you to. This is one of the great gospel passages that we need to be familiar with. John 5 and verse 22 says this. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. That all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father, because Jesus is equal with the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily I say unto you, he that heareth my words and believeth on him that sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. This passage is so glorious all the way down through verse 30. And it says at the end of verse 26 that he has life in himself. The only way we have resurrection is because Christ has resurrection. And he has the keys of death and hell in the grave. And it says in verse 22, because of the resurrection, he is now the judge for the whole world. He's it sealed our fate. No one gets a pass. Everyone must come to Jesus. There's not a plan B for heaven. No one goes another way. Because of the resurrection, judgment is real. Go to Acts chapter 17. Acts 17. In this great sermon. Boy, at the end of today, you're gonna say, Well, we got some word today. Acts 17. In verse 27. Listen to what this says. Isn't this great how we can come to God and not be judged for our sins? Verse 27 of Acts 17 says that they should seek the Lord if happily they might feel after him. I think some of you come today thinking, I need to find Jesus, I need to have God in my life, I need to repent, I need cleaning, I need cleansing, I need forgiveness. If happily they might feel after him and find him, though he be not very far from every one of us. Aren't you thankful for that this morning? You've come to the right place, for in him we live and move and have our being, as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also his offspring. For as much then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold and silver and stone. You see, he's not some idol made of man-made materials here. Verse 30. And the times of this ignorance, God winked at. So notice this there's sin that God has winked at. He saw it. It's not like he's hidden from him, but he's decided not to finally and eternally judge it just yet. Do you see that? But now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. God at one time has led us in judge in gentleness and kindness and in sin. Go on, that we might have time to repent and come to our senses and come to Jesus. Because he hath appointed a day, verse 31, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man. Oh, who's the man? Whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. I want you to know this. Last two things. Judgment is coming because of the resurrection. Jesus has come out of the tomb, not as your body, not as your homeboy, but as one of two things. Either he is your judge, or he will be your defending attorney. He's both. Lastly, because of the resurrection, not only do we know that the Bible is true, the deity of Christ is proven, the completion of the salvation of God, the assurance of judgment is coming. He has made him to be the judge of us all. But eternal heaven is provided because of the resurrection.

Resurrection Promises Heaven And Hope

SPEAKER_00 32:48

One last passage I want to show you in John 14. John 14 and verse 1, it says this. This is Jesus before he was going to be betrayed and arrested, crucified, and he would leave his disciples. He knew who they were. He knew they would be so afraid. He knew that they would run, he knew that they would be terrified. He knew they wouldn't know what to do. He says this to them Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions, and if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know. And God bless his heart, Thomas said, Lord, we don't know where you're going. How can we know the way? And Jesus said, Thomas, hear me now. I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. He promises them heaven in this verse. Now you be careful, boys. I gotta go away. He's told them over and over and over again, at least eight times in the New Testament. I'm going to go and be crucified. I'm gonna rise the third day, I will tear this body down, and in three days I will rebuild it. He says it over and over again, and they don't get it. They're just dense like me. And he says, Now don't you be afraid, let not your heart be troubled. I'm going away. But if I go, I will prepare a place for you. I'm gonna rise again the third day, and I'm gonna come and get you that where I am up here in heaven, there you may be also. So I want to just be faithful to you today. I want to be your friend and tell you, judgment is in the hands of Jesus, and you've got to give yourself to the Lord. I also want to tell you, heaven is waiting for those who commit themselves into the hands of God. And you go, I'm a terrible Christian, as long as you're a Christian. What he said on the cross, it is finished. That was the sermon. And what happened on Easter Sunday morning, that was the Father saying, Amen. Let's stand together. Lord, we do thank you for your word. We thank you for the resurrection. We thank you. The best news the world ever heard came out of a graveyard. Oh God, would you draw us to yourself? Would you make of us what we are not? In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.