Day 95: EASTER Sunday! (Jesus's Resurrection)

April 5

Today's Connected Readings: 

• Matthew 28 
• Mark 16 
• Luke 24  
• John 20 
• Acts 2:14-41; 13:13-37 [Psalm 16, 110:1, Isaiah 2:7, 55:3, Habakkuk 1:5];  17:1-4 
• Romans 6:9 
• 2 Timothy 2:8 
• 1 Corinthians 15:1-20 
• Revelation 1:4-5, 1:17-18

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to the Canon Connected, where we read the connections, see the connections, and study the connections of the Bible. Happy Jesus Resurrection Day here at the Canon Connected. Today is day number 95, which means if you're all caught up on the plan, it is Easter Sunday. As I've said, we are so excited about this day. We're stretching it out over four days. We're having Easter Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week also. But today we are laser focused on this one crucial truth in human history. Jesus is alive. Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen, as I've said, uh the greatest plot twist in history. And so you've done the readings today, and I'm not going to keep you long. Okay, I know that today is a very significant day for church and for family. Some of you have probably been to sunrise services and or have been, or will we go to main worship services, which may be extended in length, and then probably for many of you, you have, you know, hours spent with family this afternoon, and those things are so wonderful. And by the way, if you don't have those things today, if you don't have family or, you know, huge worships, worship gatherings, I hope that the resurrection of Jesus is enough for you today. Because it was for Joseph when he was in prison in Genesis, and it's enough for any of us. Although those other things are so great and they're so they're so healthy for us to experience on Easter. Truly, this is about the resurrection of Jesus. And so the things I wanted you to see from the readings today, I'm not going to keep you long because of all those, those, uh, those other aspects to your life today. But the things were very simple and yet so so important. One, again, we see levels of evidence that keep getting greater in the story. The empty tomb is how we start in each story, and that's important because they put guards at the tomb. They knew that the apostles were going to try to steal the body, or at least that's what they thought. And so the fact that they couldn't even produce a dead body from the from the tomb is already, you know, the beginnings of rumblings of something significant is happening here. Okay. Then Jesus appears kind of mysteriously, kind of covertly, you know, to a few people. To Mary, you know, at first, she thinks he's the gardener at first. Mary Magdalene outside of the tomb. The disciples on the road to Emmaus don't even know who he's is until he leaves them, and then they realize it. And then so that Jesus makes appearances as even as as secretive as they are. And then finally, we see Jesus for 40 days allows the apostles and the disciples to experience him. I mean, they actually eat with him, they hear him, they touch him, they watch him eat a piece of fish to prove that he's not a ghost. And so this is a huge part of the resurrection of Jesus. It's not just they saw him and, you know, and they or they think they saw him and they're confused, or the disciples stole the No, they 500 people got to see Jesus after he was resurrected. And they all testified in court for even a few minutes. You'd be in court for hours and for 40 days, over and over and over again, as Acts says many convincing proofs. The the truth of Jesus' resurrection is verified over and over and over in history. And we have the testimonies, and I believe them. And then we see how important this doctrine is. Paul says if the resurrection's not true, if we believe in Christ and this life only, then we're all men most to be pitied. I take that seriously because Paul explains it seriously. That's how significant this truth is. Everything rises and falls, everything rests on this. And Good Friday, truly, too, because you don't have resurrection without crucifixion. You don't have being alive again without being dead first. And then I think you can see clearly from the readings today, especially in the book of Acts, you tell people that's what this day's about. It's about proclaiming, and it's about telling people that Jesus is alive. It's the greatest news in the history of the world. And as we learned on Good Friday, some people are going to be offended by that. Some people are going to call you idiots. I've been in places where people are like, scientifically, a person can't rise from the dead, so there's no way Jesus is alive. And so people will tell you things like that and they'll respond poorly, but we still tell people. And a lot of people will listen and a lot of people will follow. And that's what they were doing in the book of Acts, at great risk of their life and their health and their safety and their families, persecution over this one message. Jesus died for our sins, and now he rose from the dead. I want you to think about this too. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which, according to the prophecy of Micah, was the least of all the clans, and he was laid in a manger, a feeding box for animals, okay, which means he was not born in very dignified circumstances. Okay. Then whenever he was offered, his parents offered turtle doves, which with according to the law was what was, you know, allowed for poor people to make an offering for those who didn't have the animals that richer people had. And then he spends his childhood in Egypt because the king wants to kill him. And he spends his childhood in a foreign country as an immigrant, which in again in antiquity, that's that was the odds are stacked against you whenever you live in a place where you're not from. That's why God made provisions for immigrants in the law in the Old Testament. And then he's raised in Nazareth, and his own disciples can't believe anything good can come from Nazareth. So we know this is not a good town, okay? And his people have prejudice against him in the gospels for being a craftsman, the son of a craftsman for being a craftsman, and for Joseph and Mary being his parents. And then when he dies, he dies as a horrible common criminal. You know that the Romans crucified tens of thousands of people. Why do we know who Jesus is today? Why do two billion people still risk persecution for Jesus? Why are billions of people gathering around in churches all over the world in every tribe, tongue, language, to bow their knee to Jesus as King of kings and Lord of Lords? None of that would have happened if Jesus hadn't risen from the dead. That's why his right resurrection is so significant, because the message continues to go on and on and on, despite the fact that everything about Jesus' life said he should be forgettable. But you can't forget resurrection, you can't ignore resurrection. That's why we celebrate today. The only verse I want to read that you read today is from Revelation 1. This is why I'm gonna close. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead, John in heaven, and then he placed his right hand on me and said, Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, I am the living one, capital L, Capital O. I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys of death in Hades. That's my Jesus, and that's why I'm going all in on him. That's why I'm giving Jesus everything I have. And this is why I truly believe one day I'm gonna rise, just as we're gonna learn tomorrow. Historical human resurrection in the Tuesday and Wednesday. Days 97, 98. Future human resurrection. All because Jesus holds the death of keys and the keys to death in Hades. Jesus has been dead and he is alive again, and that's why we celebrate today. And so come back and be with us again tomorrow as we continue, as we extend resurrection celebration with historical human resurrection, and we will see it old and new testament, and we will continue to read the connections, see the connections, stay the connections. Thank you.