WEBVTT 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:04.000 Easter Sunday. 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:05.200 It's a great Sunday. 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:07.360 Every Sunday's a great Sunday, but especially Easter. 00:00:07.440 --> 00:00:11.759 I want you to look at somebody next to you right now and just look at somebody and say, he is alive. 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:17.440 Now, you turned away from somebody right there. 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:19.600 I assume that was intentional. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.600 I want you to look at the person you turned away from and say, I'm glad you're here. 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:32.719 Now you guys can figure out all the uh all the psychology behind that afterwards why you went one direction or another. 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:40.960 But uh guys, Easter Sunday is uh very seriously, it is the most significant day in the history of the world. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:46.799 In a world that's filled with statements of exaggeration, that one is not an exaggeration. 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:59.600 And boy, oh boy, am I so glad that you are here today, that we can celebrate Jesus' death on the cross to pay the penalty for sin and his resurrection from the dead so that death can be defeated? 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:02.880 We can celebrate that love has won and Christ is risen. 00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:04.799 Amen and amen. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:11.120 Easter Sunday responds to a core question that we hear being asked all over the world. 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:18.799 The question is something like this How do we push off the decay of death that we feel all around us? 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:23.680 And in some ways, even not just the decay of death, but the ultimate reality of death. 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:35.680 Just this past week, Pastor Rob sent me uh a text with this link to a YouTube, uh, not YouTube, Netflix documentary of this uh series called uh Don't Die. 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.799 Has anybody seen that on YouTube, the documentary Don't Die? 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:40.879 Maybe a couple, not a lot. 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:42.480 I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:47.359 It's the guy's literally takes on this whole case of trying to make himself immortal. 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:50.959 Like that'd be pretty slick if you could actually do that. 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:58.640 Um I think most of us are fairly resigned to the fact, as evidence, most of you haven't watched it, or maybe Netflix just isn't as cool as it used to be. 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:02.079 Um, but whatever the case, maybe that feels a little extreme for you. 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:12.960 I know I can't make myself totally immortal, but one of the things I like to do uh is to study the culture that we live in and kind of see what are the messages that are embedded in our culture. 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:26.960 And I think as you look closely at a lot of the messaging around our culture and the music and the movies and the famous people, those sorts of things, you see this idea of pushing off the decay of death is all around. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:27.520 Right? 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:29.840 So Taylor Swift comments on this. 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:31.599 You think of her song, what does she say? 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:37.360 She says, Everything will be alright as long as we keep dancing like we're 22. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:38.319 Right? 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:49.360 As long as the decay of death, the effects of death don't come on, so we can dance like we're 22, young, strong, energetic, beautiful, then everything will be all right if we could just find a way to push it off. 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:58.639 Maybe others of you uh go back a generation past, it's almost 40 years since Tracy Chapman released her epic song, Fast Car. 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:05.680 Maybe some of you remember Luke Combs covering that a couple years ago or their famous performance together at the Grammys. 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:10.639 The song's all about the pain that's embedded in their world. 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:16.000 You might say the effects of sin, the decay of death that makes life so difficult. 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:23.120 And there's a line in the car that says, You got a fast car, but is it fast enough that we can fly away? 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:25.039 Can it get us out of here? 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:27.680 Can we escape the decay of death? 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:31.759 Let me give you one more example outside of the musical realm. 00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:37.840 Uh, Steve Jobs made the iPhone come to life for us, or at least people he hired did. 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:48.400 And um, near the end of his life, he was interviewed in the uh the famous biography by Walter Isaacson, and uh he's kind of reflecting on life, and here's what Steve Jobs said. 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:49.039 Catch this. 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:54.879 He says, uh getting past even the decay of death, but the ultimate reality of death, listen, this is amazing. 00:03:55.039 --> 00:04:03.120 He said, I just can't accept that the body just turns off one day and it's all over, that you're gone forever. 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:05.439 There's got to be more to it than that. 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:14.319 We can't just be an illusion of consciousness arising from a fortuitous cosmic accident. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:17.600 He says, it seems like there has to be more to it. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:25.519 And he would go on later to say that this is actually why he didn't want the iPhone to ever have an off button. 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:35.279 Because he thought that we would live forever in some way, shape, or form, and that the phone should tell us something about ourselves that you can't just turn off. 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:37.279 Now, isn't that fascinating? 00:04:37.519 --> 00:04:40.959 That the phone is actually shaped by his view of humanity. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:49.519 But whatever the case, we're circling around this core question that humans ask all the time: Does death have the final word? 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:56.720 And is the decay of death leading to the inevitable victory of death? 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:04.480 And what I would say this morning is whether you're here as a Christian or whether you're not, you should want the message of Easter to be true. 00:05:04.800 --> 00:05:10.879 Because if it is true, if Easter is real, then death isn't the end. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:18.399 And the effects of death, the decay of death, need not be feared because there's something better on the other side. 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:21.920 This morning we're in Luke chapter 24. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:27.120 The story unfolds, there are three scenes that you heard Phil read about. 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:35.839 There's this the scene with the women, and then there's Jesus on the road to Emmaus with these couple disciples, and then there's Jesus in the room with the apostles. 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:39.360 And we're not gonna go verse by verse through every single one of those. 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:42.160 It's a 53-verse chapter, it would take us a little while. 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:50.800 But what we'll see is there are three themes that emerge, and all three themes actually show up in all three scenes. 00:05:50.959 --> 00:05:54.240 And so I think the repeated themes are helping us to see. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:06:00.399 Here is the major thrust of this resurrection Sunday, that Jesus is alive, and here's what we're supposed to see. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:01.600 And so they're pretty simple. 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:09.920 They're this Easter is one historical, Easter is theological, and third, Easter is transformational. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:12.319 It's historical, it's theological, it's transformational. 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:14.720 I'll try and show you all three of those in the passage. 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:20.240 I hope you keep Luke 24 open because we'll go back to that uh fairly frequently throughout. 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:22.800 Let's start with the first one. 00:06:22.959 --> 00:06:24.639 Easter is historical. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:32.879 Very simply, what I mean by that is that Jesus' resurrection from the dead is not some kind of a mere spirit resurrection. 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:36.639 It's not merely that he feels alive in your heart. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:43.279 It's not merely a message that there's this idea of hope, but it is real history. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:45.600 Jesus actually rose from the dead. 00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:57.439 Now, what's really important for you to understand is that the very nuclear core of Christianity, the very center of Christianity is not rules nor is it regulations, but it's a resurrected king in his name is Jesus. 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:00.560 He must be raised from the dead. 00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:10.560 In fact, the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, he said that if Jesus didn't really rise from the dead, if he stayed in the tomb, then Christianity is a complete joke. 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:15.600 That coming to church every Sunday is just a different hobby. 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:26.560 And guys, I would say very honestly to you as a pastor, if Jesus didn't rise from the dead, then I think going to church is one of the lamest hobbies you could ever get. 00:07:26.879 --> 00:07:37.680 Like, go buy a boat, get season tickets to the cults, do something else if he's still in the grave, like every other famous teacher and leader of world religions. 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:40.720 But if he's really alive, then it changes everything. 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:42.959 And I believe he is really alive. 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:54.639 As you read Luke 24, one of the things you see, this argument for a historical reality that Jesus really lived, really died, really rose again, is the level of detail that's included. 00:07:54.800 --> 00:08:04.560 Like it says that the ladies went to the tomb not just that day, not just in the morning, not even at dawn, but at early dawn, at the first clip of the sun. 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:07.839 It says that they went bringing spices. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:15.600 It says later on that Jesus was hungry, and not just that the disciples gave him food, not just that they gave him fish, they gave him broiled fish. 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:17.920 It screams of eyewitness account. 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:24.399 It's like you telling somebody, we went to Chick-fil-A, and my brother got the deluxe sandwich without the pickles. 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:30.879 Like you only give that level of detail if you were actually there, actually observing it. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:35.440 And that argues for the historical truth of what's being recorded. 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:38.159 It wasn't just details that were given, though. 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:42.320 There are specific details that say, no, this is very much a true story. 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:50.000 One of the most significant ones is that the very first eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus are a group of women. 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:53.120 Now look back at Luke 24 with me and read this in verse 10. 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:56.080 This is really, really significant that it was these ladies. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:57.600 Luke 24, 10. 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:09.759 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary, the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:14.159 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:18.879 Here's why it's significant that the women were the first eyewitnesses. 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:23.440 In that culture, the testimony of a woman was not credible at all. 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:30.000 In fact, most of the time, women were not allowed to testify in a court of law because it would just be immediately thrown out. 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:42.720 In the event they were allowed to testify, if you had two women say this happened and one man said this happened and it was different, they would always take what the one man said over what the two women said. 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:50.720 So the only reason you would write that the women were the first eyewitnesses that they told the story is if it really happened. 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:57.440 Because if you're making up a tale and you want it to be credible, they would never place it on the lips of women. 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:00.399 So it really happened. 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:06.639 The apostles hear the message, and their response is, oh, no way, that's an idol tale. 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:10.159 Like, crazy women, you can't trust them. 00:10:10.559 --> 00:10:13.279 Fellas, can I give you a warning this morning? 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:17.919 I mean, let the listener understand, right? 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:26.960 One of the most common objections you hear about this resurrection account is that, well, everybody back in that day was gullible. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:28.320 I mean, they would believe anything. 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:31.360 They saw miracles, they claimed miracles, you can't prove it. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:42.720 The hilarious thing to me about that objection that they said they would believe anything, is literally the people who wanted to believe it the most when they first heard the story, they didn't believe it. 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:44.480 No, that's an idle tale. 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:45.759 That stuff doesn't happen. 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:47.840 What's wrong with you? 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:53.120 No, it's this is real history being recorded for us. 00:10:53.679 --> 00:11:02.399 One of the other things that this argues for, just by the way, of the truth of the Bible, it's not just evidence that it really happened. 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:08.399 You also have evidence here that what was written down in the Bible has not been changed through the years. 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:08.960 Right? 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:17.360 If you're trying to change a story to make it look more realistic, what's the first thing you would cut out that the disciples didn't believe? 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:22.399 Like you want Jesus to look like this powerful, amazing guy that you should follow. 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:28.720 It doesn't exactly help the case when the first disciples are like, yeah, I think he's still dead. 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:31.840 So if you're gonna change the story, this is the thing you'd change. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:36.080 The fact that this is still in the story tells you, yeah, they haven't been changing this thing. 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:39.840 Like how it was written down is how it comes to us today. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:47.519 One of the other theories that kind of gets at saying Jesus didn't really rise from the dead is called the swoon theory. 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:49.679 It means Jesus didn't actually die. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:55.440 Sometimes I like to call this the Princess Bride theory, because Jesus wasn't totally dead, just mostly dead. 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:04.159 And so if you think about this one for a second, if uh if you get past the fact that the Romans were master executioners. 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:08.240 I mean, they were super good at killing people and making it painful. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:13.519 And if they didn't kill the person, that Roman soldier, his life would be demanded of him. 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:16.559 I mean, they had a pretty robust system in place. 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:23.200 But if you can get past that for a second, you're still gonna have a pretty big problem saying Jesus was only mostly dead. 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:26.879 Look at verse 13, and I want to show you how I think that can be seen. 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:29.279 Luke 24, 13. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:41.039 That very day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.440 Now, here you have another historical detail. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:45.840 This town that's seven miles from Jerusalem. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:49.679 Why does it matter that Emmaus was seven miles from Jerusalem? 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:55.120 Well, let's take the almost dead theory, the mostly dead theory, and run with it for a second. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:13:01.840 On Good Friday, Jesus is beaten to a pulp within an inch of his life. 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:04.320 Internal organs are exposed. 00:13:04.480 --> 00:13:08.080 He's suffering from massive blood loss. 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:36.320 And we're supposed to believe that after three days in there with no food, no water, no medicine, he didn't even have essential oils, he just pops up like he's been sleeping at a JW Marriott for three days, goes over to this 3,000-pound stone, rolls the thing up, comes out to the guards, jukes him like he's Jonathan Taylor, and then jumps into a seven-mile jog with these disciples. 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:40.879 And they look at him and they do not say, dude, you're gonna freaking die. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:42.879 We got to get you to a doctor. 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:48.480 They just start a regular conversation talking about what's been happening in Jerusalem. 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:50.639 They open up the Jerusalem Times. 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:52.879 And Jesus kind of plays along with them. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:54.559 He's like, Oh, really? 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:55.279 What's going on? 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:56.159 I don't know. 00:13:56.399 --> 00:14:01.360 And the one disciple, Cleopus, he looks at Jesus like, dude, have you been living under a rock? 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:04.399 And Jesus is like, well, actually. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:13.120 You know, it's like that this whole like he was almost dead thing, it just doesn't make any sense at all when you read the story. 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:21.279 I'm trying to tell you this is real history, and there's good evidence in what's written here to believe that it really took place as it was said. 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:30.240 When I was in graduate school, uh the resurrection of Jesus was one of the major emphasis, uh emphases, I should say, of my research program. 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:33.519 And we were working towards that, and the way I thought saw it was this. 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:35.519 I was already a Christian. 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:39.120 I was persuaded that Jesus was king, but I wanted to go back and look at it again. 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:48.399 And if I was gonna give my life to telling other people that they should give their life to following Jesus, then I should be really sure of this stuff as well, right? 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:52.960 And one of my professors did this amazing study, and I've never forgotten it. 00:14:53.200 --> 00:15:03.200 He used all his grad assistants, and they surveyed every single scholar who had studied the historical Jesus over the last 50 years. 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:10.159 Every scholar in English, in German, and in French who ever published an article about it. 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:21.039 Every scholar, regardless of their belief system, so they surveyed every Buddhist scholar, Hindu scholar, atheist scholar, Jewish scholar, Christian scholar, all of them. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:25.279 Several thousand-page document putting together their beliefs. 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:44.240 And of every single one of those, more than 95% of scholars agreed on three basic facts that Jesus really lived, and he really died by crucifixion, and after his death, his disciples believed that they saw him, and many people believe that they saw him. 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:51.039 Like the facts are not disputed, regardless of your worldview convictions. 00:15:51.279 --> 00:16:02.879 And these appearances after he rose, it was in a one-on-one context, it was small group context, it was large group context, sometimes more than 500 people, it was in different locations all over the place. 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:14.080 It was to men, it was to women, it was to disciples, and it was also to skeptics, people who didn't believe, who upon seeing him turned their life around and started following him. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:18.080 Like it's a staggering amount of evidence that's given here. 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:21.039 So I want you to understand something. 00:16:21.200 --> 00:16:28.639 I am not saying that you can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that someone can rise from the dead in a scientific way. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:32.879 I realize that's that's probably not within the scientific method. 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:38.480 I do realize that faith is required to believe that Jesus rose from the dead. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:39.679 Absolutely, it's part of it. 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:51.039 What I'm trying to tell you here is that there is stunning evidence in real history for the life of Jesus and the death of Jesus, and that he was again alive. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:58.960 This is not just something you can dismiss, like, oh yeah, that's what my grandma believed 50 years ago when people would still believe that kind of stuff. 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:07.599 And if you're unsure of Christianity, this is the fundamental piece that sets it apart from every other world religion. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:09.519 Listen to me, guys. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:13.519 You can go to the place where Muhammad was buried. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:16.559 You can get pretty close to it and see where it was. 00:17:17.039 --> 00:17:22.400 Confucius, you can go up on the mountain where his ashes were supposedly spread. 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:30.720 You can go to the temple where the Buddha has one of his teeth embalmed. 00:17:30.880 --> 00:17:33.200 It's gonna cost you$7 to get in. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:37.599 But you can go and you can be there, and they're still in the ground. 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:41.200 And Jesus is fundamentally different. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:43.200 He's alive. 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:48.319 He's not just a good teacher, he's not just the leader of a world religion. 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:56.319 And if you're here and you say, Justin, that's fine about these religions you're talking about, but I'm a person of science and rationality. 00:17:56.960 --> 00:18:06.559 Can I invite you to come back to the evidence for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus with an open mind and give it a fair shake, give it consideration. 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:10.480 I'd love to study it with you if that's something you're interested in. 00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:14.319 But if it's true, it changes everything. 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:19.279 One of my favorite quotes every Easter comes from a Yale historian. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:22.000 It's a Croatian man, I believe. 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:24.720 His name was Yaroslav Pelakon. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:31.359 And the Yale historian said this: He said, If Christ is raised, then nothing else matters. 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:33.519 Because he demands everything from you. 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:37.519 And Christ was raised, and therefore it is right to give everything to him. 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:39.039 Easter is historical. 00:18:39.519 --> 00:18:42.960 Second thing we're going to see in this passage is that Easter is theological. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:44.480 It's theological. 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:48.640 And don't be scared off if you're newer with us with a big word like that. 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:50.240 There's a lot to see here. 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:54.480 What we're saying is that Easter is the culmination of Jesus' life. 00:18:54.640 --> 00:19:02.400 He lived the perfect life, he died a horrible death, and was raised to life as the culmination of everything he'd been about. 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:06.000 But actually, what we're saying is it's more than that. 00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:11.119 It's not just the culmination of his life, it's the culmination of the entire Bible. 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:13.680 The whole Old Testament has been building to this. 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:15.599 And that's actually what Luke 24 tells us. 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:16.880 So look at verse 6 with me. 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:21.279 We're going to look at a couple passages real quick and then we'll explain them. 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:23.279 Luke 24, 6. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:28.319 The angel says this, he is not here but has risen. 00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:43.680 Remember how he told you while he was in Galilee that the Son of Man must be delivered, must be as important, must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:46.720 Why do they say he must be crucified? 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.920 Because it was to fulfill what the Old Testament had said about him. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:51.680 It's a culmination of the whole Bible. 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.640 Now, look down at Luke 24 into verse 25. 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:57.359 This is Jesus in the second scene. 00:19:57.440 --> 00:19:58.799 He's on the road with the disciples. 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:08.000 Here's what he says: He said to them, Oh foolish ones, and slow of heart to belief, all that the prophets had spoken. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:14.000 Was it necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:21.119 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:25.599 If you look at verse 44, you'd see almost the exact same thing. 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:31.039 Jesus is with the disciples in their room, and he goes back and says, Let's go through the whole Bible. 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:33.039 Let me show you how it's all about me. 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:35.359 He says, Guys, let me explain this to you. 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:42.640 Like anybody here say, I would like to be in the Jesus-led community group where he does the Old Testament Bible study and takes me through the whole thing. 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:47.279 Like I feel like they would run out of room for that one real quick, and it'd be like standing room only. 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:50.319 But I just kind of, in my mind, I imagine it like this. 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:54.160 Like Jesus taking these guys through these guys, let's go back to the very, very beginning. 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:56.640 Go back to the Garden of Eden. 00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:01.839 Here you have Adam and Eve in the garden paradise, perfect relationship with God. 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:04.160 And where did things go south? 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:09.200 Genesis 3, it says that Eve took the apple and ate. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:11.200 She took and she ate. 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:15.039 And I can see Jesus looking at the disciples and saying, guys, that take and eat. 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:16.079 I'll come back to that. 00:21:16.160 --> 00:21:18.000 Don't forget those two words. 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:20.799 But it brought death. 00:21:21.759 --> 00:21:26.960 And ever since, people have been looking at God's rules, saying, they're so restrictive. 00:21:27.200 --> 00:21:28.799 Why do you gotta be so heavy-handed? 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:31.759 Why can't you let me do the stuff I want to do? 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:41.839 Which is an interesting thing because if you think about the first rules that God gave, it was a whole bunch of go do this, go do this, go do this, eat from any tree you want except for the one. 00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:45.920 Like what were the first things God said to his humans? 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:48.880 Guys, go be fruitful and multiply. 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:50.079 Great. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:53.519 And then after that, what does he say to them? 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.720 Fill the earth, subdue it, have dominion over it. 00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:59.599 Like, build whatever cool stuff you want to build. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.920 So that you can rule over the earth. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:07.039 Like if you think you need a bigger F 250, great, go build it. 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:08.559 Have as much fun as you can. 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:14.799 If you think you need a self-driving vacuum cleaner to get the house clean, great, go build one of those. 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:18.000 You want a self-driving car, awesome. 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:19.359 Have as much fun as you can. 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:21.359 Fill the earth and subdue it. 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:23.680 You think you're gonna need this thing called the internet? 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:27.599 People have existed without it for thousands of years, but you think you need it. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:28.720 Awesome. 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:30.960 You want a device called an iPhone. 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:33.920 This other thing called Chat GPT. 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:38.319 Like, build anything you want so that you can rule over the earth and subdue it. 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:41.599 Have as much fun as you can, and it'll all point back to me. 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:45.920 And then we look at God and like, why are you the fun stopper? 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:49.680 It's like his rules sound pretty great in a lot of ways. 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:52.720 Like, does he say, Don't do things that sometimes I want to do? 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:53.519 Yes. 00:22:53.839 --> 00:22:56.240 But it's not because he's against my joy. 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:59.119 He's given so much latitude here. 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:03.599 And what happens when the people turn against God and say, God, we don't want to do it your way. 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:04.720 We do want to do it our way. 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:08.000 Adam and Eve became naked and ashamed. 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:11.279 And Jesus begins to explain to everyone around. 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:13.359 He says, they created their coverings. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:16.160 The Bible says that they created fig leaves. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:22.000 And I can just imagine Jesus looking, you know, they're on the road with these two guys, saying, Guys, don't you realize this was the first false religion? 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:26.079 Where people said, Here's my guilt and here's my shame, and I can cover up myself. 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:28.720 Got started right there in Genesis 3. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:33.279 I remember hearing, you know, as a as a kid, there's ways you can reject God. 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:41.039 And I kind of heard the, maybe the standard line, maybe you heard it like, yeah, you're gonna reject God through like beer and sex and rock music. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:53.039 And you can definitely reject God through beer and sex and rock music, but that's the problem's not with those things per se, it's it's with you, with you saying the posture of my heart is saying, I can do this. 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:58.720 I've got it covered, just like Adam and Eve saying, I can cover my guilt and my shame. 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:06.400 And here's the reality: you can have that same heart posture to say, I'm gonna cover up my guilt and my shame. 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:23.440 And you can wear the fig leaves of Sunday school, and you can wear the fig leaves of mission trips, and you can wear the fig leaves of working in the nursery when the heart posture is I can cover myself before God, I can make myself acceptable to God. 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:28.000 You see, it can be good things or bad things that we use to reject God. 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:34.559 And so Jesus tells his disciples that the first false religion was trying to cover up your own shame. 00:24:34.640 --> 00:24:35.920 And so, do you know what God did? 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:42.319 He killed an animal on their behalf and said, I will make a covering for you because you couldn't cover yourself. 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:44.880 I'll do for you what you couldn't do. 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:56.079 Jesus says, Guys, God has always been in the business of pursuing his kids when they weren't real interested in him and providing for his kids when they thought they had it covered. 00:24:56.240 --> 00:25:00.079 And from the very beginning, this is what God has been doing. 00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:03.839 And Jesus says, guys, let's let's not get stuck in Exodus here or in Genesis here. 00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:04.960 Let's get ahead to Exodus. 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:07.599 And he he goes to the plagues while they're in Egypt. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:11.200 And Jesus says to his disciples, you remember all the plagues came down. 00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:17.279 It came to the last plague where the death angel comes and he judges. 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:21.920 And the firstborn of every house is killed. 00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:25.359 It's a reminder that sin brings death. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:28.160 It always brings death, then and now. 00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:31.039 And how were those people spared? 00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:44.240 If they would take an unblemished lamb, this is like Exodus 12, 13, 14, 15, and they would kill the lamb, and they would take the blood of the lamb, the unblemished lamb, and apply it to the doorposts, to the lentils. 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:49.839 And so you think about it, you've got the doorpost going up, and the lentil goes wider than the doorpost, right? 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:59.039 So the blood goes up the doorpost, across the lentil, out wider than the doorpost, forming a bloody cross. 00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:08.720 And anyone who would apply the blood of the lamb to the doorpost and the lentil, forming that cross right there, they took refuge under the blood of the lamb. 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:14.880 They would be saved from the judgment of death coming upon their sin because somebody else took the punishment for them. 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:25.279 And all throughout Israelite history, they would go on celebrating this Passover where the death angel passed over because they took refuge under the blood of the Lamb. 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:31.119 And you fast forward 1,500 years, and Jesus says to his disciples, guys, do you remember when I first showed up on the scene? 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:32.480 We're out in the wilderness. 00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:39.759 This is John chapter one, and John looks at me and says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:44.559 The very first time that phrase has been used in the entire Bible. 00:26:44.799 --> 00:26:51.759 The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who doesn't merely provide a covering, but a full removal. 00:26:52.160 --> 00:27:05.279 Not a lamb who would die and then need a new one next year at Passover to be sacrificed, but a lamb who would die, pay for sin, remove sin, and then rise from the dead to conquer death, hell, sin, and Satan once and for all. 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:05.759 Amen. 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:07.920 Jesus says, That's me, guys. 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:10.559 He looks back within. 00:27:10.640 --> 00:27:12.160 They're walking on this road to Emmaus. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:18.319 He says, Do you guys remember just a couple of days ago, sitting at the Last Supper when we were all together? 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:24.799 You guys remember we were sitting around the table and we had the bread and the wine, the veggies, we're all sitting there. 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:27.440 But there was one thing missing on the table. 00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:35.279 There was no Passover lamb on the table because the Passover lamb was sitting at the table. 00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:38.319 And you guys remember what I said to you? 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:42.240 I said, This is my body broken for you. 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:44.880 Take and eat. 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:55.200 It brought death and judgment. 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:58.880 And now, it's like Jesus says, watch this, Satan. 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:03.920 I'm gonna take those two words, take and eat, that used to bring death and judgment. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:07.599 And now, because of my sacrifice, they now bring salvation. 00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:15.599 Take this bread, drink this juice as a remembrance of what I've done for you. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:19.519 And so Jesus says to his disciples, guys, this whole thing was about me. 00:28:20.720 --> 00:28:23.839 It's the most epic of all reversals. 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:28.400 Everything's been building up to this point. 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:32.799 I am the true and better Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:37.279 I am the true and better Passover feast where you can be delivered. 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:39.839 And you have a choice, disciples. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:43.519 You can respond like Adam and Eve and say, Oh no, God, we've got this. 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:45.039 We can cover our guilt. 00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:47.039 We can work at this. 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:51.039 We don't need your help. 00:28:51.759 --> 00:29:03.279 Or, like the Israelites in Egypt, you can say, We're in deep trouble, and judgment is coming because of my sin, and my only hope is to take refuge under the blood of the Lamb. 00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:07.119 Brothers and sisters, this is beautiful to see. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:11.119 It's not just a historical reality, it is the most epic of all stories. 00:29:11.279 --> 00:29:20.720 And this is exactly what Jesus was explaining to his disciples on the Erote Emaeus and in that room with the apostles all together. 00:29:21.200 --> 00:29:27.759 There is free forgiveness made available to any who would simply say, I want to take refuge under the blood of the Lamb. 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:30.079 If you're not a Christian, that is the call this morning. 00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:32.160 Take refuge under the blood of the Lamb. 00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:36.720 Quit trying to cover yourself with hard work or with religious activity. 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:47.279 Quit trying to cover yourself with a pursuit of pleasure or anything else that stands in the way of the only thing that can spare you from God's judgment and the wrath to come. 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:49.039 It's only Jesus. 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:54.720 And because he rose from the dead, he can actually spare you from it. 00:29:54.880 --> 00:30:01.039 Easter is historical, but it's also deeply theological and it will change your life, which brings us to the third point this morning. 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:03.119 Easter is transformational. 00:30:05.920 --> 00:30:07.519 Easter is transformational. 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:11.519 When you read through Luke 24, it's very fascinating. 00:30:11.759 --> 00:30:17.359 Every single character in the story is transformed when they encounter the risen Jesus. 00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:18.799 Every single one of them. 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:20.559 Let me show you just a couple here. 00:30:20.720 --> 00:30:22.079 Look at verse 8. 00:30:23.680 --> 00:30:25.680 Here's what it says about the ladies. 00:30:27.359 --> 00:30:30.240 And they remembered his words. 00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:37.680 And returning from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:39.920 What happens to the ladies? 00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:45.039 They go from tears of sorrow to testifying with joy. 00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:48.720 Because they saw Jesus alive, and people have to know. 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:50.480 Complete turnaround right there. 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:52.480 Drop down to verse 31. 00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:55.680 Here's the guys on the road to Emmaus. 00:30:56.240 --> 00:31:02.319 Their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished from their sight. 00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:04.480 Like, just pause for a second. 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:07.359 Would that not be incredible to be there? 00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:08.880 He's telling you this stuff. 00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:10.400 Oh, it's so cool, so cool, so cool. 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:12.079 Their eyes are open, oh, it's Jesus. 00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:13.200 Boom, gone. 00:31:13.759 --> 00:31:16.480 I mean, you're just looking at each like, did that just happen, bro? 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:17.920 Absolutely incredible. 00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:18.960 Keep reading. 00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:24.880 They said to one another, Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road? 00:31:25.039 --> 00:31:30.799 While he opened to us the scriptures, and they rose that same hour. 00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:32.880 Didn't take a break. 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:34.480 They returned to Jerusalem. 00:31:34.640 --> 00:31:42.559 They found the eleven and those who are with them, gathered together, saying, The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon. 00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:49.839 Then they told what happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread. 00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:54.880 These guys, they went from grief to absolute gladness. 00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:57.119 They said, Our hearts burned. 00:31:57.200 --> 00:32:02.079 Like clearly, this guy had aura, but we didn't know what all was going on. 00:32:02.559 --> 00:32:04.160 And then we saw. 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:23.039 Like that takes a lot of Bible knowledge to tell Jesus about Jesus. 00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:26.400 But they weren't there yet. 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:32.079 I wonder if you're here this morning and you know a lot about Jesus. 00:32:32.240 --> 00:32:34.640 You've sat in a lot of Sunday school lessons. 00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:37.599 You've sat in a lot of Sunday morning sermons. 00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:43.359 But why was knowing a lot about Jesus not enough for these guys? 00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:50.559 Well, it's the same reason that the demons know all kinds of stuff about Jesus and it's not enough for them either. 00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:57.359 Because they hadn't submitted in worship to Jesus as the resurrected King of all the universe. 00:32:57.680 --> 00:32:59.440 It was just head knowledge. 00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:01.359