WEBVTT 00:00:01.120 --> 00:00:06.080 This is from Mark 12, verses 18 through 27. 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:14.160 It says, Then the Sadducees who say there is no resurrection came to him being Jesus with a question. 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:25.280 Teacher, they said, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:27.440 Now there were seven brothers. 00:00:27.600 --> 00:00:31.760 The first one married and died without leaving any children. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:37.119 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:38.719 It was the same for the third. 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:40.079 It's not going great. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:43.200 In fact, none of the seven left any children. 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:45.679 Last of all, the woman died too. 00:00:45.920 --> 00:00:48.320 At the resurrection, whose wife will she be? 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:50.399 Since the seven were married to her. 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:56.320 And Jesus replied, Are you not in error because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God? 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:59.840 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 00:01:00.079 --> 00:01:01.679 It will be like the angels in heaven. 00:01:02.240 --> 00:01:13.200 Now, about the dead rising, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:15.920 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:17.680 You are badly mistaken. 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:19.280 This is the word of the Lord. 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:27.599 You can learn a lot about people from the arguments that they choose to get in. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:31.200 Some people just choose random arguments because they like to argue. 00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:37.599 But you learn a lot by the ones that they choose to step into conversation with people. 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:48.480 So, for example, the other day, um Rainey and Teddy, my wife and uh son Teddy were in the front yard with our dog, who is a little bit of an annoyance every now and then. 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:52.480 In the front yard, I was in the back on the back porch. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:58.000 Um, I was working on a sermon, actually, and um trying to be super spiritual back there. 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:08.319 And um some a delivery guy came down our street to like deliver some package or something like that for another house two doors up to the right or whatever. 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:10.159 And our dog is just dumb. 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:14.240 But and he's also this big, like he's not dangerous. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:15.840 Um, he's all bark. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:21.680 And um so the delivery guy gets out, and the our dog starts barking at him and then runs that way. 00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:25.280 Again, he's like a football, you could just punt him if you wanted to. 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:37.439 Um well, the man freaked out, and Rainey uh was like trying to calm the man down and also get our dog back and say, he's friendly, I'm sorry, he's friendly, he's just barking, whatever. 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:39.439 And the man just lost his mind. 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.759 And uh I hear all this from the back. 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:49.280 Um, but then I heard that that man started yelling, not at the dog, he started yelling at my wife. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:55.759 And so I put my computer down from being super holy, and I lost my freaking mind on that man. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:02.879 And I was, I just I got I can get pretty deep and pretty loud, and um went around the corner and just told him. 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:07.360 I did not cuss, I was very clear about that and very reserved. 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:13.599 And I was like, I don't want to be mean to this man, but I want him to know you will not ever yell at my wife again. 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:17.439 You had no idea what you stepped into when you walked and you came down the street. 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:19.680 I was like, but you do not yell at my wife. 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:22.400 I need you to say that you're never gonna yell at her ever again. 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:24.240 And uh he was like, okay, okay. 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:31.840 Um and Teddy was there, but I was really glad that Teddy got to see not me doing that, but like, no one disrespects your mother. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:36.159 Like, even you, if you ever do this to your mother, just know wrath is coming. 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:39.919 Um and that was and that was it, you know, that was it. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:44.400 But you learn, you know, Teddy was like, I don't think dad likes it when anybody yells at you. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:47.599 And Randy was like, he doesn't, don't ever do that. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:52.560 Um so you learn a lot about a person, uh, and you learn a lot about yourself when you enter into an argument. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:57.360 But I say all that, uh, one as a maybe just to confess your sins one to another. 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:12.960 Um but I say all that because you can learn a lot about people based on the arguments they get in, and Jesus enters into an argument or a confrontation with the Sadducees, or they are literally trying to just make fun of one of his beliefs. 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:16.319 And he could have been like, Look, I'm not getting in this with you. 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:19.680 Like you're trying, like you're just making some random story up. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:21.519 This is dumb, and you're dumb for saying it. 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:23.759 Like, I'm just gonna leave that. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:24.560 But he doesn't. 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:26.720 He actually engages with them and he talks about something. 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:36.319 So clearly, someone's trying to make fun of him, and there's so many questions Jesus doesn't answer in the scriptures, but he chooses to answer this one even though he knows what's going on. 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:41.279 And so there's something here, based on the argument he chooses to get into, that I think we can learn. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:43.439 And so to me, we learn three things. 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:52.720 One is we learn that how we view the resurrection, how we view the resurrection and life after death will affect the way that we live this life now. 00:04:52.879 --> 00:04:56.319 How we view life after this one will affect the way that we live this life. 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:02.800 And then we have two ways that we see in the scriptures that we actually do need to view life after this one. 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:08.959 Two things that we see as like we we we need to look at it and believe about it and think about it in these two ways. 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:13.360 And so how we think about it shapes our life now, and then two ways that we need to think about it. 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:19.920 So the first, our view of the resurrection or life after death will shape how you live this life. 00:05:20.079 --> 00:05:24.160 It will shape it, it will form you based on what you think about life after death. 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:25.839 It was true of the Sadducees. 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:32.399 Um, they were known, and it says it in the text in verse 18, they were known as the Sadducees who say there is no resurrection. 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:34.319 That was very much like, what do what is it? 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:36.879 Tell me one thing about them that everybody needs to know. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:38.639 They were known by this. 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:41.199 This was the marker to define who they were. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:43.680 And so they believed that there wasn't an afterlife. 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:54.079 And so the way that it formed their life and who they became based on that was they became very rich and very wealthy and very powerful, and they wanted that power. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:06:05.839 They wanted a lot of prestige, they clearly looked down on people and then uh saw themselves as superior to other people who believed things like the resurrection and they looked down on people. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:16.079 But for them, if there is no judgment to come, if there is no life after this one that's either better or worse or anything like that, then get it while you can here and now. 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:17.680 You only live once, get it now. 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:24.720 And so they chased after wealth, they chased after power, they wanted all of that stuff for themselves because to them it's like this is all we got. 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:27.680 And so I'm gonna make sure I'm as comfortable as I possibly can be. 00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:30.319 I'm gonna make sure I'm as powerful as I possibly can be. 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:33.199 I'm gonna make sure I'm on the right side of whatever culture we're in. 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:35.199 If it's the Romans who rule us, perfect. 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:35.839 We love them. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:37.680 Can't wait for them to give us more power. 00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:41.199 And so they just did that because for them, it's like this is all there is. 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:46.000 And so I'm not living or changing my life to consider something in the future. 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:47.040 This is all there is. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:49.759 I'm gonna make sure I have everything I can possibly have. 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:58.000 And so they didn't care about anything in the afterlife because how we think about the life after this one shapes how we live. 00:06:58.160 --> 00:07:00.079 This has been true throughout history. 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:03.360 Um I was doing some research on the Vikings. 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:26.000 Uh the Vikings believed in Valhalla, that idea that if you died as a warrior in battle, then you would, you know, if you courageously fought and courageously died, you would then go, the afterlife would lead you into Valhalla, or you'd actually be able to like drink wine and whatever with Odin or I don't know, it's this whole thing in the hall there that they get to experience. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:32.800 But the point was like what that did, that belief that like if you die in battle courageously, you will experience an incredible afterlife. 00:07:32.959 --> 00:07:35.600 What it did for the Vikings is it made them incredible warriors. 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:40.480 All the men were like, well, then we're gonna just fight our faces off and die bravely. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:45.199 And it doesn't matter if we die bravely because if we if we do die bravely, we enter into something better. 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:50.000 And so it formed them and it shaped them into great warriors. 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:56.959 Certain Islamic traditions hold to this belief of the 72 virgins in the afterlife, not all of them, but some of them hold to that. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:08:04.240 Um, and so these heavenly companions that they get are promised to faithful Muslim men who die fighting for their faith primarily. 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:12.800 And so that's not all of them, but there's a there's a uh a tradition in there where people believe that, and so that's what leads to some of the terrorism and some of the things that happen. 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:17.839 Like I'm going to defend my faith against the infidel, and if I do that, then it's gonna lead me to something better. 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:21.839 And so I need to go and do these things, and so it shapes how they live right now. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:29.040 In Hinduism, Rainey teaches world religions, and we were talking about this, they believe in reincarnation based on your karma. 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:39.759 And so if you're good, if you're kind, you're respectful, then you will be reincarnated in the next life into someone better, higher up in the social ladder and social standing and more wealth or whatever. 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:51.200 But if you don't fulfill your daily duty to your parents and the world and nature and all these different things, if you don't live that way, then you will be reincarnated into something lesser, something worse. 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:56.159 And then based on where you, if you're poor, you clearly lived a terrible life before that. 00:08:56.320 --> 00:08:59.519 If you're rich, you clearly did a great thing in the life prior to this one. 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:02.399 And so it's based on the way it shapes them, is I have to be super moral. 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:08.159 I gotta make sure that I fulfill my duties, I have to do those things because the afterlife is shaping how they currently live. 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:24.080 And Rainey talks about it in her in her class and some of the stories that she hears just from different people, and she's like, it's used in manipulative ways because a lot of parents use that on their kids to say, if you don't take care of me, you will be re reincarnated into something lesser. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:34.480 And so if this kid wants to like, she has a story like wants to move to the states and be a doctor and help people, but the parents in India are like, you cannot go and do that because if you do that, you're rejecting your responsibility to us. 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:38.240 And based on our faith, you will have a worse life, even though you're trying to go to the states to help people. 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:41.919 And they bend it and they use it in order to manipulate people. 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:49.919 And so you see this thing that how you believe about the afterlife will shape the life that you currently live here and now, and it's true for us as well. 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:58.720 If you never think about the afterlife, if you as a Christian, like you just never think about it, you will be formed very similarly into the Sadducees. 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:00.080 You'll just live for this life. 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:02.639 You only live once, get as much as you can now. 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:09.600 You'll just really not think about it and go, everything that I have to have is here and now, and I don't think about that thing. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:11.759 And so I need my life to be great. 00:10:11.919 --> 00:10:13.679 I need these things to happen here and now. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:22.159 And so I need this vacation, I need this money, I need this relationship to work, I need my kids to do this, I need my job to do this, I need my success to do this, I need those things. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:24.639 And they're not just nice gifts that happen in the world. 00:10:24.720 --> 00:10:30.000 They're like, I need these things because this life is so important and it's more important than anything else. 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:34.799 And if we don't think about the life to come, then we would get formed into the Sadducees. 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:48.159 If we think about it, on the other hand, if you think about the afterlife too much, if you're just like always, you're out there doing that thing, it's easy to shift into becoming someone who believes that there's nothing good in this world whatsoever. 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:51.759 I'm just ready to escape this world into another world. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:10:54.080 This world's gonna burn anyways, right? 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:55.440 So I just need to get out of here. 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:56.399 I'm just ready for this. 00:10:56.559 --> 00:11:03.679 And so if you think about it too much and you believe those things, you actually reject the idea that God created the world to be good. 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:13.279 It's broken, but he actually wants to renew this world, he wants to make all things new, and he has people, sons and daughters, that get to renew the world with him, and that there's work that he has prepared in advance for us to do. 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:17.759 So if we think too much about it, then it's like, but you need to actually stay where you're at, too. 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:19.440 And he has work for you to do. 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:28.159 If you believe that the life after this one is not going to be better, then you'll struggle with fear of what's to come. 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:33.360 You'll not feel the way Paul did that to live with Christ but to die is pure gain. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:35.919 If you don't think it's better, you'll live with fear. 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:44.639 If you believe that everyone goes to the same place in the afterlife, then you'll feel no urgency to fulfill what Jesus calls the Great Commission to go and make disciples to share the gospel. 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:46.799 Everyone goes to the same place, so why does it matter? 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:51.279 And if that's what you believe, then you actually deny what Jesus talks about in the scriptures. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:55.039 And so our current life is shaped by how we view the life to come. 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:59.360 What you think about it will change the way that you live this particular life. 00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:07.759 And so in this text, you re you receive two, and Jesus gives us two ways that we should view the resurrection, the way that we should view life after death. 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:09.519 And so, one way. 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:18.399 The first way that we need to view life after death is that life after death is true and it's for everyone, whether they believe it or not. 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:22.799 Sadducees don't believe it, and Jesus is like, you were badly mistaken, trying to let them know. 00:12:23.039 --> 00:12:26.799 Just so you know, even though you don't believe in this, it does not matter. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:28.639 It's coming either way. 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:32.960 And so life after death is true for everyone, whether they believe in it or not. 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:44.320 Sadducees didn't believe in any of this stuff, and the reason they didn't believe it was there was a number of reasons, but they were the conservative religious people of the day. 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:48.799 They only held to the first five books of the Bible, the first five books of Moses, the Torah. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:57.279 And so they believed that resurrection wasn't spoken of through the words of Moses and the writings of Moses, and so we don't we don't believe in it because of that. 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:11.360 And so, in order to talk to them, Jesus actually uses the first five books of Moses, he uses the second book, Exodus, to prove to them you think that resurrection isn't real based on whatever you're claiming and holding up as true Bible. 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:14.000 He's like, I'm gonna show you that it actually is real. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:17.440 And so in verse 26 and 27, this is what he says. 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:20.159 He says, Now about the dead rising, have you not read? 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:23.679 In the book of Moses, the thing that you hold up and the only things that you believe. 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:29.519 In the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:31.919 And then he says, He is not the God of the dead, but the living. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:33.440 You are badly mistaken. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:38.399 And there's so many different things that Jesus is doing in this. 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:50.879 But he's also saying that like I'm not uh the God of this covenant, and once they die, I'm no longer the God of the covenant. 00:13:51.039 --> 00:13:56.559 But the point is, is what he's saying, the most significant point is he's drawing from what they claim to believe. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:59.519 We believe the first five books of Moses, and that's why we don't believe in the resurrection. 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:07.279 He's like, but God himself says, not I was the God of these people until they died, but I am still the God of these people. 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:12.000 I am still God over these people because I am not a God over the dead, but of the living. 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:18.399 And to him, even though they're dead in this life, and the life that they're currently living, they're still alive to him. 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:26.159 And so in this, Jesus is seeking to prove to them from their own sources that there is, in fact, a life after death, whether you believe it or not. 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:34.240 And then in other spaces in the scriptures, Jesus says that like the resurrection isn't just for those who believe, it's actually for everyone. 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:35.759 Everyone will be resurrected. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:37.679 Everyone's going to experience that thing. 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:39.759 Everyone's going to experience life after death. 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:42.639 In John 5, Jesus says this. 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:51.360 He says, Very truly, I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged, but crosses over from death to life. 00:14:51.679 --> 00:15:00.080 Very, very truly, I tell you, a time is coming when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live and come out. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:05.200 Those who have done good and what is good believed in the Son, based on verse 24. 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:06.799 They will rise to live. 00:15:06.879 --> 00:15:12.799 And those who have done what is evil or rejected the Son, they will also rise, but they will rise to condemnation. 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:23.360 And so Jesus says here, he proves to them that it's real, but he says in John, he's like, and it's not just for those who just claim to believe and everybody else sleeps, this eternal sleep or something like that. 00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:26.000 Some get to rise to life, and the other ones, there's just nothing for them. 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:27.120 It's like, no, no, no. 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:28.879 They both rise. 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:34.720 One rises to life and one rises to judgment or condemnation. 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:47.039 And so if our belief and if your belief of if you believe the scriptures, and if you're here today, you're like, I don't actually know if I believe the scriptures, then this might not apply to you as much, although I would love to talk to you about that. 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:57.519 But if you claim to believe in the scriptures and you would say that, like, okay, because Jesus said this, I I align because I fall under his authority, and I'm gonna believe what he tells me to believe. 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:12.720 If you believe that life after death is true and real, and it's not just for those who believe it, but it's actually for everyone, and some will rise to life and some will rise to condemnation or to judgment. 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:15.440 That should shape you, that should form you. 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:29.039 That should make one, it should lead us to want to actually be with Jesus, to believe in Jesus, but two, it should one of the things it should shape us into, it's like we should have this urgency and this desire to go, everyone's gonna rise to something. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:42.000 And if there are people in my life that don't know this and they don't believe in Jesus, it should lead us with this urgency to go and talk to them, to share with people about who Jesus is and appeal to them to try and lead them to follow Jesus and believe in Jesus. 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:51.600 If we actually believe that, that it's it's that there's this space where like there's an afterlife where people rise to life and some rise to judgment and condemnation, then it should. 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:55.200 It should give us an urgency to go and talk to people who don't know him. 00:16:55.360 --> 00:17:14.640 And so if you have people in your life that don't know Jesus, but you believe that there is a resurrection for the just and the unjust, it should lead you to go, like, I need some urgency to go talk to those people, praying for conversations that you can have with them, inroads and dynamics where you can actually share your faith and those kinds of things. 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:21.440 Not like forcing them to do it, but it should lead us to have this urgency to go, no one gets out of this. 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:29.279 Everyone gets to it is going to have to experience these things, and I want you to experience the life that you get it resurrected into, not the judgment. 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:34.079 And so it should lead us to have an urgency and a desire to share Jesus with people. 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:52.079 But then secondly, and and just as important, if you believe that there is a judgment resurrection and there is a life resurrection, it should lead you to consider if your life as a Christian is making Jesus wonderful enough to choose. 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:56.000 Because it's one thing to say, hey, you need to believe in Jesus. 00:17:56.079 --> 00:18:02.000 It's another thing for people to see your life and go, like, hey man, you're kind of the worst person I've ever met. 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:08.160 And you're telling me that I should believe in Jesus, but I want to be nothing like you, and you claim to believe in Jesus. 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:12.160 Why would I ever want him if you're someone who represents him? 00:18:12.480 --> 00:18:19.920 And I'm not saying that we should be perfect in that, but it should lead us to go, are there people in our lives that would, are we making Jesus appealing to other people? 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:25.440 Or is it a space where it's like, honestly, they reject him because of me and the way that I live? 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:32.880 And so a good question to ask is, is the way that you follow Jesus, is it compelling people to want to follow Jesus for themselves? 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:49.119 Do they see your life and go like, man, that's just something about your peace, your joy, your graciousness, your kindness, your compassion, your willingness to reconcile with people, your willingness to listen and not just spew anger into people. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:51.440 Like, there's something about you that's completely different. 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:52.160 What is that? 00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:53.039 It's appealing. 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:53.519 What is that? 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:54.799 It's Jesus living in me. 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:55.839 That's who that is. 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:57.839 And it's like, that's that's really appealing. 00:18:57.920 --> 00:18:58.960 And it should be appealing. 00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:01.279 Or is it the other way? 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:07.599 Is your obedience and your sacrifice to him, is it leading you to just be miserable? 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:11.920 And you're like, I'm incredibly obedient, I'm very sacrificial, but you're miserable. 00:19:12.160 --> 00:19:14.720 You're like, I hate this, it's the worst. 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:23.279 And you the way that you're following Jesus is making you angrier and more condemning and more judgmental and more superior to other people. 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:28.960 And it's like, one, if you're following Jesus that way and those things are happening, you're following Jesus incorrectly. 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:30.480 That's wrong. 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:44.880 But if the way that you're seeking to follow after Jesus is making you just like, yes, you're doing all this stuff and you're obeying the scriptures and doing all these things, but honestly, you're miserable. 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:46.480 Why would anybody want that life? 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:49.200 If you're like, everybody needs to follow Jesus, like, really, why? 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:51.519 It's like, well, I don't know, it's really terrible. 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.240 But um, you just should and you're supposed to. 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:57.359 And it's like, show me, is it good in your life? 00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:00.319 Like, no, not really, but you should really do that. 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:09.440 And it's like, there's a disconnect between what you're saying is very important, and then actually the way that following Jesus is actually shaping your life. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:17.119 And so if you're following Jesus and people would look at your life, if your kids would go, like, are you glad that your parents are Christian? 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:21.759 Are you glad that are you, do you want to follow Jesus based on the way your parents follow Jesus? 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:24.880 Does your parents' marriage make you want to have a Christian marriage? 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:31.519 Or does your parents' marriage lead you to believe that Jesus has no realm in marriage and no effect in any kind of marriage? 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:42.000 And so if you were to ask your kids, like, is the way that we're following Jesus, is that appealing to them to go, I also want to follow this Jesus that is affecting my family and my parents in this way? 00:20:42.160 --> 00:20:54.000 Or are they going, honestly, if I'm anything like my parents, if I carry their stress, their burdens, their anger, their meanness, if I carry those things and they're claiming to be a Christian, I want nothing to do with your Christ. 00:20:55.359 --> 00:21:01.839 And so it's important because I don't want people at the end of my life going, I would have chosen Jesus, but honestly, that guy sucked. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:03.519 Like, I don't want that. 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:13.119 And I think there's something for us to look at and to go, if people would look at our lives and say, why would I ever want to know the Jesus that you know? 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:17.759 Then it should lead us to go, like, man, am I, I need to shift this and change this. 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:25.519 Because even the apostle, because some people would be like, Well, but I'm just dealing with hardships, like I'm taking on more, I'm I'm being more obedient, more sacrificial. 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:27.039 That's why it's harder. 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:28.160 That's why I'm miserable. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:34.000 That's why, and it's like the apostle Paul is in a prison cell a lot and gets his head chopped off for the gospel. 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:37.599 So not, you know, not a great day in, you know, in the in the time. 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:50.559 And yet he's singing hymns to God and he's praying to God, and people watched his life, and he still had a hope and a joy and a peace and this fullness of life because prison couldn't steal it from him. 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:52.480 Being bound couldn't steal it from him. 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:59.359 His suffering and his hardships and all those things didn't make him go like, uh, life's the worst, and you're the worst too. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.279 Make him do that. 00:22:01.759 --> 00:22:03.519 It led him to actually go to live. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:06.480 I longed to go and be with Jesus, but to live is Christ. 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:08.640 To live here is Christ. 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:10.559 And to die is gain, but there's something here. 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:20.319 And people were led to faith, even though he was suffering, even though he was dealing with hardships, even though he was sacrificing more than anybody in a prison cell, writing letters to churches. 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:31.599 His faith was still compelling because there was something in him, even in the midst of the crushing that he was dealing with, something about him was like, but your faith is still very, very compelling to other people. 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:38.480 And so for you, there is a judgment resurrection, and there is a life resurrection. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:44.640 And people are going to be making decisions about that based on the things that you say and how you followed that man. 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:52.559 And so if the way that you're following Jesus is making your life miserable, and then you're spewing that onto other people, why would they ever want Jesus? 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.240 Because it's not affecting your life for fullness and abundance. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:57.920 Why would I want something like that? 00:22:58.160 --> 00:22:59.839 And so we need to consider that. 00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:03.279 That's the first one. 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:13.680 The fact that everyone will experience either a resurrection to life or a resurrection to judgment should lead us to consider if our lives are actually witnessing to the goodness of Jesus. 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:17.839 And it should lead us to actually speak about Him as well. 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:20.400 And then second, the second view. 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:28.880 The second thing we need to view about the resurrection and life after death is that life after death, this resurrection life, it will be better than we can possibly imagine. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:36.400 It does not make sense to us here and now, but it will be better than anything we can possibly imagine. 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:42.240 The Sadducees struggled with the idea of an afterlife because it didn't make sense to the way the world currently worked. 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:44.079 The world works this way. 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:45.599 It's confusing. 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:51.759 There's no way there can be a resurrection because if the world works this way, then this would happen, and this is incompatible. 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:53.039 These things are incompatible. 00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:54.160 And that's what they say here. 00:23:54.319 --> 00:24:02.240 They're talking about this problem that Moses gave to the people of like, if this one marries this one, if this one dies, they're supposed to procreate with the other one and do this whole thing. 00:24:02.480 --> 00:24:03.680 So that's what they're talking about. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:09.599 And so they ask this woman has married seven men at the resurrection in verse 23. 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:12.559 At the resurrection, whose wife will she be? 00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:14.480 Since seven were married to her. 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:20.720 And Jesus' response to their concern is basically that's not a problem that you'll face. 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:22.480 That's not an issue. 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:29.759 And so he says this in verse 25 when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given into marriage, they'll be like the angels in heaven. 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:30.720 And that's his answer. 00:24:30.880 --> 00:24:37.200 Now, many people struggle with what he says, but it's because of marriage. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:39.440 And they're like, but my spouse. 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:47.440 But it's important to realize he's commenting less on the practice of marriage and more just about like the thing that they're actually asking him. 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:50.720 He's commenting less on the practice of marriage and how that's gonna be in the afterlife. 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:56.480 And he's basically saying to them and pointing to something and going, You think there will be a problem in the life to come? 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:59.039 There will not be problems in the life to come. 00:24:59.279 --> 00:25:04.559 This thing that you're holding up is like, see, this is a huge issue that one day we're gonna have to face in the new kingdom. 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:07.599 It's like, yeah, that's not, you're not gonna face that problem. 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:08.960 That's not gonna be an issue. 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:25.200 So, Mark Strauss, excuse me, Mark Strauss in his commentary says this this passage is disturbing to Christians who would hope and expect the intimacy of their marital relationship to continue into eternity. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:31.039 But Jesus does not claim that the intimacy of earthly relationships will be discontinued in eternity. 00:25:31.279 --> 00:25:34.480 He only says that there will be no need for the institution of marriage. 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:40.559 Since there will be no more death, the need for marriage and the propagation of the race will not exist. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:48.799 And so we may reasonably posit that all relationships, including those most dear to us today, will exist on an even higher plane in eternity. 00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:50.319 Things aren't gonna get worse. 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:51.759 They're gonna get better. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:26:01.200 And so his idea is like we these things that we hold as valuable and these things that we think are like, man, this is this is such a, this is a God-instituted, wonderful thing. 00:26:01.440 --> 00:26:02.640 And now it's just gonna go away. 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:08.400 And it's like, no, your relationships will exist on an even higher plane because the world will be renewed and so will all things. 00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:09.119 D.A. 00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:10.960 Carson says this as well. 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:28.160 He says, the greatness of the changes at the resurrection, the greatness of the changes at the resurrection will doubtless make the wife of even seven brothers capable of loving them all and the object of love of all of them, in the same way that a good mother today loves all her children and also is loved by them. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:31.759 And so his point, Jesus' point, isn't really about marriage itself. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:35.839 His point is you think that you're gonna face problems in the life to come. 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:36.960 You won't. 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:38.240 Don't worry about that. 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:39.599 It's better than you think. 00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:41.680 It will be better than you can currently imagine. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:51.359 And so if you have these ideas of like, I have this problem of like what's coming and what's coming up ahead, and it makes me nervous or it makes me scared or it makes me not want to go. 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:55.839 It's like those things, this is what Jesus said, those things, put those out of your mind. 00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:58.079 You will not have those problems. 00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:00.160 Those things will not be things that you think about. 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:03.279 You will not experience lack, you know, you will not have that loss. 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:05.839 It will not be something that affects you in the life to come. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:12.480 Those problems that you have will not be things that actually scare you, make you nervous, and that you actually experience in the life to come. 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:22.160 And so, for instance, the conversations that I've had with people just over the years, students, family, adults, people struggle with like the length of time of eternity. 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:28.640 They're like, and maybe you're in the room and you're like, yes, that is a struggle for me, just to be like, you're gonna be there for eternity, and you're like, that's not good news. 00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:30.000 Like, that's very terrifying. 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:31.440 I don't want to live somewhere forever. 00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:40.880 There's an actual um phobia, uh, it's called like a paraphobia or something, where you your fear is infinity and endless time. 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:49.759 And so length of time has has led people to be like, I'm nervous about that experience in heaven of being there forever and that kind of thing. 00:27:49.839 --> 00:27:55.200 And I I heard somebody or maybe it was a commentator, he said you should think about the best day of your life. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:57.519 And then you're experiencing the best day of your life. 00:27:57.680 --> 00:28:01.119 And if somebody asked you, like, hey, you ready to die right now? 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:05.279 Um, like this is the best day of your life, you ready to, this is you you want to end this right here? 00:28:05.519 --> 00:28:10.319 Normally, normally, a sane person would be like, No, no, I'd like for for this to keep going. 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:11.440 He's like, perfect. 00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:17.839 So if that's true uh consistently, it's like it's gonna be something like that, but even that pales in comparison to what it actually is. 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:21.920 Length of time will not be an actual issue that you face in eternity. 00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:24.960 Some people think about uh boredom, that's a struggle for them. 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:28.400 Not only are we gonna be there forever, and like, what am I gonna do? 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:35.759 And then they have these visions of you know angels sitting on clouds with harps, and uh maybe that's not you, but like that's what some people think of. 00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:36.960 That's at least that's in the media. 00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:38.640 It's like, what are they doing when they go to heaven? 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:40.240 Apparently you get wings and a harp. 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:40.720 I don't know. 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:43.680 Learn to play the harp now, save you some time then. 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:49.200 But that's not something uh and then the other would be relationships. 00:28:49.359 --> 00:28:59.279 Um I know a lady that loved, loved, loved, loved, loved her husband, just loved him, and he passed away early on uh into their relationship. 00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:14.880 And now, years later, um, and she's like in her 30s, wants to get married again, but she's like, but if I marry him, and then I get it's very similar to this text, and then I get to heaven one day, it's gonna be awkward with the other guy. 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:18.880 And I don't know, I don't really want to experience awkwardness in heaven. 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:34.319 And um, and so it's like this thing, I'm like, again, that's not going to like whatever you're dealing with in this world that you think is gonna pose a problem in the world to come, Jesus is basically saying, in a in a big way, but he's basically saying, that will not be a problem. 00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:36.960 If you're nervous about something, set your nerves aside. 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:40.400 If it, if it's scaring you of what's to come, don't be nervous about the thing. 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:41.920 It's better than you can possibly imagine. 00:29:42.079 --> 00:29:43.519 And so that's what he's saying. 00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:45.359 You will not experience those concerns. 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:50.640 He says you will be like the angels in heaven, which again has led people to be like, Am I gonna get wings? 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:58.079 Or if you read about the angels and the gospels or uh in the uh in the Old Testament, they got eyes everywhere on their body, and it's kind of weird. 00:29:58.240 --> 00:29:59.920 Um, that's not what they're saying. 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:05.039 It's not like you will be able to like them characteristically, like you're not gonna get wings when you're there and things like that. 00:30:05.119 --> 00:30:06.559 That's not what Jesus is saying. 00:30:06.880 --> 00:30:15.759 He's referencing that you will be completely fulfilled, captivated, satisfied with God as the source of every single thing in your life that you need. 00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:21.759 They are completely fulfilled, and he's talking about angels in heaven, not the ones that rejected God's leadership. 00:30:22.240 --> 00:30:26.079 But you will be completely fulfilled, you'll be like them that's going, like, I don't have need. 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:27.599 Everything that I need is here. 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:35.440 And if you read in the scriptures, like in Revelation, the angels are just constantly shouting and saying, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy, holy. 00:30:35.519 --> 00:30:37.920 They're just standing in God's presence saying, holy, holy, holy. 00:30:38.160 --> 00:30:40.640 And some people are like, see, that's exactly why I'm scared to go to heaven. 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:41.279 I don't want to sing. 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:42.400 I don't even want to sing at church. 00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:43.759 Like, I don't, I hate this. 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:45.440 I'm gonna be worshiping for eternity. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:47.759 Oh, I'm just saying the same words over and over and over again. 00:30:47.839 --> 00:30:51.440 But you have to realize those angels are not forced to do that. 00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:55.519 They're not like you, you sit there for eternity and just shout, holy, holy, holy. 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:56.480 They're not forced to do that. 00:30:56.640 --> 00:31:08.559 They've just found that like the thing that fulfills me the most is to stand in this man, this, this God's presence, the thing that I find and tap the most meaning is found here, saying these words over and over and over again. 00:31:08.640 --> 00:31:10.319 And God's like, you can go do something else. 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:13.279 And you're like, why would I ever want to go do anything else? 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:20.880 I'm finally in a space where I'm tapping real meaning and real joy and real peace and everything I've been longing for, I'm finally experiencing those things. 00:31:20.960 --> 00:31:22.720 And that's what Jesus is referencing. 00:31:22.880 --> 00:31:32.720 Right now, in this world, the way that you live, we all search for meaning, joy, peace, love, all those different things, and we search for it and we get pockets of it, but we're never actually fulfilled by the thing. 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:39.200 And one day you will stand in a space, and Jesus says, you will be like the angels, and all of that stuff, you will go to the source of joy. 00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:50.000 You will go to the source of love, you will go to the source of peace, and you will stand in that space and want nothing else, and want for nothing else, because finally you are fulfilled in every possible capacity that you have. 00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:51.359 That will be happening for you. 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:57.279 And so you will never be thinking about the lack or the loss or these questions that people, when I get to heaven, I'm gonna ask God, da-da-da-da. 00:31:57.440 --> 00:31:57.920 No, you're not. 00:31:58.079 --> 00:32:00.880 You're gonna be just enthralled and captivated in his presence. 00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:06.880 And so that's what he's referencing and just saying, it will be far better than you can imagine or think. 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:14.240 And so Jesus is saying, one day we will finally be able to experience this fullness that we're searching for in this life and can't find. 00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:16.160 That one day we'll actually be able to find those things. 00:32:16.240 --> 00:32:17.599 And that's what he's saying. 00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:31.920 David Goodzik says this He says, If it seems that life in the resurrection that Jesus speaks of here does not include some of the pleasures of life that we know on earth, it is only because the enjoyments and satisfactions of heaven far surpass what we know on earth. 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:36.880 We can't be completely certain what life and glory beyond will be like. 00:32:37.039 --> 00:32:41.279 But we can know with certainty that no one will be disappointed with the arrangements. 00:32:41.440 --> 00:32:43.920 No one's going to be disappointed with the arrangements. 00:32:44.640 --> 00:32:55.920 Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, he says, Eye has not seen, nor ear has heard, neither has it ever entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them that love him. 00:32:56.240 --> 00:33:01.359 No one can even possibly imagine what's coming for us, what is available to us. 00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:08.000 And so even our best imagination of what it will be like pales in comparison to what it will actually be. 00:33:08.160 --> 00:33:09.759 And that's what the scriptures testify to. 00:33:09.839 --> 00:33:11.359 It's better than you can possibly imagine. 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:12.480 I love how C.S. 00:33:12.559 --> 00:33:13.759 Lewis talks about it. 00:33:14.079 --> 00:33:20.480 He says that this life, this one that we're currently living, this life is only the cover of the book and the title page. 00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:31.519 Now, in the life to come, now begins chapter one of the great story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, and in which every chapter is better than the one before. 00:33:31.759 --> 00:33:34.079 Like that's what I love that picture of it. 00:33:34.319 --> 00:33:36.319 Like what's available, what's coming. 00:33:36.559 --> 00:33:43.119 Your life and how you live will be shaped by what you believe about the resurrection, what you believe about the afterlife. 00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:48.079 And so for us, we need to have in our view and have in our mind what's it like. 00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:50.960 It's far better than anything you could possibly imagine. 00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:53.599