Risen Indeed

Transcript

According to Luke, chapter 24. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 24. And go ahead and stand with me once you found. Luke 24, verse 1.

00:00:16

Notice these words from the Gospel of Luke. On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee came to the tomb. Taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. But when they went in, they did not find the body.

00:00:40

While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. But the men said to them, why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.

00:01:15

Then they remembered his words. And returning from the tomb, they told all this to the 11 and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves.

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Then he went home, amazed at what had happened. Let us pray. Jesus, thank you for your holy word. And we pray now that you, Holy Spirit, would give us eyes to see and ears to hear, and then the power to obey.

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In your name we pray. Amen. And you can be seated.

00:02:23

You know, I love studying the Bible with my small group, and my small group guys are here. Our group has kind of dwindled down a little bit. And we meet 11:30 on Wednesdays, and we crack open this very text and study it together and let the Lord speak to us. And I've loved. And I have another group on Fridays that do the same thing.

00:02:46

And I love studying the Bible with other people because the Lord actually moves among us as we look at His Word. And just like right now, he wants to move among us and whisper to us things to show us that he is living and not dead, that he is risen. He has risen indeed. Right. Anytime we say that, you can just go ahead and do that, right?

00:03:09

So, yes. And so one of the things that kind of perplexed us, to use one of the words from the text here about this story of the resurrection, is it's very difficult to find an application for it. That might sound weird, but I think we all kind of were a little perplexed because it was hard to do it. But then it kind of came to us, I think, as a group, to. To say it's because the resurrection actually affects everything.

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It's not just one thing, like, what could you pull up for your daily life? That this story here of Jesus rising from the dead, it's really everything, but not some small one categorization of a thing. Instead, it literally is the foundation of what we believe as Christians. This is ground zero for us. And in fact, many have made the case that Easter is in fact, the holiest of days.

00:04:08

Now is Christmas Day, when we welcome in the birth of Christ. Yes, but without the annunciation and the conception by the Holy Spirit, the birth wouldn't have happened, obviously, right? So then we celebrate the birth, which then we get to see Jesus. He gets to teach among us and heal and so on and so forth. But without his death, we still don't have the forgiveness of sins.

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But then with his death, we have again a loss of his physical body for us. For he rises again, spends 50 days revealing himself to his disciples, and then ascends into heaven so that he can send his spirit. So then we have Pentecost, right? Which is also a super important day. But it is on this day that it verifies and validates everything that Jesus said.

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Just as we read in the First Corinthians 15, reading without the Resurrection, we're all just a bunch of fools. It's pointless what we're doing. You might as well go home.

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And here today, we want to revisit this brief, very brief resurrection account from Luke and just sort of focus in on a few things. And one is this little saying at the very beginning on the first day of the week, that's Sunday, just like today at early dawn. And the term Easter, as you may know, is really a term that comes to us through the. It's Anglo Saxon Old English word that just means dawn, okay? And it has nothing to do with a pagan festival, and it has everything to do with that.

00:05:48

Christians were already celebrating Easter, but by a different name. You know what that name was? Pasca. And Pasca is kind of the older, traditional biblical name that has to do with Passover, because Easter always follows one week after Passover. And so.

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So we have sort of an English, if you will, modern way, which is. Which is what we typically call it Easter, right? But then you also have the other one, which is Pasca. And so they both mean the same thing, though, all right? And so it's the.

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It's the holiest day for all Christians and it is our absolute foundation now. So early dawn really means something here. But then secondly, we have this idea of the finality of death. So there the ladies are there to actually administer their spices which they actually just, in the last chapter, prepared. And then they couldn't do anything because it was the Sabbath, right?

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And so now they're headed off and they're expecting death. That's. That's what these spices are for, is to anoint the dead. Alright? And so we know most of us in this room have met death in some crisis sort of way.

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I remember the first time that. And I think I can speak for my brother and I both, but we both bumped into death one Saturday morning. We were cutting, you know, wood and stacking that with dad. And in drives Miss Peggy in this big Chevrolet, you know, those big Chevrolet vans, you know, had like the extension on top. She pulls in, wheels in really quickly.

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She was. The church secretary jumps out and she says, marty's been shot. And our day completely changed. We immediately hopped in the, in the truck with dad and we rushed to the hospital. And Marty was wonderfully married and had a little girl at home.

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And it was almost Christmas and we were getting the report that he had been shot in a hunting accident. And so Justin and I waited in the waiting room and everybody was praying and, you know, I was very hopeful that there's no way somebody like this could die. I mean, you know, it's nearly Christmas and he's got a family and all of this, and then out comes Joey and he grabs both of our heads and pulls him in and he said, he's gone, he's gone. I just still remember those words and how confusing it was that, what do you mean he's gone? Like, he has a job, you know, I just saw him just the other day.

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He has a whole life to live. What do you mean, he's gone? And even to this day, it is. It's still a bit confusing, isn't it? When death hits, it's always surprising.

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Even when it's expected, it's still a surprise. Why? Something about us knows. It's instinctive, intuitive, that we know death is not right, something about it is wrong. Even though, even though if you look out scientifically, it's the most natural thing that happens, right?

00:09:04

A tree grows up and then it dies. Animals are born and then they die. Like, there's not much that lives for eternity in this life. In fact, there's nothing, except for, of course, the immaterial, eternal things.

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And Yet. And yet when a loved one dies, we just don't feel it's right. Something's not right. It doesn't sit with us well. And in fact, we oftentimes, and you see this even in sports, we oftentimes sort of refuse to believe that they're really gone.

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You know what I mean? We sense them or we hear them, or perhaps we miss them in such a way that it affects us for the rest of our life grieving because we know there's a reality that they are somewhere. We just don't really believe that you just, poof, are gone. And I think that's a right intuition. In fact, we know biblically that's exactly right.

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This is why for St. Paul, he will say, concerning the dead. And so too Jesus does this. Oh, no, she's but sleeping. You remember this when the little girl was dead and Jesus says, oh, she's but sleeping.

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And they all laugh at him. You remember he walks in the room and raises her up. She was just but sleeping. And St. Paul says the same thing in First Thessalonians, those who have fallen asleep.

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Now, he's not talking about some grave sleep or soul sleep. So what he's talking about, he understands that one day those who have died will rise again in the general resurrection. And this is what we believe as Christians because of Christ. Justin just read this. Did you catch it?

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Because it's a pretty powerful statement, we kind of just gloss over it really quickly. But because of Adam, all die. You remember that. But because of Christ, all live. What does that mean?

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It means that everybody actually will be resurrected. Now, does it mean everybody will be saved? No, because the next statement in there was qualifying, wasn't it? Those who are in Christ Jesus are the ones who will be saved. So the others revelation will tell us are raised up to be damned in their body or to be human, happy, flourishing, holy life in the body.

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So it's one or the other. One is going off to eternal bliss, the other to eternal damnation. But in a body, it's because of the work. He's the second Adam. And it's.

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It's neat to read the various resurrection stories and find that he was buried in a tomb in a garden. You remember this? There was a garden, and that's where it was. And where do we begin? Right, the Bible, but in a garden.

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And now Jesus is back in a garden. And now a new creation comes forward. So he defeats death by dying so that we do not grieve as those who don't have hope. Instead in the very face of death. And this is what happens at a Christian funeral.

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In the very face of death, we stand and affirm life, even when it doesn't make sense, even when it's confusing. We affirm that Christ has actually defeated death and that we can have eternal life. Now, the other thing here is all of a sudden, as they are perplexed, two men are standing beside him in dazzling clothes. And. And it's fascinating here in the text, there's actually two sets of clothes.

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One is dazzling on the angels, and the other is Jesus's linen cloths. Remember, by themselves, in other words, not on the body. There is no body in the tomb. And so it's important what these two angels say to the women here. They say this, why are you looking for the living among the dead?

00:13:25

Remember, they're in a tomb in a graveyard. But Christ is living. And he had told them this because that's why the angels say, hey, don't you remember his words? He said that he would suffer, die, and on the third day, rise again. And then they remembered.

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But at this point, they don't. They. They're not connecting that. And so I want to ask you, how many of us, how many of us look for the living among the dead? In other words, how many of us pursue things that are dead ends?

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And we're looking for life, we're looking for human flourishing, we're looking to be happy, but we're doing it in ways that are dead ends. And people before us can tell us that they're dead ends. Riches. If you think riches are going, you know, you think money's going to solve all your problems? Like, just ask other people that have money.

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Really? I mean, if you know somebody that has more money than you, just be like, hey, when you got more money, were you just happy, happy, happy? For a time, yeah. It's cool to have neat things. But then, you know what?

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Everything in this life wanes, really does, gets old. And we want more because we were created for more. You think security makes you happy? Like just being secure makes you. No, no.

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And so on and so forth. No, instead, we pursue what is highest, and what is highest is Christ. We look not for things that, you know, scrolling mindlessly on our phone or. Or just accumulating more things or even interacting with things. Okay.

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I mean, AI. No, AI is a thing. Okay. You know, listen, we were made for God and others like Pastor Harris. I'm going to repeat myself.

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We were made for God. Yes. We kept saying in the sermon this morning, we were Made for God and each other. And so when we try to find life on things, houses, whatever it might be, businesses, you name it, things will never satisfy us. Things are a means to an end.

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But not people. People are not a means to an end. They are holy because everybody is created in the image of God, every human person. And they're not a means to an end. People are not meant to just be used.

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So why are we looking for the living among the dead? Maybe the Lord could whisper even now to us and say, you're just wasting your time on this. Pursue something greater. You know what they tell us? If you're depressed, the best thing for you is other people.

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When you're anxious, the best thing for you, other people.

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The scripture's right. The two greatest commands, love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. If you're stuck, life just doesn't seem like much anymore. It's jaded, boring. Get involved with people.

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People are never boring. Trust me.

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Then the angels say this. He is not here. He is risen. And notice our proclamation. I said this morning, but our proclamation is not he has risen, some past event, but rather he is risen.

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He is the risen Lord, so he is risen. Amen. Hallelujah. And then notice. They say, remember.

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And we too need to remember. This is what this day is all about, really is coming again to remember what Christ did 2000 years ago. This is not some, again, you know, made up story. You know, we could, we could go through the apologetics. It's insane, the historicity of this story.

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And that's why we have four different accounts rather than just one. We don't have one to go by, but rather four.

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No, we're to remember. And when they remembered, they went out and witnessed. And that's the same thing for us. That's the same that we remember so that we can go tell others, not just for ourself. Again, life is not about living for the ego or the self.

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And as soon as we learn that lesson, we are willing to pour our lives out for others. And I'm telling you, that is where happiness is found. It really is. It's not in getting more stuff for myself. It truly isn't.

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What is having all the things you have, if you don't share it with someone, it's pointless. Well, now we come to maybe the most difficult thing in the text to me, and really across all four of the resurrection accounts, and it's this. The women, when they realized what had happened, were perplexed, confused. And what happens when they then get clarity and, and go tell it to the 11 and the others who were there. What happens?

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Did you see what it says? It says, but these words, hear this, these words seem to them an idle tale. And they did not believe them. Here we have the resurrection. Who would make up a story to try to get other people to believe it and admit doubt?

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All four stories have doubt. You remember, some worshiped, but others doubted. This is after the resurrection, even in John's account. Why is it that the scripture on this beautiful day of belief and faith, mentions doubt, confusion, fear, disbelief? Well, it's because the resurrection is not undoubtable.

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In other words, you can doubt it. You can even make up. Trust me, people have over the years made up all sorts of reasons and justifications about this is impossible. Nobody can rise from the dead. Or this is a spiritual event and they mistook it, and so on and so forth.

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There's all kinds of spiritualizing and explaining away that ends up happening. They say, why didn't God just do something? That's indubitable. That's the big word for undoubtable. Why didn't he just do that?

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Well, apparently because he didn't want to. You know, I mean, that's. Sometimes I don't know what to say other than like apparently he didn't want to. But if we look a little closer, think about it. Love doesn't admit force.

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You understand what I'm saying by that? In other words, if he did something that doesn't allow us at all to make a move, can we love him?

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Put it this way, Peter Kreeft, maybe this will be helpful for you because I thought it was helpful for me. He goes, God is our Father, not our godfather, who makes us an offer we can't refuse.

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And isn't it true? Love relies on faith and trust, not force.

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Can I repeat myself? Love relies on faith and trust, not force. Think about it. What if you told your spouse, you're like, you know what? I just need to know everything you're doing every second of the day.

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I'm going to track you and I'm going to live my life just to watch you, to make sure that you love me. Is that healthy? No. Let's just go and say no, that's not healthy. Okay?

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That's not healthy. And the reason why is because it gives hardly any room for trust.

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And in love it requires trust. And so God doesn't do something here where he forces himself upon us, but rather the invitation is there if you want to see. He'll help you See, if you want to hear, he'll help you hear. Or you can stop your ears up and cover your eyes and put your head in the sand. We've got a minister in the association that every time he writes me an email, he signs off the same way.

00:22:52

Grace, not pressure. I like that. Grace, not pressure. If I pressured you to come to church, which sometimes I'm very tempted to do, if I pressured you, you might come, you know, but not for the right reason. Not for the right reason, which is why we don't pressure you to do this or that, but we make it available and so does our Lord.

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But he's not going to pressure you in this way. He offers his grace, but he's not going to force Himself on us.

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So, truth or tell, which one is it? Because it's one or the other. Either this is an idle tale, and for 2000 years this would be the greatest story ever told. Either way, right? In other words, it's the greatest made up story or it's the greatest true story.

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It's one or the other. But either way, it's the greatest story ever told. This story is more well known than any story in human history, period. Jesus, there's more written about him than anybody else. Like bar none, not even close.

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Okay, so Jesus, his resurrection, it either actually happened. And that changes everything. Everything. In other words, that's why he said, look, behold, I am making some things new. No, no, no.

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I am making all things new. He's restarting this whole thing as the old theory of the Atonement. He's recapitulating everything back through. He starts in the garden, and now he's starting in the garden. And you heard this morning from Pastor Harry, you've got Eve who commits the first sin, and now Mary, who he says her name, Mary, and she's the first evangelist.

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What a story. What a God. And, and here's the thing. This is not just some belief, this is not just some theology or doctrine, but rather, this is an event that happened to a person. Person who still has access to us.

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Other words, if you want to meet him, just call his name. You just call his name. You can call Abraham L's name as much as you want. He ain't coming.

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George Washington ain't happening. Jesus, watch out.

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Well, so this is a holy day, maybe the most holy day. All right? And maybe the most joyous one and hopeful day as well. Because it is the dawn, the Easter, of a new creation. You see, on this day, Jesus defeated death by dying.

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He broke it in Other words, you ever heard that kind of phrase, like, in the gaming world? Like, oh, man, he broke the game, right? Because he played it so well. He went through it and he broke it because he's the maker and the Creator. And he took the very thing that seals us off from others and destroys everything in our life, seemingly, and he made that the path for new life.

00:26:22

In other words, you don't get a resurrection body unless you die. For those who have already gone before us, they will rise again. And for us who are still remaining, if he were to bust open the eastern sky now, we would still have to die and then be resurrected. We don't just keep this body. This body becomes a glorified body for those who are in Christ Jesus.

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So don't look for the living among the dead. Let's understand the difference between things and people, and people and God. And let's put God first and people second and things way below that.

00:27:13

In other words, set your eyes on the Savior today because you can see him with the eye of faith. His grace alone can make that happen. It's not something we do. Let's get this right. It's not something we do, but it's something he offers to us today.

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What better day than today to see the risen Lord? Like on Resurrection Sunday, 2025.

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So, friends, Easter morning meets us where we are. Some of us faithful and weary like the women, some skeptical like the apostles, and some curious, like Peter, who got up and ran to see for himself. Here's the point. The invitation is the same for all of us. Come and see.

00:28:08

Come and see. He is not here. He's not in the grave. He's not. He is risen.

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He is risen indeed. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Total Duration 00:28:20