Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
John, chapter 20,.
How about that?
John, chapter 20.
John, chapter 20.
John, chapter 20, verse 1.
(00:35):
And I'm going to go back tothat first Resurrection Sunday
so many years ago.
John 20, verse 1.
So all of the Gospels, ofcourse, matthew, mark, luke and
John they all include the cross.
There's no getting around that.
(00:56):
You've got to have the crossand you've got to have the
resurrection.
And we'll be in John thismorning to see what he has to
say about it, a guy who wasactually there.
Let's read in verse 1.
Now, the first day of the week,mary Magdalene went to the tomb
early, while it was still dark,and saw that the stone had been
(01:19):
taken away from the tomb.
Then she ran and came to SimonPeter and to the other disciple
whom Jesus loved and said tothem they have taken away the
Lord out of the tomb and we donot know where they have laid
him.
Peter therefore went out andthe other disciple and were
(01:41):
going to the tomb.
So they both ran together and,by the way, the other disciple
outran Peter and came to thetomb first and he, stooping down
and looking in, saw the linencloths lying there.
Yet he did not go in.
Then Simon Peter came followinghim and went into the tomb and
(02:03):
he saw the linen cloths lyingthere and the handkerchief that
had been around Jesus' head, notlying with the linen cloths but
folded together in a place byitself.
Then the other disciple whocame to the tomb first, by the
way, went in also and he saw andbelieved, went in also, and he
saw and believed For as yet theydid not know the scripture that
(02:28):
he must rise again from thedead.
Then the disciples went awayagain to their own homes.
Well, here we are, that firstday of the week we see in verse
one, which is Sunday, and a lotof running is going on in this
(02:50):
story.
Right, mary goes to the tombearly in the morning to really
with this desire to finish theembalming of Jesus.
She had no expectation of anyof this happening and when she
gets there the stone is rolledaway.
Now you can look at the othergospels and see little details
here and there of how that wentdown.
But she runs back and getsPeter and John.
(03:12):
Now, john here is the one whowrites this gospel down and he
calls himself the disciple whomJesus loved.
That's sweet, right.
He also throws in there.
By the way, in this running, Igot to the tomb first.
Right, he mentions it twice.
Is it bragging, or is it justthat he's remembering in great
(03:33):
detail that day?
I think maybe the latter, butthe first one's funny too,
because we're all human.
But John lets us know in verseeight that as he looked into the
tomb and he saw everythingfolded up just right, jesus
straightens his bed, so to speak, after he gets up, and there
(03:57):
John looks in and he believed.
So John lets us know that inhis experience this was the
first point that he understood alittle bit of what had happened
.
Now he didn't understandeverything right, because we're
told later on that the disciplesdidn't get this idea that he
would rise again.
But in some way John looks atthis and he has faith.
(04:19):
That's where it all just kindof triggered.
Now this is the first we couldsay Easter Sunday, first
Resurrection Sunday.
But how did we get here?
How did we get here?
Well, let's rewind for a secondand go back to the beginning.
Everybody take their remotesout.
(04:42):
I thought about that.
I've always done that because Ithink it's funny.
But there are people in here whohave no idea what that means
Because they've never seen likea videocassette recorder or
anything like that, that sound.
Anyway, we're rewinding andwe're going back, we're going
back to the beginning.
And you know, you're just goingand going and there it goes
back, and you just go in and goin and there it goes back and
(05:03):
you see the kings, you see theprophets, you see Abraham, and
you come to the garden and we'restill rewinding and we go back
until there's nothing.
Right, we went too far, maybe?
Right, there's nothing but justdarkness, it seems.
And God.
Genesis 1.1 says in thebeginning God.
(05:26):
So if we go past that and we goback further, we find, as far
as we know, nothing but eternalGod, just fine with himself, and
there he is.
Well, what is he doing?
We don't exactly know, but wedo know he had a plan.
And to understand what wasgoing on before time began we
(05:48):
have to go to the end of thebook.
Revelation 13, verse 8 gives usa little snapshot of what was
going on before God created theheavens and the earth.
John refers to Jesus inRevelation 13, verse 8, as the
lamb slain before the foundationof the world.
(06:08):
So check it out.
In the mind of God, the crosswas already a plan before
creation ever happened.
It was his determination tosave the world and to love us
and to lay down his life for us.
Well, if we let the thing playout a little bit right In the
(06:30):
book of Genesis, you guys know,god creates the heavens and the
earth.
He creates man, he creates woman, he puts them in this wonderful
paradise and by chapter threethey've thrown it all away.
Right by chapter three, sinenters the world and death
enters the world with sin andeverything just takes a nosedive
(06:51):
.
And man needs to be saved.
We all do.
And yet God has a plan.
In chapter three, god has aplan to crush the serpent's head
.
I like that.
He has a plan to undo what wasdone in sin and he lets them
(07:11):
know I'm going to send a savior.
Now check it out.
As we let the Bible play outfrom beginning to this point, we
see that God, just from time totime, he would let people know,
he would remind people throughthe prophets, through the Psalms
all around.
I'm not gonna leave things theway they are.
(07:32):
I'm sending a savior, and thatwas God's plan and God's
intention.
Well, finally we get toChristmas.
Right, christmas is back inDecember.
December is when we celebrateit, but you remember the fact
God becomes flesh and dwellsamong us, that Jesus is born God
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in flesh, a human baby, but Godeternal.
And there his name is givenJesus.
Now, check it out.
Jesus means God is salvation.
So all of this is a plan, eveninto his very name, that God
would save us.
Well, jesus is born, he lives,he grows up and he ministers.
(08:19):
That's what we've been studyingin the Gospel of Mark.
And he ministers that's whatwe've been studying in the
Gospel of Mark.
He ministers and he lovespeople and he teaches the truth
and he shows the world what theFather is like.
And then, finally, he comes tothe cross, the very day it was
intended to be.
(08:39):
Jesus comes to the cross and welooked at that on Friday there
and Jesus takes upon himself thesin of the world.
Now we talked about this.
He died for us, a sacrifice.
He took our sin upon himself,all the stuff that we deserve.
(09:04):
He became the perfect lamb ofGod who takes away the sin of
the world.
And you remember how importantthat is in the sacrifices right,
that they would take a lamb, aperfect lamb, and you would then
now listen, you would then putyour hand on that lamb animal,
(09:26):
that lamb.
You would confess your sinsI've messed up, I've had a bad
attitude, I've done my own thingand then that lamb would be
killed and you go.
Why?
Why would that lamb have to die?
Because sin separates us fromGod and there's no other way to
(09:49):
get rid of sin than judgment,righteous judgment.
And Jesus takes that righteousjudgment upon himself at the
cross.
Now let's turn to Galatians,chapter 2.
You don't have to hold yourplace here in John.
Galatians, chapter 2.
We see how these things of thecross and the resurrection play
(10:13):
together.
Galatians, chapter 2, verse 20.
Important passage Galatians 2,20.
Paul says I have been crucifiedwith Christ.
It's no longer I who live, butChrist lives in me.
(10:34):
The life that I now live in theflesh, I live by faith in the
Son of God who loved me and gavehimself for me.
So Paul wasn't there at thecross.
He wasn't there when Jesus diedon the cross but, like us, in a
(10:55):
spiritual sense, he came tothat cross and he saw Jesus
dying as a sacrifice.
He in a sense, like we talkedabout, put his hand on Jesus and
said my sin is upon him andJesus became a sacrifice for
Paul's sin.
But Paul says it like this.
(11:15):
He says I've been crucifiedwith Christ.
Check it out.
When Jesus died on the cross,it's as if Paul was there in
Christ, dying for his own sin,but Jesus took his place
Important, and that's whathappened at the cross.
(11:36):
We identify with Jesus on thecross.
He took our place.
That's huge.
Now check it out.
If the story stopped there, whatif Jesus just died, man?
Wouldn't that be wonderful,that Jesus would die as a
sacrifice for our sins?
He died on the cross, but whatif he didn't rise again?
(11:57):
What if that was the end of thestory we go?
What a loving teacher, what awonderful person.
What a sad thing that he woulddie.
Honestly, if Jesus didn't riseagain, we wouldn't be here today
.
We, we wouldn't be here today.
We absolutely wouldn't be heretoday.
Nobody would talk about thethings he'd said.
Nobody would talk about thethings he did.
(12:19):
If Jesus didn't rise from thedead, he would have been a false
prophet.
As good of a thing as dying onthe cross for us would have been
.
He would have been a falseprophet because Jesus said all
throughout his ministry I'mgonna die, I'm gonna die, but in
three days I'm gonna rise again.
And if he didn't rise again, hewould have been a liar and
(12:41):
there would have been nothingelse for us to look at.
But we know what happened.
Three days later he rose againto the disciples' surprise.
Notice again what Galatians 2.20says I have been crucified with
Christ.
It's no longer I who live, butChrist lives in me.
(13:03):
So we're crucified with Christ.
It's no longer I who live mylife ends at the cross but
Christ lives in me.
And notice he says no longer Iwho live, my life ends at the
cross, but Christ lives in me.
And notice he says the life Inow live.
There's life after the cross inwhat Paul says here, that
Christ lives in me and I livewith Christ.
(13:24):
There's a resurrection, there'sresurrection.
There's resurrection, a lifeafter death, and that's the
completion of the story.
We're given life because herose.
We have new life in him.
(13:44):
I just want to finish our timelooking at what that means, that
we have life.
What kind of life do we have inJesus?
Number one it's a living life.
That does not sound veryprofound.
I realize that it's a livinglife, right, that seems kind of
redundant to say that, but theBible lets us know that even
when we're living we can bespiritually dead, right?
(14:05):
Ephesians, chapter two, that wewere dead in our trespasses and
sin.
We were dead kind of like azombie, right, I don't know?
Walking dead.
Right that we live, but it'snot real life.
Check out what Jesus said inJohn 10, 10.
He said I have come that youmay have life and that you may
(14:28):
have it more abundantly.
So Jesus says it's totallypossible to be living but yet be
absolutely dead spiritually anddead to what real life is.
And we've all felt it.
Right.
That's why a person can haveeverything that you could
(14:54):
imagine everything in money,experience, relationships and
still be absolutely emptybecause there's no life.
But Jesus gives us a livinglife, an abundant life.
That's good to know, good towrite down.
It's not just a living life,but it's a new life, right, and
Paul ties it to baptism inRomans, chapter 6.
(15:16):
Let me read it to you Romans,chapter 6, verse 3.
Talking about baptism, what's itall about?
Do you not know that, as manyof us that were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized intohis death, therefore we were
buried with him through baptisminto death that, just as Christ
(15:40):
was raised from the dead by theglory of the Father, even so,
also we should walk in newnessof life.
So maybe you've seen people getbaptized, maybe you've been
baptized, Maybe you want to getbaptized as it warms up.
We could totally do that ifthere's any that want to get
baptized.
But here's what happens.
Right, I used to love itbringing up camp again.
(16:01):
Right, I used to love it.
One of my favorite things theend of summer camp we would have
a time of baptism and we'd justopen it up If one of the kids
you know God, had done somethingin your heart and you want to
come forward and get baptized.
And they'd come down to thewater and my question will
always be this is like spoileralert here my question will
always be why do you want to getbaptized?
(16:24):
What's going on?
And I would get down, you know,pretending I'm a little junior,
higher or something.
I'd get down and I'd look andI'd say why do you want to get
baptized?
And they'd say, well, becauseyou know God's just done great
things for me and I want to livemy life for him.
And I go.
That's amazing.
So then we would go throughthis process of baptism and in
(16:47):
that nothing magical happens,but you go under the water and I
would tell them.
You go under the water.
It symbolizes that you diedwith Christ, died to who you
were, but then I will lift youout of the water.
That's something you learn atcollege, I think, is make sure
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you bring them up out of thewater, because it's just not a
real good idea to leave themunder the water.
Right?
You bring them up out of thewater, so you go under the
waters relating to Jesus' death,you go out of the water
relating to his resurrection andyou come out with a new life.
It symbolizes the new life thatwe have in Christ, and it's
(17:32):
such a wonderful thought, right?
Because at the cross, he takesour sin, but he also takes who
we were right.
We can look back at our livesand go who we were before.
God got a hold of us, and youknow, we're still sinners, of
course, but we look back and wego.
You know what, though, and thisis the way it should look in
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your life?
I'm not the person I used to be, right?
My mouth is different, my mindis different, my heart is
different, and you go.
I'm not the person I used to be, and you come up out of the
water and you come up in a newlife, and that's what God wants
to give us.
The old man who we were, theold woman I guess you could say
(18:15):
is dead and it's a new life inChrist.
That's good news for those ofus that struggle with our past.
Who we were, what we did, it'sgone and a new life comes up out
of these things.
It's a new life, it's a livinglife, it's a righteous life
(18:38):
right Now.
We hinted at this.
This is a crazy transfer thathappens at the cross.
He takes our sin.
2 Corinthians 5.21 says hetakes our sin and he gives us
his righteousness.
Now, hopefully, after you cometo God, hopefully after you
(18:59):
accept salvation, your life haschanged.
You turn from your sin.
You have this conviction oversin.
The things you used to do youdon't want to do anymore.
But you're still going to be asinner because we've got this
thing called flesh.
You're still going to mess up.
But here's the wonderful thingthis new life that we have is a
righteous life.
(19:19):
When God looks at us, from thenon, he doesn't see us, he sees
his son.
He sees Jesus, perfect lamb ofGod.
He sees his son.
He sees Jesus, perfect lamb ofGod, never did a thing wrong,
only loved.
And he puts it on us, thatrighteousness.
(19:43):
We stand in it like a robe,like clothes, right, and we're
clothed in his righteousness sothat when God looks at us, he
only sees perfection.
I thought about this a coupleof days ago.
Isn't it wonderful that whenGod looks at us, he only sees
perfection?
I thought about this a coupleof days ago.
Isn't it wonderful that whenGod looks at us, he smiles, not
because of us, not because wedid it perfectly, but he smiles
because he sees Jesus if we'rein him, every time, every point
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of our life, every day.
He's not frustrated with us.
He only sees Jesus if you're inChrist.
And so it's not just a livinglife, it's not just a new life,
it's a righteous life, andthat's really something that
Paul brought home to.
He said in Philippians to liveis Christ, to die is gain.
(20:25):
If I live my life, it's Jesusto the world right.
Philippians 3, verse 9,.
He says I want to be found inhim, not having my own
righteousness, which is from thelaw, but that which is through
faith in Christ, therighteousness which is from God
by faith.
And it's amazing that point.
But the last thing I want topoint out before we go is that
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it's an eternal life.
Last thing I want to point outbefore we go is that it's an
eternal life and that we see soclearly as Jesus died on the
cross.
Three days later he rose again.
Now Lazarus is a guy that hadan interesting story, right
Remember.
Lazarus got sick and Jesus hungout for like a few days and
Lazarus died.
And like four days later, jesuscame to the tomb there where
(21:08):
Lazarus was and Jesus hung outfor like a few days and Lazarus
died.
And like four days later, jesuscame to the tomb there where
Lazarus was and he told them totake the stone away from the
tomb and he goes.
He says Lazarus, come forth,and Lazarus comes back to life.
Now the bummer of that like Ithink Lazarus was fine if they
would have just left him therethe bummer with that is that
(21:32):
Lazarus had to die again as ahuman being.
He was rose from the dead atone point by Jesus, but he had
to die again.
Jesus rose from the dead andwill never die again.
Once and for all, he died andraised to newness of life
eternal life.
He'll never die again.
Once and for all, he died andraised to newness of life,
eternal life.
He'll never die again.
(21:52):
And we look at that and werealize that that's the pattern
of our life then too, and oneday we will all die, but it
won't be the same kind of deaththat someone without Christ
experiences.
It'll have a lot more hopeinvolved in it.
Here's what Paul says.
If you can track with this,here's what Paul says in 1
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Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15 is a greatencouraging passage to read as
it concerns death and heaven andeternity.
You should take some time in it.
But Paul, talking about death,says this verse 55, 1555.
Oh death.
I love this.
(22:34):
Oh death.
He's talking to death.
Where is your sting, oh Hades?
Where is your victory?
The sting of death is sin andthe strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God who givesus victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
So here Paul, he's talking aboutdeath and he trash talks it.
(22:54):
He says death, what you got,you don't have anything anymore,
do you?
Now?
I don't want to die.
I'm not like looking forward toit necessarily, but I don't
have to be scared of it, becauseJesus defeated death on the
cross.
He came back to life and hejust put the flag down and said
no more death.
We've defeated it.
(23:15):
Victory and the resurrectionshows us that truth, that life
for the believer is eternal.
You may stop breathing butyou'll never die in heaven.
You'll be with God in true life, forever.
And check it out.
Sometimes I think we thinkthose are just nice words you
(23:36):
say at funerals.
But for the believer, this isthe most real thing that you
could experience.
Eternal life, the most realthing you could experience, is
not just nice words, it's thereality.
We don't have to be afraid ofit because of what Jesus did,
and he proved it by coming backto life.
(23:59):
So we find ourselves consideringthis wonderful life that we
have, this resurrection life ofJesus, but we consider that the
only way to get there is throughthe cross.
Right, it's first coming to thesacrifice, and considering that
we consider it just like thosesacrifices of old where they
(24:21):
would take a lamb and they'd puttheir hand on it.
They'd have this kind ofrelationship with that animal
where we say my sin transferredto you.
And we do the same with Jesusat the cross, so important.
We look at him on the crossdying for our sin and we say my
sin transferred to you.
Kind of put our hand on him andwe make that transfer.
(24:44):
But then we realize your lifegiven to me, a living life and a
new life, and a righteous lifeand an eternal life.
There's just so much to begrateful for this theology and
(25:08):
we try to figure out whatsalvation is all about and what
eternity and new life is allabout.
But what you really want is forus to experience it, god, to
absolutely, even right now inour hearts, come to you and say
God, I messed up, I'm separatedby my sin, and yet you paid the
(25:34):
price for my sin.
God, I want that and I acceptthat as a gift.
God, then, to just receive thatwonderful life.
God, I thank you that it is anew life.
(25:55):
Look at where I've been, howimperfect I am, god, I can see
that it's you, it's yourrighteousness, and it's brand
new, a new start.
God, I just pray that thesethings wouldn't be just ideas in
our head as believers, but theywould be real in our life.
God, that you would take thesethings and work them into our
lives, that we would know youmore.
John, chapter 20,.
How about that?
John, chapter 20.
John, chapter 20.
John, chapter 20, verse 1.
(00:35):
And I'm going to go back tothat first Resurrection Sunday
so many years ago.
John 20, verse 1.
So all of the Gospels, ofcourse, matthew, mark, luke and
John they all include the cross.
There's no getting around that.
(00:56):
You've got to have the crossand you've got to have the
resurrection.
And we'll be in John thismorning to see what he has to
say about it, a guy who wasactually there.
Let's read in verse 1.
Now, the first day of the week,mary Magdalene went to the tomb
early, while it was still dark,and saw that the stone had been
(01:19):
taken away from the tomb.
Then she ran and came to SimonPeter and to the other disciple
whom Jesus loved and said tothem they have taken away the
Lord out of the tomb and we donot know where they have laid
him.
Peter therefore went out andthe other disciple and were
(01:41):
going to the tomb.
So they both ran together and,by the way, the other disciple
outran Peter and came to thetomb first and he, stooping down
and looking in, saw the linencloths lying there.
Yet he did not go in.
Then Simon Peter came followinghim and went into the tomb and
(02:03):
he saw the linen cloths lyingthere and the handkerchief that
had been around Jesus' head, notlying with the linen cloths but
folded together in a place byitself.
Then the other disciple whocame to the tomb first, by the
way, went in also and he saw andbelieved, went in also, and he
saw and believed For as yet theydid not know the scripture that
(02:28):
he must rise again from thedead.
Then the disciples went awayagain to their own homes.
Well, here we are, that firstday of the week we see in verse
one, which is Sunday, and a lotof running is going on in this
(02:50):
story.
Right, mary goes to the tombearly in the morning to really
with this desire to finish theembalming of Jesus.
She had no expectation of anyof this happening and when she
gets there the stone is rolledaway.
Now you can look at the othergospels and see little details
here and there of how that wentdown.
But she runs back and getsPeter and John.
(03:12):
Now, john here is the one whowrites this gospel down and he
calls himself the disciple whomJesus loved.
That's sweet, right.
He also throws in there.
By the way, in this running, Igot to the tomb first.
Right, he mentions it twice.
Is it bragging, or is it justthat he's remembering in great
(03:33):
detail that day?
I think maybe the latter, butthe first one's funny too,
because we're all human.
But John lets us know in verseeight that as he looked into the
tomb and he saw everythingfolded up just right, jesus
straightens his bed, so to speak, after he gets up, and there
(03:57):
John looks in and he believed.
So John lets us know that inhis experience this was the
first point that he understood alittle bit of what had happened
.
Now he didn't understandeverything right, because we're
told later on that the disciplesdidn't get this idea that he
would rise again.
But in some way John looks atthis and he has faith.
(04:19):
That's where it all just kindof triggered.
Now this is the first we couldsay Easter Sunday, first
Resurrection Sunday.
But how did we get here?
How did we get here?
Well, let's rewind for a secondand go back to the beginning.
Everybody take their remotesout.
(04:42):
I thought about that.
I've always done that because Ithink it's funny.
But there are people in here whohave no idea what that means
Because they've never seen likea videocassette recorder or
anything like that, that sound.
Anyway, we're rewinding andwe're going back, we're going
back to the beginning.
And you know, you're just goingand going and there it goes
back, and you just go in and goin and there it goes back and
(05:03):
you see the kings, you see theprophets, you see Abraham, and
you come to the garden and we'restill rewinding and we go back
until there's nothing.
Right, we went too far, maybe?
Right, there's nothing but justdarkness, it seems.
And God.
Genesis 1.1 says in thebeginning God.
(05:26):
So if we go past that and we goback further, we find, as far
as we know, nothing but eternalGod, just fine with himself, and
there he is.
Well, what is he doing?
We don't exactly know, but wedo know he had a plan.
And to understand what wasgoing on before time began we
(05:48):
have to go to the end of thebook.
Revelation 13, verse 8 gives usa little snapshot of what was
going on before God created theheavens and the earth.
John refers to Jesus inRevelation 13, verse 8, as the
lamb slain before the foundationof the world.
(06:08):
So check it out.
In the mind of God, the crosswas already a plan before
creation ever happened.
It was his determination tosave the world and to love us
and to lay down his life for us.
Well, if we let the thing playout a little bit right In the
(06:30):
book of Genesis, you guys know,god creates the heavens and the
earth.
He creates man, he creates woman, he puts them in this wonderful
paradise and by chapter threethey've thrown it all away.
Right by chapter three, sinenters the world and death
enters the world with sin andeverything just takes a nosedive
(06:51):
.
And man needs to be saved.
We all do.
And yet God has a plan.
In chapter three, god has aplan to crush the serpent's head
.
I like that.
He has a plan to undo what wasdone in sin and he lets them
(07:11):
know I'm going to send a savior.
Now check it out.
As we let the Bible play outfrom beginning to this point, we
see that God, just from time totime, he would let people know,
he would remind people throughthe prophets, through the Psalms
all around.
I'm not gonna leave things theway they are.
(07:32):
I'm sending a savior, and thatwas God's plan and God's
intention.
Well, finally we get toChristmas.
Right, christmas is back inDecember.
December is when we celebrateit, but you remember the fact
God becomes flesh and dwellsamong us, that Jesus is born God
(07:57):
in flesh, a human baby, but Godeternal.
And there his name is givenJesus.
Now, check it out.
Jesus means God is salvation.
So all of this is a plan, eveninto his very name, that God
would save us.
Well, jesus is born, he lives,he grows up and he ministers.
(08:19):
That's what we've been studyingin the Gospel of Mark.
And he ministers that's whatwe've been studying in the
Gospel of Mark.
He ministers and he lovespeople and he teaches the truth
and he shows the world what theFather is like.
And then, finally, he comes tothe cross, the very day it was
intended to be.
(08:39):
Jesus comes to the cross and welooked at that on Friday there
and Jesus takes upon himself thesin of the world.
Now we talked about this.
He died for us, a sacrifice.
He took our sin upon himself,all the stuff that we deserve.
(09:04):
He became the perfect lamb ofGod who takes away the sin of
the world.
And you remember how importantthat is in the sacrifices right,
that they would take a lamb, aperfect lamb, and you would then
now listen, you would then putyour hand on that lamb animal,
(09:26):
that lamb.
You would confess your sinsI've messed up, I've had a bad
attitude, I've done my own thingand then that lamb would be
killed and you go.
Why?
Why would that lamb have to die?
Because sin separates us fromGod and there's no other way to
(09:49):
get rid of sin than judgment,righteous judgment.
And Jesus takes that righteousjudgment upon himself at the
cross.
Now let's turn to Galatians,chapter 2.
You don't have to hold yourplace here in John.
Galatians, chapter 2.
We see how these things of thecross and the resurrection play
(10:13):
together.
Galatians, chapter 2, verse 20.
Important passage Galatians 2,20.
Paul says I have been crucifiedwith Christ.
It's no longer I who live, butChrist lives in me.
(10:34):
The life that I now live in theflesh, I live by faith in the
Son of God who loved me and gavehimself for me.
So Paul wasn't there at thecross.
He wasn't there when Jesus diedon the cross but, like us, in a
(10:55):
spiritual sense, he came tothat cross and he saw Jesus
dying as a sacrifice.
He in a sense, like we talkedabout, put his hand on Jesus and
said my sin is upon him andJesus became a sacrifice for
Paul's sin.
But Paul says it like this.
(11:15):
He says I've been crucifiedwith Christ.
Check it out.
When Jesus died on the cross,it's as if Paul was there in
Christ, dying for his own sin,but Jesus took his place
Important, and that's whathappened at the cross.
(11:36):
We identify with Jesus on thecross.
He took our place.
That's huge.
Now check it out.
If the story stopped there, whatif Jesus just died, man?
Wouldn't that be wonderful,that Jesus would die as a
sacrifice for our sins?
He died on the cross, but whatif he didn't rise again?
(11:57):
What if that was the end of thestory we go?
What a loving teacher, what awonderful person.
What a sad thing that he woulddie.
Honestly, if Jesus didn't riseagain, we wouldn't be here today
.
We, we wouldn't be here today.
We absolutely wouldn't be heretoday.
Nobody would talk about thethings he'd said.
Nobody would talk about thethings he did.
(12:19):
If Jesus didn't rise from thedead, he would have been a false
prophet.
As good of a thing as dying onthe cross for us would have been
.
He would have been a falseprophet because Jesus said all
throughout his ministry I'mgonna die, I'm gonna die, but in
three days I'm gonna rise again.
And if he didn't rise again, hewould have been a liar and
(12:41):
there would have been nothingelse for us to look at.
But we know what happened.
Three days later he rose againto the disciples' surprise.
Notice again what Galatians 2.20says I have been crucified with
Christ.
It's no longer I who live, butChrist lives in me.
(13:03):
So we're crucified with Christ.
It's no longer I who live mylife ends at the cross but
Christ lives in me.
And notice he says no longer Iwho live, my life ends at the
cross, but Christ lives in me.
And notice he says the life Inow live.
There's life after the cross inwhat Paul says here, that
Christ lives in me and I livewith Christ.
(13:24):
There's a resurrection, there'sresurrection.
There's resurrection, a lifeafter death, and that's the
completion of the story.
We're given life because herose.
We have new life in him.
(13:44):
I just want to finish our timelooking at what that means, that
we have life.
What kind of life do we have inJesus?
Number one it's a living life.
That does not sound veryprofound.
I realize that it's a livinglife, right, that seems kind of
redundant to say that, but theBible lets us know that even
when we're living we can bespiritually dead, right?
(14:05):
Ephesians, chapter two, that wewere dead in our trespasses and
sin.
We were dead kind of like azombie, right, I don't know?
Walking dead.
Right that we live, but it'snot real life.
Check out what Jesus said inJohn 10, 10.
He said I have come that youmay have life and that you may
(14:28):
have it more abundantly.
So Jesus says it's totallypossible to be living but yet be
absolutely dead spiritually anddead to what real life is.
And we've all felt it.
Right.
That's why a person can haveeverything that you could
(14:54):
imagine everything in money,experience, relationships and
still be absolutely emptybecause there's no life.
But Jesus gives us a livinglife, an abundant life.
That's good to know, good towrite down.
It's not just a living life,but it's a new life, right, and
Paul ties it to baptism inRomans, chapter 6.
(15:16):
Let me read it to you Romans,chapter 6, verse 3.
Talking about baptism, what's itall about?
Do you not know that, as manyof us that were baptized into
Christ Jesus were baptized intohis death, therefore we were
buried with him through baptisminto death that, just as Christ
(15:40):
was raised from the dead by theglory of the Father, even so,
also we should walk in newnessof life.
So maybe you've seen people getbaptized, maybe you've been
baptized, Maybe you want to getbaptized as it warms up.
We could totally do that ifthere's any that want to get
baptized.
But here's what happens.
Right, I used to love itbringing up camp again.
(16:01):
Right, I used to love it.
One of my favorite things theend of summer camp we would have
a time of baptism and we'd justopen it up If one of the kids
you know God, had done somethingin your heart and you want to
come forward and get baptized.
And they'd come down to thewater and my question will
always be this is like spoileralert here my question will
always be why do you want to getbaptized?
(16:24):
What's going on?
And I would get down, you know,pretending I'm a little junior,
higher or something.
I'd get down and I'd look andI'd say why do you want to get
baptized?
And they'd say, well, becauseyou know God's just done great
things for me and I want to livemy life for him.
And I go.
That's amazing.
So then we would go throughthis process of baptism and in
(16:47):
that nothing magical happens,but you go under the water and I
would tell them.
You go under the water.
It symbolizes that you diedwith Christ, died to who you
were, but then I will lift youout of the water.
That's something you learn atcollege, I think, is make sure
(17:07):
you bring them up out of thewater, because it's just not a
real good idea to leave themunder the water.
Right?
You bring them up out of thewater, so you go under the
waters relating to Jesus' death,you go out of the water
relating to his resurrection andyou come out with a new life.
It symbolizes the new life thatwe have in Christ, and it's
(17:32):
such a wonderful thought, right?
Because at the cross, he takesour sin, but he also takes who
we were right.
We can look back at our livesand go who we were before.
God got a hold of us, and youknow, we're still sinners, of
course, but we look back and wego.
You know what, though, and thisis the way it should look in
(17:52):
your life?
I'm not the person I used to be, right?
My mouth is different, my mindis different, my heart is
different, and you go.
I'm not the person I used to be, and you come up out of the
water and you come up in a newlife, and that's what God wants
to give us.
The old man who we were, theold woman I guess you could say
(18:15):
is dead and it's a new life inChrist.
That's good news for those ofus that struggle with our past.
Who we were, what we did, it'sgone and a new life comes up out
of these things.
It's a new life, it's a livinglife, it's a righteous life
(18:38):
right Now.
We hinted at this.
This is a crazy transfer thathappens at the cross.
He takes our sin.
2 Corinthians 5.21 says hetakes our sin and he gives us
his righteousness.
Now, hopefully, after you cometo God, hopefully after you
(18:59):
accept salvation, your life haschanged.
You turn from your sin.
You have this conviction oversin.
The things you used to do youdon't want to do anymore.
But you're still going to be asinner because we've got this
thing called flesh.
You're still going to mess up.
But here's the wonderful thingthis new life that we have is a
righteous life.
(19:19):
When God looks at us, from thenon, he doesn't see us, he sees
his son.
He sees Jesus, perfect lamb ofGod.
He sees his son.
He sees Jesus, perfect lamb ofGod, never did a thing wrong,
only loved.
And he puts it on us, thatrighteousness.
(19:43):
We stand in it like a robe,like clothes, right, and we're
clothed in his righteousness sothat when God looks at us, he
only sees perfection.
I thought about this a coupleof days ago.
Isn't it wonderful that whenGod looks at us, he only sees
perfection?
I thought about this a coupleof days ago.
Isn't it wonderful that whenGod looks at us, he smiles, not
because of us, not because wedid it perfectly, but he smiles
because he sees Jesus if we'rein him, every time, every point
(20:04):
of our life, every day.
He's not frustrated with us.
He only sees Jesus if you're inChrist.
And so it's not just a livinglife, it's not just a new life,
it's a righteous life, andthat's really something that
Paul brought home to.
He said in Philippians to liveis Christ, to die is gain.
(20:25):
If I live my life, it's Jesusto the world right.
Philippians 3, verse 9,.
He says I want to be found inhim, not having my own
righteousness, which is from thelaw, but that which is through
faith in Christ, therighteousness which is from God
by faith.
And it's amazing that point.
But the last thing I want topoint out before we go is that
(20:47):
it's an eternal life.
Last thing I want to point outbefore we go is that it's an
eternal life and that we see soclearly as Jesus died on the
cross.
Three days later he rose again.
Now Lazarus is a guy that hadan interesting story, right
Remember.
Lazarus got sick and Jesus hungout for like a few days and
Lazarus died.
And like four days later, jesuscame to the tomb there where
(21:08):
Lazarus was and Jesus hung outfor like a few days and Lazarus
died.
And like four days later, jesuscame to the tomb there where
Lazarus was and he told them totake the stone away from the
tomb and he goes.
He says Lazarus, come forth,and Lazarus comes back to life.
Now the bummer of that like Ithink Lazarus was fine if they
would have just left him therethe bummer with that is that
(21:32):
Lazarus had to die again as ahuman being.
He was rose from the dead atone point by Jesus, but he had
to die again.
Jesus rose from the dead andwill never die again.
Once and for all, he died andraised to newness of life
eternal life.
He'll never die again.
Once and for all, he died andraised to newness of life,
eternal life.
He'll never die again.
(21:52):
And we look at that and werealize that that's the pattern
of our life then too, and oneday we will all die, but it
won't be the same kind of deaththat someone without Christ
experiences.
It'll have a lot more hopeinvolved in it.
Here's what Paul says.
If you can track with this,here's what Paul says in 1
(22:14):
Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15 is a greatencouraging passage to read as
it concerns death and heaven andeternity.
You should take some time in it.
But Paul, talking about death,says this verse 55, 1555.
Oh death.
I love this.
(22:34):
Oh death.
He's talking to death.
Where is your sting, oh Hades?
Where is your victory?
The sting of death is sin andthe strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God who givesus victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
So here Paul, he's talking aboutdeath and he trash talks it.
(22:54):
He says death, what you got,you don't have anything anymore,
do you?
Now?
I don't want to die.
I'm not like looking forward toit necessarily, but I don't
have to be scared of it, becauseJesus defeated death on the
cross.
He came back to life and hejust put the flag down and said
no more death.
We've defeated it.
(23:15):
Victory and the resurrectionshows us that truth, that life
for the believer is eternal.
You may stop breathing butyou'll never die in heaven.
You'll be with God in true life, forever.
And check it out.
Sometimes I think we thinkthose are just nice words you
(23:36):
say at funerals.
But for the believer, this isthe most real thing that you
could experience.
Eternal life, the most realthing you could experience, is
not just nice words, it's thereality.
We don't have to be afraid ofit because of what Jesus did,
and he proved it by coming backto life.
(23:59):
So we find ourselves consideringthis wonderful life that we
have, this resurrection life ofJesus, but we consider that the
only way to get there is throughthe cross.
Right, it's first coming to thesacrifice, and considering that
we consider it just like thosesacrifices of old where they
(24:21):
would take a lamb and they'd puttheir hand on it.
They'd have this kind ofrelationship with that animal
where we say my sin transferredto you.
And we do the same with Jesusat the cross, so important.
We look at him on the crossdying for our sin and we say my
sin transferred to you.
Kind of put our hand on him andwe make that transfer.
(24:44):
But then we realize your lifegiven to me, a living life and a
new life, and a righteous lifeand an eternal life.
There's just so much to begrateful for this theology and
(25:08):
we try to figure out whatsalvation is all about and what
eternity and new life is allabout.
But what you really want is forus to experience it, god, to
absolutely, even right now inour hearts, come to you and say
God, I messed up, I'm separatedby my sin, and yet you paid the
(25:34):
price for my sin.
God, I want that and I acceptthat as a gift.
God, then, to just receive thatwonderful life.
God, I thank you that it is anew life.
(25:55):
Look at where I've been, howimperfect I am, god, I can see
that it's you, it's yourrighteousness, and it's brand
new, a new start.
God, I just pray that thesethings wouldn't be just ideas in
our head as believers, but theywould be real in our life.
God, that you would take thesethings and work them into our
lives, that we would know youmore.
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