Easter Sunday

00:00:00 Speaker 1: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn't overcome it. John one five. Dear Lord, how often we find ourselves surrounded by darkness, whether it be challenges, disappointments, or uncertainties that cloud our vision. Yet your word reminds us that your light can never be extinguished by any darkness we encounter. Help us to carry this light with us, not just as a personal comfort, but also as a beacon for others who are navigating their dark paths. Illuminate our hearts and minds so we may reflect the light of Christ in our thoughts, words and actions. Thank you for the assurance that no matter how dark the world may seem, your light is constant, eternal, and victorious. As we dwell on this, fill us with a sense of peace, courage, and purpose in Jesus name. Amen, thank you for praying with me today. You're listening to the Jesus Podcast Stay engaged to be immersed in the dramatic story of the Resurrection. If you want to partner with us in our mission to bring the Bible to life in new ways, follow this podcast on whatever platform you're listening to. Doing so will keep you updated but also help us get discovered by more people. That way we can reach the whole world with the story of Jesus. They killed God. His blood dripped from a wooden cross and soaked the dirt of Golgotha. Some even cheered for his death. They reveled in his suffering like it was a spectacle. But their grins swiftly disappeared when lightning split the heavens. When Jesus breathed his final breath and a cascade of blood and water poured from his side, the earth shook, rocks split open, and the land quaked with violent force. It was as if the planet itself was quivering in grief. Then, like the sun had been snuffed like a torch, darkness enveloped the land. An eerie and brooding darkness hovered over Jerusalem. It was the same in the hearts of men. The light of mankind had been buried in a stone tomb, tucked away in the hills, never to be seen again. The enemies of Jesus thought they had seen the end of him. They thought that if he could be killed, then the hope he brought to people would die with him. They were gravely mistaken. The light of Christ would return in full force. His death was only the beginning. Darkness loomed over the garden where the tomb of Jesus resided. Dormant flowers nestled closely together at its edges, desperate for some sort of light. It had been dark for three days now. Storm clouds hovered over the hills outside Jerusalem, causing the earth to slow down in a sorrowful, brooding silence. There was a collective unrest among the people who had witnessed Jesus' death. Everyone went about their business with an unspoken sorrow heavy on their hearts, even if they weren't consciously aware of it. They had just witnessed the death of God himself. One does not simply return to normal after witnessing such a thing. 00:04:08 Speaker 2: Whatever darkness you're lost in, whatever sin that's held you captive, there's hope, a living and active hope that prevails over circumstances, a light shining brightly through the shadows. This is the Jesus Podcast, and I'm Pastor Zach wishing you a happy Easter. He has risen, He has risen. Indeed, today's episode is short but packed with beauty. To Earth has been lost in darkness. Jesus's followers are reeling in anxiety, but through it all hope emerges. Today I'm mindful of First Corinthians fifteen fifty five through fifty seven, best stated by the old King James version O death, where is thy sting o grave? Where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin. 00:04:50 Speaker 1: Is the law. 00:04:51 Speaker 2: But thanks be to God which gives us this victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Death sunk its teeth into the Son of God. The enemy thought he won, but we know the truth. Death has no power over the King of Glory. What was it like for the disciples to behold the resurrect to Jesus? What was Jesus up to after he emerged from the grave, and how can we live in light of the resurrection. We are going to spend the next ten episodes exploring all the days after the resurrection to Jesus's ascension back up to heaven. This epic tale of redemption, commission, and restoration will keep us on the edge of our seats and compel us to live a life that follows after the risen king with passion. Let's re enter the story now Jesus has been slain and the whole world is residing in darkness. Armed men are outside the tomb of Jesus, guarding what they perceive to be a corpse. But it's the third day and we know what that means. These guards are in for a rude awakening as the King of Kings emerges from the tomb, victorious over death. Join me afterwards to unpack the deep truths hidden within the margins of this story. Let's begin. 00:05:57 Speaker 1: The thin line between evening and morning had been crossed, and the darkened skies gave way to the first signs of dawn. The storm clouds that had hovered over the land slowly melted away as the warmth of new light peeked over the horizon. Two men stood watch over the grave where Jesus body rested. They had been charged to strictly guard the tomb lest his radical followers steel the body and claim he had risen from the dead. They lazily lounged with their heads resting against the stone entrance, watching the sun's rays spill over the hills like liquid gold. A gentle hush filled the air, and the morning light painted every leaf, blade of grass and flower petal, bright hues of amber and saffron. The sunlight was a pleasing sight to the guards, who had been sitting in the chilly darkness for three days. They stood up and turned their cheeks toward the light, stretching and yawning. One turned to the other and said, oh, now. 00:07:11 Speaker 3: All this guarding of a dead man has made me begin to feel like one. 00:07:16 Speaker 1: How much longer do we need to do this? The other guard rolled his neck back. 00:07:21 Speaker 3: Until those paranoid priests inscribes as certain his followers won't steal the body. Ah, it's a lot of trouble for a corpse. 00:07:32 Speaker 1: The guard said, with a wave of his hand. Just then, the men felt the ground begin to quake underneath them. They recoiled and looked back. The stone covering the entrance of the tomb was slowly moving on its own, and a light was cascading from within. The lights were breathtaking, rivaling the radiance of the sunshine. The guards reached for their spears, but a surge of power broke forth from the tomb, sending them rolling back into the trees. One returned to his feet and launched himself forward with spear in hand, but he was quickly immobilized by another rush of wind and light surging from the tomb. Both guards were blown away and sent running, with their spears left on the ground. The garden was still and peaceful. The daffodils spread out their petals, soaking in every bit of sun rays they could. The birds all sang to the collective tune of dawn, heralding a new day. In that garden, illuminated by the sun's brilliant rays, a lone figure emerged from the dark and cold tomb. He stepped out, cheek turned to the warmth of the morning sky. He smiled and looked up, greeting the world with joy and power. He breathed in deeply, his lungs rising as they filled with life. As he exhaled, the wind shifted with the falling of his chest, causing the entire forest to sway. The one who spoke earth, wind and light into existence was alive and present in that garden. He stepped forward, caressing the jasmine bushes with his scarred hands as he passed every inch of creation rejoiced as he stepped. It was almost as if the garden of Eden had been restored. Wherever he placed his feet. On that cool and condescent morning, the sun of God had risen. His body still bore the marks of his fight with death. His hands and feet revealed scars where the nails had been placed. His side had a deep crimson mark where the spear had pierced him. Yet he did not walk as someone who had been slain. His fight with death had left him scarred, but he had the final victory. He was a conqueror. He turned back to the grave he had laid in for three days. There, sin, shame, and death remained buried. Jesus turned to the trail that wound back to Jerusalem and began walking. There were others who needed a taste of resurrection, and he was eager to see them. 00:10:55 Speaker 2: Let's go back to the beginning. In the beginning, when God created the heavens in the earth, Bible describes the earth as dark, chaotic, and caught in the abyss. But when it came time for God to create life, he spoke. He said, let there be light and all. A creation followed. After that, imagery we find in Genesis One mirrors the state of the world after Jesus was killed. Everything was dark and chaotic, frenetic, and unruly. The earth itself was off kilter and shrouded in shadows. But on Easter Sunday, God brought the light. The light came from the tomb, emerging in splendor and glory. In the Gospel of John, he said that Jesus was the Light of men. The same light that brought life to the earth rose from the tomb that Sunday. The same is true with our hearts. For those without Christ, life is dark, chaotic, and caught in the shadows. Jesus brings light and life into our lives. The resurrection is supposed to be a reclamation of Eden. You hear that imagery in the story. When Jesus emerges from the tomb, we are hearkened back to the garden of Eden in Genesis, when the world was at peace with God. For those of us who believe in the resurd directed Christ, our hearts are brought back to the garden of Eden, unity with God, peace with Him. In Paradise, Jesus gives us harmony. John one nine through eleven tells us that the true light, which gives light to everyone, came into the world, yet the world rejected him. This reality was personified in the Guards as they ran away from the light of Jesus. At first they were indifferent to Jesus, but when the light emerged, they became hostile. When they realized that the true and radiant power was coming from him, they ran away. This is the process many people in the world go through when they come in contact with the Gospel. At first they are indifferent, then they are hostile, then they become scared and run from it. May we be known as people that are always running towards the light and not from it, as first John encourages us. May we walk in the light as Jesus is in the light. The resurrection also means redemption is finished. The penalty of sin is paid in full. The weight of sin has been lifted. Death is destroyed under the boot of Jesus's powerful sacrifice. The cross to us is good news. We know that our sins are dealt with, and there is a dying to ourselves that takes place when we go to the cross. The cross is the greatest news to us who are believers today. But the followers of Jesus at that time don't know he's resurrected yet. The characters in this story at this time they don't know what we know. That's a really important detail. Joseph of Arimathea doesn't know that yet. Mary Magdalene doesn't know it yet. Peter, James, John, the rest of the Disciples, they don't know anything. To them, the Cross is bad news, Dead is dead, and to the Disciples, Jesus is dead. There's no expectation of the resurrection for them, especially if you have just experienced what the Disciples have. Their whole world has been flipped upside down, their expectations for the future have been thwarted. Their best friend, master and king has just been brutally murdered. They all scattered and hid when Jesus was arrested, all but John fled. So not only are they living and loss, but they're also living in regret. Something I bet you and I can relate to that state that they are in, this state of loss and hopelessness, is a picture of our hearts apart from Jesus. A heart without the resurrection of Christ is vulnerable to the tragedy of sin, shame, death, loss, and regret. We actually see this in the Disciples in John chapter twenty, and we'll explore it in our next episode. They're somber. They had locked themselves in a room because they're too afraid to face the world. I want us to hone in on the pre resurrection state of the Disciples in the world at this moment. They're cowardly running away in the face of danger, denying Jesus in front of little girls, and hiding in a room with the doors locked. There is a very clear distinction between the disciples before the resurrection and the Disciples after the resurrection, because afterwards you see this boldness from every single one of them, proclaiming the Gospel, unabashedly, being beaten, singing hymns and prisons, and preaching in front of thousands of people with tongues of fire. What does that mean. It means that the resurrection of Jesus is a big deal. Something occur in us because of the resurrection. It means that the resurrection of Christ has a serious supernatural effect on the hearts of those that follow and believe in Jesus. It is not just for show. The resurrection changes us. Paul the Apostle believe this so strongly that he said that our faith and what we believe is worthless unless Jesus rose from the dead, our faith in Christ, our Christianity hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. Without it, death has the final word, not him. The resurrection is necessary, and the resurrection was also foreshadowed. The resurrection of Christ is woven as a tapestry throughout the entirety of scripture. There is story after story in the Bible of those who are once enslaved and dead in their ways, but then risen again by the redemption of God. There was these heroes that had this resurrection theme flowing through their lives. Noah was preserved in the ark and rises out of it once the floods are over. Jonah spends three days in the belly of a fish and is sped out to proclaim repentance to a far off nation. Daniel is shoved into alliance for his faithfulness to God, but then comes out a few days later unscathed. Moses spend years in the wilderness before leading Israel out of slavery into the Promised Land. And David spends years pursued by his enemies hiding in a cave, only to come out on the other side to lead Israel into a period of thriving. All of those stories of deliverance falls short to saving our souls, but they point towards our true north, Jesus. All of these narratives are but shadows of the Gospel. Daniel may have come out of the lions den, but that fact doesn't bring your soul out of despair when your family is being torn apart by divorce. Jonah may have been delivered out of the belly of the fish, but he doesn't deliver us from our addictions. David may have slain Goliath, but that doesn't change the battle against our fears and insecurities that we face. Moses doesn't lead us out of slavery, to sin and death into new life, but Jesus does. Jesus is the greater Moses. Jesus is the greater Noah. Jesus is the greater Daniel. He's the greater David. I can't walk in David's triumphs I can't share in that with him, but I do Shit and the resurrection and the triumph of Jesus. That is the difference between Jesus and all the other characters of the Bible. Jesus brings us into new life. Jesus is the resurrection from the dead, and his spirit is in us, and now we have resurrection flowing through us. Romans six five through eleven says this, for if we have been united with him the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless, so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin. Since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time. But the life he lives, he lives to God. So you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God. In Christ Jesus. The cross removes the sting of sin, but the resurrection removes the sting of death and offers sweetness of life. The two together are the inheritance we have in Christ, not only that our sins would be forgiven, but that we would step into new life with God. The Cross does away with the sting of sin, baggage, and failure, and the resurrection brings new life with the spirit of Christ. The resurrection means we're new creation. First Corinthians five says therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come. Jesus said that you cannot see the Kingdom of God unless you are born again. This is the beautiful thing that has happened as a result of the Cross and the Resurrection, that there was an exchange of our sin for Christ's righteousness, and because of that righteousness we get the spirit of God. We live as completely new people. Let that be an encouragement to us who feel like we're still caught in a continual loop of our past sins. That's not who you are. The old Jew has been crucified on the cross. You now have resurrection flowing through you. Many of us believe that becoming a Christian means that it's a change in subculture, hobbies and habits. We don't curse anymore, and maybe we hang out with a new crowd. But giving your life to Jesus means that you are literally a new person. You have different affections, you have different things that give you joy because you're new. We also have been given new purpose and we'll get to that in later episodes as we draw close. Take heart in the fact that you get to live a life as an extension of Christ's life, and that's so sweet. We're not just sacks of matter flowing through life randomly with no absolute direction. You have a purpose and that is a reality that people spend decades searching for yet never find. But you have a purpose. Your purpose is to know God intimately, to love him deeply, and to find new and exciting ways to reconcile everything around you to His kingdom. You have the Resurrection flowing through you. This is something to rejoice in, cherish, and be emboldened by. Happy Easter. I'm so glad that you've joined us through Holy Week. But the Jesus Podcast is only getting started. We're gonna spend the next few episodes going through the events after the Resurrection. We're gonna follow the disciples as they wrestle with doubt, fear, and anxiety. We're gonna watch Jesus restore them and give them new purpose. After that, we're gonna dive into other gospel stories, the parables, Jesus's miracles, the beatitudes. Everything centered around the person and ministry of Jesus we're gonna cover here on the Jesus Podcast. Have a happy Easter, See you next time.