Holy Week
Sunday

• Jesus enters into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)
• Zechariah 9:9 - Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem!
Look, your King is coming to you;
he is righteous and victorious,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey. [1]
Monday

• Jesus clears the temple
• Matthew 21:12-13 - Jesus went into the temple and threw out all those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. 13 He said to them, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves!”[2]

Tuesday

• Jesus delivers the Olivet Discourse at the Mt. of Olives with His disciples.
• Matthew 21:23 – 24:51.

Wednesday

• No record in the Scripture

Thursday

• Jesus told Peter and John to go and prepare for the Passover Meal.

 
“Thank You Jesus for the Blood” –            Charity Gayle


THE LORD’S SUPPER
MATTHEW 26
26 As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”[3]

• They left singing and went to the Garden of Gethsemane
• Jesus asked them stay awake and pray with him three times.
• Matthew 26:39 - Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.[4]
• Judas came and betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
• The religious mob arrested Jesus.
• Peter cut off the High Priest’s servant's ear.
• Jesus healed the ear.
• The disciples scattered.
• Jesus’s trial with the Sanhedrin took place in the early morning hours.
• Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed.

Friday

• Before 9 AM (third hour), Jesus had been through trials and sentenced to death on the cross.
• As He was led away, He was mocked, spit on, beaten and had a crown of thorns placed on His head.
• He was mocked as Roman soldiers nailed Him to the cross and hung between two thieves.
• Jesus gave seven statements on the cross.
• The first was, Luke 23:34 - Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.”[5]
• On the 9th hour (3 PM), Jesus breathed His last and died.
• No bones were broken, as was prophesied.
• By 6 PM, Jesus was taken down and placed in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb before sundown.

 
“At this point, I am going to ask that you sit in silence for just a minute. There is no reason for you to be alarmed, trust me. But I would like to speak with our safety team in the parking lot right now. There is nothing to worry about.”
 
Saturday – The Day with No Name

• What were you experiencing in the room while I was gone?
• What were the disciples experiencing on that day?
• The crowds are gone.
• Their minds and hearts were numb.
• And they were not sure what’s next.
• Do you ever feel like you are living in the day with no name?
• You’re just waiting…
• While the whole time life is going on around you.
• Matthew 27:62-66 - The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
• 65 “You have a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” 66 They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guards.[6]

 
Sunday

• Early Sunday morning, several women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Salome, and Mary the mother of James) went to the tomb and discovered that the large stone covering the entrance had been rolled away. An angel announced:
• Matthew 28:5-7 - The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.”[7]
• Jesus appeared to the disciples.

Matthew 28:16-20 - The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. 18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”[8]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Zec 9:9.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 21:12–13.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 26:26–28.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 26:39.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Lk 23:34.
[6] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 27:62–66.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 28:5–7.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Mt 28:16–20.

Jesus toyed with Pharisees about death & life
 
John 8:51-59
51 Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
52 Then the Jews said, “Now we know you have a demon. Abraham died and so did the prophets. You say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham who died? And the prophets died. Who do you claim to be?”
54 “If I glorify myself,” Jesus answered, “my glory is nothing. My Father—about whom you say, ‘He is our God’—he is the one who glorifies me. 55 You do not know him, but I know him. If I were to say I don’t know him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know him, and I keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.”
57 The Jews replied, “You aren’t fifty years old yet, and you’ve seen Abraham?”
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
59 So they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple. [1]

• We have always been fascinated with death & the afterlife.
• Death Education Class in China
• “Heaven is For Real”
• In all created things God has created this incredible symphony.

 
1 Corinthians 15:35–58 (NLT)
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. 37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. 38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. 39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. 41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. 43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.[2]

• It’s important to remember that resurrection after death was not a new idea:
• In the Fall, leaves drop from the trees and the plants die. They turn brown, wither, and lose their life.
• They remain that way for the winter – dormant, dead and lifeless.
• And then Spring comes, and they burst into life again. Growing, sprouting, producing new leaves and buds.
• For there to be Spring, there has to be Fall and Winter. For nature to spring to life it first must die.
• Death then resurrection.
• It’s true across our environment with ecosystems, food chains and seasons.

"The death of one living thing for the life of another." (Circle of Life)
What are some examples of death leading to life?

• Genesis – Produce from the trees – Died.
• (Death entered the world.
• Adam & Eve’s spirits died.
• Animal was the first sacrifice.
• Skin cells die and flake off daily and after 30 days we have a new skin.
• Firemen at 9-11
• Now these oranges were originally alive; they were connected to the tree which has its roots in the soil.
• They grew from the earth.
• They were once all receiving nutrients from the earth, but then they were harvested, thrown on a truck, brought to the farmer’s market, and eventually ended up in our kitchen.
• When they were harvested, they were severed from the tree, they were pulled from the soil, they were disconnected from their life source, and they were brought to us so that we could eat them.

 

• And if we don’t eat, we don’t live.
• This food …this dead food …gives us life,
• The more recently food has been living the more life it gives us. Fresh food is better for us.

John 12:24 - Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.[3]

• Jesus teaches us how to die so that we can really live.
• Jesus invites parts of us to die to our flesh.
• This is what holds us back from living – like the part of us that constantly tries to make ourselves look good, or the part of us that always has to be right, or the part of us that always has to be better than others, or the part of us that always tries to look like we have it together.

 
What Jesus is teaching with the use of the metaphor is that we must undergo a process of transformation ...a change from death to life.

Admittedly, we resist the process. It is hard to give up our agendas, our objectives, our aspirations, our interests—our ego. Yet this is what we have been called to: the new life of Christ in us. That is a marvelous exchange!

• In our dying, Christ is alive within us.
• In our brokenness Christ is seen clearly. The way to fullness is brokenness; the way to life is by death.

Two points seem unmistakably clear to me here: the first is that this is hard; the second is that this is glorious.

• We don’t need to miss either of these. If we only see the hard part, we will miss the power and the freedom.
• If we only see the glorious part, we will minimize the sacrifice.
• The seed must die. ―Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it cannot bear any fruit.

 
Jesus refers here to his own impending death and resurrection. Jesus makes a promise.

• His death will result in life, not only for his crucified body, but for all humankind.
• I hope we all understand the truth Jesus is sharing: our hope for life is in his death, burial, and resurrection.
• To receive God’s free gift of eternal life, we must die to our own efforts to earn or control our destiny and put ourselves totally in Jesus’ hands.

 
In Luke 9:23 Jesus says, ― “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.”[4]

• Denying ourselves is dying to self.
• What we allow to die in our lives
• We’re invited to trust Jesus because we’ve been told we can never do it alone.
• But some people refuse to die.
• They relentlessly cling to their egos and false selves and keep propping up that version of themselves that they think is desirable, and trust in their own efforts to accomplish this somehow, someday.

 
Is this you holding on to your life so tightly that you are actually losing it? And you can’t really experience it?
 
“All men die… Not all men really live.” – William Wallace
 
Trying to kill the flesh through our flesh always fails!

• Truly dying to self means saying no to the flesh and its attempts to decide what's good for us apart from God. 
• It means coming under the authority of God's Word and submitting to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 
• The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us down the path of death to self-rule. 
• As we entrust ourselves to Jesus, the Spirit enables us more and more to die to self and live to Christ. – (Jeff Pokone)

 
In a supreme act of faith, a farmer opens his hands and drops his seed into the earth.

• It lies there dead and buried, and he waits throughout the long winter for some sign that there will be a crop in the spring.
• Scientists cannot explain this mystery.
• A dead seed lies buried in the soil for weeks.
• And then, defying all logic, it comes alive.

We want to control everything.

• The problem with this picture is that it is not about living …it may be about existing, but it is hardly the abundant life that Jesus said he had come to bring.
• May we remember that if we die to self …if we die with Christ …we will also be raised to new life in Christ …that death leads to life.

 
Our Lord's cross is the gateway into His life.

• The tomb was the beginning... Not the end.
  
  

1 Corinthians 15:26 - 26 The last enemy to be abolished is death.[5]
 
Oswald Chambers - The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 8:51–59). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (1 Co 15:35–58). Tyndale House Publishers
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Jn 12:24). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Lk 9:23). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (1 Co 15:26). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

THE DEATH OF JESUS
Matthew 27:45 – 28:10
45 From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over the whole land., 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Elí, Elí, lemá sabachtháni?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling for Elijah.”
48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and offered him a drink. 49 But the rest said, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
50 But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. 51 Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were also opened and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 And they came out of the tombs after his resurrection, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.
54 When the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
55 Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and looked after him were there, watching from a distance. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
 
THE BURIAL OF JESUS
57 When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. Then Pilate ordered that it be released. 59 So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean, fine linen, 60 and placed it in his new tomb, which he had cut into the rock. He left after rolling a great stone against the entrance of the tomb. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were seated there, facing the tomb.
 
THE CLOSELY GUARDED TOMB
62 The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “You have a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” 66 They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guards.
 
RESURRECTION MORNING
Matthew 28
1 After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. 4 The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men.
5 The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.”
8 So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news. 9 Just then Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”[1]
 
Video – Israel ‘22
 

• One of my favorite times of the year is spring.
• I love that feeling of the stirrings of new life that arises when first the tiniest spring flowers like snowdrops or aconites fight their way through the winter frosts, to be followed by crocuses, daffodils and apple blossom.
• There is something in the human psyche that responds to new life.
• In some ways, the resurrection of Jesus chimes in with this response to new life.
• Just as spring flowers intimate that winter is passing and summer is round the corner, so also Jesus’ resurrection points us to the fact that the old order is passing and new creation is just about to happen.
• The major difference between their rising to new life and Jesus’ rising is that their new life is cyclical, interwoven with death, whereas Jesus’ is not. Jesus rose to new life and will never die again.
• The difference between what happened to Jesus and what happened to Lazarus is vast because just like the spring flowers Lazarus died again, and awaits another resurrection.
• Jesus did not die again, nor ever will; Jesus rose not to the same life—as Lazarus did—but to a different life in which death no longer features.
• Technically, what happened to Lazarus was not resurrection (rising to a new eternal life) but revivification (rising to a renewed old life).
• Jesus’ resurrection is more than just that he was dead and now is alive, since this could be said of Lazarus and many others who were miraculously raised in the Bible.
• What is ‘more’ about Jesus’ resurrection is that he will never die again.
• Jesus had risen from the dead but no one else had; Jesus had risen from the dead but the world was, apparently, no different from the way it had been before: the Romans still occupied Palestine, the poor were still poor, Israel still down-trodden.[2]

 

• There are 3 groups of people at Pinheads today:
  1) Those who are just curious about what is happening here… on an Easter Sunday Morning.
  2) Those who don’t believe in resurrection.
  3) Those who do believe in resurrection.
• Have you ever given thought to the idea that what separates you from the rest of the world is your belief in the idea of resurrection?
• We have almost worked our way through the history of the New Testament Church in the Bible.
• Paul is imprisoned and being sent to Rome, for what reason?
• Simply because he believes in the resurrection of Jesus and is telling people about this great news.

 

• Belief in the resurrection is an act of rebellion against the evil, corruption and oppression that can so easily swamp us.
• Believing in the resurrection can be a refusal to accept that the world is as it is, that it can never change and that we must accept it simply as it is.
• Believing in the resurrection can and should transform not only how we view the world, but how we live in it.
• We naturally become people in whom others can see new life, and people who introduce that new life wherever the world is stifling and life-denying.
• Resurrection makes a difference not only to Jesus and the earliest disciples but also to us, as we live out our lives day by day.[3]

 

• Jesus’ resurrection points us to a new way of looking at the world, a new way of being that changes who we are and how we live in the world.
• The only way to escape from our identity in Adam was by dying.
• When Jesus died, he made a way of escaping from identity in Adam, and by rising again he opened up a new identity, a Christ identity shaped, not by Adam and who he was, but by Christ and who he was.
• Our baptism marks that pattern of dying and rising with Christ which allows us a new corporate identity now infected, not with Adam’s imperfections, but with Christ’s perfections.
• You have to believe in resurrection because you have been resurrected!
• Galatians 2:20-21 - I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.[4]
• We talk about identity in Christ every week here at Pinheads. Why is that so important?
• Everything about who we are, what we think and what we do is now infected with Christ and, as a result, our lives should be entirely transformed.[5]
• But at the same time, there is an evil in this world that wants to tell us a different story/narrative.
• And for some reason, no matter how many times you keep hearing that we are new creation, we keep coming back to the idea that is a great message but I just don’t “feel” it right now.
• That is because it is not a “feeling”.
• You being a new creation, is a reality based upon Truth.
• I will spend the rest of my days reminding you about the Truth of you who you really are.

 

• Resurrection is not complete, however, without the ascension and Pentecost.
• The death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit all come together as a seamless whole.
• The resurrection offers us transformation in Christ, the ascension gives us the motivation to act and Pentecost the ability to do it.
• The reason why the ascension was vital was that if the risen Christ had not ascended into heaven and was still on earth proclaiming the good news, healing the sick and befriending the poor and oppressed, then most of us would leave this work to him.
• We would become passive recipients of his ministry rather than active proclaimers of his message.
• After the resurrection, once they had grasped what had happened to Jesus, the disciples were in danger of slipping back into their previous form of existence.
• What they most needed was a vacuum, and this is what the ascension provided, a space that could only be filled if they picked up the challenge and took it on.
• The sending of the Spirit gave them the ability to do what otherwise they were incapable of doing.
• Filled with the Spirit they were able to comprehend the significance of the resurrection and to understand that Jesus’ ascension and command to proclaim the gospel sent them out into the world but, most important of all, the Spirit gave them the ability to do as Jesus commanded.
• Beyond their human limitations, fears and anxieties, the Spirit-filled disciples were at last able to do all that Jesus asked.

 

• Some people understand ‘living the resurrection’ to mean that we should be constantly (and, in my view, irritatingly) cheerful, whatever the ups and downs of life.
• This is far from the experience of the New Testament writers, who spoke often of real sufferings as a result of their life in Christ.
• What it really means is that we enter the hard times with our feet firmly planted on the rock, our souls anchored in the hope that Christ brings.
• This does not mean a lack of suffering or even that we do not feel suffering as much as others.
• To believe in resurrection is to believe that death is not all powerful, that beyond despair there is hope or, as Paul puts it…[6]
• Romans 8:37-39 - No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.[7]

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Mt 27:45–28:10). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Gooder, P. (2015). This Risen Existence: The Spirit of Easter (p. 5). Fortress Press.
[3] Gooder, P. (2015). This Risen Existence: The Spirit of Easter (p. 7). Fortress Press.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Ga 2:20–21). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Gooder, P. (2015). This Risen Existence: The Spirit of Easter (p. 14). Fortress Press.
[6] Gooder, P. (2015). This Risen Existence: The Spirit of Easter (p. 17). Fortress Press.
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Ro 8:37–39). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

• We left off with Paul in prison in Caesarea at Herod’s Palace where his friends were able to visit him.

Acts 24:27 -  After two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix, and because Felix wanted to do the Jews a favor, he left Paul in prison.[1]
 
APPEAL TO CAESAR
ACTS 25

• Spring, 60 AD
• Two years in prison with the thought of death lingering over his head.
• But he also trusted God and remembered that in Acts 23:11 – Jesus stood over Paul and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.”[2]

1 Three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea.

• Knowing how important it was for him to get along well with the Jewish leaders, Festus lost no time in visiting the holy city and paying his respects; and the leaders lost no time in bringing up Paul’s case.
• The new high priest was Ishmael; he had replaced Jonathan who had been killed by Felix.
• Ishmael wanted to resurrect the plot of two years before and remove Paul once and for all.[3]

2 The chief priests and the leaders of the Jews presented their case against Paul to him; and they appealed, 3 asking for a favor against Paul, that Festus summon him to Jerusalem. They were, in fact, preparing an ambush along the road to kill him. 4 Festus, however, answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was about to go there shortly. 5 “Therefore,” he said, “let those of you who have authority go down with me and accuse him, if he has done anything wrong.”

• Was this Festus’ wisdom or was this the Lord’s plan to protect Paul?

6 When he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea. The next day, seated at the tribunal (judgment seat, “bema seat”), he commanded Paul to be brought in. 7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and brought many serious charges that they were not able to prove. 8 Then Paul made his defense: “Neither against the Jewish law, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I sinned in any way.”
9 But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, replied to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to be tried before me there on these charges?”
10 Paul replied, “I am standing at Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as even you yourself know very well. 11 If then I did anything wrong and am deserving of death, I am not trying to escape death; but if there is nothing to what these men accuse me of, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar!”

• A Roman judge could not move a case to another court without the consent of the accused, and Paul refused to go!
• Instead, he claimed the right of every Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar.[4]
• He knew his fate at the hands of leadership in Jerusalem and also knew that he would have protection for his trip to Rome.
• With one statement, he paved his way to safety and greatly disappointed the Sanhedrin.

12 Then after Festus conferred with his council, he replied, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you will go.”

• Festus is legally bound to write a report to Caesar and send it with Paul to Rome.
• But Festus doesn’t have anything to charge Paul with base upon what he has heard from the Sanhedrin.
• He agrees to send Paul to Nero to be judged.

 
KING AGRIPPA AND BERNICE VISIT FESTUS
13 Several days later, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid a courtesy call on Festus.

• This youthful king, the last of the Herodians to rule, was the great-grandson of the Herod who killed the Bethlehem babes, and the son of the Herod who killed the Apostle James (Acts 12).
• Acts 12:23 - At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.[5]
• The fact that his sister lived with him created a great deal of suspicion on the part of the Jewish people, for their Law clearly condemned incest (Lev. 18:1–18; 20:11–21).
• Rome had given Herod Agrippa II legal jurisdiction over the temple in Jerusalem, so it was logical that Festus share Paul’s case with him.[6]

14 Since they were staying there several days, Festus presented Paul’s case to the king, saying, “There’s a man who was left as a prisoner by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews presented their case and asked that he be condemned. 16 I answered them that it is not the Roman custom to give someone up before the accused faces the accusers and has an opportunity for a defense against the charges. 17 So when they had assembled here, I did not delay. The next day I took my seat at the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 The accusers stood up but brought no charge against him of the evils I was expecting. 19 Instead they had some disagreements with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, a dead man Paul claimed to be alive. 20 Since I was at a loss in a dispute over such things, I asked him if he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding these matters. 21 But when Paul appealed to be held for trial by the Emperor (Nero), I ordered him to be kept in custody until I could send him to Caesar.”
22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.”
“Tomorrow you will hear him,” he replied.

• Herod was much more knowledgeable of Jewish law than Festus.
• He had lived in the area and dealt with many Jewish situations already.
• Perhaps he could help Festus come up with the crime to charge Paul with before he is sent to Rome.

 
PAUL BEFORE AGRIPPA
23 So the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the auditorium with the military commanders and prominent men of the city.

• This same accusation has been around for two years.
• Everyone was very familiar with Paul’s plight.
• They wanted to see how the soap opera would end… or continue.
• Acts 9:15-16 - But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”[7]

When Festus gave the command, Paul was brought in. 24 Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all men present with us, you see this man. The whole Jewish community has appealed to me concerning him, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he should not live any longer. 25 I found that he had not done anything deserving of death, but when he himself appealed to the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore, I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this examination is over, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without indicating the charges against him.”
 
PAUL’S DEFENSE BEFORE AGRIPPA
26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense: 2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially since you are very knowledgeable about all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

• This is Paul’s longest speech in Acts.
• Pomp & circumstance… wedding… now listen to me.

1. Paul was a Pharisee

4 “All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived as a Pharisee. (son of a Pharisee) 6 And now I stand on trial because of the hope in what God promised to our ancestors, 7 the promise our twelve tribes hope to reach as they earnestly serve him night and day. King Agrippa, I am being accused by the Jews because of this hope. 8 Why do any of you (plural… looking at the Pharisees)

• The Greeks, Romans and Sadducees did not believe in resurrection.

consider it incredible that God raises the dead? 9 In fact, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things in opposition to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 I actually did this in Jerusalem, and I locked up many of the saints in prison, since I had received authority for that from the chief priests. When they were put to death, I was in agreement against them. 11 In all the synagogues I often punished them and tried to make them blaspheme. Since I was terribly enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

• “I am the chief of all sinners.”

 
PAUL’S ACCOUNT OF HIS CONVERSION AND COMMISSION

1. Paul saw the Light

12 “I was traveling to Damascus under these circumstances with authority and a commission from the chief priests. 13 King Agrippa, while on the road at midday, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me.

• Blinded for three days.
• Lived in spiritual darkness as a Pharisee
• He walked in religion that killed (the Law)
• He didn’t realize what he knew so well was the instrument for him to see that he needed a Savior.
• And then he saw the Light (grace)

1. Paul heard a voice.

14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

• Like an animal that fights the prods.

15 “I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant (minister)

• An “under-rower” – a lowly servant on a galley ship.
• From being an honored leader to a humble subordinate worker.

and a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

• Rescued from religion to salvation.

1. Paul was not disobedient

19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 Instead, I preached to those in Damascus first, and to those in Jerusalem and in all the region of Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance. 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and were trying to kill me.

• It is because he equated the Gentiles with the Jews when it came to receiving salvation.

1. Paul continues to this day

22 To this very day, I have had help from God, and I stand and testify to both small and great, saying nothing other than what the prophets and Moses said would take place--23 that the Messiah would suffer, and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles.”

• He said it… the word “Gentiles” and the place went nuts!
• Paul and the apostles only had the Old Testament to teach from.
• They used the Scripture to lead people to Jesus.
• Isaiah 49:6 - he says, “It is not enough for you to be my servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”[8]​

 
AGRIPPA NOT QUITE PERSUADED
24 As he was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You’re out of your mind, Paul! Too much study is driving you mad.”

• How could the governor plead ignorance?
• When Jesus was on trial, The Jewish Sanhedrin was involved and so was the Roman governor, Pilate.
• Jesus of Nazareth had been a famous public figure for at least three years, and huge crowds had followed Him.[9]
• There had to be a part of understanding on Festus’ part.
• Who would send a crazy man to the Emperor?
• Festus was being convicted.

25 But Paul replied, “I’m not out of my mind, most excellent Festus. On the contrary, I’m speaking words of truth and good judgment. 26 For the king knows about these matters, and I can speak boldly to him. For I am convinced that none of these things has escaped his notice, since this was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe.”

• How could he say “no” with Sanhedrin standing in front of him?
• He needed to be on good standing with the Jews.

28 Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you going to persuade me to become a Christian so easily?”

• Festus dismissed Paul by calling him crazy.
• Agrippa basically said, “Do you think your little story is going to cause me to trust in Jesus?”

29 “I wish before God,” replied Paul, “that whether easily or with difficulty, not only you but all who listen to me today might become as I am—except for these chains.”

• Paul was passionately trying for Festus and Agrippa to hear his words and come to salvation.
• To a point where they both were uncomfortable and decided to end this escapade.

30 The king, the governor, Bernice, and those sitting with them got up, 31 and when they had left they talked with each other and said, “This man is not doing anything to deserve death or imprisonment.”
32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”[10]

• Paul knew he had to get to Rome.

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Ac 24:27). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Ac 23:11). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 503). Victor Books.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 503). Victor Books.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Ac 12:23). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 503). Victor Books
[7] Christian Standard Bible (Ac 9:15–16). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible (Is 49:6). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 506). Victor Books.
[10] Christian Standard Bible (Ac 25:1–26:32). (2020). Holman Bible Publishers.

I got my message from Mary Towe at 5:30 AM this morning and I said, “This almost feels normal!”
 
I just want to dump several thoughts on you this morning that comes from months of sitting and listening.
Let me start off with “Freedom” since it is the 4th of July.
 
Do we really understand “Freedom”?

• How many times did Jesus die?
• He forgave sins past, present and future.
• We live in a forgiven state of mind.
• This gives us the freedom to do whatever we want.
• This isn’t my Truth, this is from the Bible.
• Paul expressed it so much that he had to answer the question that came up then… and even today.
• Romans 6:1 - 1 What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply?
• The idea that we would sin so God could disperse even more grace is still “me-centered”.
• “Well how can I create more opportunity for God to make Himself even greater?”
• I only wish that is what we were thinking when we choose to sin. “I’m going to sin so I can make God look good!”
• The real issue is that we still have a me-centered flesh (not a sinful nature) that says I have an unlimited amount of grace in my account.
• Yes… you sure do! You can do that.
• You can make it all about you…
• You can make the Bible say whatever you want it to say for your own agenda.
• You are free indeed.
• Your idea of freedom is your own.
• No… I get that you are free… free to do whatever you want…
• But your thinking about freedom is incorrect.
• Look what Paul says…
• 2 Absolutely not![1]
• Not freedom to feed my fleshly (selfish) desires, but freedom to let God’s desires to be my desires.
• Man… if you can get there… where all you can think about is what God desires for me and of me…
• It is a whole new place of living.

 

• Not freedom to be passive, but freedom to see His power working through me.
• The responsibility is His, not mine.

 

• If you're defining it as “perfect performance with perfect results,” the answer is no.
• If you're defining it as “perfect method, trusting Christ as my life,” the answer is yes.

 

• Oh, dear friend, God's grace is sufficient for your situation.
• He wants to carry the burden of living for you.
• We work at resting while we rest at working.
• I am resting in Him in His victory. The Bible states these truths in:

 
Romans 6:2-14 - How can we who died to sin still live in it?

• Just as it is important for every Christian to know who he is in Christ; it is also important for him to know who he was prior to salvation if he is to understand ‘walking according to the flesh.’

3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

• Something in you (us) died.
• Your sinful nature.
• You only have one nature.
• You still have a flesh… but you have a new heart and the mind of Christ.
• That means your old selfish behavior patterns will battle against your new mind of Christ which is others focused.
• It moves your thinking from being about yourself to Christ (who came to serve and love others).
• Think about our world right now… what mind set do they have? It is all about ME! My agenda. What can I get?

 
4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 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, 7 since a person who has died is freed from sin.

• Things have changed!
• He changed you… your whole nature!

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him, 9 because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will not die again. Death no longer rules over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

• We spend our whole lives in the flesh learning how to overcome the flesh and live out of new heart and new nature.
• That is the beauty of this community. We are learning how to do this together.
• Even though we were made perfect in our identity… doesn’t mean live our life perfectly… we still make bad choices (selfish).
• So Paul reminds us of our true identity…

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. 13 And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. 14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.[2]

• Paul is literally saying walk in who you have been made to be… alive in Christ.
• People ask, “What does it mean to be alive in Christ?”
• 1) You have to know Him
• 2) Then you will hear Him… he might even call your name.
• 3) Then you begin to trust Him
• The flesh demands a sign, hard evidence, instead of believing God.
• It wants to use the sign as the object of its faith rather than the Word that God has spoken.
• The difference between walking by sight rather than faith.
• 4) Then you need to hang on!
• You will find “abundant life” through allowing Him to express Himself through your talents, your abilities, your gifts, and your personality to do His will.

 
Freedom… oh you are free indeed.
You just have to choose your freedom in yourself or your freedom in Christ.
 
Let me talk to you a little more about feelings/emotions.

• God is never going to bring your feeler totally into subjection so long as you remain in your earthsuit.
• God's plan is for us to believe Him and choose to submit ourselves to His loving care and authority regardless of how we “feel”.
• He has deliberately designed it to vacillate so as to crowd you toward walking by faith, not by feel, if you would experience the “peace that passes [human] understanding.”

 
Philippians 4:7 - And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.[3]
 
John 14:27 - “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.[4]
 
1 Thessalonians 5:23 - Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.[5]
 
Peace is not a feeling, but a knowing—knowing that the Father has everything under control.

• That you are in Christ, seated in heaven, resting; and that He is in you now, living.

 
Hebrews 13:20-21 - Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever., Amen.[6]

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 6:1–2). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ro 6:2–14). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Php 4:7). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Jn 14:27). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Th 5:23). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 13:20–21). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

John 17:20-22 - ​ 20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;

 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

 22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;

What is in the bottle?
We can clearly see the bottle and describe the bottle. But we struggle with knowing what is inside the bottle.
 
So it was and is with the Lord’s humanity. Men saw him tired, hungry, suffering, weeping, and thought he was only man. He was made in the likeness of men.
Yet He is divinely God over all, blessed forever. We have to taste and see that the Lord is good.
------------------------------------------------------------
Dogs are man’s best friends, so let’s assume that the dogs in your town have developed a problem that has them in deep distress and that only you can provide the help they need.
 
If it would help all the dogs to become more like men, would you be willing to become a dog? Would you put down your human nature, family, job, hobbies, and all else and choose—instead of intimate communion with your beloved—the poor substitute of looking into the beloved’s face and wagging your tail, unable to smile or speak?
 
When Christ became a man through the incarnation, he voluntarily limited what to him was the most precious thing in the world: unhampered, unhindered communion with the Father.[1]
 
Humanity of Jesus
Philippians 2:8 - He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.[2]
seen in

• 1) His birth
  • Galatians 4:4 - When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, [3];
  • Luke 2:7 - Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.[4]
  • John 1:46 - “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael asked him. [5]
  • Hebrews 2:9 - But we do see Jesus--made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace he might taste death for everyone--crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death.[6]
• 2) His circumstances
  • Carpenter’s son
  • No home
  • Loved by some and hated by some
• 3) his reputation
  • Isaiah 53:2-9 – He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him.
    • He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him.
    • Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
    • But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.
    • We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.
    • He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth.
    • He was taken away because of oppression and judgment, and who considered his fate?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;
he was struck because of my people’ rebellion.

• He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully.[7]
  • Matthew 26:59 - The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus so that they could put him to death,[8]
  • Matthew 26:67-68 - Then they spat in his face and beat him; others slapped him 68 and said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah! Who was it that hit you?” [9]

• 4) His soul
  • Matthew 4:1–2 - Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.[10]
  • Luke 22:44 - Being in anguish, he prayed more fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.[11]
  • Hebrews 2:17-18 - Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement, for the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. [12]

Hebrews 4:15 - For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin.[13]

• 5) His death
  • Luke 23
  • John 19
  • Mark 15:24-25 - Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, casting lots for them to decide what each would get. 25 Now it was nine in the morning when they crucified him.[14]
• 6) and His burial
  • Isaiah 53:9 - He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death, because he had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully.[15]
  • Matthew 27:57-60 - When it was evening, a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph came, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. Then Pilate ordered that it be released. 59 So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in clean, fine linen, 60 and placed it in his new tomb, which he had cut into the rock. He left after rolling a great stone against the entrance of the tomb.[16]

His humiliation was necessary

• 1) to execute the purpose of God
  • Acts 2:23-24 - Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him. 24 God raised him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by death.[17]
• 2) fulfil the Old Testament types and prophecies
  • These cannot all come to pass by chance.
  • In 1969, Professor Peter Stoner took eight of those prophecies, eight of them...born in Bethlehem, preceded by a messenger, riding on a donkey, betrayed by a friend, sold for 30 pieces of silver, money used to buy a potter's field, silent as a lamb, hands and feet pieced.
  • Had his math students do a study of the science of probability. They came up with one chance in ten to the seventeenth power...that's one chance in ten with seventeen zeroes after it.
  • And interestingly enough, some years later his grandson went back to the problem and decided it was actually ten to the eighteenth power. I'm not sure where that distinction lies.
  • Cover Texas with silver dollars... have a blind man pick 1 pre-marked silver dollar out of the whole bunch.
• 3) satisfy the law in the room of the guilty and procure for them eternal redemption,
  • Hebrews 9:12, 15 - He entered the most holy place once for all time, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption…
    • Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant,, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.[18]
• 4) and to show us an example.

 
Issues prevalent today:

• Acceptance
• Stress/Anxiety/Depression
  • Serious mental stress is a fact of life for many Americans.
  • Seven-in-ten teens say anxiety and depression are major problems among their peers
• Alcohol & Drugs
• Sexual Activity
• Cyber Addiction (Social Networking)
• Bullying & Cyberbullying
• Peer Pressure
• Desensitization
• Poverty
• Disrespect/Defiant Behaviors
• Trust
• Motivation

 
Divinity of Jesus
Birth

• Luke 1:35 - The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.[19]

 
Ministry through miracles – Works of God done by Christ

• Minimum 37 miracles in the Gospels.
• 3 Messianic miracles:
  • Healing a Jewish leper
  • Casting out demons from a mute
  • Healing of man that was born blind

 
Jesus forgave sins

• Matthew 9:1-7 - So he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own town. 2 Just then some men brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.”
• 3 At this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “He’s blaspheming!”
• 4 Perceiving their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts? 5 For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then he told the paralytic, “Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.” 7 So he got up and went home. 8 When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and gave glory to God, who had given such authority to men. [20]

 
Sacrifice for forgiveness

• Hebrews 9:24-26 - For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model of the true one) but into heaven itself, so that he might now appear in the presence of God for us. 25 He did not do this to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another. 26 Otherwise, he would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now he has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of himself.[21]
• Hebrew 10:10-14 - 10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.
• 11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God., 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.[22]

 
Claimed the Ability to Give Rest to Anyone

• Matthew 11:28 - “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”[23]

 
Resurrection
 - Acts 1:3-8 – 3 After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
THE HOLY SPIRIT PROMISED
4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.”
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”[24]
 
Promise of His return

• John 1:1-3 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.[25]
• Colossians 1:15-20 – 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
• For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--

all things have been created through him and for him.

• He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
• He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.
• For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross[26]

• Matthew 12:38-42 - Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
• He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish, three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah’s preaching; and look—something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here. [27]
• Philippians 2:5-11 - Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.
•   The word “form” means “the outward expression of the inward nature.” This means that in eternity past, Jesus Christ was God. In fact, Paul states that He was “equal with God.”[28]
• Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, 8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.
• For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth--11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[29]

 
You can clearly see through history that Jesus was real.

• Jesus’ humanity is recorded in history
• Even the deity of Jesus has been recorded (His birth, ministry, death, burial and resurrection)
• But with all that proof… it still takes faith.
• Faith to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

[1] Green, M. P. (Ed.). (1989). Illustrations for Biblical Preaching: Over 1500 sermon illustrations arranged by topic and indexed exhaustively (Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Php 2:8). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ga 4:4). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Lk 2:7). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Jn 1:46). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 2:9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Is 53:2-9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 26:59). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 26:67-68). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 4:1–2). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Lk 22:44). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 2:17–18). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[13] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 4:15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[14] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mk 15:23–25). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[15] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Is 53:9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[16] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 27:57–60). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[17] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ac 2:23–24). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[18] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 9:12,15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[19] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Lk 1:35). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[20] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 9:1–8). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[21] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 9:24–26). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[22] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Heb 10:10–14). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[23] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 11:28–30). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[24] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Ac 1:3–8). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[25] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Jn 1:1–5). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[26] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Col 1:15–20). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[27] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Mt 12:38–42). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[28] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 74). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[29] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (Php 2:5–11). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

RESURRECTION SUPPORTED BY CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE
1 CORINTHIANS 15
29 Otherwise what will they do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are people baptized for them?

• Baptism of believers has always been debated as essential or non-essential for salvation… or for future resurrection of the body.
• In the Corinth church there is record of them vicariously baptizing living believers for the sake of the believers who had already died without being baptized. Solely for the purpose of their physical bodies to be resurrected upon Christ’s return.
• A proxy baptism.
• 1) Salvation is a personal matter that each must decide for himself.
• 2) Nobody needs to be baptized to be saved.

30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I face death every day, as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• “I die daily” – Not talking about “dying to self” as Paul mentions in Romans 6… but physical dangers.

32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus as a mere man, what good did that do me? If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

• Actually a quote from Isaiah 22:13 – But Isaiah was quoting it as a popular philosophy at the time Israel was about to be invaded by the Babylonians.
• If the resurrection is not true, then we can forget about the future and live as we please!
• But the resurrection is true!
• Jesus is coming again!
• Even if we die before He comes, we shall be raised at His coming and stand before Him in a glorified body.[1]
• Paul is simply arguing ad hoc from things that actually are happening and making the point that the reason people participate in them and tolerate them and accept them, rightly or wrongly, is because there is a hope of life to come.[2]

33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

• Just because everyone else is doing it, doesn’t make it right.
• Think of all the things that are acceptable today that weren’t acceptable when you were a child.
• It happens… it creeps in…
• Mob mentality… everyone else is doing it.

34 Come to your senses, and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.

• Quit living your life by the way of the world.
• Quit getting in worldly arguments.
• I’m going to live in a world that is facing a pandemic.
• I’m going to live in a political world that finds itself greatly divided.
• But that doesn’t mean that has to become my world… especially my discussion.
• My opinion is not going to change the world.
• My participation in protests, discussions, rallies, social network feeds is not going to change the world.
• But my servanthood, my love for God, my love for others… may greatly impact those around me.
• In those days, public shame was a huge deterrent.

 
THE NATURE OF THE RESURRECTION BODY
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come?”

• This is a typical question even for today.
• Everyone wants to know what does the future hold?
• What is going to happen? What does it look like?

36 You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And as for what you sow—you are not sowing the body that will be, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain.

• Paul can’t even answer their questions.
• We don’t know!
• Have you ever planted an unknown seed to see what it becomes?

38 But God gives it a body as he wants, and to each of the seeds its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones. 41 There is a splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another star in splendor.

• Paul goes on a tangent about all the different subjects that we have determined to have/be “bodies”.
• Humans (gender, size, ethnicity, etc)
• Animals (2 legged – multi-legged, winged, water)
• Heavenly bodies (moon/stars, sun, galaxies)
• Who has any idea what a “resurrected body” likes like except God?
• With Jesus, we assume we saw a transitional body.
• The disciples didn’t even recognize Him, yet he still had scars in His hands.
• Assuming there won’t be scars in resurrected bodies in heaven.
• His point is simply to say, “Think of the extraordinary, rich diversity of things God has created that we as people call ‘bodies,’ we think of as having embodied form—and if God is that creative, surely He knows how to create resurrection bodies.”[3]

42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; 43 sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power; 44 sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body.

• There will be nothing wicked, nothing flawed, nothing imperfect.[4]
• Our baptism represents this transition.
• We recognized people (as non-believers) for the things they did.
• They were born with a dead spirit because they came from the seed of Adam.
• They are born dead.
• But because of their belief in Jesus… they are made a new creation.
• We no longer view them as a physical being that does things… but as a spiritual being who can’t be made any more perfect than they already are.
• So what we do does not define us.
• Who we are impacts what we do.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; (Genesis 2:7) the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.

• First you are physically born… with a spirit… that is dead… inherited from Adam.
• Then Jesus came along so that our Spirit could have life.

47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust;

• Born dead, separated from God.

like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.

• Made alive with the Spirit inside.

49 And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.

• We still have these physical bodies but we are recognized by our living Spirit.
• The world is only going to know we are different because we are more interested in things above than the things of this world.
• How am I any different if all I talk about is the things of this world?
• If it’s real, it ought to change the way we think about everything in this life, putting no ultimate allegiance in anything that lasts only for this life.[5]

 
VICTORIOUS RESURRECTION
50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, (a church nursery posted that on their door) 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.

• But flesh and blood (basar ve-dam in the Hebrew) was a standard Jewish idiom for finite fallen humanity.
• There are literally hundreds of parables in the writings of the rabbis in the early centuries of the common era that begin, “There was a king of flesh and blood.”
• And the moment you read that, you know that what follows is going to be a comparison, usually from the lesser to the greater, of something about the nature of human kings with something that is true all the more about God as King.
• “Flesh and blood” does not mean “embodied” then here, it means finite fallen humanity cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
• The perishable cannot inherit the kingdom of God, that which is imperishable. So Paul is pursuing his same line of argumentation.[6]

53 For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. 54 When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:
Death has been swallowed up in victory. (Isaiah 25:8)
55 Where, death, is your victory?
Where, death, is your sting? (Hosea 13:14)

• The Church of Corinth was consumed with the idea of death – terrified.
• Life span was short and many illnesses.
• Today we live in a pandemic and we have death statistics all around us.
• There is anxiety and depression consuming us because of the thought of death.

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

• It is because of our sin that death entered into this world.
• And what gives sin its power is the law.
• The law came along so sin would increase (Romans 5:20)
• This is the corruptible
• The incorruptible is that God gives you freedom.
• Live your life by the Spirit and there is no law.

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

• Throughout the New Testament, and particularly throughout Paul, eschatological teaching—teaching about the end times and the last days in the eternal state—is never given simply to satisfy someone’s curiosity.
• It appears in contexts of encouragement, of encouraging the beleaguered, of encouraging the persecuted, of telling folks “All that makes life hard now is worthwhile.”
• Today’s bumper sticker “Life is hard, and then you die,” if by that one means “and there is nothing more after that,” is absolutely false from Paul’s perspective.
• The only way to redeem that bumper sticker is to make the slogan longer: “Life is short, life is hard, and then you die, and then it gets fantastic if you’re a follower of Jesus.”

 
In everything you hold dear and in everything that is trivial, ask yourself “What does it mean to make this choice in light of the fact that I am living forever?”[7]

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 618–619). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[5] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[7] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

ORDER IN CHURCH MEETINGS
1 CORINTHIANS 14
26 What then, brothers and sisters? Whenever you come together, each one has a hymn, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Everything is to be done for building up.

• For one verse, Paul reflects again on a representative sampling of the whole range of spiritual gifts.[1]

27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, there are to be only two, or at the most three, each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, that person is to keep silent in the church and speak to himself and God.

• But even there, he didn’t rule out the public use of tongues altogether.
• When we get to the end of the chapter he will say, “Do not forbid speaking in tongues.”
• We need to be extraordinarily cautious, therefore, in our contemporary world whenever we hear Christians claiming that this gift or any of the gifts is not for today or should not be practiced or should be practiced but limited to a private context.
• We should also be extraordinarily careful for those who refer to tongues or prophecy or any other gift without reflecting on checks and balances, accountability, mechanisms for controlling and evaluating the alleged presence and use of these gifts.
• So what Paul does in verses 29–36, recognizing that no true gift of the Holy Spirit is ever given in a way that that individual cannot exercise control over it, is to give some criteria for their regulation, for what he will call, at the end of the chapter, “a fitting and orderly [practice].”[2]

29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. 30 But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged. 32 And the prophets’ spirits are subject to the prophets, 33 since God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

• If there is a prophecy in the nature of a future prediction, we need to wait to see if it, in fact, comes true.
• If it is an instruction for people today, is what it is teaching or commending consistent with biblical teaching elsewhere?
• If it’s something that can’t readily be evaluated by these criteria, does it seem to have the intention of edifying or building people up?
• We can never allow the so-called word of a Christian prophet, whether it’s in “ordinary preaching” or a spontaneous utterance to trump what we know God is saying from His Word.
• There has to be discernment.
• There has to be evaluation.[3]
• This was typically done by the elders in the church.

As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to submit themselves, as the law also says. 35 If they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home, since it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

• Paul had already permitted the women to pray and prophesy (1 Cor. 11:5), so this instruction must apply to the immediate context of evaluating the prophetic messages.
• It would appear that the major responsibility for doctrinal purity in the early church rested on the shoulders of the men, the elders in particular (1 Tim. 2:11–12).[4]
• It seems much more likely that some combination of a privilege restricted to the elders as the leaders of the church, in conjunction possibly with the intrusive questions, lack of education, need for women to in public be perceived as appropriately submitting to their husbands, is what’s going on.[5]

36 Or did the word of God originate from you, or did it come to you only?

• How am I able to speak to you each week?
• If this is me making these messages up… look out!
• You can be mad at me, but all I am actually doing is reading the Word, studying it in context of all 66 books and teaching what has been revealed to me.
• You have the ability to evaluate what I am teaching as truth.
• But there is no reason to be mad at me.

37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, he should recognize that what I write to you is the Lord’s command. 38 If anyone ignores this, he will be ignored. 39 So then, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
40 But everything is to be done decently and in order.[6]

• So, he winds up the passage by saying, “Prefer prophecy.
• Seek prophecy.
• Don’t forbid speaking in tongues, but let everything be done decently and in order.”
• And to whatever degree there still is some tension, as there is at times in our world, between the noncharismatic and the charismatic world.
• These two closing verses say almost all that we need to hear:
• To the noncharismatics, “Don’t exclude any spiritual gift;”
• To the charismatics: “Don’t see how wild you can get. Do everything decently and in order.”[7]

 
RESURRECTION ESSENTIAL TO THE GOSPEL
1 CORINTHIANS 15
1 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.

• It’s not surprising because, while bodily resurrection was commonplace in the Jewish world (indeed all but the Sadducees of the major leadership sects strongly believed in it), it was not at all common in the Graeco-Roman world.
• Much more common was a belief in a disembodied immortality of the soul, if indeed there was a hope for an afterlife at all.
• The movie “Soul” – Conveyer belt of souls to the big bug zapper in the sky. What?
• And here is the potential creed or early Christian confession: “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.”[8]

6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me.

• Jesus appeared to the witnesses and disciples within 40 days of his resurrection from the tomb.
• The 500 plus brethren all saw Him at the same time, so it could not have been a hallucination or a deception.
• Mass hallucination has occurred numbers of times throughout history, but always in conjunction with a place and a visible, tangible, physical element of some kind—a statue of a person perhaps, or a painting, or an icon, a holy shrine.
• There was nothing in common about the locations or the contexts of all the places that Jesus was said to have appeared.[9]
• This event may have been just before His ascension[10]
• For Paul, it was within 2-3 years from Jesus’ resurrection, on the road to Damascus.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

• 1 Timothy 1:15 - This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them.[11]
• Paul is referring to his life before his spiritual conversion and transformation.

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.

• He acknowledges his utter unworthiness to even being the recipient of this gracious—three times referring to the concept of God and His grace—being the recipient of this gracious touch from God’s Spirit, and puts himself on a level playing field, neither above nor below these other apostles because of this experience.
• “Whether it was they or I who preached, it was this same gospel.”
• It was the gospel that you believed.
• The bodily resurrection is central to it all.[12]

 
RESURRECTION ESSENTIAL TO THE FAITH
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?

• Those of you Corinthians who are still inappropriately influenced by your Graeco-Roman background, who don’t believe in the resurrection of a dead person ever, let’s think through the logic that inexorably follows from that.
• That means that our teaching that Jesus was raised is false.
• But if He was not raised bodily, then our teaching that we can look forward, one day, to all the wrongs of this world being righted in a glorious and perfected and eternal future of incomparable joy and blessing is equally false.[13]

13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith. 15 Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19 If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

• This is very similar to putting our hope in 2021.
• Yes, 2020 was a dumpster fire for many.
• That’s because they view life from a worldly perspective.
• The perspective of 2020 is different for those who stay focused on the resurrection of Christ and the eternal abundant life that is afforded to us.

 
CHRIST’S RESURRECTION GUARANTEES OURS
20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

• Once you saw the first of the crops, you knew that there were plenty more to come, even if not instantly.
• And that’s what Paul is saying about Christ’s resurrection compared to ours.[14]

21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be abolished is death. 27 For God has put everything under his feet., Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception. 28 When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.[15]

• There is a functional subordination of the Son and Spirit to God.
• The Father never proceeds from the Son or the Spirit; the Son and the Spirit never command or send God the Father to do anything.
• But God rightly commands and sends the Son and the Spirit to do things.[16]

[1] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[2] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[3] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 615–616). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 14:26–40). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[9] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[10] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 617). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[11] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Ti 1:15). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[13] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[14] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[15] Christian Standard Bible. (2020). (1 Co 15:1–28). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[16] Blomberg, C. L. (2017). NT334 Book Study: Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

• Do you even realize you are saying it?

Ever since…

• The preposition “since” is used to refer back to a previous point in time: “It's been weeks since I got a hug from you.” 

• “Ever since” is used when you want to emphasize that something has been true from "from that time to this".
• Our friend, Anna McCord, turns 100 years old on April 24…
• And Rachel Di Salvo will turn 18 on the same day.
• But there is a vast difference when Anna McCord says “Ever since I…” then when Rachel Di Salvo says, “Ever since I…”.
• There is a lot more “Ever since” in Anna’s life than there is in all our lives.

Think about 9/11…

• Ever since 9/11, it ushered in a new generation of policies like the USA Patriot Act, prioritizing national security and defense, often at the expense of civil liberties.
• Ever since 9/11, our military involvement in Afghanistan, which continues today, has turned into the longest-running war in U.S. history.
• Ever since 9/11, we have the Department of Homeland Security.
• Ever since 9/11, airport security underwent a series of major overhauls. And a service that was once largely provided by private companies is now primarily overseen by the massive Transportation Security Administration known as TSA.
• Not so long ago, it wasn't unusual to show up at the airport a half-hour before a domestic flight, keep your shoes tied tight, and skip through the metal detector while sipping a Big Gulp, all without ever having to show an ID.
• Ever since 9/11, we are under constant surveillance and additional security checks as we enter government buildings, public attractions and sporting events.
• We are limited to what we can even carry into events.

Times have changed we don’t even think about it as we ease into our new norm.
We complained about each change as it was implemented but then we quickly fell into compliance.
Think about Anna’s “Ever since…”

• Anna was 5 months old, women gained rights.
• The Great Depression of 1930’s
• The Holocaust, WWII and Pearl Harbor
• The 1st man in space in 1961
• The Civil Rights Act in 1964
• Crack Cocaine in 1977
• AIDS in 1980
• The OKC Bombing in 1995
• Columbine Shooting in 1999
• Television, Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the microwave oven, the cell phone, the smartphone, etc.

Now… today… Ever since the Corona Virus…

• What is going to change?
• Masks?
• Hygiene?
• Cleanliness in public places?
• Working from home?
• We have no idea how this is going to impact our future

But think back with me… what if you were a Jew during the time of Jesus’ ministry?

• Ever since Jesus came along… things changed.

I was reading out of Neb Hayden’s devotional book (Walking with a Limp) this week…
Do you realize… Ever since eternity past that God & Jesus determined the exact moment that He would not only be born earth but also die on earth?

• This is why the prophets were able to talk about it years in advance of its happening.
• Yes, Jesus was born to die!
• Jesus knew it… John the Baptist knew it.
• His disciples didn’t know it.
• They thought death should be avoided at all cost.
• Jesus kept telling the disciples He was going to die and Peter kept objecting.
• Peter wanted to change what God and Jesus had already determined in eternity past.
• The disciples saw Jesus’ death as a failure where as God & Jesus saw it as a victory!
• Think about this… the Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus so they personally could remain in power.
• But God and Jesus were wanting Him to die for a completely different purpose.
• People may say Jesus dying on the cross as “close, but no cigar” but this story is what God had always planned as a gift to you!
• A man… born to die!

This story is found in:
        Matthew 28:1-20
        Mark 16:1-13
        Luke 24:1-35
        John 20:1-18
        I Corinthians 15:5
 

• The goal of the four Gospel writers was to give evidence for the resurrection rather than give a detailed history of the events surrounding it.
• What is clear is that Jesus was raised – all else is secondary.

 
Matthew 28:1-4 - 1 Dawn was breaking on the first day of the week; the sabbath was over. Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, had come to look at the tomb, 2 when suddenly there was a great earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. He came to the stone, rolled it away, and sat down on top of it. 3 Looking at him was like looking at lightning, and his clothes were white, like snow. 4 The guards trembled with terror at him, and became like corpses themselves. [1]

• Sabbath ended at sundown on Saturday.
• Mary Magdalene (Mark 15:40)
• Mary, the mother of James & Joseph (Matt 27:55-56)
• Salome, the mother of James & John (sons of Zebedee)
• Mark 16:1 – Spices were bought after sundown.
• These spices would be in addition to what already had been used or purchased.
• Joseph of Arimathea & Nicodemus were the ones who quickly wrapped and anointed Jesus on Friday to get him inside the tomb before sundown.
• Mark 16:2 – They traveled to the tomb at sunrise (yet it was still dark according to John).
• 1) A great earthquake took place
• 2) An angel whose appearance was like lightning and garment was white as snow, rolled away the stone and sat on it.
• 3) Romans soldiers were watching began to shake and then passed out as if they were dead.
• The angel is the one who broke the seal and the penalty for that was death… good luck with that one.

 
John 20:1-2 - 1 On the first day of the week, very early, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while it was still dark.
She saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. 2 So she ran off, and went to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved.
‘They’ve taken the master out of the tomb!’ she said. ‘We don’t know where they’ve put him!’ [2]

• Mary Magdalene came to the tomb first, while it was still dark.
• She did not see the two angels because she left so quickly to tell Peter & the disciples.

 
Mark 16:3-5 - 3 They were saying to one another, ‘There’s that stone at the door of the tomb—who’s going to roll it away for us?’
4 Then, when they looked up, they saw that it had been rolled away. (It was extremely large.)
5 So they went into the tomb, and there they saw a young man sitting on the right-hand side. He was wearing white. They were totally astonished. [3]

• Luke 24 says there were 2 men in dazzling clothes.
• The other women arrived after Mary Magdalene had left.

 
Matthew 28:5 - 5‘Don’t be afraid,’ said the angel to the women. ‘I know you’re looking for Jesus, who was crucified.[4]
 
Luke 24:5-8 - 5 The women were terrified, and bowed their faces towards the ground.
But the men said to them, ‘Why look for the living with the dead? 6 He isn’t here—he’s been raised! Don’t you remember? While you were still in Galilee he told you that 7 the son of man must be handed over into the hands of sinners, and be crucified, and rise again on the third day.’
8 And they remembered his words. [5]
 

• Imagine what they must have thought standing there holding anointing oils/perfumes when they realized what Jesus had said was now truth.

 
Mark 16:8 - 8 They went out, and fled from the tomb. Trembling and panic had seized them. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. [6]
 
John 20:2-10 - 2 So she ran off, and went to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved.
‘They’ve taken the master out of the tomb!’ she said. ‘We don’t know where they’ve put him!’
3 So Peter and the other disciple set off and went to the tomb. 4 Both of them ran together. The other disciple ran faster than Peter, and got to the tomb first. 5 He stooped down and saw the linen cloths lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came up, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the napkin that had been around his head, not lying with the other cloths, but folded up in a place by itself.
8 Then the other disciple, who had arrived first at the tomb, went into the tomb as well. He saw, and he believed. 9 They did not yet know, you see, that the Bible had said he must rise again from the dead.
10 Then the disciples returned to their homes. [7]

• Mary Magdalene was reporting to Peter & John that Jesus’ body had been stolen.
• John made sure it was recorded that he outran Peter.

 
Luke 24:9-11 - 9 They went back, away from the tomb, and told all this to the eleven and all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and the others with them. They said this to the apostles; 11 and this message seemed to them just stupid, useless talk, and they didn’t believe them. [8]

• Mary Magdalene had already been there but all she saw was that the stone had been moved.
• Mary & Salome told the “rest of the disciples.” Peter & John had already ran to the tomb at this point.
• Remember, after Gethsemane, all the disciples had been scattered.
• Mary & Salome were reporting that Jesus’ body had been resurrected according to what the angel had told them.

 
John 20:11-18 - 11 But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she wept, she stooped down to look into the tomb. 12 There she saw two angels, clothed in white, one at the head and one at the feet of where Jesus’ body had been lying.
13‘Woman,’ they said to her, ‘why are you crying?’
‘They’ve taken away my master,’ she said, ‘and I don’t know where they’ve put him!’
14 As she said this she turned round, and saw Jesus standing there. She didn’t know it was Jesus.
15‘Woman,’ Jesus said to her, ‘why are you crying? Who are you looking for?’
She guessed he must be the gardener.
‘Sir,’ she said, ‘if you’ve carried him off somewhere, tell me where you’ve put him, and I will take him away.’
16‘Mary!’ said Jesus.
She turned and spoke in Aramaic.
‘Rabbouni!’ she said (which means ‘Teacher’).
17 ‘Don’t cling to me,’ said Jesus. ‘I haven’t yet gone up to the father. But go to my brothers and say to them, “I’m going up to my father and your father—to my God and your God.”’
18 Mary Magdalene went and told the disciples, ‘I’ve seen the master!’ and that he had said these things to her. [9]

• When Jesus called her by name… she knew immediately.
• “Don’t cling to me” – It was not about Mary touching Him because he lets Thomas later.
• Jesus wanted others to see that He had resurrected.
• The oral law placed many restrictions on what a woman could say in a court of law.
• Testimony from a woman first would have been rejected.
• If this was a hoax by the disciples, they wouldn’t have Jesus appear to a woman first.

 
Matthew 28:9-10 - 9 Suddenly, there was Jesus himself. He met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ They came up to him and took hold of his feet, prostrating themselves in front of him. 10 ‘Don’t be afraid,’ said Jesus to them. ‘Go and tell my brothers that they should go to Galilee. Tell them they’ll see me there.’ [10]

• This appearance was to other women.
• This is the third time the disciples had been told to meet Jesus in Galilee.
• They remained in Jerusalem in disbelief.

 
Matthew 28:11-15 - 11 While the women were on their way, some of the soldiers who had been on guard went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 They called an emergency meeting with the elders, allotted a substantial sum of money, and gave it to the soldiers.
13‘This’, they told them, ‘is what you are to say: “His disciples came in the night, while we were asleep, and stole him away.” 14 And if this gets reported to the governor, we’ll explain it to him and make sure you stay out of trouble.’
15 They took the money and did as they had been instructed. And this story still goes the rounds among the Jews to this day. [11]

• They knew if Pilate found out the seal was broken they would be killed.
• Imagine telling Pilate you were sleeping on duty.
• How could the guards know who stole Jesus’ body if they were sleeping.

 
I Corinthians 15:5 - 5 he was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve; [12]

• Not reported in the Scripture but is alluded to here.
• Obviously Peter’s denials were forgiven and forgotten by Him.
• He went to Peter first.

 
Matthew 28:16-20 – 16 So the eleven disciples went off to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had instructed them to go. 17 There they saw him, and worshipped him, though some hesitated.
18 Jesus came towards them and addressed them.
‘All authority in heaven and on earth’, he said, ‘has been given to me! 19So you must go and make all the nations into disciples. Baptize them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit. 20Teach them to observe everything I have commanded you. And look: I am with you, every single day, to the very end of the age.’[13]
 
Ever since Jesus was resurrected…
 
Basics of the Exchanged Life

1. Old Covenant became obsolete and the New Covenant was established.
2. New nature is in sin nature is out.
3. Forgiveness is complete at the point of salvation
4. Sanctification is both past tense & present tense.
5. Jesus lives through you
6. You have the mind of Christ
7. Adversity leads to perseverance, perseverance proven character, proven character hope that doesn't fail

Ever since…
Romans 8:11 - 11 So, then, if the spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives within you, the one who raised the Messiah from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies, too, through his spirit who lives within you. [14]
 
REESE PRAY!!!!

[1] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Mt 28:1–4). London: SPCK.
[2] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Jn 20:1–2). London: SPCK.
[3] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Mk 16:3–5). London: SPCK.
[4] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Mt 28:5). London: SPCK.
[5] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Lk 24:5–8). London: SPCK.
[6] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Mk 16:8). London: SPCK.
[7] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Jn 20:2–10). London: SPCK.
[8] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Lk 24:9–11). London: SPCK.
[9] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Jn 20:11–18). London: SPCK.
[10] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Mt 28:9-10). London: SPCK.
[11] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Mt 28:11–15). London: SPCK.
[12] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (1 Co 15:5). London: SPCK.
[13] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Mt 28:16–Mk). London: SPCK.
[14] Goldingay, J., & Wright, T. (2018). The Bible for Everyone: A New Translation (Ro 8:11). London: SPCK.