Ever Since... (Easter 2020)

Teacher: Rusty Kennedy
Series: Easter

Rusty's Notes

• 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.