We're talking about why
the resurrection of Jesus
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was not a myth.
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And we've just
talked about the 5280
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some documentation or early
documentation that we have.
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But in addition to that,
we have another 17,000 plus
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from early church fathers.
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In fact, we have so many
quotes on the New Testament
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from early church
fathers that we could actually
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reconstruct the
whole New Testament
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just from their sayings alone.
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So when you put
all of this together,
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you come to a
powerful conclusion.
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And the conclusion is this.
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That is we reject the
authenticity of the testimony
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of the New Testament
based on the textual grounds,
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we'll have to reject all that
history you learned in school.
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We'd have to reject every work
of antiquity prior to AD 1000
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since there's less manuscript
evidence for their authenticity
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than there is for
the New Testament.
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So we have
powerful, powerful evidence
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that the New Testament
is a legitimate testimony
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of what happened
in the life of Jesus.
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Now let's turn to
that accurate testimony
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and talk about the resurrection
just from that standpoint.
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Now some of our
friends, as I mentioned earlier,
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said, "Oh, well,
Jesus didn't really die.
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He just swooned."
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And you want to say, "Really?"
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"Just swooned.
Yeah, He just swooned.
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He didn't really die.
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So He wasn't resurrected."
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Well, you know,
the Roman soldiers
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were good at killing people.
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In fact, as far as
we know, there's no one
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that's every survived
the death of crucifixion.
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We have no known records of it.
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The Roman soldiers did not break
the legs of the two thieves,
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did not break Jesus' legs
because He was already dead.
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But they did break the
legs of the two thieves.
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Why did they do that?
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Because of Jewish law.
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Jewish law demanded that
you could not leave the bodies
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on the cross over
the Sabbath hours.
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They had to
complete the execution
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and they had to bury
them before Sabbath began.
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So we know that even
according to Jewish law
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they couldn't
leave Jesus on the cross
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over the Sabbath
if He was still alive.
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No, He didn't swoon.
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He was dead.
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And John, who was an eyewitness,
said he saw blood and water
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coming out of the
wound from the soldier.
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If the nails
hadn't killed Jesus,
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the soldier's spear
certainly would have done it.
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And the water coming out,
blood and water, was a sure sign
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that Jesus was dead.
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The other thing is that
Pilate, the Roman governor,
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had to have certification.
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He not only had
to have certification
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from the centurion, but
he had to have several other
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of his company certify with him
that the prisoners were dead.
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And they brought that
certification to Pilate
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or Pilate would have
never, ever released the body
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of Jesus to Joseph of Arimathea.
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There was one person
who wrote in to somebody
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by the name of Eutychus I think
who gives answers to people,
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and so forth.
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He was complaining
about his preacher,
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which he probably should
have, because his preacher said,
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this is a Christian
preacher, so called,
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said, "Well Jesus
didn't really die."
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Well Eutychus
wrote back and said this,
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and I'm going to read
it because it's very good.
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It says, "Dear Bewildered..."
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He was bewildered because
of his preacher's statement.
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It says, "Dear
Bewildered, beat your pastor
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with a cat of
nine tails 39 times,
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nail him to a cross, hang
him in the sun for six hours,
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run a spear through
his side, embalm him,
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put him in an
airless tomb for 36 hours,
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and see what happens."
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Yes, Jesus died.
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There's no question
that His death was true.
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And then we have
the burial, of course.
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Joseph of
Arimathea was well known.
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He was part of
the Jewish Sanhedrin.
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And so was Nicodemus.
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These guys were not
somebody who just came up
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out of the woodwork somewhere.
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They were known
all over Jerusalem.
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And it was Joseph of
Arimathea who brought Jesus
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and actually buried Him in
his own tomb and embalmed Jesus.
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If this had not been true, when
the disciples preached this,
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not in some faraway
place, they preached it right in
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Jerusalem where
Jesus was crucified.
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They preached it right
in Jerusalem where there was
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the Sanhedrin that had actually
ordered the death of Jesus
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and had Him crucified.
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They preached it right under
the nose of Pontius Pilate,
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the governor who
had Jesus crucified.
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No, Jesus was buried
by Joseph of Arimathea.
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If that were not true,
then they would have quickly
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called the
apostles liars and probably
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had arrested them for
misleading the people.
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But they didn't have
any evidence on which
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to do that, of course.
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And then as we
continue to look at the record,
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we understand that the
disciples are not going to
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make up the names
of Joseph of Arimathea,
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they're not going to make
up the names of Nicodemus.
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The hostility was so bad between
the apostles and between the
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Sanhedrin that if the Sanhedrin
had just had any kind of
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evidence, they would
have been glad to have called
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the disciples, not only
liars, but they would have
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probably put them to death.
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Well, let's go to
the empty tomb itself.
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The tomb is empty.
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Now the Jews came up
with this crazy idea that
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the disciples stole the body.
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Really?
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Twelve frightened
disciples in the upper room,
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scared of their own
shadow, behind locked doors
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on the Sabbath, the
Saturday, before the morning
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of the resurrection?
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And they got
themselves together and went out
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and took on a hundred Roman
soldiers, with a two ton rock,
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and with a Roman seal?
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And if you broke that seal,
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you were going to
find yourself crucified.
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Nah.
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They weren't going to take
on a hundred Roman soldiers.
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And I doubt that they
even had the strength to
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push that two ton rock back.
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They were frightened.
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And they suddenly had
the courage to do this?
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No.
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The Sanhedrin, nor the Romans,
by the way, had the body.
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If they had the body of Jesus,
they would have produced it.
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And they had every
interest in wanting to
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find the body of Christ.
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Believe me.
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And if they had
produced it, either the Romans
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or the Sanhedrin, Christianity
would have been finished.
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It would have been done.
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It would have been over with.
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Because the
resurrection of Jesus is central
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to everything that we
hold dear and believe.
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Now another thing that's
very interesting is this.
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You know, the soldiers
came back and they were,
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they were just overwhelmed
that Jesus was resurrected.
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They saw Him resurrected.
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They were telling
this to the Sanhedrin,
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or at least the
leaders of the Sanhedrin.
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And you know the story of how
they bought them off with money.
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You know, I
remember old H.M.S Richards.
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He once said, "You know,
money buys a lot of things."
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And he was referring
to how these soldiers
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were bought off with money.
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They went in with the
truth and came out with the lie,
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"The disciples stole
the body while we slept."
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Really?
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This is a big deal.
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The penalty for
sleeping on the job
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for Roman soldiers was death.
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Think about that.
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And there's
something else to think about.
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If the disciples
stole the body of Jesus
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while they were
asleep, how did they know that
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it was the disciples
that stole the body of Jesus?
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Of course not.
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The disciples didn't
steal the body of Jesus.
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Jesus was resurrected on
the first day of the week
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on Sunday morning,
to the glory of God.
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And of course, there's
the testimonies that we have.
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We have a lot of testimonies.
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We have first, of course, the
hundred soldier's testimonies.
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They went into the
leaders of the Sanhedrin
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that we just talked about.
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And then we have the
testimony of the women.
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And the women were the first
to see the resurrected Christ.
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They're the ones that ran
to the disciples and said,
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"We've seen the
resurrected Jesus.
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We've seen Him."
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In those days people
wouldn't include the testimony
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of the women, but they included
the testimony of the women here.
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And then you have
the testimony of Mary,
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that she saw Jesus and
that she talked with Him.
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It's one of the most beautiful
pictures in the New Testament.
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There is Mary, she's weeping.
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Her brother has been
resurrected by Jesus; Lazarus.
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And now the tomb is empty.
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She thinks somebody has
taken the body of Jesus.
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She thought, well, if Joseph's
tomb was too good for Jesus,
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she had an empty tomb.
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A tomb that Jesus had
made empty by His own power
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when He resurrected
Lazarus from the dead.
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And then suddenly
she heard that voice,
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that wonderful
voice of Jesus, "Mary."
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She turned, and she
thought maybe through her tears
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it was the gardener.
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And she says, you know,
"Tell me where you've taken Him.
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I'll take Him."
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And Jesus says, "Mary."
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And Mary recognizes Jesus.
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She falls at His
feet to worship Him.
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Her heart is thrilled.
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All their dreams
that had been dashed,
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all the hopes
that had been dashed,
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all that mournful Sabbath
that they had spent together.
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All of that time.
00:10:05.37\00:10:07.20
Now, now that flies away
because there's great hope.
00:10:08.74\00:10:14.31
She's seen the
resurrected Jesus.
00:10:14.34\00:10:17.91
And then of course, there's
the testimony of two disciples
00:10:18.81\00:10:22.25
on the road to Emmaus.
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They weren't part of the twelve.
00:10:23.72\00:10:25.65
And that is a fascinating story.
00:10:25.75\00:10:28.02
Here they are on
the road to Damascus.
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Not to Damascus, but to
a small village of about
00:10:31.23\00:10:34.06
seven or eight
miles away from Jerusalem.
00:10:34.10\00:10:36.20
The road to Emmaus.
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And they're talking
about all the events:
00:10:37.97\00:10:40.44
the death of Jesus, the
Sanhedrin, and the crucifixion.
00:10:40.47\00:10:44.81
And then they're
joined by a stranger.
00:10:45.27\00:10:47.68
And this is a
point I want to make.
00:10:48.14\00:10:50.21
This stranger explained to
them why the Messiah had to die
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and be resurrected.
00:10:55.35\00:10:56.79
And He explained it to
them from the Scriptures
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starting from the Old
Testament all the way through.
00:10:59.12\00:11:02.72
And their hearts were thrilled.
00:11:02.76\00:11:04.59
Who was this stranger?
00:11:04.63\00:11:06.23
They didn't seem
to recognize Him.
00:11:06.26\00:11:08.13
They insisted that
He come in for supper.
00:11:08.16\00:11:11.07
You know, you should always
insist on the presence of Jesus.
00:11:11.10\00:11:13.94
And when He came in and
started to have the blessing,
00:11:15.07\00:11:17.27
they suddenly recognized Him.
00:11:17.31\00:11:19.34
They couldn't
contain themselves.
00:11:19.37\00:11:22.14
They ran all the
way back to Jerusalem
00:11:22.24\00:11:24.88
over that seven or
eight miles in the darkness
00:11:24.91\00:11:27.52
and knocked on the
door of the upper room.
00:11:27.82\00:11:30.15
They were still up
there, still scared.
00:11:30.19\00:11:32.72
They said, "We've
seen Him. He's alive!
00:11:33.72\00:11:36.29
Jesus is alive!"
00:11:36.62\00:11:39.46
What great news!
00:11:40.80\00:11:42.63
Jesus is alive.
00:11:43.06\00:11:44.73
And then, of course, you've got
the testimony of Peter and John.
00:11:45.27\00:11:47.84
They ran and found
that the tomb was empty.
00:11:47.87\00:11:50.91
They talked to the two
angels who told them that Jesus
00:11:50.94\00:11:54.18
was alive.
00:11:54.38\00:11:55.88
He was alive and He
would meet them in Galilee.
00:11:56.34\00:11:59.18
And then you have the
testimony of the ten disciples
00:11:59.38\00:12:02.48
that He appeared to.
00:12:02.52\00:12:03.85
You have the
testimony of doubting Thomas.
00:12:03.89\00:12:06.35
Doubting Thomas.
00:12:06.55\00:12:07.89
So many people today doubt.
00:12:07.92\00:12:09.79
And that's why
I want to do this.
00:12:09.89\00:12:11.23
You know, give up your doubts.
00:12:11.26\00:12:12.59
You can die with your doubts.
00:12:12.63\00:12:13.96
You can always find coat
hangers to hang your doubts on.
00:12:14.00\00:12:16.67
But let me tell you,
the evidence is overwhelming
00:12:16.83\00:12:20.10
that Jesus is the
Messiah of the world.
00:12:20.14\00:12:22.57
That His death and His
resurrection are reality.
00:12:22.60\00:12:26.31
The Christians do
not serve a dead God.
00:12:26.94\00:12:30.11
We do not serve a dead Jesus.
00:12:30.15\00:12:32.88
We serve a living Christ.
00:12:32.91\00:12:34.85
Thomas said, "I wouldn't
believe it unless I could just
00:12:35.68\00:12:37.92
touch where the spear went
and the nails in His hands."
00:12:37.95\00:12:41.66
When he appeared to
Jesus, he cried out,
00:12:41.69\00:12:44.63
"My Lord and my God."
00:12:44.66\00:12:46.33
Jesus said, "Blessed
are those who don't see
00:12:46.36\00:12:48.03
what you see,
Thomas, and yet believe."
00:12:48.06\00:12:50.03
And I hope that you
will be one of those.
00:12:50.07\00:12:52.63
And of course, the
resurrection changed the lives
00:12:52.67\00:12:55.10
of the disciples from
despair to confidence,
00:12:55.14\00:12:58.27
from cowardice to boldness.
00:12:58.31\00:13:00.11
They were not afraid to die.
00:13:00.14\00:13:02.44
If you were going
to lie about something,
00:13:02.48\00:13:04.05
lies are only for selfishness.
00:13:04.08\00:13:05.71
Why would you lie and
get yourself crucified,
00:13:05.75\00:13:09.02
and killed, and
murdered, and tortured,
00:13:09.12\00:13:11.75
as just about all of the
disciples did except one.
00:13:11.79\00:13:15.32
Listen, you wouldn't lie
about that kind of thing.
00:13:16.42\00:13:18.86
The power of Christianity
has changed the world.
00:13:19.19\00:13:22.76
The resurrection of
Jesus has changed the world.
00:13:22.80\00:13:25.17
Because it's a reality.
00:13:25.20\00:13:26.77
It's real.
00:13:26.80\00:13:28.14
Many people are still
seeing visions of Jesus.
00:13:28.30\00:13:30.17
Many Muslims are
seeing visions of Jesus,
00:13:30.21\00:13:31.97
just like the apostle Paul said.
00:13:32.01\00:13:34.08
It's changed our modern world.
00:13:34.74\00:13:36.58
It's made possible the rise
of the United States of America.
00:13:37.15\00:13:41.52
Today it's still changing
countless lives of people.
00:13:41.78\00:13:45.85
Listen, if you
want your life changed,
00:13:46.42\00:13:48.62
put your faith in
this resurrected Jesus.
00:13:49.22\00:13:53.29
A Jesus who is
filled with power.
00:13:53.70\00:13:55.90
A Jesus who is no myth.
00:13:56.56\00:13:58.67
The resurrection is true.
00:13:59.20\00:14:01.90
It's real.
00:14:02.20\00:14:03.54