Good morning. Welcome to the Bible Baptist. Let's stand as we begin our worship this morning singing about our risen Savior with 268 in your hymnals. He lives. I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today. I know that He is living, whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy, I see His voice of cheer. At just the time I need Him, He's always near. He lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me along my spiral way. He lives, he lives, salvation to him comes. You ask me how I know he lives. He lives within my heart. Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian. Lift up your voice and sing. ♪ Eternal hallelujah to Jesus Christ the King ♪ ♪ The hope of all who seek Him, the hope of all who fight ♪ ♪ None other is so loving, so good and kind ♪ ♪ He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today ♪ ♪ He walks with me and talks with me, I'm always there ♪ Good morning. He is risen. Amen. What a beautiful morning. We have already had a great time at our sunrise service and our breakfast. And we're so glad you're here for our worship service this morning. As we continue on with this day, let's keep in mind and be praying for all those churches that give the gospel out, that today would be really a time of harvest, of seeing those come to know the Lord as their Savior. All right, let's pray as we continue on with our service. Father, we're blessed to be able to be here this morning, especially thinking about this day and as we celebrate Easter and what it means. I'm so thankful that the majority of people sitting here in this auditorium definitely would know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. And Father, if there's someone here today that's searching for the love of Christ, may they hear it and see it this morning and also receive. Father, I pray you'd be with every part of our service. Help us to keep in mind that we are here because of you. We thank you for what you've done on the cross But now we rejoice in the resurrection of our Savior. With this we say, praise the Lord, and amen. Father, I pray you'd be with every part of this service today, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. We'll continue singing through the beeping, shall we? Let's do 265, Christ arose. We'll sing all three verses together. So in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior. Late in the morning day, Jesus my Lord. Up from the grave he rose, from the dark domain, and he lives forever in the space to reign. Hallelujah, Christ the Lord. Vainly they watch His bed, Jesus my Savior. Vainly they seek the dead, Jesus my Lord. Up from the grave he arose, met the light he tried for his foes. He arose, the victor from the dark domain, and he lives forever in his saints to reign. He arose. He arose. Alleluia, Christ arose. Death cannot keep its reign. Jesus, my Savior. I'm born. Up from the grave he arose, with the light he died for his cause. He arose, Yahweh, from the dark no way, and he lives forever, his days to reign. Great singing. You may be seated. The choir is now coming to sing a song that is new to us called an Easter Alleluia. Night had turned to day. The stone was rolled away. Yet Christ was not there. The tomb was bare. His body was taken away. Mary knelt and cried when a stranger by her side said, Mary, don't weep. I no longer sleep. My spirit will arise. Sing an Easter Alleluia. The storms went roll away. Christ Jesus, who died, was crucified, has risen this glorious day. Alleluia. Alleluia. Sing an Easter Alleluia. Alleluia, sing alleluia. Sing an Easter alleluia. The race has overcome. The victory has been won. The grave has lost its deadly sting. In Christ the risen one. Lift your voice and sing, Alleluia to the King. All glory and praise to Jesus we raise, Forever His praise we sing. Sing an Easter Alleluia. The stone's been pulled away. Christ Jesus, who died, was crucified, has risen this glorious day. Alleluia. Alleluia. Sing an Easter Alleluia. Alleluia! Sing Alleluia! Sing an Easter Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Sing an Easter Alleluia! Alleluia! Sing Alleluia! Sing an Easter Alleluia! Hallelujah, praise ye the Lord. Our scripture reading today is from 1 Corinthians 15, perhaps the greatest chapter in all the Bible on the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And we're going to be reading Paul's words here in 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 12. Please follow. Now if Christ be preached, that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching in vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God, Because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain. Ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ, the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming, then come at the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. At this time, we'll have our ushers come forward for our morning offering. Let's pray. Our dear Heavenly Father, as we think of this day of being one that the gospel is clearly seen, as we think through the past few days of history of knowing that as our Savior would go to the cross, die for our sins, realizing that now there's nothing we could do that make you love us less, There's nothing we can do to make you love us more. Because of you, there's everlasting joy. And Father, as we come this morning, even as we pray, we pray knowing that the compassion that you show to us is seen in the cross, but the power that is evident comes from the resurrection. Lord, we thank you for this day. We thank you to set time aside to truly focus on a day that changed everything. And Lord, we pray that the gospel always goes out of this place strong, not in just the voices heard from this pulpit, but in the lives that walk out these doors into the community. Father, may we be gospel billboards for your glory. And even as we continue on with this service and we take time to pray for those servants that are serving across the globe, Father, I pray for Jim Bickle as he pastors there in New York, that even this day, as they would maybe have more guests than they usually would have, that the gospel will be clear, that there'll be hearts that are tender and respond to receive Christ as their personal Savior. We also pray for the Strongs in Mexico, as this is a time where other religions might have a different emphasis of this holiday. May, as they preach the gospel, see souls come to you that will be changed forever. And Father, as we continue on and think about the offering that is given, again, the example that you give to us is that you gave your son for us. Father, help us to realize all that we possess comes from you. and that you desire for us to follow your example, to be cheerful givers, that this place might continue to be a gospel lighthouse. Lord, we pray that you would continue to bless this place, bless the offering, the gift, and the giver, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Yeah. Yeah. you Amen. Thank you, Verna. That was powerful. The choir is now coming to sing their second song. We'll be singing Power of the Cross. And I just wanted to mention that they've been doing a great job for both Good Friday and this Easter, putting in lots of hard work and time into singing all these Easter songs. And you can tell that they mean it. And I'm very thankful for their ministry. I'm very thankful for them as people and just influences in my life. So Power of the Cross. Oh, to see the dawn of the darkest day, Christ on the road to Calvary. Tried by sinful men, torn and beaten men, nailed to a cross of gold. Christ became sin for us, took the blame, borne the wrath, priesthood forgiven at the cross. Now the daylight flees, now the ground beneath wakes as its maker bows his head. and torn in two, dead or raised to life, finish the victory cry, this the power. Christ became sin for us, took the blame. For the wrath we stand forgiven. And the cross is the power of the cross. Son of God, Christ was slain for us. Oh, to see my name written in the wounds, for through your suffering I am free. Death is crushed to death. Life is mine to live. One through yourself has come. This the power of the cross. Son of God, slain for us. We stand forgiven at the cross. What a love, what a cross. We stand forgiven at the cross. I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. I love that song. It's a great song. Let's stand together as we continue our service today. Children up through fifth grade are now dismissed at this time. We'll be singing In Christ Alone, all four verses together. In Christ Alone. In Christ alone my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What heights above, what depths of peace, when fears are still, when strivings cease? My Comforter, point of it all, here in the love of Christ I stand. In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless faith, this gift of love and righteousness, sworn by the ones he came to save. Till on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. For every sin on Him was laid, Here in the death of Christ I lived. There in the ground His body laid, Light of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting forth in glorious day, Out from the grave he rose again. And as he stands in victory, Since Christ hath lost his strength for thee, For I am his and he is mine, Bound with the precious love of Christ. No guilt in life, fear in death, This is the power of Christ in me. For Christ is right, final breath, Jesus commends my destiny. Great singing this morning. You may be seated. We're now going to sing a song titled Redeemer. Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning? Who taught the ocean you can only come this far? Where to? To the moon. Where to hide till evening? Whose words alone can catch a falling star? I know my Redeemer lives. I know my Redeemer lives. All of creation testifies, this life within me cries. I know my Redeemer lives. This very same God who spins things in orbit grinds to the weary, the born, and the weak. In the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken, they conquer death to bring me victory. I know my Redeemer lives. I know my Redeemer lives. All of creation testifies. His life within me cries out. My Redeemer lives to take away my shame. And He lives forever I'll proclaim. And the payment for my sin was the precious life he gave. Now he's alive and there's an empty grave. Yes, I love my Redeemer. I know my Redeemer lives. All of creation testifies. This life within me cries. I know my Redeemer. I know my Redeemer. ♪ My Redeemer lives ♪ ♪ Yes, I know He lives ♪ ♪ Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Amen. Thank you for that this morning. Matthew 28 in your Bible this morning. We're glad you've come to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ every Sunday. We're celebrating that. But in our calendars, this particular day is a special day that we set aside across the world to acknowledge specifically the resurrection of Jesus. You know that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single most significant event in the history of civilization. It is the pivotal day. The day that we're celebrating today, it is the pivotal day in the history of humanity. It's foundational to everything that you and I believe as Christians. It's so foundational that no one can become a Christian without believing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul argues in that great resurrection chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, a portion of which Jason read to us this morning, he argues that if Christ be not risen, then our preaching is vain and our faith is also vain. He goes on to write that anyone who teaches the resurrection then would be a false witness. He says that we are still dead in our sins and that of all people on the earth, Christians are the most to be pitied because they are really in a miserable state, believing something that just simply isn't true. And that is true. If Christ did not rise from the dead, all of those things would be true. But then he writes triumphantly, but now is Christ risen from the dead? and become the first fruits of them that slept. And what a joy that is to all of us who know Jesus Christ as our Savior. We can live confidently, not fearing, as we sung this morning, not fearing death because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Paul and Peter and the other writers of The epistles, they give us the theology of the resurrection. You remember the gospel writers when they're writing. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, they are writing and they're telling us this is what Jesus did, this is what Jesus said. But they don't give us much explanation of why he did or what he said. You don't find very much explanation in the Gospels. You have to go to the New Testament epistles. where they explain, they give us the theology of what Jesus was teaching and what Jesus was doing. And it's important for us to understand that. That's how part of the Bible, the New Testament, that's how it fits together. The gospel writers just tell us this is what he did, this is what he said. They introduce us to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. But then it's the epistles where what he said just kind of gets fleshed out And we begin to understand more of what Jesus meant when he said what he said. On this particular Resurrection Sunday, I want us to continue on in our study through the gospel of Matthew. And we come today by the providence of God in our study now for years. We are coming now to the resurrection verses that we see in Matthew's gospel. in those first few verses of Matthew 28. And let me just mention Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, each of them record different aspects about this resurrection morning. But there are a few things that all four of them. State similarly, lots of differences, but there are a few things that they state similarly, and I just want to mention those at the beginning, number one, they tell us all of them. No one was expecting a resurrection that morning. No one was expecting resurrection that morning. They also tell us that the tomb was indeed empty that morning. All four Gospels tell us that. All four Gospels tell us that those prison guards, those tomb guards had been replaced by the angels, all of them mentioned that. And then all of them mentioned fourthly that the resurrected Christ did actually appear over and over to different people and different groups of people. And while there are many differences in the gospel accounts, those are four similarities that all of them mentioned. And it is a difficult Often it's a painstaking process to harmonize everything that the gospel writers wrote about resurrection morning. They all write different things, but you can harmonize it, taking time and looking through, as I've referenced before, harmonies of the gospels. I love those those books, but you can take those and you can begin to harmonize things. and exactly all the different events that took place that morning. And as we begin today, I want to just take a moment and share with you what I understand happened in that first resurrection morning, just harmonizing all of the accounts. Matthew's account that we're just going to read up in just a moment tells us that early on the first day, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, Matthew calls her, came to the tomb. The other Mary was the mother of James and Joseph, the wife of Cleopas. And as I mentioned this morning in our sunrise service, Cleopas was one of the two men on that road to Emmaus that resurrection day. And Cleopas was the husband of this other Mary. Obviously thinking that Jesus would be there in that tomb. They brought spices to anoint his body. Well, in addition to these two Marys that are there. And the Bible also tells us that there were two other ladies there. There was Salome, the mother of James and John, the wife of Zebedee. And then there's a lady named Joanna. And there may be more, Luke says, and the other women. So there may be more. We know from coordinating all the scripture accounts, there are at least these four women that came that morning. And. Apparently, according to John's gospel, Mary Magdalene, she she comes to the tomb, but she leaves the tomb very quickly. when she saw the stone had rolled away and before the angel actually spoke. And we think that because you remember that she ran to Peter and John and she said to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher and we know not where they have laid him. She doesn't mention anything about what the angel would have said. Well then Peter and John go running to the tomb and meanwhile the angel had manifested himself to these other women still at the tomb. And he told them that Christ had risen and he invited them into the tomb. And they go into that tomb and they see that it is indeed empty. And then the angel bids them to go and tell the disciples that Christ is risen and that he is going to meet them in Galilee. And so they go to tell them and then Peter and John come to the tomb followed by Mary Magdalene And then Peter and John go in and they see that empty tomb and the burial close. And actually, John's gospel says that John believed. He was the first one that we have a gospel account that says he believed in that resurrection day. Well, then Mary Magdalene, she follows Peter and John back to the temple, back to the tomb after she had told them. But she's standing outside, weeping in the garden there by the tomb. And the Lord Jesus appears to her. And when he calls her name, she realizes that it's him. And she shouts, Rabboni, teacher, master. When she told the other apostles about her encounter with the resurrected Christ, The Bible says they did not believe her. And while this is going on, the other ladies headed out also to tell the disciples, and while they're on their way to tell the disciples, they meet Jesus. And so Jesus first showed himself, as I understand it, to Mary Magdalene on that resurrection morning, and then he showed himself to these other women that day. And imagine what it would have been like. For you to encounter the resurrected Christ, they did not expect to find that all the gospels tell us that. But they come and the resurrected Christ appears to them. Now, with that kind of background, I think that's a harmony of the different accounts that the gospel writers give us. With that in mind, I want us to look specifically at what Matthew says in Matthew 28. And this morning, I want to take a little different approach. As we look at Matthew 28, the first 10 verses, I want us to think about the emotions of resurrection morning, reading through this passage this past week, I kept seeing these emotions that just kind of jump out that these ladies were experiencing. So I'm going to attempt. to have us look at the emotions of these women. I know that's a big subject, but I'm just going to attempt to describe five emotions that I think just kind of jump out here in our passage. The emotions of resurrection morning. See if you can find some of these as we read the passage. Matthew 28, beginning in verse one. The Bible says in the end of the Sabbath, As it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning. And his rain went white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers, the guards did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear ye not, fear not ye, for I know that you seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay and go quickly. and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. And behold, he goeth before you into Galilee. There you will see him. Lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet and worshipped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid. Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee and there they shall see me. These five emotions I want us to consider this resurrection morning, and let's pray and ask the Lord to guide us here. God, we do ask that you'll help us today. We firmly believe that you indeed rose from the dead. We thank you that we can sing about that victoriously this morning. Thank you that we can read about it and be instructed by your spirit through your word and how it touches our hearts when we think of what this day means to all of us. And so we ask, dear Lord, that as we look at this passage today, that your spirit would help us. Would you open our eyes as you did those men on the road to Emmaus? Would you cause us to behold wondrous things out of thy law today? So teach us, we pray. In Jesus name, amen. The first emotion that I think comes quickly to us that we see in these women is the emotion of grief. It's the emotion of grief. Based on what we considered last Sunday, I think that we would all agree that these women are indeed grieving. Verse one gives us two references to timing. It tells us it was the end of the Sabbath. That's one idea of timing. And then it tells us it began to dawn toward the first day of the week. That's a second reference to timing. What do those mean? Well, the Sabbath ended at 6 p.m. on Saturday. And let me remind us that was the last divinely ordained Sabbath for God's people. It was the Sabbath before Jesus rose from the dead. When he rose from the dead. He ushered in a whole new way. But it was still dark when the women arrived. John 20 tells us that. It was still dark. It was beginning to dawn on the first day of the Sabbath. So it was also the first day of the week. The Jews, you may know, they did not name the days of the week like we do. Monday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, they did not name the names of the week like you and I do. Instead, the weekdays were marked in relationship to the Sabbath. It was the first day or the second day or the third day or the fourth day after the Sabbath. That's how they marked the days of the week. So after what these ladies had witnessed on Friday, they're grieving when they come to the tomb. John 20, verse 11, tells us Mary is weeping. So imagine this, they're headed to the tomb that morning, early in the morning, it's still dark out. Sabbath restrictions are lifted as of 6 p.m., so they're going to that tomb as soon as those restrictions are lifted and as soon as they are able to do so. So it's early in the morning. And they're making their way to that garden tomb. And what do you suppose that they're talking about? Mark tells us what they're talking about. They are not talking about the resurrection. Remember, all of the gospels tell us no one is expecting that. What they're actually talking about is that massive stone. They're on their way to that tomb. And Mark says, Mark 16, three, and they said among themselves, who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher? And you can imagine that these are these ladies in deep grief and they're going to the tomb with their spices. And what's on their mind is how are we going to get in that tomb? There's a major barrier between us and the body of our dear Jesus. How are we going to get in there? Who in the world is going to roll that stone away for us? That is what they're thinking. None of them is thinking about resurrection. And so they're coming in their grief, Matthew simply says, to see the sepulcher. Luke 24. And verse one tells us that they had spices with them. Now, the fact that they had spices with them tells us automatically that they were not expecting Jesus to have risen. They were expecting him to be there. That's why they brought their spices. Remember last week we talked about Nicodemus, 75 pounds and the way we measure pounds, 75 pounds of spices that Nicodemus brought as He helped to prepare the body with Joseph of Arimathea, and they put all those spices in that linen cloth that they wrap the body of Jesus in. And here's these ladies. They're coming three days later. They're coming on Sunday morning, but they're bringing spices to anoint the body. So they were not in any way expecting Jesus to not be there. They were fully expecting him to be there, which, of course, is why they're trying to figure out how in the world we get that stone away. So we can anoint this dear body, the body of one that they dearly love, that they had followed and they saw crucified. So they're in grief, no doubt. When they come in and the depth of their devotion, I think is why they're grieving. It wasn't just another person to them. This was the one that they had loved, the one that they had been following in Galilee, the one that they had stood at a distance and watched that death that day, that gruesome crucifixion. Perhaps they were there. We don't know, but perhaps they were there when Nicodemus and Joseph were preparing that body with all of those spices. This was someone they loved. They're grieving, but in addition to their grief, we see another emotion. In verses two through seven, and that is the emotion of fear. These women, grieving women are now fearful. They're struck with fear. No sooner had they arrived at that tomb than they found the stone had been moved away by this great earthquake. This was the second, remember, supernatural earthquake in just a few days. There was one on the day of the crucifixion. And now just a few days later, there's another supernatural event there, this earthquake. And verse two tells us the angel had descended from heaven. He rolled back that stone and he's sitting on the stone. And from John's gospel, as I mentioned earlier, it seems like Mary Magdalene Once she saw the stone had been removed, she took off running to Peter and John to tell them that someone had taken Jesus' body out of the tomb and no one knows where they took him. And of course, she thought she was delivering terrible news to Peter and John because it did not occur to her that Jesus had risen, just as he said. So you can imagine she's in her grief. She's running and she's telling these men she thinks horrible news. As you can imagine, she's running. She's going to these disciples and she tells them, listen, they've taken the body of Jesus and we have no idea where they put him. In her mind, that's terrible news. Because she does not understand that he's risen. And then in verse four, the prison guards are terrified with what they are seeing. And they become, the Bible says, as dead men. Meaning they become unconscious, they fainted, they've been traumatized by what they saw. And you can imagine if you're charged with standing guard of that tomb. And all of a sudden on your watch, there's this earthquake and all of a sudden you see this angel and the brightness that's described in verse three is countenance was like lightning and his raiment white as snow. You're not going to forget that. You're stunned by what you're seeing. So traumatized that the Bible says they became as dead men. This was a sobering thing for them. They're charged to guard that tomb. And a disappearance of their charge could very easily mean certain death for them. They're aware of that. And they are fearful. And these women are also fearful. Verse five, though they had no reason to fear, they're fearful. And so the angel, as you see there in verse five, comforts them, telling them, fear not. Don't be afraid. I know you seek Jesus, which is crucified. And then in verse six, again, the women were not expecting the resurrection and the angel tells them he is not here for he is risen. As he said, come see the place where the Lord lay. And Luke 24, verse eight tells us. Then they remembered his words. They get to this point and the angel tells them that he's risen just like he told you. And Luke says, and then it dawned on him, that's right. That's what he told us. They remembered. His words. And then. We get down to. John. 20. And in John 20. They remember his words, he says, come see, and then Matthew Mark 6 tells us that the angel joined them in the tomb, told them he had risen indeed, perhaps repeating the same words that they had heard before. And then in John 20 and verse 12. There's another angel that joined them in the tomb. Giving them still another reminder here, And they said to them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spoke unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The son of man shall be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again. So here for maybe the third time. They're told of his resurrection. And then verse 7 tells us the angel tells them to go quickly and tell the disciples the good news that Jesus had risen and the disciples are still hiding in Jerusalem. And the women are also going to inform the disciples that he's going to meet them in Galilee. And they remember before his crucifixion, Jesus had told them, Matthew, Matthew 26. Verse 32, just as clear as day, he told them. Now, when I rise from the dead, I'm going to meet you in Galilee. I think sometimes people look at this passage and they think, why did Jesus appear to these women first? Why would he have appeared to them before he did appear to the disciples? You would think this group of disciples that had left all and followed him so intimately for so long, it would seem like he would have appeared to them first. And commentaries offer many different possibilities. The scriptures give us no reason why. So you get lots of different explanations in the commentaries, but it seems likely to me that the women were told first because they were the ones that were there. They were the ones there. They were the ones at that tomb. They were the ones who Jesus met that day as he rose from the dead. And I do think there's something for us in that thought. I have observed that those to whom Jesus so significantly manifests himself to are the people who are there. It's the people that he is closest to. It's the ones who are serving him. It's the people as like you folks, when the church gathers and the people are there and they're there for worship and they're there for prayer, when the word is taught, they're there to hear it. They're there to see what is happening. These are the ones who are serving Christ with their gifts. These are the ones who are devoted to Christ. These are they're the ones who are there. And these are the people to whom God most significantly reveals himself to. And this is exactly what the Apostle John says in John 14 in verse 21. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. It's the people who have a desire to follow the Lord. It's the people who are seeking to obey God in their lives. It's the people who are there when when the church is operating. They want to be there. They want to gather with the Lord's people. They want to learn something more of the Lord. They want to be encouraged in their walk with the Lord. Those are the people. That Jesus manifests himself to, it's not the casual person. It's not the one that just hangs off in the distance, not very involved in their lives spiritually. Very rarely do they open their Bible. Very rarely do they find themselves in church where they can learn and grow. They're just very, very distant from God as a general rule. Those people. God rarely shows himself to. But it's the people who are seeking the people who are desiring to learn and to grow. Those are the people that God manifests himself to. And so these people here are these women. They're not only in grief, but they're also fearful so much so that the angel says to them, don't be afraid. And Jesus is going to tell him the same thing later. Don't be afraid. But then there's also another emotion that we see in the verse 8. The angel had comforted these ladies, though they still likely had some remnant of fear. And in addition to the lingering fear, they also had this, the Bible says, great joy at learning the good news of Jesus resurrection. Verse 8 says, And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy, and they did run to bring the disciples word. I think we especially see that joy in Mary Magdalene. And you remember that Mary, she had left that tomb right away to tell Peter and John, and then she follows them back. They're in the tomb now and Mary's in the garden. Still weeping. And she turns and she sees a man in the garden. And when she sees this man. And there. She approaches him. She's not no, she doesn't know who she, he, who he is. She just wants answers. And so she approaches Jesus. And matter of fact, can you just look over there for just a moment? Can you just look in John 20 for just a moment here? I want you to see this. John 20, verse 14. The Bible says, John 20, 14, and when she had said thus, thus said she turned herself back. and saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saying that to her, woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? And she, supposing him to be the gardener, saith to him, Sir, if you have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him away. You can see the grief there. You can see the anguish, anguish here with with Mary, I think. If you just if you did something with him, just tell me, I'll be glad to take him. And Jesus saith unto her, Mary. And she had heard that word before. And she turned herself and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Teacher, Master. And all of a sudden things changed for her. She recognized that call. And she sees Jesus. She now she knows that it's him. And you can see just great joy even in her expression. Rabboni, and Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascended to my father and your father and to my God and your God. So you can imagine here, I think you see just the joy in Mary's expression here. And then when she told the other disciples about her encounter again, Mark 16 says they didn't they did not believe her. And their disbelief when she tells them this really reveals two things about them. Number one, it reveals very clearly they were not expecting a resurrection. That's what all of the gospel writers say. Nobody was expecting a resurrection. And that reveals us there, that to them. And then secondly, they obviously had no intention of stealing Jesus' body, though they were accused of that later. They had no intention of stealing his body to propagate this counterfeit resurrection. That wasn't on their minds at all. And we'll see that next week. But for Mary and these other ladies, I believe that they go now with great joy. So you've got grief, you've got fear, you've got joy. And then a fourth emotion you see in verse nine, I believe, is the emotion of worship. And you see that. Immediately when Jesus meets them and they connect all of this together, They fall at his feet and worship. These women are on their way to report to the disciples as the angel had told them to, and they meet Jesus in the way. And Jesus gave them a normal, ordinary hello. All hail that expression there. It's a normal, ordinary hello. Good morning. Just like what we would just a normal expression. But immediately they recognized him as their Lord and the women, the Bible says, there came and held him by the feet. They now knew with certainty that he was their risen Messiah and their their natural response to that. It's the natural response of anyone who meets Jesus, they worshipped him. They worshipped him. At last, they were gripped by the full reality that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. They had heard the angels proclamation. They had seen the empty tomb, but now they're actually looking right at him with their own eyes. And it's dawning on them now. Yes, he did rise from the dead. They had seen that gruesome death. They knew he was in that tomb and now their eyes are laid right on him. And they're remembering those words, yes, and he has risen from the dead. And so their natural response is that that really is the only proper response for any man, woman, boy or girl who meets Jesus when we're confronted with Jesus and who he is and what he did. That's our natural response, Paul says. Paul says that it is it will be the universal response of every human being. All humanity, Paul says, you know, this in Philippians 2, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And that's all going to take place, as Paul goes on to say. to the glory of God the Father. So this is what we have taking place here. Jesus is God's answer. We all understand that? Jesus is God's answer to the whole world. And we have to understand that if you're here today and you're not certain about that, you hear things about religion, you know a little something about Jesus, but you're really not sure how all of that fits together. You see this Bible and it looks like such a big book and it looks like it's got little tiny writing. And in your mind, you could never imagine understanding everything that's in that book. Can I just tell you very quickly the whole story of the Bible? The story of the Bible is told in four questions. And the first one is this, and I think it's the question of every man. Where did it all begin? I just kind of dropped in the world in 2020, whatever. 2019 or whatever, I just kind of dropped into the world. And but where did it all begin? That's a natural question of mankind. Where did I come from? Where did it all begin? And the Bible tells us it all began with God. God, the first four words of our Bible in the beginning, God. So God began everything. God is eternal. He speaks the worlds into existence and everything that he spoke into existence. He looked at it and he said, that is good. And then you get to that sixth day of creation and on that sixth day of creation, God made man. And God said before he did, he said, let's make man in our own image. No one enjoys that distinction other than human beings. And God made man in his own image. And God said of that man, this is very good. Everything that God made, God made perfect. He saw that man was lonely and he brought a wife to that man. You know that story. Put Adam to sleep, took of his rib and he made of that rib a woman. And he brought that woman to to that man and he said to them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. That's how it all began. And it all began perfectly. A perfect man, a perfect woman, a perfect garden they lived in and perfect fellowship. That's how it all began. A second question immediately comes to mind and says, okay, you may say, well, what in the world happened? Because it's not perfect now. So something had to have happened. OK, what happened? Well, the Bible tells us that, too, in the third chapter of the opening book. It tells us what happened. What happened then was sin took place. The serpent came in chapter three and God had told his children there, you can take of whatever in this garden you want, but not this tree right here. And that's the very tree the serpent tempted them, Satan did, and they took of that tree, they ate of that fruit and it plunged the whole world into sin, the entire world. And ever since then, we've had to deal with sin. And that's why that's why you sometimes argue with your spouse. That's why your children don't always obey. That's why siblings fight with one another. That's why nations go to war. And we could go on and on. Everywhere we look, we see the results of that. Sin is everywhere. But then you may ask a third question, you may say, OK, if God made it and he made it all perfectly and the devil messed it all up profoundly. Then what in the world is going to make it all right again? The Bible answers that, too. And we've discussed part of that answer this morning, God's answer to the need of the world is only one. It's his son, Jesus. And you are sinners, I am a sinner, but God put his own perfect son Jesus Christ walked on the face of the earth and he never sinned a single time, never. He lived perfectly and God put his perfect son on the cross. And as we've looked at it, just a indignity the way he died for no sins of his own, but for yours and for mine. And God raised his son from the dead. As Romans 1 says, declaring him to be the son of God, he raised him from the dead. And because of that, all of us who look to what Jesus did for us on the cross can have eternal life. You say, well, how does that happen? Here's the way it happens very quickly. The Bible tells us. The wages of sin is death, what you and I get because we're sinners is death. That's why we die. Over and over, you see this in humanity. People are dying today and we'll read about it. We die. But we also die not only physically, we die spiritually. The Bible calls it the second death. That's the bad one. That's the awful one. That's the one that sends us to a place forever separated from God, an awful place. called hell, and God never intended that anyone should go into hell. Did you know that? Actually, hell was created for the devil and his angels, not for human beings. But it is the dwelling place, the eternal dwelling place of everyone who does not believe, everyone who does not come to faith in Jesus Christ. They spend eternity separated from God. But the Bible tells us God doesn't want anybody to spend eternity there. He is not willing that any perish, but that all come to repentance. So I'm a sinner and the wages of sin is death. And God put his own son on the cross and he died the death that I deserve to die. He died that death. And when he died that death, all of my sins, God put on him. God has wrath only against sin and always against sin. And God poured out his wrath on my son, on our savior, the Lord Jesus, all my sin on him. That's why the death of Jesus is so significant. That's why God, the father, would say to he would say to the father, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Because the wrath of the sin, the sin of the whole world is laid on Jesus and God's wrath is being poured out on all that sin. It's awful. And then God raised his son from the dead. And when he raised him from the dead, declaring him to be the son of God, here's what happened. Jesus died. All of my sins were on him. But when I believe. When I believe that I'm a sinner and I believe God's answer, Jesus, I believe that Jesus is God's answer. And I ask Jesus to save me from my sins. Here's what happens. God gives to me the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That is amazing because I don't have any righteousness and you don't either. We are all sinners. And God demands perfection. That's his only standard. You've got to be perfect. And that's what makes it so fearful for humankind, because none of us is perfect. God's God alone is perfect. But that's his demand, and that's why it's such a wonderful blessing to us that I can be made perfect through Jesus Christ. I can have all of my sins covered by the perfect righteousness of Christ. And listen, everybody needs that. You need that. Every one of us one day is going to stand before God and you're either going to stand before God covered in the righteousness of Christ or you're going to stand before God with all of your sins exposed, with all of you uncovered before God. That is a terrifying thing. So you want to be able to be covered in the righteousness of Christ. And how does that happen? You simply tell God, I believe you. I believe that I'm a sinner and I believe that you are the savior and I am asking you to save me from my sins. So where did it all begin? It all began with God. He made it all perfect. Well, what went wrong? The devil. The devil came in, tempted our first parents, plunged the whole world into sin. And that's why we still see the effects of it today. Well, what's going to make it all right? Only Jesus. That's God's answer. And fourthly, well, how can I be right? How can I personally be made right? It's through my faith. It's through my faith in God's answer. I just tell God, I believe you. I believe your answer is Jesus Christ. And I want Jesus to save me from my sin. I know many of us in this room, you're reflecting back to the day that you did that. If you're here today and you have never done that, I would appeal to you. What a great day for you on Resurrection Sunday for you to be able to to place your faith in Jesus and have new life on this day. And I would encourage you. I would plead with you. I would beg you. Don't stand before God in your sins. You will not win. You will spend eternity forever separated from God in an awful place called hell. And God does not want you to do that. That's why he loved you so much he would send his own son. To die for your sins, don't stand in your sins before God one day. Make sure you're covered in the righteousness of Christ. And you do that simply by telling God, I believe. I believe that Jesus is your answer and he is. I want him to be my savior. And you just ask him to forgive you for your sins. You could do it today. And it'll make you worship. Just like these angels did, these women did, they're going to worship here. And then the final emotion you see in verse 10. And I'll just mention that. Then said Jesus unto them, be not afraid. Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee and there they shall see me. And that emotion is hope. There's hope in that in that verse. Jesus repeated the angel's message, telling them not to be afraid, but but tell my disciples, go to Galilee. Jesus did most of his ministry there. Go to Galilee. I'm going to see you there. You love that even as weak as the faith of these disciples was at this time, the Lord still graciously is speaking to them as he says, tell my brothers. I love that. And you can imagine the great hope that they have, the confident expectation. Now, these ladies, they have seen Jesus and they're going to tell the Aaron that Jesus sends them on to tell those disciples. And then they're all going to convene together in Galilee. And what a certainty there, what an assurance. And the Bible records that over the next 40 days, Jesus will appear 10 different times. He makes appearances to people following that resurrection day, five of them on this day, on Resurrection Sunday. And then over the next days, he'll appear to so many. And so we end today with hope. The resurrection, as I mentioned in the sunrise service, it is the linchpin of our Christian faith. It is the foundation. It undergirds all of the great truths that we love and hold dear. The resurrection gives us evidence that the word of God is completely true, that it is reliable. Jesus said That he was going to rise from the dead and he rose from the dead exactly the way he said he was going to. It tells us. Again, the Bible is true, the resurrection confirms to us that Jesus is indeed the son of God, he is the Messiah, he is the one who he claimed to be. The resurrection proves that our salvation is sure, that our salvation is settled. Jesus conquered the great enemy of the soul, sin and death and hell, and he rose victoriously from that tomb. The resurrection assures us that judgment is coming. The Bible tells us that the father has committed all judgment to the son. He is the judge of all the earth, and that is coming one day. And finally, the resurrection assures us that heaven is waiting. The resurrected Christ is preparing a place, just like he said, I go and prepare a place for you. And when I go, I will come again. And all of this is what gives us great hope. I hope today That you are living with that kind of hope. I hope that in your own heart you can reflect on and say, you know, I do believe. For me, I was a nine year old boy. You're at church. You've heard my testimony many, many times. My twin brother and I at home in our bed. We shared a room. We grew up at the church. Essentially, our parents were constantly involved in church. We were always there. We were always hearing. being taught the Bible. And one night that night, my brother Don and I were just laying in bed and we were talking about what was going to happen to us when we died. And so we called out to dad. From our room, we just hollered out to dad and we asked dad to come into our bedroom and dad came in and we told him that we wanted to be saved. And dad took his Bible and he sat down on the edge of our bed. and he led my brother and I to Christ that day.