Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:24] Speaker B: Hello, I'm Josh.
[00:00:25] Speaker A: And I'm Gabriel.
[00:00:26] Speaker B: And today on reading the Gospel, we are starting the 8th session section of the Gospels. This is the resurrection to ascension. Today, the event we're studying is the resurrection of Jesus. This is found in all four gospels. You can find it in the Book of Matthew, chapter 28, verse 1 through 15, in Mark, chapter 16, verses 1 through 11, in Luke 24, verses 1 through 12, and in John 20, verses 1 through 18.
Follow along with us in the Book of Matthew, chapter 28, beginning in verse one.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: As we read after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
And behold, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow.
And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men.
But the angel said to the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek. Jesus was crucified.
He is not here, for he has risen. As he said, come see the place where he lay.
Then go quickly to tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. And behold, he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. See, I have told you.
[00:02:08] Speaker B: So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them and. And said greetings.
And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.
While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they. They gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.
So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.
Apart from the cross, this is probably one of the second most beautiful events in the Bible.
The resurrection. That Jesus, who died for our sins, died the second death. The grave was not able to hold him, and God came down and raised him up again.
And, you know, last event, we talked about the soldiers being guarded and they were told to do whatever they can to secure the tomb. And whatever humans can do, they can't hold back God. And so this the angel rolls away the stone and sits on it.
I wonder what the sitting on it kind of felt like if the guards were looking at the angel sitting there and just terrified of it.
[00:03:57] Speaker A: I like to connect the resurrection with the last episode when the priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate and asked him to order to secure the tomb until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people he has risen from the dead and the last fraud will be worse than the first.
They knew the impact of resurrection.
They knew that that is going to be the pillar of Christianity.
And this is what we have in First Corinthians, chapter 15, when the apostle Paul said the central pillar of our belief system is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, because if he didn't resurrect, nobody will ever resurrect.
[00:04:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
Mary comes, two Marys come to the tomb.
And I don't know where they're at in this process.
Obviously they don't see Jesus being raised and coming out of the tomb. I wonder if they felt the earthquake on the way or if they felt the earthquake and that hurried them along.
But we know they were coming to anoint Jesus.
[00:05:16] Speaker A: Or maybe that earthquake has woken them up that early in the morning.
[00:05:20] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. And so as they get to the tomb, the angel is sitting there, clothed, white as snow.
And it tells the women, don't be afraid.
[00:05:35] Speaker A: The guards, those well built, strong, tested by wars, Roman soldier, were afraid.
They felt like dead.
And the women were not afraid.
How come that the same event will impact some in a completely different, even not the opposite way than others?
[00:06:00] Speaker B: Well, and we see this at the second coming of Jesus.
Those who are saved look at the glory of his appearing. And this is our God in whom we've hoped for.
They're filled with joy.
Whereas the brightness of God's appearing on those who rejected God is so bright that they call for the rocks to fall on them, to kill them. They can't stand it. It's what? When God shines on this earth, when he works, our hearts are going to do one of two things. They're either going to melt or they're going to harden.
[00:06:38] Speaker A: Exactly. I was thinking exactly about this example. When the rays of sun can harden a clump of clay and can melt.
[00:06:52] Speaker B: A block of ice.
[00:06:53] Speaker A: A block of ice or I was thinking about butter.
[00:06:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:58] Speaker A: And it's the same sunlight, but the reaction is based on the nature of the matter.
In the same way, what is in the heart decide how we react how we're going to be impacted by the presence of God in this situation. The presence of the angel.
[00:07:20] Speaker B: And we see this again. The plagues of Egypt are likened to the plagues at the end times before Jesus comes.
And as they fell on Egypt, there were some Egyptians who drew closer to God and they left. It's the multitude that leaves Egypt with the children of Israel. But then Pharaoh and many others, as they see this, they harden their heart.
[00:07:49] Speaker A: Also, I like to emphasize the words of the angel who in verse five, the angel said, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
But the resurrection changes everything, turns the reality upside down.
And the angel technically said to the women, do not seek for Jesus was crucified, seek for Jesus was resurrected.
And that suggests some steps in our spiritual journey.
For a while, we go to the cross, we unload our. Our burdens of sin and guilt, but we should not stay on the cross. We should follow Jesus Christ because he was resurrected. And as we'll see later, he has ascended to heaven. And we have to follow Jesus Christ in whatever he does now in the heavenly sanctuary, interceding for us and for the dying world.
[00:08:56] Speaker B: Yeah, we talked about the, the soldiers.
About a decade ago, the, the term fake news kind of became a big thing. And, and I think it's not a new thing because we see it here. This event takes place, and there are two sides to this story.
One side is the disciples came and stole Jesus. The other side is Jesus rose from the grave.
And who do we believe?
You know, it comes down to what evidence do we have to believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Why are the disciples right and the Pharisees wrong?
And for me, my answer to that question is the fruit of God. In my life, that seeing what God has done in my life, seeing his answer in the Bible, seeing the fact that I'm able to change and he's changed me, shows that God is true, God is real. And it gives evidence for me for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so I know from 100% that Jesus rose from the dead.
And it gives me that security.
But we all need to go through that ourselves because people can tell us exactly Jesus rose from the dead.
But half the world believes that Jesus died and is still dead. Well, not half the world. One side of the world believes Jesus died and is still dead. The other side believes that he rose again.
How do we move from one side to the other?
[00:10:40] Speaker A: And also, I'm looking. I'm going to come back to your question.
But also I'm looking to the end of this story.
The priests and the Pharisees, they received what they were afraid of, right? It was like a self fulfilling prophecy.
Their fears became the reality and they found a solution. It seems that they had that in their mind.
That is the way of dealing with truth, but by bribing people.
And the story ends in verse 15. So they took the money, that is the guards, and did as they were directed by the priests.
And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day in mass manipulation.
Part of psychology, this is called planting false memories.
The Jews, especially the priests and the Pharisees, were able to plant false memories.
And they said, that is the truth and you can trademark that belief.
How do we know what is true and what is not?
The idea is that you have to do research for yourself.
Don't stick to just one source of information.
Sometimes we are delighted to read or to watch the news that we already believe, or we are inclined to believe.
So we have to listen to everyone.
But the most important is watch your heart.
If you are in a right relationship with God, sooner or later the Lord will reveal his will to you. Yeah, even if you live in a light today, when the light of truth comes, if that disposition to seek for light, to embrace it and to incorporate it in your life, to live in sync with that light, that desire will overcome and you will discover, maybe not everyone will discover all the lights in the word of God by the second coming of Christ. And this is why I'll continue to grow and study and learn in the kingdom of heaven.
But if that disposition exists, that means we will build on that inclination, that disposition, even after resurrection.
[00:13:26] Speaker B: So we have this hope, this wonderful hope that because Jesus rose again, we don't have to face a second death.
That one day Jesus will come again and the grave will open and we can go and be with Jesus.
[00:13:43] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:13:44] Speaker B: Be with him throughout eternity. And, you know, it's something I look forward to. I can't wait to, to see God and to spend time with God. And I hope that's, that's the desire of each person listening here.
And it's okay if you're not there, but my recommendation would be to, to know God, just to get to know him more and start on that journey and see the joys, see what God can do in your life.
Allow these, these experiences to become real for you. You know, it might be easy to think, oh, Jesus didn't exist or he didn't raise from the dead, but when we start getting to know God.
He changes us and he becomes life and helps us. Let's pray.
Father God, I thank you so much that you have given us that hope of eternal life.
That we have evidence in our lives. We've got evidence from the Bible through prophecy, Fulf prophecy.
And that Jesus is not in the tomb, but he's risen again.
And I pray that you will dwell within us. That your spirit will guide us each and every day. That we can be more like Jesus. And when he comes again, we will see him face to face.
Please help us to grow closer to you each and every day. In Jesus name. Amen.
[00:15:08] Speaker A: Amen.
Sa.
