Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / _. . And Then, What Happened Msg 1921

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_. . And Then, What Happened Msg 1921 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: When you sing or say the word hallelujah, you are
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  Speaker 1: speaking Hebrew, whether you realize it or not. Hallel is
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  Speaker 1: the word for praise. Yah is a shortened version of
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  Speaker 1: Jehovah or Yahweh. The Lord prays the Lord. And when
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  Speaker 1: that word appears in your Bible, it is designed for
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  Speaker 1: you to pause and do that very thing you are saying.
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  Speaker 1: You will come across sometime a musical notation, especially in
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  Speaker 1: the Psalms. Selah, S-E-L-A-H. It's a notation that means pause. Pause.
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  Speaker 1: And it was written for musicians who would play the
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  Speaker 1: piece for all the songs, all the psalms were original songs,
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  Speaker 1: and that would give them the notation to pause there.
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  Speaker 1: One of my mentors used to say, when you come
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  Speaker 1: across a silah, pause and let that sink in, is
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  Speaker 1: a good way to think of it. Whether it's hallelujah
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  Speaker 1: or silah, it's good that we pause on occasion sometimes
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  Speaker 1: And think about what we just read from God's Word.
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  Speaker 1: Having journeyed these 84 times now through the book of Matthew,
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  Speaker 1: I've really come to fall in love with Jesus all
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  Speaker 1: over again. I've come to appreciate new dimensions of his
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  Speaker 1: life I've come to admire his responses which are always
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  Speaker 1: so filled with restraint for he being God could have
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  Speaker 1: at any moment simply wiped out those who stood against
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  Speaker 1: him or spoke against him. But he didn't. Always treating
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  Speaker 1: them with courtesy and and kindness and mercy. We learn
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  Speaker 1: so much from that. But today, for the first time,
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  Speaker 1: we read of him after he has died. His body
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  Speaker 1: is limp and lifeless. And you wonder what there could
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  Speaker 1: be from God's word that could instruct us around the
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  Speaker 1: dead remains of Jesus. Oh, he will be raised, and
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  Speaker 1: we all want to race to that resurrection morning. I,
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  Speaker 1: more than anyone. But we won't do that today. We'll
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  Speaker 1: linger at death's scene. We'll watch as he's being embalmed
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  Speaker 1: as they did in those days. And as he's placed
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  Speaker 1: in a tomb, the tomb is sealed with a stone.
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  Speaker 1: And those who loved him walked away, many thinking they
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  Speaker 1: would never see him again. Matthew captures the scene in
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  Speaker 1: the last verses of chapter 27. Beginning at verse 50,
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  Speaker 1: where Jesus breathes his last, by the way, all four
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  Speaker 1: of the gospel writers clearly declare he died. For if
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  Speaker 1: you haven't a death, you have no resurrection from the dead.
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  Speaker 1: Many a skeptic denies that he even died, but that
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  Speaker 1: he feigned death. Or he swooned into an unconscious state
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  Speaker 1: and then revived. But he died. And then we will
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  Speaker 1: see what follows in these verses. We'll be looking at
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  Speaker 1: verses 50 through 66. I'll be reading from the New
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  Speaker 1: Living Translation. As you find your place to Matthew 27, 50.
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  Speaker 1: Stand with me, please, for the reading of the scriptures.
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  Speaker 1: Then Jesus shouted again and he released his spirit. At
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  Speaker 1: that moment, the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple
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  Speaker 1: was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook.
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  Speaker 1: Rocks split apart and tombs opened. The bodies of many
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  Speaker 1: godly men and women who had died were raised from
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  Speaker 1: the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus' resurrection, went
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  Speaker 1: into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.
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  Speaker 1: The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion
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  Speaker 1: were terrified by the earthquake. And all that had happened,
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  Speaker 1: they said, this man truly was the Son of God.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 57. As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea,
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  Speaker 1: who had become a follower of Jesus, went to Pilate,
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  Speaker 1: and asked for Jesus' body. And Pilate issued an order
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  Speaker 1: to release it to him. Joseph took the body and
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  Speaker 1: wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth.
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  Speaker 1: He placed it in his own new tomb, which had
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  Speaker 1: been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a
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  Speaker 1: great stone across the entrance and left. Both Mary Magdalene
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  Speaker 1: and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb
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  Speaker 1: and watching. The next day on the Sabbath, the leading
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  Speaker 1: priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, Sir,
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  Speaker 1: we remember what that deceiver once said while he was
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  Speaker 1: still alive. After three days, I will rise from the dead.
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  Speaker 1: So we request that you seal the tomb until the
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  Speaker 1: third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and
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  Speaker 1: stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised
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  Speaker 1: from the dead. Why, if that happens... We'll be worse
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  Speaker 1: off than we were at first. Pilate replied, take guards
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  Speaker 1: and secure it the best you can. So they sealed
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  Speaker 1: the tomb and posted guards to protect it. You may
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  Speaker 1: be seated. Bow with me, please. We realize, our Father,
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  Speaker 1: that any place we open your word, there are treasures
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  Speaker 1: to be discovered. Significant treasures that relate to our lives.
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  Speaker 1: Truth to be seen regarding the events when they occurred
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  Speaker 1: and what they meant to those people. and how they
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  Speaker 1: relate to us. From the first century to the 21st,
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  Speaker 1: these words continue to be relevant and they ring with
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  Speaker 1: hope and reassurance. May we grasp what you have for
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  Speaker 1: us May we not be so preoccupied with the things
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  Speaker 1: that concern us in our everyday lives that we miss
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  Speaker 1: what you have for us in these brief minutes we're together.
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  Speaker 1: Enable us to glean from these words, these lines, from
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  Speaker 1: this narrative, what you have for us to see and
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  Speaker 1: to remember as a result of our time in your word.
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  Speaker 1: Make it especially meaningful for those today who have lost
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  Speaker 1: a sense of hope. Hope that you could reach someone
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  Speaker 1: who seems forever out of reach. hope that you can
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  Speaker 1: do a work even after death that you can carry
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  Speaker 1: out your will even against those who fight it and
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  Speaker 1: resist it speak to us Lord We're listening and we care.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you in advance, Father, for the way you use
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  Speaker 1: the gifts of your people who give graciously and generously
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  Speaker 1: and faithfully. Thank you for sustaining this church over the
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  Speaker 1: years and raising us up from a simple, small body
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  Speaker 1: of people who would occupy a piece of land in
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  Speaker 1: the middle of nowhere and ultimately find ourselves right here
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  Speaker 1: in the nerve center of a busy city in North Texas.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for this. We accept it as a part
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  Speaker 1: of your grace and we hold it loosely. Be pleased
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  Speaker 1: as we give today for the work of ministry to
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  Speaker 1: be carried on May it be a reminder to all
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  Speaker 1: of us of how great your grace has been to us.
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  Speaker 1: How meaningful your mercy and how deep your love day
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  Speaker 1: after day, week after week, year after year. And for
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  Speaker 1: that and a thousand other reasons we give with hearts
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  Speaker 1: of gratitude and generosity In the name of Jesus, who
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  Speaker 1: loved us and died for us, we pray. Everyone said, Amen.
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  Speaker 1: Great events have a way of eclipsing those things that follow.
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  Speaker 1: We remember the event, of course, but there's something about
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  Speaker 1: the day after or the days after that event It
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  Speaker 1: sort of fades into oblivion. For example, you remember exactly
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  Speaker 1: where you were on 9-11, 2001. You can even remember
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  Speaker 1: where you were standing, what you thought when you first
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  Speaker 1: heard of the terrorists attacking America, and how you felt
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  Speaker 1: But it's doubtful you can recall that same time the
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  Speaker 1: next day where you were and where you stood and
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  Speaker 1: what you felt. It was 9-12. 9-11 was passed. If
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  Speaker 1: you're old enough to remember November 22, 1963, You'll never
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  Speaker 1: forget where you were when President John F. Kennedy was
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  Speaker 1: assassinated in the city of Dallas. You remember where you were.
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  Speaker 1: You remember the time of 1230 in the afternoon. You
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  Speaker 1: can recall the feelings you had. But you cannot remember
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  Speaker 1: November 23rd. 1963, and where you were at that time.
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  Speaker 1: The event is so significant that the day after fades
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  Speaker 1: in significance. Married couples can always tell you about their
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  Speaker 1: wedding day, and often the honeymoon that is such a
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  Speaker 1: vital part of anticipation, but Most of us are hard-pressed
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  Speaker 1: to remember the week after we're back from our honeymoon
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  Speaker 1: when everything is over. Well, not everything is over, but
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  Speaker 1: a lot of everything is over. And you're into marriage
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  Speaker 1: as it is. It's not like it had been on
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  Speaker 1: that great wedding day and honeymoon. Milestone birthdays are like that.
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  Speaker 1: You've reached a certain level in your life and someone
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  Speaker 1: loves you enough to have a big birthday party and
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  Speaker 1: you perhaps reluctantly give in to it or you're happy
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  Speaker 1: to do so and we all get together and we
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  Speaker 1: celebrate that day. But you can't for the life of
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  Speaker 1: you remember what happened the day after that significant birthday
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  Speaker 1: or that anniversary. Or for that matter, The day after
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  Speaker 1: you graduated, you wore the cap and gown. We all
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  Speaker 1: gathered and applauded your academic achievement. But following that, it
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  Speaker 1: sort of drops into shadows and shades of insignificance. In
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  Speaker 1: our journey through Matthew's gospel, we have looked deeply into
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  Speaker 1: what we call the passion of Christ. It begins in...
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  Speaker 1: in the arrest at the Garden of Gethsemane, and it
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  Speaker 1: ends at the cross. From Gethsemane to Golgotha, the passion
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  Speaker 1: of Christ, all that he endured, all that he suffered,
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  Speaker 1: things that were said that were untrue, decisions that were
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  Speaker 1: made that were unfair, and ultimately when they nailed him
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  Speaker 1: to a cross. And stood that cross in the ground.
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  Speaker 1: And there he hung. And there he died. It is
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  Speaker 1: so significant that you wonder. What could follow that I
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  Speaker 1: would ever need to remember? You may even recall his
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  Speaker 1: final word recorded by John. He records it in the original. Tetelestai.
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  Speaker 1: It is finished. And he breathes his last. It sounds
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  Speaker 1: like it's all over. What he means is the mission
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  Speaker 1: is accomplished. The purpose of my coming has been realized.
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  Speaker 1: It is finished. But there is so much more. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: his body is now lifeless. He is, if you will,
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  Speaker 1: a corpse hanging on a cross beam. When taken down,
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  Speaker 1: his body is limp and lifeless. But something happens that's
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  Speaker 1: significant even before that moment. When out of compassion, Joseph
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  Speaker 1: and another friend named Nicodemus with great compassion, took him
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  Speaker 1: off the cross, pulled the nails, and took him to
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  Speaker 1: a private place to embalm him. But if you read
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  Speaker 1: the text as I read today, Matthew 27, verse 50,
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  Speaker 1: like the other three Gospels, tells us he died. As
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  Speaker 1: it reads here, He released his spirit. Other gospel writers
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  Speaker 1: say he breathed his last. He gave up his spirit.
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  Speaker 1: At that moment, this version reads, something very significant occurred,
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  Speaker 1: not at the place of death, but where life was
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  Speaker 1: going on, Priests were engaged in their rituals. People were
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  Speaker 1: involved in worship. But something happened in that holiest of
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  Speaker 1: holies that had never happened before and would never happen again.
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  Speaker 1: A supernatural phenomenon occurred and we read of it At
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  Speaker 1: that moment, the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple
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  Speaker 1: was torn in two from top to bottom. This isn't
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  Speaker 1: just any curtain. And this isn't just any sanctuary. This
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  Speaker 1: is the holiest place on planet Earth. So holy that
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  Speaker 1: sinners are kept away from it at all times. the
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  Speaker 1: bright Shekinah glory of God shone down onto the mercy seat.
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  Speaker 1: And get this, once a year, the priest with great
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  Speaker 1: care would interbriefly sprinkle blood on that altar, back away
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  Speaker 1: and leave, as he would represent, through the blood shedding there,
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  Speaker 1: poured out there, the sins of the people, and move
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  Speaker 1: away back outside of the curtain because the curtain kept
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  Speaker 1: people from coming in. Now it's torn in two. It
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  Speaker 1: was quite a veil. Quite a piece of tapestry. Josephus
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  Speaker 1: reports in his work that it was predominantly blue in
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  Speaker 1: color and ornately decorated. He remembers that it was thick,
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  Speaker 1: heavy hand-woven tapestry. Not only is it miraculous that it
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  Speaker 1: is torn, but it is torn top to bottom. A.T. Robertson,
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  Speaker 1: fine Baptist scholar from Louisville, teaching at Southern Seminary, writes
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  Speaker 1: in his fine work, Word Pictures of the New Testament,
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  Speaker 1: this veil was the most elaborately woven fabric of 72
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  Speaker 1: twisted plaits of 24 threads each, meaning in each braid.
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  Speaker 1: The veil was 60 feet long, 30 feet wide, 9
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  Speaker 1: to 10 inches thick, requiring 300 priests to manipulate it
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  Speaker 1: when it needed to be moved. Listen to that. The
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  Speaker 1: average phone book in a large city is about three inches. Three,
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  Speaker 1: a little over three inches. This veil is three times
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  Speaker 1: that thickness. And it's woven tapestry. We have woven rugs
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  Speaker 1: in our home. Hand-woven tapestries, if you will, on the floor.
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  Speaker 1: And not one of them is an inch thick. They're
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  Speaker 1: less than that. Impossible for any one of them to
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  Speaker 1: be torn as thin as they are and as carefully
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  Speaker 1: as they have been made by hand. This could only
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  Speaker 1: have been done by God. And it was an announcement
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  Speaker 1: from the Lord saying, no longer is there a barrier
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  Speaker 1: between the sinner and the Holy God. You are now
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  Speaker 1: free to come through the open gate of a torn
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  Speaker 1: veil right into the presence of God. As we read
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  Speaker 1: in Hebrews 4, let us therefore draw near with confidence.
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  Speaker 1: Many Bibles read with boldness into the throne of grace
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  Speaker 1: that we may receive mercy and find grace to help
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  Speaker 1: in time of need. How marvelous is that? We don't
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  Speaker 1: come fearfully. We don't come reluctantly. We don't come not
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  Speaker 1: knowing what might happen. We come boldly. We, if you will,
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  Speaker 1: walk right into God's presence and we represent our own
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  Speaker 1: needs before him. as believer priests, do you realize you
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  Speaker 1: do not need someone else to represent you when you
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  Speaker 1: go before the Lord? You do not need a priest.
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  Speaker 1: You do not need a go-between other than Jesus himself.
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  Speaker 1: We go to God through Christ and we go instantly
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  Speaker 1: and boldly and frequently to because we now have that
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  Speaker 1: kind of open relationship, thanks to the veil being torn.
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  Speaker 1: Lewis Berry Chafer, who founded Dallas Seminary back in 1924,
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  Speaker 1: before he was a theologian, was a musician, and often
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  Speaker 1: would blend the two gifts in his writings. He heard
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  Speaker 1: the words of the old hymn, Nearer, My God, to Thee,
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  Speaker 1: and they troubled him. Because it sounded like, as you
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  Speaker 1: sing the words, that we are simply near God. Or
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  Speaker 1: we have reason to think coming near to God might
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  Speaker 1: be a risky thing. And he rewrote the line, nearer
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  Speaker 1: still nearer, nearer I cannot be. For in the person
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  Speaker 1: of his son, I am as near as he. I
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  Speaker 1: love those words, not only because they are beautiful to contemplate,
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  Speaker 1: but because of the truth they represent. How close is
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  Speaker 1: a son to a father? A better illustration, how close
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  Speaker 1: is Jesus, the Son of God, to God the Father?
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  Speaker 1: They could not be closer. Nearer we could not be,
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  Speaker 1: for in the person of his Son, as we are
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  Speaker 1: when we come to Jesus as Savior, we are as
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  Speaker 1: near as the Son. So the access the Son has
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  Speaker 1: is the access we have. How marvelous, right after the
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  Speaker 1: death of Jesus, the Lord saw to it that the
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  Speaker 1: veil be torn, saying, from this moment on, on. You
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  Speaker 1: have access to me. No longer needing to go through
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  Speaker 1: the priest, the high priest, or whatever priest. Now look further. Furthermore,
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  Speaker 1: there was an earthquake. The earth shook so much so
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  Speaker 1: that rocks split apart. Will you remember also that at
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  Speaker 1: noon the same day there was a darkness that enshrouded
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  Speaker 1: that shrouded the earth, not an eclipse. We're never told
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  Speaker 1: that the sun was an eclipse. No, it wasn't an eclipse.
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  Speaker 1: It was a supernatural phenomenon. The atmospheric condition of earth
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  Speaker 1: was changed by the one who created atmospheres. And the
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  Speaker 1: earth was shrouded in darkness. So remember, the things that
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  Speaker 1: Matthew records from noon through the day, he records from
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  Speaker 1: a scene that was in darkness. So in the darkness,
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  Speaker 1: the veil is split. In the darkness, an earthquake hits. Now,
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  Speaker 1: as I say that, I have to pause because I
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  Speaker 1: realize I'm talking to many of you who have never
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  Speaker 1: been through an earthquake. So you just think you know
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  Speaker 1: what it would be like. You don't have a clue.
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  Speaker 1: If you live for a few years in the state
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  Speaker 1: of California or Oregon or Washington, perhaps Alaska, along the
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  Speaker 1: fault line or Nevada, where those quakes occur much more frequently,
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  Speaker 1: they do on occasion here, but they're kind of baby
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  Speaker 1: quakes here. They're mild quakes. But there, there are five
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  Speaker 1: and six, sometimes seven on the Richter scale. On occasion,
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  Speaker 1: you may even read a one up to eight. I've
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  Speaker 1: never been in one at eight or even seven, but
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  Speaker 1: I've been in one at six. And I finally was
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  Speaker 1: able to overcome stuttering as a result. It leaves you changed.
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  Speaker 1: You see, all your life you've relied on earth to
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  Speaker 1: stay under you. You've walked on it. You could count
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  Speaker 1: on the next step being at the same level as
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  Speaker 1: this former step. But in an earthquake, all of that changes.
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  Speaker 1: There is even a rolling experience. We had a dog
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  Speaker 1: that was able to predict earthquakes. And the dog would howl. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: I was going to do it, but I'm not going
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  Speaker 1: to do that. The dog would howl before the earthquake hit.
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  Speaker 1: And our son, who owned the dog, Chuck would say,
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  Speaker 1: earthquake's coming, Dad. I'd say, yeah, all right. And all
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  Speaker 1: of a sudden, it would hit. That dog knew ahead
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  Speaker 1: of time. He had kind of an earthquake sensitivity. And
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  Speaker 1: we would go through it. We've seen books thrown off
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  Speaker 1: the wall. We've seen dishes break. We've seen chairs turned over.
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  Speaker 1: And you go through that and it's horrendous. I take
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  Speaker 1: it this was a massive earthquake if rocks were splitting.
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  Speaker 1: This is a time when there is something seismic. is happening.
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  Speaker 1: Think of being the priest who is going through his
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  Speaker 1: ritual near the temple or at the temple and think
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  Speaker 1: of the worshippers who were there and they've come out
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  Speaker 1: of an outside area which is dark and it's midday
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  Speaker 1: or a little later and And they're dealing with that,
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  Speaker 1: and on top of all of it, there comes an earthquake.
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  Speaker 1: And the veil of the temple splits from top to bottom.
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  Speaker 1: It is something you will never forget. And look at
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  Speaker 1: the third. The bodies, the tombs were opened and the
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  Speaker 1: bodies of many godly men and women who had died
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  Speaker 1: were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after
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  Speaker 1: Jesus' resurrection, went into the city of Jerusalem and appeared
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  Speaker 1: to many people. What? You ever seen that before? Many
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  Speaker 1: people have never realized that right after Jesus' death, tombs
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  Speaker 1: opened and bodies appeared. Do you know that? I remember
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  Speaker 1: when I was younger and was thinking about my need
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  Speaker 1: for seminary. This is one of the reasons I want
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  Speaker 1: to go to a place where they really believe the Bible.
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  Speaker 1: And that was for me, it was for Dallas Seminary.
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  Speaker 1: And I was accepted. And I began looking forward to
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  Speaker 1: taking the course, which was taught by the now the
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  Speaker 1: late J. Dwight Pentecost. He taught the life of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: just holding a testament in this hand and teaching the
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: whole semester without a note. I mean, he knew the
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: life of Christ. So naturally, I took that course along with, well,
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: the room was packed with students. And I was waiting
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: for Matthew 27, okay? I've been waiting for the answer
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: to the body's The tomb's opening and the body's coming
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: out and they go into Jerusalem. What are they, mummies
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: sitting around drinking coffee? What's going on? What is this?
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: And I knew Dr. Pentecost would have the answer. And
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: I want to tell you, I wrote down, I had
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: my pen ready. Back in those days, there weren't computers.
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: You wrote down your notes. And so I got my
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: pen ready. These are his words, and I quote, I
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: do not know who they were. Frankly, I'm stumped by
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: all of this. Now, the next verse. Wait! Stop! I'm
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: going to go, no, no, no, wait. Hold it. So,
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: now that we've come to this passage, I want to
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: give you my interpretation. I don't know who they were,
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: and frankly, I'm stumped by all of this. In fact,
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: if you want to know what it's all about, call
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: John MacArthur. He knows everything about all of this. So
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: it's a joke, everybody. Come on. He probably does know
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: what these are. But I don't. I cannot explain this.
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: If the late Dwight Pentecost could not, I am not
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: going to touch this one with a 10-foot pole. But
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: I do know that they didn't come out of the
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: tomb resurrected until after Jesus' resurrection. See verse 53? That's
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: very important. That was made clear in that class, and
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: I'll make it clear today. Why do I say that?
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: Because Jesus is the first fruits of those raised from
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: the dead. The first one to be resurrected was Jesus.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: There were others who were resuscitated. They came back from
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: beyond in the same body. But they were not raised
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: in a glorified body until Jesus' resurrection. His was the
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: first and they followed. But all of this, I want
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: you to picture whatever it meant and however it occurred.
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: Imagine living there and witnessing it and experiencing it. Now
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: you can appreciate the centurion's response. It's given to us
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: in 54 and 55. Or 54. Look at the verse.
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: were terrified by the earthquake. You see, they aren't yawning.
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: They're not having to imagine it. They're going through it.
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: And it is truly... A terrifying experience. Who's a centurion? Well,
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: he's the most seasoned of the Roman soldiers. He's known combat. He,
• 34:45
  Speaker 1: as we often would say, he's earned his stripes. He's
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: a rugged, battle-scarred, war-hardened veteran of the Roman army who's
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: in charge of this crucifixion details. And he's terrified. And
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: notice his response. He and those around him say, almost
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: in unison, this man truly was the Son of God.
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: Don't skate too quickly over those words. Those are the
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: words of a hardened veteran. Who doesn't base anything on emotions.
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: Whose life has been marked by combat. Killing all around him.
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: Maybe done some of it himself. And he is so moved.
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: I believe it's a moment of conversion. This is a
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: man Gentile to the core. Has had no schooling. No
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: religious training. All of his training and anything related to
• 36:05
  Speaker 1: God would be regarding the mythical gods of Rome. And suddenly,
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: he's saying that one hanging on that cross is the
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: Son of God. I'll close my message today in a
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: little bit by coming back to this, but let me
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: add here. Before you write anyone out and think they
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: are too far gone ever to believe, remember the centurion.
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: Every one of us knows someone or we're related to
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: someone or we've been friends with someone or maybe someone
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: in our own family is a far distance from the Lord.
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: And our tendency is to think they'll never come around.
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: They'll never believe in Jesus. They'll never submit their lives
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: to Christ. Would you look? Would you let the record
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: stand for what it says? This man went home that
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: night and said, if he was a married man, I'll
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: never be the same. She says, you've done crucifixions for months.
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: What do you mean? No, no, no. He is like
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: none other. Let me tell you what I heard. Because
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: he was there to hear the other things. Father, forgive
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: them for they don't know what they're doing. Into your
• 37:54
  Speaker 1: hands I commend my spirit. And those other sayings from
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: the cross. The centurion was right there. He heard it all,
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: and then the earthquake, and then the darkness, and these
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: open tombs. And that's all he needed. He believed. No
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: one is so far gone that the Lord is unable
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: to reach them. So since he is not willing that
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: then let's not be willing either. Let's not give up
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: on anyone either. Learn to add the word yet to
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: your sentence. No, he doesn't know the Lord yet. No,
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: she hasn't turned the corner, spiritually speaking, yet. Until the crucifixion,
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: the centurion hadn't either yet. But at this moment, he
• 39:04
  Speaker 1: was a different man. The scene changes rather quickly in
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: Matthew's gospel as we get to verse 57. And Joseph
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: appears before Pilate. Since Pilate is the governor, the Roman
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: in charge of the capital punishment, and he asked permission
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: for him to take the bondage, from the cross. Let
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: me pause and mention something that becomes very important. Remember
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: what you learned last time? Bodies were usually left on
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: a cross to disintegrate. They were not considered worthy of
• 39:46
  Speaker 1: a burial. They hung until the birds ate them apart
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: or insects or just the disintegration of the elements. And
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: that's probably what the authorities of the Jews and even
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: Romans thought would happen, but not in this case. Joseph
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: and other gospel writers tell us a Pharisee who has
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: been converted named Nicodemus. Remember that name? Who came to
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: Jesus by night according to John 3 and heard the
• 40:24
  Speaker 1: gospel of being born again. So these two men, though
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: Matthew only mentions Joseph here, they went to Pilate and
• 40:32
  Speaker 1: asked for Jesus' body. Pilate issues an order and allows
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: them to release him. So watch closely. They go to
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: the cross. They take the body. down from the cross.
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: They carry the body in its limp and lifeless state
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: to a private place where they will prepare it with
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: dignity and honor for the burial. In those days, bodies
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: were not prepared as they are today and as we
• 41:10
  Speaker 1: do with embalming. In those days, they were wrapped like
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: what we would call monies. Strips of cloth, often linen,
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: and there would be spices, mostly of gummy consistency, sticky,
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: we would say, and the strips would be wrapped and
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: the spices would be added to hold the wrappings in place.
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: So that once dried, this is important to remember when
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: we get to the resurrection, the body is encased. in
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: the linen wrappings, so that it is much like being
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: in a cocoon of linen. The head was wrapped in
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: a napkin, they called it, and the jaw was tied
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: so it would gape open, tied under the chin in
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: a separate little ball unto itself. All of this was
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: done as they prepared the body for the grave. It's
• 42:17
  Speaker 1: interesting that Joseph had his own new tomb. Again, a
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: word is important to explain. Tombs were not then as
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: they are today. Today, we go to a grave site
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: and the body is usually encased in a casket and
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: then the casket is ultimately lowered into the earth and
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: the dirt covers it and grass grows over it. In
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: those days, bodies were buried in hillsides where there are
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: natural caves or when necessary, the soft limestone would be
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: carved by grave diggers and they would carve out a
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: cavity large enough to hold the body which would be
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: laid on a slab. This is a new tomb, so
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: apparently it was one that has just been carved as
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: an opening. and he has a stone ready for it.
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: A stone was rolled across the tomb, and the stone
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: would often weigh a ton or more, and it was
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: heavy on purpose to guard anyone from going into the
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: area of the deceased because often valuable things were buried
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: with the body. Not in Jesus' case, but often that
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: would be true, and the stone was there to keep
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: everyone out. including animals from going in or any other
• 43:47
  Speaker 1: kind of predator. So all of this was to seal
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: the opening of the tomb, and that's exactly what we had.
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: In the normal manner, I go over this because skeptics
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: have written about the resurrection and they've denied this and
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: denied that. I just want you to know, truly dead,
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: truly wrapped as they would wrap a dead body, placed
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: in an actual tomb, The stone rolled across the mouth
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: of the tomb and they left it as such. As
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: they brought the stone across the entrance, they left and
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: it was witnessed by the women, Mary Magdalene and the
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: other Mary were there watching it all. Now I believe,
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: and I've never heard anyone say this, I believe that
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: the priests and the Pharisees who came, verse 62 says,
• 44:42
  Speaker 1: And verse 63, to meet with Pilate came surprised. They
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: had anticipated that body remaining on the cross. Because the
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: last thing they wanted was that there be anything near
• 44:59
  Speaker 1: a resurrection like Jesus had predicted. But to their surprise...
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: The body had been allowed to be taken down. Notice
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: when Joseph and Nicodemus came for approval, the other authorities
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: were not there because it wasn't a Jewish decision. It
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: was a Roman decision. That's why Pilate was the one
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: who was the acting official. So they found out about
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: it sometime through the night and they realized, of all things,
• 45:29
  Speaker 1: he's now in a tomb. That's the last place they
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: wanted that cadaver. And knowing that he's now in the tomb,
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: their concern is, how do we make sure no one
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: comes and takes the body and then claims a resurrection? Because,
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: of course, they never believed he could be miraculously raised,
• 45:52
  Speaker 1: but they didn't want a hoax to be presented as
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: a real fact. So now we're ready. The leading priests
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: and Pharisees went to see Pilate. Remember Pilate, the governor?
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: Remember what Pilate had been told by his wife? You recall?
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: His wife had said to him in a note, have
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: nothing to do with this innocent man. I've had this dream.
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: Don't even think about being a part of condemning him.
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: He's an innocent man. And what does Pilate do? In
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: a weak moment, he washes his hands of the whole responsibility, remember?
• 46:37
  Speaker 1: And he says to the crowd, he's yours. And he
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: condemns him to crucifixion. What you don't read is Pilate
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: going home to face his wife. Now you got it.
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: Now you're a little giggle there. Now you're into it.
• 46:57
  Speaker 1: Pilate has been living with a woman who didn't get
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: her way I don't mean that the wrong way, but
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: mom ain't happy and nobody happy. And in this case,
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: Pilate's sleeping on a patio and eating cold cuts. And
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: he's paying a price because she said to him, you
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: did what? And so he is up to here with Jesus. Forgive,
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: there's a few little swindle paraphrases that I've worked into
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: the last part of Matthew 27. But what else? I mean,
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: he's a real guy, she's a real wife, and it's
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: a real note, and it's a real act of disobedience.
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: And the guy goes home, and he's got to tell
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: his wife, and he's had to sit through, not that
• 47:46
  Speaker 1: you sit through a lecture or anything, but he's had
• 47:49
  Speaker 1: to sit through a lecture and have all of this
• 47:52
  Speaker 1: go on. So, now that you know all of that,
• 47:57
  Speaker 1: look at Pilate's response, and you'll appreciate it. They say
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: to him, we want you to send guards and we
• 48:05
  Speaker 1: want you to seal the tomb so that no one
• 48:08
  Speaker 1: can come and take the body. Look at 65. Pilate replied,
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: you take care of the guard yourself. You secure it
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: as best you can. He is up to here with
• 48:22
  Speaker 1: the whole mess. He didn't want to mess with it
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: back when he washed his hands. And here he is
• 48:27
  Speaker 1: having to deal with it again. So Pilate says, it's
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: your mess. It isn't mine. I did my part. Now
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: you've got to do yours. So what do they do? Well,
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: they seal the tomb and they posted guards to protect it.
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: Are you kidding? We're talking about a God who sends
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: darkness and earthquake and opening tombs. A God who can
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: create something out of nothing. And the Lord God who
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: is able to do the impossible. And they put a
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: few puny Jewish guards out there to guard that tomb.
• 49:07
  Speaker 1: And they double seal it with a little extra wax
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: to go around the stone. And they think that's going
• 49:14
  Speaker 1: to keep him in. You want to know the whole truth.
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: And I'm going to give you a little hint regarding
• 49:19
  Speaker 1: next week.
• 49:20
  Speaker 2: Week.
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: That stone didn't have to be removed for Jesus to
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: come out. In fact, he came out before the stone
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: was rolled away. The stone is rolled away so we
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: can go in and see that the tomb is empty.
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: That is a very important insight. Jesus in his glorified
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: state is able to move through any solid mass because
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: the whole molecular structure of a glorified body is different.
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: It can move through a space of massive distance in
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: a split second. It can move through any kind of
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: dense material with no friction or hesitation or resistance. But
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: they think what we really need is more guards and
• 50:07
  Speaker 1: a better seal too. We'll leave it at that. You
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: patiently sat through it. I draw three lessons from all
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: of this and I'm through. Number one, when you come
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: to the dead end of all hope, remember what happened
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: right after Jesus died. When you come to the dead
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: end of all your hope, remember what happened after Jesus died.
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: The reason I say it like that is most people
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: who walked away from the body hanging on the cross
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: walked away without hope. I don't read of anyone leaving
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: the scene of death going, He'll be raised. It's only
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: a matter of time. He's coming back. No, no. The
• 50:54
  Speaker 1: disciples are hiding in fear. The others are walking away,
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: clapping their hands, saying, It's finally all over. We got
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: it done. We put Jesus where he belongs. No hope
• 51:11
  Speaker 1: of resurrection. And in your life, no hope to go
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: any further. Will you look at what God did immediately
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: after the death, even before there was a resurrection? It's
• 51:23
  Speaker 1: as if he's saying, when someone who represents me dies,
• 51:26
  Speaker 1: nothing of God dies. When you lose a very precious
• 51:32
  Speaker 1: loved one and you feel hopeless and unable to go on,
• 51:36
  Speaker 1: remember that when a person of God dies, nothing of
• 51:40
  Speaker 1: God dies. The God who was powerful during the life
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: of your loved one is still the powerful God of
• 51:47
  Speaker 1: your life. He's still there for you to count on
• 51:51
  Speaker 1: and rely on and trust in. Here's the second lesson.
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: I said it earlier and I'll repeat it here. When
• 51:59
  Speaker 1: you think you know someone who is too far gone
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: ever to believe in Christ, remember the centurion. If the
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: Lord is able to save the life of a hardened, battle-strong,
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: and tough-minded Pharisee, how easily he can reach your loved
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: one and mine. I want you for the next moment
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: to think about that person that you have been tempted
• 52:35
  Speaker 1: to put on your forever lost list. Think about him.
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: Maybe a roommate from college. Maybe one of your sons
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: or daughters. Wayward. They walked away from all of it.
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: Maybe a partner in business that you were once close to.
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: Maybe a former partner in life that you were once
• 53:04
  Speaker 1: married to. Someone that you can name and think of
• 53:10
  Speaker 1: right now would be a great time for you to
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: remember that person before the Lord. And call to mind
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: that king of Babylon who became an animal in the
• 53:32
  Speaker 1: field because he had, with such arrogance, taken the credit
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: for the prosperity of his surroundings. Nebuchadnezzar by name. And
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: he lived like an animal in the field for years,
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: until the Lord reached him. And do you know he
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: has added to the words of Scripture? You read it
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: in Daniel 4, 35. It isn't signed, Nebuchadnezzar, but you read,
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: Nebuchadnezzar said, listen to what he said, all the inhabitants
• 54:15
  Speaker 1: of the earth are as nothing. And he does according
• 54:18
  Speaker 1: to his will in the army of heaven and among
• 54:21
  Speaker 1: the inhabitants of the earth. And no one can stop
• 54:24
  Speaker 1: his hand or say to him, what are you doing?
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: That's the man who was once in the field as
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: an animal, whom the Lord gloriously transformed. Think of Paul
• 54:38
  Speaker 1: the Apostle, the terrorist who prayed on Christian communities, made
• 54:45
  Speaker 1: life miserable for those who loved Christ until he was
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: himself transformed, beginning on the road to Damascus. If the
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: Lord is able to do this with Nebuchadnezzar and with
• 55:00
  Speaker 1: Saul of Tarsus, he is able to save your loved one,
• 55:05
  Speaker 1: your friend, your relative, even a centurion. Here's the third lesson.
• 55:16
  Speaker 1: When you put together a plan that tries to hinder
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: the plan of God, remember the resurrection. You could, as
• 55:28
  Speaker 1: a cynic and as one who works against the things
• 55:31
  Speaker 1: of God, you can stack everything up against the work
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: of God, but there's no way you can outperform or
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: resist the hand of God. When he is ready and
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: he makes his move, it trumps all other actions. It
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: overcomes all other barriers. And he who can split a
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: veil in two from top to bottom, he who can
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: bring an earthquake or darkness over the earth, can bring
• 56:07
  Speaker 1: Jesus from the grave. He's able to work even in
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: your life. When you think all is futile. And there
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: is no hope beyond this moment. I'd like us together
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: to bow our heads. Just for a few moments. Just
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: where you're sitting right there. You may know the Lord,
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: but you may know someone who doesn't. I sure hope
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: you do. I want you to claim that person right
• 56:43
  Speaker 1: now in prayer. for the Lord God to get a
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: hold of in whatever means he chooses, however severe he
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: may prefer, to break that person's will and to break
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: through that person's barriers. Frankly, you may be the one
• 57:11
  Speaker 1: I'm talking about. There may never have been a time
• 57:15
  Speaker 1: in your life when you submitted your life to Christ, well,
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: here you are today and the moment is right. Trust
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: in Jesus Christ and you will know a peace you've
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: never known before and a purpose that will replace all
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: the futility and emptiness you've been living with. Trust him
• 57:46
  Speaker 1: now Let us know you've trusted him. We want to
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: help you get underway in a life that is so
• 57:54
  Speaker 1: marvelous you can't even imagine what you've been missing. But
• 57:59
  Speaker 1: it all begins with the cross where you first trust
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: in Jesus. Father, thank you in advance for doing a
• 58:09
  Speaker 1: work in the life of those that we so easily
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: write off. Thank you for being able to still break
• 58:17
  Speaker 1: through tough wills and get the attention of those who
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: seem to be lost forever, who give no evidence of
• 58:26
  Speaker 1: any sense of interest. We pray that you will go
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: to work on those individuals and bring about the events
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: that are necessary, just as you did with this centurion,
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: and awaken that person to what's missing and bring them
• 58:45
  Speaker 1: in submission to Christ. And for those at this very place,
• 58:52
  Speaker 1: right now in this time, who've never come to Christ,
• 58:57
  Speaker 1: pray that you will lead them before the day is done,
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: giving themselves to the Lord Jesus, trusting him and him
• 59:08
  Speaker 1: alone for you. eternal life. This we pray in the
• 59:14
  Speaker 1: name of the Savior. Who died. And rose again. Even Christ.
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: And all God's people said. Amen. Amen.
• 59:31
  Speaker 2: The preceding message, and then what happened, was copyrighted in
• 59:36
  Speaker 2: 2018 and 2021, and the sound recording was copyrighted in
• 59:41
  Speaker 2: 2021 by Charles R.
• 59:42
  Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
• 59:47
  Speaker 2: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.