Emily Mishal - The Resurrection 20:4:25

Hallelujah. He is risen. Yeah. What a

wonderful day to celebrate um Easter

Sunday. What does it mean to

you? Means that Jesus lives. Uh he died.

He's defeated death and he's risen

again. Um and what a wonderful day that

is. Easter reminds us that Jesus paid

the ultimate price for our sin. He died

on the cross for the forgiveness of our

sins so that we can have eternal life.

We all know that famous verse in John

3:16-1 17. For God so loved the world

that he sent his one and only son so

that whoever believes in him shall not

perish but have eternal life. For God

did not send his son to condemn the

world but to save the world through him.

As a church, we spent the last few weeks

reflecting on the Easter the key

elements of the Easter story. And I hope

you've all made the most of the

reflection stations that we've been able

to set up to see the garden in the

corner there. And if you haven't, do

have a look at it after the service um

to see the crown of thorns to hold the

nails and feel what what might that have

felt like. Um today we've got another

table set up. You can hold and smell the

spices. There's myrrh, there's cinnamon,

there's cloves, and um

Anise, take time to reflect and to to

take the little We've got a little

reflection

um handout as well. You can take that

home and reflect over the

week. I don't know about you, but I've

spent a lot of time reflecting over the

last few weeks, reading, meditating on

everything Jesus has done for me. And I

want to recap some of those things

today. But first, let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your

sacrifice you gave in your son to

forgive us of our sins, the death he

suffered just for us so that we can have

eternal life with you. We pray Lord that

that you speak to us today, that you use

me as a vessel and that you open our

hearts and eyes to hear and see what you

want us to see today. We ask in your

name. Amen.

So reflecting on the last the leadup to

Easter, we we had Palm Sunday where

Jesus rose rode into Jerusalem and on a

donkey and the crowd shouted, "Hosana."

They waved palm branches. Hosanna means

save us. And the people called this out

to Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem. Save

us. Save us. We went as a family this

week to see uh the first two episodes of

The Chosen season five. It was The Last

Supper. um they had it playing at the

cinema and we went and watched that and

it was really poignant like just to see

obviously it's acting um and but just to

see that to see them waving the palm

branches to make it to make the

scripture come alive it was really

powerful

um and you know it just yeah it was it

was really good to see um we reflected

also in the leadup to Easter on the

table where Jesus broke bread and told

them what was going to happen this is my

body broken for you. This is my blood of

the covenant poured out for you. The

symbol of community and hope in him. The

sacrifice that he knew he would make and

the suffering he would face. But he did

it anyway. I really liked how on that

Sunday we sat around tables and

reflected together in community. We

looked at the betrayal. One of his own

disciples who betrayed him in front of

the others for 30 little silver coins.

after following him for three years gave

him up for 30 pieces of silver. The cost

one would pay if their animal was killed

by a slave in those days. Essentially

the cost of a slave. His teacher, his

friend, cast aside. I don't know how I

would have felt knowing as Jesus did

that Judas would do this. Yet he still

washed his feet. The denial. Again, one

of his own disciples who listened to his

teaching for three years was his friend

who denied him on the very day of the

last supper. Denied him that same day.

Jesus knew he would do it not just once

but three times. Yet after he did it,

and when he later asked Jesus

forgiveness, he forgave him. It's

incredible. It's an incredible act of

kindness by Jesus.

We looked at the garden, the garden of

Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed with so

much stress and anguish that his sweat

formed drops of blood. I read this week

that Gethsemane in the Hebrew means oil

press. Jesus, the lamb of God, went to

the place of the oil press. In Bible

times, farmers would collect their

olives and crush them in this trough

with a large heavy stone, allowing the

oil to flow through channels out into

the waiting vessels.

Each pressing of the o of the olives

would produce oil of different values.

The first press was the most valuable,

the purest of oil reserved for anointing

kings. The second press was the oil used

for healing the sick. The third was the

oil that was used for our daily needs

like cooking and for

lamps. It was in this garden of the oil

press that Jesus spent his final hours

before his arrest and crucifixion.

Jesus was falling under the invisible

weight of what was to happen. Sweating

blood from the extreme anguish. Under

this incredible weight, Jesus yielded

pure sacrifice. What began in the Garden

of olives, the garden of the olive press

continued at the cross where Jesus was

crushed for our

redemption. We looked uh on Friday at

the cross where Jesus allowed himself to

be crushed like olives in the press. so

that the oil of salvation could be

spilled for us. Isaiah 53:5 says, "He

Isaiah 53:5

was pierced for our transgressions. He

was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him

was a chastisement that bought us peace

and with his wounds we are healed."

Hallelujah. He suffered a torturous

death. As he took his last breath, he

said, "It is finished." In the Greek,

the word is telisti.

In Hebrew, this word is nishlam, which

has a much deeper meaning. The meaning

of that word means paid in full. In

Jewish times, when one had a debt, they

would pay off their debt. And when that

debt was paid, the lender would write on

the debt paid in

full. Jesus on the cross let us know

that our debt had been paid in full by

his death. By the last words, he said,

"Paid in full. It is finished."

Through his death, we're reminded that

our sins were forgiven. Our separation

from God is over and we're

restored. Through Jesus action, we can

have eternal

life. So today, I want to look at the

final part of the Easter story, the

resurrection. I want to read some

scripture this morning. And I want to

look at this scripture in two parts. The

empty tomb and when they saw Jesus.

Luke chapter 24 verse 1-8. On the first

Luke 24:1–8

day of the week, very early in the

morning, the women took spices they had

prepared and went to the tomb. They

found the stone rolled away from the

tomb. But when they entered, they did

not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

While they were wondering about this,

suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed

like lightning stood beside them. In

their fright, the women bowed down their

with their faces to the ground. But the

men said to them, "Why do you look for

the living amongst the dead? He is not

here. He has risen. Remember how he told

you while he was still with you in

Galilee, the Son of Man must be

delivered over to the hands of sinners,

be crucified, and on the third day

raised again. Then they remembered his

words." These women were the first to

know that the tomb was empty and that

their Jesus had risen. They went that

morning to do what duty would have them

do. They had already prepared the spices

to bring. In Luke 23:56, it's recorded

Luke 23:56

that on the day of Jesus' crucifixion,

the women went home and prepared the

spices and perfumes. They then rested on

the Sabbath, which was the culture of

the day as as a Saturday was the Jewish

custom. In all the gospels, it's

recorded that early on the Sunday

morning, they went to visit the tomb.

Some gospels mention their names. Mary

Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and

Salam. They brought spices to anoint

Jesus' body. In those times, they used

to anoint the body with

spices. It helped to control the smell

of

decomposition. In Jewish culture, Jews

didn't imbalm their dead. You may

remember in John 11 when Jesus went to

Lazarus tomb and he went to have it

opened and Martha objected saying, "By

this time, there's a bad He's been there

for 4 days. So according to the custom,

the women would go after the death and

bring spices to honor the body. And

that's what they did that morning. They

brought these spices to honor Jesus'

body. The very fact that they brought

spices showed that they did not expect

him to have risen from the dead. They

had prepared the traditional spices on

the fi Friday and brought them on the

Sunday. The their main concern was how

will we move this huge stone from the

entrance. The Bible talks about these

women many times through Jesus'

ministry. They went where he went. They

followed and supported his ministry. In

those days, they didn't have KFC or

drive-through restaurants. Everywhere

they went, everywhere they traveled and

stayed, they needed a support crew to

make bread, to cook meals. The Bible

tells us that these women followed Jesus

and supported him. They sat with him.

They listened to him. They were also

disciples of Jesus. They were there at

his crucifixion. They watched him draw

his last breath. The act of devotion

from these women, these faithful

followers is shown in their faithfulness

to go to the tomb and anoint the body

that morning. And due to their

diligence, they became the first

witnesses to the empty tomb and also to

see Jesus alive

again. In Mark 16:6, it says, "Don't be

Mark 16:6

alarmed." The angel said, "You are

looking for Jesus the Nazarene who was

crucified. He is risen. He's not here.

See the place where they laid him." In

Luke 24:5 and 6, why do you look for the

Luke 24:5

living amongst the dead? He's not here.

He has

risen. When the women had seen the empty

tomb and later seen Jesus, they told the

disciples a firsthand account of what

they saw. The Bible tells us that the

disciples didn't believe. Simon Peter

even ran to the tomb to see for himself.

He sto saw the strips of linen lying

there. In John 20 6-9, it says, "Simon

Peter arrived and went inside. He also

noticed the linen wrappings lying there.

While the cloth that had covered Jesus'

head was folded up and lying apart from

the other wrappings. Then the disciple

who reached the tomb first also went in

and he saw and he believed for until

that moment they had not understood the

scriptures that had said that Jesus must

rise from the dead. And then they went

back home.

You see, even though they were told,

even though they heard his teachings,

they learned of the prophecies from the

years before, even though they knew,

they didn't believe until they could see

for themselves. They had to see those

strips of cloth laying there empty in

the tomb. They'd been given warning.

They'd been told of what was going to

happen. Yet, they still didn't

believe. Can I ask you the question

then? How do we see

Jesus? We first need to understand the

key truths of the Easter story, the

crucifixion and the resurrection. What

does it mean? What does the Easter story

mean? What does the death and

resurrection of Jesus mean for us

today? In Jewish tradition, like I

mentioned, people would rest on the

Sabbath, the Saturday.

We believe Jesus died on the Friday and

rose on the Sunday. But we have this one

day of pause in between their day of

rest. What would it have been like?

Their teacher, their friend, crucified.

It would have been a day of incredible

sadness, uncertainty as to what would

happen. And then you came to this third

day, the resurrection, Easter Sunday. In

Jewish tradition, the number three is a

symbol of divine perfection. It

signifies

completeness. Many times in the Bible,

you can see God complete his plans. On

the third

act, you think about this. On that

Friday, Jesus, the lamb of God

sacrificed to save the world. The bread

of life placed in a tomb. And on the

third die day to signify completion,

Jesus rose from the grave to bring new

hope and freedom. You see the empty tomb

changes

everything. What does the resurrection

mean? One, it means we have a living

hope. Jesus is alive. He has conquered

death and he is here among us. His

resurrection opens the way of hope and

assures us that injustice, pain, and

death can be overcome. We are surrounded

by signs of new life in the

resurrection.

The apostle Peter tells us, "Praise be

to God and the father of our Lord Jesus

Christ. In his great mercy, he has given

us new birth into a living hope through

the resurrection of Jesus Christ from

the dead. We have a living hope through

the resurrection of Jesus. We no longer

have to fear what is to come because

Jesus resurrected from the dead. As

followers of

Christ, we can have a great hope, a

living hope, not a false hope, not

well-wishes, rather a trustworthy hope

based on faith. We've all been justified

before God. We are no longer his

enemies. We're no longer headed to hell.

It's incredible, isn't it, to imagine

that Jesus agreed to die and rise again

for us, for me, and for you.

By his resurrection, we are justified.

To be justified mean to be put right

with. According to the scripture, all of

us are objects of wroth because we break

God's law and thus deter deserve eternal

death. But God has a glorious and

gracious plan of

redemption. He was delivered over to

death for our sins and raised to life

for our justification.

You see Jesus death on the cross and

resurrection gives us freedom. We are

free and we are forgiven. When we allow

Jesus to be the Lord in our lives, we

can be set free. We can have hope. Jesus

himself said, "Who the son sets free is

free

indeed." Ephesians 1:7 says, "In him we

Ephesians 1:7

have redemption through this blood, the

forgiveness of our sins."

When he shed his blood for us and rose

again as was promised, he gave us the

gift of forgiveness from our sins and

this gives us hope in a

future. The second thing is that we need

not fear death. The resurrection

defeated death. At the cross, Jesus

defeated death once and for

all. Must have been really hard for his

disciples and believers to see him

betrayed, crucified, and buried in a

tomb.

But Jesus said, "I am the resurrection

and the life. The one who believes in me

will live even though they die. And

whoever lives by believing in me will

never die." And it happened. What he

said was true. Paul tells us the sting

of death is sin and the power of sin is

the law. But thanks be to God, he gives

us victory through our Lord Jesus

Christ.

We have been given victory over death

and sin because of Jesus

resurrection. Death no longer has its

hold on us because Jesus defeated

it. Death is confronting. It's scary. As

a society, many of us fear death. We

seek miracle cures and specialists far

and wide. And I'm not saying that's

wrong. I truly believe God's given men

and women the incredible abilities to

study and learn and treat us. But as a

society, so often we seek answers. We

seek more because we fear the unknown.

We fear death and what is beyond life.

The truth is that with the confidence of

Jesus resurrection, we need no longer

fear death, but face it with confidence

when the time comes. And because we know

that we too will be raised to life with

him in heaven.

Charles Spurgeon, a famous theologian,

spoke of those in his own congregation

who had died. He said, "The very

happiest people I have met have been

departing believers. The only people for

whom I have felt any envy have been

dying members of this very church whose

hands I have held in their passing away

almost without exception. I have seen

them wholly delight and triumph in the

expectations to this. And in the

exceptions to this exceeding joy, I have

seen deep peace exhibited in a calm and

deliberate readiness to enter into the

presence of their

God. Because the Lord Jesus conquers sin

and death through his crucifixion and

resurrection, believers can now face

life and what comes beyond life without

fear or anxiety. They know when the time

comes, they're going home to the

presence of their savior and lord.

The third thing we can learn is that we

have eternal

life. Romans 8:11 says, "The spirit of

Romans 8:11

him who raised Jesus from the dead is

living in you." The same power, the same

spirit that raised Jesus is alive in us.

That is the promise of Easter. We have

the power now to change lives, to live

transformed lives. There are so many

things that we do in life to try and

live a healthy life to improve our

lives. But the secret is there's no

amount of salad or exercise that can

give you eternal life. When you accept

Christ in your heart, when you believe

in Jesus, believe that he died on the

cross for the forgiveness of our sins

and accept that forgiveness, we have

eternal

life. God laid our punishment on Jesus

on the cross. Why? So that we could be

justified before him.

The resurrection proves that God

accepted Jesus sacrifice for

sin. By placing faith in Jesus death,

burial, and resurrection, we have

eternal life. Through faith in Jesus,

we're not only given eternal life, but

the forgiveness of our

sins made only possible through his

death and resurrection. There is nothing

we could do to merit salvation. Our debt

is paid. It is paid in full by his

precious

blood. In John chapter 8, Jesus says, "A

John 8 · chapter mention

slave has no permanent place in a

family, but a son belongs to it

forever." When we accept Jesus in our

lives, we become a part of his family,

his sons and his daughters, which means

that we belong in his family forever.

Truly

free. Yes, death is the punishment for

sin. but wonderfully because Jesus rose

from the dead. The grave could not hold

him. Death had no control over him.

Therefore, we need not fear death. We

also do not need to fear eternal

punishment because we are truly loved.

God loves us higher, wider, and deeper

than we could possibly

imagine. I want to look at the second

part of the scripture from that morning.

we saw about the empty

tomb. I want to read about when they saw

Jesus. Remember first the women came,

they saw the tomb and then Simon Peter

and the others came. They saw the linen

cloths lying there and they returned

home. The scripture that follows says

this. But Mary stood weeping outside the

tomb. And as she wept, she stooped to

look into the tomb. And she saw two

angels in white sitting where the body

of Jesus had lain, one at the head and

one at the feet. And they said to her,

"Woman, why are you weeping?" She said

to them, "They have taken away my Lord,

and I do not know where they have lain

him." Having said this, she turned

around and saw Jesus standing, but she

did not know that it was

Jesus. Jesus said to her,"Woman, why are

you weeping? Who are you seeking?

supposing him to be the gardener, she

said, "Sir, if you've carried him away,

tell me where you've laid him, and I

will take his body away." Jesus said,

"Mary." She turned to him and in Aramaic

said, "Raboni," which means teacher.

Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me,

for I have not yet ascended to the

Father, but go to my brothers and say to

them, I am ascending to the Father, to

your Father, my God, and to your God."

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the

disciples, I have seen the Lord, and

that he had seen these said these things

to her. You see, Mary stayed at the

tomb, and she saw Jesus alive first. The

women saw Jesus first. What is the

significance of this? You see, even

after his death and resurrection, he

continued to love and lift up those on

the outside. In a culture where women

were often silenced, Jesus commissioned

a female disciple follower to announce

the resurrection to the other

disciples. Mary Magdalene was a

demon-possessed woman and Jesus rescued

her and she followed him. Mary Magdalene

used a year's wages to buy a perfume

just to wash his feet. Mary Magdalene

became the first person in John's gospel

to call Jesus the Lord. When Jesus

appeared to Mary, she realized it was

him and said, "Raboni," which means

teacher, which revealed that she knew

who he was. She then went to the

disciples and told them, "I have seen

the

Lord." Sometimes it can be hard to

imagine because we can't see it. I'm

sure they thought that too in these

times. You hear those comments, I'll

believe it when I see

it. They saw Jesus do miracles. They

heard Jesus teachings. Both the

disciples and the women and the

crowds. The amazing thing is it's

recorded clearly what the women

saw. They saw the events as Jesus died.

They saw where he was laid in the tomb.

They saw the tomb on the first day of

the week when they went to take spices.

They saw the stone was rolled away. They

saw the young man sitting on the right

side. They saw the empty place where

Jesus' body had

laid. They saw

Jesus. How can we see Jesus? If you're

anything like me, you want to see to

believe. You want to see, you want

proof. And that is what can challenge us

in our faith the most. That is the

uniqueness of the Christian faith. We

are told that we live by faith and not

sight. What then is the secret to seeing

God? 1 Corinthians 13:12 tells us, "For

1 Corinthians 13:12

now we see in a mirror dimly, but then

face to face. Now I know in part, then I

shall know fully as I have been fully

known.

This verse describes a transition from

partial knowledge to God to full

knowledge and understanding of God. We

will believe by faith and work on our

hearts and our spiritual gifts and our

learning of Christ. Paul writes in

Romans 11:33 and 4. Oh, the depth of the

Romans 11:33

riches and wisdom and knowledge of God.

How unsearchable are his judgments. How

inscriptable his ways. For who has known

the mind of the

Lord? Jesus himself revealed to us the

secret to seeing God in his sermon on

the mount. In Matthew 5'8, he said,

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they

shall see God." How do we see God? With

a pure heart. The truth is God sees the

real you when he sees you. You don't

have to change yourself to come to him.

You don't have to hide parts of your

story with Jesus. He sees your heart.

All you need to do is come with a pure

heart to him and say, "Lord Jesus, I

want to see you. I want to believe in

you. I want you to come into my heart

and make it pure

again." It's his desire that we see him,

that we find him, that we allow him to

open our spiritual eyes to see and know

him, to be led and guided by him.

In Psalm 73:9, it says, "God is good to

Psalms 73:9

those who are pure in heart." In 1

Timothy 15, Paul teaches us, "The

purpose of my instruction is that all

believers will be filled with a love

that comes from a pure heart, a clear

conscience, and a genuine faith. Not to

spend time in meaningless discussions

and knowledge of the law, but a true and

pure heart which knows God."

I'd like to ask you all to close your

eyes and just bow your heads for a

moment. You see, the Easter story is an

incredible story of Jesus love and

sacrifice. And I believe Jesus wants us

to see him aresh today with fresh eyes,

a new clean

heart. He wants us to accept the gift

that he so generously gave for us

through his death on the cross.

a forgiveness of our

sins and restoration with

him, a hope and a freedom in

him. If you've drifted away over time or

started to

doubt, maybe you've got too busy to

truly appreciate the sacrifice he made

for your life, the forgiveness of your

sins, the gift of eternal life for you.

I ask you today to ask him again to live

in your

heart, to make your heart pure

again, to give you a sincere faith in

him. As it says in his word that if you

confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus

and believe with your heart that God

raised him from the dead, you will be

saved. Save us today, Lord.

We ask for your

forgiveness. We accept your gift of

eternal life that you so willingly

gave. We ask in your

name.

Amen. As the Easter period comes to a

close this year, I challenge you to

reflect, to search your heart. What does

Easter mean to

you? What can you do to see Jesus in a

new and different way this

year? I want to finish with just one

verse. John

John 11:25–26

11:25-26 I am the resurrection and the

life. Whoever believes in me, though he

die, yet shall he live. And everyone who

lives and believes in me shall never

die. He has risen. He is risen indeed.