1 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:15,320 Well, as we come to look at God's word this evening, let me lead 2 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:16,480 us in prayer. 3 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:21,600 Lord, you know what distracted hearts we have. 4 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,280 We ask that you give us self recollection. 5 00:00:26,900 --> 00:00:30,100 You know what hard dead hearts we have. 6 00:00:31,140 --> 00:00:33,620 We ask that you would touch and awaken us. 7 00:00:34,820 --> 00:00:39,660 You know how we resist your word and how our lower nature is 8 00:00:39,660 --> 00:00:41,620 reluctant to bow to your scepter. 9 00:00:42,580 --> 00:00:44,980 So, Lord, show forth your power. 10 00:00:45,860 --> 00:00:50,620 Send your spirit on high to work among us to make our hearts 11 00:00:50,620 --> 00:00:54,580 submissive and ourselves capable of living in true union with 12 00:00:54,580 --> 00:00:54,860 you. 13 00:00:54,860 --> 00:00:59,530 Our salvation of yielding totally to your grace. 14 00:01:00,890 --> 00:01:01,530 Amen. 15 00:01:04,890 --> 00:01:08,650 I do want to begin with a confession this evening. 16 00:01:09,690 --> 00:01:12,770 Over the years that I've been in Anna Long, and I've had the opportunity 17 00:01:12,770 --> 00:01:17,130 to speak during your Holy Week services, I've always said I've loved 18 00:01:17,450 --> 00:01:18,250 Holy Week. 19 00:01:18,810 --> 00:01:23,610 I've enjoyed the time that it affords to stop and think about why 20 00:01:23,690 --> 00:01:26,570 this week, and particularly events of this day in particular, 21 00:01:27,490 --> 00:01:30,050 are so important to us as God's people. 22 00:01:30,930 --> 00:01:35,730 Well, my confession is that this year, out of many recent years, 23 00:01:36,290 --> 00:01:41,650 is the year where I feel the least prepared for the celebration 24 00:01:41,810 --> 00:01:42,530 of Easter. 25 00:01:43,330 --> 00:01:47,490 Now, that's for various reasons, a busy week being one of 26 00:01:47,490 --> 00:01:50,050 them, as well as a busy month of March. 27 00:01:50,690 --> 00:01:54,530 And also, it doesn't seem that long ago, does it, since it was Christmas. 28 00:01:55,820 --> 00:01:59,180 And let me tell you, next year, Good Friday will be the Friday 29 00:01:59,180 --> 00:02:00,780 after St. Patrick's Day. 30 00:02:01,660 --> 00:02:04,540 So it's going to be one of the earliest Easters that we can have. 31 00:02:06,140 --> 00:02:10,820 There's Martin Luther that said the manger and the cross are 32 00:02:10,820 --> 00:02:12,060 never far apart. 33 00:02:12,700 --> 00:02:15,020 And perhaps a year like this, we feel that. 34 00:02:15,020 --> 00:02:18,780 That it really does feel as if it's just been a step since Christmas. 35 00:02:19,740 --> 00:02:23,220 And so the world has just been busier and busier, and all of a sudden 36 00:02:23,220 --> 00:02:24,860 we find ourselves here at Easter. 37 00:02:25,940 --> 00:02:28,420 Of course, Martin Luther wasn't talking about the calendar 38 00:02:28,740 --> 00:02:32,060 when he said that the manger and the cross are never far apart. 39 00:02:32,060 --> 00:02:33,540 He's talking about their significance. 40 00:02:34,420 --> 00:02:37,540 The baby who was born in the manger that we celebrate at Christmas 41 00:02:37,540 --> 00:02:41,980 was to be the Savior who would die on Calvary's cross so that we 42 00:02:41,980 --> 00:02:45,500 would know completely and fully why God sent his one and only 43 00:02:45,500 --> 00:02:46,660 son into the world. 44 00:02:48,020 --> 00:02:52,580 His sacrifice so that we would not need to perish for our sins, 45 00:02:53,530 --> 00:02:57,370 but have the gift of life because of his Son. 46 00:02:58,810 --> 00:03:01,930 And that's why this day is a weary day. 47 00:03:03,050 --> 00:03:04,490 It's a day of sadness. 48 00:03:05,930 --> 00:03:07,210 It's a day of sorrow. 49 00:03:08,570 --> 00:03:12,090 It's heavy and it has a burden. 50 00:03:13,290 --> 00:03:16,650 And yet we call it good. 51 00:03:20,660 --> 00:03:24,180 Good Friday is That day where the world does stop. 52 00:03:24,260 --> 00:03:27,500 If you're of an age, you will remember that Northern Ireland had 53 00:03:27,500 --> 00:03:30,980 certain laws about what could and couldn't be done on Good Friday. 54 00:03:31,780 --> 00:03:34,660 Places could open at certain times and then have to close early, 55 00:03:34,660 --> 00:03:37,180 or there would just be different ways of doing things. 56 00:03:37,180 --> 00:03:41,220 Because of the significance this day had, not just in Northern 57 00:03:41,220 --> 00:03:43,980 Irish society, but in the whole Christian church around the 58 00:03:43,980 --> 00:03:44,260 world. 59 00:03:45,210 --> 00:03:50,490 And without shadow of doubt, this is the most significant day 60 00:03:51,850 --> 00:03:53,370 in the Christian calendar. 61 00:03:54,170 --> 00:03:56,330 But yet how little we make of it. 62 00:03:57,130 --> 00:03:59,370 We make so much more of Christmas. 63 00:03:59,850 --> 00:04:03,050 In fact, Christmas now seems to begin on the 30th of October, 64 00:04:03,530 --> 00:04:05,450 and then keeps going some. 65 00:04:06,410 --> 00:04:09,490 And how quickly then we lose Christmas because on the 26th of 66 00:04:09,490 --> 00:04:12,210 December, we simply want to take our decorations down because 67 00:04:12,210 --> 00:04:15,680 we're sick and tired of looking at them, which tells us something 68 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,040 about how the world now portrays Christmas. 69 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:22,720 And yet isn't it doing the same with Easter? 70 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,920 Chocolate eggs, which we all enjoy, are now marketed to us as 71 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:31,480 the must have for Christmas or for Easter, although they're for 72 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:35,200 sale at Christmas, too, for some of them Easter bunnies. 73 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:39,520 I overheard one person in a shop today wishing a little girl 74 00:04:39,840 --> 00:04:42,400 that she hoped the Easter bunny would bring her all the Easter 75 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:47,610 eggs she wanted, as if now the Easter bunny is the wish list of 76 00:04:47,610 --> 00:04:48,410 what's needed. 77 00:04:49,930 --> 00:04:53,810 And yet Good Friday is good because of what we know Christ accomplishes 78 00:04:53,810 --> 00:04:54,530 on the cross. 79 00:04:54,530 --> 00:04:57,490 Yet I want to suggest to you tonight that it's not only just a 80 00:04:57,490 --> 00:05:00,570 good day, it's a remarkable day. 81 00:05:01,130 --> 00:05:04,170 And whenever you think of a remarkable day, I wonder what a remarkable 82 00:05:04,170 --> 00:05:05,770 day for you would be. 83 00:05:06,810 --> 00:05:10,650 Maybe a remarkable day in your house would be when your children 84 00:05:10,890 --> 00:05:11,770 tidy up. 85 00:05:13,090 --> 00:05:14,610 That would be a remarkable day. 86 00:05:15,490 --> 00:05:19,970 Maybe a remarkable day for you would be not to have to do any work 87 00:05:19,970 --> 00:05:23,450 in your place of work or at home, but simply get to choose what 88 00:05:23,450 --> 00:05:25,010 you want to do for once. 89 00:05:26,530 --> 00:05:31,410 Maybe a remarkable day is to go somewhere within this fine province 90 00:05:31,730 --> 00:05:34,290 and enjoy the beauty that we have all around us. 91 00:05:35,890 --> 00:05:39,370 Or maybe your remarkable day is simply to have a cup of coffee 92 00:05:39,370 --> 00:05:41,170 or tea and sit in a chair and read a book. 93 00:05:42,350 --> 00:05:45,510 A day that seems dull and boring, but yet is remarkable to 94 00:05:45,510 --> 00:05:47,390 you because of what it allows you to do. 95 00:05:49,310 --> 00:05:52,150 But Good Friday is a remarkable day because of everything 96 00:05:52,150 --> 00:05:55,470 that's been read for us in this passage in Matthew 27. 97 00:05:56,350 --> 00:06:02,110 It begins in the early hours where Jesus is before Pilate, that 98 00:06:02,190 --> 00:06:07,270 kangaroo court that was put in place by the Jewish leaders so that 99 00:06:07,270 --> 00:06:09,400 Jesus would be charged with. 100 00:06:10,030 --> 00:06:12,750 And what they would hope would happen, which did happen, was his 101 00:06:12,750 --> 00:06:13,550 Execution. 102 00:06:14,670 --> 00:06:17,630 And so he's before Pilate, and before he knows it, then he's before 103 00:06:17,630 --> 00:06:18,270 the crowd. 104 00:06:18,590 --> 00:06:22,510 This crowd, remember only a number of days before, were singing 105 00:06:22,510 --> 00:06:28,150 hosanna of him, entering in and welcoming him, waving their palm 106 00:06:28,150 --> 00:06:30,190 branches and putting their cloaks on the ground. 107 00:06:31,630 --> 00:06:34,190 And now a crowd that were shouting, crucify. 108 00:06:34,830 --> 00:06:35,550 Crucify. 109 00:06:37,300 --> 00:06:42,460 And it was a day for them where they actually released and 110 00:06:42,460 --> 00:06:48,340 wanted released, not Jesus of Nazareth, but Barabbas, where Matthew 111 00:06:48,340 --> 00:06:52,339 himself tells us was known as a notorious prisoner. 112 00:06:52,340 --> 00:06:55,420 Now, you know as well as I know that the word notorious is not 113 00:06:55,420 --> 00:06:56,260 a good word. 114 00:06:56,500 --> 00:07:02,900 If someone is notorious, well, you know they've done something that 115 00:07:03,190 --> 00:07:04,390 gives him that notoriety. 116 00:07:05,190 --> 00:07:07,590 And for Barabbas, he wasn't a good man. 117 00:07:07,990 --> 00:07:12,150 And yet before them, they had the opportunity to release and free 118 00:07:12,150 --> 00:07:13,670 the one who was truly good. 119 00:07:15,190 --> 00:07:20,430 And yet, just like every succeeding generation, they want 120 00:07:20,430 --> 00:07:25,030 what is off the world because they believe it is the world that 121 00:07:25,030 --> 00:07:25,990 will satisfy. 122 00:07:27,510 --> 00:07:32,660 And as soon as Barabbas is released, the cross is thrust upon 123 00:07:32,660 --> 00:07:36,500 Jesus, whether it actually be the full cross or just the cross 124 00:07:36,500 --> 00:07:38,260 bar that he would have to carry. 125 00:07:38,340 --> 00:07:41,620 And he would have to walk through those streets of Jerusalem. 126 00:07:41,620 --> 00:07:44,980 And Simon of Cyrene would have been pulled out of the crowd in verse 127 00:07:44,980 --> 00:07:48,180 32 to carry the cross because Jesus was so weak. 128 00:07:48,260 --> 00:07:50,660 Because what had they done to the Savior? 129 00:07:52,020 --> 00:07:56,900 They had beaten him and scourged him within an inch of his 130 00:07:56,900 --> 00:08:02,140 life and forced him in that pain and that suffering and that 131 00:08:02,140 --> 00:08:05,300 sorrow to walk through those streets. 132 00:08:06,740 --> 00:08:12,220 How true the hymn writer is in that wonderful hymn entitled man 133 00:08:12,220 --> 00:08:13,220 of Sorrows. 134 00:08:15,540 --> 00:08:19,860 You see, the man of sorrows is the one who would be hoisted up, 135 00:08:20,260 --> 00:08:26,910 suspended between heaven and earth, so that we would know exactly 136 00:08:26,910 --> 00:08:30,310 what it is to have a Savior who would redeem us. 137 00:08:30,310 --> 00:08:32,470 But it didn't stop with walking through the streets. 138 00:08:32,470 --> 00:08:38,270 Because once at Golgotha, then the mockery began, the insults hurled. 139 00:08:38,270 --> 00:08:39,990 And which one of us like insults? 140 00:08:39,990 --> 00:08:43,190 Which one of us like to be called names that are not kind and 141 00:08:43,190 --> 00:08:44,030 are not true? 142 00:08:45,230 --> 00:08:47,630 And this is what everyone did at Jesus. 143 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:54,360 They hurled them as if they were in a snowball fight, lifting 144 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:55,880 it and throwing it. 145 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:01,040 They say sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but names will never 146 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:01,640 harm me. 147 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:04,440 Well, we all know that's not true at all. 148 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,840 And then came that most significant of moments. 149 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:17,130 On this most remarkable of days, God in flesh died. 150 00:09:20,010 --> 00:09:22,330 Now let that sink in. 151 00:09:24,330 --> 00:09:30,889 The one who poured himself into human flesh, the divine, the 152 00:09:30,889 --> 00:09:38,770 God man, fully human, yet fully God gives up his life on Calvary's 153 00:09:38,770 --> 00:09:44,820 cross for you and for me. 154 00:09:47,380 --> 00:09:52,180 I Wonder, have you ever considered this to be a remarkable 155 00:09:52,260 --> 00:09:52,660 day? 156 00:09:54,740 --> 00:09:59,060 Because it truly is, whenever we recount it in its extent and in 157 00:09:59,060 --> 00:10:03,140 its fullness, of what God did for us. 158 00:10:08,270 --> 00:10:12,270 This morning, as I was on social media, I came across the name 159 00:10:12,350 --> 00:10:13,950 Wes Streeting. 160 00:10:14,910 --> 00:10:17,230 I hope you know who Wes Streeting is. 161 00:10:17,710 --> 00:10:19,070 He's our Health Secretary. 162 00:10:19,790 --> 00:10:20,870 He's a Labour mp. 163 00:10:20,870 --> 00:10:24,070 And I was surprised by what he said, but then I kind of flicked 164 00:10:24,070 --> 00:10:27,110 back and not only did he have something for Good Friday, he had 165 00:10:27,110 --> 00:10:29,670 something for Passover and he had something for Eid Mubarak. 166 00:10:29,670 --> 00:10:33,150 So, like a true politician, he had something for all bases. 167 00:10:34,250 --> 00:10:37,210 But he said he wrote this when Arsene Wenger. 168 00:10:37,530 --> 00:10:40,970 And if you don't know who that is, that was the Arsenal manager 169 00:10:41,370 --> 00:10:44,570 said, christmas is important, but Easter is decisive. 170 00:10:44,970 --> 00:10:48,570 And of course, he was talking about Arsenal's chances in the League. 171 00:10:49,290 --> 00:10:51,930 But whenever you hear that, wasn't he absolutely right? 172 00:10:51,930 --> 00:10:56,090 From a theological perspective, Christmas is important, 173 00:10:56,970 --> 00:11:00,020 but Easter is decisive. 174 00:11:00,500 --> 00:11:03,820 And again, we go back to what the world has shaped us to be, that 175 00:11:03,820 --> 00:11:07,260 we think often more of Christmas and we prepare more for 176 00:11:07,260 --> 00:11:10,780 Christmas than we actually do for what is the most decisive moment 177 00:11:10,780 --> 00:11:14,340 in human history, God on a cross. 178 00:11:15,860 --> 00:11:18,100 And that's why today is heavy. 179 00:11:18,100 --> 00:11:20,100 That's why today is weighty for us. 180 00:11:20,500 --> 00:11:21,100 That's why. 181 00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:22,900 Yet it is still called Good Friday. 182 00:11:24,180 --> 00:11:29,350 Because God not only drew near, but God took on himself, all 183 00:11:29,350 --> 00:11:36,190 of humanity, in that moment, so that we could know the truth of 184 00:11:36,190 --> 00:11:39,750 what it means to trust in him with our very souls. 185 00:11:40,630 --> 00:11:46,670 And so this remarkable day is truly showing us two remarkable events. 186 00:11:46,670 --> 00:11:48,550 And from this passage, the passage is long. 187 00:11:49,110 --> 00:11:52,390 But what I want to do is look at two things. 188 00:11:53,470 --> 00:11:56,270 The first is the curtain of the temple that was torn in two. 189 00:11:56,590 --> 00:11:59,710 And the second one then being the tombs opened and the bodies of 190 00:11:59,710 --> 00:12:01,150 the saints raised to life. 191 00:12:01,150 --> 00:12:04,550 And so the first thing we're going to look at is the curtain in 192 00:12:04,550 --> 00:12:05,230 the temple. 193 00:12:06,350 --> 00:12:10,470 Now, if you want to get the closest thing by what you might have 194 00:12:10,470 --> 00:12:13,390 in your mind about this curtain in the temple is go to any 195 00:12:13,390 --> 00:12:17,270 church hall that has a stage and think of the huge curtain that 196 00:12:17,270 --> 00:12:17,870 covers it. 197 00:12:17,870 --> 00:12:20,430 If you've ever had to take those curtains down, as we have had 198 00:12:20,430 --> 00:12:23,630 to do recently, to have them dry cleaned, you will know the simple 199 00:12:23,630 --> 00:12:24,740 weight of these curtains. 200 00:12:26,410 --> 00:12:30,050 Now, this is probably one eighth of what these curtains in 201 00:12:30,050 --> 00:12:34,810 the temple were like, because these curtains were the symbol of 202 00:12:34,810 --> 00:12:36,810 no access or no entry. 203 00:12:37,530 --> 00:12:42,250 Just like in the tabernacle in Exodus, these curtains represented 204 00:12:42,250 --> 00:12:46,330 that this was a place that no human being could go, because beyond 205 00:12:46,330 --> 00:12:48,650 the Curtain was called the Holy of Holies. 206 00:12:49,210 --> 00:12:51,170 And these were massive curtains. 207 00:12:51,170 --> 00:12:54,890 They were a thick tapestry measuring approximately what scripture 208 00:12:54,890 --> 00:12:59,670 says is 40 cubits high, which is approximately 60ft and 20 cubits 209 00:12:59,670 --> 00:13:01,910 wide, which was approximately 30ft. 210 00:13:02,230 --> 00:13:06,510 And it was meticulously woven with colors of blue, purple, and 211 00:13:06,510 --> 00:13:07,670 scarlet linen. 212 00:13:07,830 --> 00:13:10,150 And it was embroidered with cherubim. 213 00:13:10,150 --> 00:13:11,230 Now, where does that take us? 214 00:13:11,230 --> 00:13:13,270 Well, that takes us back to the Garden of Eden. 215 00:13:13,270 --> 00:13:16,510 Because what did God place in the gardens that humanity could never 216 00:13:16,510 --> 00:13:16,870 return? 217 00:13:17,590 --> 00:13:20,470 Well, he placed cherubim with flaming swords. 218 00:13:20,470 --> 00:13:24,150 And so here they are now, not only in the tabernacle, but now in 219 00:13:24,150 --> 00:13:27,390 the temple, telling people, you cannot go any further, because 220 00:13:27,390 --> 00:13:30,450 beyond this is the dwelling place of God. 221 00:13:31,650 --> 00:13:34,050 And no human can look on God and live. 222 00:13:35,650 --> 00:13:40,370 And so this curtain separated God from the people. 223 00:13:41,090 --> 00:13:44,450 And as much as it was a no entry sign for them, it was also 224 00:13:44,609 --> 00:13:46,770 protection for them. 225 00:13:47,650 --> 00:13:51,850 An access to the Holies of Holies was granted once a year to 226 00:13:51,850 --> 00:13:53,970 the High priest on the Day of Atonement. 227 00:13:54,860 --> 00:13:57,980 He would have to have made sure that he was ceremonially cleaned, 228 00:13:57,980 --> 00:14:02,460 wearing the right clothes, and he even had to have a piece of rope 229 00:14:02,460 --> 00:14:06,140 tied around his ankle that if he was not correctly prepared and 230 00:14:06,140 --> 00:14:08,980 dropped dead in the presence of God, well, then he could be pulled 231 00:14:08,980 --> 00:14:09,260 out. 232 00:14:09,500 --> 00:14:12,220 This is how significant this place was. 233 00:14:13,740 --> 00:14:19,620 The high priest could only enter after the fresh blood of animal 234 00:14:19,620 --> 00:14:23,580 sacrifices for the sins of himself and the sins of his people 235 00:14:23,580 --> 00:14:28,040 had been made, and the proper atonement had been made that would 236 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:29,160 deal with that sin. 237 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,480 And what we now see in this temple that had been rebuilt under 238 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:38,120 Ezra and Nehemiah is, as Christ dies, something happens there. 239 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:43,120 So why from Golgotha or the Hill of the Skull or Calvary, on 240 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:47,000 one hill of Jerusalem, looking across to the temple, is this significant? 241 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:52,870 Because the temple was the center of worship for the Jews. 242 00:14:53,510 --> 00:14:55,670 It was the place where God dwelt. 243 00:14:56,390 --> 00:15:00,030 And it was to there that the pilgrims gathered and traveled to 244 00:15:00,030 --> 00:15:02,710 on Palm Sunday so that they would be there for the Passover. 245 00:15:03,750 --> 00:15:07,270 And what's the significance of this curtain now being torn in two? 246 00:15:08,230 --> 00:15:12,470 Well, no longer was this place of worship for the Jews going to 247 00:15:12,470 --> 00:15:13,990 be the place they needed to be. 248 00:15:14,150 --> 00:15:15,590 Worship had shifted. 249 00:15:16,630 --> 00:15:19,430 Worship was now going to be through Jesus Christ. 250 00:15:20,420 --> 00:15:23,260 And the significance of the curtain being ripped from top to 251 00:15:23,260 --> 00:15:26,740 bottom, not bottom to top, like a piece of paper we would rip, 252 00:15:27,220 --> 00:15:34,060 demonstrates that God was the one who acted, telling us that by 253 00:15:34,060 --> 00:15:37,340 his Son he would now dwell with us. 254 00:15:37,340 --> 00:15:40,580 And we know in Pentecost that's exactly what happened. 255 00:15:41,220 --> 00:15:43,780 Not only did God come near through His Son. 256 00:15:44,180 --> 00:15:47,880 But God dwells amongst us by His Holy Spirit. 257 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,840 And so on Good Friday, this curtain was torn in two, telling 258 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,720 us that the days of the priests and the sacrifices were over. 259 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:02,640 Because now there was one sacrifice for the sins of many, and 260 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:05,400 the sacrifice of Jesus was enough. 261 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,440 No longer would there be a no entry sign for humanity to approach 262 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:11,000 God. 263 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:16,120 Rather, the way was open, open because of Jesus and his sacrifice. 264 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:21,680 No longer would the blood of the atoning lamb be needed to be 265 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:25,000 brought through that curtain to settle God's wrath. 266 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:29,640 The blood of the perfect sacrifice had been presented and 267 00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:34,480 God's wrath against sin was satisfied because Jesus spilt his 268 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:39,680 blood and died in our place so that we could know the goodness of 269 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:40,120 God. 270 00:16:41,860 --> 00:16:46,380 And if we want to reflect and think about what the significance 271 00:16:46,380 --> 00:16:48,620 of Good Friday is, then all we have to do is turn to the book of 272 00:16:48,620 --> 00:16:54,420 Hebrews, because Hebrews 7:27 tells us, speaking of Jesus, he has 273 00:16:54,420 --> 00:16:57,900 no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, 274 00:16:57,900 --> 00:17:01,500 first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since 275 00:17:01,500 --> 00:17:05,220 he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 276 00:17:06,190 --> 00:17:09,830 You see, the significance of this day is what Jesus has done only 277 00:17:09,830 --> 00:17:11,150 needed to be done once. 278 00:17:14,030 --> 00:17:18,310 No one ever has to die again for the atonement of their sins, 279 00:17:18,310 --> 00:17:19,630 for eternal glory. 280 00:17:20,590 --> 00:17:21,710 Jesus has done it. 281 00:17:21,710 --> 00:17:25,470 And what we're commanded to do is to trust him. 282 00:17:26,750 --> 00:17:30,270 That on this remarkable day, through this image of the curtain 283 00:17:30,350 --> 00:17:35,410 being torn in two, we are now told that as humanity, we have access 284 00:17:35,490 --> 00:17:36,210 to God. 285 00:17:37,090 --> 00:17:40,890 This remarkable day is truly a good day because God came near to 286 00:17:40,890 --> 00:17:41,130 us. 287 00:17:41,130 --> 00:17:44,450 God has done everything we need by which to know him. 288 00:17:44,610 --> 00:17:48,450 Because Jesus did once for all what needed to be done. 289 00:17:49,490 --> 00:17:55,250 The sacrificial lamb's blood shed and God's wrath satisfied. 290 00:17:56,610 --> 00:18:00,450 But don't think that this is a universal thing that simply covers 291 00:18:00,450 --> 00:18:02,050 everyone, no matter who they are. 292 00:18:03,210 --> 00:18:06,730 The command continues that we are to place our trust in Jesus. 293 00:18:08,250 --> 00:18:12,370 Not to reject him and just assume it's going to be okay, but 294 00:18:12,370 --> 00:18:16,290 to trust him that he is the one who died for me and for you. 295 00:18:16,290 --> 00:18:20,890 And to place your trust in him this night so that you will know 296 00:18:20,890 --> 00:18:25,210 that great assurance of the forgiveness of sins and delight in 297 00:18:25,210 --> 00:18:25,530 him. 298 00:18:27,450 --> 00:18:30,410 So that's the first remarkable event of this remarkable day. 299 00:18:30,570 --> 00:18:32,810 The curtain of the temple being torn in two. 300 00:18:32,810 --> 00:18:35,520 But did you pick up the second remarkable thing? 301 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:38,160 The tombs were opened. 302 00:18:39,120 --> 00:18:42,320 Now the folks down in the Presbyterian will know that I had 303 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:43,760 a quirky upbringing. 304 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:45,840 It was a good upbringing, but it was quirky. 305 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:49,280 I've often told them that I've had An odd relationship with death, 306 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:52,880 that if my father ever got anything new home, I would always 307 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,360 ask him, daddy, would that be mine when you die? 308 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,200 Of course, I had absolutely no idea what these things were, but 309 00:18:59,550 --> 00:19:01,390 that was the question that I seemed to ask. 310 00:19:02,270 --> 00:19:05,230 But as well as that, I used to spend a lot of time in graveyards. 311 00:19:06,750 --> 00:19:08,590 Now, I wasn't a troublemaker, by the way. 312 00:19:09,230 --> 00:19:12,750 I was taken regularly to walk amongst the graves. 313 00:19:13,310 --> 00:19:16,550 And I was taken by an older lady in our congregation, as well 314 00:19:16,550 --> 00:19:17,150 as a few friends. 315 00:19:17,150 --> 00:19:20,750 And she would simply walk through the graveyard and tell us 316 00:19:20,830 --> 00:19:24,990 who everybody was, because they were people of her generation 317 00:19:24,990 --> 00:19:28,310 and she had outlived them or she remembered them as her Sunday 318 00:19:28,310 --> 00:19:29,070 school teachers. 319 00:19:29,860 --> 00:19:34,060 And I have found myself walking often through our graveyard 320 00:19:34,060 --> 00:19:37,700 here and particularly thinking about the approach of Easter. 321 00:19:38,420 --> 00:19:42,420 And I thought to myself, a graveyard must be the greatest place 322 00:19:42,420 --> 00:19:45,540 to be when Jesus returns. 323 00:19:46,660 --> 00:19:47,940 Have you ever thought of that? 324 00:19:48,900 --> 00:19:51,740 Because we see it here in front of us about what's going to 325 00:19:51,740 --> 00:19:52,020 happen. 326 00:19:52,420 --> 00:19:54,020 We know that Sunday's coming. 327 00:19:54,020 --> 00:19:58,090 We know the resurrection from the dead, but we get to see it foreshadowed 328 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,360 in those of the tombs of the saints of the Old Testament. 329 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:04,760 Those who truly worshipped God, not knowing Christ fully, but 330 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:09,160 yet were redeemed because of their worship of God, were raised 331 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:10,400 onto eternal life. 332 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:14,479 And what celebration that will be when Christ comes back. 333 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,000 Because the first to rise will be those who have died ahead of us. 334 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:21,240 And what a celebration that will be as they are taken from the 335 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:25,800 grave and reunited with their bodies for the new heaven and the 336 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:26,320 new earth. 337 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:32,400 So our graveyard on the day when Christ returns will be quite 338 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:37,200 the place to be for the celebration of the redeemed joining 339 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:38,400 to the Savior. 340 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:42,560 And so what we see here is key to the future. 341 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:46,880 As the tombs were opened, we're seeing something that is profound 342 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:52,890 about human destiny, because we are not simply reincarnated. 343 00:20:53,610 --> 00:20:55,130 We're not resuscitated. 344 00:20:56,090 --> 00:21:01,210 Nor do we look for any form or sort of existence in Sheol. 345 00:21:01,290 --> 00:21:04,090 That's the underworld or the abode of the dead. 346 00:21:05,450 --> 00:21:11,170 Rather, we watch for God's new life, the same life that is seen 347 00:21:11,170 --> 00:21:12,970 in the resurrected Jesus. 348 00:21:14,010 --> 00:21:19,400 Death has no more hold on those who have trusted him as their 349 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:20,000 Savior. 350 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:24,800 Graveyards tell us where the first place of celebration will be 351 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:26,320 when Jesus returns. 352 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:28,960 And what a day that will be. 353 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:34,680 As the songwriter says, when my Jesus I shall see, when I look 354 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:40,800 upon his face, the one who saved me by his grace, when he takes 355 00:21:40,800 --> 00:21:46,470 me by the hand and leads me to the promised land, what a day, glorious 356 00:21:46,550 --> 00:21:48,470 day that will be. 357 00:21:49,190 --> 00:21:53,990 And so what we're seeing in Matthew 27 is that future hope. 358 00:21:54,710 --> 00:21:59,870 And that future hope is here in John 11:25 to 26, where Jesus 359 00:21:59,870 --> 00:22:02,710 is with his friends Mary and Martha and Lazarus. 360 00:22:03,110 --> 00:22:05,590 Lazarus has died and Jesus has been called. 361 00:22:05,590 --> 00:22:10,110 And Jesus does the most amazing thing of raising him from 362 00:22:10,110 --> 00:22:10,550 the dead. 363 00:22:10,550 --> 00:22:14,810 And Jesus says to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. 364 00:22:14,970 --> 00:22:18,650 Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. 365 00:22:18,970 --> 00:22:22,970 And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. 366 00:22:23,210 --> 00:22:27,450 And then Jesus asks the question, do you believe this? 367 00:22:29,050 --> 00:22:33,610 You see, we can often read these short verses in Matthew's gospel 368 00:22:33,850 --> 00:22:35,530 51 through to 54. 369 00:22:35,770 --> 00:22:38,570 And we can often overlook it, thinking, what significance does 370 00:22:38,570 --> 00:22:38,890 it have? 371 00:22:38,890 --> 00:22:41,210 Because the bigger picture is that Jesus has died. 372 00:22:41,210 --> 00:22:45,130 But because Jesus died, the curtain is torn in two. 373 00:22:45,370 --> 00:22:49,450 Because Jesus has died, the dead are risen to eternal life. 374 00:22:50,330 --> 00:22:55,050 You see, this is all linked and must be paid attention to because 375 00:22:55,050 --> 00:22:59,410 it is our future hope, our present hope is that we can have 376 00:22:59,410 --> 00:23:01,450 a relationship with God through Jesus. 377 00:23:01,770 --> 00:23:05,650 But the future hope is what Jesus says to Mary and Martha, that 378 00:23:05,650 --> 00:23:08,890 whoever believes in him, though he die, yet shall he live. 379 00:23:09,370 --> 00:23:12,410 And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. 380 00:23:12,650 --> 00:23:16,050 And so, as Jesus asked the question to Mary and Martha, I asked 381 00:23:16,050 --> 00:23:17,930 the question as he does this night. 382 00:23:17,930 --> 00:23:18,970 Do you believe this? 383 00:23:20,090 --> 00:23:23,810 Do you believe that one day there is coming that day when Jesus 384 00:23:23,810 --> 00:23:24,410 will return? 385 00:23:25,130 --> 00:23:27,930 And if you have not gone to the grave, then you will see him. 386 00:23:27,930 --> 00:23:30,650 But if you have, then you will rise if you've trusted in him. 387 00:23:31,610 --> 00:23:34,970 Because the problem is, if you don't trust in him, then you will 388 00:23:34,970 --> 00:23:36,730 not rise onto eternal life. 389 00:23:37,940 --> 00:23:42,260 You will rise onto eternal death and face the punishment. 390 00:23:42,660 --> 00:23:44,900 You see, this is the significance of this day. 391 00:23:45,300 --> 00:23:48,100 This is what God is telling us, that we have to trust in Christ 392 00:23:48,100 --> 00:23:49,700 to know that forgiveness of sins. 393 00:23:49,700 --> 00:23:52,700 And if we don't, well, then Christ won't have paid it for us. 394 00:23:52,700 --> 00:23:54,180 We will have to pay for it ourselves. 395 00:23:55,300 --> 00:23:58,820 And it will be a place of torment, it will be a place of suffering, 396 00:23:59,540 --> 00:24:02,180 and it will be a place of endless death. 397 00:24:04,030 --> 00:24:08,070 And so this remarkable day presents us with something by which 398 00:24:08,070 --> 00:24:12,790 we must respond to on this day that we still call Good Friday, because 399 00:24:12,790 --> 00:24:15,430 this remarkable day gives us remarkable events. 400 00:24:15,430 --> 00:24:18,749 But it's a day that's good because of the remarkable promise 401 00:24:18,749 --> 00:24:20,270 that is given to us. 402 00:24:21,230 --> 00:24:23,550 Because this changes everything in history. 403 00:24:24,110 --> 00:24:27,150 That's why Good Friday is the day that changes everything. 404 00:24:27,230 --> 00:24:32,270 But because of Jesus, because now we can access and have access 405 00:24:32,270 --> 00:24:33,710 to God through him. 406 00:24:34,350 --> 00:24:36,430 He's now what we call the Mediator. 407 00:24:37,070 --> 00:24:39,550 He's the one who speaks on our behalf. 408 00:24:40,030 --> 00:24:42,510 And this is what we read again in Hebrews chapter 9. 409 00:24:42,510 --> 00:24:45,550 In verse 15, he is the mediator of the new covenant. 410 00:24:45,710 --> 00:24:49,750 Because in Hebrews 9 we read, therefore, he is the mediator of 411 00:24:49,750 --> 00:24:53,750 a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised 412 00:24:53,750 --> 00:24:57,960 eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them 413 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,400 from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 414 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:05,240 You see, this is what Jesus now does for us. 415 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:09,400 He is the one who continues to intercede for us. 416 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:10,680 He mediates. 417 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:15,360 He is the one who, whenever we come to him seeking that forgiveness 418 00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:19,800 of sins, be it that sins that we need for that first moment of 419 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:23,280 salvation, forgiveness for, or the sins that we're each caught up 420 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:27,740 in day and daily, he is the one who mediates because his sacrifice 421 00:25:27,740 --> 00:25:32,460 is good enough before God once and for all so that we can know that 422 00:25:32,460 --> 00:25:35,340 we are his and have this wonderful assurance of salvation. 423 00:25:36,300 --> 00:25:40,420 So this is a remarkable promise, this Good Friday, this remarkable 424 00:25:40,420 --> 00:25:40,699 day. 425 00:25:40,699 --> 00:25:43,740 The promise is we can have a relationship with God. 426 00:25:43,900 --> 00:25:45,580 And it's all because of Jesus. 427 00:25:45,580 --> 00:25:50,380 And if we're really honest as human beings, we want relationship, 428 00:25:51,490 --> 00:25:53,010 we want relationship with others. 429 00:25:53,010 --> 00:25:53,730 But you know what? 430 00:25:53,730 --> 00:25:55,810 We want a good relationship with ourselves. 431 00:25:57,490 --> 00:25:59,570 And sometimes we can't get all of that. 432 00:26:00,530 --> 00:26:04,130 But yet Jesus says he is the one who gives us the perfect relationship 433 00:26:04,450 --> 00:26:06,530 because of what he has accomplished on the cross. 434 00:26:07,570 --> 00:26:10,610 You see, this remarkable promise is that we have a living 435 00:26:10,610 --> 00:26:14,690 hope for eternity, and it's in Christ, in him alone, as Peter writes 436 00:26:14,690 --> 00:26:16,450 in 1st Peter 3 and verse 1. 437 00:26:16,450 --> 00:26:19,850 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, Jesus Christ. 438 00:26:19,930 --> 00:26:24,730 According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again 439 00:26:25,610 --> 00:26:29,490 to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from 440 00:26:29,490 --> 00:26:30,010 the dead. 441 00:26:30,410 --> 00:26:31,490 This is our hope. 442 00:26:31,490 --> 00:26:33,690 And this is why today is good. 443 00:26:34,570 --> 00:26:38,410 Because Christ means we have hope in eternity. 444 00:26:39,930 --> 00:26:43,970 And some days we all need that hope more than others. 445 00:26:43,970 --> 00:26:45,990 And perhaps today is that day. 446 00:26:47,350 --> 00:26:51,430 Perhaps today is not simply a sad day because it's Good Friday. 447 00:26:52,070 --> 00:26:56,670 It's sad for many other reasons where the sin and hurt of 448 00:26:56,670 --> 00:27:01,829 this world completely bring us down and we feel like the sea is 449 00:27:01,829 --> 00:27:02,710 taking us under. 450 00:27:03,670 --> 00:27:08,470 This is the hope we have that Jesus is our living Savior. 451 00:27:08,470 --> 00:27:12,830 And it is because of his great mercy towards us that he's caused 452 00:27:12,830 --> 00:27:17,710 us to be born again to a living hope because he rose from 453 00:27:17,710 --> 00:27:18,150 the grave. 454 00:27:18,150 --> 00:27:20,790 And I'm sorry for giving away what's going to happen on Sunday, 455 00:27:20,870 --> 00:27:24,270 but we can't look at Friday without thinking about Sunday, because 456 00:27:24,270 --> 00:27:28,150 it is Sunday that brings it all together in that resurrection. 457 00:27:28,470 --> 00:27:31,990 And so a remarkable day gives us a remarkable promise, but finally 458 00:27:31,990 --> 00:27:33,670 it gives us a remarkable future. 459 00:27:33,910 --> 00:27:35,830 Because Sunday is coming. 460 00:27:36,630 --> 00:27:38,230 We mark the death of Christ. 461 00:27:38,630 --> 00:27:42,830 Yes, the sacrifice is paid for all time, but Sunday is coming, which 462 00:27:42,830 --> 00:27:45,270 is the joy of the conquering of death. 463 00:27:46,270 --> 00:27:49,230 Because that's what Jesus has done to prove that he is worthy, 464 00:27:49,630 --> 00:27:51,630 so that we can place our trust in him. 465 00:27:52,190 --> 00:27:55,790 And as he rose from the grave, as Paul writes the first fruits, 466 00:27:56,590 --> 00:27:59,630 so we too will follow as we trust in Him. 467 00:27:59,870 --> 00:28:02,030 That's what this resurrection is all about. 468 00:28:02,510 --> 00:28:07,030 That's what this curtain being torn in two is all about, that we 469 00:28:07,030 --> 00:28:13,080 too can have that future, that remarkable future of resurrected 470 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:17,800 bodies that are beautiful for the sake and love of Christ. 471 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:26,360 I guess there's a certain part of our society that is not knowing 472 00:28:26,999 --> 00:28:32,560 about what many of us endured in the 60s and the 70s, the 80s and 473 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:35,640 the 90s, what we call the Troubles. 474 00:28:37,650 --> 00:28:42,890 But there was a Good Friday in 1998 that completely changed society 475 00:28:42,890 --> 00:28:43,210 here. 476 00:28:43,210 --> 00:28:46,770 And we know that day to have produced the Good Friday agreement. 477 00:28:47,890 --> 00:28:52,849 Now, whether you voted for it or not, whether you liked it or not, 478 00:28:52,930 --> 00:28:55,810 I don't care this evening, and we're not getting into a political 479 00:28:55,810 --> 00:29:00,730 debate about it, but you cannot deny that it did change Northern 480 00:29:00,730 --> 00:29:01,090 Ireland. 481 00:29:01,570 --> 00:29:02,930 You can't deny that at all. 482 00:29:03,730 --> 00:29:07,010 But this document was sold to us as a document of hope. 483 00:29:07,410 --> 00:29:11,250 And it took on itself the name of the day on which it was signed, 484 00:29:11,250 --> 00:29:11,810 Good Friday. 485 00:29:12,450 --> 00:29:16,890 And I distinctly remember watching the television adverts that 486 00:29:16,890 --> 00:29:19,090 were to encourage us to vote for it. 487 00:29:19,730 --> 00:29:23,210 And there were two little boys running along Port Church Strand 488 00:29:23,210 --> 00:29:26,850 with the typical stereotypes of the two communities here. 489 00:29:27,810 --> 00:29:32,290 And Van Morrison was crooning in the background his song, Days 490 00:29:32,450 --> 00:29:33,090 like this. 491 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,080 And it was to fill us with great aspiration of what two communities 492 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:39,720 could be like running along Port Stewart Strand. 493 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:42,520 Now, of course, if they'd come to the beaches of Morne, everything 494 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:44,680 would have been perfect then for the next 30 years. 495 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,400 But they settled for the north coast. 496 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,000 I think it's fair to say, as much as that document changed Northern 497 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,640 Ireland, it did not give us the hope that it was sold to us. 498 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:01,780 And of course, it could never give the hope, because no human document 499 00:30:02,100 --> 00:30:02,500 can. 500 00:30:03,540 --> 00:30:08,460 The only hope we can have is what happened 2000 years ago on that 501 00:30:08,460 --> 00:30:10,260 most important of Good Fridays. 502 00:30:10,980 --> 00:30:12,900 Because Christ offers hope through his death. 503 00:30:13,300 --> 00:30:18,180 And this will be fully seen and celebrated and glorified on Sunday 504 00:30:18,500 --> 00:30:19,780 through His resurrection. 505 00:30:20,660 --> 00:30:26,330 And maybe this hope is summed up best by Cyril of Jerusalem, the 506 00:30:26,330 --> 00:30:28,610 fourth century bishop of Jerusalem. 507 00:30:28,610 --> 00:30:29,530 This is what he said. 508 00:30:32,330 --> 00:30:36,570 He stretched out his hands on the cross that he might embrace the 509 00:30:36,570 --> 00:30:37,690 ends of the world. 510 00:30:38,330 --> 00:30:43,210 For this, Golgotha is the very center of the earth. 511 00:30:44,010 --> 00:30:47,730 Now, Cyril of Jerusalem was telling us that here was a place 512 00:30:47,730 --> 00:30:52,950 in human time that had eternal spiritual significance, that Jesus 513 00:30:52,950 --> 00:30:57,270 opened his arms wide so that even we here tonight, not taking 514 00:30:57,270 --> 00:31:01,870 it for granted, but opened up a way for us Gentiles to know the 515 00:31:01,870 --> 00:31:05,110 truth of the gospel and salvation that God offered. 516 00:31:05,750 --> 00:31:09,510 And what should our response be to this remarkable day that gives 517 00:31:09,510 --> 00:31:11,990 us a remarkable promise and a remarkable future? 518 00:31:12,790 --> 00:31:16,390 Well, it is the same response as the centurion in verse 54. 519 00:31:16,630 --> 00:31:20,580 For when the centurion and those who were with him keeping watch 520 00:31:20,580 --> 00:31:24,540 over Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled 521 00:31:24,540 --> 00:31:31,180 with awe and said, truly this was the Son of God. 522 00:31:36,780 --> 00:31:42,020 Can we say that tonight in our hearts of hearts when things are 523 00:31:42,020 --> 00:31:42,380 tough? 524 00:31:44,140 --> 00:31:46,500 Maybe we're here and we're only here because it's what you do 525 00:31:46,500 --> 00:31:47,020 at Easter. 526 00:31:48,150 --> 00:31:50,630 And actually Christ means very little to you except for a swear 527 00:31:50,630 --> 00:31:51,030 word. 528 00:31:52,230 --> 00:31:59,150 Can you look upon him tonight on Golgotha's cross, the very center 529 00:31:59,150 --> 00:32:02,910 of the earth, where his arms are open wide for you, so that we 530 00:32:02,910 --> 00:32:04,150 would see it fulfilled. 531 00:32:04,790 --> 00:32:10,790 And what we're told in John 14, Let not your hearts be troubled. 532 00:32:11,990 --> 00:32:13,150 Believe in God. 533 00:32:13,150 --> 00:32:15,030 Believe also in me, says Jesus. 534 00:32:15,990 --> 00:32:17,990 In my Father's house are many rooms. 535 00:32:18,070 --> 00:32:21,190 If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare 536 00:32:21,190 --> 00:32:22,230 a place for you? 537 00:32:22,790 --> 00:32:25,990 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again 538 00:32:26,790 --> 00:32:33,390 and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also, and you 539 00:32:33,390 --> 00:32:35,270 know the way to where I am going. 540 00:32:36,310 --> 00:32:40,750 And Thomas the doubter said to him, lord, we don't know where you're 541 00:32:40,750 --> 00:32:42,070 going, so how can we know the way? 542 00:32:43,570 --> 00:32:47,810 Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. 543 00:32:48,450 --> 00:32:52,850 No one comes to the Father except through me. 544 00:32:53,970 --> 00:32:58,250 The arms of Christ on Calvary's cross are open wide so 545 00:32:58,250 --> 00:33:04,450 that you may know a resurrected body and an eternal hope 546 00:33:04,450 --> 00:33:08,260 in him, whatever the waves of this life brings. 547 00:33:10,250 --> 00:33:15,890 That's why I love the words of the hymn that we sung, just as our 548 00:33:15,890 --> 00:33:19,050 opening hymn of oh to See the Dawn. 549 00:33:19,370 --> 00:33:23,770 Because it concludes by saying, oh, to see my name written 550 00:33:23,770 --> 00:33:24,810 in the wounds. 551 00:33:25,290 --> 00:33:28,490 For through your suffering I am free. 552 00:33:28,650 --> 00:33:30,490 Death is crushed to death. 553 00:33:30,970 --> 00:33:35,130 Life is mine to live one through the selfless love. 554 00:33:36,190 --> 00:33:38,030 This the power of the cross. 555 00:33:38,590 --> 00:33:40,510 Son of God slain for us. 556 00:33:40,510 --> 00:33:41,950 What a love, what a cost. 557 00:33:42,990 --> 00:33:47,150 We stand forgiven at the cross. 558 00:33:49,870 --> 00:33:55,870 Sunday's coming and we will celebrate our resurrected Savior. 559 00:33:56,430 --> 00:33:59,710 But tonight his arms are open wide. 560 00:34:00,190 --> 00:34:04,800 He is removed from a cross and he is put into a tomb so that he 561 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:09,120 will defeat death and we will have hope in him. 562 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:11,760 Will he be your hope tonight? 563 00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:15,120 Do you know the place to where he is going? 564 00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:19,360 So that when he comes, he will take you to be with himself? 565 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:23,360 Because he says that he is the only way, the only truth and the 566 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:24,160 only life. 567 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:27,600 So come to him and have this. 568 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:29,120 A truly happy Easter. 569 00:34:30,490 --> 00:34:33,690 As you know, the one who's hoisted up on the middle cross, suspended 570 00:34:33,770 --> 00:34:38,730 between heaven and earth, as your Lord and your Savior now and 571 00:34:38,730 --> 00:34:39,530 forevermore. 572 00:34:40,490 --> 00:34:43,850 And so do take this little book with you by Sarah McLachlan, 573 00:34:44,170 --> 00:34:46,090 entitled Is Easter Unbelievable. 574 00:34:46,730 --> 00:34:50,970 It's good reading, it has good truth as it points us to Scripture, 575 00:34:51,450 --> 00:34:57,820 that we may know Christ and know him fully and know him now forevermore. 576 00:34:58,540 --> 00:34:59,340 Let me pray. 577 00:35:00,220 --> 00:35:01,540 Our Father, for your word. 578 00:35:01,540 --> 00:35:02,300 We thank you. 579 00:35:02,700 --> 00:35:07,060 Asking that it will be in our hearts, not coldness to us, but a 580 00:35:07,060 --> 00:35:11,140 fire that will draw us to the Savior, that our hope will be in 581 00:35:11,140 --> 00:35:12,060 him alone. 582 00:35:12,860 --> 00:35:16,100 And that indeed we will know this day truly to be a remarkable 583 00:35:16,100 --> 00:35:20,780 day because of this remarkable promise and a remarkable future that 584 00:35:20,780 --> 00:35:22,300 is ours, but only in Christ. 585 00:35:23,690 --> 00:35:26,490 So may we respond well to your word this night. 586 00:35:26,890 --> 00:35:29,530 In Jesus name, amen.