THE KING IN JERUSALEM (TALK 11/12: ’ DEATH & RESURRECTION) SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

CONNECT: Who can you invite to our and Day services? How will you do it?

WARM-UP 1. As our celebrations of Easter this year looked a little different, what changed for you? What did you miss most? What gave you a greater appreciation of Jesus’ death and resurrection? 2. What is it about Easter that most gives you a certainty even amidst such uncertain times? READ :27-44 1. What most stands out for you in this account? Is there anything that you haven’t noticed before? 2. How do verses 27-29 point to Jesus’ ultimate purpose? How has it been fulfilled? 3. How does Jesus differ to every other king in existence? What makes him the ultimate king? 4. What was the irony in the mocking of Jesus, “he saved others, but he can’t save himself…”? Have you ever witnessed people mocking Jesus? Do you think we can ever mock Jesus with our lives? READ Matthew 27:45-55 5. What does Jesus cry out when he dies? What is the significance of what this means? 6. What is significant about darkness coming over the land? How about the curtain being torn in two? 7. As Matthew reports people being raised to life, what is this all about? What is the effect of Jesus’ death that is being pointed to in this extraordinary event? 8. What did the Centurion realise about Jesus? Do you have confidence about who Jesus is? If you’re not sure, what could be a ‘next step’ to help you to get to know Jesus better? READ Matthew 28:1-10 9. What is the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection that gives you a certainty that it was a real event? 10. If Jesus had only died and not risen, would that be sufficient? Why or why not? 11. How is Jesus’ resurrection also the defeat of death and the beginning of life for us? Whilst we still experience the lingering effects of death, when will it be completely done away with? 12. What’s significant about the declaration of the messenger in verses 5-7? Why were the women afraid? 13. Because Jesus has risen from the dead, how does that help us to ‘not be afraid’ right now? 14. The women go and tell all they had seen. How is this a great model for us? Who can you tell this week?

APPLY: Who is one person this week with whom you can share how you celebrated Easter?

PRAY: Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the Easter weekend. Thank you for your phenomenal love poured out for us, and for your defeat of death. Help us to never take the for granted but to revel in it, proclaim it, and be transformed and renewed in it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

For sermons and additional resources, visit STBARTS.COM.AU

THE KING IN JERUSALEM (TALK 11/12: JESUS’ DEATH & RESURRECTION) GOING DEEPER RESOURCES On Your Front Line this Week • Who on your frontline can you share the Good News of Easter with this week? For Families • Download some of the family resources to use at home (includes Kids Talks and special activities for both Good Friday and Easter Day) stbarts.com.au/livestream Listen, Watch, and Read • AUDIO: Remember Me… by William Taylor: https://www.st-helens.org.uk/resources/series/4989/ • AUDIO: Tom Wright on COVID-19, isolation, and prayer: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ask-nt-wright-anything/id1441656192?mt=2 • AUDIO: John Lennox on where to find God amidst crisis: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/gospelbound/john-lennox-find-god- during-covid-19/ • AUDIO: John Dickson on debunking Easter myths: https://undeceptions.com/ • ARTICLE: From RZIM on a biblical and historical view of COVID-19: https://www.rzim.org/read/rzim-global/coronavirus-a-biblical-historical-perspective • ARTICLE: “9 Ways to Love your Neighbour During this Pandemic” by Justin Earley: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/love-neighbor-pandemic/ Other Helpful Resources (For Series) • STUDY GUIDE: Download our Study Guide on Matthew: https://stbarts.com.au/matthew • ONLINE: Introduction to the (Fuller): https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/introduction-to-matthew/ • VIDEO: The Bible Project, Matthew Overview: https://thebibleproject.com/explore/matthew

For sermons and additional resources, visit STBARTS.COM.AU

Talk 11C/12 (The King in Jerusalem): 12/04/20 “EASTER DAY” by the Rev’d Adam Lowe

Reflection A: Matthew 28:1-15 Reflection B: 1 Corinthians 15:3-8

INTRODUCTION \\ ANCHORED IN THE RESURRECTION

The tomb was empty, The stone had been rolled away, The soldiers fled in fear, The authorities couldn’t produce a body. The disciples once scattered and disillusioned are now willing to lose their lives in order to tell the Good News. That Jesus wasn’t just the Son of God, That Jesus didn’t just die for us, BUT That Jesus is Risen from the dead. And of course it wasn’t just one individual, or a small group who witnessed Jesus alive, but up to 500 - simultaneously - all at one time. • They: spoke with him, shared meals with him, saw him eat broiled fish, verified his wounds.

2 • He wasn’t a figment of their imagination, a ghost, or a vision, This wasn’t just an ancient hologram or augmented reality trick! Jesus was alive: flesh and blood, standing bodily right before their very eyes. // • When the two Mary’s are the first responders, and they see the tomb is empty, they’re probably worried that someone has taken the body, but the truth is far more shocking and unexpected: Jesus is alive! • And as they race to tell the disciples, encountering the risen Jesus along the way, falling at his feet and worshipping him, Jesus says to them: • Not, hello there, Good News, I’m back! But:

“Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

• When we hear that, it’s kind of unexpected at first, we might not really think that this seems like that first thing Jesus would say, but it’s actually such an honest moment speaking to their humanity, and the authenticity of the account. • Of course they’re freaked out! Dead people don’t come alive. If you went to a funeral on a Friday, and then come Sunday that person showed up, you’d be freaked out. • And even though Jesus told people again-and-again that he would be raised, no one expected it.

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• But he was. And that event, some 2000 years ago, has not only changed the course of history, but it’s changed the course of eternity. Everything pivots on the resurrection.

It means, that: Christians can have a certain hope, because our hope: • is not anchored to an idea or a philosophy, to our careers or achievement, to our wealth or our health, to our aspirations or our bucket lists, to our popularity or our prowess, all of those things can come and go, all of those things are uncertain, but we can have a certain hope, because it’s hope anchored in history: in the death and . • And so today, I really just want to share two implications, as to why Jesus’ resurrection, gives us the greatest anchor point we could ever imagine.

4 POINT A \\ FOREVER FORGIVEN \\ MATTHEW 28

So first, Jesus’ resurrection is the cause for certain hope, because when our lives are anchored in him, it means we are forever forgiven. • Jesus' resurrection is a victory over sin and death. • His true identity has been confirmed, he’s who he said he was, His promises have been fulfilled, he said that he would be raised, His resurrection confirms that he has conquered sin and death. • That his death wasn’t merely an extraordinary example of sacrificial love, but that his death was a totally and comprehensively effective sacrifice: one-and-for-all, dealing with the problem of both sin and death. • In order for Jesus’ to be victorious, he couldn’t just deal with sin but not death, or death but not sin, because the two are inextricably linked. You can’t separate them. • That sin has caused such a breakdown in our lives, and in the world, that the consequences are so far-reaching that it doesn’t just taint life, but destroys it. • That starts right back in Genesis, that as sin entered the world, so did death. • However, God had a plan to set things right, through his son: that Jesus’ death would be for the sin of the world.

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• In Matthew, we see the effect of Jesus’ death, as the curtain in the Temple, the curtain that separated the holy of holies, the curtain that separated the very presence of God, was torn in two, symbolising that through his death, a way opened up for relationship with God. • But if Jesus stayed dead, it wouldn’t be much of a victory! It would be totally hollow! • It would mean that the King is dead, that we couldn’t be sure, that forgiveness is not permanent, that he died as a sacrifice, but that sacrifice simply wasn’t adequate. • But because even death could not hold him down, we can be absolutely certain that what he did was sufficient. That we’re forgiven. We read in the book of Acts:

24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. Acts 2:24

6 • Jesus’ resurrection is the evidence that sin has been defeated, because even the bonds of death have been broken. • Paul puts it like this:

“Death has been swallowed up in victory. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

• Paul is making fun of death here. He’s not pretending that death isn’t real, nor is he making light of how serious of an enemy death was, but he’s saying that now, because Jesus died, and has been vindicated in his resurrection, that Jesus’ victory was so comprehensive and decisive, that the sting of death is gone. • Jesus’ resurrection draws a line in the sand. • That death’s days are numbered. That death will no longer have the last say. • That as we put our trust in Jesus, not only are we forever forgiven, but we too, just like him will be forever raised.

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POINT A \\ FOREVER RAISED \\ 1 CORINTHIANS 15

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

Jesus’ resurrection is the first fruits. The image is that of a farmer looking out on their fields, waiting for their harvest. • And when they see the very first fruit appearing, the first tomato on the vine, then it’s a signal of the crop that is to follow! That’s what Jesus’ resurrection is for us. • That when our lives are anchored to him, like a carriage hitched to the Jesus train, it means not only that our sin has been put to death in his death, but that his resurrection drags ours in its trail. • That what awaits us is not death, but life forever with him. If you want a preview of what your future looks like, just look at Jesus’ resurrection. • Not wafting about in some spiritual realm, but a physical and bodily resurrection. And not just for us, but that the whole of creation will be made new. 8 • Can you imagine… no more pain, no more suffering, no more evil, no more viruses. • That as surely Jesus was raised from the dead, all who put their trust in Jesus will be raised too.

One of my favourite stories of all time is of a friends, when purchasing two burial plots and the person said to him, “this will be a beautiful final resting place’, he said, ‘a-gh, lady, when that trumpet sounds we’re up and out of here”

Yet whilst we can be certain of the future that awaits us, in that age to come, we’re more than aware that whilst death has been defeated it has not yet been destroyed. • We live in the now but not yet. • That Jesus’ death and resurrection, some 2000 years ago, marked the inauguration of the future that awaits us, that it won’t be brought to fulfilment until Jesus returns. • That’s obvious isn’t it? After all, we still see and experience the effects of sin and death, We’re still so aware of the pain and the suffering in our lives and the world. • We live in between times, in the now but not yet. It’s like being seated for dinner, smelling the food from the next room.

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• Like living between Good Friday and Easter Day, Because of Jesus’ resurrection we can know the trajectory that we’re on, We know that death isn’t going to win out, We know that relief is on the way… Which gives us the confidence to face the uncertainty of today. • That it would be this certain hope that would cause us to not be afraid.

Right now, we’re experiencing a time of uncertainty globally that is unparalleled in recent decades. And in considering how we are responding to that, some research by McCrindle suggests that the predominant feeling that the pandemic is shaping how Australians feel, is anxious.

Almost 50% of people reported feeling extremely or very uncertain about the future?

• You might think I didn’t need a study to tell me that! And it’s no wonder really, is it? Because not only are there so many unknowns, Not only are there so many difficult things happening all around us and to us, but we just don’t know what to expect. • And of course what it exposes, is even more confronting to acknowledge, is that actually, we’ve never really been in control as much as we would like.

10 • That there’s actually far more out of our control, than we’d ever dare to admit. • Things we considered certain are not. Things that give us hope don’t last. // • What can we possibly learn from this? • If we want a hope that is certain, it cannot just be on something that gets us from one crisis to the next, but a hope that is certain because we know how the story ends, because it’s anchored in something that’s already been done. • That, as Josh McDowell puts it:

“No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the Resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good.”

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INVITATION \\ WHO IS YOUR ANCHOR? \\ MATTHEW 28

Is that the certain hope that you have? • The only thing it’s dependent upon, is to whom your life is anchored. // • Right at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, as the disciples are gathered on the mountain where Jesus had told them to go, when they see Jesus, there are two distinct responses…

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:16-17)

They all had the same experience, • But only some could take that next step and worship him. • If Jesus’ resurrection didn’t happen, it’s just a foolish fantasy. You’d be better off watching netflix. But if it did, it changes everything.

12 • What is your life anchored to? What is the basis for your hope? Things that are temporary, Or the one who is forever? • Who has risen from the dead. Who is coming back. Who has been given authority over all time, all space, all persons, all things. • The one in whom we find a hope bigger than ourselves, a hope bigger than our world, Yet it’s also a hope for ourselves and our world. • And the way you get connected to this hope, is simply be anchoring yourself to Jesus. • If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9) • Forever Forgiven. Forever Raised. • A certain hope.

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