1 00:00:30,450 --> 00:00:32,690 Let's sing that little song, 4-4-8, 2 00:00:32,810 --> 00:00:35,310 Lord we long for you to move in 3 00:00:35,310 --> 00:00:35,750 power. 4 00:00:37,270 --> 00:00:39,330 Then we hear God's word read to us, 5 00:00:39,770 --> 00:00:40,530 4-4-8. 6 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:47,780 Let's stand and sing this. 7 00:02:39,700 --> 00:02:46,980 So hear our prayer and let our cry 8 00:02:46,980 --> 00:02:51,960 come up to you, great God. 9 00:02:53,180 --> 00:02:53,700 Amen. 10 00:03:01,260 --> 00:03:04,580 The reading is from John 11, verses 17 11 00:03:04,580 --> 00:03:07,720 -53, which is about Jesus raising Lazarus from 12 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:08,160 the dead. 13 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:11,420 John 11, verses 17-53. 14 00:03:13,340 --> 00:03:19,450 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had 15 00:03:19,450 --> 00:03:21,870 already been in the tomb for four days. 16 00:03:22,850 --> 00:03:25,570 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 17 00:03:26,210 --> 00:03:28,290 and many Jews had come to Martha and 18 00:03:28,290 --> 00:03:30,530 Mary to comfort them in the loss of 19 00:03:30,530 --> 00:03:31,030 their brother. 20 00:03:32,230 --> 00:03:34,910 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she 21 00:03:34,910 --> 00:03:37,670 went out to meet him, but Mary stayed 22 00:03:37,670 --> 00:03:38,170 at home. 23 00:03:38,990 --> 00:03:42,130 Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had 24 00:03:42,130 --> 00:03:44,430 been here, my brother would not have died, 25 00:03:44,910 --> 00:03:47,190 but I know that even now God will 26 00:03:47,190 --> 00:03:48,790 give you whatever you ask. 27 00:03:49,690 --> 00:03:52,470 Jesus said to her, your brother will rise 28 00:03:52,470 --> 00:03:52,850 again. 29 00:03:53,730 --> 00:03:56,250 Martha answered, I know he will rise again 30 00:03:56,250 --> 00:03:58,310 in the resurrection at the last day. 31 00:03:59,610 --> 00:04:02,230 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection 32 00:04:02,230 --> 00:04:03,170 and the life. 33 00:04:03,170 --> 00:04:05,930 He who believes in me will live even 34 00:04:05,930 --> 00:04:08,830 though he dies, and whoever lives and believes 35 00:04:08,830 --> 00:04:10,290 in me will never die. 36 00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:11,990 Do you believe this? 37 00:04:12,510 --> 00:04:13,910 Yes, Lord, she told him. 38 00:04:14,310 --> 00:04:16,209 I believe that you are the Christ, the 39 00:04:16,209 --> 00:04:18,230 Son of God, who was to come into 40 00:04:18,230 --> 00:04:18,750 the world. 41 00:04:19,510 --> 00:04:21,770 And after she had said this, she went 42 00:04:21,770 --> 00:04:23,930 back and called her sister Mary aside. 43 00:04:24,610 --> 00:04:26,610 The teacher is here, she said, and is 44 00:04:26,610 --> 00:04:27,470 asking for you. 45 00:04:28,350 --> 00:04:30,450 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly 46 00:04:30,450 --> 00:04:31,490 and went to him. 47 00:04:32,250 --> 00:04:34,750 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, 48 00:04:35,170 --> 00:04:36,810 but was still at the place where Martha 49 00:04:36,810 --> 00:04:37,490 had met him. 50 00:04:38,190 --> 00:04:40,070 When the Jews who had been with Mary 51 00:04:40,070 --> 00:04:43,270 in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly 52 00:04:43,270 --> 00:04:45,530 she got up and went out, they followed 53 00:04:45,530 --> 00:04:47,910 her, supposing she was going to the tomb 54 00:04:47,910 --> 00:04:48,770 to mourn there. 55 00:04:49,750 --> 00:04:52,430 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was 56 00:04:52,430 --> 00:04:54,950 and saw him, she fell at his feet 57 00:04:54,950 --> 00:04:57,570 and said, Lord, if you had been here, 58 00:04:57,650 --> 00:04:59,350 my brother would not have died. 59 00:05:00,570 --> 00:05:03,330 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews 60 00:05:03,330 --> 00:05:05,050 who had come along with her also weeping, 61 00:05:05,490 --> 00:05:07,850 he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 62 00:05:08,570 --> 00:05:09,870 Where have you laid him? 63 00:05:10,010 --> 00:05:10,490 he asked. 64 00:05:10,910 --> 00:05:12,810 Come and see, Lord, they replied. 65 00:05:13,550 --> 00:05:14,390 Jesus wept. 66 00:05:15,710 --> 00:05:18,170 Then the Jews said, See how he loved 67 00:05:18,170 --> 00:05:18,410 him. 68 00:05:19,270 --> 00:05:21,530 But some of them said, Could he who 69 00:05:21,530 --> 00:05:23,290 opened the eyes of the blind man have 70 00:05:23,290 --> 00:05:24,590 kept this man from dying? 71 00:05:26,070 --> 00:05:29,210 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the 72 00:05:29,210 --> 00:05:29,530 tomb. 73 00:05:30,290 --> 00:05:31,990 It was a cave with a stone laid 74 00:05:31,990 --> 00:05:32,830 across the entrance. 75 00:05:33,850 --> 00:05:35,250 Take away the stone, he said. 76 00:05:35,910 --> 00:05:37,990 But Lord, said Martha, the sister of the 77 00:05:37,990 --> 00:05:40,190 dead man, by this time there is a 78 00:05:40,190 --> 00:05:42,310 bad odour, for he has been there four 79 00:05:42,310 --> 00:05:42,830 days. 80 00:05:43,830 --> 00:05:46,530 Then Jesus said, Did I not tell you 81 00:05:46,530 --> 00:05:48,710 that if you believed you would see the 82 00:05:48,710 --> 00:05:49,490 glory of God? 83 00:05:50,650 --> 00:05:52,990 So they looked up and took away the 84 00:05:52,990 --> 00:05:53,290 stone. 85 00:05:53,290 --> 00:05:56,750 Then Jesus said, Father, I thank you that 86 00:05:56,750 --> 00:05:57,490 you have heard me. 87 00:05:57,970 --> 00:06:00,090 I knew that you always hear me, but 88 00:06:00,090 --> 00:06:01,770 I said this for the benefit of the 89 00:06:01,770 --> 00:06:04,370 people standing here, that they may believe that 90 00:06:04,370 --> 00:06:04,950 you sent me. 91 00:06:05,870 --> 00:06:08,310 When he had said this, Jesus called in 92 00:06:08,310 --> 00:06:10,970 a loud voice, Lazarus, come out. 93 00:06:12,010 --> 00:06:14,510 The dead man came out, his hands and 94 00:06:14,510 --> 00:06:16,750 feet wrapped with strips of linen and a 95 00:06:16,750 --> 00:06:17,930 cloth around his face. 96 00:06:18,610 --> 00:06:21,230 Jesus said to them, Take off the grave 97 00:06:21,230 --> 00:06:22,730 clothes and let him go. 98 00:06:23,950 --> 00:06:26,070 Therefore many of the Jews who had come 99 00:06:26,070 --> 00:06:28,290 to visit Mary and had seen what Jesus 100 00:06:28,290 --> 00:06:30,090 did put their faith in him. 101 00:06:30,850 --> 00:06:32,790 But some of them went to the Pharisees 102 00:06:32,790 --> 00:06:34,750 and told them what Jesus had done. 103 00:06:35,730 --> 00:06:37,950 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called 104 00:06:37,950 --> 00:06:39,250 a meeting of the Sanhedrin. 105 00:06:40,070 --> 00:06:41,670 What are we accomplishing, they asked. 106 00:06:42,070 --> 00:06:44,830 Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 107 00:06:45,350 --> 00:06:47,170 If we let him go on like this, 108 00:06:47,450 --> 00:06:48,690 everyone will believe in him. 109 00:06:49,090 --> 00:06:50,930 And then the Romans will come and take 110 00:06:50,930 --> 00:06:52,630 away both our place and our nation. 111 00:06:53,790 --> 00:06:56,370 Then one of them named Caiaphas, who was 112 00:06:56,370 --> 00:06:58,030 a high priest that year, spoke up. 113 00:06:58,550 --> 00:06:59,850 You know nothing at all. 114 00:07:00,290 --> 00:07:01,990 You do not realize that it is better 115 00:07:01,990 --> 00:07:03,630 for you that one man die for the 116 00:07:03,630 --> 00:07:05,870 people than that the whole nation perish. 117 00:07:06,870 --> 00:07:08,650 He did not say this on his own, 118 00:07:09,030 --> 00:07:11,090 but as high priest that year he prophesied 119 00:07:11,090 --> 00:07:13,550 that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. 120 00:07:13,550 --> 00:07:16,610 And not only for that nation, but also 121 00:07:16,610 --> 00:07:19,070 for the scattered children of God to bring 122 00:07:19,070 --> 00:07:20,450 them together and make them one. 123 00:07:20,990 --> 00:07:23,770 So from that day on they plotted to 124 00:07:23,770 --> 00:07:24,550 take his life. 125 00:07:33,830 --> 00:07:37,030 As Brian indicated, this evening we are particularly 126 00:07:37,030 --> 00:07:41,470 giving time to linking up on the events 127 00:07:41,470 --> 00:07:44,610 of yesterday and will endeavor to put them 128 00:07:44,610 --> 00:07:47,470 into a biblical framework to the degree that 129 00:07:47,470 --> 00:07:49,970 it is possible to speak on these great 130 00:07:49,970 --> 00:07:54,810 mysteries of tragedy in people's lives. 131 00:07:55,650 --> 00:07:57,770 One of the reasons why we are attempting 132 00:07:57,770 --> 00:08:01,250 this is because the press got on to 133 00:08:01,250 --> 00:08:04,290 me on a number of occasions last week. 134 00:08:04,390 --> 00:08:06,790 Some of the comments they made were accurate. 135 00:08:06,790 --> 00:08:09,950 One or two were understandable, but not quite 136 00:08:09,950 --> 00:08:11,190 sharp. 137 00:08:12,230 --> 00:08:14,710 It is not true that I was in 138 00:08:14,710 --> 00:08:17,230 touch with Mother Teresa during these last few 139 00:08:17,230 --> 00:08:20,270 months, though I have in my times in 140 00:08:20,270 --> 00:08:22,090 India been in her company. 141 00:08:22,910 --> 00:08:24,950 It may well be that we will have 142 00:08:24,950 --> 00:08:26,910 a phone call in from one of her 143 00:08:26,910 --> 00:08:29,290 colleagues this evening, but I am not too 144 00:08:29,290 --> 00:08:32,929 sure about that just at the moment. 145 00:08:32,929 --> 00:08:35,650 But it is particularly this evening when we 146 00:08:35,650 --> 00:08:39,530 will be homing in on the death of 147 00:08:39,530 --> 00:08:40,549 the princess. 148 00:08:40,789 --> 00:08:43,070 But it so happens in God's grace that 149 00:08:43,070 --> 00:08:44,750 we have been looking on a Sunday morning 150 00:08:44,750 --> 00:08:49,530 at the controversy that Jesus triggered in his 151 00:08:49,530 --> 00:08:50,010 ministry. 152 00:08:51,010 --> 00:08:53,250 And in one sense it is providential. 153 00:08:53,310 --> 00:08:55,410 It is amazing how you can do a 154 00:08:55,410 --> 00:08:58,610 plan in terms of a bunch of sermons 155 00:08:58,610 --> 00:09:01,250 not knowing quite what the circumstance will be 156 00:09:01,250 --> 00:09:03,410 when you come to deliver what you have 157 00:09:03,410 --> 00:09:04,870 planned for. 158 00:09:05,290 --> 00:09:07,530 And here we are this morning looking at 159 00:09:07,530 --> 00:09:10,370 Jesus and what he had to say about 160 00:09:10,370 --> 00:09:11,450 life and death. 161 00:09:12,150 --> 00:09:15,510 And we find ourselves at a point where 162 00:09:15,510 --> 00:09:19,150 unless you just went to sleep the whole 163 00:09:19,150 --> 00:09:22,370 of yesterday, there is no way in which 164 00:09:22,370 --> 00:09:28,210 that subject of death can have escaped you. 165 00:09:28,210 --> 00:09:31,450 You have to stop and to think at 166 00:09:31,450 --> 00:09:33,170 some stage. 167 00:09:34,010 --> 00:09:36,930 Listen to Charles Spurgeon. 168 00:09:37,070 --> 00:09:40,010 I literally have only just been reading this. 169 00:09:40,670 --> 00:09:43,070 He has this to say. 170 00:09:43,630 --> 00:09:46,710 It is sad that the ostrich buries its 171 00:09:46,710 --> 00:09:50,550 head in the sand and fancies itself secure 172 00:09:50,550 --> 00:09:52,790 when it can no longer see the hunter. 173 00:09:52,790 --> 00:09:56,130 I can hardly imagine that even a bird 174 00:09:56,130 --> 00:09:57,590 can be quite so foolish. 175 00:09:58,050 --> 00:10:00,910 And I beg you, do not enact such 176 00:10:00,910 --> 00:10:01,530 madness. 177 00:10:02,230 --> 00:10:04,970 If I do not think of death, yet 178 00:10:04,970 --> 00:10:06,310 death will think of me. 179 00:10:06,610 --> 00:10:08,730 If I do not go to death by 180 00:10:08,730 --> 00:10:15,390 meditation, death will come to me by experience. 181 00:10:15,590 --> 00:10:17,090 Well, that's Charles Spurgeon. 182 00:10:17,090 --> 00:10:20,450 Let's go to a socialist philosopher who was 183 00:10:20,450 --> 00:10:23,110 once a member of the Brethren Assemblies when 184 00:10:23,110 --> 00:10:25,450 he was a boy and reneged on his 185 00:10:25,450 --> 00:10:25,890 faith. 186 00:10:25,970 --> 00:10:28,350 He's now towards the end of his political 187 00:10:28,350 --> 00:10:33,210 course, and it's in the days, the Barmy 188 00:10:33,210 --> 00:10:35,010 days, in more than one sense of the 189 00:10:35,010 --> 00:10:39,450 word, of Harold Wilson and Mary Wilson and 190 00:10:39,450 --> 00:10:42,190 Michael Foote and so forth. 191 00:10:42,190 --> 00:10:44,530 A colleague has died. 192 00:10:45,850 --> 00:10:49,870 And Crossman, in his atheism, coupled with that 193 00:10:49,870 --> 00:10:52,010 of Michael Foote, get together. 194 00:10:52,750 --> 00:10:54,790 And they try and do the sort of 195 00:10:54,790 --> 00:10:59,190 thing that occurred yesterday at Westminster Abbey, but 196 00:10:59,190 --> 00:11:01,270 it fouls up. 197 00:11:01,530 --> 00:11:03,550 And they're describing this service. 198 00:11:04,470 --> 00:11:06,810 And Richard Crossman, in his diaries, is very, 199 00:11:06,810 --> 00:11:07,710 very honest. 200 00:11:08,370 --> 00:11:10,290 He speaks about his colleague whose name was 201 00:11:10,290 --> 00:11:10,810 Stephen. 202 00:11:10,810 --> 00:11:13,230 And he says of the service, there wasn't 203 00:11:13,230 --> 00:11:17,870 a service really, just the coffin waiting to 204 00:11:17,870 --> 00:11:21,030 slide down into the fire and a chap 205 00:11:21,030 --> 00:11:22,970 playing the organ. 206 00:11:24,070 --> 00:11:27,390 Michael Foote got up and said a quiet 207 00:11:27,390 --> 00:11:27,870 obituary. 208 00:11:28,970 --> 00:11:34,330 Then Harold Davis, another parliamentary colleague, was more 209 00:11:34,330 --> 00:11:36,890 florid but curiously touching. 210 00:11:37,530 --> 00:11:41,830 I thought, my God, I'd rather have a 211 00:11:41,830 --> 00:11:42,890 bit of ritual at a funeral. 212 00:11:43,850 --> 00:11:46,230 It's too desperately heartbreaking for the wife and 213 00:11:46,230 --> 00:11:48,730 the kids when it's all addressed to them 214 00:11:48,730 --> 00:11:50,450 as human being to human being. 215 00:11:51,230 --> 00:11:54,230 And though God may not exist, there is 216 00:11:54,230 --> 00:11:56,530 something to be said for him to stop 217 00:11:56,530 --> 00:11:59,510 everybody from mopping their eyes, as we are 218 00:11:59,510 --> 00:12:00,150 all doing. 219 00:12:01,130 --> 00:12:04,110 We walked out through the back of the 220 00:12:04,110 --> 00:12:08,070 chancel into the sunshine and saw the flowers 221 00:12:08,070 --> 00:12:12,470 and each other and couldn't say much. 222 00:12:13,330 --> 00:12:15,270 Well, of course he couldn't say much. 223 00:12:15,990 --> 00:12:18,330 There really is nothing to say. 224 00:12:19,090 --> 00:12:23,710 If your presupposition is that of atheism, then 225 00:12:23,710 --> 00:12:26,770 death is for you what the Bible declares 226 00:12:26,770 --> 00:12:27,510 it to be. 227 00:12:27,510 --> 00:12:30,850 And that is the last enemy. 228 00:12:32,130 --> 00:12:35,310 Death is for you, as the Bible declares, 229 00:12:35,430 --> 00:12:39,650 then qualifies like a sting that is put 230 00:12:39,650 --> 00:12:43,850 into the being of a person and leads 231 00:12:43,850 --> 00:12:49,070 ultimately to destruction and arguably from an atheistic 232 00:12:49,070 --> 00:12:51,170 point of view to annihilation. 233 00:12:51,950 --> 00:12:55,930 But of course, the Bible, in referring to 234 00:12:55,930 --> 00:12:59,890 death as the last enemy, also holds that 235 00:12:59,890 --> 00:13:02,650 intention with Jesus as the great victor. 236 00:13:03,550 --> 00:13:05,830 And the reason why Jesus came on earth, 237 00:13:05,930 --> 00:13:08,170 at least one of the byproducts of his 238 00:13:08,170 --> 00:13:11,370 ministry on earth, was to look at the 239 00:13:11,370 --> 00:13:15,310 enemy of death, fight it, and be victorious 240 00:13:15,310 --> 00:13:16,490 over it. 241 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,130 For in the 20th century, when we go 242 00:13:20,130 --> 00:13:25,530 soft on convictions in terms of biblical religion, 243 00:13:26,330 --> 00:13:29,850 but expect convictions in terms of political philosophy, 244 00:13:30,670 --> 00:13:34,510 let it be said that our Lord Jesus 245 00:13:34,510 --> 00:13:39,370 and the Christian faith is the only person 246 00:13:39,370 --> 00:13:43,690 and the only religion that does address the 247 00:13:43,690 --> 00:13:47,790 problem of death and claims that its founder, 248 00:13:48,150 --> 00:13:51,910 in other words, the Savior Himself, dealt with 249 00:13:51,910 --> 00:13:56,670 death, went through death, came back after death, 250 00:13:56,870 --> 00:14:00,150 and as a result of the impeccable nature 251 00:14:00,150 --> 00:14:03,930 of His life and the sacrifice of that 252 00:14:03,930 --> 00:14:07,530 on a cross, makes it possible for the 253 00:14:07,530 --> 00:14:12,270 benefits, the cumulative benefit of His life to 254 00:14:12,270 --> 00:14:14,750 pass through to people like you and me, 255 00:14:15,470 --> 00:14:18,670 who when death visits us, as we're brought 256 00:14:18,670 --> 00:14:21,530 into the presence of God, will be appallingly 257 00:14:21,530 --> 00:14:25,150 embarrassed because of the things that we have 258 00:14:25,150 --> 00:14:27,450 done that are wrong and because there has 259 00:14:27,450 --> 00:14:31,370 been no atonement made, no proffer of forgiveness 260 00:14:31,370 --> 00:14:32,790 have we sought for. 261 00:14:33,470 --> 00:14:36,010 And as a result, in those final moments, 262 00:14:36,630 --> 00:14:39,850 we are in a desperate condition. 263 00:14:42,010 --> 00:14:44,890 Now, let's again examine our Lord Jesus because 264 00:14:44,890 --> 00:14:46,650 He really was in one sense a very 265 00:14:46,650 --> 00:14:47,510 ordinary man. 266 00:14:47,570 --> 00:14:49,690 I mean by that, He's the people's Savior. 267 00:14:50,550 --> 00:14:51,950 We hear of the people's princess. 268 00:14:53,230 --> 00:14:55,050 I think if I had to put another 269 00:14:55,050 --> 00:14:57,390 term alongside son of man as my most 270 00:14:57,390 --> 00:14:59,970 popular one to describe Jesus, that is a 271 00:14:59,970 --> 00:15:02,130 non-biblical term, is that He was the 272 00:15:02,130 --> 00:15:03,030 man for others. 273 00:15:04,170 --> 00:15:05,350 You see, He got the crowns. 274 00:15:05,390 --> 00:15:05,990 He really did. 275 00:15:06,850 --> 00:15:09,010 In one sense, they did line the streets. 276 00:15:09,550 --> 00:15:12,570 He was never afraid, never afraid of the 277 00:15:12,570 --> 00:15:14,590 religious squad, never afraid if they had them 278 00:15:14,590 --> 00:15:15,930 in those days, of the photographers. 279 00:15:16,090 --> 00:15:17,510 He had nothing to be afraid of because, 280 00:15:17,710 --> 00:15:18,910 well, He's completely open, you see. 281 00:15:21,110 --> 00:15:23,030 Now, at the beginning of His ministry, and 282 00:15:23,030 --> 00:15:25,350 I'm bypassing the early years of His life 283 00:15:25,790 --> 00:15:28,150 when I could bring further evidence to show, 284 00:15:28,250 --> 00:15:29,750 but at the very beginning of His ministry, 285 00:15:30,050 --> 00:15:31,170 His life is threatened. 286 00:15:34,150 --> 00:15:36,270 The life of a good man is always 287 00:15:36,270 --> 00:15:37,170 under threat. 288 00:15:37,830 --> 00:15:40,990 At the hands of those who do not 289 00:15:40,990 --> 00:15:43,490 find that goodness an attractive thing. 290 00:15:45,090 --> 00:15:47,470 And so you discover our Lord Jesus in 291 00:15:47,470 --> 00:15:49,390 Mark's gospel right at the very beginning on 292 00:15:49,390 --> 00:15:51,870 the home territory, Capernaum and Nazareth. 293 00:15:52,130 --> 00:15:54,510 There He's preaching and what He has to 294 00:15:54,510 --> 00:15:57,210 say and the astonishing implicit claims that He 295 00:15:57,210 --> 00:16:00,050 makes to be God so riles the authorities 296 00:16:00,050 --> 00:16:02,190 that they try to do Him to death 297 00:16:02,190 --> 00:16:03,910 even in His native territory. 298 00:16:05,150 --> 00:16:09,830 Now, this plot to assassinate Jesus is permeated 299 00:16:09,830 --> 00:16:11,090 throughout the whole of the gospel. 300 00:16:11,330 --> 00:16:13,430 You find it particularly in Mark, but also 301 00:16:13,430 --> 00:16:16,310 Matthew and Luke and John, they give evidence 302 00:16:16,310 --> 00:16:16,790 of it. 303 00:16:17,830 --> 00:16:19,330 So what I'm suggesting to you is this, 304 00:16:20,590 --> 00:16:23,810 that our Lord is a man, I use 305 00:16:23,810 --> 00:16:27,330 the expression without apology, I speak colloquially, who 306 00:16:27,330 --> 00:16:28,710 dices with death. 307 00:16:29,660 --> 00:16:35,330 Death just dogs His footsteps all the time. 308 00:16:36,790 --> 00:16:40,150 It's predictable that He will die a bloody, 309 00:16:40,390 --> 00:16:41,290 ugly death. 310 00:16:42,650 --> 00:16:45,130 And it's not surprising to Him. 311 00:16:46,350 --> 00:16:47,190 He knows. 312 00:16:48,210 --> 00:16:49,050 He knows. 313 00:16:50,490 --> 00:16:55,730 So, woven even into the infancy stories is 314 00:16:55,730 --> 00:17:02,510 the idea that Jesus eventually will go from 315 00:17:02,510 --> 00:17:04,470 this world in a horrific way. 316 00:17:06,470 --> 00:17:08,450 Now, let's just go back to the infancy 317 00:17:08,450 --> 00:17:10,630 story for a moment or two, because it 318 00:17:10,630 --> 00:17:12,410 seems to me very important to say this, 319 00:17:12,470 --> 00:17:14,410 although I don't want to plunder it for 320 00:17:14,410 --> 00:17:16,770 evidence, because most of the evidence concerning the 321 00:17:16,770 --> 00:17:18,750 fact that Jesus knew that He was going 322 00:17:18,750 --> 00:17:20,849 to die is found in His public ministry 323 00:17:20,849 --> 00:17:21,670 in those three years. 324 00:17:22,089 --> 00:17:23,829 Let's take this old man, Simeon, shall we? 325 00:17:23,829 --> 00:17:24,790 I mean, he's a pensioner. 326 00:17:24,950 --> 00:17:26,150 He's a Hebrew pensioner. 327 00:17:26,829 --> 00:17:30,190 And when he goes to the grave, he 328 00:17:30,190 --> 00:17:31,070 goes in peace. 329 00:17:32,750 --> 00:17:35,210 Now, I have buried more people than I 330 00:17:35,210 --> 00:17:37,770 can actually remember in terms of numbers here. 331 00:17:38,210 --> 00:17:39,770 That's not an extravagant claim. 332 00:17:39,890 --> 00:17:41,190 It just happens to be one of the 333 00:17:41,190 --> 00:17:42,670 things of being a pastor for so long 334 00:17:42,670 --> 00:17:45,730 in a large church on the coast of 335 00:17:45,730 --> 00:17:47,990 the south of England. 336 00:17:49,290 --> 00:17:51,330 Now, not everyone dies in peace. 337 00:17:52,130 --> 00:17:55,090 But here is Simeon, an old-age pensioner. 338 00:17:55,130 --> 00:17:56,530 You read his story in Luke's Gospel in 339 00:17:56,530 --> 00:17:57,210 the early chapters. 340 00:17:57,590 --> 00:17:58,290 What does he say? 341 00:17:59,350 --> 00:18:01,210 Well, what he says is so wonderful that 342 00:18:01,210 --> 00:18:05,730 the Latin church gives it, his comment, a 343 00:18:05,730 --> 00:18:08,370 title, the nunc dimittis. 344 00:18:08,930 --> 00:18:10,870 It has become a very, very famous prayer. 345 00:18:11,010 --> 00:18:13,390 Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in 346 00:18:13,390 --> 00:18:13,590 peace. 347 00:18:13,650 --> 00:18:13,850 Why? 348 00:18:14,630 --> 00:18:16,310 Because mine eyes have seen thy salvation. 349 00:18:16,950 --> 00:18:17,650 What have they seen? 350 00:18:18,230 --> 00:18:20,130 Well, he has resting in his arms an 351 00:18:20,130 --> 00:18:23,950 infant child who he believes will be the 352 00:18:23,950 --> 00:18:24,750 Savior of the world. 353 00:18:25,370 --> 00:18:27,450 And not only is he a pensioner who's 354 00:18:27,450 --> 00:18:29,350 looking for something in the last moments to 355 00:18:29,350 --> 00:18:33,610 hang on to, which is not dishonorable, he 356 00:18:33,610 --> 00:18:38,870 also is a man of prophetic ability, and 357 00:18:38,870 --> 00:18:44,950 he speaks to Mary, this virginal woman, about 358 00:18:44,950 --> 00:18:49,290 this child, and he catapults forward 33 years, 359 00:18:50,110 --> 00:18:54,210 and he says, When this child of yours 360 00:18:54,210 --> 00:19:00,330 is mature, a sword will, as it were, 361 00:19:01,670 --> 00:19:02,610 sever your heart. 362 00:19:03,470 --> 00:19:05,130 And here at the very beginning of the 363 00:19:05,130 --> 00:19:07,230 ministry of Jesus, so to speak, at least 364 00:19:07,230 --> 00:19:09,310 it's not the ministry, the very beginning of 365 00:19:09,310 --> 00:19:12,490 the life of Jesus, is an old man 366 00:19:12,490 --> 00:19:17,090 speaking to a teenage girl and saying that 367 00:19:17,090 --> 00:19:20,970 not only will the death of Jesus in 368 00:19:20,970 --> 00:19:25,170 anticipation affect the pensioner, but it will affect 369 00:19:25,170 --> 00:19:26,890 his mother. 370 00:19:27,930 --> 00:19:29,670 You see the point right at the very 371 00:19:29,670 --> 00:19:30,090 beginning. 372 00:19:30,690 --> 00:19:32,550 The beginning of the beginning of the life 373 00:19:32,550 --> 00:19:34,910 of Jesus, references made to his death. 374 00:19:35,330 --> 00:19:37,690 The beginning of the public ministry of Jesus, 375 00:19:37,930 --> 00:19:39,470 references made to his death. 376 00:19:41,110 --> 00:19:42,390 It's astonishing. 377 00:19:43,370 --> 00:19:46,610 You really can check all the biographies, the 378 00:19:46,610 --> 00:19:49,070 modern biographies, and find me a man who 379 00:19:49,070 --> 00:19:51,870 has constantly been dealing with the thought of 380 00:19:51,870 --> 00:19:55,110 his own death, and yet can, in the 381 00:19:55,110 --> 00:19:57,310 way that our Savior deals with it, come 382 00:19:57,310 --> 00:20:00,770 through without being, in one sense, melancholic or 383 00:20:00,770 --> 00:20:01,250 depressive. 384 00:20:03,270 --> 00:20:04,510 You see, Jesus has got a bunch of 385 00:20:04,510 --> 00:20:07,090 disciples with him, 12 men, one's dead, but 386 00:20:07,090 --> 00:20:10,110 the 11 are relatively true. 387 00:20:11,050 --> 00:20:14,490 Now, when Jesus is preaching, even when the 388 00:20:14,490 --> 00:20:18,430 crowds swell to thousands of people, he always 389 00:20:18,430 --> 00:20:21,450 has in his mind that initial company of 390 00:20:21,450 --> 00:20:24,430 disciples, the 11, the 12, because he's teaching 391 00:20:24,430 --> 00:20:27,590 them especially, as they will continue his ministry 392 00:20:27,590 --> 00:20:28,710 when he's gone. 393 00:20:30,370 --> 00:20:33,250 And what does he increasingly tell them about? 394 00:20:34,510 --> 00:20:35,950 He tells them about his death. 395 00:20:36,870 --> 00:20:39,590 But he never mentions his death. 396 00:20:40,150 --> 00:20:42,630 I put anyone on here on test, check 397 00:20:42,630 --> 00:20:45,370 me in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 398 00:20:45,370 --> 00:20:45,590 John. 399 00:20:46,270 --> 00:20:49,950 Jesus never mentions his death as though it's 400 00:20:49,950 --> 00:20:50,610 something final. 401 00:20:52,850 --> 00:20:56,830 Jesus always links his death with what will 402 00:20:56,830 --> 00:20:59,590 happen later, his resurrection. 403 00:21:00,650 --> 00:21:05,850 Now, so, I almost am tempted to use 404 00:21:05,850 --> 00:21:06,870 the word balshy. 405 00:21:07,570 --> 00:21:10,410 If balshy can be sanctified as a term, 406 00:21:10,490 --> 00:21:11,190 then I'll stay with it. 407 00:21:11,230 --> 00:21:12,770 If it seems rude, then find something else. 408 00:21:13,890 --> 00:21:16,930 He is so balshy about this that he 409 00:21:16,930 --> 00:21:19,850 takes out his file of facts, and he 410 00:21:19,850 --> 00:21:24,950 goes a few days after his death, and 411 00:21:24,950 --> 00:21:28,290 he says, I'm still making appointments. 412 00:21:29,050 --> 00:21:30,930 I'm still making appointments. 413 00:21:32,850 --> 00:21:38,230 Peter, we met originally on the seashore of 414 00:21:38,230 --> 00:21:38,650 Galilee. 415 00:21:39,710 --> 00:21:41,130 Now, leading up to the death of Jesus, 416 00:21:41,430 --> 00:21:44,070 Peter doesn't play the most wonderful part. 417 00:21:44,170 --> 00:21:45,230 He feels very ashamed. 418 00:21:45,910 --> 00:21:47,830 He's almost suicidal as a result of what 419 00:21:47,830 --> 00:21:48,350 he's done. 420 00:21:49,530 --> 00:21:52,790 But Jesus is very concerned to meet with 421 00:21:52,790 --> 00:21:57,530 Peter after the event of Jesus' death, and 422 00:21:57,530 --> 00:22:00,090 he meets with Peter at the very point 423 00:22:00,090 --> 00:22:03,030 where he first encountered Peter three years ago. 424 00:22:03,530 --> 00:22:04,710 But have you got it? 425 00:22:04,870 --> 00:22:06,730 In the words that have spilled out from 426 00:22:06,730 --> 00:22:08,010 my mind, is it plain? 427 00:22:08,370 --> 00:22:11,490 Jesus makes this appointment with Peter after Jesus 428 00:22:11,490 --> 00:22:12,070 has died. 429 00:22:15,940 --> 00:22:17,360 So, was Jesus deranged? 430 00:22:19,220 --> 00:22:23,040 Well, there's no evidence to suggest that any 431 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:28,140 mental aberration was part of the problem of 432 00:22:28,140 --> 00:22:28,460 Jesus. 433 00:22:28,900 --> 00:22:32,920 I mean, he's as clear mentally as people 434 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:33,420 come. 435 00:22:34,740 --> 00:22:38,560 He can speak on the subject of his 436 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:42,980 death with the resurrection and address the disciples 437 00:22:42,980 --> 00:22:45,700 and say, fellows, I will meet you. 438 00:22:45,860 --> 00:22:48,020 I'll meet you back in Galilee where they 439 00:22:48,020 --> 00:22:50,540 didn't want me, where they chucked me out. 440 00:22:50,660 --> 00:22:51,980 There I will meet with you. 441 00:22:51,980 --> 00:22:53,360 And when he meets with them, he gives 442 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:54,180 them another commission. 443 00:22:56,100 --> 00:22:59,180 Now, bear in mind that when Jesus is 444 00:22:59,180 --> 00:23:01,860 talking to his disciples during these three years, 445 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:04,980 not only is he aware of the savagery 446 00:23:04,980 --> 00:23:09,120 of his departure, he also tells them that 447 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:10,620 they're not a very good insurance risk. 448 00:23:11,940 --> 00:23:13,000 I mean, he really does. 449 00:23:13,060 --> 00:23:14,740 If the prudential's got an office in Jerusalem, 450 00:23:15,460 --> 00:23:18,360 then there's no doubt for the prudential that's 451 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:20,180 going to come after the disciples of Jesus 452 00:23:21,100 --> 00:23:23,020 because he has a canny knack of being 453 00:23:23,020 --> 00:23:25,020 right about his predictions and the future for 454 00:23:25,020 --> 00:23:27,420 the disciples doesn't seem, as far as the 455 00:23:27,420 --> 00:23:29,460 human level is concerned, particularly glorious. 456 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:32,640 I mean, here he is, this is our 457 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:34,420 Lord, and he's speaking to a large crowd, 458 00:23:34,500 --> 00:23:35,880 as I say, with the disciples at the 459 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:38,960 forefront, and he's proclaiming what we call the 460 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:39,700 Sermon on the Mount. 461 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:43,500 And he leads off with some happy expressions. 462 00:23:44,220 --> 00:23:45,800 Now, Jesus has a quaint idea of happiness. 463 00:23:46,820 --> 00:23:48,960 Blessed are you, happy are you when you're 464 00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:49,480 persecuted. 465 00:23:50,420 --> 00:23:51,580 Oh, jolly good, Jesus. 466 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:53,580 I mean, here we are, here's my body, 467 00:23:53,660 --> 00:23:55,240 just put it on the torture rack. 468 00:23:55,380 --> 00:23:56,920 I mean, that is literally what did happen 469 00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,820 to some Christians, and in quite recent times, 470 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:04,160 as recent as last month, when two Christians 471 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:07,440 were beheaded in Saudi Arabia, and I long 472 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:09,260 for somebody in the United Nations to get 473 00:24:09,260 --> 00:24:13,620 up and shout, But, you see, Jesus will 474 00:24:13,620 --> 00:24:16,700 speak to his disciples as though death, even 475 00:24:16,700 --> 00:24:19,580 if it's suffered in a very nasty way, 476 00:24:21,420 --> 00:24:23,640 has to be approached, as far as they're 477 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:28,100 concerned, with such a unique mindset that actually 478 00:24:28,100 --> 00:24:29,980 it won't become the problem that it was 479 00:24:29,980 --> 00:24:32,740 for people 2,000 years ago. 480 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,000 You see, 2,000 years ago, there was 481 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,600 no hope, not really, in terms of an 482 00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:39,520 afterlife. 483 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:42,460 At least the hope that there was was 484 00:24:42,460 --> 00:24:46,200 so sort of class-divided, the rich make 485 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,240 it, or it was so blurred, the Sadducees 486 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:51,820 got their theology all wrong. 487 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,960 It was so philosophical, as far as the 488 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:59,960 Greeks were concerned, that nobody, nobody, really, I'm 489 00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:01,860 not exaggerating to make a point from the 490 00:25:01,860 --> 00:25:04,720 evangelical pulpit, read the philosophers through, read your 491 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,400 Greek philosophers, bring me someone who speaks about 492 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:10,740 death like Jesus speaks about death, teaches honestly 493 00:25:10,740 --> 00:25:14,340 his disciples that to follow me may mean, 494 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:16,020 yes, a great deal of joy, but also 495 00:25:16,020 --> 00:25:17,300 blood, sweat, and tears. 496 00:25:18,600 --> 00:25:23,220 And yet the disciples, they did follow Jesus, 497 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:28,120 and they came to a realization after his 498 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:32,040 own death and resurrection of what our Lord 499 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:32,680 really meant. 500 00:25:33,580 --> 00:25:37,580 When he said one day at a funeral 501 00:25:37,580 --> 00:25:42,840 occasion, I am the resurrection and the life. 502 00:25:43,860 --> 00:25:46,020 He that believes in me, though he were 503 00:25:46,020 --> 00:25:48,140 dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth 504 00:25:48,140 --> 00:25:49,740 and believeth in me shall never die. 505 00:25:51,260 --> 00:25:55,760 You see, Jesus, as a controversialist, knows that 506 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,660 not only is his life under threat from 507 00:25:58,660 --> 00:26:01,780 a human level, it's also under threat from 508 00:26:01,780 --> 00:26:02,660 a satanic level. 509 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,020 Again, you check the gospel record. 510 00:26:05,300 --> 00:26:09,280 Here he is, asleep, in a boat, on 511 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:10,100 the Sea of Galilee. 512 00:26:10,940 --> 00:26:14,220 Now, his disciples, by and large, were nautical 513 00:26:14,220 --> 00:26:14,540 men. 514 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:16,240 They were sailors, not all of them, but 515 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:17,160 the bulk of them. 516 00:26:17,940 --> 00:26:18,880 They were men's men. 517 00:26:18,940 --> 00:26:20,960 They were not foppish. 518 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,780 In no way were they weak-minded people. 519 00:26:26,900 --> 00:26:28,300 They knew about storms. 520 00:26:28,300 --> 00:26:31,340 They were seafaring men as far as this 521 00:26:31,340 --> 00:26:34,180 inland, treacherous Sea of Galilee is concerned. 522 00:26:34,740 --> 00:26:36,960 And they wake Jesus up because they're terrified. 523 00:26:37,740 --> 00:26:40,040 And if you read the incident and take 524 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:43,120 it very slowly and examine the original language, 525 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,480 you will discover that they feel there is 526 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:47,560 a sinister element about this storm. 527 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:55,300 And indeed there is, because attacking Jesus at 528 00:26:55,300 --> 00:26:58,660 a subhuman level is a whole realm of 529 00:26:58,660 --> 00:27:02,560 the underworld, a whole realm of Satan and 530 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:04,180 demons and so on and so forth. 531 00:27:04,980 --> 00:27:07,020 This may sound strange to the modern year, 532 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:08,540 but is it really so strange? 533 00:27:09,140 --> 00:27:12,360 I mean, if one of our beloved, as 534 00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:14,580 far as many people are concerned, young women 535 00:27:14,580 --> 00:27:19,140 this century will take a helicopter ride to 536 00:27:19,140 --> 00:27:22,360 see some clairvoyant who lives near my home 537 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:24,960 city in the north of England, if millions 538 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:28,180 of people will check the astrological charts in 539 00:27:28,180 --> 00:27:32,700 the Daily Mail day by day, then is 540 00:27:32,700 --> 00:27:36,240 it so absurd, is it so non-modern 541 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:42,200 to suggest that there are evil forces, that 542 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,340 there is a whole element of the unknown, 543 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:50,040 and here is Jesus 2,000 years ago, 544 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:54,220 and he is attacked at a human level 545 00:27:54,220 --> 00:27:56,940 and substrator at a demonic level. 546 00:27:58,420 --> 00:28:00,940 It seems as though there is an attempt 547 00:28:00,940 --> 00:28:03,480 to snuff out his life before he has 548 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,280 fulfilled the purposes for which he was born. 549 00:28:08,820 --> 00:28:15,100 And so Jesus the controversialist will take a 550 00:28:15,100 --> 00:28:18,080 dispute, will engage in argument with the religious 551 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:22,740 leaders who want his death because he represents 552 00:28:22,740 --> 00:28:26,800 a threat to them, because he has the 553 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:31,620 ear of the ordinary person, and our Lord 554 00:28:31,620 --> 00:28:35,760 is also under attack at the demonic level. 555 00:28:36,980 --> 00:28:40,580 And yet, as death pursues Jesus, Jesus will 556 00:28:40,580 --> 00:28:42,240 always face death. 557 00:28:43,460 --> 00:28:44,240 You say, what do you mean? 558 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:47,980 Well, here is another incident plucked from his 559 00:28:47,980 --> 00:28:49,000 life. 560 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,180 He is with a couple of Old Testament 561 00:28:52,180 --> 00:28:57,340 personalities, Elijah and Moses. 562 00:28:57,660 --> 00:28:58,440 He is on a mount. 563 00:28:58,660 --> 00:29:00,440 Three disciples are with him. 564 00:29:00,500 --> 00:29:02,240 They are not quite understanding fully what is 565 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,340 happening because Jesus is moving into the very 566 00:29:04,340 --> 00:29:05,820 super-spiritual level. 567 00:29:07,100 --> 00:29:09,360 He has an eye to not only the 568 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:12,520 Father, he has an eye to righteous men 569 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:15,340 who have lived in Old Testament days, and 570 00:29:15,340 --> 00:29:17,960 Moses and Jesus in what is known as 571 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:21,020 a transfiguration, when the glory that is innate 572 00:29:21,020 --> 00:29:24,440 within Jesus becomes apparent and his garment glistens 573 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:26,720 whiter than any natural whiteness. 574 00:29:27,140 --> 00:29:30,360 As Moses engages in conversation with Jesus, what 575 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:31,440 does he speak about? 576 00:29:32,180 --> 00:29:33,360 The answer is his death. 577 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:38,320 But he does not use the word death 578 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:42,960 or the gospel writer in the way that, 579 00:29:43,140 --> 00:29:45,920 say, tribes or dillestans, our funeral agents here 580 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:46,800 in Worthing will use it. 581 00:29:47,540 --> 00:29:49,560 He uses the word exodus. 582 00:29:50,700 --> 00:29:55,000 When Jesus talks about death, he talks about 583 00:29:55,000 --> 00:30:00,360 an exodus, a movement from one plane to 584 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:01,200 another plane. 585 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:05,380 You see, Jesus really has got this death 586 00:30:05,380 --> 00:30:06,980 thing into perspective. 587 00:30:09,460 --> 00:30:13,160 Now, let me not make an issue which 588 00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:14,380 is a difficult one. 589 00:30:14,960 --> 00:30:16,500 Let me not trivialize it. 590 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,020 I mean by that, let me not oversimplify 591 00:30:19,020 --> 00:30:19,260 it. 592 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:23,620 You see, it's all right for we evangelicals 593 00:30:23,620 --> 00:30:26,760 to talk about the glory that lies beyond, 594 00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:31,720 but the mechanics of death can be something 595 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:32,420 of a problem. 596 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:35,740 It's not the fear of death. 597 00:30:36,300 --> 00:30:39,940 It's the process of dying that can create 598 00:30:39,940 --> 00:30:41,620 certain difficulties. 599 00:30:42,100 --> 00:30:45,120 Of course, if your death comes quickly, as 600 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:46,720 it did to most of the occupants in 601 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,540 that car smash in Paris, then you don't 602 00:30:49,540 --> 00:30:50,880 have a chance to think about it. 603 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:53,320 But the average person, they have to go 604 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:55,540 through the dying process. 605 00:30:56,860 --> 00:30:58,180 Now, can Jesus help us here? 606 00:30:59,220 --> 00:31:00,660 And the answer is he can. 607 00:31:01,260 --> 00:31:05,820 Because, you see, on several occasions, particularly towards 608 00:31:05,820 --> 00:31:09,240 the end of his public ministry, he says 609 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:13,480 to his disciples, my soul is sorrowful unto 610 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:14,040 death. 611 00:31:14,660 --> 00:31:17,220 And you get this human picture of Jesus 612 00:31:17,220 --> 00:31:20,960 in the Garden of Gethsemane with bloody perspiration 613 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:22,940 on his forehead. 614 00:31:23,580 --> 00:31:25,160 And he's praying to his father. 615 00:31:25,580 --> 00:31:28,140 He speaks of his death in metaphorical language. 616 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:30,720 He talks of it as a cup, because 617 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:32,780 the cup of suffering is a Jewish expression 618 00:31:32,780 --> 00:31:36,180 that denotes the whole business of the cessation 619 00:31:36,180 --> 00:31:36,660 of life. 620 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:38,680 And he says, Lord, if it's possible, let 621 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:39,940 this cup pass from me. 622 00:31:43,260 --> 00:31:46,060 Later on in the epistle to the Hebrews, 623 00:31:46,060 --> 00:31:49,120 we get this little comment about our Lord 624 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:49,380 Jesus. 625 00:31:49,560 --> 00:31:52,220 We have not a high priest who cannot 626 00:31:52,220 --> 00:31:54,620 be touched for the feeling of our infirmities. 627 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:57,960 He was in all points tempted as we 628 00:31:57,960 --> 00:31:58,500 are. 629 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:02,360 I'm not suggesting that Jesus had fear of 630 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:05,900 death in the same way that some of 631 00:32:05,900 --> 00:32:08,940 us have a fear of the mechanics of 632 00:32:08,940 --> 00:32:12,840 death, because sickness had no hold on Jesus. 633 00:32:13,660 --> 00:32:15,760 I think the way that you can interpret 634 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:19,100 Jesus' feelings at this stage is he was 635 00:32:19,100 --> 00:32:21,500 a man who never knew sin in any 636 00:32:21,500 --> 00:32:23,540 way at all. 637 00:32:24,180 --> 00:32:26,540 And in front of him is the horror 638 00:32:26,540 --> 00:32:29,760 of taking upon himself the consequences of your 639 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:31,880 sin and my sin. 640 00:32:32,340 --> 00:32:34,700 And that will mean for him the breach 641 00:32:34,700 --> 00:32:38,840 of a relationship between his father and himself. 642 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:42,280 So on the cross comes out that expression, 643 00:32:42,620 --> 00:32:46,280 Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, my God, my God, 644 00:32:46,820 --> 00:32:48,700 why have you forsaken me? 645 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:54,820 Now, faced with that, Jesus experiences sorrow. 646 00:32:55,900 --> 00:33:01,080 He experiences trauma in the face of death. 647 00:33:02,180 --> 00:33:05,640 And that qualifies him, so to speak, at 648 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:09,100 the human level to come alongside people like 649 00:33:09,100 --> 00:33:14,760 you and me who are utterly convinced that 650 00:33:14,760 --> 00:33:19,940 death cannot be the cessation of being, but 651 00:33:19,940 --> 00:33:24,680 the process can be a little frightening, and 652 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,880 to find his consolation. 653 00:33:29,420 --> 00:33:34,300 You see, when these two women who are 654 00:33:34,300 --> 00:33:38,560 in emotional trauma because of the death of 655 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:42,600 the beloved Lazarus, when they realize the gravity 656 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:44,900 of the situation, they send for Jesus. 657 00:33:45,900 --> 00:33:47,820 Now Jesus delays coming, why he did that 658 00:33:47,820 --> 00:33:49,960 I don't have time to go into, but 659 00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:52,280 it has to do with coaxing them to 660 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:53,860 a greater faith. 661 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,020 But they were quite right in sending for 662 00:33:57,020 --> 00:33:57,360 Jesus. 663 00:33:59,540 --> 00:34:01,860 The Old Testament says God is a very 664 00:34:01,860 --> 00:34:03,660 present help in time of trouble. 665 00:34:04,440 --> 00:34:06,020 Now I put many of you on witness 666 00:34:06,020 --> 00:34:06,400 here. 667 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:10,219 Some of the most remarkable experiences of God's 668 00:34:10,219 --> 00:34:11,699 presence we have known at the tab have 669 00:34:11,699 --> 00:34:13,100 been in funeral services, not so? 670 00:34:14,699 --> 00:34:15,739 Or up at the crematorium. 671 00:34:16,840 --> 00:34:19,179 It is just almost uncanny, you have to 672 00:34:19,179 --> 00:34:20,120 be there to believe it. 673 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:22,580 I have to be there sometimes myself to 674 00:34:22,580 --> 00:34:23,659 hear what I have to say. 675 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:24,900 That sounds daft. 676 00:34:25,739 --> 00:34:27,880 But then a preacher is dependent on God 677 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:28,780 for what he says. 678 00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:31,199 In some measure, not with full inspiration of 679 00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:31,600 course. 680 00:34:32,460 --> 00:34:34,280 And I am amazed at times of what 681 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:35,900 I feel enabled to say. 682 00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:37,080 Now what is this? 683 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:39,580 Well surely it is the felt presence of 684 00:34:39,580 --> 00:34:39,980 God. 685 00:34:40,219 --> 00:34:41,380 Him being around. 686 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:45,900 Now Crossman with his denial of the Christian 687 00:34:45,900 --> 00:34:48,920 faith, and a lot of atheists, and I 688 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,139 am not wanting to denounce atheism per se 689 00:34:52,139 --> 00:34:55,380 without having some sympathy to the problems of 690 00:34:55,380 --> 00:34:56,700 grappling for faith. 691 00:34:57,360 --> 00:34:59,700 But really cannot speak to an occasion like 692 00:34:59,700 --> 00:35:00,120 this. 693 00:35:00,500 --> 00:35:03,200 One of the reasons for the magnificence in 694 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:07,200 some degree of that service yesterday morning in 695 00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:10,180 the great Westminster Abbey was that some of 696 00:35:10,180 --> 00:35:14,960 those songs had good biblical backing to what 697 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:15,860 was being sung. 698 00:35:16,420 --> 00:35:18,680 And when our Prime Minister came and read 699 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:21,100 in such a wonderful fashion from 1 Corinthians 700 00:35:21,100 --> 00:35:24,320 13, you realize that the service had reached 701 00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:24,900 the peak. 702 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:28,220 Here was God speaking a word to this 703 00:35:28,220 --> 00:35:30,840 nation, a word to this world. 704 00:35:31,540 --> 00:35:33,540 God comes alongside. 705 00:35:34,180 --> 00:35:38,080 Jesus comes alongside at the point of someone 706 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:42,240 who is going through great trauma, even the 707 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:44,400 trauma of death. 708 00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:47,380 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not 709 00:35:47,380 --> 00:35:47,600 want. 710 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:47,940 Why? 711 00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:52,560 Because when I go through the valley of 712 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:57,340 the shadow of death, I fear no evil. 713 00:35:58,820 --> 00:36:01,400 Jesus, and with this I bring my remarks 714 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:06,700 to a conclusion, Jesus is being questioned by 715 00:36:06,700 --> 00:36:09,820 these women folk, Mary and Martha. 716 00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:14,660 Now, some years before he'd been questioned by 717 00:36:14,660 --> 00:36:16,440 another woman who was not a Jew. 718 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:20,280 That's interesting because Jesus has a concern for 719 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:22,220 Jew and for non-Jew. 720 00:36:22,780 --> 00:36:24,180 This wasn't a righteous woman. 721 00:36:24,280 --> 00:36:26,500 She was a prostitute or seemingly so. 722 00:36:27,340 --> 00:36:29,340 And Jesus spoke to this woman and he 723 00:36:29,340 --> 00:36:35,100 said to her, Look, I am able or 724 00:36:35,100 --> 00:36:38,740 I know a source of water which will 725 00:36:38,740 --> 00:36:41,780 ever satisfy your thirst. 726 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:45,300 And this woman says, Lord, lead me to 727 00:36:45,300 --> 00:36:46,060 that man. 728 00:36:47,140 --> 00:36:50,580 And Jesus said, Well, you're looking at him. 729 00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:55,720 I am the one who can satisfy your 730 00:36:55,720 --> 00:36:59,040 need for spiritual water. 731 00:37:00,020 --> 00:37:02,240 Now, when these two sisters are talking to 732 00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:06,020 Jesus about the death of Lazarus, who now 733 00:37:06,020 --> 00:37:08,360 stinks because he's been in the grave for 734 00:37:08,360 --> 00:37:12,920 three days, Jesus starts to talk generally about 735 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:13,680 the resurrection. 736 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:17,680 And though they've got some theological concept because 737 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:20,340 they're Jewish women well-taught about the resurrection, 738 00:37:20,720 --> 00:37:23,760 they're still hazy about the detail. 739 00:37:24,380 --> 00:37:27,420 And then Jesus, using almost the same approach 740 00:37:27,420 --> 00:37:29,380 as he did with the Samaritan woman, says, 741 00:37:29,880 --> 00:37:35,620 Hey, Martha, Mary, I am the resurrection. 742 00:37:37,300 --> 00:37:39,500 I am the life. 743 00:37:40,080 --> 00:37:41,960 All that will happen at the end is 744 00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:43,740 a result of who I am and my 745 00:37:43,740 --> 00:37:44,300 authority. 746 00:37:45,660 --> 00:37:47,380 And don't you see, my Christian friend, and 747 00:37:47,380 --> 00:37:50,220 those of you who are struggling towards the 748 00:37:50,220 --> 00:37:52,640 faith, that what I'm showing you this morning, 749 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:54,640 and the good Lord knows it's just an 750 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:55,080 example. 751 00:37:55,260 --> 00:37:55,940 I could have stayed. 752 00:37:56,100 --> 00:37:58,660 I'm preaching without my notes because, quite frankly, 753 00:37:58,740 --> 00:37:59,780 if I preach with them, I go on 754 00:37:59,780 --> 00:38:00,140 forever. 755 00:38:00,540 --> 00:38:01,860 There is so much evidence. 756 00:38:01,860 --> 00:38:04,960 There is so much wonderful evidence of the 757 00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:07,700 authority of Jesus in this whole area of 758 00:38:07,700 --> 00:38:08,620 life and death. 759 00:38:11,310 --> 00:38:15,430 He alone is the one who can speak 760 00:38:15,430 --> 00:38:20,330 at this particular point in our history. 761 00:38:21,570 --> 00:38:24,290 He's the only one who can help you 762 00:38:24,290 --> 00:38:29,050 when you come to the end of your 763 00:38:29,050 --> 00:38:29,730 life. 764 00:38:31,800 --> 00:38:36,920 And the assertion that he made became so 765 00:38:36,920 --> 00:38:42,360 controversial that some accepted and embraced it. 766 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:45,000 And others, you remember, those of you who 767 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,780 are familiar with the story of Mary, Martha, 768 00:38:47,980 --> 00:38:50,840 and Lazarus, some of them went back to 769 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:54,480 Jerusalem, and they plotted his death with greater 770 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:59,860 passion and fervency because they could not stomach 771 00:38:59,860 --> 00:39:05,400 the idea that the way through life is 772 00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:08,700 embracing Jesus, and the way to prepare for 773 00:39:08,700 --> 00:39:13,540 death is by acknowledging him as your Lord 774 00:39:13,540 --> 00:39:15,140 and Savior. 775 00:39:16,020 --> 00:39:18,260 So, my friends, it's left to you right 776 00:39:18,260 --> 00:39:18,720 now. 777 00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:20,460 Are you sure? 778 00:39:21,600 --> 00:39:24,880 Do you know Jesus as your personal Redeemer? 779 00:39:25,580 --> 00:39:27,700 Are you aware that when you die, you 780 00:39:27,700 --> 00:39:28,780 don't go to purgatory? 781 00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:31,980 You don't go into a state of unconsciousness? 782 00:39:32,600 --> 00:39:35,720 You slip immediately into the presence of God, 783 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:39,680 and there you give an account for the 784 00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:40,720 way that you have lived. 785 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:44,660 The grace of Mother Teresa, it may be 786 00:39:44,660 --> 00:39:47,900 abundant, but it can never be transferred to 787 00:39:47,900 --> 00:39:48,540 your account. 788 00:39:49,360 --> 00:39:51,200 The good work of all the so-called 789 00:39:51,200 --> 00:39:53,820 saints, of any righteous person, of your mother 790 00:39:53,820 --> 00:39:56,040 or your father, it cannot be applied to 791 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:56,720 your account. 792 00:39:57,660 --> 00:40:00,320 The only way in which you can prepare 793 00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:05,580 yourself for death and moving into the presence 794 00:40:05,580 --> 00:40:08,920 of the Lord is by embracing Jesus Christ 795 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:13,960 as your Savior this side of eternity. 796 00:40:15,820 --> 00:40:19,640 Let's sing a song that speaks of this. 797 00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:24,820 And I want us to go to the 798 00:40:24,820 --> 00:40:27,080 old song, The King of Love My Shepherd 799 00:40:27,080 --> 00:40:29,740 Is, 649. 800 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:33,120 And then we'll move on into Guide Me, 801 00:40:33,240 --> 00:40:35,340 O Thou Great Jehovah, which is 201. 802 00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:38,160 Parents need to slip out to collect their 803 00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:38,660 children. 804 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:41,620 Then, I'm sorry, you'll forfeit the blessings of 805 00:40:41,620 --> 00:40:42,760 singing these hymns. 806 00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:46,240 But nonetheless, you have your responsibilities with your 807 00:40:46,240 --> 00:40:47,280 families to attend to. 808 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,840 So please feel quite free. 809 00:40:51,900 --> 00:40:52,400 649. 810 00:45:23,540 --> 00:46:14,430 I am 811 00:46:14,430 --> 00:46:15,970 the resurrection and the life. 812 00:46:16,150 --> 00:46:18,770 He that believeth on me, though he were 813 00:46:18,770 --> 00:46:19,910 dead, yet shall he live. 814 00:46:19,910 --> 00:46:23,530 And whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall 815 00:46:23,530 --> 00:46:24,330 never die. 816 00:46:24,590 --> 00:46:28,310 Father, imprint that conviction on the minds of 817 00:46:28,310 --> 00:46:30,830 the royal family, on the minds of the 818 00:46:30,830 --> 00:46:34,870 Spencer family, on the minds of Parliament, on 819 00:46:34,870 --> 00:46:36,950 the minds of the people of this nation. 820 00:46:37,730 --> 00:46:41,410 Speak this word to this world and help 821 00:46:41,410 --> 00:46:45,870 us to go out living our lives convinced 822 00:46:45,870 --> 00:46:49,250 as to where the future lies and therefore 823 00:46:49,250 --> 00:46:53,110 seeing you more clearly, loving you more dearly, 824 00:46:53,930 --> 00:46:55,350 and following you more nearly. 825 00:46:56,210 --> 00:46:56,910 Amen.