Skip to content He is Risen! Reflecting on the Easter Story Apr 17 · 54 min ...more
He is Risen! Reflecting on the Easter Story
April 17, 2025 · 54 min
In this episode, Haley and Dustin reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They walk through some of the passages and events of Passion Week, discuss what Jesus’ death and resurrection mean for us practically, and share some biblical and historical pieces of evidence for the resurrection. It’s an encouraging conversation on the foundation of the Christian faith and the hope we have in Christ.
Subscribe to the podcast and tune in each week as Haley and Dustin share with you what the Bible says about real-life issues with compassion, warmth, and wit.
So you have every reason for hope, for every challenge in life. Because hope means everything.
Hope Talks is a podcast of the ministry of Hope for the Heart.
Listen in to learn more :
(00:00) The Importance of the Resurrection
(04:34) The Significance of Daily Resurrection Celebrations
(08:25) Significance of Resurrection in Daily Life
(14:12) The Sacrifice and Reverence of Resurrection
(20:28) Everyday Work With Purpose
(26:58) Power of Resurrection in Everyday Lives
(42:20) Resurrection as Core Christian Belief
(47:41) Seeking Hope Through Christ's Resurrection
----------------------------
Hope for the Heart resources
Connect with Hope for the Heart on social!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopefortheheart
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopefortheheart
Learn more about the ministry and resources of Hope for the Heart: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/
Learn more about Hope Talks and catch up on past episodes: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/hopetalks/
Want to talk with June Hunt on Hope in the Night about a difficult life issue? Schedule a time here: https://resource.hopefortheheart.org/talk-with-june-hope-in-the-night
God’s plan for you: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/gods-plan-for-you/
Give to the ministry of Hope for the Heart: https://raisedonors.com/hopefortheheart/givehope?sc=HTPDON
Learn about our summer event on Mental Health and the Church: https://resource.hopefortheheart.org/mental-health-and-the-church
Sign up for our fall Hope Together conference: https://hopetogether.com/
--------------
Bible verses mentioned in this episode
Matthew 27:23 – “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
John 21:7-11 — “When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 -- “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
1 Peter 1:8 – “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
Series Hope Talks April 17, 2025 · 54 min · Hope Talks
In this episode, Haley and Dustin reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They walk through some of the passages and events of Passion Week, discuss what Jesus’ death and resurrection mean for us practically, and share some biblical and historical pieces of evidence for the resurrection. It’s an encouraging conversation on the foundation of the Christian faith and the hope we have in Christ. Subscribe to the podcast and tune in each week as Haley and Dustin share with you what the Bible says about real-life issues with compassion, warmth, and wit. So you have every reason for hope, for every challenge in life. Because hope means everything. Hope Talks is a podcast of the ministry of Hope for the Heart. Listen in to learn more : (00:00) The Importance of the Resurrection (04:34) The Significance of Daily Resurrection Celebrations (08:25) Significance of Resurrection in Daily Life (14:12) The Sacrifice and Reverence of Resurrection (20:28) Everyday Work With Purpose (26:58) Power of Resurrection in Everyday Lives (42:20) Resurrection as Core Christian Belief (47:41) Seeking Hope Through Christ's Resurrection ---------------------------- Hope for the Heart resources Connect with Hope for the Heart on social! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopefortheheart Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopefortheheart Learn more about the ministry and resources of Hope for the Heart: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/ Learn more about Hope Talks and catch up on past episodes: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/hopetalks/ Want to talk with June Hunt on Hope in the Night about a difficult life issue? Schedule a time here: https://resource.hopefortheheart.org/talk-with-june-hope-in-the-night God’s plan for you: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/gods-plan-for-you/ Give to the ministry of Hope for the Heart: https://raisedonors.com/hopefortheheart/givehope?sc=HTPDON Learn about our summer event on Mental Health and the Church: https://resource.hopefortheheart.org/mental-health-and-the-church Sign up for our fall Hope Together conference: https://hopetogether.com/ -------------- Bible verses mentioned in this episode Matthew 27:23 – “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” John 21:7-11 — “When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 -- “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Peter 1:8 – “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” ...more Show the full description Show less In this episode, Haley and Dustin reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They walk through some of the passages and events of Passion Week, discuss what Jesus’ death and resurrection mean for us practically, and share some biblical and historical pieces of evidence for the resurrection. It’s an encouraging conversation on the foundation of the Christian faith and the hope we have in Christ.
Subscribe to the podcast and tune in each week as Haley and Dustin share with you what the Bible says about real-life issues with compassion, warmth, and wit.
So you have every reason for hope, for every challenge in life. Because hope means everything.
Hope Talks is a podcast of the ministry of Hope for the Heart.
Listen in to learn more :
(00:00) The Importance of the Resurrection
(04:34) The Significance of Daily Resurrection Celebrations
(08:25) Significance of Resurrection in Daily Life
(14:12) The Sacrifice and Reverence of Resurrection
(20:28) Everyday Work With Purpose
(26:58) Power of Resurrection in Everyday Lives
(42:20) Resurrection as Core Christian Belief
(47:41) Seeking Hope Through Christ's Resurrection
----------------------------
Hope for the Heart resources
Connect with Hope for the Heart on social!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopefortheheart
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopefortheheart
Learn more about the ministry and resources of Hope for the Heart: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/
Learn more about Hope Talks and catch up on past episodes: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/hopetalks/
Want to talk with June Hunt on Hope in the Night about a difficult life issue? Schedule a time here: https://resource.hopefortheheart.org/talk-with-june-hope-in-the-night
God’s plan for you: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/gods-plan-for-you/
Give to the ministry of Hope for the Heart: https://raisedonors.com/hopefortheheart/givehope?sc=HTPDON
Learn about our summer event on Mental Health and the Church: https://resource.hopefortheheart.org/mental-health-and-the-church
Sign up for our fall Hope Together conference: https://hopetogether.com/
--------------
Bible verses mentioned in this episode
Matthew 27:23 – “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
John 21:7-11 — “When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land but about a hundred yards off. When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 -- “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
1 Peter 1:8 – “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.”
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0:00 But there's part of me that just wants to, like, take a moment and just make the issue as big as it possibly can be because it's the most history changing, life changing event.0:11 It's, again, the foundation of our faith, our hope. It's what we're gonna be praising the Lord for forever Yeah. And eternity for. It's a bottomless well of just0:23 hope.0:25 Welcome to Hope Talks. We're your hosts. I'm Haley Scully along with Dustin Anderson, and we wanna give you every reason for hope for every challenge in life because hope means everything.0:39 He is risen. Amen. Amen. He's0:43 alive. Okay.0:45 I have a feeling you're gonna be singing a lot0:48 on this I I will try to pace myself, but0:52 Get them all in. Yeah. This is gonna be a good 1.0:54 Well, started off with he's alive by Dolly Parton, which is now running free. We'll walk away towards Okay.1:01 Church hymns. Yeah. This is the Easter episode. We are coming up on Easter. Easter's kinda late this year. Yeah.1:09 It cycles through, and it cracks me up because every year of my life, it's either, well, Easter's kinda early this year or Easter's kinda late this year. Like, it's always kind of a surprise where Easter lands even1:20 though it lands somewhere every single year.1:22
1:34 We are greatly to be pitied.
1:35 Yeah. And so it's 1 of these things where I love this topic. I love getting into like what scripture says about it, just like the historical evidence and just what it means for us practically. And so I do wanna get
1:47 into those things a little bit, just kinda walk through the events of like the passion week a little bit. Yeah. And, you know, the death, betrayal, last supper, resurrection, all of that. There's so many
1:59 All of that in just 1 hour. Hour.
2:01 But there's so many, like, little details that to me, like, when you kinda read through the story, there's just every year little things kinda
2:09 Well, here's the thing though. We even prayed before we started this. Like, our whole heart is to honor the Lord Jesus, and we do believe in the whole story. And so I'm gonna
2:20 trust that when we get to the end of this conversation, it will be what he is delighted in, hopefully, prayerfully, because that's our prayer, and we've asked him. Like I said, either he's gonna do it or he
2:32 won't. And so we hope that this will make sense to people. We know people listening to Hope Talk. Some of you, I've been in the church for a long time. Some of you may still be kind of wondering and figuring out what you
2:43 think about having your hope in Christ. And so, like you said, it's just a look another little light episode. All of our hope hinges on this moment. All of our hope hinges on the story of not
2:55 just the cross, but the story of the resurrection. So just no pressure. No pressure.
3:02 Like, I know we only have an hour. We're not gonna talk about everything, but there's part of me that just wants to, like, take a moment and just make the issue as big as it possibly can be because it's the most
3:14 history changing, life changing event. It's, again, the foundation of our faith, our hope. It's what we're gonna be praising the Lord for forever Yeah. And eternity for. It's
3:26 a bottomless well of just hope and I don't know.
3:31 Yeah. Well, Christmas gets a lot of press. Yeah. Right? Christmas gets a lot of press because there are very few people that would debate that Jesus was born. There are so much
3:42 historical record, both Christian and non Christian. Nobody really says Jesus never lived. But the whole point is not all of us believe that Jesus rose
3:54 again yet. There will be a day where every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, but not everybody necessarily believes that yet. So even within the Christian faith, the commonalities that we can
4:05 celebrate Christmas or celebrate those holidays with everybody, the resurrection of Christ is so very personally and tenderly ours as followers of Christ. So, I mean, I wear my Yeah.
4:17 I'm yeah. I'm always listening to some Easter pink. I mean, you know, like, we do, just spring and life and joy and light and coming up out of the grave and coming up out of winter, the timing
4:29 of all of this is just like taking a big breath of fresh air.
4:34 Yeah. There's always just been this, like, discrepancy. I'll just say it kind of as a observable fact. Just in my life and just thinking through, like, when I really think through what the resurrection means
4:46 and the a man rose from the dead. Jesus rose from the dead.
4:50 Like Up from the grave he alone.
4:53 There's 2. I'm like, we'll
4:54 keep a tracker. Try for his foes. Okay.
4:57 Again, foundation of our faith, hope, all of that. And then it just feels like something that I should be never stop thinking about and praising the Lord for.
5:09 And then when I just think about, like, my life week to week, I'm thinking about projects and housework and all of this stuff. And all of that's good and right to, you know, handle those things and take care of the
5:21 stuff we're responsible for. But there's always just been this like discrepancy I felt like in my own life, like, I really think about it and then, like, what it means for me and how life changing it can be, and
5:33 then also, like, what I usually kinda spend my time doing something. I don't want this to sound like a attack on the church or something, but I've always felt this discrepancy too where we have this amazing, like,
5:44 Easter service or something like that. And then within, like, maybe a month or so or a few weeks, we're kinda just back on normal sermon series or whatever it is. I don't know. It just feels like something that
5:56 Okay. So let me you because you Yeah. Sorry. No. No. That's so good. Because you're right. Like, this is the big deal, but it's in this celebration of it and
6:08 in the experience and the expanse and the bigness of it, even remembering what did Jesus do right after the resurrection.
6:16 Right.
6:16 He went he was revealing himself to those that he knew, that he loved, to people that had been kind of on the periphery of it, and he even went back and was eating fish with the guys. Yeah.
6:28 You know? So I think the beauty of God saving us from the penalties of our sin, the thing that separates us from the holy father, all of us have sinned, all
6:40 of us needed a savior. And so the beauty of that though is then God giving us life and breakfast with our loved ones and the trees and
6:52 the birds and the seasons and harvest. So it's like the bigness of it actually allows us to even celebrate more the intimacy of it and not be condemned
7:04 that we're not every single day. Right. I mean, there are those people like John the Baptist and Jeremiah. I mean, there are those people that God calls to a certain storyline
7:16 of eating locusts and doing stuff. You know? But I think it's like you can carry the celebration into Yeah.
7:24 Into everyday life. Yeah. No. I love that. And that's a good way of kinda reframing it because, like, I love going through the resurrection stories because, again, when I think about it, I'm expecting it to be like, he's
7:36 showing up on a mountain with, like, light beaming from all around him. And there's just like like
7:41 that angels laser hand.
7:43 And there's just like angels everywhere or something. And there's a Wow. There's an amazing kind of intimate mundaneness
7:53 Yeah.
7:53 To the stories. And to me, that speaks of part of the reason why I think it's true. Because yeah. Like I was just kind of scanning through John chapter 21 before we started. And it's that
8:05 story where Peter and Jesus kind of, you know, have their reconciliation and he restores Peter and the level of detail John goes into that are seemingly mundane
8:17 of how Peter sees him from the boat. He takes off his garment. He jumps out, swims to Jesus who's sitting on the shore with a charcoal fire. It says insignificant detail And they bring in
8:29 the fish, and then it says they caught 153 fish Mhmm. Insignificant detail. But it speaks of, like, these are just the details we remember as we share stories. It speaks of, like, this is an eyewitness
8:40 testimony. There's a mundaneness to it. Yeah. But it's also like it's Peter, Jesus, and the disciples sitting around the fire having breakfast. And so it's this idea that, yeah, the
8:52 resurrection as big and life changing and history changing as it is, it changes everything. It works itself out in the everyday moments.
9:01 I remember years ago when that story kind of in particular hit my mind that someone was preaching on it, and I don't remember who was preaching on it or I would try to give him credit for it right now. But after the
9:13 crucifixion, after Jesus died, these guys, the apostles, everybody that had been following Jesus for so long, they all kind of went back like, okay. What do we do now? You know? Like,
9:26 awkward turtle. Where do we where do we go?
9:29 Where do
9:29 we do? Because their expectations of what Jesus was gonna do in being the messiah had been very historically like, they thought you know, this whole story. They thought he was gonna be
9:41 a conquering king, like armies, and that kind of stuff, and he just wasn't. He conquered sin and death. He conquered all of the penalties that we had. And so they didn't really know what to do. He's dead. What do we do
9:52 now? And they went back to fishing. They went back to their every day.
9:55 They went back to what they knew.
9:56 They went back to what they knew, and Jesus met him there. And he didn't, like you say, stand with a bullhorn somewhere. Jesus was all about relationship. And I think sometimes the story of the
10:08 resurrection feels so big for so many people. It's, like I said, like, when I try to think about space, and I just kinda shut down because I can't really think about all the planets and universes. I can't reconcile that
10:19 with my current reality. It's just too big. And some people, I think, the idea that Jesus was resurrected and all that happened after that, it seems too big. But when you get into the
10:31 word for yourself, for those people that would be listening, when you read Mark, when you read John, and you see how personal and how relational Jesus is, he's inviting you into a personal
10:43 relationship with him because that's the relationship that restores our well-being. That's the relationship that starts to impact us. And we hear all this noise in religion and the church
10:55 and people falling and things just a mess. And so all of that is so distracting, but Jesus will come and have a little
11:06 charcoal fire and eat a piece of fish with you and tell you you are forgiven and tell you you are loved. That is the beautiful thing of a god who can raise from the dead.
11:18 That's a great that's a great way of kinda, again, reframing it in my head because when I again, when I think about it sometimes, it's like, I should be just
11:28 On the floor Just thrown up.
11:29 Yeah. Right. Just like this unending praise and all of that and just out on the street with a blow horn and all this stuff. But it's also like the reframing it as like a
11:41 I mean, he died in Rose for a restored relationship
11:44 Yeah.
11:45 With the father. So the implications work itself out in those relational moments.
11:51 And hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years pointed to the need for it and pointed to him as the answer for it, which is just incredible. It is a big story, but it's 1 that's
12:02 trackable. It's 1 that people can look at historically and see the evidence for, which is again, it's not just an Easter bunny, although I like a good
12:14 Easter bunny. It's not just an Easter bunny and 1 weekend in the spring. It is all of humanity having the option to be saved. Yeah.
12:26 Yeah. Whenever I get overwhelmed, do you, like, wanna, like, praise and I wanna be like, woah. It's too much. It's too big.
12:34 Yeah. It's like I just reached the limit of what it's like I wanna invent new language to describe how much it means or something.
12:41 What would that sound like if you invented doing? Maybe like a song, Dustin. Maybe like a song. It'd be a song.
12:48 But, yeah, there's a lot of directions we can go here. It is a big story. But at the same time, when we kind of walk through it kind of piece by piece, I think it allows us to just
13:00 appreciate and just kind of digest the story and really just appreciate all that Jesus experienced for us in that final week. It's always interesting to me that in every 1
13:12 of the gospels, I forget the percentages, but it's something like a quarter or so of each gospel is dedicated to those last few days. I mean, of his 33 years of life generally understood
13:24 in 3 years of ministry, the bulk of the gospels really, it's that last week, you know, what we call the passion week of, you know, him riding into Jerusalem on a donkey,
13:35 starting to fulfill all the various prophecies. And so I wanted to walk through a little bit of just some of those final days of his earthly life
13:47 and just kind of reflect on those a little bit. But I did wanna start just by asking, like, is there any because, you know, we've been in the church for a lifetime. Yeah. Are there any just like
13:59 moments or kind of key passages or things that have always kind of stuck with you or meant something to you? Or when you think about it, you're just like, ugh, that
14:11 really gets me.
14:12 Well, I think not something that has always just gotten me. I mean but something that I've been thinking about in particular this year, and it was kinda stems out of a Sunday school conversation a couple weeks
14:24 ago at church. I still call it Sunday school. I don't know what else to call it. I like it Sunday school. Sunday school.
14:30 Because, like, a lot of churches
14:31 have like groups and small groups and whatever. I go to Sunday school on Sunday morning. But, anyways, it's true. I think and this is how I'll say it. The conversation kind of led to Jesus didn't just
14:43 die for us. He died instead of us. Yeah. In our stead. In our stead. And so I think a lot of times I mean, I don't know about a lot of times, but I just think
14:55 we can praise him. We can be so thankful. What a good savior. What a good Jesus. You know? Like, man, that's awesome. And kinda feel like he loved us so much that he
15:07 did that. And we kinda focus on what he did, which we should, but then also the reverence of realizing that it was
15:18 to save us out of a separation from God, which, like I said, when you look at the whole story and you look at historical evidence, when you look at biblical evidence and how it
15:30 all lines together from just everything in the world, then today and tomorrow, we needed saving. We needed to be reconciled to God the creator. And
15:42 so, yeah, he did it for us, but he did it instead of me. And 1 of those can kind of make me feel a little bit cocky and super loved. Not cocky in a bad way, but, like, not you could
15:54 kinda get puffed up. Like, Jesus loves me. But remembering that he died instead of me puts me in a posture of humility to just have a bit of reverence for this moment and be
16:06 so grateful, not just for who he is, but how much I needed him.
16:13 Yeah. That reminds me of the just a little talk we had a few days ago about that word for and how important that is. And there's a way we can think about it as this sounds like too
16:25 cheap or something. When you do something for someone, like you're doing a favor or something. That's how we commonly use that word. I'll get this for you. Like I'm doing you a favor. But yeah, that a better
16:36 kind of translation or understanding would be instead of or in our stead or in place of. And yeah, when you think about that, like it's it was either him or me.
16:48 Yeah.
16:49 And there's something just like that just grounds me in a good way.
16:54 And again, for people who maybe kind of knew even to that that thought, that's why being in God's word and studying it for yourself, you know, investigate it. That's 1
17:06 of the things we had Lee Strobel on the podcast early on and his apologetics and his book, the case for Christ, that literally went in and investigated it. I know there's a lot of people who may
17:18 doubt the resurrection, who may doubt our faith in these things, but I think that it's probably safe to say a lot of those individuals haven't necessarily
17:30 done the investigation or the research to actually come to a conclusion for themselves on that. They are hearing commentary or they're deciding on the kindness or
17:42 the fairness, what they think is right, or they may consider themselves and think, hey. I'm a pretty good person. Well, so I don't really need saving or there's nothing because they don't understand or they maybe haven't
17:53 studied that big picture. So I would just anybody that is listening, invite them to do a bit of that research. Invite them to investigate it for themselves Because
18:05 right after Jesus restored Peter, right, he had kind of sheepishly gone back to the fish, sheep and fish. He had kind of gone back to fishing because that's what he knew. And
18:17 then the risen savior came and set him free and set him on fire. I mean, then he gave his life, and there was nothing that he wouldn't say. No
18:28 temple or court he wouldn't Right. Waltz into to say, I have seen there is all of them, except for John, right, traditionally, were martyred. So not only
18:40 did they follow him in his life, but they followed him to death Yeah. Because there was no fear and there was complete confidence that what they had just so you look
18:52 at what happened during that week from the week of passion, Maundy Thursday, which I didn't even know about until I was, like, in my late twenties. I didn't even know that concept. Maundy Thursday. And Good
19:04 Friday, and we all get a day off work. And meanwhile, what was happening historically? You know, it's just it's incredible. So research it for yourself. Dig in a little bit. And
19:16 if you have no idea of the story, start with The Case for Christ. I think that would be a really good 1.
19:22 Yeah. I remember reading that. And I think this applies whether you're Christian or non Christian. I mean, I remember reading The Case for Christ when I was early twenties or something like that. I had been a Christian
19:33 for 5 or so years by then. And I remember reading that and just the way he lists out all of the historical pieces of evidence, the ancient literature that mentions that Christian and non
19:45 Christian sources, and just the level of detail and kind of number of arguments for it. I just remember thinking, oh my goodness, this actually happened.
19:57 Yeah. There's so much evidence for it to dismiss every piece of it and then just to look at it as a whole and go, all of that is you can just explain it away by some. It's
20:08 mind boggling. And I just remember going I was like, already a Christian, but I just remember thinking, wow, this actually happened. This is real. Like, he's actually alive. I don't know. It just brought a deeper meaning
20:20 to my faith and then just made all of the other promises even more real, like it solidified my hope.
20:29 I think we feel in our hearts the spirit. When we believe in Jesus, there is that emotional connection to the spirit. Connection to the spirit. And we celebrate him and we praise him and we pray
20:41 and we worship and that impacts us. But what you're describing, I think, is when the facts and the history and even the science of it, when that connects to
20:53 our heart for it. I grew up in the church, and on Easter weekend, we got our patent shoes and our little Easter dresses. And I have always emotionally,
21:06 familiarly, culturally, I have always connected with Easter. And then when I did a bit of the legwork, like you're describing, when we do a bit of the
21:17 legwork and our intellect combines with what our hearts have known for so long, that's where our lives totally change. That's where
21:29 you walk into seminary. That's where I'll go to India. That's where and that's so small in comparison to what so many did. I mean, I get fired up when I think about
21:41 Peter just going after and telling people it is Jesus Christ who you crucified. That's the name that just healed this man. Like, when you get into the
21:53 stories and you see how empowered the whole New Testament after those 4 gospels is Paul and the disciples writing and encouraging
22:05 the new believers and saying, grow your faith, and this is how you do it. And they were set up. It fires me up. It makes me wanna be like, where did I
22:16 you know? It's that same feeling.
22:17 Yeah. Yeah. But then in the same moment, we talked about we got a we got a meeting at 11 o'clock. We do the work of the day. We do the work of our hands. We till the garden. We
22:29 do live a good life, and we're full of forgiveness and mercy and compassion and justice and care for 1 another. We live our every day. And if he has a mountain he wants us to climb,
22:41 he'll tell us.
22:45 Yeah. I love how in like, that's the application that Paul gives at the end of first Corinthians 15. So it's like the longest chapter on the resurrection where he talks about just he showed
22:57 himself to the Peter and James and the apostles and then last of all to me and also to 500 people. Talks about if it wasn't he didn't rise, we're in our, you know, still in our sins and our faith is futile. And then just
23:09 he goes through all of it, but his application at the end of that chapter, he says, therefore, always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your work is not in vain. And I always love that
23:20 verse because it was like, I'm expecting to be, therefore, again, get a blowhorn and go out and just so
23:27 Burn the ships. You know?
23:29 And but it's like the application is devote yourself to the work of the Lord because, you know, it's not in vain. So, again yeah.
23:36 And it doesn't mean so what does that mean? Because some people might think, well, do I have to go I mean, because you and I both went to seminary. There's the majority of the church never went to seminary and isn't a
23:45 preacher by their trade. What is the work of the Lord for the everyday person?
23:50 Okay. So interesting kind of thing that I wrote in seminary on this. I compared that chapter hopefully, answers the question. I compared that chapter to
24:01 Ecclesiastes because the book of Ecclesiastes is all about I tried to devote myself to work and it was futile and meaningless. I tried to devote myself to wisdom
24:13 and it was just kind of I've devoted myself to just the common everyday pursuits and it was all kind of the word he uses is it was vain. And I held on to that
24:24 because when you get to, again, the end of that chapter in first Corinthians 15, he says, your work is not in vain. And so to me, the resurrection, it makes just our
24:36 the work of parenting, the work of your job, your work, you know, like we talked about in purpose in life episode, make a good shoe.
24:46 Sell it at a good price.
24:47 Yes. Sell it at a good price. Whatever your work is, it is meaningful. Yeah. Because he is risen, he sees your work.
24:55 Right.
24:55 He's with you in your work. I don't know. It just I think that's 1 implication of the resurrection is that because he's alive, he's with you in your work, you're not just kind of
25:06 mindlessly, meaninglessly going to work Yeah. Every day. It's infused with a purpose.
25:12 I think if I were say the vanity vanity, you know, everything being in vain, I think there was a striving for a purpose in life apart from
25:24 Christ in Ecclesiastes. Right. And none of that fit the bill. And I think that's what Jesus is saying. Like, your life has purpose. You don't have to strive. You're not trying to get to a point where you
25:36 have attained purpose. There is purpose when we woke up this morning. And if it's just between us and the Lord I mean, that's what I would always say when I would be trying to prepare to go training or do something
25:47 overseas. There was that song. It's by Big Daddy Weave called audience of 1. If it's just between us and Jesus, that is where hope has
25:59 laid for me. The fact that it is just between me and Jesus has overcome the fact that I've never been a wife and a mother. It overcomes
26:11 whatever work that I've had or jobs that I've changed or friendships or failures or any of that. My hope in Christ when he says that the work of
26:22 our hands is not in vain, when he says that everything that the scripture says about us, the whole hope of that hinges on a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
26:34 Because apart from that reconciliation, apart from accepting the freedom of that relationship with him, then it is striving to have purpose.
26:46 It is striving to compare or succeed as a human or as a woman or anything else. But for him, he sets it all free.
26:55 Yeah. I think that's another implication too. I was trying to write down like a list of just what does the resurrection mean for me. And 1 of the phrases that always gets me during Good Friday
27:07 Easter service is it is finished. Just that we don't have to strive for our salvation. We can rest. I always have loved that because again, I've talked about just this constant thing I
27:19 battle of just like super responsibility. Yeah. If I don't take care of it, then Yeah. Bad things are gonna happen and all of that. And just the implications of it is finished.
27:31 Salvation, you don't have to work for it. And you can rest in what he did for you. I love that. It's just I can even feel it right now. Just just like a
27:41 Deep breath.
27:42 Deep breath, weight off my shoulders type of thing.
27:45 So you asked me if there a part of the story that's always kinda stood out and that kinda took us in that direction. But what about you? Is there I mean and now listen. You wrote out an outline for us to think about
27:57 and maybe talk about, and we're going in some other directions on this. So okay. So it's good. We asked the Lord to guide it. So what is tender to you?
28:08 There's a lot of moments. A few of them are like the contrasting kind of moments. So like 1 of them with Jesus when he's before the crowd and the crowd is shouting crucify him.
28:19 Mhmm.
28:20 That just like there's something about there's an individual betrayal of Judas. There's like the disciples scattering, but then when you just see a whole crowd shouting for
28:32 that, there's something just gut wrenching about that. Again, the contrast I think is this is Jesus who he was in heaven hearing the praises of angels, and now this is what
28:43 he's hearing. That contrast to me is like, what a savior. And then the contrast too with like the disciples up and down, up and down. Just if you follow the whole story through of,
28:55 like, we were talking about Peter yesterday at church in the sermon, and he's so bold in well, it starts if you start it backtracking a bit, you know, Jesus is praying and he says, pray for
29:07 me. Don't fall asleep.
29:10 And then
29:11 falls so he falls asleep. And then so 1 minute he's sleeping. Next minute, he's like charging the guards. He's cutting off a guard's ear because he's Peter and he's so bold. And then a chapter later, a servant girl comes
29:21 up to him and he's like, I know you. And then he denies him. And then again, when he's restored on the boat, he's jumping into the lake, like running to the Lord. And then in the book of Acts, you see just how bold he
29:32 becomes. And then I also love too, like, later in Galatians, there's that issue where Peter kinda confronts Paul or Paul confronts Peter. Sorry.
29:42 Right.
29:43 He's withdrawing from the Gentiles when the Jews are
29:45 Faking it.
29:46 He's faking it. And so even post resurrection, there's still a boldness to Peter, but he's still struggling with some implications of what it means. And so just seeing like
29:58 that type of contrast, the resurrection does give us this power and this hope and just seeing how, again, the contrast of the disciples, how they changed and all of that. The
30:10 before and The before and after. Yeah. Yeah. That always gets me. And then always being reminded that when Jesus said, no 1 takes my life from me. I lay it down of my own accord.
30:22 Because there's a kind of a way of reading this story of it just especially us, we were talking about how all of these events happened within, like, 24 hours from the Last Supper to the betrayal toShow more
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