From Grief to Great Joy: The Resurrection Story

Show Notes

Episode 401: 
Join Chris and Jeff on The Bible Guys Podcast as they delve into the most significant event in human history - the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this episode, they explore the accounts of the resurrection as described in all four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They discuss the implications of the resurrection, the evidence supporting it, and the transformative power it holds for believers.

What is The Bible Guys?

Whether you’ve been following Jesus for years or you’re just starting to ask questions, there’s a seat for you here.

Join Jeff and Chris for honest conversations about Scripture, faith, and the everyday stuff we all navigate. With humor, personal stories, and plenty of back-and-forth, The Bible Guys explore what the Bible says and how it connects to your life.

Subscribe, bring your questions, and get to know the Bible one conversation at a time. Head over to TheBibleGuys.com for more information!

You're listening to the Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Bible guys. Yeah. I always say good morning or whatever. I need to change that. Welcome, Welcome to the Bible guys. Everyone. My name is Chris, this is Jeff, and here we are. That's right. So this is like the biggest event in history is what we're going to be talking about. The biggest event is the whether people recognize it or not. That's right all the most do it changed the world? Yes? Yes, changed our future, changed eternity, change everything everything that's right, everythang. Yes. But before we get into that, Jeff, we have a segment that Desiree wants us to do. Okay, and we do everything Desiree tells us to do. We sort of do, that's right. And this segment is how well do you know them? Chris, Let's see how well Jeff knows you. So I'm going to give you two truths and a lie. And this is she. She said that it's supposed to be about some hidden talents that I might have. Talent's kind of like when I did the video game talents. Yes, okay, so is how we're going to do it. So this actually is going to be three things that I'm supposedly good at, but only one two of them are going to be true, and one of them is going to be false. Okay, here we go. You ready. False? Number one. I was sort of famous among my friends and coworkers for going down the stairs so fast that it looked like I was sliding, and yet my feet were hitting every single step, and I would go so fast that people couldn't believe it. And then they would literally say, Chris, do that thing. Do that thing, and I would have to perform it for everybody, and I would go up and down the stairs extremely fast. That's number one hidden talent, if you will. Yeah, wow, so impressive. Number two. Your mom must be so proud. Number two. I am famously good at cleaning things. So I do deep cleaning organizing and actually quite enjoy it, and then you know I'll do it and then you know, be super proud of it. That's number two. And then number three. I am exceptionally good at Uker, although I don't necessarily like the game, but I'm good at it and I've actually won Ukur tournaments. I didn't know Yukker until I got to Michigan, but when I got taught it, I found out that I was actually good at it. So I'm a sought after Uker partner. Okay, So I also share the talent of being able to touch every stare on the way down without making it look like you're just sliding rather than Yeah. Yes, so that is a legitimate talent. I don't know if you have it. I think it's always a mistake to tell Liz that you know how to clean. Well, that's a mistake unless less I know, but now you're bragging about it, which takes it to the whole level. So that's a mistake. I mean. So, I mean, I hate it. I would much rather pay to have somebody. Yeah. Yeah, so I'm going to say that the first two are true and Uker is a lie. There your final answer, Yes, that is correct? Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. The reality I was like, why would a kid from Ohio need to learn how to play Yuker? Right? Oh, that is only a Michigan thing, I know, That's what I'm saying. Yeah, yeahh so Michigan Uker is a Michigan game, right, But when you live here for twenty years. Yeah, of course you're going to teach people who moved here. That's okay. So that part you're absolutely wrong. So the history of Yuker is is that I've been, uh in so many scenarios where they play cards and it's Yuker, and I'm the guy that says, no, no, no, let's play you know, regular poker or Texas hold On or something, and they'll say, no, no, no, it's Yuker. And so I've I've played ucre dozens of times and I've had to learn it every time, right, even though I'm decent at it, but I have there's so many but I'm not good, right, And to be honest with you, I don't know why I should like it, but I don't. I don't like it at all. So I'm from Michigan and I don't care for ker. I don't know why. I feel ashamed to say it, I know, right, but I feel like all the Yuker lovers are like, come on, there's more luck to that game. And I think that's part of it. To me, Oh is I like the games they have less luck and more strategy. Right, But so cards in general are luck too. Sure, there's a lot of strategy to it, but it's luck of the draw yep, primarily. So anyways, well, there you go. So you shouldn't have confessed that to your wife, being, you know, so enthusiastically about enjoying cleaning so much. Well, to be fair, I haven't cleaned on a rampage in quite a while. Which, stop talking is worse. Just stop talking. She's listening right now. Liz is like, you know, he hasn't. I bet I can guess how your weekend is gonna go. You're absolutely right, Yeah, I've done it. Now I stepped out. Oh no, okay, not that it's just Liz's job to clean. No, no, no, no, no no, Now we have to walk back the other for all the people we just triggered. Well, well, keep keep in mind deep cleaning is what I said. That's different than doing the dishes every day, Okay, right, because you know we hopefully I'd like to think that we share that job, right right, even though that I'm pretty certain that Liz does it more than me. Okay, but in my mind, do you hear did you ever hear Jeff Foxworthy talk about husbands who don't participate he goes, He goes, yeah, he goes, I opened the door and he and he says, and my wife's out there tarring the driveway, and he goes, hey, honeys want to let you know empty that a stray back then I picked up those socks. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's hilarious. You missed a spot, right, that's hilarious. It's terrible, it's terrible. Yes, okay, well there you go. It was once again another riveting episode of yeah, yeah, yeah. What is Chris star Ball like? Yeah, well it's the enigma of me. Yes, it's incredible. Hey, listen, if you're watching YouTube, would you do us a favor? Would you subscribe to it? Would you definitely put a thumbs up? What would you share with somebody? Because it'll really help us with the metrics, It helps us in every way, and also it exposes our podcast to those who who knows might want to listen to it, So we appreciate that very much. So today we are dealing with the resurrection of Jesus here on this episode of the Bible Guys, and this is in all four Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and is the pivotal event in human history. And so let's just start. Matthew, chapter twenty eight, verse one. It says, early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there is a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. Don't be afraid. He said, I know you're looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn't here. He's risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come and see where his body was laying. And so and now go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I've told you. And the women ran quickly from the tomb, and they were very frightened, but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel's message. In Mark Chapter sixteen, verses one through eight. It says Saturday evening when the sabbath, and did Mary Magdalene marry the other mother of James. And Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus's body. Very early on Sunday morning, just as sunrise, they went to the tomb. On the way, they were asking each other who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb. But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, but the angel said, don't be alarmed. You're looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who is crucified. He isn't here. He has risen from the dead. Look this is where they laid his body. Now go tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died. And the women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, And they said nothing to anyone, because they were too frightened. Many of the manuscripts of the bookmark and right there, and others add a few exits, and so says. Then they briefly reported all this to Peter and his companions. Afterward, Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life Amen. And then Luke twenty four one through eleven, it says, But very early on Sunday morning, the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They found that the stoneman rolled away from the entrance, and so they went in, but they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there, puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive. He isn't here. He's risen from the dead. Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the son of Man must be traded in the hands of sinful men and crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day. Then they remembered what he'd said this, or that he had said this, so they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples and everyone else what had happened. It was Mary Magdalen, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and several other women who to the apostles what had happened. But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn't believe it. And then John twenty verses one and to us. As early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, they've taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and we don't know where they've put him. So there you go. Well, that's it. Well you read all four. I was and thinking that there was one more. That was it. There's not five gospels, Jeff, No, there's only four. Last I checked. So there it is. And John chapter twenty. Isn't it interesting that it's only a few verses? Yes? Right, So John twenty one and two. Is that what it says? Yep? Wow, we're oh there it is right there. You know, it's interesting how John is honestly just so different from the other gospels. He really is, yep, and in this case obviously very different. So you know what I love that stands out. What's the first thing that stands out to you? The women? Does it? Really? Yeah? The thing that stood out to me was he said, go and tell the disciples, including Peter. Oh yeah, they're in Book of Mark. Yeah yeah, I mean, you know, think about it. I mean, that's a you can build a whole sermon around that, the idea that you know, here Peter denies Jesus. Jesus calls him out on it, even though that we know that the other disciples all fled, right, and Peter's the one that says, Lord, surely we're gonna die with you. And you know, he takes out his dagger and he cuts off Malcus's ear in the Garden members several podcasts ago, and so Peter is definitely willing to demonstrate his you know, his ability to die with Jesus. But then Jesus says, hey, surely I tell you this before the rooster crows twice, you're gonna dine me three times? What Peter does? And then what does it say? The last time we heard from Peter was he went out and wept bitterly. Right, So then here's Jesus dying for the sins of humanity, you know, conquering sin and death rising again. And then he says, my mind's on Peter. So he tells the angels make sure that when the women come, right or whoever comes, make sure that Peter's included. Yeah. Right, So it's just incredible how it's a reminder that, like, hey, no matter your biggest mess up and the thing that you feel the most guilty about, because we can carry around guilt like a badge of honor, and God never intends us to do that. He does use guilt. Guilt's a good thing because if guilt returns us to repentance, guilt could be a good thing. But once we've repented, and once we understand that our sins are forgiven, then God does not intend for us to hang on to guilt at all, So that guilt for that particular sin is gone. And yet we just beat ourselves up and we just consider ourselves unworthy, and we don't believe that God still loves us. Sometimes we believe that, you know, God's opinion of us has been tainted because after all, we've promised something and then failed and promised again and went back and we failed fifty times, and so we're just a worthless piece of you know, cow dung or whatever it is. But that's not the case. So God's mind, Jesus's mind is on Peter. Yeah, And I just think it's a great sermon. It's a great reminder for all of us. Yeah. So when we sin, there's between our relationship with God and our position with God. Right. And so it's the same way with your children. When your children disobey you, their position with you is the same. They'll always be your child, but the relationship can be affected in that now there's consequences to their behavior, right. Or it's the same way in a dating relationship or in a marriage relationship. The position of being a spouse is still there, but their relationship ship can be intention right. And so when we sin, now it's not about the guilt thing. It's about making sure that the relationship is right. And that's why we would go back and we would confess our sin and that we would repent, and so our behavior should cause grief if it's wrong, because it's it's an assault against God. That's a good side of grief. That's right. And then we were guilt, right, and we repent of that, and it drives us back to saying God, the most important thing is that our relationship is right, you know, not that your position changed. Right. God's keeping you as his child. It's not up to you now, it's up to him. So that's the difference. Anyways, you know. I think it's also interesting, just in a side note, that Mark very likely was writing Peter's story. So Mark was historically believed that Mark was Peter's secretary, so he's writing this story. The entire Gospel of Mark may have been Peter's narrative of it, which makes sense. Peter's so blunt, he's so quick, he's so that he'd have the shortest of the gospel right, just get to the point the miracles were pretty amazing whatever, And so the fact that it's mentioned in Mark and not in the others is would be another indicator. And it makes sense. Yeah, it never never. Yeah, this is a very special moment for Peter that the angel wanted to make sure that Jesus wanted to make sure that Peter was included. This would be very memorable to Peter, maybe not very memorable to you know, John or Matthew, who were also eyewadnesses. Yeah, but that doesn't mean that he made it up though either. No, no, because because it's in quotes, that's right, right, No, no, No. What I was saying is it would be very memorable for him, right, and that's why he would have The other other people are like, oh, yeah, he did say that, didn't Yeah yeah, yeah, Yeah, that's that's pretty amazing. So here it is the if if the resurrection hadn't happened, then Jesus was not who he claimed to be. Right, The death didn't matter, The shedding of the blood didn't matter, the punishment that he took in his body didn't matter, none of the rest, the miracles that he did didn't matter. The good words he said didn't matter. Nothing mattered if the resurrection doesn't happen. So this is the lynch pin in all that was necessary for the salvation of humanity was this element. If this didn't happen, none of the rest of it matters, and so we've staked eternity. Every Christian has staked all of eternity on this event, either he resurrected from the dead or did not. And this is where and we've talked about this before. Our staff right now is reading a book by Chuck Colson, right and it's called The Faith. It's really great. It's a fairly short book but deals with systematic theology and proofs of our faith, why Christians believe what they believe. It's not very big book, but it's good book. Anyways. Chuck was the right hand man to President Nixon when Nixon gets busted, right, So, Nixon has essentially a presidential immunity. If everybody just goes quiet, he can go ahead and protect everybody, and offered to do so. He Alfred depict everybody, and Chuck Colson was kind of his hatchetman. But Spiro Agnew, the vice president, starts getting pressured by the FBI in this investigation, and in like ten or twelve days, rolls on everybody else, throws the president under the bus, throws all the hatchetman under the bus, and eventually Chuck Colson winds up going to prison over for a couple of years, three years, I think, And he said, think about that for a moment. You're only talking about the ruining of your reputation and a couple of years in jail, and the most powerful man in the world was offering to protect you, and the second most powerful man in the world got scared and rolled on everybody because he didn't want to do any time. And so we wind up going to prison because of him. And then you have all of the followers of Jesus. Of these eleven that are still alive, ten of the eleven wind up dying for this claim. Rate here we saw the risen lord, right that Jesus resurrected from the dead. This is the the lynchpinned to all of Christianity. If this didn't happen, then nothing else did. And so so many people, even atheists, who are debaters and trying to disprove Christianity, this is the thing they go after, and thus far, this is the thing they haven't been able to disprove, right as the resurrection. And by the way, ten out of eleven died, but the eleventh also get boiled in oil. Yeah, boiled alive. He just didn't die. He just didn't die, which, by the way, I wonder how he looked after that. It'd be pretty rough. So yeah, so even though that he didn't die and that was John, Yeah, he certainly didn't. He certainly paid the price, right he died. He was over one hundred years old when got one hundred and ten. Thing. He died on the isle of Patmos, I think. And right, yeah, so this is a really substantial thing because in this situation, these people faced death and never recanted, and the vice President of the United States, who is being protected by the most powerful man in the world, rolled in like less than two weeks, right, right, and that's pretty significant. Well, we love life application study Bible, and there's a little chart here that talks about the evidence that Jesus actually died and rose and what it does, excuse me, is it gives us one, two, three, four, five. Yeah, I'm hurting today. It's the first podcast, its first recording. There's five proposed explanations for the empty tomb that aren't you know, based on the fact that he rose. But then there's evidence against these explanations. So for instance, the first one be like, okay, there's a theory that says maybe Jesus was only unconscious and later revived. But then there's scriptural evidence and recorded evidence that says the Roman soldier told that pilot was dead. In Mark fifteen, the Roman soldiers did not break Jesus' legs, but because he had already died. In John nineteen, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapped his body placed it in the tomb John nineteen. Yeah, right, you want to read the next one. Roman soldiers were experts on death. Yes, it's not like they hadn't seen death before, right, they knew exactly what they're looking at. The other one is that the women made a mistake and went to the wrong tomb, So that would be some of the arguments that the resurrection didn't really happen. But Mary mag only to marry, the mother of Joseph, saw Jesus place in the tomb, remember that from our podcast last week. Ye, they were it was Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, and then it kept mentioning Mary and the other Mary. That's right, and so should they say that he got the tomb of the burial right? And then on Sunday morning, Peter and John also went to that same tomb, So those would be the two things going, Hey, this just that's not a legitimate right, it's not the wrong to right, and that winds up being Matthew, Mark Luke, and John. I'll do with those issues. And then the other theory is, well, unknown thieves stole Jesus's body. Well, number one, the tomb was sealed and guarded by the Roman soldiers Matthew twenty seven, which, by the way, this doesn't even talk about the fact that Jesus appeared for forty days in front of hundreds of people, and he had and he had eyewitnesses. This doesn't even say that in this little defense. Yeah, yeah, because there's eyewitnesses of his resurrection, Yeah, hundreds of them. So if they had stole jesus body, then those eyewitnesses, well, the idea that this contingent of soldiers allowed, you know, rabbel rousers to steal the body, these soldiers would have been executed, right, but they were not executed. Hey, not to mention the let's not forget the zombies, right right, Let's not forget the fact that there are people resurrected from the grave during the during the actual death of Jesus who later on after the resurrection came and showed themselves. Yes, and again if you're a new listener, not real zombies, not real zombies. Yea. The disciples stole Jesus body would be another argument, right, So it was unknown thieves or maybe the disciples, but the disciples were ready to die for their faith. Stealing Jesus body would have been admitting that their faith was meaningless. Right, we'll think about that. If they'd stole Jesus body, then the thing that they were dying over was empty and meaningless. And that's what I was trying to highlight. When the vice president wouldn't lie for the president, right, just in two weeks, he was unwilling, unwilling, he was afraid, and that's natural. Humanities respire, humanity's naturals sponds to danger like that. So anyways, and then the last theory is perhaps the religious leader stole the Jesus body to produce it later, but they never produced the body, so there's no evidence for that because it was to their disadvantage for Jesus to have vacated the tomb, and it was to every advantage to produced the body, and they didn't that's right. Yeah. And then there's one other real big highlight that I always like to point out, and that is the angels are there. There's two angels. One speaks up, so that's why you get a difference between what was that Mark and Luke or whatever. One speaks up, and his first thing is always don't be afraid, because when God sends his messengers to speak, that's the first thing is don't be afraid. You know, I think humanity carries a lot of fear all the time, especially if anything that's out of the ordinary or whatever. And so he speaks these women, don't be afraid. God wants to comfort them, he wants to calm them down. And then he says, Hey, the person you're looking for among the dead isn't here. He's risen. And that is maybe one of the greatest proclamations, I guess, the greatest poculation. We're looking for Jesus among the dead, but he's not here. He's the reason. Well, last Easter we themed it around the idea of who is it that you're looking for? And that's what they asked them. They said, who is that you're looking for? Why are you looking for the living or the dead among the living. And you know, and that is the question for all of us today, which is who is it that you're looking for? You're looking for the you know, the Jesus that they expected to find, because they expected to find the dead Jesus, you know, the non living Jesus, the Jesus who obviously didn't have the ability to back up every promise that he had. Right, But you know, the question of the angel is valid for us today too. Or are we looking for the resurrected Jesus, the one who has the power to not only conquer sin and death, but also to give us the power to conquer the sin and defeat and the worry and anxiety and the problems and everything else in our lives. So it depends on who we're looking for. And they clearly had forgotten the promise that I'm going to rise again. So their fear and their despondency came from the fact that they just weren't paying very close attention. Yeah, and I think that's the same for all of us. If we were playing close attention to God's promises, we would walk around with way less fear in our lives. And so, yeah, it's really powerful. Well, hey, that is our time, so wow, the Resurrection of Jesus, we did it. There you go, so there's more to go. So we'll see you next time on the Bible. Guys,