Chase: Hello and welcome to the Point Church Podcast. We're really glad you're here. Before we jump in, if you'd like to stay connected, you can download the Point Church app. It's a simple way to find messages, resource, and what's happening. And if this podcast is helpful, take a moment to like, subscribe, and share. You can find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. Let's get into today's episode. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Point Church Podcast. I'm here with Pastor Sam as we have Almost walked through the gospel of Matthew, verse by verse. and so today is our final episode of this season. Yeah. And ⁓ we should probably say that we've been saying up to this point forty podcasts, forty days. Yeah. But this is the forty first podcast. This is cause we're saving it for Easter. For those of you listening when this comes out, yeah. Happy Easter. He is risen. He is risen. This is a special episode where we're just gonna tell you Best news that changes everything. Changes everything. And with this too, ⁓ keep subscribed. Look out for season two, because there will be a season two. Yep. It'll be happening soon. But with that, let's jump into it. And ⁓ chapter twenty eight and verse one. After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and and the ⁓ other Mary went to view the tomb. There was a violent earthquake. Because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes was as white as snow. So right there. Pretty amazing. Parallels again to Christmas story of the angel coming. Yes. It parallels to the transfiguration of Jesus being, you know, bright as you know as the sun. And this is the resurrection. This is the good news. It's ⁓ it cannot be overstated that this single moment that tomb stone being rolled changed the world, changed the turn, changed everything. Dead. ⁓ verse four. ⁓ the guards were so shaken by fear of him, they became like dead men. The angels told the women, Don't be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus. Who was crucified, he is not here, for he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, he has risen from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Listen, I have told you. I mean, this is again just the the good news, and the beautiful part about this is it's women. Who have the courage to go and see the tomb. That the soldiers, the big tough Roman soldiers, are petrified of this angel and it's like they're dead. But these women who are faithful stayed the whole time, saw the whole like the horror of the crucifixion, are told the good news first. They become the first evangelists. And it's been noted a number of ⁓ places by historians, you know, secular religious that if in that time You wanted your story to be believed. You would not have women to be the center of the story. It just women did not hold that place in society. So the only reason why you would have women going and telling the stories because that's how it happened. Yeah. And and the disciples, the Matthew who wrote this, told it how it was. That small fact is what began to change. So much of human history dignified the place of women. It was like this is truth, this is about to flip the world on its head. And all people, as Jesus said, all people are here to celebrate the good news. Yeah. And they're the first ones, like you said, to spread the good news. ⁓ so departing quickly and picking up verse eight. So departing quickly from the tomb, with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news. Just then Jesus met them and said, Greetings. They came up, took Hold of his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus told them, Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there. Yeah. It's ⁓ it's just absolutely beautiful that they say they're they're leaving from the tomb with fear and great joy. They run into Jesus, he's like, Keep the joy, drop the fear. Mm-hmm. I just think that's amazing. It is, it is. In verse 11, it says, As they were on their way. Some of the guards came into the city and reported to the chief priest everything that had happened. After the priest had assembled with the elders and agreed on a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money and told them, Say this, his disciples came during the night and stole him while we were sleeping. If this reaches the governor's ear, we will deal with him and keep you out of trouble. They took the money and did as they were instructed, and the story has been spread among Jewish people to this day. Right. So when we read that phrase to this day, remember that Matthew wrote this still in the first century. Yeah. So don't necessarily think twenty first century, think first century, the modern audience, that this would have been a rumor, this would have been a you know, distracting story. ⁓ well, they just stole the body. Well then why is it still taking off like this? Yeah. You know, ge like Matthew's almost giving us a little preview into what happened about sixty years after this scene. Hey, that rumor's still floating out there, guys, but yeah. So many of you are encountering the living Christ. Mm-hmm. You recognize this rumor, but you know it's a lie. Mm-hmm. ⁓ verse 16. The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. Yeah, we said like to pause here and just think that they worshiped and doubted. Yeah. There's something again just beautiful about that being placed there that even like we started this podcast to help people with their journey through faith, their journey through their relationship with Jesus. And I'm sure along these last forty days there has been worship and there has been doubt. And before we beat ourselves up too much on the doubt, Jesus seems to make space for doubt and but invites you to bring it to him. So even as this is our last episode for the season, ⁓ there is space for doubt, but allow Jesus to occupy that space, speak into it, answer it, process it. Doubt may be a catalyst that drives you deeper into faith, not further away from it, because you want to investigate your doubt. You want to know that it's true, you want to test it for yourself. I know it's not this story, but Thomas wanted to touch him, see that he was real. And then that's what changed him. So it is okay to have a blend in your heart of worship and doubt. Is this true? Is this for me? Yeah. In verse 18, Jesus came near and said to them, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you and remember I am with you all with you always to the end of the age. I think the only thing I have to say to that is Amen. Amen.