20250427 Easter Eggs at the Passion Week
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Welcome to Vertical Church
42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.
As a church we seek to uphold the values of the NT church as seen in Acts 2:42 -
We are Trinitarian - while God is one in essence, He is three in person: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
We believe in the sovereignty of God - sovereign over all creation, sovereign over the affairs of men, sovereign over salvation
We believe in the authority of the Bible - Scripture alone is the Word of God
We are Biblical in our theology - we are a bible teaching church
We believe that the Church is not a building or a denomination but a people - those who are truly in Christ and embrace the truths that were embraced and confessed by the New Testament Church, the apostolic church.
We are evangelical - we believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
We are a Vertical Church - we believe that all true worship and living is Vertical, God directed and for the glory of God alone.
Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, for the glory of God alone
The 5 V’s of biblical Christianity
Verbal inspiration
Virgin birth
Vicarious atonement
Victorious resurrection
Visible return
Today we’ll discuss the Visible Return of Christ
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
His ascension - Visible, physical, the cloud which is the presence of the Holy Spirit.
He will come, visible, physical, in the clouds - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Let us worship God
Call to Worship - John 15:4-5
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit from itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
Scripture Reading - John 19:38-41
38 Now after these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. 39 And Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about one hundred litras. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
Introduction:
Introduction: Easter Eggs at the Passion Week
One of the things movies and video games have in common is something called an Easter egg; hidden references and clues that reveal a secret or hidden detail. There are several "Easter eggs" during the Passion Week and after the resurrection. At the last supper, at the tomb, at Pentecost, at the Ascension. Each of these events reveals something about Jesus that you may not have noticed before.
(1) The beginning of the Church at the Last Supper
19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
For centuries, the liturgy had been exactly the same, until our Lord, who alone had the authority on heaven and earth, dared to change it and announced the establishing of a new covenant. He said: “This is the new covenant now, which is in My blood. This new covenant in My blood is by the shedding of My blood for the remission of your sins. Tonight, we are eating and drinking the ultimate Passover.”
I believe that was the birthday of the Christian church in the upper room when Jesus initiated and instituted a new covenant. But the new covenant would still have to be ratified, because covenants in antiquity had to be ratified in blood. This was the reason for the conjunction of Passover and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The next afternoon, the new covenant that Jesus instituted in the upper room was ratified by His blood.
(2) The exaltation of Christ at His burial
If no-one claimed the body of a crucifixion victim, it would be thrown in a common burial pit. Matthew describes Joseph as a “rich man” and also a “disciple” of Jesus. Many people believe that he could have been a member of the Sanhedrin and a quiet supporter of Jesus.
The burial custom in Jesus’ day was for a body to be anointed with spices and wrapped in a cloth. It would then be placed in a tomb or cave and the entrance would be sealed.
39 And Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about one hundred litras.
a litras is a Roman pound, 12 ounces, making this approx 75 pounds - an incredibly expensive anointing
9 So His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
(3) The giving of the Spirit at Pentecost
16 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, that He may be with you forever;
Comforter, Paraklete - In the ancient world, a paraclete was the title that was given to a defense attorney—and usually the kind of defense attorney that a family was involved with on a permanent retainer basis—so that anytime a person got in trouble, they could call upon their paraclete to stand with them in the midst of the crisis.
In the NT this word is peculiar to the Johannine writings. In 1 Jn. 2:1 the epithet παράκλητος is applied to the exalted Jesus Christ. Four times in the Parting Discourses of the Fourth Gospel (14:16 [cf. 17], 26; 15:26; 16:7 [cf. 13]) the → πνεῦμα which is to be imparted to the disciples after Jesus goes, the Holy Spirit or Spirit of truth, is described as παράκλητος. The expression ἄλλον παράκλητον in 14:16 shows that the Evangelist uses the predicate primarily for Jesus Himself as the One sent by God to the earth.
38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”
(4) The Rapture revealed at His Ascension
11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
His ascension - Visible, physical, the cloud which is the presence of the Holy Spirit.
He will come, visible, physical, in the clouds - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Jesus the exalted King will return as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Now the God, who hears your cries and listens to your prayers, be the shelter above you, the tower around you, the rock beneath you this day and all the days until Jesus comes. Amen.
