Wake the Neighbors

New American Standard Bible (1995) Chapter 27

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;

53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Introduction

We have come today, as is our custom, to celebrate what culturally is labeled Easter, but without going into a historical marketing discourse I’ll just say that this time in our faith we are commemorating the resurrection of Jesus. And while a lot of this focus is on the significance of the resurrection of Jesus, I want to lift to you today that that’s not all there is to his resurrection. Tell somebody, this is really about you.

Luke 4 is the foundation of Jesus’ ministry, and I have told you before that if you want to know what your assignment is, you’ll find it somewhere in Luke 4:18 ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,” ask someone ‘where is your burden?’ Jesus came for one purpose and that is liberation.

I don’t know what you know God to be in this season, but if we can be honest I can dance the rest of this service when I consider the last 3 things he rescued me from… I don’t mean to start too early but can you just lean over and tell the person beside you, “he rescued me!”

I was in a horrible place

I was at the end of my rope

I was planning my exit

But he snatched my mind back

Tell somebody ‘he rescued me’

Jesus did not come just to save your soul, he came to save your mind, he came to restore your identity, he came to recover your sight and give you a revelation that though your sins be as scarlet, I came to make you white as snow. Tell somebody ‘he came for the whole you’.

All throughout the landscape of Jesus’ ministry we find him not with the scholars of the day, not with the doctors and theologians, but he chose the misfits of society to impart his teachings, wisdom, and ultimately his spirit into. (Jewish school example).

Torah (first five books of the Bible).

Talmud and oral traditions, often studying in pairs.

Midrash (House of Study - Young Adulthood): Advanced students "followed" a specific rabbi to learn how to interpret law and live according to their teacher’s interpretation of the Torah.

Man’s disapproval makes room for God’s approval

He’s walking with these men and women and he’s sharing wisdom through parables, he’s talking about the kingdom of God because the best way to heal someone’s now is to give them a revelation of their future.

He’s establishing in them an awareness of their social and missional responsibility.

He talks about:

caring for the widows

providing for the poor

looking after the children

standing up for the ones being mistreated by the powers of the day

And this leads us back to Luke 4:18

Because a gospel without liberation is no gospel at all.

And we know the journey to Calvary

He liberates a donkey tied to a stake

He liberates a woman from 12 years of hemhriging

He liberates Lazarus from the sting of death

He came to set the captains free, but there is a problem

The captives were so conditioned to being captive, they rejected the very thing God sent to answer their prayer

POINT TO WRITE DOWN: Don’t let your preference prohibit God from performing what you petitioned him for.

Jesus is welcomed by the same people who will in a few days want him dead.

Tell somebody, “this is why you must lock in”

be so locked-in to your assignment that you don’t allow people’s instability to steer your focus - Get locked in.

Because Jonah, you don’t pick the people, you can only pick your surrender.

Because you’re measured by your obedience, and not by your placement.

Now, here is Jesus standing in front of a crowd, next to a man by the name of Barrabas, and though we count it unfair for Barrabas to be set free, can I tell you that if Barrabus had died, Jesus would cease to be the Messiah, let me explain why.

Barrabas was guilty, Jesus was innocent

Barrabas was set free, Jesus died

Barrabas is you and me, his name means son of the father

And the last time I checked, 1 John 3:16 tells us how to perceive the Love of the father, is that he laid down his life for us.

Tell somebody, I’m barrabus, I’m the son, that the father died for, And I’m so glad he kept his word

I deserved death, but he kept his word

I deserved judgement, but he kept his word

And He decided to die, just to save me

And now life is sweet, and my joy is complete

because I’m saved

Jesus is on the cross

He has liberated Mary of maternal stress

By assigning John to take care of her

He liberated those who crucified him

By praying the God would forgive them for their ignorance

He liberates the thief that requested a space in paradise from his pending judgement

And our text says today

that one of the final things he does in the moment

is he lets out a cry and yields his spirit

liberating himself from his incarnate duties

And 3 things take place

First, the veil of the temple is ripped from top to bottom

This gives us access to the throne of God without the need of a high priest, liberating your sense of priesthood

Second, the earthquakes and rocks split

and then He died

Didn’t he die

until the sun refuse to shine

from the 6th to the 9th hour

He died

Until the soldier had to say

This was the son of God (Have I got a withness)

He laid his head

In the laps of his shoulders

They buried him

He laid there all night Saturday

But Early

Sunday morning

He got up

But that’s not

the whole story

our text says

when he got up

the tomb of the saints

who were sleep

opened up

and they walked

in the holy city

find you a neighbor

and say neighbor

take my hand

because when I come out

you coming out

and we gon wake the neighbors

that means my family

my friends

my city

my church

we all gettin up

because living he loved me…

because at the cross…

because hell lost another one

Tell somebody, wake the neighbors!