Well, if you're able, with me, let's stand and read the first 10 verses of Matthew chapter 28. Matthew chapter 28, verses 1 through 10. Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen. As he said, come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. See, I have told you. So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, greetings. And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me. You may be seated. Jesus, the delight of such a text is not surpassed by its great weight. Lord, the significance, the import of the bare fact of your resurrection is beyond us. Our ability to know, not just a scent, but to know the significance of God, the Son of God, incarnate, dying, and rising again on the third day according to the scriptures, is worth marveling at for not just this life, but for eternity, Lord. It is eternity that is in perspective. Whenever we open your scriptures, and sometimes, like when you rise from the dead, it is so vivid and so present that we would trip over it. But it is with the significance of forever that we are to look into this text this morning. So help us. Help us, because the word is greater than us. Because we are very weak when it comes to understanding spiritual things. In fact, Lord, without your spirit we are told we cannot understand these things. The natural mind does not grasp them, it does not perceive them. But we have been born again. You have granted us to be regenerated in your likeness. And you have promised your spirit to help us, to convict of sin, and to lead us to Christ. We ask for your help for little minds and for big minds and for weak bodies and for strong bodies. Lord, for our men and for our women, for our old and for our young, for our engaged and our distant, for our distracted and for our focused, for all of us, Lord, may we come and delight in your resurrection for these few minutes in your name. Amen. Well I wonder if you've ever, and I trust many of you have, gone to visit the grave of a loved one before. Maybe our young ones have not experienced this yet, maybe some of us have not done this as often as we would like or feel we should, but I trust that when we go to visit the grave of one whom we knew and loved, There's something, maybe there's an expectation of some emotion or some remembrance, but I trust that there is very little expectation of anything really happening. There's nothing quite so sure and permanent as a body which is in its grave, remaining in its grave, and a loved one who is gone, gone. Well, we come this morning to a text which beckons us to come and bids us to go. The text of Matthew chapter 28, and particularly the angels that we will meet, bid us come to the tomb and beckon us come and bid us go from the tomb. And with the significance of the body of Christ laying there, there is a way in which we ought to come to this text this morning. And it is not a way of flippancy. or a way which would think of little happening, but of expecting much to happen. Here, this morning, as we speak about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we ought to be expecting great things from God. These two women, as they came and journeyed toward the tomb, were not expecting much, as we will see. But there is great reason to expect much from our God. Our text begins with a little introduction or a prologue, if you will, a little blurb that should take our minds and remind us of where we're at in Scripture. Not just that Jesus is dead. We've been there together. We understand that Jesus is dead and in the grave. But with these peculiar words, after the Sabbath, toward the dawn, the first day of the week, the women marry and marry there. We ought to realize that the writer is helping our minds prepare for what is coming. Even if the women who journeyed to the tomb were not so prepared and not so thinking of what this was, but we recognize that here is told us it was after the Jewish Shabbat. It was toward the dawn, this first breaking of light. It was the first day of the created seven, not the last. And it was not elders or chief priests or scribes or even men, but it was women who came to the grave that day. Little did they know it was to be the last Jewish Sabbath. It was the end, if you will, of working so that you might enter rest, but the beginning of working out of the rest which Christ had. That is, it was the end of a relationship to God based on the law, but a relationship to God has been forged through Christ. It is the end of the law as a covenant. It was the beginning for God's people of a relation to God through Christ. Not that it didn't precede this, but that here it is made evident and the work of that nation was finished. It was the end of that people, that preparatory people, and the beginning of a resurrected people. The people of God from here on are defined by this resurrection. They are those for whom Christ rose. It was the dawn of this new people, and it was toward the glory of His rising. We meet every week now on the Lord's Day, anticipating that greater day of the Lord, the day when His light shines once for all. His kingdom comes to reign and be for all His people that perfect display of His glory. That's what we meet now together for on the first day of the week. We meet anticipating the dawn of that light. And all that began on this morning as these women approached the tomb of our Savior. So I want you to notice how the structure of this text is laid out. In these 10 verses, it's fairly straightforward as these women approach the tomb, as they find something at the tomb, and as they depart from the tomb. So we're also taken in that same way in stride. There is a way in which we are to come to the grave of Jesus. There is something we are to find at the grave and at the tomb of Jesus. And there is something we are furnished with and given to do with the tomb of Jesus. Look then to how we would come to his tomb. How do we come to the grave of Jesus? Or if you like the bigger, shorter word, what's the propriety, what's the appropriate way that we should come to the tomb of Jesus? Well, if you're like a grave visitor coming and thinking that we will have some brief maybe emotional thoughts this morning and perhaps a little bit of an experience. I would ask you to check your thinking for a minute. These women thought they would come and visit this grave, and we're not expecting to be confronted with such truth. Likewise, friends, we come to this text, and we ought to come prepared not just for a little experience, but to be confronted with a reality, a breathtaking reality. If you come expecting maybe just something that was mundane, right, a brief visit to a grave and nothing more, I would ask you, I would plead with you, I would tell you have reason to expect something which is monumental, something with great momentous import. This text bids us come with eager expectation this morning. Friends, we have all reason to think this because not only have the Scriptures prophesied up to this point, but we have known the Jesus who has come to this point, and we've known what He said, and we know what He spoke of on the third day, and this being that day, we come expecting His resurrection. And so it is, these women came, and how were they greeted? With a trembling earth, and messengers from heaven. The earth itself shook as they came, and there was one who was like lightning before them, one with a message from heaven. That's what angel means. He's a messenger from heaven. If you come to a place that trembles and shakes, and there is something bright as lightning and a word from heaven, you might be thinking, is this Sinai again? Is this the holiness of God revealed again? This is what greeted them, and this is what greeted the guards who were there with them. This trembling, this great light, this fearsome sight of one who came. And if you think about it in terms of what the significance is, the stone was rolled, the tomb was empty. If you think of Jesus, the one who descended into the grave, who has come back, the champion who just creamed the snot out of death and came back, and he's back for sinners, we ought to be terrified as well. This Jesus, who was put in the grave by sinful men, now comes back to sinful earth. It's a terrifying thing to think of. And likewise, we must understand there is no whimsical approach to this grave. There is no flippant, or there should be no flippant approach here. The resurrection of Jesus is the most significant event in all of history. You might say, well, maybe the cross. Well, that's true. But as Brother Matthew and I were saying this morning, all men die. Only one man ever rose of his own power and triumphed over death itself. There was significance, unspeakable significance, in the death of a man but only because it is in light of a resurrection, of one who triumphed over the grave and gave that death all of its validity and significance as an atoning death for sin. And there is no more powerful way to approach, to be confronted by God's truth than to stand and gaze at the tomb. Anyone who looks at the tomb and treats it as something little, as something insignificant, as something not to be dealt with, does so at their own peril. If you would have the saving light of Jesus dawn on you, you need to gaze at the tomb. You need to look and see that a Savior was resurrected, that Jesus of Nazareth, who was dead, is alive again. And that is a powerful thing. and it should come to all of us with great fear. It should come to all of us with great trembling, what the significance of that means. It was a terrifying experience, both for the guards and for the women, but we see this in different ways. Notice, to the guards, It was a terrifying thing that left them running. But to the women, it was met with great comfort. The word of the angel said to them, do not be afraid. The import of Jesus's resurrection is significant, first and foremost, because here is one with such power, one with such victory over sin, and one who comes with such victory over his enemies, that when he comes, you are either in love with that man, or you are terrified of him. Notice what the angels say to the women. But the angel said in verse five, do not be afraid. Why? for I know that you seek Jesus." The difference between you, with all warrant to be petrified and terrified of Jesus, and you, fearful of His power but comforted by His resurrection, the difference is, do you seek Jesus? Do you seek Him? There were those standing guard over His tomb. Their sole duty was to keep this resurrection from happening. To guard against the word of this resurrection from spreading. To seal it up. To prevent it. They were not seeking Jesus, but seeking honor for themselves and seeking to put Jesus behind everyone and bury this man. They stood with utter fear and they fled. And the question is, are you seeking Jesus this morning or are you running from Jesus? And I would ask you to face the fact that this Jesus rose from the dead. that He rose and you must see it. You must not look at it with indifference, but you must press on that you might see not only the fear, but find the comfort which is here given to those who seek Him. Coming to the tomb is an, if you come honestly, will be a fearful thing. but it is met with comfort for those who seek Jesus. So the message of the angels to you this morning is one of comfort. The grave ought to be a fearful thing, but it ought to be a joyful thing. a comforting thing to those who seek the one who was dead. But this comes to us now as we approach the tomb, and we come, we wonder what do we find there? Well, of course the tomb is empty, right? We know if we were there and we walked to the tomb, we would see nothing, no body was there. But I'm asking, what do we perceive in the empty tomb? What is there to behold? What is there to know about the empty tomb? If we've come with reverence and we've come with fear and trembling and we've sought Christ and we're coming and we've been given comfort, what then are we to see in this tomb? And the first thing we are to see is that Jesus has a new name. Never before has this man been called Jesus who was crucified. but here they are seeking Jesus who was crucified. This is Jesus, the one who died. This is Jesus who hung on the cross. This is Jesus who was crucified. And with this victory, we know that he has been given a name above all names, as Philippians 2 says. As God raised him, exalted him, highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name, Romans 1 speaks of this act as that definitive, powerful act whereby Jesus was declared to be the Son of God. The Son of God. The crucified Son of God. The one whose name is above all names. And the one who is innocent. The resurrection comes, if we were to read the way in which it's preached in Acts 2.24, and the way in which Romans 6 speaks of it, we know that by this resurrection, His death was not in vain. In fact, His death was not something which He deserved, but death itself was something that could not hold Him, for He was an innocent man, and God raised Him up. In other words, God accepted the sacrifice and the work on the cross, and he would not let his body see corruption, but gave him the glory that was due his name. This is Jesus who was crucified, but is no longer. This is Jesus who died, but is no longer. This is Jesus who has been highly exalted by the Father. The first thing we come to see when we come to an empty tomb is to realize Jesus has a name above all names as the one who died and is risen. But the second thing we notice here And this point is two things side by side. We see the name, but then we also must see who was slain. Who was slain by Jesus? We think of Jesus as the one who was slain and he was, but here at his resurrection we see there is victory over the enemies of Jesus. Who are the slain when we see an empty tomb? Who did Jesus triumph over? Here is one who has triumphed over death itself, as Romans 6 says. Here is one who has triumphed over the sting of death, that is, the law, as 1 Corinthians says. Here is one who has triumphed over the power of death. I'm sorry, the sting of death, that is, the punishment for sin. And the sting of, I'm sorry, the power of the law, which is the power of death. So Jesus triumphed over the sting of death. That is, we do not fear the punishment which is due us for sin. And Jesus triumphed over the power of death. That is, the power of sin to convict us. Jesus is victorious over death in both ways. So death itself is among the slain of the victorious Jesus. but among the slain is also the rulers and authorities that He put to an open shame, as Colossians 2 says. That is, the demonic powers, those who would triumph over Christ, Christ triumphed over them, disarming them, putting them to an open shame. So as we come to the tomb, we find a name above all names because He has put all things under His feet. He has become victorious over death. He is victorious over rulers and powers. He is victorious over the accuser of sin. Who is it that condemns? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who... What? who justifies, who has risen. It is God who has risen from the dead. Therefore, when we come to the tomb, first we see a name above all names. We see the slain of Jesus there. But then we ask, what is that for me? And the angels said to the women, they bid them come and see. There is an invitation, and then a dispatch. And we'll look at those two things next. At the tomb, we find not only a name above all names, and the defeat of all of his enemies, we see an invitation to come and see the tomb. I asked the children last night, and I don't know whether it was because of perhaps one of you all or because of some teaching that my son had at a different place, but when I asked him, what do you think? Did the angel roll the tomb away so that Jesus could get out? He was very quick to say, no, that's silly, dad. It was so we could see it was empty. And I thought, yeah, that's right. I didn't really realize that until my study, but it is quite plain that the stone was rolled back and the angel sat on it, defying any who would go and try to roll that stone and cover it up and conceal it again. He sits there victorious with the tomb open and says, come and see. Jesus sent messengers from heaven in lightning apparel down to roll the stone away so that you would come and see. The messengers were sent for you, friends. They bid you come to the tomb. Come and look. Come and see the place where He lay. We have this invitation to see what is the significance of this man's death And so come, let us linger for a few minutes and understand what this means. If death is slain, we have been delivered from fear of death, as Hebrews 2 speaks of. We who are subject to fear of lifelong death have been delivered from that fear. We have nothing to fear in death. That's what we come to see in the empty grave. We've been delivered from condemnation just as He was. We've been delivered from any who would stand and accuse you, who would take your sin and rub it in your face, and tell your conscience you're guilty before God. We say, no, but Jesus was risen again. He has risen from the grave. You cannot condemn me. You cannot accuse me, because death would not hold Him. That's what we come to see in the tomb. we come to see a pledge from heaven that we will have life with Him. We see this in Romans and Colossians as He is the first fruits of the grave. It is the down payment, the first to come. the first little fruit of the crop. Remember, as the farmer eagerly awaits for that first crop at the beginning of the year, so also the world eagerly awaited for that first fruit, Jesus, risen from the dead, and with it is the promise of a whole harvest to come, of all his people, that they would be risen with him, that they would have life eternal with him, that they would live with him forever, that they would triumph over death. We can sing as Corinthians 15 says, quoting the prophet Hosea, oh death, where is your sting? Oh grave, where is your victory? And we can exalt and thrill and delight in the fact that we will be united with those who have already gone on and slept in Christ before us. We will be caught up together with them. we will be with our Lord and Savior forever. This is the import of the tomb. Do you see how eternity is not just hanging in the balance, but is put on display right before your eyes? Here is a window into eternity, and it is Jesus alive again. Do you see why you cannot ignore the tomb? If you would say anything to anyone with any significance, you would say, Jesus is risen. Jesus conquered the grave. And so with that, with the come and see, there is also a command, a dispatch to go. In other words, come and see long enough to know, but do not linger in a way that would draw into question whether there is anything here to do. The right way, the appropriate way to see is to take it with joyous news and to go. There is a commission now. Go quickly and tell my brothers. Do not linger as if he hasn't risen. Do not wait for some additional education or some skill. It is not for want of power or knowledge that you need to linger long in the grave as if Jesus hasn't risen, but with joy you must go and declare it. And who must we go to first? Go first to the brothers and proclaim that Jesus is risen. Notice this. Jesus and His messengers are eager to make this pronouncement of His resurrection first to His beloved people. It is first to you, friends, who are seeking Jesus, that the resurrection comes. It is first to you that we are duty-bound to speak of the resurrection. So speak of it with one another in trial. When there is a difficult time, we might say, brother, sister, I want you to remember Jesus has risen. And by that I don't mean to make light of your perplexity, light of your suffering, but I mean you to understand that the pit you're in is not bottomless. He holds you up with His hands. He catches you. And there is life beyond this life. And there is hope beyond your hopeless situation. Speak with one another of the resurrection of Jesus in your trial. Speak of Him in your joy. When there are days of great delight and great thrill, when there are things of this life that have set our minds glibly and joyously happy, speak of the resurrection. Brother, sister, remember Jesus is risen. Let the import of eternity come, and sober maybe what needs sobered, or to exalt what needs to be exalted. But let every moment be tainted with this moment, the comfort and delight of the resurrection. speak of him in your perplexity. Think of the disciples as they were there, this one whom they had walked with now lays in the grave, and there was great, doubtless great perplexity in their mind of what to do, but it was Jesus' eager desire to go and tell them of his resurrection. to bid them come and see Him. And so in our perplexing times, in our difficult times, when things have not amounted to what we thought they would, I thought I would be here at this job by this point in my life. I thought I would have met this person or would have gained this status. or I thought I would have accomplished these things. Why is life so difficult? Why am I encumbered by these things? In the moments of perplexity, we ought to meet one another with a word about the resurrection. Because you have, in this man's life, an eternity. an eternity under his rule, an eternity under his sovereign governance, an eternity to see all and savor all that he has created. This life is put in perspective when the resurrection is taken from the mouth of one believer and given to another believer. Speak of it in our fear. when we're tempted to anguish at the decisions of leaders and powers and authorities, when we're tempted to fear what the enemy has put upon us, when we're tempted to fear the course of our life, the course of the world, or the course of a nation, when we're tempted with fear speak with one another of the resurrection. Jesus triumphed over all rulers and authorities and powers. Jesus triumphed over all death. There is nothing left to capture you in fear. Brother or sister, friend, Jesus has risen from the dead. Speak with one another in your fear. And notice the great appetite that Jesus has to go then to this place called Galilee. And if you were with us this morning, that word Galilee has a certain import to it. It is to the lowliest, to the most hopeless, to the ones who would fear the most, to the ones who would be judged the most, the ones who are most polluted in their sin. Jesus is most eager to go to that place of the country with this news of the resurrection. So the messengers from heaven have bid us come and see Jesus, rather see his empty tomb, and they have dispatched us to go. And so these women now, they respond as we all ought as resurrected people. This first act of obedience, they go, and they go quickly. They do not linger, but they go. And the way in which they go, I've put into two categories, and maybe it's helpful, we'll see. There is a heart, that is an attitude, a spirit, and there is something at hand, that is an equipping, a furnishing of what is given that you must do, right? So there is the heart, and there is what is at hand. And the heart which they have as they leave, notice, is a very perplexing mixture, a mixture of fear and great joy. Fear and great joy. Notice, not all fear is opposed to joy. In fact, there is a fear which is unto great joy. There is a right fear that brings us to great joy and these women had it leaving that tomb. They had fear of God and the power of his resurrection. They had fear of the holiness of God and yet they were comforted. They had great joy in this word. And it is both the fear of God and this joy which impels the Christian on to the duties which are sometimes difficult. Remember what Paul wrote in Philippians? Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that works in you to will and to do His good pleasure. I see in this text my own sluggishness to do, to go, to speak of God's name. And I wonder, maybe you can wonder with me for your own heart, is it because I lack the fear that I ought to have for my God? There is a fear of God which impels us with great joy. A fear of the wrath of God which is upon the world apart from Christ. Obedience seems to come not only from delight, but from fear. Now it's not a fear like the guards had, a fear that would send us distant from God. It's not a fear like Adam and Eve had when they ran from God and tried to hide their own sin, but it is a fear of God before the face of God. knowing the power of God, seeing the victory of God, savoring the salvation of God, trembling at the message of God that sends us out with fear and joy. It is that fear which bids us go. And I trust each one of us would be those vessels of righteousness and of resurrected people if we had such fear And I would say to all of us, would you find that fear? Linger on the resurrection. Think about the victory of Christ. How great indeed were his enemies. Things that we do not know how to wrestle with. Not against flesh and blood, but principalities and powers. Against deep darkness, against death, and against the powers of death. Against the devil, who has the power of death. These were his enemies. And if he triumphed over them, how great is this man? How holy is this man? How beautiful is this man? Let the resurrection bring us to great fear and let it bring us to great joy. And if our heart be there as we go, look at the equipping that these women are given as they leave. It is in the going and in the quick obedience that Jesus comes and meets them. And what does he say? He says, greetings. I'm sorry, I don't know the Greek and I can't speak to that, but I see that the translators put an exclamation point in here and I trust that's for a reason, right? Greetings. He was delighted to come and speak to these women and say, hello, it's me, Jesus. So these women are equipped with the greetings of Christ. It is those same greetings that Jesus bids them to take with them, as He says, you must go and tell my brothers. So also, in the resurrection, if you are in Christ, you have the greetings of Jesus. He says to you, greetings, I'm alive. And it's that joy that we have that we bring with us to our brothers and sisters and to those who are lost. We have the greetings of one who was crucified and who has risen. What good news to bring? We shudder because we don't want to bring bad news to people. We don't want to tell them about their sin. But how else would we bring them the greatest news? that Jesus has greeted them on the way. And Jesus will greet us on the way as we go to do his will and to obey quickly. He will strengthen us there. And here these women, they see him and their response is so appropriate. They come up, they took hold of his very feet and worshiped him. You can get a sense of the joy now, can't you? And the fear? There's something in worship that is a trembling delight. a grabbing of the feet of our Savior and a mysterious tear of joy, right? Because we worship one with such holiness and such personability. One with such holiness would come to a sinner as I and say, hello, greetings. I was longing to see you. I was in the grave for you and I wanted to come back to life and be with you, my brothers and my sisters. So we have the greetings of Jesus and we have the worship of God. We, the people of God, we have the worship of God as witness to what God has done. Each morning as we sing His praises on the Lord's Day, and as we come together whenever we come, what a testimony of our hearts of fear and joy, and what a way which we encourage the brothers with His resurrection as we worship God with one another. And we bid others come to the worship of God, for He has greeted us. So we're equipped with the greetings, we're equipped with the worship, and we are given this comfort again. And it seems pervasive throughout that there is this fear on one side, and yet Christ is eager to give this comfort as he says again, do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers. Go to Galilee. Go to that place which is in most need of Christ. Go to my brothers who are most perplexed, and give them this comfort. Comfort. Comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, that is the heavenly Jerusalem, Zion, the people of God. say to her, cry to her, her warfare has ended. Her iniquity is pardoned. She's received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. And what is this? What is this? A voice cries in the wilderness. Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up. Every mountain and hill made low. The uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. The dawn has come. The glory of the Lord has been revealed. And we go and take, we make straight paths for our feet that we may speak this word with one another, that we may comfort one another, that we might bring light into the darkest places of the world. This is the import of the resurrection. This is how we go from the tomb. This is what we are furnished with. And we end where we began. The word that these women had Go and tell my brothers, go to Galilee, and there they will see me. In other words, don't just tell them of the resurrection, but give them a great expectation. I'm coming to see them. Go and take this word to them, and I want them to be expectant of me. I want them to anticipate me. I want them to wait for me to come. I want to see them, and I want them to see me. And so we come to the tomb expectant, but we depart from the tomb with a word of expectant joy. To each one of us, we are to be expectant as we leave the tomb this morning. We are to expect Jesus, certainly on the last day. Certainly when he comes, we wait for the greetings of our Savior. But on the road and in those dark places, in the places that are needing this word, even the dark hearts which need this command to go. We are to be expectant to meet Jesus. What do I mean by meet Jesus? Do I mean strange and peculiar encounters where we see him vividly with our eyes? Well, I don't think primarily, or perhaps at all, that's what it means. but to meet Jesus is to see the work of his spirit in the work that we do. To see the work of his spirit in the work that we do. So we must be acquainted with what Jesus does by his spirit, how he convicts of sin. how he brings comfort to those who are discouraged, how he builds up what is broken, how he strengthens what is weak, how he casts down those who are proud, how he brings judgment, words of judgment to those who are puffed up. If we see the work of Jesus and we know what it is, we will delight when we meet him. When we meet Him in His Word together, and we see what He does in His church, and as we go by the way, and we do what He has bid us to do, when we see the work of His Spirit, we will delight to meet our Savior. And it will be face-to-face one day, will it not? We will see the resurrected Lord, we will hear His greetings, and we will hear because of what we did, but because of who he is. Well done. He will delight to be with us. I hope that the tomb gives us fear, but it gives us great joy as we go from this place this morning. Let's pray. The tomb which is empty, the grave, death, which is robbed of all the saints, is a wonderful thing, Lord. Guard us first from such commonplace habitual coming again and again to your house as if nothing significant has happened or will happen. Lord, you've risen from the dead. Guard us from coming to your word like we would go to some tombstone and expect no power. But Lord, we come to this place, to Your Word, with expectation because You have risen from the dead. How will You not with Him freely give us all things? So guard us, Lord, from coming without appropriate fear of God. And yet, comfort us that we would not be overwhelmed by our sin, but rather lifted up in the delight of a sure sacrifice. We know that the death he died, he died to sin, and that it was accepted by God because you raised him up. We know this word is true because he was raised according to the scriptures. We know that our salvation and our eternal life is solid and unshakable because you have given us this pledge with you, the first fruits. Equip us now, Lord, that we might go first to our brothers and yes, Lord, as you will send us by the end of this chapter into all the world. I pray in your name, amen.