WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 Okay, Anne's going to come and read for us from Luke's Gospel. 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:07.120 Luke chapter 24, verse 13. 00:00:33.100 --> 00:00:36.579 What is this conversation that you're holding with each other as you walk? 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:39.800 And they stood still, looking sad. 00:00:40.899 --> 00:00:44.120 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:50.320 Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days? 00:00:51.540 --> 00:00:54.120 And he said to them, What things? 00:00:55.060 --> 00:00:58.380 And they said to him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, 00:00:58.380 --> 00:01:03.719 a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word, before God and all the people, 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:10.040 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. 00:01:11.240 --> 00:01:14.800 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. 00:01:15.460 --> 00:01:19.520 Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:23.840 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. 00:01:24.540 --> 00:01:26.480 They were at the tomb early in the morning, 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:28.980 and when they did not find his body, 00:01:29.579 --> 00:01:33.260 they came back, saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, 00:01:33.480 --> 00:01:35.120 who said that he was alive. 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:39.659 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it, 00:01:39.700 --> 00:01:40.920 just as the women had said, 00:01:41.420 --> 00:01:43.219 but him they did not see. 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:45.740 And he said to them, 00:01:45.740 --> 00:01:50.960 O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken, 00:01:50.959 --> 00:01:57.239 was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:01.319 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, 00:02:01.639 --> 00:02:06.539 he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 00:02:08.419 --> 00:02:11.079 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. 00:02:11.340 --> 00:02:13.199 He acted as if he were going further, 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:15.239 but they urged him strongly, saying, 00:02:15.799 --> 00:02:19.599 Stay with us, for it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent. 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:22.539 So he went in to stay with them. 00:02:23.579 --> 00:02:25.299 When he was at table with them, 00:02:25.500 --> 00:02:29.759 he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:33.719 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:36.620 And he vanished from their sight. 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:39.359 They said to each other, 00:02:40.120 --> 00:02:43.699 Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on this road, 00:02:44.199 --> 00:02:46.039 while he opened to us the scriptures? 00:02:47.300 --> 00:02:50.360 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. 00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:54.379 And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:57.960 saying, The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. 00:02:59.139 --> 00:03:01.280 Then they told what had happened on the road 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:04.500 and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. 00:03:05.259 --> 00:03:05.659 Amen. 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:10.860 Well, the writer Luke that we've just read from in Luke 24, 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:14.300 he is a master storyteller in his gospel. 00:03:14.719 --> 00:03:18.699 And I think the two most moving stories in all the gospels 00:03:18.699 --> 00:03:22.340 are when Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, 00:03:22.659 --> 00:03:25.039 and then this story, The Road to Emmaus, 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:28.039 where Jesus approaches these two minor characters 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:30.900 that really have played no role up until this point. 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:33.280 And in the first, the prodigal son, 00:03:33.340 --> 00:03:35.199 the very famous prodigal son story, Luke 15, 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:39.319 Luke gives you the, Jesus gives you the heart of the father, 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:44.520 that the father longs to pursue prodigal sons and daughters 00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:46.060 and bring them home. 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:48.219 And he wants to throw a feast for them. 00:03:48.340 --> 00:03:49.520 He wants to give you a banquet. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.699 In the other, I think, most moving story, Luke 24, 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:59.219 we have a mirror of the normal Christian disciple here. 00:03:59.859 --> 00:04:01.159 And it's so ordinary. 00:04:01.300 --> 00:04:01.759 It's so normal. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:04.120 It's showing us our own lives. 00:04:04.340 --> 00:04:05.680 Jesus meets us on the road. 00:04:06.259 --> 00:04:07.919 And then where does that road take you to? 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:09.819 It takes you to the table. 00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:13.860 At the very end, he takes them all the way to Emmaus, 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:15.780 and he lays out for them a feast. 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:17.600 There's bread broken. 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:20.020 And in the same way, the two most moving moments, 00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:22.180 I think, in the gospels, perhaps, 00:04:23.140 --> 00:04:26.620 are when we see that God wants to pursue you 00:04:26.620 --> 00:04:29.180 and bring you all the way to the table. 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:31.780 And that's exactly what we have here 00:04:31.780 --> 00:04:33.460 in the road to Emmaus story. 00:04:34.300 --> 00:04:37.939 In the ancient world, kings would win great victories. 00:04:38.180 --> 00:04:40.580 Julius Caesar won many great victories. 00:04:40.660 --> 00:04:42.080 And when he would, he would go out 00:04:42.080 --> 00:04:44.060 and he would parade through the streets of Rome. 00:04:44.060 --> 00:04:46.800 Pomp and circumstance, crowds would gather. 00:04:47.699 --> 00:04:50.280 That's the classic work of the ancient king. 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:52.819 Now, this is Resurrection Sunday. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.160 The greatest victory that there's ever been has taken place. 00:04:56.360 --> 00:04:57.540 Death has been defeated. 00:04:57.699 --> 00:04:58.459 That's a big one. 00:04:58.519 --> 00:04:59.160 That's a big win. 00:05:00.420 --> 00:05:02.879 And there's no pomp and circumstance. 00:05:03.180 --> 00:05:04.019 There's no parade. 00:05:04.220 --> 00:05:06.040 Instead, where is Jesus? 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:07.920 On Resurrection Sunday, 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:12.340 he is doing something disconcertingly ordinary, 00:05:12.339 --> 00:05:13.919 extraordinarily ordinary. 00:05:14.159 --> 00:05:17.299 He's on the dusty road with two minor characters 00:05:17.299 --> 00:05:19.639 going to a no-name village, Emmaus. 00:05:19.679 --> 00:05:20.979 We don't even know where it is. 00:05:21.119 --> 00:05:22.459 We saw that in week one. 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:25.639 And what we're being shown here is that Jesus, 00:05:25.979 --> 00:05:26.979 like the rest of the gospels, 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:30.219 continues to show up in ordinary people's lives. 00:05:30.620 --> 00:05:33.699 He wanted to go to the fishermen and the tax collector 00:05:33.699 --> 00:05:36.599 and the prostitute and the person who was out 00:05:36.599 --> 00:05:38.379 of the center of the social order. 00:05:38.799 --> 00:05:41.000 And here, he's doing the exact same thing. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:43.899 He's showing us the paradigm of the Christian life. 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:47.220 That's why Luke calls Christianity the way. 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:50.860 It's the same Greek word that gets used here in Luke 24 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:51.800 for the road, 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:55.699 that Jesus continues to show up on ordinary roads 00:05:55.699 --> 00:05:57.079 to ordinary people like us. 00:05:57.720 --> 00:06:00.339 And eventually, you realize that it's not just that 00:06:00.339 --> 00:06:02.120 he's come to walk with you on your road, 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:03.660 but that you're now walking on his road. 00:06:04.339 --> 00:06:05.740 And he is the journeyman. 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:07.480 He's the one that has already gone before you. 00:06:07.480 --> 00:06:09.080 He's already paved the way for you. 00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:15.280 And he is bringing you all the way to the table, 00:06:15.660 --> 00:06:17.319 all the way to the table. 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:21.600 And so what we read about here is the end of the normal road 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:24.560 of the Christian life is to finally arrive at Emmaus 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:28.560 in verse 28 and to sit down with Jesus Christ at the table 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:30.220 and then to see him, to wake up. 00:06:30.280 --> 00:06:32.920 And so if there's one verb in the passage 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:35.560 that really becomes the paradigm structure 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:38.240 of the whole story, it's all about sight. 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:40.140 So their eyes are closed. 00:06:40.259 --> 00:06:42.680 They're kept from seeing him in verse 16. 00:06:43.180 --> 00:06:45.480 And then you can see in verse 31 and 45, 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:49.520 first, he opens their eyes by opening scripture. 00:06:49.700 --> 00:06:51.000 He explains the Old Testament, 00:06:51.180 --> 00:06:54.439 how the cross was necessary from the Torah, 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:57.040 the first five books of Moses and the prophets 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:00.139 from Joshua all the way through to Ezekiel and Jeremiah, 00:07:00.139 --> 00:07:02.240 then to the writings, the Psalms and further. 00:07:02.779 --> 00:07:04.500 And the language Luke uses, it says, 00:07:04.699 --> 00:07:05.699 when he opened the Bible 00:07:05.699 --> 00:07:07.579 and he showed them Jesus in the Old Testament, 00:07:07.939 --> 00:07:10.060 he opened their eyes to see, he opened their minds. 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:15.319 The second way he gives sight to the spiritually blind 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:17.339 in this passage is he brings them to the table. 00:07:17.659 --> 00:07:20.939 And so in verse 32, when they sat down, 00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:25.099 he broke the bread, we're told they could see him. 00:07:25.100 --> 00:07:28.760 One commentator I found this week 00:07:28.760 --> 00:07:29.840 gives a really helpful summary. 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:31.379 This is week, if you're visiting today, 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:33.460 this is week three, looking at the same passage, 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:34.200 the road to Emmaus. 00:07:34.680 --> 00:07:36.400 And so I just summarized the past two weeks. 00:07:36.939 --> 00:07:38.240 And I found a commentator this week 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:40.340 that I thought summarized what we've said so far, 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:41.020 really hopefully. 00:07:41.420 --> 00:07:42.240 And so this is what he writes. 00:07:43.060 --> 00:07:46.020 It is both a wonderful, unique, spellbinding tale 00:07:46.020 --> 00:07:47.660 and a model. 00:07:48.180 --> 00:07:49.920 And Luke surely knew this 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:52.939 for a great deal of what being a Christian is 00:07:52.939 --> 00:07:55.180 from that day to this day 00:07:55.180 --> 00:07:57.459 is the very thing we see in Luke 24. 00:07:58.219 --> 00:08:01.639 The slow, sad dismay at the failure of human hopes, 00:08:01.779 --> 00:08:03.120 the turning to someone 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:04.759 who might or might not be able to help, 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:06.759 the discovery that in scripture, 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:08.980 though unexpected, 00:08:09.899 --> 00:08:12.779 there lay keys which might unlock the central mystery 00:08:12.779 --> 00:08:14.740 and enable us to find the truth. 00:08:15.120 --> 00:08:17.199 Then the sudden realization of Jesus himself 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:19.079 warming our hearts with his truth 00:08:19.079 --> 00:08:20.879 as the bread is broken at the table. 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:24.139 So today we come to the table, 00:08:24.439 --> 00:08:26.639 the bread being broken at the table from verse 28. 00:08:27.100 --> 00:08:29.779 Jesus is in the business of giving human beings sight 00:08:29.779 --> 00:08:30.519 from their blindness. 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:32.559 He does so with the word last week 00:08:32.559 --> 00:08:34.620 and with the table this week. 00:08:34.700 --> 00:08:39.220 And so let me give you this morning two realities, 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:43.179 two realities that the table of Emmaus teaches us 00:08:43.179 --> 00:08:44.179 that we were made for, 00:08:44.379 --> 00:08:46.000 two things that you were made for 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:47.980 that the table of Emmaus shows you. 00:08:48.340 --> 00:08:50.379 And then just one thing you can do with that today. 00:08:50.379 --> 00:08:52.460 Okay, so first the two realities. 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:54.519 The first is this, 00:08:56.220 --> 00:08:57.679 we shall be like him. 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:02.539 And the way the New Testament works 00:09:02.539 --> 00:09:04.379 is the writers of the epistles, 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:06.960 they draw on the wonderful works of God 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:09.059 throughout the history of redemption 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:11.960 and they take from God's wonderful works, 00:09:12.279 --> 00:09:14.220 truths, statements, we call that doctrine. 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:17.180 And you've got this great moment 00:09:17.180 --> 00:09:20.180 in one of John's letters, 1 John, 00:09:20.340 --> 00:09:23.279 where he gives you, I think, two statements of doctrine 00:09:23.279 --> 00:09:25.680 that are basically just the unfolding 00:09:25.680 --> 00:09:26.720 of the Emmaus table. 00:09:27.160 --> 00:09:27.899 And here they are. 00:09:27.960 --> 00:09:29.879 This is what John says in 1 John 3, 2. 00:09:30.560 --> 00:09:33.340 We know that when Jesus appears one day, 00:09:33.820 --> 00:09:35.779 number one, we shall be like him. 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:37.519 And then number two, 00:09:37.860 --> 00:09:40.300 because we shall see him as he is. 00:09:40.299 --> 00:09:43.159 So there's the two realities that we were made for. 00:09:43.719 --> 00:09:45.279 These are just the doctrinal statements 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:46.159 of the road to Emmaus. 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:47.899 And the first is, 00:09:48.719 --> 00:09:50.839 one day you shall be like him. 00:09:51.699 --> 00:09:54.240 Now, we talked in week one 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:56.899 about how Jesus shows up on the road 00:09:56.899 --> 00:09:57.799 to these two travelers 00:09:57.799 --> 00:09:59.319 and they can't see him. 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:00.740 They're spiritually blind, 00:10:00.839 --> 00:10:02.799 but also they're physically blind in that moment. 00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:04.599 The physical blindness stands in 00:10:04.599 --> 00:10:05.500 for spiritual blindness. 00:10:05.500 --> 00:10:08.019 And they can't see him 00:10:08.019 --> 00:10:09.539 because of spiritual blindness. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.519 They thought he was gonna redeem Israel from Rome. 00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:14.419 They wanted circumstantial salvation, 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:15.919 not salvation from their sins. 00:10:16.419 --> 00:10:18.240 But there's another reason they can't see him. 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:20.000 And the other reason they can't see him 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.360 is because Jesus' body was different. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:25.860 They can't tell it's him 00:10:25.860 --> 00:10:27.759 because he did look different. 00:10:27.940 --> 00:10:29.519 And so we see that in John 20. 00:10:30.159 --> 00:10:31.340 Mary Magdalene is there. 00:10:31.580 --> 00:10:32.720 She's in the garden with Jesus. 00:10:33.480 --> 00:10:34.840 She thinks he's the gardener. 00:10:34.840 --> 00:10:37.639 And she can't see that it's Jesus. 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:38.519 He's different. 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:40.440 And then in John 21, 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:42.720 the disciples are fishing 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:44.160 and they look out 00:10:44.160 --> 00:10:46.120 and they think it might be him. 00:10:46.340 --> 00:10:48.500 Even when they're on the beach with him, 00:10:49.060 --> 00:10:49.600 John says, 00:10:49.960 --> 00:10:50.820 they thought it was him, 00:10:50.899 --> 00:10:52.200 but they dared not ask. 00:10:53.500 --> 00:10:54.800 Jesus looks different. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:59.660 You know that if you've seen somebody, 00:10:59.800 --> 00:11:00.480 you know somebody, 00:11:00.540 --> 00:11:01.920 a beloved who's died. 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:05.399 Early degradation of a human body 00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:07.059 causes a person to look different. 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:10.539 And boy, 00:11:11.099 --> 00:11:14.059 what must that difference be 00:11:14.059 --> 00:11:16.639 in a resurrected, glorified body? 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:19.879 If death causes us to look different, 00:11:20.219 --> 00:11:20.559 how does, 00:11:20.979 --> 00:11:22.939 what could resurrection possibly do 00:11:22.939 --> 00:11:23.679 to the human self? 00:11:24.299 --> 00:11:24.919 And here, 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:26.699 one of the reasons they can't see him 00:11:26.699 --> 00:11:28.879 is because Jesus is not the same anymore. 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:30.600 He looks different than he wants to. 00:11:30.659 --> 00:11:31.939 So this is what the theologians say. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:32.460 They say this, 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:34.759 the very same body of Jesus 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:35.779 that hung on the cross, 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:36.360 that died, 00:11:36.439 --> 00:11:37.419 the very same body 00:11:37.419 --> 00:11:39.220 that died on the cross 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:41.939 now operates under a new condition, 00:11:42.399 --> 00:11:44.240 a new set of physical laws. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:46.419 Now, what we have here 00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:48.120 is the very same body 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:49.139 of Jesus Christ, 00:11:49.220 --> 00:11:51.500 yet they can't tell 00:11:51.500 --> 00:11:52.740 because he's changed. 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:55.179 And just later on in this passage, 00:11:55.299 --> 00:11:56.279 Luke 24, 39, 00:11:56.279 --> 00:11:57.559 he goes, 00:11:57.659 --> 00:11:58.779 he shows up with the 11 00:11:58.779 --> 00:11:59.319 and he says, 00:11:59.819 --> 00:12:00.500 look at my hands, 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:01.299 look at my feet, 00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:01.959 see the scars. 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:02.819 What is he saying? 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:03.259 He's saying, 00:12:03.339 --> 00:12:04.279 it really is me. 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:05.399 This is my body. 00:12:05.959 --> 00:12:06.959 So it's very important to see 00:12:06.959 --> 00:12:08.019 that Jesus is saying there 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:08.519 in that moment, 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:11.600 the body that died on the cross 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:12.639 is the body 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:13.740 that is standing before you. 00:12:14.220 --> 00:12:15.100 Look at the scars. 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:17.199 Look at my hands and my feet. 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:18.519 After that, 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:20.279 he picks up a piece of cooked fish 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:20.939 and eats it. 00:12:21.059 --> 00:12:22.240 He's not a ghost. 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:24.500 Ghosts don't digest fish. 00:12:24.500 --> 00:12:26.320 But Jesus' resurrected body 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:27.340 died just a fish. 00:12:27.779 --> 00:12:28.440 He breaks bread. 00:12:28.539 --> 00:12:29.720 He eats the meal with them. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:31.120 He digests the bread. 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:33.200 He's a real physical body. 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:35.179 It is the body that he died with, 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:36.360 that he is raised with. 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:37.120 But at the same time, 00:12:37.220 --> 00:12:37.779 it's different. 00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:38.700 And so in this moment 00:12:38.700 --> 00:12:39.580 at the Emmaus table, 00:12:40.059 --> 00:12:40.980 he eats with them 00:12:40.980 --> 00:12:41.940 though he vanishes. 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:44.159 Later on, 00:12:44.200 --> 00:12:45.440 he shows up to the 11. 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:46.879 The door is locked 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:48.600 though he appears in the room 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:49.580 without going through the door. 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:51.980 And what we're seeing 00:12:51.980 --> 00:12:52.539 in this moment 00:12:52.539 --> 00:12:54.439 is that there is something the same 00:12:54.439 --> 00:12:55.279 and something new. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:57.779 Sometimes people will talk about 00:12:57.779 --> 00:12:58.779 the resurrection body 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:01.879 as if it's like a caterpillar 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:03.779 going into the cocoon 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:04.839 and becoming a butterfly. 00:13:05.179 --> 00:13:06.339 And that is not a good metaphor 00:13:06.339 --> 00:13:07.039 for the resurrection. 00:13:08.259 --> 00:13:09.919 Jesus is not like a caterpillar 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:10.799 that went into the cocoon 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:11.659 and became a butterfly. 00:13:11.819 --> 00:13:13.139 No, because he's not transforming 00:13:13.139 --> 00:13:15.419 from something that he once was, 00:13:15.459 --> 00:13:16.159 a mere caterpillar, 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:17.279 into this gorgeous butterfly. 00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:18.879 No, he is him. 00:13:19.079 --> 00:13:19.719 This is him. 00:13:20.219 --> 00:13:21.099 It's his body. 00:13:21.100 --> 00:13:22.460 Yet, what we're seeing 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:23.560 is an image, 00:13:23.659 --> 00:13:24.279 a reality 00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:25.779 of what it's like 00:13:25.779 --> 00:13:27.460 to have an Edenic body 00:13:27.460 --> 00:13:30.700 in the midst of 00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:32.779 a corrupted space-time. 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:33.960 We've got here 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:36.080 a body that belongs in Eden 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:37.540 existing within 00:13:37.540 --> 00:13:38.580 the corrupted world. 00:13:39.540 --> 00:13:40.340 And you're just getting 00:13:40.340 --> 00:13:40.860 a slight, 00:13:40.980 --> 00:13:41.820 very mysterious, 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:42.360 to be sure, 00:13:42.460 --> 00:13:42.840 glimpse 00:13:42.840 --> 00:13:45.019 of what that kind of body 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:46.000 behaves like. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:48.220 And the promise 00:13:48.220 --> 00:13:50.139 of the road 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:51.039 to Emmaus, 00:13:51.059 --> 00:13:51.720 of the table, 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:53.399 is that as they sit 00:13:53.399 --> 00:13:54.000 across him, 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:54.620 it's implied, 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:56.980 they shall be like him. 00:13:58.279 --> 00:13:59.720 And John comes later 00:13:59.720 --> 00:14:00.360 and says it 00:14:00.360 --> 00:14:01.080 in 1 John 3. 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:01.500 He says, 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:03.039 you will be like him. 00:14:03.379 --> 00:14:04.379 Your physical body 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:06.100 will be just like his. 00:14:06.139 --> 00:14:07.000 You will eat fish. 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:08.220 You will break bread 00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:08.919 and digest. 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:10.480 You will be a physical body, 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:11.200 but you, 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:11.779 at the same time, 00:14:11.779 --> 00:14:12.519 will be transformed. 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:12.799 He, 00:14:13.840 --> 00:14:14.379 Paul says, 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:15.620 in 1 Corinthians 15, 00:14:15.819 --> 00:14:16.360 he said, 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:17.559 the metaphor you need 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:19.100 is that his body 00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:20.340 was sown into the ground 00:14:20.340 --> 00:14:21.259 like a seed 00:14:21.259 --> 00:14:23.419 and that it's raised up 00:14:23.419 --> 00:14:24.179 imperishable. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:25.299 The perishable goes down, 00:14:25.399 --> 00:14:26.879 but the imperishable comes up 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:28.299 and that the imperishable 00:14:28.299 --> 00:14:28.659 is now, 00:14:28.980 --> 00:14:29.000 quote, 00:14:29.079 --> 00:14:29.679 Paul says this, 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:31.199 a spiritual body. 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:31.799 Now, 00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:32.860 that sounds almost like 00:14:32.860 --> 00:14:33.240 he's saying, 00:14:33.360 --> 00:14:33.860 you will become 00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:34.639 a great spirit, 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:36.159 but that's not 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:37.059 what he means. 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:38.259 Spiritual body 00:14:38.259 --> 00:14:39.159 in 1 Corinthians 15, 00:14:39.199 --> 00:14:39.600 what does it mean? 00:14:39.639 --> 00:14:39.960 It means, 00:14:40.419 --> 00:14:41.919 your body will be transformed 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:43.159 by the Holy Spirit. 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:44.759 You will be a Holy Spirit 00:14:44.759 --> 00:14:45.699 transformed body, 00:14:45.860 --> 00:14:46.459 physical body, 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:48.319 just like Jesus Christ here 00:14:48.319 --> 00:14:50.959 before he went into heaven. 00:14:51.719 --> 00:14:51.839 Look, 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:52.319 when you, 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:53.719 I'll move on, 00:14:53.839 --> 00:14:54.519 let me say this, 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:58.379 when you stand next to your grave, 00:14:58.379 --> 00:14:59.860 the next time you do, 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:02.919 know that what you are really looking at 00:15:02.919 --> 00:15:03.699 at that grave side, 00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:04.279 for a believer, 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:05.279 somebody who has walked 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:06.679 the Emmaus road with Christ 00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:07.879 by faith, 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:09.079 you are looking at a person, 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:10.299 you are there, 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:11.539 remembering a person, 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:13.240 who has been sown 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:14.339 into the ground 00:15:14.339 --> 00:15:15.059 as a seed 00:15:15.059 --> 00:15:18.159 that will come up again 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:19.299 as an imperishable body. 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:20.899 And if you come today 00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:21.759 by faith, 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:22.659 walking the road, 00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:23.799 Jesus has met you on the road 00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:24.519 and you're walking the road 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:24.939 by faith, 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:27.139 your body will be sown. 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:28.120 Somebody will stand 00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:28.899 at your graveside 00:15:28.899 --> 00:15:29.939 and they will say, 00:15:30.259 --> 00:15:31.279 they are a seed now 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:33.079 and they will be raised 00:15:33.079 --> 00:15:34.139 an imperishable body. 00:15:34.219 --> 00:15:34.579 How about it? 00:15:34.779 --> 00:15:35.439 Do you want that? 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:38.319 You will be like him. 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:40.879 The gospel does not offer you 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:41.920 an escape from your body. 00:15:42.100 --> 00:15:45.240 It offers you a healed body, 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:46.220 a resurrected body. 00:15:47.300 --> 00:15:48.440 You will be whole. 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:49.520 You'll be you. 00:15:50.860 --> 00:15:53.060 Jesus Christ's body 00:15:53.060 --> 00:15:54.700 really was broken at the cross 00:15:54.700 --> 00:15:55.500 like bread 00:15:55.500 --> 00:15:57.200 so that you one day 00:15:57.200 --> 00:15:58.540 can have a healed body, 00:15:58.720 --> 00:15:59.379 a physical body 00:15:59.379 --> 00:16:00.180 that is whole again. 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:02.919 He didn't come 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:04.959 to make you float 00:16:04.959 --> 00:16:05.519 on the clouds. 00:16:06.539 --> 00:16:08.599 He came to redeem 00:16:08.599 --> 00:16:09.379 your whole being. 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:11.459 And that's what the first thing 00:16:11.459 --> 00:16:12.739 the table promises you, 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:13.159 the future. 00:16:13.339 --> 00:16:14.519 You will be like him. 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:16.299 Your body will be like his. 00:16:16.979 --> 00:16:17.399 Secondly, 00:16:18.139 --> 00:16:19.219 the last promise here, 00:16:19.339 --> 00:16:19.979 1 John 3, 2, 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:20.500 what does it say? 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:22.539 Not only you shall be like him, 00:16:22.579 --> 00:16:24.199 but you will see him 00:16:24.199 --> 00:16:25.079 as he is. 00:16:25.819 --> 00:16:26.099 Now, 00:16:26.859 --> 00:16:27.620 verse 28, 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:29.279 it's the end of the day. 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:30.379 They've been traveling 00:16:30.379 --> 00:16:32.199 down the road to Emmaus 00:16:32.199 --> 00:16:33.699 all afternoon, 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:35.579 experiencing the greatest 00:16:35.579 --> 00:16:36.839 Bible study there ever was. 00:16:37.740 --> 00:16:39.559 And they're tired. 00:16:39.839 --> 00:16:41.120 It's probably getting dark. 00:16:41.579 --> 00:16:42.860 And here it says that 00:16:42.860 --> 00:16:44.740 he acted as if 00:16:44.740 --> 00:16:46.339 he were going farther than them. 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:48.039 So Jesus, 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:49.659 when they finally get 00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:50.299 to where they were going, 00:16:50.379 --> 00:16:50.779 Emmaus, 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:52.480 he acts as though 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:53.819 he's going to carry on. 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:55.039 Why? 00:16:55.639 --> 00:16:57.339 He wants them 00:16:57.339 --> 00:16:58.679 to want him. 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:00.899 He wants them 00:17:00.899 --> 00:17:01.959 to invite him 00:17:01.959 --> 00:17:02.899 into their home. 00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:04.480 And so, 00:17:04.859 --> 00:17:05.539 they respond. 00:17:05.639 --> 00:17:05.819 It says, 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:07.619 they strongly urged him 00:17:07.619 --> 00:17:08.119 to stay. 00:17:08.279 --> 00:17:08.539 So it's, 00:17:08.619 --> 00:17:08.759 I mean, 00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:09.559 there's this sense 00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:10.660 in that Greek verb there 00:17:10.660 --> 00:17:11.839 that they sort of 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:13.299 kind of almost yank his arm 00:17:13.299 --> 00:17:13.960 into the room 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:14.279 and say, 00:17:14.339 --> 00:17:15.099 you're not going anywhere. 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:15.480 You know, 00:17:15.639 --> 00:17:16.559 that was a very good 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:17.160 Bible study. 00:17:17.420 --> 00:17:18.119 Please do not leave. 00:17:18.220 --> 00:17:19.359 We want more. 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:21.220 And so they pull him in. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:21.359 Now, 00:17:21.399 --> 00:17:22.619 they're probably staying 00:17:22.619 --> 00:17:23.359 at either 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:25.220 one of the travelers' homes, 00:17:25.379 --> 00:17:26.139 Cleopas' house. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:27.779 Seems like they're from Emmaus. 00:17:27.779 --> 00:17:29.059 Or, 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:30.799 they're renting an inn. 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:31.680 And so, 00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:33.259 Cleopas or the other guy, 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:34.160 the other person 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:35.299 is paying for it. 00:17:35.819 --> 00:17:36.879 Whatever way it works, 00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:38.259 it's definitely clear 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:38.819 that the text, 00:17:39.139 --> 00:17:39.960 Luke wants us to see 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:40.940 that Cleopas 00:17:40.940 --> 00:17:41.559 and the traveler 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:42.579 are the hosts. 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:45.619 They're bringing Jesus 00:17:45.619 --> 00:17:47.079 into their home. 00:17:47.639 --> 00:17:48.759 And they're going 00:17:48.759 --> 00:17:49.379 to feed him. 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:50.220 They're going to pay 00:17:50.220 --> 00:17:51.420 for whatever it costs 00:17:51.420 --> 00:17:51.879 to have him. 00:17:51.940 --> 00:17:52.539 And then that's where 00:17:52.539 --> 00:17:53.200 the passage, 00:17:53.740 --> 00:17:54.559 as it turns towards 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:55.339 the table, 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:56.960 begins this great reversal. 00:17:58.319 --> 00:17:59.759 Because it's their house. 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:01.160 They're the hosts. 00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:01.819 They're supposed to be 00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:02.559 paying for everything. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:04.139 And in verse 30, 00:18:04.379 --> 00:18:05.859 when the bread is brought out, 00:18:05.940 --> 00:18:06.920 it says that he took it, 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:07.619 he blessed it, 00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:08.759 he broke it, 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:09.940 and he gave it to them. 00:18:10.899 --> 00:18:11.139 Now, 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:12.599 these are the same four verbs 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:14.420 as the feeding 00:18:14.420 --> 00:18:15.240 of the 5,000. 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:17.539 Three of the four verbs 00:18:17.539 --> 00:18:18.139 show up 00:18:18.139 --> 00:18:19.099 in the institution 00:18:19.099 --> 00:18:19.960 of the Lord's Supper 00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:21.420 the night before Jesus died 00:18:21.420 --> 00:18:22.599 in Luke's Gospel. 00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:23.279 Three of the four. 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:28.359 And at a first century 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:29.480 Jewish table, 00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:31.879 the host, 00:18:32.099 --> 00:18:33.160 the owner of the home, 00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:35.119 the man in the family, 00:18:35.379 --> 00:18:36.559 he has the job 00:18:36.559 --> 00:18:37.299 to break the bread. 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:38.519 And so the way 00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:39.220 you would start 00:18:39.220 --> 00:18:40.399 a first century meal 00:18:40.399 --> 00:18:41.839 showing hospitality 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:42.379 to somebody 00:18:42.379 --> 00:18:43.460 is that the man 00:18:43.460 --> 00:18:44.059 of the house 00:18:44.059 --> 00:18:45.119 who owns the home 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:46.240 would begin the meal 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:47.259 by the breaking of bread. 00:18:47.819 --> 00:18:48.680 They are the host. 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:49.460 They're meant 00:18:49.460 --> 00:18:50.519 to be hospitable to him. 00:18:50.879 --> 00:18:51.839 As soon as they sit down 00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:52.379 at the table, 00:18:52.839 --> 00:18:53.539 it's Jesus 00:18:53.539 --> 00:18:55.379 that takes the bread 00:18:55.379 --> 00:18:56.000 off the table 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:56.680 and breaks it. 00:18:57.400 --> 00:18:57.940 And immediately, 00:18:58.259 --> 00:18:59.440 there's a great reversal 00:18:59.440 --> 00:18:59.839 happening. 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.279 They begin to realize 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:03.339 what Luke wants you to see 00:19:03.339 --> 00:19:04.119 and that's that 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:05.599 he is the host. 00:19:06.859 --> 00:19:07.700 He has become 00:19:07.700 --> 00:19:08.480 the host of the meal. 00:19:09.420 --> 00:19:10.799 This is his house. 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:13.099 He's the one in charge. 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:15.119 And when it says 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:16.960 he kept going, 00:19:17.160 --> 00:19:18.180 he acted as if 00:19:18.180 --> 00:19:19.240 he were going to go further 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:21.380 the whole time 00:19:21.380 --> 00:19:22.099 you learn that 00:19:22.099 --> 00:19:23.220 Jesus was actually 00:19:23.220 --> 00:19:23.859 the one that was 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:24.500 showing hospitality 00:19:24.500 --> 00:19:25.180 to them. 00:19:26.220 --> 00:19:26.720 Now, 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:28.160 it is 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:29.779 very common 00:19:29.779 --> 00:19:31.000 in Christian 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:32.319 evangelical 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:34.200 cultural idiom 00:19:34.200 --> 00:19:36.380 to say things like 00:19:36.380 --> 00:19:38.000 I invited Jesus 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:38.779 into my heart. 00:19:40.180 --> 00:19:41.759 I asked Jesus 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:42.920 into my life 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:44.200 and that's how 00:19:44.200 --> 00:19:44.859 I got saved. 00:19:45.740 --> 00:19:46.559 And I understand 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:47.039 that language. 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:47.700 It's not bad. 00:19:47.700 --> 00:19:49.120 There's so much 00:19:49.120 --> 00:19:49.580 about it that's 00:19:49.580 --> 00:19:50.440 so true, right? 00:19:51.420 --> 00:19:52.400 But when we say 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:53.660 I became a Christian 00:19:53.660 --> 00:19:54.819 because I invited 00:19:54.819 --> 00:19:56.140 Jesus into my heart, 00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:57.140 we're using language 00:19:57.140 --> 00:19:57.799 that suggests 00:19:57.799 --> 00:19:58.400 that we are 00:19:58.400 --> 00:19:59.319 the master 00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:00.380 of our own domain, 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:02.319 the master 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:03.039 of my heart. 00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:03.740 I am the master 00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:04.319 of my heart 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:05.740 and I very generously 00:20:05.740 --> 00:20:06.539 opened the door 00:20:06.539 --> 00:20:06.980 to Jesus 00:20:06.980 --> 00:20:07.860 to let and said, 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:08.860 oh, you can come in now. 00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:10.759 And when you come 00:20:10.759 --> 00:20:11.660 to the Emmaus table, 00:20:11.740 --> 00:20:12.340 what you find out 00:20:12.340 --> 00:20:13.940 is that when you think 00:20:13.940 --> 00:20:15.019 you're inviting Jesus 00:20:15.019 --> 00:20:15.980 into your life, 00:20:16.460 --> 00:20:17.579 he's actually the one 00:20:17.579 --> 00:20:18.160 that's been showing 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:19.079 hospitality to you 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:19.700 the whole time. 00:20:21.079 --> 00:20:21.279 You know, 00:20:21.299 --> 00:20:21.900 when you think 00:20:21.900 --> 00:20:22.900 that you are the host 00:20:22.900 --> 00:20:24.079 of Jesus coming 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:24.720 into your heart, 00:20:24.879 --> 00:20:25.839 it's actually that 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:26.980 Jesus has been the one 00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:27.940 inviting you 00:20:27.940 --> 00:20:29.359 into his home 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:31.039 the entire path. 00:20:31.139 --> 00:20:31.220 You know, 00:20:31.299 --> 00:20:32.240 he comes up 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:33.180 and shows up to you 00:20:33.180 --> 00:20:33.779 on your road 00:20:33.779 --> 00:20:34.639 and then eventually 00:20:34.639 --> 00:20:35.460 you realize actually 00:20:35.460 --> 00:20:36.279 this was his road. 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:38.900 And it's a simple truth, 00:20:38.960 --> 00:20:39.700 a simple application, 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:41.579 but I think one of the things 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:42.359 the Emmaus table 00:20:42.359 --> 00:20:43.679 says to us is that 00:20:43.679 --> 00:20:45.799 you are not your own, 00:20:45.939 --> 00:20:46.899 I am not my own, 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:49.639 that your life 00:20:49.639 --> 00:20:50.379 doesn't belong to you. 00:20:50.439 --> 00:20:50.500 You know, 00:20:50.579 --> 00:20:52.039 it destroys the illusion 00:20:52.039 --> 00:20:52.599 of control. 00:20:52.740 --> 00:20:53.299 It breaks through 00:20:53.299 --> 00:20:53.799 and tells you, 00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:54.220 you don't, 00:20:54.819 --> 00:20:55.460 it frees you 00:20:55.460 --> 00:20:56.000 because you don't, 00:20:56.059 --> 00:20:56.799 you don't have to be 00:20:56.799 --> 00:20:57.839 in charge of your own life. 00:20:58.339 --> 00:20:59.179 You don't have to make 00:20:59.179 --> 00:20:59.839 your own meaning. 00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:01.299 You can be liberated 00:21:01.299 --> 00:21:02.859 by the fact that, 00:21:02.980 --> 00:21:04.439 that God is actually 00:21:04.439 --> 00:21:05.399 the one who's in control. 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:06.339 He's actually the one 00:21:06.339 --> 00:21:07.379 that's showing you hospitality, 00:21:07.579 --> 00:21:08.259 never you him. 00:21:08.919 --> 00:21:09.619 And so every time 00:21:09.619 --> 00:21:10.460 you invite him in, 00:21:10.500 --> 00:21:11.179 it's only because 00:21:11.180 --> 00:21:12.920 he's first invited you 00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:13.519 into his life. 00:21:13.580 --> 00:21:14.200 And so we've got 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:15.000 this wonderful 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:17.240 German catechism 00:21:17.240 --> 00:21:19.200 from the 16th century. 00:21:19.340 --> 00:21:19.980 Somehow I get 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:21.620 to a German reference, 00:21:21.960 --> 00:21:23.100 50% of the Sundays 00:21:23.100 --> 00:21:23.720 we have, 00:21:23.759 --> 00:21:24.320 and here we are, 00:21:24.539 --> 00:21:25.460 it's been a couple weeks. 00:21:25.640 --> 00:21:26.840 And so the wonderful reference 00:21:26.840 --> 00:21:27.960 from the Heidelberg catechism, 00:21:28.120 --> 00:21:29.060 which says, 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:30.299 what is your only comfort 00:21:30.299 --> 00:21:31.240 in life and death? 00:21:31.940 --> 00:21:33.200 That I'm not my own, 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:34.940 but I belong 00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:36.120 in body and in soul 00:21:36.120 --> 00:21:37.160 and life and death 00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:38.299 to the faithful savior, 00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:39.460 Jesus Christ. 00:21:39.460 --> 00:21:42.799 Jesus Christ is the host 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:43.299 of this meal. 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:45.319 He's invited us onto his road. 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:46.700 He's invited us to his table. 00:21:47.140 --> 00:21:48.539 And when they realize that 00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:49.120 in verse 30, 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:49.779 they're at the table, 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:50.640 he's broken the bread 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:51.400 and given it to them. 00:21:51.660 --> 00:21:52.700 All of a sudden we read, 00:21:53.240 --> 00:21:54.180 they could see him. 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:57.940 Their faith now becomes sight. 00:21:59.240 --> 00:22:00.440 And you see, 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:02.680 he showed up on their, 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:03.519 on their road, 00:22:03.559 --> 00:22:04.480 in their lives. 00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:07.180 He brought them down the road 00:22:07.180 --> 00:22:08.620 by opening to them 00:22:08.620 --> 00:22:09.180 the scriptures. 00:22:09.400 --> 00:22:10.460 He showed them himself 00:22:10.460 --> 00:22:11.079 through the scriptures. 00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:12.460 And then here, 00:22:12.779 --> 00:22:12.940 you know, 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:14.099 they needed to see 00:22:14.099 --> 00:22:15.620 that the cross 00:22:15.620 --> 00:22:16.940 was in the Old Testament 00:22:16.940 --> 00:22:17.900 all the time. 00:22:18.779 --> 00:22:19.700 That the cross 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:20.880 had always been preached 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:21.660 from the Old Testament. 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:23.440 Then as they sat down 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:23.880 at the table, 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:25.279 they finally could see him. 00:22:26.259 --> 00:22:27.539 He opens their sight. 00:22:28.380 --> 00:22:28.500 Now, 00:22:28.539 --> 00:22:28.839 what is that? 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:30.180 What's going on here? 00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:30.440 This, 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:31.700 what we're reading about 00:22:31.700 --> 00:22:33.880 is the destination 00:22:33.880 --> 00:22:35.519 of every single Christian. 00:22:35.740 --> 00:22:36.400 So if you're a believer 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:37.160 in this room today, 00:22:37.240 --> 00:22:38.720 if you walk with him 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:39.600 in some measure 00:22:39.600 --> 00:22:40.559 by faith today, 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:41.980 the destination 00:22:41.980 --> 00:22:44.240 of every single believer 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:46.940 is to sit down at Jesus, 00:22:47.360 --> 00:22:48.279 sit down with Jesus 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:49.019 at the table 00:22:49.019 --> 00:22:50.440 and to see him. 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:53.279 And the theologians 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:54.840 call that the beatific vision. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:22:57.559 This is the paradigm. 00:22:57.660 --> 00:22:58.200 What we're reading about 00:22:58.200 --> 00:22:58.559 in Emmaus 00:22:58.559 --> 00:22:59.220 is the paradigm 00:22:59.220 --> 00:23:00.440 of the ordinary Christian life. 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:02.100 And the ordinary Christian life 00:23:02.100 --> 00:23:03.680 ends the moment 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:05.340 that you sit down 00:23:05.340 --> 00:23:05.940 at the table 00:23:05.940 --> 00:23:06.820 with him one day 00:23:06.820 --> 00:23:08.460 and your eyes are open 00:23:08.460 --> 00:23:10.240 to see Jesus Christ 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:10.720 in person. 00:23:10.840 --> 00:23:11.900 It's called the beatific, 00:23:11.980 --> 00:23:12.840 the blessed vision, 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:14.100 the visio dei, 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:15.240 the vision of God. 00:23:15.840 --> 00:23:17.160 It is the reality 00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:18.180 you were made for. 00:23:18.340 --> 00:23:19.039 It is the hope 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:20.299 of every single human being. 00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:20.720 Now today, 00:23:21.180 --> 00:23:22.559 you might desire 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:23.840 all sorts of things 00:23:23.840 --> 00:23:24.740 and our desires 00:23:24.740 --> 00:23:25.820 are such a jumble 00:23:25.820 --> 00:23:26.480 of messes, 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:26.820 aren't they? 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:29.059 But the truth is 00:23:29.059 --> 00:23:30.000 the reason that we're 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:30.759 never satisfied 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:31.480 in this life 00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:32.220 with anything, 00:23:32.399 --> 00:23:33.759 the best things 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:34.299 that we get, 00:23:34.399 --> 00:23:36.119 we still ultimately 00:23:36.119 --> 00:23:36.919 are discontent. 00:23:38.039 --> 00:23:38.779 It's because 00:23:38.779 --> 00:23:40.079 the desire underneath 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:40.899 every single desire 00:23:40.899 --> 00:23:42.000 is that you would come 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.859 and sit at the table 00:23:42.859 --> 00:23:43.839 with God 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:45.059 and see him. 00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:46.579 It is the very thing 00:23:46.579 --> 00:23:47.240 you were made 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:48.319 to be like him 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:49.579 and you were made 00:23:49.579 --> 00:23:50.399 to see him. 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:51.119 You will see him 00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:51.539 as he is 00:23:51.539 --> 00:23:52.299 and that's the promise. 00:23:53.099 --> 00:23:53.980 The Emmaus road 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:54.859 is the normal pattern 00:23:54.859 --> 00:23:55.539 of the Christian life 00:23:55.539 --> 00:23:56.000 and at the end 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:56.639 of the Christian life, 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:57.540 you sit at the table 00:23:57.540 --> 00:23:58.360 at the banquet feast 00:23:58.360 --> 00:23:59.180 with Jesus Christ 00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:01.060 and you get to see 00:24:01.060 --> 00:24:03.280 God face to face. 00:24:04.900 --> 00:24:05.700 Now this is 00:24:05.700 --> 00:24:07.780 the tension 00:24:07.780 --> 00:24:09.120 of the Old Testament 00:24:09.120 --> 00:24:11.420 and it really is 00:24:11.420 --> 00:24:12.580 the most persistent 00:24:12.580 --> 00:24:15.200 ache, heartburn 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:15.800 of the Bible. 00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:16.660 The movement 00:24:16.660 --> 00:24:17.940 from Genesis 3 forward, 00:24:18.380 --> 00:24:19.120 there is a persistent 00:24:19.120 --> 00:24:20.480 burning, yearning, 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:21.780 aching all throughout 00:24:21.780 --> 00:24:22.320 that's woven 00:24:22.320 --> 00:24:23.320 all the way to this moment 00:24:23.320 --> 00:24:25.100 of longing to see God. 00:24:25.099 --> 00:24:26.339 So you remember Moses 00:24:26.339 --> 00:24:27.559 when he is on 00:24:27.559 --> 00:24:28.619 the mountain of Sinai, 00:24:29.379 --> 00:24:29.919 Mount Sinai, 00:24:29.980 --> 00:24:30.359 what does he say? 00:24:30.399 --> 00:24:30.659 He says, 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:31.679 please Lord, 00:24:32.179 --> 00:24:33.419 show me your glory, 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:34.679 let me see your face 00:24:34.679 --> 00:24:36.339 and the response 00:24:36.339 --> 00:24:37.259 that God gives 00:24:37.259 --> 00:24:38.559 is one of both 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:39.839 mercy and terror 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:40.639 at the same time. 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:40.839 You know, 00:24:40.859 --> 00:24:42.519 he says to Moses, 00:24:43.019 --> 00:24:45.179 no rebellious sinful human 00:24:45.179 --> 00:24:46.000 could possibly see 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:46.559 the face of God, 00:24:46.619 --> 00:24:47.099 my face, 00:24:47.379 --> 00:24:47.959 and live 00:24:47.959 --> 00:24:49.359 and so 00:24:49.359 --> 00:24:51.059 the response is terror 00:24:51.059 --> 00:24:51.740 that you were made 00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:52.379 to see God 00:24:52.379 --> 00:24:52.839 but the tension 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:53.439 of the Old Testament 00:24:53.439 --> 00:24:54.519 is that you cannot 00:24:54.519 --> 00:24:55.099 see God 00:24:55.099 --> 00:24:56.039 because of your sin 00:24:56.039 --> 00:24:57.079 and your rebellion 00:24:57.079 --> 00:24:59.480 and yet God 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:00.180 takes Moses 00:25:00.180 --> 00:25:01.079 and he puts him 00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:01.660 in the cleft 00:25:01.660 --> 00:25:02.400 of the rock 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:03.579 and allows him 00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:04.720 to see just a glimpse 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:05.379 of his glory 00:25:05.379 --> 00:25:06.960 and God is saying 00:25:06.960 --> 00:25:07.599 to Moses there, 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:07.799 you know, 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:09.059 Moses was the one person 00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:09.660 in the Old Testament 00:25:09.660 --> 00:25:10.160 that's called 00:25:10.160 --> 00:25:11.359 the friend of God 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:12.279 who can see my face 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:13.200 and yet when it came 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:14.099 time to see his face, 00:25:14.539 --> 00:25:15.599 Moses couldn't see his face 00:25:15.599 --> 00:25:17.319 and that's the tension. 00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:19.039 How can a rebellious 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:20.180 sinful human being 00:25:20.180 --> 00:25:23.200 see the very sight 00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:24.000 that you were made 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:24.420 to see 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:25.340 and the face 00:25:25.340 --> 00:25:25.860 of God 00:25:25.860 --> 00:25:28.360 and David, 00:25:28.580 --> 00:25:29.299 remember David, 00:25:29.980 --> 00:25:30.819 we sang about it 00:25:30.819 --> 00:25:31.400 Psalm 27 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:32.539 just a moment ago, 00:25:32.700 --> 00:25:33.400 David says 00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:34.279 in Psalm 27, 00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:36.779 I long to see 00:25:36.779 --> 00:25:37.420 the beauty 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:38.500 of God's face 00:25:38.500 --> 00:25:40.580 in the land 00:25:40.580 --> 00:25:41.140 of the living. 00:25:41.900 --> 00:25:42.840 1 John 3, 2, 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:43.980 you shall be like him 00:25:43.980 --> 00:25:44.340 in the land 00:25:44.340 --> 00:25:44.799 of the living, 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:45.900 you shall see him 00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:46.299 as he is 00:25:46.299 --> 00:25:46.940 and David said, 00:25:47.259 --> 00:25:47.700 I want to see 00:25:47.700 --> 00:25:48.160 the beauty 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:48.620 of the face 00:25:48.620 --> 00:25:49.019 of the Lord 00:25:49.019 --> 00:25:49.620 in the land 00:25:49.620 --> 00:25:50.059 of the living 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:50.960 and you see 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:51.839 all the tension 00:25:51.839 --> 00:25:52.500 that's built up 00:25:52.500 --> 00:25:53.220 in the Old Testament 00:25:53.220 --> 00:25:54.299 of how are you 00:25:54.299 --> 00:25:54.819 going to get 00:25:54.819 --> 00:25:56.179 what you are made for 00:25:56.179 --> 00:25:57.700 is found 00:25:57.700 --> 00:25:58.220 when you come 00:25:58.220 --> 00:25:58.899 to the New Testament 00:25:58.899 --> 00:25:59.940 and Paul's words, 00:26:00.899 --> 00:26:01.619 in Christ, 00:26:01.879 --> 00:26:03.220 the veil is removed. 00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:05.339 We all 00:26:05.339 --> 00:26:06.460 with unveiled faces, 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:07.740 we will behold 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:08.599 the glory of the Lord 00:26:08.599 --> 00:26:09.440 and we shall see him 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:10.099 as he is 00:26:10.099 --> 00:26:13.179 and the great tension 00:26:13.179 --> 00:26:14.759 that is the great problem 00:26:14.759 --> 00:26:15.879 of being human 00:26:15.879 --> 00:26:16.740 and yet sinful 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:18.519 is all culminating 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:19.539 to this moment 00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:20.440 when you're being shown 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:21.700 in the Emmaus Road 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:23.039 that the very path 00:26:23.039 --> 00:26:23.539 of the ordinary 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:24.139 Christian life 00:26:24.139 --> 00:26:24.859 by faith 00:26:24.859 --> 00:26:25.980 is that if you will 00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:26.539 walk the road 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:27.019 by faith, 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:28.799 one day you will have sight. 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:29.960 You will have the very thing 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:30.619 you were made for. 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:31.799 Every desire 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:32.879 that has been unmet 00:26:32.879 --> 00:26:33.660 in this life, 00:26:34.420 --> 00:26:35.740 everything that you have chased 00:26:35.740 --> 00:26:37.220 and has been just meh, 00:26:39.700 --> 00:26:40.960 will one day find 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:43.039 its utter fulfillment. 00:26:43.299 --> 00:26:44.000 It's great fulfillment. 00:26:44.139 --> 00:26:44.839 Fulfillment in a way 00:26:44.839 --> 00:26:46.059 you can't possibly understand today. 00:26:46.119 --> 00:26:47.259 I can't possibly understand today 00:26:47.259 --> 00:26:48.960 in seeing the beauty 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:49.819 of his face 00:26:49.819 --> 00:26:50.680 at the table, 00:26:50.839 --> 00:26:51.740 at the banquet feast 00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:54.019 and just listen 00:26:54.019 --> 00:26:54.960 to the language. 00:26:55.359 --> 00:26:55.660 You know, 00:26:55.680 --> 00:26:56.799 it shows up all across 00:26:56.799 --> 00:26:58.619 the New Testament. 00:26:59.140 --> 00:26:59.859 We read it 00:26:59.859 --> 00:27:00.559 in our call to work, 00:27:00.619 --> 00:27:00.859 I'm sorry, 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:01.240 Old Testament. 00:27:01.339 --> 00:27:01.619 We read it 00:27:01.619 --> 00:27:02.740 in the call to worship today 00:27:02.740 --> 00:27:05.259 from Genesis chapter 3 00:27:05.259 --> 00:27:05.819 where we long 00:27:05.819 --> 00:27:06.660 for the condescension 00:27:06.660 --> 00:27:07.059 of God 00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:07.819 into the Garden of Eden 00:27:07.819 --> 00:27:08.579 all the way 00:27:08.579 --> 00:27:09.559 to Revelation 19, 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:10.420 the marriage supper 00:27:10.420 --> 00:27:11.440 of the Lamb. 00:27:12.220 --> 00:27:13.359 Isaiah 25 says, 00:27:13.680 --> 00:27:14.879 Isaiah 25 says, 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:15.960 at the banquet feast, 00:27:15.960 --> 00:27:17.420 he will swallow up death forever. 00:27:18.579 --> 00:27:19.420 Isaiah 55, 00:27:19.840 --> 00:27:20.960 come every one of you 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:22.259 who thirst to see him. 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:23.980 Come without money. 00:27:24.380 --> 00:27:25.100 You don't need money. 00:27:25.840 --> 00:27:26.480 Come without price. 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:27.059 You can come 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:28.400 to the banquet table 00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:29.120 of the king. 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:30.600 It's been promised 00:27:30.600 --> 00:27:31.700 all throughout the lineage 00:27:31.700 --> 00:27:32.460 of the Old Testament 00:27:32.460 --> 00:27:33.360 and this is the moment 00:27:33.360 --> 00:27:35.000 where you're simply being told 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:35.880 this is not for 00:27:35.880 --> 00:27:36.980 the all-stars 00:27:36.980 --> 00:27:37.819 of the Bible. 00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:38.440 This is not for 00:27:38.440 --> 00:27:39.120 the heavyweights 00:27:39.120 --> 00:27:39.660 of the Bible. 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:41.279 This is not just for Moses. 00:27:42.079 --> 00:27:42.700 Moses was one 00:27:42.700 --> 00:27:43.500 of the heavyweights. 00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:44.799 David, 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:45.700 you know, 00:27:45.840 --> 00:27:46.220 Mary, 00:27:46.539 --> 00:27:46.920 this is, 00:27:47.600 --> 00:27:48.080 this is, 00:27:48.259 --> 00:27:48.960 what does it make you think? 00:27:49.019 --> 00:27:50.180 This is for ordinary people. 00:27:51.340 --> 00:27:52.100 People that don't even 00:27:52.100 --> 00:27:52.779 have names, 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:54.019 minor characters 00:27:54.019 --> 00:27:55.160 that are going, 00:27:55.299 --> 00:27:56.580 that living in small towns 00:27:56.580 --> 00:27:56.980 and places 00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:57.860 that don't matter 00:27:57.860 --> 00:27:58.400 that much. 00:27:59.539 --> 00:28:00.799 I wonder if you could say 00:28:00.799 --> 00:28:01.340 today, 00:28:02.259 --> 00:28:03.019 would the psalmist 00:28:03.019 --> 00:28:03.799 in Psalm 42, 00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:06.299 as the deer pants 00:28:06.299 --> 00:28:08.159 for flowing streams, 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:10.960 so my soul longs 00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:11.839 for God. 00:28:13.159 --> 00:28:14.419 As a deer comes 00:28:14.419 --> 00:28:16.299 thirsting for water, 00:28:16.519 --> 00:28:18.119 so my soul longs 00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:19.379 to see God. 00:28:19.740 --> 00:28:20.339 Whether or not 00:28:20.339 --> 00:28:21.240 you feel that today 00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:21.680 or not, 00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:22.559 that is what you 00:28:22.559 --> 00:28:23.159 were made for. 00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:26.099 And what we're being 00:28:26.099 --> 00:28:27.119 told here, 00:28:27.919 --> 00:28:28.480 let me put it 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:28.779 in the words 00:28:28.779 --> 00:28:29.359 of Augustine. 00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:30.319 Augustine, 00:28:30.399 --> 00:28:31.099 at the end 00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:31.940 of the city of God, 00:28:32.059 --> 00:28:33.319 that massive tome 00:28:33.319 --> 00:28:33.839 he wrote about 00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:34.579 the fall of Rome, 00:28:34.980 --> 00:28:37.159 he uses these verbs 00:28:37.159 --> 00:28:38.299 to describe this moment 00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:39.139 and he says, 00:28:40.399 --> 00:28:41.099 in that day 00:28:41.099 --> 00:28:41.879 at the banquet, 00:28:42.099 --> 00:28:43.619 we shall rest 00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:44.299 and see, 00:28:45.740 --> 00:28:47.480 see and love, 00:28:48.259 --> 00:28:50.019 love and praise, 00:28:50.899 --> 00:28:52.159 and that shall be 00:28:52.159 --> 00:28:52.519 for us 00:28:52.519 --> 00:28:53.460 the eternal Sabbath. 00:28:55.659 --> 00:28:56.460 This isn't, 00:28:57.139 --> 00:28:58.099 I think the reason 00:28:58.099 --> 00:28:58.500 that this is 00:28:58.500 --> 00:28:59.339 in the Road to a Man story 00:28:59.339 --> 00:29:00.139 is because this isn't 00:29:00.139 --> 00:29:00.740 the hope for the 00:29:00.740 --> 00:29:01.480 Christian elite. 00:29:01.899 --> 00:29:02.839 This is for anybody 00:29:02.839 --> 00:29:04.019 who comes and follows 00:29:04.019 --> 00:29:05.059 Jesus on the way, 00:29:05.259 --> 00:29:07.139 who comes by faith. 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:07.579 God is, 00:29:07.639 --> 00:29:11.059 God is keeping a seat 00:29:11.059 --> 00:29:12.079 at the table for you. 00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:15.659 So let me finish 00:29:15.659 --> 00:29:15.939 with this. 00:29:15.980 --> 00:29:16.720 One thing you can do 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:17.240 with this today 00:29:17.240 --> 00:29:18.839 as we close 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:22.259 and it's simple, 00:29:22.500 --> 00:29:24.159 come to worship tonight 00:29:24.159 --> 00:29:24.639 because we're going 00:29:24.639 --> 00:29:24.980 to celebrate 00:29:24.980 --> 00:29:25.559 the Lord's Supper. 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:27.099 So I know it would be 00:29:27.099 --> 00:29:28.039 wholly appropriate 00:29:28.039 --> 00:29:29.379 for us to celebrate 00:29:29.379 --> 00:29:30.000 the Lord's Supper 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:30.659 this morning, 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:31.699 but we are celebrating 00:29:31.700 --> 00:29:32.580 the Lord's Supper tonight. 00:29:33.620 --> 00:29:34.380 And the reason 00:29:34.380 --> 00:29:36.240 that's the invitation, 00:29:36.380 --> 00:29:36.880 the application 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:38.220 is because in verse 30 00:29:38.220 --> 00:29:39.640 when Jesus breaks the bread 00:29:39.640 --> 00:29:40.640 and he blesses it 00:29:40.640 --> 00:29:41.819 and he gives it, 00:29:42.059 --> 00:29:43.640 there are so many commentators 00:29:43.640 --> 00:29:45.299 that for some reason 00:29:45.299 --> 00:29:45.759 say, 00:29:46.340 --> 00:29:47.299 kind of go out of their way 00:29:47.299 --> 00:29:48.440 to get ahead of this 00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:48.819 and say, 00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:50.319 this is not the Lord's Supper. 00:29:52.039 --> 00:29:53.759 And that is my very favorite, 00:29:53.860 --> 00:29:54.180 by the way, 00:29:54.259 --> 00:29:55.759 my very favorite commentator 00:29:55.759 --> 00:29:57.380 on the whole Bible 00:29:57.380 --> 00:29:58.240 goes out of his way 00:29:58.240 --> 00:29:58.519 to say, 00:29:58.580 --> 00:29:59.519 this is not the Lord's Supper. 00:29:59.519 --> 00:29:59.639 However, 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:01.240 it's half true. 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:02.359 It's half right. 00:30:03.319 --> 00:30:03.759 Why? 00:30:04.940 --> 00:30:05.139 Well, 00:30:05.259 --> 00:30:05.700 remember, 00:30:05.859 --> 00:30:07.099 remember your Westminster 00:30:07.099 --> 00:30:08.099 Shorter Catechism. 00:30:08.619 --> 00:30:08.779 Okay. 00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:10.059 Question 92. 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:11.859 Let's all say it together. 00:30:12.819 --> 00:30:13.220 No, 00:30:13.319 --> 00:30:14.839 I can't say it either. 00:30:14.980 --> 00:30:15.359 Don't worry. 00:30:16.220 --> 00:30:17.759 I definitely cannot say it. 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:18.279 I had to look it up. 00:30:18.339 --> 00:30:18.839 I wrote it down. 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:19.160 In fact, 00:30:19.559 --> 00:30:20.440 question 92, 00:30:20.639 --> 00:30:21.500 what is a sacrament? 00:30:21.639 --> 00:30:22.299 And here's the answer. 00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:24.500 A sacrament is a holy ordinance 00:30:24.500 --> 00:30:25.759 instituted by Christ 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:26.639 wherein, 00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:27.820 and here's the key, 00:30:28.180 --> 00:30:29.660 by sensible signs, 00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:30.900 physical signs, 00:30:31.360 --> 00:30:31.820 bread, 00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:33.140 wine, 00:30:33.740 --> 00:30:34.140 water, 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:35.620 Christ and the benefits 00:30:35.620 --> 00:30:36.380 of the new covenant 00:30:36.380 --> 00:30:37.960 are represented, 00:30:38.780 --> 00:30:39.120 sealed, 00:30:39.259 --> 00:30:39.940 and applied to us. 00:30:39.980 --> 00:30:40.600 Here's the key word. 00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:41.540 I know that's hard to listen to. 00:30:42.360 --> 00:30:43.680 When in the sacraments, 00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:45.060 we have sensible signs, 00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:45.960 physical signs, 00:30:46.140 --> 00:30:46.620 bread, 00:30:47.080 --> 00:30:47.440 wine, 00:30:47.980 --> 00:30:48.340 water, 00:30:48.340 --> 00:30:50.480 that represent to us 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:51.320 the benefits 00:30:51.320 --> 00:30:52.360 of Jesus Christ 00:30:52.360 --> 00:30:52.960 in the new covenant. 00:30:53.160 --> 00:30:53.880 That's the key word, 00:30:53.960 --> 00:30:54.060 right? 00:30:54.360 --> 00:30:54.600 Represent. 00:30:55.579 --> 00:30:56.859 This isn't the sacrament 00:30:56.859 --> 00:30:57.539 of the Lord's Supper. 00:30:57.659 --> 00:30:57.919 No, 00:30:58.159 --> 00:30:59.219 it certainly isn't. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:00.879 Because in the sacrament 00:31:00.879 --> 00:31:01.439 of the Lord's Supper, 00:31:01.539 --> 00:31:02.559 when the bread is broken, 00:31:02.659 --> 00:31:03.599 when the wine is poured, 00:31:03.659 --> 00:31:04.799 you have a representation 00:31:04.799 --> 00:31:06.980 of the most real thing. 00:31:07.699 --> 00:31:09.559 But when the risen Lord Jesus 00:31:09.559 --> 00:31:11.000 is sitting at the table with you, 00:31:11.159 --> 00:31:12.219 you don't need the sacraments. 00:31:13.939 --> 00:31:15.139 Are you at the Lord's Supper? 00:31:15.259 --> 00:31:15.399 Well, 00:31:15.439 --> 00:31:15.619 boy, 00:31:15.719 --> 00:31:16.079 you are. 00:31:16.579 --> 00:31:17.480 Every time you eat 00:31:17.480 --> 00:31:18.259 with the risen Jesus, 00:31:18.419 --> 00:31:19.500 you're sitting at the Lord's Supper. 00:31:20.619 --> 00:31:21.819 This is the Lord's Supper. 00:31:21.959 --> 00:31:22.759 It's not the sacrament, 00:31:22.879 --> 00:31:23.879 but tonight we celebrate 00:31:23.880 --> 00:31:25.240 the sacrament that points us 00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:26.240 to this moment. 00:31:26.320 --> 00:31:26.560 And see, 00:31:26.840 --> 00:31:28.040 that's got to create in us 00:31:28.040 --> 00:31:29.380 the question, 00:31:29.980 --> 00:31:31.620 am I approaching the table 00:31:31.620 --> 00:31:33.760 in the right posture? 00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:34.740 And I don't mean that 00:31:34.740 --> 00:31:35.520 in a way to say 00:31:35.520 --> 00:31:36.260 that you've got to be 00:31:36.260 --> 00:31:37.180 in the right condition 00:31:37.180 --> 00:31:38.440 in order to come to the table. 00:31:38.440 --> 00:31:39.020 Not at all. 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:39.880 You know, 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:40.920 there are a couple problems 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:42.140 I think that we have 00:31:42.140 --> 00:31:43.200 as we come to the Lord's table 00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:43.680 quite often. 00:31:43.820 --> 00:31:44.220 One is, 00:31:44.520 --> 00:31:45.560 we come to the table 00:31:45.560 --> 00:31:47.220 routine 00:31:47.220 --> 00:31:48.760 and just thinking about it 00:31:48.760 --> 00:31:50.020 as mere memorial. 00:31:51.460 --> 00:31:52.640 Only looking backwards 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:53.759 to the death of Jesus 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:55.140 and absolutely we should. 00:31:55.960 --> 00:31:56.820 But what we're being told 00:31:56.820 --> 00:31:57.220 about here 00:31:57.220 --> 00:31:58.000 is that every time 00:31:58.000 --> 00:31:59.340 you come to the Lord's table, 00:31:59.500 --> 00:32:00.440 it is there 00:32:00.440 --> 00:32:01.759 to create a stirring 00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:02.620 in your heart 00:32:02.620 --> 00:32:03.640 for the moment 00:32:03.640 --> 00:32:04.960 that you will sit across 00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:05.460 from the table 00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:06.220 with Jesus Christ 00:32:06.220 --> 00:32:07.259 and you will see him 00:32:07.259 --> 00:32:07.759 as he is 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:08.680 and you will be like him 00:32:08.680 --> 00:32:09.620 and you will stare 00:32:09.620 --> 00:32:10.280 at the beauty 00:32:10.280 --> 00:32:12.000 of God's holy face 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:13.040 at the banquet feast. 00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:14.320 That's what the Lord's Supper 00:32:14.320 --> 00:32:14.900 is there to do. 00:32:14.980 --> 00:32:15.700 Not just a funeral, 00:32:15.880 --> 00:32:16.600 not a mere memorial. 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:17.580 Jesus isn't dead. 00:32:18.540 --> 00:32:19.700 He's pointing you forward 00:32:19.700 --> 00:32:20.400 to this, 00:32:20.400 --> 00:32:21.259 it's the end 00:32:21.259 --> 00:32:21.840 of the road to him. 00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:22.280 It's the end 00:32:22.280 --> 00:32:22.980 of the Christian life 00:32:22.980 --> 00:32:23.560 to banquet 00:32:23.560 --> 00:32:25.740 with Jesus Christ himself. 00:32:25.860 --> 00:32:26.440 The other problem 00:32:26.440 --> 00:32:26.860 we have 00:32:26.860 --> 00:32:27.200 when we come 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.680 to the table 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:30.320 is we often say, 00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:30.700 you know, 00:32:31.380 --> 00:32:32.900 do I really deserve 00:32:32.900 --> 00:32:33.700 to sit at the table 00:32:33.700 --> 00:32:34.160 with Jesus? 00:32:35.380 --> 00:32:36.820 Have I repented enough? 00:32:37.060 --> 00:32:38.180 Have I made myself 00:32:38.180 --> 00:32:39.040 worthy enough? 00:32:40.040 --> 00:32:40.700 And the answer 00:32:40.700 --> 00:32:41.500 is of course not. 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:44.860 Of course you haven't. 00:32:44.920 --> 00:32:45.420 Of course you've not 00:32:45.420 --> 00:32:46.080 repented enough. 00:32:46.500 --> 00:32:47.860 Of course you're not worthy. 00:32:47.859 --> 00:32:49.199 And the promise 00:32:49.199 --> 00:32:49.799 of the table, 00:32:49.899 --> 00:32:50.500 the invitation 00:32:50.500 --> 00:32:51.719 of the Lord's table 00:32:51.719 --> 00:32:53.439 is that you do not come 00:32:53.439 --> 00:32:54.039 on the basis 00:32:54.039 --> 00:32:54.919 of your merits. 00:32:55.219 --> 00:32:56.019 Don't treat repentance 00:32:56.019 --> 00:32:56.599 as a merit. 00:32:56.719 --> 00:32:57.299 No, you come 00:32:57.299 --> 00:32:58.039 on the basis 00:32:58.039 --> 00:32:58.799 of his merit. 00:33:00.219 --> 00:33:00.979 You come 00:33:00.979 --> 00:33:01.859 not because you have 00:33:01.859 --> 00:33:02.519 strong faith 00:33:02.519 --> 00:33:03.279 and great repentance. 00:33:03.479 --> 00:33:03.839 You come 00:33:03.839 --> 00:33:05.099 because you are weak 00:33:05.099 --> 00:33:06.299 coming to a strong 00:33:06.299 --> 00:33:06.779 redeemer. 00:33:07.959 --> 00:33:09.079 And, you know, 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:10.059 the night that he was 00:33:10.059 --> 00:33:10.419 betrayed, 00:33:10.599 --> 00:33:11.719 he broke the bread 00:33:11.719 --> 00:33:12.699 and he gave thanks 00:33:12.699 --> 00:33:14.119 and he blessed it 00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:16.159 and he gave it to them 00:33:16.159 --> 00:33:16.819 just like he does 00:33:16.819 --> 00:33:17.819 on the Emmaus table. 00:33:18.659 --> 00:33:20.439 And in the ordinary 00:33:20.439 --> 00:33:21.299 Passover meal, 00:33:21.419 --> 00:33:22.199 there is lamb. 00:33:22.339 --> 00:33:23.259 That's the main dish. 00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:24.299 There's lamb on the table. 00:33:24.419 --> 00:33:25.099 But that night 00:33:25.099 --> 00:33:26.299 before he was betrayed, 00:33:26.359 --> 00:33:27.259 there was no lamb there. 00:33:27.979 --> 00:33:28.819 Not on the table. 00:33:29.539 --> 00:33:30.500 There was no lamb 00:33:30.500 --> 00:33:31.039 on the table 00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:32.299 the night he instituted 00:33:32.299 --> 00:33:32.879 the Lord's Supper. 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:33.139 Why? 00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:34.479 Because the lamb 00:33:34.479 --> 00:33:35.399 that was to be broken 00:33:35.399 --> 00:33:35.919 was standing 00:33:35.919 --> 00:33:36.759 at the head of the table. 00:33:38.379 --> 00:33:40.259 The lamb of God 00:33:40.259 --> 00:33:41.419 whose body was broken 00:33:41.419 --> 00:33:42.039 to take away 00:33:42.039 --> 00:33:42.919 the sins of the world 00:33:42.919 --> 00:33:43.679 was the one 00:33:43.679 --> 00:33:44.859 hosting that feast. 00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:45.819 And here is 00:33:45.819 --> 00:33:47.059 the resurrected lamb 00:33:47.059 --> 00:33:48.319 at Emmaus 00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:49.619 hosting this feast 00:33:49.619 --> 00:33:50.679 and saying to you, 00:33:50.879 --> 00:33:52.519 this is the promise 00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:52.980 for you. 00:33:53.139 --> 00:33:53.559 You, 00:33:53.919 --> 00:33:55.740 you will sit 00:33:55.740 --> 00:33:57.480 at a table one day 00:33:57.480 --> 00:33:59.299 where Jesus Christ 00:33:59.299 --> 00:34:00.319 will stand at the head 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:01.799 and he will break bread 00:34:01.799 --> 00:34:03.039 and he will hand it to you 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:05.179 and you will see him 00:34:05.179 --> 00:34:05.779 as he is 00:34:05.779 --> 00:34:07.700 and you will be like him. 00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:09.539 And that is the eternal Sabbath 00:34:09.539 --> 00:34:11.519 and that is the everlasting hope. 00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:13.480 I will close with this. 00:34:15.579 --> 00:34:16.019 You know, 00:34:16.079 --> 00:34:16.340 if you, 00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:18.119 if you go out, 00:34:18.219 --> 00:34:19.320 it is hard to do this 00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:20.059 in Scottish summer, 00:34:20.219 --> 00:34:22.199 but if you go out 00:34:22.199 --> 00:34:23.059 in Scottish winter 00:34:23.059 --> 00:34:24.300 in the highlands 00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:25.400 in the middle of the night, 00:34:25.780 --> 00:34:26.579 middle of the day maybe, 00:34:26.659 --> 00:34:26.960 I don't know, 00:34:27.480 --> 00:34:28.739 but middle of the night 00:34:28.739 --> 00:34:30.300 and you try to walk 00:34:30.300 --> 00:34:31.539 on a path 00:34:31.539 --> 00:34:32.699 through the Monroe's, 00:34:32.800 --> 00:34:32.940 you know, 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:33.559 it is pitch, 00:34:33.699 --> 00:34:34.820 let us say it is pitch black. 00:34:35.340 --> 00:34:36.460 Maybe you are in a forested area, 00:34:36.500 --> 00:34:37.139 it is pitch black 00:34:37.139 --> 00:34:38.579 and you get out your torch, 00:34:38.639 --> 00:34:39.199 your flashlight 00:34:39.199 --> 00:34:40.559 and you shine your light. 00:34:41.339 --> 00:34:42.759 But when the sun rises 00:34:42.759 --> 00:34:43.559 the next day, 00:34:43.960 --> 00:34:44.839 when it is noontime 00:34:44.839 --> 00:34:45.579 the next day, 00:34:46.420 --> 00:34:47.719 do you keep your flashlight on, 00:34:47.779 --> 00:34:48.359 your torch on? 00:34:49.359 --> 00:34:49.759 No. 00:34:51.239 --> 00:34:52.400 The sacraments 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:54.279 are your torch 00:34:54.279 --> 00:34:55.199 in the middle of the darkness. 00:34:57.059 --> 00:34:58.420 But when the sun rises, 00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:01.219 when the feast actually comes, 00:35:01.900 --> 00:35:03.460 when Jesus Christ returns, 00:35:03.940 --> 00:35:05.139 you don't keep the torch on, 00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:06.259 you don't need it anymore, right? 00:35:07.359 --> 00:35:08.779 The sacraments are here 00:35:08.779 --> 00:35:10.460 to give you strength 00:35:10.460 --> 00:35:11.239 for the journey 00:35:11.239 --> 00:35:12.000 in the darkness, 00:35:12.199 --> 00:35:12.559 the road, 00:35:12.599 --> 00:35:13.460 the road to Emmaus 00:35:13.460 --> 00:35:15.559 until you actually get to Emmaus, 00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:17.179 until you get to the celestial city, 00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:19.019 until you get to the banquet table 00:35:19.019 --> 00:35:21.379 and Jesus Christ himself, 00:35:21.480 --> 00:35:22.799 the realest thing is there 00:35:22.799 --> 00:35:24.539 physically with you 00:35:24.539 --> 00:35:26.139 and that is the hope 00:35:26.139 --> 00:35:27.119 of every human being, 00:35:27.460 --> 00:35:28.219 not just for the Christian, 00:35:28.299 --> 00:35:29.440 that is the hope of every human. 00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:31.579 It is the only way 00:35:31.579 --> 00:35:32.599 to be truly satisfied. 00:35:33.839 --> 00:35:34.480 John Owen says, 00:35:34.579 --> 00:35:35.920 no person shall ever behold 00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:36.739 the glory of Christ 00:35:36.739 --> 00:35:37.519 by sight 00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:39.159 in the life hereafter, 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:40.339 who does not 00:35:40.339 --> 00:35:41.159 in some measure 00:35:41.159 --> 00:35:42.519 behold him 00:35:42.519 --> 00:35:43.559 today 00:35:43.559 --> 00:35:44.159 here 00:35:44.159 --> 00:35:45.000 by faith. 00:35:46.739 --> 00:35:47.500 And so that's the invitation. 00:35:47.699 --> 00:35:49.199 You've got to walk 00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:50.079 the road to Emmaus 00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:50.919 by faith 00:35:50.919 --> 00:35:51.559 if you want to 00:35:51.559 --> 00:35:52.299 one day see him 00:35:52.299 --> 00:35:52.939 by sight. 00:35:54.259 --> 00:35:54.739 And so 00:35:54.739 --> 00:35:56.719 come to the table 00:35:56.719 --> 00:35:57.199 tonight, 00:35:57.319 --> 00:35:58.239 come to the hymn 00:35:58.239 --> 00:35:58.959 this morning 00:35:58.959 --> 00:35:59.599 by faith. 00:36:00.779 --> 00:36:01.719 Have you ever been to a, 00:36:01.719 --> 00:36:02.819 you've been to a wedding reception 00:36:02.820 --> 00:36:03.200 and they, 00:36:03.680 --> 00:36:04.100 the feast, 00:36:04.180 --> 00:36:05.680 they put the little placards 00:36:05.680 --> 00:36:06.740 with your name on them 00:36:06.740 --> 00:36:08.720 wherever you're supposed 00:36:08.720 --> 00:36:09.180 to sit. 00:36:09.320 --> 00:36:10.680 Jesus Christ has your name, 00:36:11.519 --> 00:36:11.840 Christian, 00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:13.300 at a place, 00:36:13.539 --> 00:36:14.559 at his table 00:36:14.559 --> 00:36:16.140 in the life 00:36:16.140 --> 00:36:16.720 that is to come. 00:36:17.680 --> 00:36:18.400 You got to walk 00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:19.380 that road by faith now 00:36:19.380 --> 00:36:20.280 and one day 00:36:20.280 --> 00:36:20.920 it will be sight. 00:36:22.200 --> 00:36:22.599 Let's pray. 00:36:22.700 --> 00:36:22.900 Father, 00:36:23.720 --> 00:36:24.800 cultivate our desires 00:36:24.800 --> 00:36:25.640 to see Jesus. 00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:27.360 Give us a vision 00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:28.099 for the beauty 00:36:28.099 --> 00:36:29.519 of the face of God 00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:30.460 in the land of the living. 00:36:31.579 --> 00:36:32.660 We pray in Christ's name. 00:36:33.039 --> 00:36:33.240 Amen. 00:36:33.240 --> 00:36:33.340 Amen. 00:36:33.340 --> 00:36:33.440 Amen.