Good morning church. Today I'll be reading Luke 24 verses 1 to 12.
! On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices that they had prepared and went to the tomb.
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground.
But when the men said to them, Why do you look for the living among the dead?
He is not here. He has risen.
Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee,
the Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners,
be crucified, and on the third day be rised again.
Then they remembered his words.
When they came back from the tomb,
they told all these things to their eleven and to all the others.
It was Mary Magdalene, Jonah, Mary the mother of James,
and the others with them
who told this to the apostles.
But they did not believe the women,
because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb.
Bending over, he saw the strips of linen
laying by themselves,
and he went away wondering to himself
what had happened.
So it's Luke chapter 24, verse 13.
Now the same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus,
about seven miles from Jerusalem.
They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
As they talked and discussed these things with each other,
Jesus himself came up and walked along with them,
but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them,
what are you discussing together as you walk along?
They stood still, their faces downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, asked him,
are you the only one visiting Jerusalem
who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?
What things, he asked.
About Jesus of Nazareth, they replied.
He was a prophet,
he was a prophet, powerful in word and deed,
before God and all the people.
The chief priests and our rulers handed him over
to be sentenced to death,
and they crucified him.
But we had hoped that he was the one
who was going to redeem Israel.
And what is more,
it is the third day since all this took place.
In addition,
some of our women amazed us.
They went to the tomb early this morning,
but didn't find the body,
his body.
They came and told us
that they had seen a vision of angels
who said he was alive.
Then some of our companions went to the tomb
and found it just as Jesus had said,
but they did not see Jesus.
He said to them,
how foolish you are,
and how slow to believe
all that the prophets have spoken.
Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things
and then enter his glory?
And beginning with Moses
and all the prophets,
he explained to them
what was said in all the scriptures
concerning himself.
As they approached the village
to which they were going,
Jesus continued on
as if he was going further,
as if he were going further.
But they urged him strongly,
stay with us,
for it is nearly evening.
The day is almost over.
So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at the table with them,
he took bread,
gave thanks,
broke it,
and begat,
and their eyes were open
and gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened
and they recognized him
and he disappeared from their sight.
They asked each other,
were not our hearts burning within us
while he talked with us on the road
and opened the scriptures to us?
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.
There they found the eleven
and those with them
assembled together
and saying,
it is true,
the Lord has risen
and has appeared to Simon.
Then the two,
then the two told
what had happened on the way
and how Jesus was recognized by them
when he broke the bread.
Amen.
Great.
Thank you, Liz,
for reading for us.
Do keep the Bible with you
if you can.
We're going to be looking
at that story together.
I'm not going to keep us for too long.
I know that there's
lots of wriggling children around
and hopefully you're
enjoying the coloring in.
But my hope is that
we're going to look at that story
and just see a few things together from it.
So let's pray
and ask for the Lord's help
as we do that.
Let's pray.
Father,
we want to thank you so much
that we come together this morning
to listen to what you say
in your word
and not our own good ideas.
We want to pray now
that you would speak to us
and that you would give us hearts
which are eager to listen
as we ask in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Now,
I want to just show you
three simple things
from the story
that we have just had read for us.
And to help you out,
I've got a prop for each one.
And my hope is that
over lunch,
maybe you can remember
the three props
and that might help you remember
what the sermon was about this morning.
And so we're going to look
at those three things
and then I'm going to tie them all together
and tell you why it's important.
So the first prop is this.
What do we think this is?
Anyone tell me?
Yes.
What is it, Kyla?
It is a blindfold, right?
Yeah, you all get that?
That is a blindfold.
Now, why would we have
a blindfold in the story?
Well, if you look down at the story,
I think this is meant to be
one of the big surprises in the story,
which is that,
well,
they don't recognize Jesus.
Did you notice that?
Look what happens in verse 15.
Look down in the Bible at verse 15.
And as they talked
and discussed these things
with each other,
Jesus came up
and walked along with them,
but they were kept
from recognizing him.
Here, Jesus,
who, remember,
on the Friday
had been killed on the cross,
he joined two of the disciples
as they're walking home
to Emmaus from Jerusalem.
And as he meets them,
he keeps them
from recognizing him.
He deliberately stops his disciples
from working out who he was.
And I think that's incredible.
Just imagine it for a moment.
Imagine if you were Jesus
and you are meeting disciples
who are deeply worried
and concerned for you.
They've seen you killed on the cross
and you want them to know
that you're alive.
And now you bump into them
as they're walking down the street.
What's the first thing
that you say to them?
I'm Jesus.
I'm alive.
But he does the very opposite.
Instead,
he closes their eyes.
So they can't see.
He hides himself from them.
It probably wasn't
that difficult to do.
It's the afternoon.
It's getting a bit dark, isn't it?
Verse 17 tells you
that they are downcast.
Probably means as well
that they're walking
with their heads down.
And so they don't recognize
or see who Jesus is.
And notice,
notice what they feel like.
They're sad, aren't they,
these disciples?
And they tell him
that they'd hoped
that this Jesus character
would be the one
who would redeem Israel.
But instead,
he died on a cross.
It was three days ago,
they say.
I mean,
three days ago
when someone's died.
That's so long ago
that they know
nothing is going to happen.
It's definitely all over now.
They then tell the story
about these women
who said that they couldn't
find the body.
And they don't think
Jesus has risen.
They're just confused,
aren't they?
Where is he?
They say.
And Jesus just walks along,
he listens to them,
and he doesn't show them
who he is.
He blinds them.
There's a blindfold.
Second prop.
Okay?
This is more tricky,
but I was thinking about this,
thinking,
how do I,
this is what?
What is this?
Does anyone know
what this is?
A lanyard, right?
I want you to think carefully.
Who wears a lanyard, right?
So this is a lanyard.
It's got pens on it.
It's got a teabag on it
for break time.
It's got a whistle, ready?
Yeah?
So who wears a lanyard like this?
Teachers.
Thanks, Kerry J.
Yeah, teachers.
They wear lanyards like this,
and they rattle around school
wearing these lanyards
looking important, yeah?
Now, so teachers.
Now, look down at the passage.
I want you to notice
that Jesus becomes,
in the passage,
a teacher.
A teacher.
Look down at verse 25.
He said to them,
after they've told him
that they're worried
about what's happened
to this Jesus character,
he says,
how foolish you are
and how slow to believe
all the prophets had spoken.
Did not the Messiah
have to suffer these things
and then enter his glory?
I think that's quite a bold thing
for Jesus to say.
But notice that he doesn't just say,
it's my opinion.
He doesn't even say,
listen,
I've got some ideas
that you need to listen to.
Instead,
he becomes a Bible teacher.
Look down again
at your passage,
verse 27.
What does he say?
And beginning with Moses
and all the prophets,
he explained to them
what was said
in all the scriptures
concerning himself.
Moses and the prophets
there means basically
all the Bible,
all the Old Testament
that they had.
And then he says,
all the scriptures.
And so here as they walk
along the road,
these disciples
who don't know
who Jesus is
because they're kept
from recognizing him,
they get a theology lesson
as Jesus walks along with them
and teaches them
from all the Bible
everything that was said
about him.
It's a lesson that covers
all of the scriptures
for them.
And it's not just
that he's picking out
the relevant parts
from the Bible,
saying,
oh,
look at this verse here
or this bit here
or that bit there.
It's not that.
No,
what he's saying to them
is listen,
all of the Bible
is telling my story.
All of the scriptures
are telling this story
about me.
The whole thing
points to this Messiah
who had to come
and suffer and die
before entering his glory.
This is the lesson
if you like,
it's that Jesus
had to die
before he rose.
That,
you know,
the visible success
that they were hoping for,
that they were looking for,
this restoration of Israel
that they talk about.
No,
they've misunderstood.
The kingdom of the Messiah
was never meant
to be a political restoration.
It was a spiritual one,
an eternal one.
The kingdom of God
is not about
what you build
with bricks and mortar
or material possessions
or what you build
in kingdoms and nations.
No,
the kingdom of God
is built
in hearts
that love
and trust the Lord
and want to live
for him.
It's about suffering
now
and glory later.
It's about death
before resurrection.
You know,
you can imagine it,
can't you?
Jesus saying to them,
listen,
think about Noah.
You know,
what comes
before the rainbow?
The flood
comes first,
doesn't it?
Judgment
came first.
But what comes
before the promised land
in the Old Testament?
Slavery
in Egypt
and the rescue.
David was hunted
and persecuted.
He lived on the run
before he was exalted
as king.
The pattern of the Bible
is down first
and then up.
Down and then up.
Maybe he told them
the story of Samson.
Do you know
the story of Samson,
the strong man
of the Bible?
How what?
Samson won
the great victory
in his death
with his arms
stretched out.
Think of the story
of the exiles
or Daniel
being thrown
to the lions
or Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego
thrown into a fire.
It was death first
and resurrection later.
Over and over
and over again.
The kingdom of God,
says Jesus,
is not a nation state
of Israel
or Babylon
or Rome.
The kingdom of God
is made up
of people
who have faith
in him.
People who are looking
for a kingdom
that's coming.
A resurrection kingdom,
not a present one.
A heavenly one,
not a political one.
Now Jesus was
a brilliant teacher.
I don't know
whether this is like
this in your school
but when the teachers
in school
are really brilliant
the hour that you're
with them
just flies by,
doesn't it?
And it seems like
that's going on here.
So by verse 28
they've already arrived
in Emmaus
and the disciples
they want to hear
some more.
I mean imagine
the bell going at school
and the kids saying
no hey let's stick around
we want to hear
this teacher some more.
It never happens
does it?
But it happened here.
And then they invite
Jesus into dinner.
Which brings us
to the last prop.
Okay?
So,
we've had
what have we had?
We've had a blindfold.
We've had a lanyard.
Now,
what's this?
Huh?
Fire.
Yeah?
I had intended to
like make
actually set something
on fire
but I figure the church
deacons might get
crossed with me
if I did that.
But yeah,
burning, right?
Burning or fire.
That's the last one.
Now,
notice where that comes from.
Look down at verse 30.
When he was at the table
with them
he took bread
gave thanks
and broke it
and began to give it to them.
Their eyes were opened
and they recognized him
and he disappeared
from their sight
and they asked each other
were not our hearts
burning within us
while he talked to us
on the road
and opened the scriptures
to us.
Burning.
The disciples' eyes
are opened
as they eat with Jesus
and they suddenly
recognize who he is.
eating with Jesus
is obviously something
they've done a lot of.
Famously in the Last Supper
he breaks bread with them
and now the penny drops.
This is Jesus.
This is him.
And just as they work out
who he is
he disappears from them
not because he's a ghost
actually in the next little section
in Luke's Gospel
you find Jesus eating fish.
Ghosts don't eat fish.
Well, they don't eat anything.
They don't eat fish.
Jesus disappears
because his work here
is done.
The lesson is over
and it seems as if
Jesus' resurrection body
is quite a bit better
than his pre-resurrection body
which is great hope
for lots of us, isn't it?
Interesting though
is the point
the disciples remember
is not the point
at which their eyes
were opened.
Do you notice that?
They're not getting excited
that all of a sudden
their eyes have been opened.
They remember the point
where their hearts burned.
Yeah?
And when did their hearts burn?
Well, not just when they
recognized the physical Jesus
their hearts burned
when they saw the truth
about Jesus
from the scriptures.
Look at what they say
in verse 32.
They asked each other
were not our hearts
burning within us
while he talked to us
on the road
and opened the scriptures.
So now
Jesus risen
he had to rise
the Bible said it
the lesson proved it
and now they've seen him.
And so they head back
to Jerusalem
and they meet up
with the other disciples
and the other disciples
have now seen
the risen Lord as well
and they're saying
it's true
the Lord has risen
and then they tell
their story about
how we met Jesus
along the way
and how he explained
to them the Bible
and they recognized him
in the breaking of bread.
So there you have it, right?
A blindfold
a lanyard
and a burning candle.
A blindfold
a lanyard
and a burning candle.
Before we finish though
just think
why?
Why?
I don't know
whether you ever
read the Bible like this
but it's a good question
isn't it?
It's to ask
why is it like this?
Why is it put like this?
Not only
why does Jesus
not reveal himself
immediately
to the two disciples
more than that
why is this the story
that Luke decides
to record
about the risen Jesus?
Have you thought about that?
If you were writing
Luke's gospel
which story
would you record?
The New Testament
tells us that
on one occasion
the risen Jesus
appeared to 500 disciples
all at the same time.
I think if I was writing
Luke's gospel
I would include that
right?
I would want
a dramatic
glorious ending.
I would want something
that would look good
on Instagram
right?
I want something
where there's a huge crowd
and Jesus saying
look it's me
everybody
it's me
why doesn't Luke
record that?
Why instead
does he record
a story
of two disciples
a two hour long
Bible lesson
before they recognize
Jesus
and then he disappears?
In fact
maybe if you're here
this morning
and you're not a Christian
and you're thinking
do you know what
that's a really good question
I think that almost
disproves the resurrection
if Jesus really rose
from the dead
we'd expect something
much more dramatic
than this
well let me tell you
if that's what you're thinking
I think there's a really
good reason
why Luke ends his gospel
this way
and that is because
and this is incredible
Luke's concern
is not really
about those two disciples
meeting the risen Jesus
that's not his concern
Luke's concern
this morning
is that you
and I
meet the risen Jesus
that's what he really wants
and how does that happen?
How do you meet
the risen Jesus
in a way which
changes you
and transforms you
from the inside?
Well notice
because of his story
you don't have to
meet Jesus physically
you can meet him
in the words about him
in the Bible
you know perhaps
if again
if you're not a Christian
you maybe think
well
if only I could have
some kind of encounter
with God
then I'd become
a Christian
if the risen Jesus
walked into this room
this afternoon
this morning still
just for five minutes
if the risen Jesus
walked into this room
this morning
I would believe
for sure I would
I wouldn't be able
not to
well let me tell you
that he doesn't need
to do that
and that's not actually
how faith in Jesus works
you don't need
to meet the risen Jesus
physically
to believe in him
because the burning
of the heart
comes not from
seeing the flesh
of Jesus
but from hearing
the word about
Jesus
that's it
perhaps I can put it
this way
Luke writes this story
because he thinks
that this
is a model
for how throughout
all of history
people will encounter
the risen Jesus
as they see
in the scriptures
over and over again
that God is not
about political success
or worldly power
God is not impressed
with fancy cars
or moral behaviour
or good jobs
or bulging bank accounts
God's kingdom
is not of this world
it's a resurrection kingdom
Jesus
dying for sin
before rising
from the grave
that as we see
that all the scriptures
tell this story
that people like you
and me
people who are weak
and fallen
who let ourselves down
who wander away
from God
who live for ourselves
and not for him
people like us
can meet
the risen Jesus
and be cleansed
and forgiven
and receive new life
be fitted for glory
through the death
and resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ
who we meet
not in flesh
but in his words
and that's true
for us this morning
that's why we're here
we're not just here
for the friendship
or for the coffee
or for the Easter egg hunt
which is coming at the end
we're here to encounter
the risen Jesus
in his word
that's why we're here
every week
that's why our hearts
burn within us
as we listen to
what God has said
and if you're a guest
this morning
that is what we are
holding out to you
in the word about
the Lord Jesus
here is the one
who died
he died for your sin
that you might be forgiven
he died to fit you
for a resurrection kingdom
which is not of this world
but of the world to come
a world beyond death
where we will live
in the presence
of our saviour
forever and ever
and you get to be there
through listening
to his words
that's how
now I think this morning
that there are probably
lots of questions
that you might have
some of your questions
might be well
did the resurrection
really happen
can I really trust this book
why did Jesus have to die
some of your questions
might be more about
how do I live the Christian life
or how do I keep going
now some of those
would be great to come
and ask at Christianity Explored
which we mentioned earlier
but also I've got a few
of these books
and I'd love to offer
one to you this morning
it's called
Is Easter Unbelievable?
four questions
that everyone needs to ask
about the Easter story
and maybe if you've got
one of those questions
you would love a book
like this
I would love to give you
one at the end
so please come and find me
and I'll give one to you
let's pray
as I close
and rejoice
in the risen Lord
Heavenly Father
how we thank you
that we this morning
sitting in this room
can encounter
the risen Jesus
through the word about him
in the Bible
thank you that the whole book
of the Bible
tells the story of Jesus
who had to die
for our sins
that we might be forgiven
and who rose to new life
that we can belong
to the kingdom of heaven
the kingdom not of this world
but the kingdom to come
where we will live with you
in future glory
for all eternity
through faith
in Jesus Christ alone
Lord how we pray
that each one of us
this morning
whoever we are
wherever we're from
how we pray
that we might
encounter Jesus
this morning
that our hearts
might burn within us
as we ponder on his word
as we think on it
in his name
Amen