Today's scripture reading is from Luke chapter 4, the whole chapter.
! Please follow along in your Bible or the Church Bible.
! Our passage can be found on page 831 in the Church Bible.
On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared,
and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.
But when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.
And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the man said to them,
Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has reason.
Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee,
that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise.
And they remembered his words.
And returning from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
Now it was Mary, Madeline, and Joanna, and Mary, the mother of James, and the other women with them,
who told these things to the apostles.
But this was what seems to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
But Peter rose and ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in.
He saw the linen cloths by themselves, and he went home, marveling at what had happened.
That very day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
And they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
And he said to them,
What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?
And they stood still, looking sad.
Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him,
Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?
And he said to them,
What things?
And they said to him,
Concerning Jesus of Nazareth,
a man who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him.
But we had hope that he was the one to redeem Israel.
Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
Moreover, some women of our company amazed us.
They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body,
they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said.
But him they did not see.
And he said to them,
O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?
And beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going.
He acted as if he were going farther,
but they urged him strongly, saying,
Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent.
So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at table with them,
he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.
And he vanished from their sight.
They said to each other,
Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road,
while he opened to us the scriptures?
And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.
And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,
saying,
The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.
Then they told what had happened on the road
and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
As they were talking about these things,
Jesus himself stood among them and said to them,
Peace to you.
But they were startled and frightened and thought that they saw a spirit.
And he said to them,
Why are you troubled?
And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
See my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself.
Touch me and see,
for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.
And when he had said this,
he showed them his hands and his feet.
And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling,
he said to them,
Have you anything here to eat?
They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
and he took it and ate before them.
Then he said to them,
These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you,
that everything written about me in the Lord of Moses
and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures
and said to them,
Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer
and on the third day rise from the dead,
and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins
should be proclaimed in his name to all nations,
beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things,
and behold,
I am sending the promise of my Father appoint you,
but stay in the city
until you are clothed with power from on high.
And he led them out as far as Bethany,
and lifting up his hands, he blessed them.
While he blessed them,
he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
And they worshipped him
and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
and were continually in the temple blessing God.
Let us believe and respond to God's true and living word.
Great. Thanks, Colin and Kristen.
Well, once again, good morning.
Great to see you here.
If you are visiting for the first time,
my name is Kevin,
and it's a joy to be with you this morning.
Now, each year,
billions and billions of dollars around the world,
which legally belong to individuals,
such as you and I,
go unclaimed and unaccounted for.
Stocks, dividends,
mutual funds purchased decades ago,
long forgotten about,
insurance payouts,
which beneficiaries never knew existed,
contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes,
which are so safe,
they're still in there,
even payroll checks that were from former employees,
employers that were never collected.
Sometimes a loved one dies,
and they've got a life insurance policy,
but their loved ones never know about it.
And so they never collect the insurance policy,
meaning significant sums of money
that the person wanted their loved ones to have
on their passing,
go uncollected and accounted for.
Friends, I wonder how you would feel
if one day you're on your deathbed,
you've got a few hours left to live,
and someone comes here and says,
don't you know those tens,
even hundreds of millions of dollars
that belong to you?
You haven't claimed them?
You haven't collected them?
They're all going to waste.
What a pity it would be
if you never claimed,
never enjoyed all that was rightfully yours.
Well, in order to enjoy the benefits
that are rightly ours,
we need to clearly and thoroughly understand
what it is that has been given to us,
what it is that we have,
what it is that we are entitled to.
Now this morning,
we're looking at Luke's gospel, Luke 24,
and we're going to see a glimpse
of just what it is
that Christ has accomplished for us
through his death and resurrection.
If you've got a Bible, keep it open.
We're going to look at a couple of verses.
We're going to be looking at that
over the next half an hour or so.
But this weekend is obviously Easter weekend.
It is the high point of the Christian life,
the Christian calendar.
I hope that many of you were able
to join us this weekend
at the journey of the cross
as we went through this hall
and followed Jesus on his journey
from Gethsemane to the tomb.
But of course,
the Easter story doesn't end on the cross.
It doesn't even end in Joseph's tomb.
The Easter story continues
through Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday
when the disciples encounter
the risen, resurrected Christ.
And that's what we're going to look at today.
Now if you were paying attention
during the reading,
you'll notice that Luke here
gives three accounts
of very ordinary people
that encounter the risen Christ.
Three different stories of these people.
And these accounts are all similar
and different in some ways.
I don't know if you have ever seen
a piece of artwork
made up of three panels.
There we go, something like that.
It's called a triptych, I think,
is the technical word.
It's one piece of artwork
made of three panels.
And each art piece
is not exactly the same as the others,
but there's a continuation.
There's a story that's told
as you put them together.
And the meaning of the art
is found in both the similarities
and the differences.
As you look at each individual piece,
it tells you something.
But as you look at the piece together,
it tells you a much fuller story.
Luke's description of the resurrection
is something like this.
He gives us three accounts
of people encountering the risen Jesus,
which each speak to us individually,
but also together as a whole.
So let's take a look at them.
So the first story is this.
The first one happens early in the morning.
John's gospel tells us
this happened while it was still dark.
Mary Magdalene and some other ladies
go towards the tomb with spices
that they'd prepared
to freshly anoint the body.
But to their great surprise,
upon arriving at the tomb,
they discover the stone
has been rolled away.
The tomb is empty.
And while they're wondering
what's going on,
they're probably assuming
that either robbers have come in
during the night
or maybe the authorities
have stolen the body
and hid in it.
Jesus was a controversial figure.
While they're wondering
and trying to make sense of this,
two angels appear
and say to them,
why do you seek the living
in the place of the dead?
He is not here.
He has risen,
just as he told you.
And these ladies
discover the empty tomb.
Now, you may be new to church.
You may be new to Christianity.
And you may be saying,
come on, come on, come on.
Dead people don't rise.
Who do you take me to be?
Am I a fool?
Maybe you're a scientist.
Maybe you say,
listen, this is the 21st century.
We know these things, right?
But isn't that exactly the point?
Just like you and me,
these women went to the tomb
not expecting it to be empty,
not expecting not to find a body.
They went there knowing
that dead bodies don't rise.
They went there expecting
to find the tomb sealed,
Jesus behind the tomb,
and dead as he was on Friday.
N.T. Wright,
the famous theologian academic,
said ancient people knew perfectly well
that dead people don't rise.
We don't need modern science
to tell us that.
And that's exactly true, right?
Despite everything
that Jesus had said to them,
they were expecting a tomb
that was sealed in the body
behind the stone.
They were no more expecting
an empty tomb
than you and I would expect
to come home
from our grandmother's funeral,
to walk into the living room,
and there she is,
sitting, eating dim sum, right?
That's what they were expecting,
a tomb
with a stone rolled over,
Jesus behind there.
The other gospel writers
tell us
that the tomb
was sealed,
shut.
There were guards
put in place
to make sure
that no robbers
could steal the body,
and the disciples
couldn't come
and take the body
and claim that he was risen.
And yet,
despite that,
every precaution
was taken
to make sure
the body of Jesus
remained in place.
And yet,
these first eyewitnesses,
against their own intuition,
against everything
they knew
about life and death,
came to see
that the once sealed,
heavily guarded tomb
was empty.
Now,
some people might say,
yeah,
but, you know,
the disciples,
they were obviously
intellectually
or emotionally biased.
I mean,
they were looking
for a resurrection.
And so,
they confused
the hallucinations
with visions.
And they confused
these visions
thinking they saw
the real Jesus.
They thought
this was appearances
of Jesus.
But friends,
can't you see
the whole point
the historical writers
are making
is just how much
these first witnesses
were not expecting
to find Jesus.
They weren't biased at all.
They weren't looking
for a risen Christ.
They were looking
for a dead body.
And yet,
despite everything
that they should have known,
what they saw
was the empty tomb
and were reminded
of what Jesus said.
Okay,
first story.
Second story,
what happens?
Now it's mid-afternoon.
Sunday afternoon,
three days after,
Jesus has been crucified.
It's Sunday afternoon.
Here we have two disciples.
One of them is a man
called Cleopas.
The other one,
we don't know their name.
And they're walking
the 11 kilometer journey
from Jerusalem
to a town called Emmaus.
And along the way,
Jesus himself
comes and walks
alongside them.
And he hears them talking
and Jesus plays the fool.
He plays ignorant.
And he says,
hey,
what are you guys
talking about?
And they say,
where have you been?
Don't you know?
Jesus of Nazareth.
The one that we had
high expectations for.
He's been killed.
The authorities killed him.
And they say,
don't you know
what's been going on
in Jerusalem?
And sorry,
Jesus says,
no, no,
what's been going on?
Tell me.
And they tell him
about himself.
They say,
you know,
Jesus,
the one we had hoped
would save Israel,
rescue Israel.
And Jesus plays along
for a little while
and then Jesus says,
but isn't that what
the Old Testament
scriptures said
was to happen?
And starting with
the Old Testament,
Jesus goes through
all the Old Testament
and shows them,
reveals to them
how the Messiah
has to die in judgment
for the sin of his people.
Rise again in vindication.
And then they stop
for an early dinner
and as they are
breaking bread,
suddenly their eyes
are opened
and they realize
who it is
that's in front of them
and Jesus is no longer there.
And what do they say?
They say,
did not our hearts
burn within us
while he talked to us
on the road
and opened the scriptures?
Here they encountered Jesus
in such a profound way.
It wasn't just intellectually.
It wasn't just like,
oh wow,
okay,
I guess let's just
connect the dots.
It wasn't just emotionally.
They didn't have
an emotional reaction.
There's something
so profoundly deep
within them
that the deepest longings,
the deepest yearnings,
the deepest hopes
of their hearts
were being engaged
as they realized
Jesus is not dead.
He's alive.
And the point here
is that these disciples,
they didn't see
the empty tomb.
For them,
they encountered
the risen Jesus.
How?
In the scriptures
and in the sacraments
as they connected the dots
and saw that Jesus was alive.
How about the third story?
Well, the third story,
it's now evening time.
So we've had morning,
we've had afternoon.
It's now the evening.
And Jesus appears again
amongst the rest
of his disciples
in the house
where they're staying.
And they not only see him,
but they touch him.
Jesus says,
feel my hands,
look at my feet,
where the,
he says,
touch me and see.
Look,
a spirit doesn't have
these things.
And the point here
is that Jesus appears
to them in physical,
bodily form.
This is not a spirit.
This is not,
Jesus just rose
in their hearts
philosophically.
Jesus didn't appear
from another world
and send them a message
from another world.
Jesus physically,
bodily appeared
in their midst
and showed them
that he had risen
from the dead.
And he eats with them
and he speaks with them
and he communes with them
and he reveals himself
to them.
Okay,
so there's three
different stories.
Now,
what's the point
of all this?
Why is Luke
telling us these stories?
Why didn't Luke
just give us one story?
Luke is building a case here.
Luke is like a good lawyer,
a good barrister,
right?
And he's building
an argument
and he's getting
all his witnesses
in place.
Imagine here in Hong Kong
there's a motor car
accident somewhere,
right?
And somebody
is tragically killed.
And the prosecutors,
the DOJ,
they want to prosecute
the driver
for maybe manslaughter
or reckless driving.
And so they're building
their case
and they get
all their witnesses
and they find a lady
who was on the side
of the road
and witnessed the accident.
And then they see
there's a residential block
across the road
and there's a guard
that stays in the guardhouse
and he witnessed everything.
And then they find
the car driving behind
and they've got
a dashboard camera
and the camera
witnessed everything
and they get
their three witnesses
all from different angles
and they say,
tell us your story.
What did you see?
And the witnesses
all tell the same story
but from a different angle.
Oh, I saw this happen.
I saw this happen.
It's the same story.
Luke here is like a barrister.
He's building his case
and each narrative
tells us the same story
from a different angle.
The woman discover
an empty tomb.
The stone is rolled away.
There's nobody inside
and they get a message
saying this is the place
of the dead.
Why are you looking
for living people here?
The disciples
on the road to Emmaus,
they encounter Jesus
but they don't recognize him.
They encounter Jesus
in the scriptures
and in the sacraments.
As Jesus opens
the scriptures
and breaks bread
and they recognize
Jesus is with us.
And then the other,
the 11 apostles
and the others with him,
they see Jesus physically.
They touch him.
They hold him.
They look at the marks
in his hands.
And Luke is saying,
look at all the witnesses.
But each time
the case is building
and the evidence
is getting more
and more substantial.
So the two women,
they go to the tomb
but they don't actually
see Jesus.
They just see the tomb
is empty
and they hear angels.
It's not the most
compelling evidence.
But then,
the two disciples,
they actually see Jesus
and they've got
a thousand years
of testimony
and witness
and oh,
it makes sense.
And then finally,
the 11 apostles,
these are God's
authorized disciples
that are going to go out.
They actually physically
see Jesus
and touch him.
The case is building,
building, building.
And Luke's point here is,
it's real.
It's not what any
of the disciples expected.
It's not what they
were looking for.
No one had the bias
that Jesus is going
to rise again
and yet it happened.
It's true.
It's real.
Jesus really rose.
Except,
Luke is saying
more than that,
isn't he?
You see,
in Luke's gospel,
Luke's account
of the death
of Christ
is different
from all the other gospels.
In fact,
each gospel
has its own emphasis.
And Luke pulls out
things that the other
writers don't pull out.
And so,
look at one or two
of them with me.
One of the things,
in the build-up
to the crucifixion,
Luke makes the point
that there is kind
of demonic,
satanic activity
that's kind of
brooding around here.
Three times
in Luke chapter 22,
Jesus references
Satan,
or Luke references
the work of Satan.
Look at verse 3.
He says,
Satan entered Judas,
called Iscariot,
and he went
and conferred
with the chief priest
how he might
betray him.
Verse 31,
Jesus says,
Simon, Simon,
Satan has demanded
to have you
that he might
sift you like weak,
but I have prayed
for you that your faith
may not fail.
And then when
Jesus arrests
in Gethsemane,
he says,
this is now the hour,
the power of darkness.
And there's the sense
that the forces of evil
are like a kettle
of velchers.
They're kind of circling
or a pack of hyenas.
They're smelling something
and they're brooding,
they're moving in.
There's evil
that's brooding
around the scene here,
right?
But there's something else
Luke also says
in his Passion account.
Luke makes the point
of the innocence of Jesus.
The innocence of Jesus.
Three times during
the trial of Jesus,
Pontius Pilate says,
I find no guilt
in this man.
There's nothing in here
that makes him
worthy of dying.
And Pilate sends
him away to Herod
and Herod sends him back
saying,
I can find no guilt
in him worthy of death.
Even, I mean,
remember,
Herod didn't really
love Jesus, right?
Herod wasn't a good man.
But Herod says,
there's nothing in him
deserving of death.
And then even while
Jesus is dying
on the cross,
the centurions,
the Roman soldiers
whose job it is
to make sure
that he's dead
and justice is served,
the centurion says,
surely this man
was innocent.
And Luke is building
the case here
that everybody
who had eyes to see
could see that
this was a
travesty of justice.
Jesus was an
innocent man
that did not
deserve to die.
The authorities
can tell,
the centurions
can tell,
everybody knows
Jesus was an
innocent man.
And you get the sense
that for the disciples,
part of their confusion,
part of their despair,
part of their hopelessness,
is these two things
coming together.
The sense of
this evil forces
that are brooding
and the injustice
that's going on,
it feels like,
well, where is hope?
Is there any hope
in the world?
When you've got
these two things
going on,
the sense is that
maybe Jesus
was a victim
of a terrible plot.
That the forces
of evil
and the forces
of hell
and the injustice
of man,
these things
destroyed Jesus.
And Jesus
was a victim
of a travesty
of justice.
I wonder if that's
what Luke's
first readers
were feeling.
As they read
at the end
of chapter 23,
they just think,
what hope is there
in the world?
When you've got
such evil in the world
and such evil men
doing these things,
what hope is there
for any of us?
But friends,
don't you see?
Luke wants to tell us
that is exactly
not what is happening.
Jesus' death
on the cross
was not the result
of evil forces
and not the result
primarily of the
injustice of man.
This was the purpose
and the plan
of God.
This was God's doing.
This is what God
had always planned
would happen.
The excruciating death
of the Lord Jesus
was not because
of evil forces
in the world,
not the cowardness
of Pontius Pilate,
not the jealousy
of the Jewish people,
not the treachery
of Judas Iscariot.
In spite of all them,
this was the
predetermined plan
and the purpose
of the triune God,
the sovereign God
of Father,
Son,
and Spirit
that He would send
His Son into the world
to die on the cross
for the sins
of all those
who would believe in Him.
to take upon Himself
the sin of humanity
and rise again
on the third day
as confirmation
that His atonement
offering was accepted.
And that's why
all three of these stories,
all three panels,
make the case
that this is what
was written about
and spoken about
hundreds of years before.
If you've got your Bible,
look at the first panel.
Look at verse 5.
The angels said to the woman,
Why do you seek
the living amongst the dead?
He is not here.
He has risen.
Remember how He told you
while He was still
with you in Galilee,
the Son of Man
must be delivered
into the hands
of sinful men
and be crucified
on the third day.
The angels tell the woman,
Why are you surprised?
Jesus said this
was going to happen.
Look at the second panel.
Look at verse 25.
Jesus said to them,
Oh foolish ones,
how slow of heart
you are to believe
all that the prophets
have spoken.
Was it not necessary
that Christ should suffer
and then enter into His glory?
And beginning with Moses
and the prophets,
He interpreted to them
all the scriptures
the things concerning Himself.
Look at the third panel,
verse 44.
Jesus said to the disciples,
These are my words
that I spoke to you
while I was still with you,
that everything written
about me
and the law
and the prophets
and the Psalms
must be fulfilled.
Then He opened their eyes
to understand.
And He said to them,
It is written,
the Christ will suffer
and on the third day
rise from the dead
that the repentance
for the forgiveness of sins
should be proclaimed
to all nations.
Friends,
this is what God's word
said would always happen.
This is what the entire
Old Testament is about.
This is what Isaiah said
700 years before
that the suffering servant
would give his life
as an offering for sin,
a guilt offering,
and rise again
and be vindicated
and live forever.
This is what Hosea the prophet
said 800 years before.
He said that God
would ransom His servant
from the power of the grave,
redeem him from death.
This is what King David
spoke about,
Israel's greatest king,
that he,
the sinless one,
would defeat death
and the grave
and live at God's right hand
and experience the pleasure
of God forever and ever.
Friends,
this is what the whole Bible
is about
because this is what
Christianity is about.
It is written
that the Christ
will suffer
and rise again.
Why?
Verse 47,
so that the repentance
for the forgiveness
of sins
may be proclaimed
in His name
to all people.
Friends,
this is what Easter is about.
Jesus went to the cross,
suffered,
mocked,
beaten,
crucified,
killed,
rose again.
That repentance of sins,
that hope in this life
and in the world to come
can be proclaimed
for everyone.
Later in 1 Corinthians 15,
if Christ has not been raised,
then our message,
the gospel,
the message of Christianity
is in vain.
Then all of our faith
is in vain
and we are still dead
in our sins.
If in Christ
we have hope
in this life only,
we are of all people
most to be pitied.
But in fact,
Christ has been raised
from the dead
and therein lies our hope.
Friends,
in verse 1 of Luke 24,
Luke writes this.
He says,
Now it was the first day
of the week.
Friends,
but don't you see,
it wasn't just the first day
of the week.
It was the first day
of a whole new world,
a world in which hope
was being restored,
in which death
and despair
and hopelessness
and fear
was passing away.
Now,
what does this mean
for us today?
How does this help us today?
Well,
look at these three stories
once again
and what do you notice
about the people in them?
What happens
to the people?
In all three of them,
they undergo a profound change,
don't they?
And look at how Luke
describes them
before they encounter
the risen Jesus.
In verse 4,
they are perplexed
and confused.
In verse 5,
they are frightened
and alarmed.
In verse 11,
they are cynical
and disbelieving.
In verse 17,
they are downcast
and sad.
In verse 21,
they are despondent
and confused.
In verse 38,
they are troubled,
doubtful,
and fearful.
Here are a group
of people you could say
they are not flourishing.
They are experiencing
deep mental ill health,
emotional ill health.
And yet,
each one of them
go through
a profound transformation.
Look at how it ends.
Look at verse 52.
And they worshipped him
and returned to Jerusalem
with great joy
and were continually
in the temple
praising God.
Here are confused,
despondent,
troubled men and women
who are so deeply
and powerfully transformed.
They are barely recognizable.
And this wasn't just
a momentary transformation.
As you read the book of Acts,
Luke's sequel to his gospel,
you discover
this is a deep transformation
that goes on.
Many of them
will go to their graves
like this.
Do you remember
what the religious leaders
say about these disciples
in Acts chapter 4?
They are joyful.
They are threatened.
They'll say,
if you don't shut up,
we're going to kill you.
And they say,
okay, fine.
We'll just keep on preaching.
And they say,
they recognized
these as uneducated men
that had been with Jesus.
Friends,
they encountered
the risen Lord
and that changed them.
What accounts for this change
that takes place in them?
They had encountered
the risen Christ
and suddenly it all makes sense.
Jesus' death
wasn't an accident.
this was God's plan
to rescue humanity
from the dire
and hopeless situation
from which we could not
save ourselves.
Only a risen Christ
who conquered the grave
can defeat the tyranny
of death,
Satan,
and hell.
Only a risen Christ
could bring about
the promised new hope,
the new world,
the new creation
the prophets
had spoken about
and longed for.
Friends,
in seeing the risen Christ,
they understand
that Jesus is God
who is sovereign
and majestic
and worthy of worship
and the one who gives hope
to the hopeless.
Now, friends,
what does this mean
for you and I?
Well,
I hope you can see
Luke is not just
telling us something.
Luke is asking us
a question.
In fact,
he's asking us
two questions.
Luke is asking us
two very important questions
and I want you to think
about these questions.
The first one is this.
Luke is asking,
based on the evidence
of your life,
looking at your hope,
your joy,
your certainty,
your conviction,
your worship,
what does that tell you
about your belief
in the risen Christ?
Friends,
have you encountered
the living Lord Jesus?
Do you really believe
in the risen Lord Jesus?
Now,
you may say,
yes,
of course I believe.
I've always believed.
I was baptized as an infant.
I've believed all my life.
But do you really?
How would you know
if your belief is genuine
or just wishful thinking?
How would you know
if your faith is genuine
saving faith
or just religious superstition?
Cultural Christianity?
Just religious wishful thinking?
Friends,
can you see what Luke
is saying here?
Those who encounter
the risen Lord Jesus Christ,
their lives are different.
Their hope is different.
Their joy is different.
Their purpose is different.
Their disposition is different.
Their entire ambition
and character is different.
Remember,
Luke is a physician.
He's a doctor here.
Like a good doctor,
he's examining us.
He's probing.
He's pressing.
He's examining the condition
of our faith
and he's asking the question,
you say you have faith
in the risen Lord,
where's the evidence?
Where's the changed life?
When risen Christ
comes into our lives,
he does not leave us the same.
Here's the second question
Luke wants to ask us.
If what the scriptures
said about the coming Messiah,
about his death
and his resurrection
proved true,
what are you doing
about the rest
of the scriptures?
You see,
the Bible
in its entirety
and its totality
is God's word.
Jesus said
the scriptures
cannot be broken.
It's not just that
one or two pages
proved true.
Every single page,
every promise
of scripture
from thousands
of years ago
right through today
is proved true.
And if what Jesus said,
if the scriptures said
about Jesus' death
and resurrection
on the third day
proved true
against everybody's
expectation,
friends,
what it means
is that everything else
from the scriptures
is true.
And so what are you
doing about it?
What are you doing
with the parts
that speak about
his atoning sacrifice,
the fact that he died
in your place
as a guilt offering
for your sin
that you might be
cleansed and justified
and made new?
Friends,
what are you doing
with the scriptures
that speaks about
your need for faith
and repentance?
What are you doing
with the scriptures
that say that Jesus
is Lord over all
and has authority
over every human being?
What are you doing
with the scriptures
that speak about
his imminent return
to judge the living
and the dead?
You see,
if Jesus proved
the scriptures
foretelling his death
and resurrection are true,
it means everything
is true.
Well, friends,
you may say,
well, okay,
that's good,
but how does that
help me with my job
this week?
How does that help
me find a job
or with my aging parents
or find a spouse
or the difficulties
in life?
Friends,
not everything in life
will be solved
in this world.
Jesus never promised us
that follow him
and everything
will go your way.
In fact,
Jesus said
that in this world
you will have trouble,
you will have difficulty,
you will have hardship
and tears and pain,
but take heart,
I have overcome the world.
And how do you know
that's true?
Because he overcame
the grave.
And so, friends,
when work is hard
and difficult
and you feel all alone,
take heart,
Jesus has overcome.
And, friends,
when your parents
are old and aging
and getting sick
and it's hard
to take care for them
and you feel exhausted
and worn down,
take heart,
Jesus has overcome.
And, friends,
when work is hard
and money is tight
and parenting is difficulty
and you've come
to the end of yourself,
take heart,
Jesus has overcome.
Friends,
the grave is empty,
the resurrection is true,
new hope abounds.
Friends,
what happens
if on your deathbed
one day
someone told you
that you had tens
of millions of dollars
that was just waiting
for you
and you never appropriated it,
never took hold of it,
never used it,
what a pity that would be.
But, friends,
what happens
if one day
the risen Lord Jesus Christ
looks you in the eye
and he says,
I died and I rose again
to give you new hope,
new life,
new joy
in this world
and forever
and you never took hold of it,
never appropriated it,
never made it your own,
that would be a disaster.
And so as we come to a close,
let me remind you
of the words
we sang a little earlier.
Though the sun
had ceased its shining,
though the war
appeared as lost,
Christ has triumphed
over evil,
it was finished
upon the cross.
Death was once
our great opponent,
fear once had a hold
of me
and of you.
But the sun
who died
to save us
rose that we
would be free indeed.
Yes,
he rose
that we
would be free indeed.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus,
we pray to you
because you are
not a philosophy,
you are not
an idea,
you are not
a concept,
you are alive.
And God,
seated in the throne
of heaven,
you hear our prayers.
You hear the smallest
prayers,
you hear the prayers
prayed with mixed
motives,
you hear even
the most insipid
and weakest
of prayers.
You come,
you respond
to our faith.
Jesus,
thank you for
conquering the grave.
Thank you for
rising again.
Thank you that
the first day
of the week
is also the first
day of a whole
new world,
a world in which
we get to
participate
simply through
faith and repentance.
Christ,
come and be alive
in our hearts,
we pray.
Come and make
yourself real to us.
Come and change
our lives.
God,
for those of us
that are weighed
down with despair
and despondency,
God,
come and open
the eyes of our
heart to see
the new hope
to which you've
given us.
In your great
and wonderful name
I pray.
Amen.