He Is Alive! Series

AT THE MOVIES 2020:

“He is Alive”

Luke 24:13-32

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR UPCOMING SUNDAYS POST-COVID19

INTRODUCTION

The film that we will see a clip from today was released on June 11, 1982. This Steven Spielberg film became an absolute blockbuster being the highest grossing film of all time… a record it held until 1993 when Jurassic Park came out… also a Steven Spielberg film. I remember seeing this movie in the theaters with my mom. We are talking about ET.

Elliot is your normal boy until one day he meets a little lost alien. ET’s spaceship visited Earth and took off without him. Elliot decides to keep the alien a secret in his home and gives him the name ET. Elliot hides ET from his family and from a military team intent on capturing him. As Elliot works with ET to find him a way to get back home, he must make the difficult sacrifice: whether to help his new friend or to lose him? When ET is finally seized by the science-military types, a team of scientists sets up a lab to study him. In short order ET’s health declines and he dies on the table. Elliot is given a chance to say his last goodbye.

Let’s watch this clip.

SHOW PURCHASED VIDEO CLIP FROM WINGCLIPS

https://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/et/he-is-alive

WINGCLIPS

Here we are watching the very moment that ET resurrected. Now imagine moving forward in time. Imagine Elliot's grandkids have grandkids who have grandkids, and so forth, and the story of this resurrection is continually told to each generation. And eventually, while some of the current generation believe the tale, many have simply stopped caring.

After some time, even the ones who believe only gather once a year for a special resurrection remembrance, but the occasion is relatively somber. People sing and dress up and the stage is set with beautiful floral decorations, but the audience is somewhat subdued usually. No one is jumping up and down shouting "He's alive!" like Elliot does to his brother in this clip.

That excitement has faded.

Now a gentle man comes out, smiles, and says, "He is risen", and the congregation repeats back to him "He is risen, indeed." They have been repeating this message every year for 2000 years, and for some people each year the tradition feels less enthusiastic.

This clip takes us to the very moment when someone who was dead miraculously came back to life. This clip challenges us to feel the wonder and shock at what this must have meant to Elliot. This clip opens our eyes to what must have happened when Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after His resurrection.

I happen to think this clip asks us why we are not as excited as Elliot to discover that our hero is indeed the God He claimed to be. He has conquered death and has promised to bring each one of us who believe through death into eternity with Him.

"He's alive!"

"He's alive!"

"He's alive!"

I’d like us to read today from Luke 24 which is a passage right after Jesus Christ rises from the dead. That is our topic today… not ET or movies… but Jesus of Nazareth rising from the dead! Let’s read from Luke 24:13-32 this morning. I am going to read from the MSG version… I was reading and re-reading the passage this week in different English translations and the MSG struck me so I will be reading from that this morning. Feel free to follow along in any version you have with you.

READ LUKE 24:13-32 (MSG)

That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who He was. 17–18 He asked, “What’s this you’re discussing so intently as you walk along?” They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are You the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?” 19–24 He said, “What has happened?” They said, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed Him, got Him sentenced to death, and crucified Him. And we had our hopes up that He was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn’t find His body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn’t see Jesus.” 25–27 Then He said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into His glory?” Then He started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to Him. 28–31 They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if He were going on but they pressed Him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So He went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, He blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized Him. And then He disappeared. 32 Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as He conversed with us on the road, as He opened up the Scriptures for us?”