Let’s open our Bibles this morning to Luke 24.
A Sunday School teacher had just finished telling her third graders about how Jesus was crucified and placed in a tomb with a great stone sealing the opening. Then, wanting to share the excitement of the resurrection, she asked: "And what do you think were Jesus’ first words when He came bursting out of that tomb alive?" A hand shot up into the air from the rear of the classroom. Attached to it was the arm of a little girl. Leaping out of her chair she shouted out excitedly "I know, I know!" "Good" said the teacher, "Tell us, what were Jesus first words." And Extending her arms high into the air she said: "TA-DA!"
I’m pretty sure those were not the first words of Jesus, but I do know He has risen from the dead. In fact, Lionel Luckoo is in the Guinness book of world records as the most successful trial lawyer with 245 successful murder defenses in a row! At 63 he decided to put his great analytical skills to the claim that Jesus rose from the dead!
He wrote “I have spent over 42 years as a defense trial lawyer, and I say unequivocally the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels us to accept it, by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt.”
You see, if people were not inherently biased against the resurrection, and if they open-mindedly examined the evidence for it, they would have to accept and believe it. There is too much historically verifiable evidence from too many sources to deny it.
In fact, if we were holding a trial to determine the facts concerning the resurrection, and if we were to call to the witness stand every witness who personally encountered the resurrected Jesus and we cross-examined them for only 15 minutes, and if we went around the clock without a break…we would be listening to first-hand testimony for more than 128 hours…that’s over 5 days worth of testimony…who could possibly walk away unconvinced?
You see, the resurrection story is historical fact, it is believable. You can believe that Jesus really did die on the cross for your sins. You can believe that He rose from the dead. You can believe in the appearances Jesus made afterwards. And just as important, you can believe that the living Christ will come to you in your dark moments and brighten them with His presence, that He will come to you in your times of discouragement and will comfort you, and that He will come to you on your death bed and usher you into life. Because He lives, we will always live.
Let’s read Luke 24 together, beginning at verse 13:
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" 19 "What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 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. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see." 25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. 28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29 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. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 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?" 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. Luke 24:13-35
Now I want to look at this passage with you this morning under three headings: The Walk, The Word, The Witness
The Walk: Well needless to say, this was a walk of discouragement. Verse 17 summarizes it all: “they stood still, their faces downcast.” What horrible disappointment they felt when Jesus died. What terrible disillusionment. I mean the disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus. They’d given up their businesses, their families, their very lives; they’d given up all, and now they had nothing.
He was their hope, the Promised Messiah, the great Deliverer who would rescue them from Roman rule, free them from subjection to this harsh nation. Much like Moses, who delivered the Israelites from slavery to Egypt, they had pinned all their hopes for freedom on this one Man, and now their hope lie dead in a borrowed tomb. The Bible says “Hope deferred makes the heart sick”, and they are absolutely heart sick right now.
Jesus had said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father but by me” and so they came through Him, and now look where they were. The way was blocked, the truth turned out to be a lie, and the Life was now dead. They had no hope, no future now. So they’re walking back to their hometown, dejected, faces downcast with sick hearts.
This was the walk: The walk of sadness, the walk of disillusionment, the walk of lost hope, broken dreams and stolen futures. Jesus is dead, and so is their future.
Have you ever been there? Can you recall a time when hope died, when there was no future, where discouragement was your constant companion? One time in a church setting the pastor asked if anyone had any testimony to share about the faithfulness of God. Mr. John who was 80 years old, with head of white hair and dark black skin, stood up and said with as much strength as he had: “at 30 I lost my job with six hungry mouths and a wife to feed. I didn’t know how I would make it. At 40 my oldest son was killed overseas in the war. It knocked me down. At 52 my house burned to the ground. Nothing was saved out of the house. At 60 my wife of 40 years got cancer. It slowly ate away at her. We cried together many a night on our knees in prayer. At 65 she died. I miss her. The agony I went through in each of these situations was unbelievable. I wondered where God was.” I will finish his story in just a minute, but if you have not had experiences like this, you will have. This is a normal part of life. Life is filled with dashed hopes, broken promises, and ruined dreams. These disciples on the road to Emmaus had lost it all when Jesus died, no wonder their faces were downcast. That’s the walk.
But then comes “the Word.” Verse 15 says “…Jesus himself came up and walked along with them.” Now wait a minute, Jesus was supposed to be dead. He died 3 days earlier, He was confirmed dead by the fact that a soldier pierced His heart and out came blood and water, confirmation that He was dead. And then He had been buried in a tomb for 3 days. Yes, but notice the story in the first part of this chapter:
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ’The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’" 8 Then they remembered his words. Luke 24:1-8
So imagine this scene. Very early in the morning, the first rays of the sun are peeking over the horizon, the ladies are sad, they miss Jesus, and they are going to put spices on the dead body, kind of like an ancient form of embalming. But when they get there they are in for the shock of their lives. The stone is rolled away, the tomb is completely empty, and 2 angels say “why are you looking for the living among the dead? Why you looking for Christ in a tomb? Why are you looking in the ground for He who is the resurrection and the life? He is not here, He has risen. Ladies, don’t you remember His words? He said, I’m going to be crucified and on the 3rd day be raised again.” Can’t you imagine their joy? And all they want to do is go tell somebody. And on the way back, maybe one of them says, “He is risen”, and the other one says, “He is risen indeed.” And the first one bursts out into song, maybe she sings “He is Lord”…and the other one joins in, “He is Lord”…and they both sing together “He has risen from the dead and He is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
And later that same day, here comes the risen Lord to these men on the road to Emmaus. And you have to know that whenever Jesus comes into a situation He is going to fix things. There was a multitude of hungry people, Jesus fed them. There was a group of sick people, Jesus healed them. There was a dead person, Jesus raised him. When Jesus comes, funerals are turned into parties. And here are people who are heart sick, and this great Physician is going to heal their hearts and make them burn with love for Him.
And look how He does it. He takes them to the Bible. The Living Word takes them to the written Word. The Living Bible opens up the written Bible. Look at verse 25: 25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself."
He says, “guys, I know you have read your Bibles, but why don’t you believe what it says?” You want to know why these disciples were all downcast, discouraged and depressed? It can all be traced back to the fact that they did not believe what was written. They didn’t have a living faith that latched onto the truth of God’s Word. They didn’t understand things in their time because they didn’t believe God’s Word.
How many of us have lived our lives, not understanding the times in which we live, not being able to make sense of our situations, all because at the time we had no living faith in God that comes through His Word? This world is in desperate need of people who can make sense of the times, who can see what is going on and have perspective and understanding.
Jesus took them back to the Old Testament, He started with Moses, and showed them why they should have known He was going to rise from the dead. Maybe He took them to the very first story in all the Bible, and showed them right from Genesis chapter 1 that the earth was empty, covered in darkness and buried in water. And then on the 3rd day the waters were separated, and up comes the earth, bursting out of the waters in resurrection form. On the first 3rd day there ever was, there was a resurrection. Maybe Jesus said, “remember when I was on the cross I had emptied myself, I was covered in darkness and then buried in the tomb? Well just from Genesis chapter 1 you could have anticipated life on the 3rd day.
And then maybe He went to Genesis chapter 22 and said, “Hey guys, remember when Abraham was to offer up his son as a sacrifice? Remember when the father put the wood on his son, and the son carried the wood up the hill? By the way, how many days was the son under the death sentence, how long was the journey?” “Um, 3 days, Jesus.” That’s right, and remember how the father received his son back, as from the dead, on the 3rd day?” “Oh, I see, there is a pattern of life on the 3rd day, we should have seen that.”
And maybe He just read to them portions of Isaiah 53:
5He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgression of my people.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death. (And then I can picture Him pausing, and with a twinkle in His eye reading the rest of it) “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied.”
I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to Hosea chapter 6. Maybe this is another place Jesus took them. In Hosea 6 the nation of Israel is associated with the Messiah. Let’s look at the first two verses of Hosea chapter 6, and watch Hosea inviting the nation of Israel to turn back to the Lord:
1 "Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Hosea 6:1-2
See this chapter associates the nation of Israel with the Messiah Himself. So look at Jesus there on the cross, He has literally been torn to pieces. God above has shot Him full of the arrows of His wrath, Satan below has tormented and buffeted Him, evil men have banded together against Him; they have beat Him, mocked Him, shamed Him and crucified Him. He was torn to pieces, He was injured and wounded, and then He dies. But that is not the end of the story. Something would happen “after two days.” “On the third day” there would come life. This passage tells us that He was torn to pieces, injured, wounded, and then died for our sins to forgive us, and rose again “that we may live in His presence.”
We can picture Jesus showing this to the disciples and saying, “guys, how many days have passed since the crucifixion?” They already knew, according to verse 21, they said, “it is the third day since all this took place”. And He would say, “well according to Hosea, what was supposed to happen on the third day?” Restoration, and life, and living in His presence. Why are you so slow to believe?
Let me tell you, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was prophesied all over the Old Testament. Some people think Christians have a “blind” faith, you know, a faith that believes when there is no evidence. Nothing could be further from the truth. Listen to me, if you are here this morning and you don’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, then you must also not believe that a man by the name of Abraham Lincoln ever existed, because there is more evidence for the resurrection of Jesus than there is that honest Abe ever lived.
Listen, the Living Word came to them in their discouragement and renewed their hope. He came to them in their time of need, met with them, walked with them, talked with them, and by the time their meeting was over, they were brimming with hope. And this very thing is what we need to be taught to look for. When you are downcast, discouraged, disheartened, look for Him to come to you, watch for Him, He will come.
Let me finish the story of Mr. John. Remember the old man who stood up and told of all his heartaches and disappointments throughout his life? He goes on to say this, “but in each of these situations I met God in a new way. When I lost my job and wondered how I would feed my children, He came to me one night in my study, while I was on my knees, and assured me He would care for me. And when I lost my son God met me at the graveside and held me in His arms, reminding me that He gave up His only Son to die so that mine could live. When my house burned to the ground, and I found myself in despair, the living Christ visited me and told me that He would have been there sooner but He was preparing a place for a me, and reminded me to look to the city that has foundations. And when I lost my wife Jesus came to me one night after I had laid down, wiped away my tears, and said, ‘she who believes in me, though she were dead, yet shall she live.”
That’s the Word. That’s the living word. Always coming to His people in their time of need. So I can say this to you this morning, you will never have a time so discouraging that Jesus won’t come and be with you. In your darkest hour the Light will come. And even as you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you don’t need to fear a thing, because Jesus rose from dead and He will be with you. That’s the Word. And that’s what the world wants to see from the church. That in their darkest hour they have a presence and power that is out of this world. That Jesus is alive and comes to people today, just like He did back then. Therefore, because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
The walk, the Word, and then the Witness, look at verse 33:
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
They told their experience with the Living Christ. They didn’t need a class on how to witness, they were witnesses to the resurrection. Listen, Christianity is filled with people who believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. But we are not asked as much to believe in the doctrine of the resurrection, as we are to meet this Person raised from the dead. The church should be made up of people who have seen Jesus, who have encountered Him, who have spoken with Him and heard from Him. By faith we go from believing the doctrine of the resurrection, to spending time with Him who was raised from the dead, and experiencing the resurrection ourselves.
See I think we’ve been doing Easter wrong. We’ve been telling people for years that Jesus rose from the dead. “It’s historically verifiable, and you need to believe it.” And that’s true. But you want to know what the most powerful proof of the resurrection is? It’s “resurrected disciples.” Dull, defeated people became fearless, adventuresome leaders. Cowards became courageous; the timid became triumphant when they meet the living Christ. These disciples became witnesses because they met the Living Christ. Have you?
In closing let me encourage you today. Whatever we are facing in this world, we can face confidently because Jesus is alive and we will live through Him.
“In the midst of a storm, a little bird was clinging to a power-line outside our home, seemingly calm and unafraid. As the wind tore at the limbs of the tree, the bird continued to look the storm in the face, as if to say, ‘Shake me off; I still have wings.’” “Because of Christ’s resurrection, every Christian can look all experiences, even death, in the face and confidently say, ‘Shake me off; I still have wings. I’ve seen Jesus alive, and I’ll live forever.”
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, whatever it brings, and so can you. Let’s sing together.
