INTRO
Good morning, everyone! Praise the Lord we are able to meet again online.
• We thank God for the hope we have in Jesus, the salvation He has prepared for us, by grace through faith in Jesus.
• His death and resurrection has brought us life! So wherever we are, let’s worship Jesus.
• Let’s proclaim He is risen! With this hymn: Christ the Lord is Risen Today (108)
Let us pray. We sing Alleluia and praise you Jesus, for your love and sacrifice. In you, we now share in the victory over sin and death today. Thank you Father, for the gift of salvation through your Son. Bless this time as we look into Your Word. Shine your light and help us see you. In Jesus’ Name we pray, AMEN.
SCRIPTURE READING
Let’s us read from the Gospel of Luke 24:13-35. The encounter of the disciples with the risen Christ. We’ll just read it in Mandarin, those reading English can follow along on your screen.
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SERMON
Luke ended his Gospel recounting the interactions between the risen Christ and His disciples, in Luke 24.
• In the first part of the chapter, we see His conversation with two disciples walking along the road to Emmaus.
• In the second part, we have His appearance before the rest of His disciples.
• What is most significant in these encounters is the way Jesus directed their attention, not to Himself, but to the Scriptures.
The two disciples were talking with each other about what has happened.
• Jesus their Messiah has been crucified and placed in the tomb. His death was unexpected. They have hoped for Him to save Israel.
• Adding to that sorrow was the news that His body was now missing.
In their sadness and confusion, along came Jesus who walked with them and initiated a conversation.
• That was the repeated pattern of Jesus post-resurrection. The risen Christ appears before His disciples to assure and encourage them.
• He knows what they were thinking and talking about, even in His absence. He knows about Thomas’ doubt. He knows their fears. Jesus came to strengthen His own.
Luke 24:25-27 25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
They were led to see Christ from the Scriptures, not with their physical eyes but with eyes of faith to believe what was written in the Word of God.
• This is rather unusual. If they have been thinking of Jesus being dead and His body missing, the best way to convince them otherwise would be to point them to Himself.
• “Do not be afraid, it is I. I’m Jesus. Look at me. I’m alive. I’ve risen from the dead. Can you not recognise me?”
• Rather, Jesus directed them to the Scriptures concerning Himself.
Later, while He was eating with them, the disciples’ eyes were opened and they recognised Him (24:31).
• And 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?" (24:32)
They were so overwhelmed by the encounter that they decided to head back to Jerusalem immediately.
• While they were telling the rest of the disciples, Jesus appeared suddenly (24:36).
• He ate with them and then said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." 45Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. (24:44-45)
Again Jesus did not draw their attention to Himself but to the Scriptures, concerning Himself.
• The truth is, directing their attention to Himself can only be for the moment, because Jesus will eventually leave after 40 days.
• But seeing Him from the Scriptures is different. They have the Scriptures with them and the Scriptures testify to Christ.
THE SCRIPTURES REVEAL THE TRUTH OF CHRIST
They see and know Him through the Scriptures.
Jesus said to Thomas: "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)
• How can ‘those who have not seen’ believe? Through the Scriptures.
• Clearly seeing Him physically is not as essential as seeing Him through the Scriptures.
Jesus helps the disciples understand the Word of God. He opens their mind so that they understand (verse 45) what is written (verse 46).
• And what is that? That 46the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (24:46-47).
The OT points forward to Christ and the NT points back to Christ. If we want to be precise, then the Gospels point out Christ.
• Jesus explains everything from the Scriptures. The answers are there. The revelation is there. The will of God is clear. They are to pay attention to what is written.
• To know the risen Christ, to experience the living Jesus in our lives, we are to read, study and understand the written Word.
• We are assured today because we can see Him and hear Him through the Scriptures.
The Scriptures reveal the truth we need to know about Christ.
THE SCRIPTURES GIVE US HOPE IN CHRIST
The written Word is where we find truth and hope.
The two disciples were in despair until they were enlightened by the Scriptures.
• They were able to articulate all the facts about Jesus (24:19-24) – correctly - but until they looked at the Scriptures, they did not really know WHO He is.
• Rom 10:17 “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.”
• Faith in the Word causes them to see Christ. Outside of the Word of God there is no other reliable witness to who Jesus is.
We can see HOPE in the turn-around of these two disciples. They did not stay the night, even though it was evening (24:29).
• They decided to take that 11km walk back to Jerusalem, immediately, in the darkness of night, when they had barely arrived.
• Hope changes them. They left Jerusalem in despair and disappointment, but now returning to the ‘place of sorrow’ with hope and joy.
• Knowing fully WHO He is and WHAT He has done, changes everything. Seeing the risen Christ brings HOPE.
• Do you know Him? Do you know Jesus, the One who died for you and rose again to give you hope and life?
Don’t live in ignorance. Ignorance has a price.
• It would be like the disciples when they were kept from recognising Jesus (24:16), feeling sad and disappointed even with the risen Christ walking beside them.
• That’s what ignorance does to us. It’s like living in darkness.
A lady living in a village has been blind for 50 years. Someone told her to see the doctor at Ontario hospital. She did and had a successful operation. When the doctor lifted the bandages from her eyes, she wept with joy.
The sad thing about her story was that this surgical procedure has been developed 20 years ago, which means she could have gotten her sight at age 30. She spent 20 years in unnecessary darkness.
IF Jesus did not come alongside and enlighten them, they would have continued in their ignorance and remained in their despair, and walked out on Jesus.
• But Jesus would come. He would want to come, as revealed to us in the many appearances He made before the disciples.
• Jesus took the time to listen to their sorrow, hear them tell their story (as if He doesn’t know) and counselled them back to the TRUTH and restore their HOPE.
The risen Christ did not leave them on their own, neither will He leave us today.
• Jesus comes to us in our times of distress, listens to our sorrow and pain, and points us to TRUTH and HOPE, through the Word of God.
• We don’t need to live in ignorance. God has given us the Scriptures.
• We search the Scriptures and we pay attention to what is written.
• Herein lies the truth and the hope we need.
Many of us have already taken this similar journey
- from not recognising Jesus, to understanding what the Bible says,
- to knowing who Jesus is, and finally sharing the good news of our encounter with Him.
So have faith in Him, dear church. Jesus walks with you and talks with you.
• We read and study the Scriptures and listen to what He has to say. It is through the Scriptures that we see Him and know Him.
• It is through the Scriptures that we are assured and rested. There is no other way.
Dear friends, are your eyes open to WHO He is and WHAT He has done for you?
• God reveals Jesus to us through His Word. Jesus died for our sin and rose again for our salvation. He is the only Mediator between a holy God and sinful men.
• Jesus died for our sin so that we can be forgiven and be restored in our relationship with God.
• Don’t live on in darkness and ignorance. Come to Jesus today, and make Him your Saviour and Lord.
Let us pray.
Father, we thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus and the salvation we have in Him.
• Help us keep your Word of truth and hope firmly planted in our minds and hearts.
• Give us the faith to believe and the strength to obey your Word.
• Remind us, Lord Jesus that you are with us and that we are safe in your hands.
• You are sovereign and seated firmly on your throne.
Let this pandemic draws men back to you. Let your Name be lifted high.
• Help us make a difference in this world, for your glory and your purpose.
• May we reflect your peace and hope to a world that is desperately in need your healing and salvation.
• Thank you for hearing our prayer.
Now may the grace of the risen Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and forevermore, AMEN.
