MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
TEXT: Luke 24:13-53
It seems rather strange to be preaching a sermon today about the resurrection of Jesus that would be a good message for Easter Sunday. Yet from the Bible we learn that the resurrection of Jesus was the primary message of the Apostles.
They proclaimed that Jesus rose from the dead, proving that he was the Messiah & that he had the authority to promise that we, too, could arise & be with him for all eternity, & that his teachings are from God.
And that is a message worth repeating over & over again!
We live at a time when we battle against a flood of circum-stances that seem to threaten our very survival, & leave us overwhelmed by a flood of despair, guilt, regret & loneliness.
Without the Resurrection, at its worst, we have a dead man hanging on a cross. Without the Resurrection, Christianity at its best is a human system of what we think is right & what is wrong.
But with the Resurrection of Jesus new life is breathed into shattered dreams. With the Resurrection, Christianity is an opportunity to experience new life & new living both for now & in the future. It lifts us above the level of mere survival to a life that is fulfilled & meaningful, living with a purpose.
The Resurrection is the crucial event in Christian history because of the incredible difference it makes in the lives of Christ’s followers.
But what is it about the Resurrection that makes it so important that Christianity ultimately rises or falls? The answer can partly be seen in the record of those who witnessed the Resurrection.
This morning we are going to look at 17 verses that end the Gospel of Luke, & from those verses, we will see how the Resurrection has power to lift us out of despair to a life lived to the full.
I. THE RESURRECTION RESTORES HOPE & JOY
Let me set the stage. Beginning with Luke 24:13, the story is told of two of Jesus’ disciples who are going home from Jerusalem.
In their own words in vs’s 20 & 21 (NIrV) they describe to a stranger they have just met on the road their shattered dreams. Talking about Jesus thy said:
“The chief priests & our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death. They nailed him to a tree. But we had hoped …” Do you hear their despair? “We had hoped, but now … we’re going home.”
But a startling revelation was waiting for them. Because the one with whom they shared their shattered dreams was soon to breathe life back into their dreams. The Jesus whom they had given up for dead was alive & walking & talking with them, although they didn’t realize it yet.
After telling the stranger some of the strange news they had heard that day from the women & some of their friends, the stranger, said, (Luke 24:25-32) “How foolish you are. How long it takes for you to believe all that the prophets said! Didn’t the Messiah have to suffer these things …?’
“Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures and all the Prophets. They approached the village where they were going. Jesus kept walking as if he were going farther.
“But they tried hard to keep him from leaving. They said, ‘Stay with us. It is nearly evening. The day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them.”
“He joined them at the table. Then he took bread and gave thanks. He broke it and began to give it to them. Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But then he disappeared from their sight.”
“They said to each other, ‘He explained to us what the Scriptures meant. Weren’t we excited as he talked with us on the road?’”
Now that they had seen Jesus alive again, they rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples. This is where vs. 35 picks up.
“Then the two of them told what had happened to them on the way. They told how they had recognized Jesus when he broke the bread.
“The disciples were still talking about this when Jesus himself suddenly stood among them. He said, ‘May you have peace!’ They were surprised and terrified. They thought they were seeing a ghost.”
ILL. In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl, successor to Sigmund Freud of Vienna, argued that the “loss of hope & courage can have a deadly effect on man.”
As a result of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, Frankl says that “When a man no longer possesses a motive for living, no future to look toward, he curls up in a corner & dies.”
Most of us have had shattered dreams that could have caused a feeling of hopelessness. It may have been the loss of a loved one, a close relationship that was broken, the loss of a job, or perhaps a sin we have committed that we just can’t believe God would forgive.
That is how these disciples felt. But the Resurrected Jesus reached across that brokenness & restored their hope & joy.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? Why do you have doubts in you minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me! Touch me and see. A ghost does not have a body or bones. But you can see that I do.’ After he said that, he showed them his hands and feet.”
ILL. Steven Chapman, a preacher in Chicago wrote, “When we arrived in Chicago nearly 18 years ago, I had a lot to learn about the urban environment & urban ministry. My friend, Pastor Ernie…was the black preacher who allowed me to ask all my stupid white man questions.
One question was: “Why, in some neighborhoods, African-Americans let their property go unmaintained; why don’t they take care of their homes?” His answer was short & simple. “They don’t believe things will ever get any better so they don’t see any reason to keep them up … they have lost hope.”
Are you aware that studies have shown that when the Gospel impacts a neighborhood it actually becomes cleaner? Hope has been restored - there is now a reason to live?
It is this hope, this joy that changed these fearful disciples into a determined group that turned the world upside down, or maybe we ought to say “right side up.” And when hope is restored other transformations follow.
Vs’s 41-42 say, “But they still did not believe it. They were amazed and filled with joy. So Jesus asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of cooked fish. He took it and ate it in front of them.”
Now how could these two sentences both be true? “But they still did not believe it. They were amazed and filled with joy.” If they didn’t believe it, why would they be filled with joy?
Well, the idea that Luke is trying to present is not that they didn’t believe it, but that they were feeling “It’s too good to be true” – an overwhelming sense of joy that completely catches them off guard. So Jesus lets them know it’s really true.
And their joy is still there when 50 days later, after seeing him ascend into heaven, in verse 52 it says: “With great joy they returned to Jerusalem.”
If we have experienced the Resurrection, a new spirit of joy & amazement at life will be breathed back into us.
ILL. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a brilliant Christian thinker of our time, said, “Joy is the surest sign of the presence of God.”
The bottom line for you & me is simply this: There are no sad sack saints. If God really is the center of one’s life, if Christ really did conquer the grave & death, joy is inevitable. If we have no joy, we have missed the heart of the Good News.
But don’t get me wrong. People who consistently laugh do so in spite of; seldom because of their circumstances. They pursue joy rather than wait for it to knock on their door.
Such infectiously joyful believers have no trouble convincing people around them that Christianity is real & that Christ can transform a life. Joy is the flag that flies above the castle of their hearts, announcing that the King is risen.
II. THE RESURRECTION RESTORES OUR MISSION
Vs’s 44-49 “Jesus said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything written about me in
the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms must come true.’
Then he opened their minds so that they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written. The Messiah will suffer. He will rise from the dead on the third day.
His followers will preach in his name. They will tell other to turn away from their sins and be forgiven. People from every nation will hear it, beginning at Jerusalem.
You have seen these things with your own eyes. I am going to send you what my Father has promised. But for now, stay in the city. Stay there until you have received power from heaven.’
Now don’t miss this: These frightened & hopeless disciples holed up in their hideout soon became a force, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to start a world transforming movement that lasts to this very day.
You see, the Resurrection is not an event just for us to celebrate as Christians. It is an event that is meant to be shared with millions who are still suffering in hopeless & joyless lives.
And that responsibility rests squarely on our shoulders. Until we, as a congregation, every last one of us, recognizes our responsibility of reaching out to those who are lost we will never be what we should be.
Yes, I know that there are many who are giving sacrificially to win the lost or serve those who need help; but consider these questions:
“Are you going out of your way to offer others a taste of the hope & joy that comes from Christ? Are you giving the Holy Spirit every opportunity to use you to touch another soul with the life-giving power of the Resurrection?”
The Resurrection restores our hope & joy, & it renews our mission. Finally, …
III. THE RESURRECTION REVIVES OUR WORSHIP
“Jesus led his disciples out to an area near Bethany. Then he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them. He was taken up into heaven.
“Then they worshiped him. With great joy they returned to Jerusalem. Every day they went to the Temple, praising God.”
Here joy in His Resurrection found its outlet in worship.
Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o’er his foes
He arose a victor from the dark domain, And he lives forever with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!
I love how the New Living Translation has phrased it … “They spent all their time in the Temple praising God.” That’s the core thought of the verse. Worship becomes the heart & soul of our lives.
Worship that springs from celebrating the Risen Jesus cannot be restricted by our 20th & 21st century obsession with time. It should be the focus of our lives.
ILL. After preaching my sermon about Heaven last week I came across these words, “Worship is going to be the primary activity of heaven, & if we don’t have time for it while we are alive, why in the world would we want to go to heaven?”
Can I get personal for a minute? Worship doesn’t set limits on how long we worship because no amount of time is ever enough for us to declare our love for God.
Worship can’t be restricted to a defined number of songs because no number of songs is sufficient for us to express our love & appreciation to God.
Worship does not obsess about the length of the sermon because worship is preoccupied with wonder over the Word of God.
What is the limit on your worship? What is the chance that God would say to you, “Leaving so soon? I was hoping that you would stay around for a little while longer.”
Concl: The Resurrection is more than how we entered worship today. The Resurrection is an event that reaches out to us & our hearts that have been sucked dry by the desperation of our times.
We are restored, refreshed, renewed, & revived by an overwhelming hope & joy, a sense of mission, & consistent worship.
Are you surviving the challenges of life? Are you “getting along”, or just “getting by”?
The message of the Resurrection is that God offers us victory over the toughest of life’s challenges.
INVITATION
