"THE WONDER OF HIS RESURRECTION"
LUKE 24: 13-35
INTRODUCTION:
In the movie, "City Slickers," comedian Billy Crystal plays a bored baby boomer who sells advertising. One day he is invited to visit his son’s school to tell the children about his job. But as he speaks he can see the kids are confused about his being in advertising. What he doesn’t know is that his son has told his classmates that he is a submarine captain and what the children don’t know is that he is going through a mid-life crisis. Suddenly he breaks into a dead-pan monologue about life.
"Value this life while you can kids. Because this is the time in your life when you still have choices and it goes by fast. When you are a teen-ager you think you can do anything and you do. Your 20’s are a blur. In the 30’s, you raise your family, you make a little money and you say to yourself, "What happened to my 20’s?" In your 40’s, you grow a little pot-belly, you grow another chin, the music becomes a little too loud. One of your old girl friends from high school becomes a grandmother. In your 50’s you have minor surgery. You call it a procedure, but it’s surgery. In your 60’s you have major surgery. The music is still too loud but it doesn’t matter because you can’t hear it any more. In your 70’s, you and the wife retire to Ft. Lauderdale. You start eating dinner around 2:00 in the afternoon. You have lunch around 10 and breakfast the night before. You spend most of your time wandering around the mall looking for the ultimate soft yogurt. In your 80’s you will have a major stroke. You end up babbling with some Jamaican nurse that your wife can’t stand, but whom you call "Momma." Are there any questions?"
People are hearing the message that this life is all there is. They are getting that sense from the media, from education, from advertising. And our culture has so ignored the spiritual, that this life has become the ultimate focus and many are discovering that what this life offers is not enough, they’re missing something. The missing ingredient? Hope. So many people have nothing to hope for. Maybe that is why four teens recently made a suicide pact and three of them successfully killed themselves. The one survivor was asked why she did it and she replied, "Why not? What is there to live for?" But the Bible says in Rom. 8:24- "It is by hope you have been saved." Dante said, "Life without hope, is hell." Alfred Luckup said, “When there is no hope for the future, there is no power in the present."
Well, today I want you to see two men that were on the road to a village called Emmaus, who were out of hope too. Vs: 21 tells us that they had hoped that Jesus was the Son of God. But their hope had been crucified and buried in a tomb. And now they are disconsolate, depressed, their conversation is negative, their faces are downcast. But then Jesus suddenly joins them. They don’t know it’s Him, vs:16- "..they were kept from recognizing Him." But the next several minutes with the resurrected Christ completely transforms their attitude toward life & gives them power for the future. I want you to see three steps that enabled these men to go from being downcast, to seeing the wonder of the hope that Jesus provides. And it is my deepest desire that you’ll see that Jesus still offers the same kind of hope right now.
I. JESUS OPENED UP THE SCRIPTURES:
The first step that restored hope was that Jesus opened the Scripture. Vs:25- "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" Jesus reprimanded them for not knowing what the Bible said about the Son of God. So Jesus taught a lesson as He walked and reasoned with them from Scripture. Vs:27- "And beginning with Moses and all the prophets He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself." I can imagine Him saying, "Haven’t you read Isa.53 that said the Messiah (God’s anointed one) would be led to the slaughter and that He would be wounded for our sins? Haven’t you read what David wrote in Psa. 22 where he said his hands and feet would be pierced?" "Or how about Psa. 16 where it says that the Son of God’s body would not be abandoned in the grave or see any corruption." Now Jesus could of shown Himself to them immediately but this way Jesus revealed to them their need to have a solid, objective authority for their hope. Their hope could not just be based on emotion or feelings, some subjective experience, and neither can ours.
And one of the ways that Jesus still offers us hope today is through an objective study of the Scripture. A favorite Easter hymn is the song, "He Lives." And please don’t misunderstand. That is a great hymn.. it speaks of the great truth that Jesus didn’t just live in the past but continues to live today within us. But there is this one line that I think we need to think about. It’s the line after the question.. "You ask me how I know He lives?" Then it says.."He lives within my heart." Now, if you are a Christian, you know it’s true that Jesus lives within you through the power of the Holy Spirit. But our hope better be based on something more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling that Jesus lives in our heart. Our hope must be based on objective Biblical truth. Because a hope based on feeling alone will be shattered when the storms of life hit and God seems far away. And a hope based on experience alone will not persuade many, because you can be perceived as naive or eccentric. If it is going to survive skepticism and adverse circumstances, hope must be based on a solid Biblical foundation. Rom. 15:4- "Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope."(NCV)
A few years ago vocal atheist Madlyn Murray O’Hare was asked why Christian people seem to consider her a threat and fear her? "I’ll tell you why Christian people fear me," she said. "Because they are not sure that what they say they believe is true. If they were, I would not be a threat to them at all." And you know what? She was right. A lot of Christians have a fear about their faith. They are concerned that Christianity will not hold up under intellectual scrutiny. Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is, the vast majority of people who oppose Christianity do not have any real objective, intellectual arguments against it, but have personal objections. They simply do not like the idea of having any authority over themselves. They hate having any absolute truth that might condemn them for what they are doing.
Kevin Cosby told the story of a young man who he paid $10, to mow the lawn. After a while Kevin looked out the window and saw another neighbor boy mowing the lawn and the first young man who he had hired sitting under a tree, sipping on a Coke. Kevin went out and asked, "What is going on here? I paid you $10 to mow the lawn." The young man looked up and replied, "I paid him $11, it’s worth a dollar just to be the boss." Many people reject Jesus Christ because they too want to be the boss. And for a short period of time they are in charge of their own lives and they can indulge in this worlds pleasure. Unfortunately the decision to do that will not work out very well ultimately. But we do not need to apologize to people for our hope. Our hope is based on historical fact! Jesus Christ is no longer in the grave but He is alive! And the more you read the Bible, the more your hopes are verified and the more evidence you have to support your hope.
In fact, some of the most brilliant men who ever lived believed the Bible and were Christians. Augenstein, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley were well educated scholars. Jonothan Edwards, one of the best known preachers, was the President of Harvard. Alexander Campbell one of the founders of the Christian Church movement was said by President Andrew Jackson, to be the smartest man he ever met. C.S. Lewis was a scholar and Professor at Oxford and didn’t believe. He was challenged to study the Scripture but instead of finding Scripture false, his study led him to Christ. But Lewis said, "I came kicking and screaming into the Kingdom of God because I regarded most Christians as shallow thinkers." But Lewis’ classic book, Mere Christianity has led thousands of thinking people to Jesus. And today - Former Education Sec’t. William Bennett, former surgeon general, C. Everett Koop, Astronaut James Irwin, Charles Colson, brilliant lawyer and former aide to President Nixon - all thinkers and Christians. And in those moments when your faith is challenged by circumstances or by non-believers, it is not sufficient to say, "Well, I know Jesus lives, because I feel Him in my heart." We must open the objective Word of God and develop a solid intellectual base for our faith. 1 Ptr 3:15- "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." And I want all of you to know this morning.. The fact that there are fulfilled prophecies, archeological finds, changed lives and an empty tomb tells us that there is objective, rational, intellectual reason for our hope!
II. JESUS OPENED UP THEIR HEARTS:
Well, not only did they have the Scriptures open, but Jesus, by His teaching and demeanor opened up their hearts as well. These men moved from hopeless to hospitable. In vs:28 Jesus is going to walk on past Emmaus and these two men urge Him to stay. This was not a normal request for two reasons. (1) Think of the last time you were really depressed about something. Did you invite somebody over for dinner? Probably not, you wanted to be alone. I’m not saying that’s best, I’m just saying that’s understandable. But these two men "urged Him strongly," and the original word there means "to constrain," or "compel by force." They literally grabbed His arm and said, "Please, don’t go, stay with us." (2) People in that day did not invite strange men into their homes to stay the night for fear of robbery. We understand that don’t we? I’m happy to help a complete stranger all I can, but invite him into my home, possibly putting my children and wife at risk? But, Jesus, had explained the Scriptures so forcefully, so completely, so confidently, that they were burning to hear more. That’s why they end up saying- v:32- "Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
And then in vs:30 something unusual happens. Listen to vs:30 and see if you note something out of the ordinary. V:30- "When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them." Wait.. whose house is this anyway? Isn’t Jesus the guest in this home? All of sudden Jesus became the host. It is Jesus who takes the bread, it is Jesus who prays over it. It is Jesus who breaks it and hands it out. Now, I’ve been asked to pray many times at someone else’s house. But as many times as I’ve prayed in someone’s house, I’ve never taken it upon myself to set the table, say the prayer and serve the food! And I started asking myself, “Is there a lesson to learn from this unusual event?” Then it struck me. Jesus became more than a guest in their home, He became the authority. And you know what? Jesus isn’t satisfied with just being a guest in our lives either, He wants to be the host, to be the authority, in control of our lives.
I want to be perfectly candid with those of you who are not Christian or who are just dabbling on the fringe of the Christian life. Jesus Christ wants nothing less than to take complete charge of your life. He is not satisfied with your respect for Him as an intellectual or good man in history. John 5:39-40- "You carefully study the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. (I’d say, “You come to church, maybe even read the Bible.. That’s good, because as Jesus says..) They do in fact tell about me, but (here’s the important part..) you refuse to come to ME to have life." Listen, Jesus wants to have a vital, daily, personal relationship with you. And He is not satisfied with an occasional visit to Church at Christmas or Easter. He wants to control every aspect of your life. He wants to be the Lord of your every decision, of your entertainment, of your language, finances, marriage, home.. everything! And if our hope is going to sustain us in the day in which we live, Jesus Christ must be the host... the Lord of our hearts, mind and soul.
Every once in a while, I hear somebody say, "I think going to church is okay, and I think religion is all right, as long as they don’t go overboard." Now, if they mean by that, that they don’t think a person ought to go off the deep end to the point that they can’t relate to people, or they withdraw from society or they become violent with those they oppose, then I agree 100%. But if they mean that they ought not to take it too seriously, that it shouldn’t effect their everyday decisions.. I totally disagree. This is the most important matter ever. This is a matter of life or death! Of heaven or hell! If you were suffering from some deadly disease and the Doctor’s announced a cure, you wouldn’t be lukewarm about taking the medicine, you would be fanatical about it. And there is no room for casual Christianity either.
Why is it that if someone gets all excited about a sports team and puts bumper stickers on their cars and doesn’t miss a game on TV and they’re called a real fan. But when someone refuses to miss church and makes Jesus Christ the Lord of their every decision they are fanatical? Sports, in fact, everything in this world is temporary but your faith is eternal. These two men invited Jesus into their hearts and their home and He completely took over. Their lives would never be the same again. He was more than just a person promised in a book, as true as that is. He became personal... He opened their hearts. We must allow Him into ours too. "My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus blood and righteousness."
III. JESUS OPENED UP THEIR EYES:
Well, the third thing I want you to see that Jesus opened for these two men, is that He opened their eyes. Vs:31- "Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight." All of a sudden they recognized Jesus. How did that happen? There are differing opinions. Some say Jesus just miraculously revealed Himself. After all vs:16 does say "they were kept from recognizing Him." Now, maybe the shield is supernaturally lifted. Some think they recognized His voice when in vs:30 he bowed His head and "gave thanks." But I agree with those who think that they recognized Him when He handed bread to them. Look at Vs:35. When these two raced back and told the other disciples look at what it says, "Then the two told what had happened.. and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread." The way the Greek construction is there it means that it was in that act that they knew who He was. Now, what did they see or what was it that happened in that split second, as He broke the bread and gave it to them, that clued them in as to who He was. I think they saw something in that instant that sent chills up their spine and caused their hearts to race. Because when they took the bread from Jesus’ hands they saw.. nail prints. And they realized with a gasp, that this was the crucified Christ who had risen from the dead and when they looked up, He was gone, disappeared. But you know what I like to think? I like to think that just before He disappeared as they looked up in shocked recognition, that Jesus broke into a confident grin and maybe even winked, and then He was gone.
How exactly they recognized Him, we don’t know. But we do know what they did. They said to each other, "We should of known, after all, weren’t our hearts burning within us as He talked with us. Didn’t we know there was something special about Him? It was Jesus! He is alive!" And even though it was night, notice what they did. They raced back 7 miles to Jerusalem. They were so excited they had to share the news with the Eleven and the others with them. And they got confirmation that what they had seen was not a mirage or wishful thinking for vs:34 tells us that those in Jerusalem had seen Jesus too and they said- "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." And then I think with a sense of awe and with their friends hanging on every word, these two told all that had happened to them on the road to Emmaus. A road where their hearts had burned and hope had been restored.
And I want to challenge you this morning to open your eyes to the reality of the Resurrected Christ. The source of hope that day was right beside these two disciples but they didn’t recognize Him until their spiritual eyes were opened. Some of you have been looking for happiness and meaning for your lives in every area except from the One that can truly supply it. I challenge you to open your eyes. Because Jesus Christ will give you hope in this life for all circumstances. This event changed these men’s lives and Jesus can do that for you too.
I found it interesting that not too long ago, "The American Heath" magazine reported on a Purdue University study of 1473 Americans. They concluded that people who worship regularly get sick half as often as those who don’t. Kenneth Ferraro, an Associate Professor at Purdue concluded, "Religiousness can benefit health in several ways. Some churches require healthy behavior. From monogamy to avoiding cigarettes, drugs and alcohol. Even a mandated day of rest helps buffet the week’s stress. Then too, having a church home fosters a network of social support from people in the church that is increasingly linked to good health." Do you get it? The Christian life is the healthiest life. Even if the Bible were not true, it would be the best blueprint for the best life here. Open your eyes and see that Jesus offers the abundant life. He said in Mt. 7:24- ".. everyone who hears My words and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock."Jesus offers a deep blessedness, not a shallow, surface happiness. It is a joy that the world cannot take away. Not even circumstances like bad health or financial collapse or hurtful relationships can shatter it. Oh that’s not to say those things don’t hurt, but they cannot destroy your hope because the living Christ offers what is best.
And there’s more. Jesus will give you hope to live eternally too. You see, every goal based on this world is temporary. Your business fails, bodies age, children move, mates die. But our hope in Jesus is eternal. He conquered the grave and He promised that we too can live forever, and nothing can eliminate that hope. And there are going to be things happen to you in this life that will make you cling to that eternal hope because there is no other. Wally and Barbara Rendel know that’s true. Wally is the minister at the Southern Acres Christian Church in Lexington and has been for over 20 years. But five years ago they got the phone call that every parent dreads. Late one night an Ohio State Trooper told them that their 21 year old daughter Jill was killed when the van that she was riding in with the rest of the girls basketball team from her college had overturned. Jill was vivacious, she was on the dean’s list, she was popular, even been selected by her student body as Homecoming Queen just several days before she was killed. She was a Daddy’s girl. I understand that a week before she died that she was home in Lexington and sat on her Dad’s lap for an hour just joking around. When Wally and Barbara received the tragic news that Jill had been killed they were devastated. But within minutes, because of his faith, this Dad through tears said, "The Queen has gone home to be with the King." Say what you will, there is something markedly different about the way mature Christians face death. Paul said, "We grieve, but not as those who have no hope."
The funeral for Jill Rendel was packed. Over a thousand people came. I understand that it was a funeral that was a little different for some. It was not a dirge of sadness but a celebration of Jill’s ultimate victory in Christ and our promise of life eternal. Toward the end of the service a young man sang a most moving song. It’s entitled, "I fell on my knees and cried Holy." The song says, "I dreamed of a city called glory, so bright and so fair. When I entered the gates I cried holy, the angels all met with me there. They carried me from mansion to mansion. Oh, the sights that I saw. Then I said, "I want to see Jesus, for He’s the one who died for all." The second time that he sang, "I want to see Jesus.." Wally and Barbara, who sat within reach of their daughter’s casket stood and raised their hands to heaven and at once all 1000 people who were there spontaneously stood with them, praising God. And then Wayne Smith a long time friend of Wally’s came to the front and closed the service with these words: "Life is too short and death too sure to spend them on trifle’s.” And then he read this poem which he said were Jill’s words to all of us.. ’Grieve not for me. Nor let one small tear fall. What you dream of, I can see and I’m telling you, it’s worth it all!" And immediately the entire congregation burst into applause. That’s possible for one reason and one reason only.. because we can believe the Risen Christ who said, "I am the resurrection and the Life. Because I live, you will live also."
You see, life without Christ is a hopeless end but with Him it is an endless hope. Which is it for you?
