See Jesus! Series

When I was teaching a philosophy class for Barton County Community College, we were asking some fundamental questions: What is Truth? & How do we know the Truth?

At that time, one of my students introduced me to The Matrix, a science fiction movie, in which the real world has been taken over by computers, with advanced artificial intelligence. They keep humans in bondage by feeding a virtual or false reality into their brains. The humans think they are free, but they are actually entombed in pods where their bodies are used as an energy source for the computers.

A few of the humans have escaped their pods and are battling the machines. But unlike the computer-induced dreamland of the Matrix, the real world is full of sweat, stress, and combat with the computers at every turn.

In one scene, the leader of the escaped humans, Morpheus, has contacted a person whose mind is still controlled by the Matrix. The man's name is Neo. Take a look. (show Matrix Red Pill clip).

“Let me tell you why you're here,” says Morpheus. “You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain—but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?”

“The Matrix?” Neo asks.

“Do you want to know what it is?” asks Morpheus. Neo nods. “The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.”

“What truth?” asks Neo.

“That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage. Born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch—a prison for your mind. Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.” Morpheus takes out two pills: one blue, one red. “This is your last chance. After this there is no turning back. You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember, all I'm offering is the truth, nothing more” (The Matrix, Warner Brothers, 1999, directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski, starting at 27:00).

As you can see, Neo chooses the red pill, and begins to see the world for how it really is. He sees the truth that the charms of this world are nothing but an illusion. And he sees the truth that there is a reality far beyond anything he could have ever imagined.

Sometimes, I wish I had a “red pill” to give people to help them see the truth. I wish people could see the spiritual realities beyond their physical world. Most of all, I wish people could see the resurrected Lord, the TRUTH Himself.

Do you want to see the resurrected Lord this morning? Then I invite you to turn with me to Luke 24, Luke 24, where two men, who could not see, came to see Jesus on the day of His resurrection.

Luke 24:13-16 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. (ESV)

They were blind to their Savior. They couldn’t recognize Him. Please, dear friends...

DON’T BE BLIND TO YOUR SAVIOR TODAY.

Don’t fail to recognize Him. Don’t fail to know your resurrected Lord.

First, don’t let depression blind you. Don’t let your sadness keep you from seeing Jesus. That’s what kept these two men from recognizing Jesus.

Luke 24:17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. (ESV)

Their joy was gone, and it blinded them to their Savior. Please, don’t let your sadness blind you, as well.

And second, don’t let disappointment blind you to your Savior. Don’t let your loss of hope keep you from seeing Jesus. That’s what kept these two men from recognizing Jesus.

Luke 24:18-21 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. (ESV)