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Raised to Life

April 1, 2018 Speaker: Mitchel Kirchmeyer Series: For You

Passage: Luke 24:1–53

Why should we believe the gospel?

David and Michelle are friends of ours who live in Rockford. Several years ago, they were house hunting and as they walked through houses, there was one that they both liked. Michelle especially liked it. She thought it was a beautiful house. But then they discovered that the foundation was questionable.

David had worked for architectural firms for severals year, so he knew this was a big deal. He told Michelle, “I don’t mess with foundation issues.” She was upset because she left like he was ruining her vision to live in this pretty house and that he could just fix it. But David knew that foundation problems mean the structural integrity of the house was in question and it would probably mean other problems down the road and he wasn’t willing to pay that price. David knew that even if it’s your dream house, it isn’t worth buying if it’s built on a poor foundation. If the foundation isn’t solid, neither is the rest of the house.

Series Introduction
Today, we are celebrating Easter by finishing our series called “For You.” Jesus told his disciples that his death was for them - it’s for you, for me, for all of us. He said his death would rescue us from the penalty for rebelling against God and it would bring us into a new, restored relationship with God. He called this message “gospel”, which means “good news.”

Sermon Introduction
But just like buying a house, even if we think this is a beautiful story, we shouldn’t buy it unless it rests on a solid foundation. We might want it to be true, but this good news is just wishful thinking if it isn’t built on a good foundation.

The big question Luke 24 answers is: why should we believe the gospel? Why should we believe the gospel?

In Luke chapter 24, Jesus’ followers are on a journey from unbelief to belief. This chapter gives us three conversations that Jesus’ followers had on that journey and each repeats the same truth. We will walk through all three conversations then return to our big question.

First, let’s cover Luke chapter 24 verses 1 through 12.

Jesus was telling the truth (Luke 24:1-12)

We need to get into the mindset of those men and women who followed Jesus 2,000 years ago. They have had a whirlwind of a week. Jesus came into Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, on a Sunday with a crowd of people singing his praises. They believed he was the king whom God had sent to rescue them from the Roman Empire. But from day one, Israel’s religious leaders began plotting against him. By Wednesday, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ closest followers, agreed to betray Jesus to them. On Thursday, Jesus ate the Passover meal with his twelve closest disciples, celebrating God’s great rescue of his people long ago. Late in the night, he was betrayed and arrested. On Friday morning, they pressured the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to execute Jesus by crucifixion as a rebel against the Roman Empire. In late afternoon, beaten, bloodied, naked, and hanging between two criminals, Jesus breathed his last and was buried in a tomb.

Jesus’ followers thought he was sent by God to rescue them from the Roman Empire. Instead, he was executed by them. Our passage picks up the story on Sunday, a few days after Jesus’ death. Just seven days after Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly, he’s now dead in a tomb, his body lifeless and cold, and a group of women who had followed him from Galilee are heading there to anoint his body with spices. Seven days ago they thought they’d be crowning him as king, now they are anointing him as a corpse. Seven days ago they thought they’d be holding a coronation service, now they are holding a funeral service.

To their surprise, when they arrive they find that the stone is rolled away and there is no body inside. While still perplexed, they see two men in dazzling clothes. They are angels, which means “messenger” and they have a message for the women. Verse 5 says:

5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” (Luke 24:5-7)

Their message is this: “Jesus is risen. Remember how he told you that he would die and rise again?” What these women needed to be reminded of is that Jesus was telling the truth when he said he would suffer, die, then rise from the dead.

After hearing this, they remembered his words. Then they ran to tell Jesus’ eleven closest disciples but upon hearing the report, they aren’t buying it. They think it’s nonsense. No way could Jesus be alive. But Peter, who had just denied knowing Jesus on Thursday night, got up and ran to the tomb. Upon looking inside, he saw no body but only the linen cloths used to wrap Jesus for burial and he went home marveling. Something has happened and he is wondering what it could be.

In this first conversation, a group of women are given a message about Jesus by two angels. The message is: “Remember what Jesus said about dying and rising to life three days later? He was telling the truth.” Let’s look at our second conversation.

The Scriptures point to the truth (Luke 24:13-35)

On the very same day, two other disciples were talking while walking to a village called Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem. Jesus came up and started walking with them but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked: “What are you talking about?” They stopped and looked at him with sad faces. Then one of them named Cleopas responded with a question:

“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” (Luke 24:18b)

Clearly, Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem and his execution were big news. Verse 19 says:

19 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, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 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. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” (Luke 24:19-24)

They had hoped Jesus was the one to redeem Israel - that he was the King whom God sent to rescue them. But their hope died and was buried with Jesus in the tomb. However, the group of women who visited the tomb in the morning had amazed them with the news that it was empty and the angel’s message that he is alive. Others also went and found it empty, but thus far no one has seen Jesus.

These two disciples see Jesus’ suffering and death as a defeat and they need to be woken up to the truth, which is why Jesus responds in verse 25, saying:

“O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:25-27)

The group of women needed to be shown that Jesus was telling the truth about his death and resurrection. These two disciples need to be shown that their Bible, our Old Testament called Moses and the Prophets here, pointed to the truth about Jesus’ death and resurrection. The disciples and all of Israel weren’t expecting a suffering Messiah - only a glorious one. They expected Jesus to march into Jerusalem and set up God’s kingdom by kicking out the Romans. So when he died, they thought it was a defeat. But Jesus shows them that the Scriptures always pointed to suffering then glory.

As they drew near to Emmaus, the two disciples headed toward their house but Jesus was going to keep walking. They urged him to stay with them since it was near evening. As they sat around the table, they shared a meal together. Jesus broke the bread, blessed it, and gave it to them. This is exactly what he did during the Last Supper just a few days prior and at that moment, they recognize that they are sitting with Jesus! Then he vanished from sight. The two disciples look at each other and comment:

“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)

Through the opening of the Scriptures and eating supper with Jesus, they see him for who he truly is. This is what we do every week. We gather together to open the Scriptures. We see how all the Scriptures point to Jesus. Then we take the Lord’s Supper together, remember how his body was broken and his blood poured out for us. In doing this, we see Jesus for who he truly is.

Even though it’s night, they left Emmaus and returned to Jerusalem to report to the eleven disciples that, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”

In the first conversation, a group of women are told: “Remember what Jesus said about dying and being raised to life three days later? He was telling the truth.” In this second conversation, two disciples are shown by Jesus himself that all of Scripture pointed to his death and resurrection - to suffering then glory. Let’s look at our third conversation.

Jesus’ body proves the truth (Luke 24:36-53)

While the two disciples from Emmaus and the eleven are still discussing the report of Jesus’ appearance, Jesus himself stood among them. He greets them with, “Peace to you!” Understandably, they are startled and frightened and at first think a spirit has come to hang out with them. Then Jesus asks in verse 38:

“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. (Luke 24:38-40)

Even though they have heard Jesus is alive twice, they are still doubting. So he proves that he isn’t a spirit. He invites them to touch him and to see the nail marks in his wrists and feet. He wants them to see that it really is him.

Verse 41 says they still disbelieved for joy. The reality is starting to sink in: “Could this really be Jesus? Could this really be our teacher? Could this really be the one we believed was the Messiah? Could this really be the same Jesus that we watched die then buried just a few days ago?” It seemed too good to be true. They were beginning to feel the joy that Jesus might really be alive but were still trying to believe that it was really happening.

So Jesus gives them another proof. He asks them for something to eat, they bring him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it. You can’t touch spirits. You can’t touch hallucinations. You also can’t feed them.

Then he repeats the same truth that we’ve been hearing. Look at verse 44.

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44)

Again, Jesus tells his disciples that his death and resurrection were fulfilling what God had spoken through the Hebrew Bible, our Old Testament. Verse 45 says:

45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:45-49)

Once again, the pattern is suffering then glory, death then resurrection. And since they have been witness to all these things - Jesus’ life, his predictions about his death and resurrection, then the actual events of his death and his resurrection - they are sent as witnesses to the world. They are sent with the gospel - the good news of forgiveness in Jesus’ name leading to a restored relationship with God. Repentance means to change direction. People are to change the direction of their lives to follow Jesus as their King. Why? Because through him our sins can be forgiven and our relationship with God restored. This news requires a change in direction because it changes everything.

But the disciples can’t do this on their own. They need to be given heavenly clothing. They are to wait in Jerusalem for God to send the Holy Spirit to empower them for the task. After this, Jesus blesses them and departs to God the Father’s right hand, just like he said he would. The disciples respond by worshiping him, are filled with great joy, and praise God in the temple. They have gone on a journey from unbelief to belief - from sadness and doubt to joy and worship.

Big Question: Why should we believe the gospel?

The big question this passage answers is: why should we believe the gospel? “Gospel” means “good news” and Jesus gave it to lots of people. To the woman with many sins who washed his feet with her hair, he said “Your sins are forgiven, go in peace.” To the criminal on a cross next to him he said, “Today, you will be with me in Paradise.” But why should we believe it?

Imagine the gospel is a house. There are many other spiritual messages on the market: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, spiritualism, and many more. If you go out house hunting, you can tour all of them. But how do you decide which one to buy? Each one has a different style, they have some overlapping features, and maybe you even think they’re each beautiful in their own unique way. Some people even decide to build their own house, picking features they like from different religions to create their own unique one.

No matter what each house has to offer or how beautiful you may think it is, you need to check the foundation. If the foundation is solid, then the house is solid. Jesus says he gave his life for us so we can have a deep, meaningful, personal relationship with God. We may tour that house and think it’s beautiful, but we need to check the foundation.

The big question this passage answers is: why should we believe the gospel? The answer is: Because Jesus is alive, the good news is true news.

I’ve heard lots of people say about God or Christianity or the gospel, “I really wish it were true. I’d love for someone to show me evidence. But until then, I’m not going to believe.” Instead of seeing Jesus as the Lord of life, they see him either as a liar, a lunatic, or a legend.

Many think Jesus was a liar. He lied about being the Messiah, about being the Son of God, about his death providing forgiveness of sins. His good news was a lie. But the resurrection prove he was telling the truth. It’s easy to say your death will rescue others from death, but predicting your resurrection would prove you were telling the truth. Because Jesus is alive, the good news is true news.

Many think Jesus was a lunatic. He was crazy and said crazy things, like that God sent him, that he was destined to die in order to save others, and that he would be raised from the dead. That’s crazy talk! But the resurrection proves he wasn't crazy. Because Jesus is alive, the good news is true news.

Many think Jesus is just a legend. This is the most popular objection today. Some think he never existed. Some think that what we read in the Bible about Jesus is based on a remarkable guy but after years and years of telling the story about him, he became more and more remarkable to the point that people were claiming he was divine, promised salvation, and was raised from the dead. It’s like an ancient game of telephone, where each person who receives the message changes it a little until you don’t even know what the original was.

But if you wanted to test whether a wine glass was authentic crystal or just glass, you would tap it with your fingernail on the rim. Glass will just make a “clink” sound. But crystal rings with a pleasant tone.

When you test these stories in the Bible for authenticity, they ring with a genuine tone instead of a made-up tone. First, in that culture, the testimony of women was considered unreliable. But all four narratives of Jesus’ life in the Bible tell us that women were the first to see the empty tomb and report it to the other disciples. If you wanted to make up a credible story, men would discover the empty tomb.

Second, the disciples who are the ones that spread the message about Jesus are portrayed as disbelieving and disobedient. They didn’t believe Jesus would be raised and are slow to believe even when they first see him. Then he clearly tells them to take the message to all nations but they sit around in Jerusalem thinking the message is only for Jews. If you wanted people to believe your made-up religion, you’d want the founders to sound more convinced and credible.

Often we can act snobbish toward people who lived in ancient times, thinking they are gullible and will believe anything. But the disciples are very slow to believe someone was raised from the dead. When they hear of the empty tomb, they don’t jump to resurrection. When they hear others have seen Jesus, they don’t jump to resurrection. When they see Jesus, they don’t jump to resurrection; they think he’s a spirit! It isn’t until Jesus proves he is alive with a real body that they are convinced. Some will say the disciples saw a vision or hallucination and mistook it for Jesus. But visions and hallucinations can’t be touched and they can’t eat. Jesus does both.

Some people say that the church made it all up later. But there would be no church without the resurrection because they would have all just gone home. Some people say Jesus faked his death, but how does a man who was unable to carry his own cross, was whipped and blooded, pierced with nails in his hands and feet, and stabbed in the side with a spear escape from a tomb with a rock rolled over it and soldiers guarding it then recover enough strength in two days to convince a group of skeptical men and women that he is resurrected as the victorious Lord of life?

Resurrection is the best explanation for the empty tomb, the changed lives of these disciples, and the many appearances. Jesus’ resurrection is the foundation that the message of Christianity rests upon. It proves Jesus really was who he said he was and that his death would do what he said it would do. So what is the good news? What did he say his death would do?

First, because Jesus is alive, your sins can truly be forgiven. Because Jesus is alive, your sins can truly be forgiven. Jesus says the good news is that if we surrender our lives to him, if we turn the keys of our life over to him, then we can be forgiven of all the wrongs we’ve ever done, all our selfishness, and all our rebellion against God. We can exchange our record of breaking God’s laws for a spotless record. That’s good news! That’s the gospel! Through his death, Jesus suffered the penalty for our sin so that we can be rescued from it.

Second, because Jesus is alive, you can truly know God. Because Jesus is alive, you can truly know God. Without Jesus, you are separated from God like there is a big curtain between you and him. You can never gain access to him on your own. But because Jesus took on the penalty for our sin, we can truly know God in a personal relationship. Jesus made that possible because he broke down the barrier of sin that was between us and God.

Know that Jesus is alive! He isn’t a good guy who lived a long time ago who did some good things and said some good stuff. He is alive today! Everything he said about who he is and what he did on our behalf is true! The good news that Jesus rescues us from sin is true news!

While Nik, Larry, and I were meeting in our Gospel Fluency Group yesterday and discussing this passage, Nik pointed out that it’s easy to live like Jesus is still in the tomb. It’s easy to live as if Jesus is someone from the past who did some good things and taught some good stuff but isn’t around anymore today.

When the disciples believe Jesus is dead in the tomb, they are filled with sadness and doubt. Jesus was killed and they are scared that they’re next. Some go back to their normal lives - they go back to the same old routine. But once they realize the tomb is empty, they are filled with great joy! They bow down before Jesus as their resurrected King and they are exploding with thanksgiving to God. They don’t fear death. They become bold witnesses to others about Jesus. Their lives are changed because they know the good news is true news.

Which one of these describe your life? Has Jesus changed your life? If you aren’t experiencing joy from the gospel, you probably believe Jesus is still in the tomb. If you aren’t praising God and worshiping him, you probably believe Jesus is still in the tomb. If the way you live your life hasn’t changed, you probably believe Jesus is still in the tomb.

If you buy the house of the gospel and are confident in its foundation because Jesus is alive, what’s it like to live there? What are the house rules in Jesus’ kingdom?

If you believed Jesus is truly alive, it would be easy to live as family with others who believe this news. Living in close relationships with others can be trying and taxing. You will have to ask for forgiveness when you hurt others. You will have to give forgiveness when others hurt you. There will be personalities that get under your skin and habits that annoy you. You will be disappointed, frustrated, and hurt. Other people will give you many reasons to put up a giant curtain to block everyone out. But if Jesus has ripped through the curtain that separated us from God, then we can live as family with others and tear down the curtains that tend to separate us from each other.

If you believed Jesus is truly alive, it would be easy to love others as servants. Serving others requires sacrificing our time, our money, our comfort, our preferences. It means putting others’ interests before our own. It means looking out for the needs of others instead of expecting and demanding them to meet our needs and getting upset when they don’t. But if Jesus gave his life for you, then you can give up your time, money, comfort, and preferences to love others.

If you believed Jesus is truly alive, it would be easy to go as a messenger of this good news. You’d be filled with great joy and thankfulness that your sins are forgiven and you have a real relationship with God. You’d be a witness to the good news that Jesus died for you and that he was raised to life, proving he can really change your life and relationship with God. Because you’ve seen it for yourself, you want others to experience it too. You know that your good news is true news and that it is life changing so it is easy to share it with others.

Conclusion
When you go into the house of the gospel for a tour, you discover it’s beautiful. You see that it is good news about the gracious, loving, merciful God of the universe ripping through the curtain of sin, guilt, shame, and condemnation that separated us from him. You see him healing and restoring what is broken about us and our world in order to make it all new. You hear the invitation that he did this all as a free gift that we simply receive by trusting in Jesus. The house is beautiful and when you check the foundation, you discover that it is rock solid so you can bet your life on it and live with confidence in Jesus as the Lord of life.

More in For You

March 25, 2018

Crucified, Died, Buried

March 18, 2018

Tried and Condemned

March 11, 2018

Betrayed, Arrested, Denied, Mocked