Easter                                                                                                   Luke 24:36-53

 

Pray - Lord, thank you for your word that we will read in a few minutes. Thank you for the thoughts that we will have together and we pray that you will open our eyes, open our hearts to whatever you want us to hear, for whatever you want us to see, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

 

Let me start by asking ourselves a question; Are we nuts? Are we crazy?

  -we are here today, celebrating that 2000 years ago, a man we believe was GodÉ

  -that man, Jesus, was killed, but 3 days later rose from the dead

  -so are we religious fanatics, deceived, are we just gullible or is there reason to our faith?

 

If the Resurrection is true, then something mind-boggling happened in human history

  -If Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, he has a unique place in all of history

  -if Jesus was risen from the dead, he is no longer just one of many religious leaders

  -if itŐs not true we are the most gullible people on the face of the earth

 

But If this Jesus who claimed to be God really rose from the deadÉ

  -he became the only religious leader in all human history with power over life and death

  -and if this is true, when Jesus calls me & you to follow him

  -that should make us listen or in the very least, it should cause to want to find out more

 

2,000 years ago a community of people declared that they had met the resurrected Jesus

  -people today & esp. in western society tend to look down on people of other cultures/times

  -we think people thousands of years ago, would have believed anything.

  -so one of the questions this morning is, were the people of JesusŐ day just gullible?

 

Israelite people of Jesus day were waiting for a Messiah, an anointed one = THE King

  -Messiah/King would be sent by God & would fully/finally deliver Israel from her enemies

 

And all of a sudden, the followers of JesusÉ

  -who also had been waiting for a political military leader, THE King, like everyone else

  -all of a sudden after they witness his death and go into hiding in fear

  -all of a sudden these people begin proclaiming Jesus has been raised from the deadÉ

     -begin preaching Messiah didnŐt come to be military King to deliver Israel from enemies

    -but came to suffer and die as a sacrifice for our forgiveness before God

    -and that is not only a completely new idea in their culture, itŐs an unpopular idea

    -itŐs an idea that was going to put targets on their backs, cost many of them their lives

 

So hereŐs the question, Why change? Why the new message? In JesusŐ dayÉ

  -there were religious people that expected the resurrection of righteous at the end of time

  -but at no time in human history, is there any nation expecting resurrection among people

  -when people died, just like today, people expected them to stay dead

  -so the question is, why do these devout Jews insist that Jesus was resurrected?

 

And this insisted he wasnŐt just a ghost or a spirit

  -but was resurrected in a body that could eat, had wounds, could walk through walls.

 

There were many messianic movements in Jesus timeÉ

  -Jesus wasnŐt the only person who claimed to be the Messiah

  -his disciples werenŐt the only followers who claimed their leader was the Messiah

  -and like Jesus most people who claimed to be the Messiah, usually ended up dead

     -and their followers usually disbanded or moved on to the next Messiah

     -again, why would JesusŐ followers be so different?

     -why would they insist, at the cost of their own lives that Jesus was alive

 

ThereŐs a few things that stand out as odd, if these disciples were lyingÉ

 

In JesusŐ day women were considered to be unreliable witnesses.

  -seen as second-class citizens / testimony not allowed in a court of law

  -yet all four gospels insist that the first witnesses to the resurrection of J.C. were women

-so, if you were making up lie, why would you insist the first witnessesÉ

     -were people that everyone would automatically discredit, based on their gender?

 

Another odd thing is the missing bodyÉ

  -Jesus disciples donŐt make the resurrection claim 100/50/few years later, but 3 days later

  -because they were afraid the disciples would pull something, rel. leaders talk to Pilate

  -the tomb was already sealed with a stone

  -So Pilate ordered that an official seal of Rome be placed on the tomb

  -and he ordered that the tomb be guarded by Roman Guards

  -and yet after all that, stone is rolled away, body is gone and guards canŐt account for it

 

Another problem is the message the disciples began to preachÉ

  -the message that the disciples began to preach didnŐt give them power/fame/money

  -instead they got persecuted and many died

  -why invent a message that will give you nothing, but cost you everything?

 

ThereŐs another problem with the new message the disciples began to preachÉ

  -Israel had faced years of abuse at the hands of non-Jewish powers

  -there was all kinds of prejudice in Jewish society against non-Jewish people

  -Jews thought that to eat with a non-Jew would make you spiritually unclean

 

So why would these Jewish Christ-followers all of a sudden include all non-Jewish nations?

  -why would they include those nations that had mistreated them & they had even hated

  -why would they include those nations in message that God wanted to forgive them too?

 

What cause, what explanation is big enough to account for all these things?

Read Luke 24:36-53

 

At the beginning of chp. 24 you have the women going to the tomb to prepare body

 

When they get there stoneŐs rolled away/guards are gone and so is the bodyÉ

  -and two men in blazing clothes appear to them and ask them a question

  -why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? And then they say itÉ

  -He isnŐt here! He is risen from the dead!

  -and then they remind them of something Jesus had saidÉ

ŇRemember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man[b] must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.ÓRemember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man[b] must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.Ó

 

So a bunch of ladies go back and tell the disciples what happened (& bible tells usÉ)

  -Ňthe story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didnŐt believe itÓ

       -didnŐt believe it because it sounded nuts, hadnŐt understood Jesus, womenŐs testimony

       -they still thought Jesus was just another Messiah who didnŐt come through

       -but Peter goes to check anyway, and he finds the tomb empty

 

On the next scene in this chapter, you have two followers of Jesus on a road.

  -They are talking to one another about what had just happened in Jerusalem.

  -Jesus joins them, they don't recognize him/asks them "What are you talking about?"

  -theyŐre surprised, so they ask him - "Are you the only one who doesn't know?"

  -so they tell him about Jesus and how he was a prophet/crucified and died

-& hereŐs key thing they say "We had hoped that he would be the one to deliver Israel"

-again, hereŐs two disciples and they are not expecting a resurrected Jesus.

 

At that point Jesus reveals himself to them

  -he rebukes them lightly for missing the point, teaches them and eats with them

  -They go running back to the other disciples with the news

  -and at that point rest of disciples tell them, "It is true, because he appeared to SimonÓ

 

And just as theyŐre talking about all thisÉ

  -Jesus miraculously shows us and says to them "Peace be with you"

  -and even though theyŐve heard the reports - When they see him they think he is a ghost.

  -vs 37-43 describe all effort Jesus goes through to convince them that he is not a ghost.

     -look at my hands and my feet - Touch me and see."

     -and even then the Bible says they still did not believe it because of joy & amazement

     -that means they didnŐt believe because it was too good to be true

     -how could he be alive? (saw him die a brutal death)

     -and at that point Jesus asks, ŇDo you have something to eat?Ó

     -and he eats to show them he is a real person in a real body

 

In the next while (as heŐs eating) Jesus takes time to take them to O.T. and teach themÉ

  -& he describes how whole O.T. declares how the Messiah must suffer & rise from dead

  -v. 45 says he opened their minds, things that didn't make sense before now made sense.

  -And finally once they understand the true role of the messiah (suffer/die/rise again)

     -he tells them that they are witnesses of this so thatÉ

     -they can carry this message to all nations beginning at Jerusalem & to all the earth

     -and he tells them he will give them the power to do exactly that

 

Luke doesnŐt tells us thisÉ

  -but from the other gospels we know Jesus met with his disciples, on/off for 40 more days

  -after that he ascends to heaven for good and 10 days later, the Christian Church is born.

 

 

 

So, what explains it all?

  -What explains a new idea of a Messiah who suffers in our place for our sin?

  -What explains a new idea of resurrection? Jesus in a body witnessed by men/women

  -What explains a new idea of forgiveness? costly forgiveness that even includes Israel's enemies

   -What explains their willingness to proclaim this message without violence to whole world?

     -even at the cost of persecution and their own death?

     -They say thereŐs only one reason for their faith

       -resurrection of Jesus Christ from dead & thatŐs the only reason that makes sense

 

So today we affirm the outrageous claim that the resurrection of Jesus is true

  -and if it is true then that changes everything - It means that there is a GodÉ

  -and it means that that God loves us enough to at great cost find a way to forgive usÉ

  -to forgive our apathy/hostility/self-centeredness/hatred/bigotry/prejudiceÉ

  -to forgive all that we willingly choose that separates us from God

 

So hereŐs the question for this morning, if the resurrection is realÉ

  -can we go on living the kind of life we have been living up until now?

  -The resurrected Jesus is not something that you add as a side dish to your life

  -The resurrected Jesus is at the heart of what real life is all about, and he call us toÉ

     -learn from him, to follow him and to receive him into our lives.     

 

This is not a call for gullible people or people looking for a crutchÉ.

  -But it is a call to imperfect people, people who are needy and even broken

  -people who might have all kinds of success on the outside

     -but who realize that if thereŐs a God and heŐs perfect, they donŐt measure up

     -In other words, it's a call for normal people, people just like you and I.

 

So this then is the message of Easter. Christ has risen!

  -he has risen and invites you into relationship with the God of the Universe who loves you

     -who loved you enough to leave heaven, become like us, experience life, die in our place

  -he has risen and in his death he destroyed the power of sin and death over you

     -and if you entrust your life to him

     -the sin that stood as a barrier between you and God has been forgiven in him

     -ChristŐs obedience and perfection is offered to God on your behalf, you are accepted

  -he has risen and he offers you freedom to live the life you were created to live

     -a life with eternal meaning, purpose and fulfillment

-he has risen and he invites you to become a part of his family

-Christ has risen! And itŐs not just a blind faith!

  -but it demands a step of faith for those who will follow him

 

 

Let's pray.