King of Comfort
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Good evening
My name is Bruce.
If you’re new, welcome.
If you’re not, welcome back.
Those who are new, fill out the survey/sign up for the newsletter.
Fall Retreat
Fall Retreat
The theme of the retreat is “Don’t Miss Out!”
We’ll be going through the scripture found in Matthew 28:16-20
This is what’s commonly referred to as the Great Commission
“To go and make disciples in the world, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit...”
And, in summary, it’s the work of God in the world that He has called every believer to participate in.
There’s an element of us not missing out on the work that God is doing in the world.
But what we’re going to focus on during the retreat is the idea that if we’re not participating in the work that God is doing, we run the risk of missing out on experiencing more deeply who Jesus is and what he offers each of us.
It’s easy for us as believers to think we ought to do the Great Commission because it’s a command from Jesus
This is true.
But God doesn’t give commands that aren’t for the overall betterment of those who follow Him.
Yes, there’s obedience, and obedience is a very important reason for us to live out the Great Commission.
But that’s just one reason.
There are many other reasons to participate, too.
And these reasons are beneficial to us, as we participate in the Great Commission.
So I hope you’ll join us.
QR code will come up periodically on the screen.
We’ll spam the Young Adult Group Me with it.
A link is also in the Young Adult Newsletter.
And you can come talk to me or any of the the table leaders, and we’ll get that to you.
If money is an issue, please come talk to me, Jess Sanchez, or Pastor John, we do have scholarships that should help lighten the financial burden if that’s your main concern.
Tonight
Tonight
Tonight, I want to give a small taste of what’s to come at the Fall Retreat.
Series: See Your Savior
Chronological study of the ministry of Jesus
From the first miracle (water into wine) to his death and resurrection
Tonight we’re right in the middle of two major events in the history of Christianity
On one end, you have Jesus’ resurrection
On the other end, you have Jesus’ commission to the disciples (and to all followers beyond them)
After his resurrection, Jesus appears to the disciples.
That’s what we’ll be learning about tonight.
I really want to emphasize the importance of this event.
It’s not just a minor detail in this big story.
It’s sandwiched between arguably the two most important things that occurred in Jesus’ ministry.
(resurrection and commission)
When writing a story, if you’re a good storyteller, you don’t include meaningless details between two major events.
No, you include supporting details.
You include details that are drawn from the preceding event that bring support, substance, and clarity to the readers’ understanding of the upcoming event.
That’s what’s happening here.
Luke is giving very important details to provide you, the reader, clarity what is going to happen (the great commission)
And he’s giving you an idea of how it’s even remotely possible for a bunch of terrified Jews to take the news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and bring it into the world for the masses to hear.
So that eventually, 2000 years later, you and I are meeting here, in this room, talking about him.
So that’s the progression of these events:
The Great Victory (precedes) —> The Great Comfort —> (enables) The Great Commission
Tonight we’re going to be focusing on The Great Comfort.
I want us to examine how...
After God’s Great Victory, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead,
Jesus is providing a Great Comfort,
in order to equip the disciples to perform the Great Commission.
So let’s open our Bibles to Luke 24:36-49.
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Breakdown
Breakdown
Set the Context
Set the Context
THIS: Road to Emmaus.
They don’t recognize Jesus
“Man, you really don’t understand what the prophets said, do you?”
Then he begins from the books of Moses and the books of the prophets
He explains where Jesus fits into all of that.
All of the theology, all of the prophecy, everything.
He points it all towards Jesus so they can understand WHY it was necessary for Jesus to die.
Then as he’s eating with them, Jesus breaks the bread, their eyes are opened, and Boom… They recognized Jesus right before Jesus vanishes from them.
So instead of going to Emmaus
they go back to Jerusalem and tell all the disciples gathered in a room together
Including the 11 disciples (were 12, not anymore)
And many more people in the room
They’re huddled in this room together, because they’re scared.
Their teacher, their rabbi, their leader, their master was just murdered.
Earlier that morning, they came to find out that his body was missing.
We have the luxury of looking at this event with the context of the entire Bible.
We have to remember that, these people are still living the story that we are reading.
So they don’t have all of the context.
It’s easy for us to look back on that event and almost look down on the disciples for their response
“Well, if I was in that situation, I would have believed.”
Or “I would have reminded them, ‘Well actually, Jesus said that he was going to do this, and rise up again after 3 days.”
We look down on their response.
Think about it.
Who knows about the Disciple named Thomas?
Raise your hand.
Why do you know Thomas? What is he known for?
Doubting.
We literally call him “Doubting Thomas.”
John 11, Lazarus
Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus is dead, and Thomas says, “Well let’s go, we’ll die with him.”
Yet we don’t hear about “Loyal Thomas”
We don’t hear about “Ride or Die Thomas”
No, this man is now known forever as a man full of doubt.
Isn’t that messed up?
He’s known for his doubt.
We look down on him for his doubt.
We forget that they don’t have the context for this.
They don’t have the Bible like we do, because they literally wrote so much of the New Testament.
They don’t have the teachings of Paul to guide them through the promises of God.
Why? Because at the very moment of this story, Paul was still Saul, and Saul is trying to kill them.
That’s why they’re huddled up in this room.
They’re terrified.
Their leader is gone.
Yes, Jesus did say that he’d return.
And, Jesus did do everything else that he said he’d do.
He had a good track record.
Jesus was right all the time.
But who among us,
Even with the context of the entire Bible
Even with the hope that we have of salvation
Even with our theological foundations birthed through the teachings of Paul
Who among us, in the midst of uncertainty,
especially when the potential outcomes of this uncertainty can be really debilitating.
Who among us, without an ounce of doubt, hold to the promises that we have in Jesus Christ?
I hope you see that as a rhetorical question.
It is.
The answer is none of us.
All of us doubt, especially in the midst of uncertainty.
College students in the room
I know some of you are are struggling with this idea of what to do with your life.
You’re in this program, you have this major, but you’re also 19, 20 years old
And it can be terrifying to think about the potential of not liking the career that you’re setting yourself up for.
The fear of spending all this time and money on a degree that sets you up for a career you may grow to hate.
Others may be deciding whether they should pursue a degree that sets them up for better job prospects or a degree that lets them pursue their passions although it may not lead to a career with good payor stability
Those of you out of college.
Do you change careers?
Do you stick with what you’re doing?
What if you eventually regret that decision?
It’s easy to doubt ourselves.
Even in dating.
A lot of young adults really desire to be in a relationship
As years pass and you find yourself still single, you begin to wonder if your standards are too high
Or you begin to doubt your self worth.
Then you start considering,
“Yeah, I know that guy’s not super serious about his faith. But he says he’s Christian. Maybe I can just help him grow in his faith.”
Asking yourself, “What if this guy’s the best option I’ll ever have?” “If I pass him up, I don’t want to end up single forever.”
And we’re more prone to jump into rash decisions because of our fears of what COULD BE
We justify it because of self-preservation
What we fail to realize is that when we make decisions based on fear,
we actually set ourselves up more for harm than for good.
It’s easy for us to be consumed by the potential outcomes and to be terrified.
In uncertainty, it seems that everything becomes a possibility.
And when push comes to shove, even though there’s potential for good possibilities
we find ourselves dwelling on the potential for bad possibilities and we end up living in a way that strives to limit the bad possibilities from happening.
It limits the freedom that we live in.
We start living in:
fear
trepidation
hesitancy
And instead of confidently pursuing something that we know God has called us to do
Or confidently living in obedience to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in us
We find ourselves either hesitantly stepping in (which is good, we’re still stepping forward, albeit hesitantly), standing still right where we are, or moving away from what we ought to do.
That’s what happens when we live in fear of the negative possibilities.
We’re doubtful just like the disciples.
“How could you doubt? Jesus hasn’t given you any reason to doubt him up to this point, why doubt him now?”
God’s got you.
We know that.
Intellectually, we know that God’s Got Us.
We literally just sang a song about it.
God doesn’t fail. He hasn’t failed. And he won’t.
Yet, in the midst of uncertainty, we stop looking at Jesus, and we start looking at our problems and dwelling on the potential outcomes of our problems.
I think in the same way, the disciples are lost right now.
They’re focusing on the source of their fear rather than the source of their hope.
So Jesus inserts himself into this room and brings certainty into uncertainty.
I think this is why Luke includes this story in his Gospel.
It’s an image of Jesus bringing certainty into a place of uncertainty.
Bringing peace into a place of fear.
Bringing reassurance into a place of doubt.
Jesus is bringing this Great Comfort into a place of discomfort.
So let’s look back at the text, how does Jesus bring this Great Comfort?
The Great Comfort
The Great Comfort
Twofold: Comfort and Confidence
King of Comfort
King of Comfort
They are in this room because they are afraid.
They’re hiding out. Laying low. They don’t want to draw any attention to themselves.
They’re fearful.
And although the two men from the road to Emmaus were there in the room with them
sharing all of this to the group, “It’s true! Jesus resurrected, and he appeared! We saw him!”
They were still crippled with doubt
How do we know that?
Because right here:
Jesus appears, “Peace be with you”
They think they saw a ghost.
If they weren’t still doubting, they would have celebrated the moment they saw him and heard his still familiar voice saying, “Peace be with you.”
So Jesus then addresses their doubts.
“Why do you have these doubts?”
“What more do you want?”
“Look (gesture HANDS, FEET)!”
“Do you see these wounds?”
“Touch them, they’re real. I am real.”
Jesus brings the certainty that he is real into this place of uncertainty.
He draws their eyes off of the situation and circumstances surrounding them, and he puts their eyes back on him.
Effectively, he says, “Look. Look at me. Look at what I did! (gesture). These are real. I really did do what I said I was going to do.”
And their disbelief that came from doubt turned to disbelief out of amazement.
This happy, joyful, “Dude, he really did it!!!! I can’t believe it. You know what this means? This means everything is true.”
They’re starting to realize that if Jesus really did do what he said he would, then everything is true.
Paul touches on this idea in 1 Corinthians 15:14-17
And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO HAPPEN IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
Jesus could have been born
he could have lived a perfect life
he could have been tortured, crucified, and buried.
He could have fulfilled many prophecies.
But if he did not raise from the dead, NONE OF THAT WOULD HAVE MATTERED.
But BECAUSE he raised from the dead, everything else he did had eternal value.
Now we today, and the disciples then, live knowing that Jesus lived that perfect life, died an unjust death, rose again to life, and in doing so he conquered death, defeated sin, and has given us eternal life with him!
THAT’S THE TRUTH.
THAT’S THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESURRECTION.
EVERYTHING HINGES ON THAT.
And Jesus showing up in that room is Him proclaiming,
“I AM WHO I SAY I AM!”
“I DID WHAT I SAID I’D DO”
and “YOU WILL HAVE WHAT I SAID YOU’LL BE GIVEN”
Jesus going into that room is bringing certainty into a place of uncertainty.
He’s saying to the disciples,
“I know you’re scared. But look at me. (GESTURE HANDS)”
“This is real.”
“And it really hurt.”
“But that’s the love that I have for you. That I’d do this. To save you, to save the world.”
This the reassurance that Jesus is giving them through this appearance.
He’s reassuring them that he’s real, and that he actually did die and raise to life, and that’s comforting.
Because he is showing them that “He is who He said he was, and he did what he said he’d do.”
That breeds confidence, we’ll get to that later.
Jesus is like: “Don’t be afraid. I’m not a ghost. I’m really here with you.”
The greek word for ghost here is “Phantasma” it’s used only 3 times in the New Testament.
Here, and the other two times is when the disciples see Jesus walking on water.
Summarize story
Jesus walking on water.
They think they see a ghost.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Peter walks on water.
Until, Peter starts to focus on the waves and get afraid.
Once his eyes move from Jesus to the waves, he begins to sink.
There is a deep parallel here between this story and the story of Jesus appearing after his resurrection.
Peter began to sink once he focused on the source of his fears, rather than the source of his hope, the source of his power, the source of his strength.
In the same way, the disciples in the room from Luke 24 have their eyes fixed on the source of their fears, on the circumstances surrounding them.
And Jesus appears in the room and draws their eyesight away from their circumstances, saying, “Look at me (GESTURE)”
Forcing them to look at the source of their hope, the source of their power, the source of their strength.
Jesus is taking their fears and casting it away.
Like a father his small child.
“Hey, hey, look at me. I’m right here. I got you. It’s okay. Daddy loves you. You’re okay. I got you. Come here.”
He’s giving them comfort in this very uncomfortable situation.
And in doing that, he doesn’t just give them comfort, he gives them confidence.
King of Confidence
King of Confidence
Like that situation with the father and the child.
It’s not like the child just magically obtained the skills of a black belt and the strength to benchpress 350.
No, that’s ridiculous.
The child has confidence because of the father.
It’s because the child is in the father’s arms.
Every kid knows that nothing can get you if you’re in your father’s arms.
That’s how kids are. They have a childlike faith that their father is superman. That he can overcome everything.
Sadly, as we grow up, we begin to realize that our dad’s aren’t superhuman.
We come to realize that:
he’s weaker than we thought
that he’s also scared
that he can’t overcome most things, let alone everything that comes his way
As we grow up from childhood
We realize these things about our fathers
and in many ways we lose confidence in our father’s or mother’s ability to protect us from things
But as we grow up in our faith
we begin to realize that:
Jesus is who he says he is
he did what he said he’d do
he did overcome and he can overcome
and our confidence in Jesus builds
Peter walking on water:
We know that when Peter was focused on the Lord, he was able to walk on water.
He was able to participate in what Jesus was doing.
Here’s where the parallel gets even deeper.
Did you know that throughout the Bible, water is used symbolically to represent death?
Exodus: The Israelites had to pass through Red Sea in order to escape the Egyptians.
The Israelites make it through, but the pursuing Egyptians are swallowed by the water, and met with death.
The Israelites make it through and eventually they get to the promised land.
They had to pass through death to get to life.
Symbolism in baptism:
Jesus was submerged in the waters of the Jordan, baptized into death
Then he was raised up into life, and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him.
When we’re baptized, we’re submerged into water, representing a death to our flesh and our sin, and we’re raised up from the water in new life.
As John 5:24 puts it, We’ve crossed over from death to life.
Baptized in his death, and united with him in his resurrection. Paul says this in Romans 6.
Jesus’ walking on water can symbolically represent him conquering death.
He is above death.
And only when Peter’s eyes are fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of his faith, can he also walk on water, sharing in the resurrected life of Christ.
Once his eyes go elsewhere, he begins to sink.
That’s an imperfect picture of what was to come.
Because once we place our faith in Christ, we’re sealed by the Holy Spirit
We don’t lose our salvation simply because we doubt here and there, otherwise we’d all be screwed
We all have doubts sometimes, we just covered that.
So the story of Jesus and Peter walking on water isn’t the perfect picture of what was to come.
Eventually what we see is that Jesus really died.
And then he really resurrected to life.
Which means he REALLY conquered death.
And that means anybody who places their faith in him, those who fix their eyes on Jesus, get to share in that resurrected life.
Those of us who put our faith in Christ, symbolically walk on water ourselves (through the power of Christ)
We overcome death because Jesus has overcome death,
And we fix our eyes on Jesus and his glorious work.
In this instance, Jesus is giving them confidence in the work that he did to secure them eternal life.
In faith, as their eyes are fixed on Jesus, the disciples now get to participate in his resurrection.
Instead of focusing on the source of their fear
Jesus is forcing the disciples to look at the source of their hope, the source of their power, the source of their strength.
And to put their faith in what he did.
“I’m not just a guy who says things.”
“I do what I say I’ll do.”
“Look at my hands. This is proof of that.”
“The words that come from my mouth aren’t just lofty sayings, they’re reality.”
“What I say will happen.”
Trust that. Have confidence.
When Jesus appears to the disciples, he’s giving them confidence.
Further Confidence:
In vs. 44-45, Jesus opens the minds of the disciples and allows them to understand the Scriptures.
“Everything written about him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
So Jesus is showing them how he fulfills all of the prophecies about him written in the Old Testament.
And that builds their confidence in Him.
They’re seeing example after example after example of Jesus fulfilling all of these prophecies.
Not just prophecies from the Old Testament, but even the things that Jesus prophesied about Himself earlier in the Gospels.
“What was written about me, what I say about me, all of that has and will happen.”
He’s building their confidence.
He’s doing it for a reason, because in vs 47 he’s going to break some news to them.
The progression we mentioned earlier...
The Great Victory —> The Great Comfort —> The Great Commission
v.47 Apparently, one of the things that’s written is that repentance and forgiveness of sins WILL be preached in Jesus’ name to ALL NATIONS, beginning with Jerusalem.
And who’s going to do it?
Not Jesus. Jesus is going to ascend into Heaven.
The disciples are going to do it.
So by revealing Himself to them, he is equipping them with confidence to accomplish this task.
This isn’t like the movies where the hero narrowly escapes a burning building or a massive explosion
Jesus isn’t walking around limping, bleeding, and looking for someone to stitch him up.
No, Christ was VICTORIOUS!
He was TRIUMPHANT!
When He tells them to look at his wounds, he’s not doing it to ask for their help.
He’s doing it to show them how victorious he was.
And it worked.
He drew their attention away from their fears and uncertainties of the day,
and he showed them his victory.
He showed them that he accomplished the impossible.
That he did what he said he’d do.
He gave those disciples confidence.
This account doesn’t just give those who saw him confidence, but it gives us confidence today.
And we know - today - that Jesus was successful in giving them this confidence.
Because the disciples were willing to abandon everything they had
They were willing to put themselves in the face of death and danger
To preach the message of Jesus’ resurrection.
That’s not something you do if you don’t truly believe what you’re doing.
That’s one of the strongest arguments in apologetics, in defending the faith.
We can be confident that the disciples were telling the truth, because they had too much at risk to perpetuate a lie that gave them earthly benefit.
(ACTS 15:5) Pharisees came to faith - the cream of the crop of the Jewish faith
abandoning all of their schooling, reputation, and power to follow Jesus.
because they TRULY believed what they were preaching
So the disciples REALLY believed what they were preaching.
And I think that it’s this story right here that caused that belief.
(1 Cor 15) After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to over 500 people, including Paul
Over 500 people saw firsthand that Jesus triumphantly rose from the dead
they didn’t see a bruised and bloody Jesus
they saw a triumphant one, raised to life
and they believed.
You and I are going to do it.
And just like that, we’re in a state of fear again right?
Anxiety.
“What if people don’t accept me?”
“What if I say the wrong things?”
“What if I try, and I accidentally push people away from Jesus and they never end up accepting Christ?”
Just like that, we’re focusing on the source of our fears again and not on the source of our strength.
I’m not bashing on us.
I’m going to close with this...
I’m not bashing us. I’m not bashing the disciples.
This is human nature.
We’re fearful creatures.
We’re selfish, we’re born sinful, we’re always looking out for our well being.
It makes sense that we would operate in fear and self-preservation a lot.
And it would be idiotic for us to think that God did not consider this universal truth in his plan.
Of course he did.
He knows our tendencies.
He knows our hearts.
He knows our fears.
He knows our motivations.
He knows us better than we do.
So of course, his plan acknowledges this.
Jesus tells the disciples that they will do this, but that they won’t go until something happens.
What is it? verse 49
Luke 24:49 (NIV)
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
We, having the whole context of the Bible understand this to be the coming of the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes to the disciples.
Then they start preaching the Gospel BOLDLY in Jerusalem.
Then they begin to scatter in Acts 8 because of persecution, and they go throughout the world.
And now you and I are here in Falls Church, VA talking about a middle eastern Jew who died for our sins
BECAUSE of these disciples,
who through the confidence that they had in Jesus Christ,
and the power that they had through the Holy Spirit,
boldly preached the Gospel in Jerusalem and into the world.
(Softly) And now we,
who have the Holy Spirit living in us and a confidence in Jesus directing our eyesight to him,
can boldly step into our calling to live out the great commission.
We can have boldness knowing that no matter what our circumstances,
our hope does not change.
Our hope is not in the outcome of our circumstance.
Our hope is in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Our hope is in the fact that Jesus ACTUALLY rose from the dead.
Our hope is in the fact that He successfully acquired eternal life for us.
For those who believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose again to new life,
Our hope is in the reality that, the absolute worst outcome any of us can face in life is that we have an eternity of joy and happiness in the presence of the Lord awaiting us.
That’s the confidence we can have to go out into the world, into our workplaces, into our homes, and neighborhoods
to share the love of Jesus Christ with others.
To give them that same hope that we have in Christ.
....
That’s just a taste of what’s to come at the Young Adult retreat.
I’m so excited for us to dive deeper into this.
I think we’ll learn a lot together that weekend.
So sign up.
Questions: