Easter Sunday 2025 - Jesus risen on the 7 mile road!
Easter 2025 - Jesus risen on the 7 mile road • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 10 viewsJesus meet us on the Road we are on as the Real and risen Savior and Lord
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GOOD MORNING LOVED ONES!
HE is Risen!
HE Is RISEN!
HE is Risen Indeed!
Tradition Holds that the assembly of the called out ones, the individual members of the Body of Christ also known as the church; has used this phrase for centuries when greeting one another.
This is so much more than tradition -
When we say “He is risen!” IT should deeply remind us joyous news we celebrate this morning and every Sunday morning!
The resurrection of Jesus gives us hope!
ushers in salvation!
looks to a future of our own resurrection with Him!
grants the believer eternal life with God as an eternal recipient of His grace and love.
INTRO
If I have not had a chance to meet you; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.
INVITES
Welcome Home!
IT’S FRIDAY BUT SUNDAYS COMIN” VIDEO
The video we just saw is such an important reality in the history of the world.
what can so easily do becasue they are separated by a couple of days is we in just the slightest way separate the cross from the resurrection.
We can very easily think - “well that was Friday and this is Sunday. That was His death this is His Resurrection.
Loved ones, the reason we talk about the cross and what happened on that Friday on Resurrection Sunday
and
the reason we talk about the Sunday that’s coming on Good Friday
Is we remember the fact that Jesus died and we remember the method by which Jesus died and we remember the why Jesus died!
We do that becasue the two (his death and resurrection) are really the events that changed the world!
Without the cross there is no Resurrection -
Without the Resurrection Jesus death was just another roman execution!
His death and Resurrection are combined and interconnected as the one event that ushered in hope, salvation, redemption and complete restoration of relationship with God for everyone who believes.
LETS GRAB OUR BIBLES IF YOU HAVE ONE AND
Open it to Luke Chapter 24 today take this beautiful rain filled Sunday to celebrate the most significant event in all of Human history!
The day when the tomb was empty - Sin and Death were defeated - and Jesus was raised from the dead!
NOW If you don’t have a bible or simply would like a new one!……..
PRAYER OVER MESSAGE
is that Jesus would meet all of us!
That the Regenerated, Resurrected, Risen, Jesus would meet all of us right were we are at.
That the Holy Spirit of God would cause our eyes and hearts to be opened to the eternal reality that Jesus is indeed risen.
That He was raised by the very power of God that created all things.
and Jesus, the risen Jesus, is meeting you and me and every one of us on our journey - no matter what road this Journey of our life is taking us down.
The long road or the short road -
Rough or smooth
Hard or easy -
Not matter what Road we are on!
Jesus, the risen Jesus is meeting us there!
and He is meeting us as THE Real and Risen Lord and Savior!
For everyone who is here this morning who claims Christ as Lord and Savior - My prayer for you is that as Jesus meets you where you are this morning the Gospel would be renewed in your heart mind and life!
I pray that renewal would be manifested in your plans and purposes and your daily agenda!
For everyone that is Here or watching on life stream this morning that is not really sure about all this Jesus stuff, or has never heard of Jesus, or just is struggling to trust in the person of Jesus, the risen Jesus.
My Prayer is that you would know that Jesus is meeting you and you would begin to see and hear and experience Jesus, the Risen Jesus as the one God; the Only God; who loves you and the one who can ultimately satisfy the longing of hope that we all carry!
ENGAGEMENT –
Life journeys are so very interesting and each one of us has been given by God our own individual journey - Our own Individual Road that we are traveling though life on.
What is interesting is that every one of our roads - every one of our journeys is different.
Some roads, Some journeys are slightly different than others!
and Some Roads are completely and dynamically different that others.
Some rich, Some poor, Some comfortable, Some struggling, Some happy some sad, and all sorts of different long term outcomes!
The other interesting thing that is interesting is how much our individual roads have in common with one another,
All of us can look at our roads and the roads of others and see similarities - Moments or seasons of joy and happiness!
Moments or seasons of struggle and difficulties!
Moments and seasons of achievement and satisfaction coupled with moments of deep despair and anguish!
Moments of companionship and connections and moments or seasons of loneliness and isolation.
Moments of certainty, emotional comfort and confidence and abundant life -
with moments and seasons of uncertainty, fear anxiety, and seasons of uncertain survival and just trying to make it to the very next breath.
The other thing that is so very interesting about our roads is that we can so easily look at another persons road that think -
Man oh Man I'm so very thankful that I have not had those kind of bumps in my road.
Or even more difficult - We look at the road and journey of another and we say:
Man oh man I wish that was my road, I really would prefer that one instead of the one I am on.
TENSION
One of the problems that all of us face is looking at these different roads that we are all on!
Examining the differences and Thinking to ourselves all of these roads lead to the same place, the same destination, the same discovery on their own, simply becasue we are all on our own road!
Loved ones - Not on their own they won’t
You see loved ones - our roads were are all on
The journey we are all on -
they don’t lead simply to a stopping point, where our road and our journey just ends -
No loved ones - all of our roads - all of our journeys - all of our life leads us to an exit.
The Exit TO eternity - And exit that comes to all people everywhere.
loved ones the hope of the Cross
the Hope of the Resurrection
The hope of Jesus being Risen from the dead
The Hope of this Sunday
is that He is wanting to meet us on the Road we are on. No matter what that Road looks like!
BACKGROUND
Some back ground on our text this morning.
It is finished!
AND ALL the work that God the father Had sent Him to do was FINISHED.
He had atoned for the sins of the world
Absorbed the guilt of every sin of every future believer -
as God in the flesh He had satisfied God’s justified wrath against sin for all who believe!
and this is where this Historical account of the most important event in all of human history picks up
UNPACKING
VVS 1-12 of Luke's gospel provides us ONE of the 4 historical account of Jesus - Being Raised from the Dead.
Raised from the Dead?
Seems totally and completely impossible after all the Romans back then were total experts in killing someone by Crucifixion.
Loved ones know this - Believing that Jesus was literally raised from the dead is not and unreasonable irrational conclusion.
Rather it is the most reasonable and rational conclusion one can come to.
1st There are MULTIPLE writings outside the bible that validate that Early Christians claim to have seen Jesus after His death.
2 - The Eye witnesses - The 11 disciples and others.
All of them but one was martyred - get this - NOT for their faith in Jesus, but rather they were killed for what they claimed to have seen - Jesus Alive after His death.
Loved one there are several things that we must grab onto in these first 12 verses of this Historical Narrative.
First -
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.
It was on the first day of the week. Which is what we all now call Sunday.
and if you have ever wondered why the Church comes together to worship on Sunday morning - Here it is right here -
This Scene - Early Dawn - Sunday morning!
What was happening is that there are several women who are headed to the Tomb, the burial place of Jesus to Anoint His dead body with Spices.
This was something that first century people did.
I can only imagine what what happening in the hearts and minds of these women who were heading to the tomb!
They must have been going there Hopeless -
They were going there becasue this man who had done amazing things and taught amazing wonderful things -
This man who claimed to be one with God - this man who they had placed all their hope in was dead.
and they MUST have been hopeless - Headed there to prep his body for long term burial and they were going there in grief and sadness.
And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
Seeing this it must have created in them a Huge amount of Curiosity -
Thinking that someone might have anticipated their arrival and was so nice and kind to have rolled the stone back for them -
Their curiosity must have been “who did that for us? That was so nice!
Watch how things shift!
but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
They go in fully expecting to find the body of Jesus! Remember - They have this experience with death that is the final thing - for them Every Journey ends in one destination.
The dead end called death!
But when they go in - No body
and the text says they were perplexed!
The word that we see for Perplexed in our language does not tell us the whole story -
In the Original language of the New Testament - It means “to be at a total loss with severe anxiety and doubt!
they full expected in their grief and sadness and their loss to find the body of Jesus and when they did not This through these ladies completely and totally off balance.
Ever been off balance - So many difficult things and losses come at you at one - There is no balance in life anywhere - All is anxious - All is doubting - All is fear?
That is what these ladies are feeling!
and this is the road they were on!
TO make it more intense for them -
4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 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.” 8 And they remembered his words,
AS thy were terrified - in all the emotions of the moment -
These two men ask “Why do you see the living among the dead?
What happens to these two women is in the craziness of their journey - In the difficulty of the road they are on - God sends them a message of Hope
Remember?
Remember what He said?
He said He would Rise and that is why he is not here He is risen!
And they remembered - Suddenly - IT all made sense - Suddenly they were on balance -
Suddenly the Road was now smooth -
Suddenly the Fact of the resurrection of Jesus solved EVERY fear, doubt, grief, loss, anxiety of the Journey -
The Fact of the resurrection ushered in hope, joy, Confidence and peace!
8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
In the hope - In the victory - in the confidence in the peace! What did they do?
They went and told somebody -
But here is the interesting thing - They didn't just go tell anybody - They went to the people who they knew were in fear - They went to the people who were in anguish and doubt and dealing with what they think is the final destination of every road - Death and the hopelessness and grief that come with that.
They told the disciples VS 10
They told the ones who’s road was similar to theirs!
Watch - VS 11
They did not believe them - Seems like an “idle tale”
Here is what an Idle tale means - It means non-sense -
A story that makes no sense at all -
But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
the Other accounts of Peter going to the tomb will describe Peter and John in a foot race to get tot he tomb to see if the hope and victory that these ladies said was true -
What did they find -
Empty!
What did they do - They went back home and Marveled -
Meaning they were amazed -
When we get to Verse 13 - The scene Changed but the Day does not!
This is later in the day - The same day - The first day of the week - The same day Jesus was raised from the dead.
The same day that Changed Everything for all of humanity!
Except this encounter is on a different road -
13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
This is with two men who are not on the same road as the women who went to the tomb -
Those women were going towards Jesus -
They were going to Jesus in their grief and uncertainty and in their Loss and doubt.
These guys were headed away form Jesus -
These guys were headed Home -
7 miles away - they were headed Home - it had all come to an end - They thought all of the wonder was over - And they headed back to their own life.
And as they were walking they were talking - Sharing the Road away from Jesus and the resurrection together-
and while on this Particular Road - Jesus met them!
The Text actually says “Jesus drew near to them” and went with them”
Notice they did not seek Jesus out -
They felt Jesus had failed to live up to what He was supposed to live up to and they were on the road away from Jesus -
And Jesus drew close and went with them.
16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 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. 18 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?”
Vs 16 the text says their eye were kept from recognizing Him.
What we will come to understand from verses later on is these guys knew a lot about Jesus - they were even in the company of the disciples and the women -
But they wanted Jesus for their own agendas and their own plans and their own ambitions and what kept them from recognizing Jesus was their own desires for themselves.
But loved ones... the Resurrected Jesus meets them anyway!
and He joins in the conversations -
VS 17
says after Jesus asked to join in the conversation - they stood still and looked Sad.
and then Cleopas answered Jesus as if Jesus did not know what had happened as if Jesus was living under a Rock.
VSS 18
Are you the only one who does not know?
I love the humility of Jesus - What things?
I think it is very possible that Jesus responded to Cleopas that way to engage in the conversation - Jesus wanted relationship!
These guys were headed away from Jesus and Jesus strategically engages them in conversation for Relationship!
Cleopas then goes through the events!
VVS 19
Watch what He says about Jesus -
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,
You see these guys knew Jesus as a Prophet -
These guys knew Jesus becasue of his “mighty deeds” for what Jesus could do.
These guys knew jesus for Jesus wisdom and knowledge and intelligence.
VSS 20 they share what happened to the person they considered to be a prophet.
and then verse 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.
VS 21 opens up the heart - Vs 21 opens up the emotions-
VS 21 Opens up the sadness of Verse 17
VS21 Open up the disappointment
Vs 21 Opens up the agenda of these two and why they are on the road away from Jesus who has been raised from the dead.
Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning,
VSS22
Verse begins with “Moreover”
Here is what that means in the language of the New Testament -
It means - To our great surprise! Something that is and was completely unexpected to us here is what happened -
Watch the language Cleopas uses!
Women who went, did not find His body
came back talking about Angels saying “He is alive”
Watch what Cleopas says in vs 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.”
Some of those who were with us?
Is it possible that Cleopas and his road companion were with the 11 and the other women when Mary and Joanna and Mary Magdeline and the other women went and came back with this unbelievable tale?
Were they that close to Jesus and Company?
Were they part of the groups of people who didn't know and believe that Jesus was Who he says He is?
These were men who knew a lot about Jesus but didn't know the person of Jesus!
These guys were in the circle -
These 2 guys were in the area of seeing and hearing and being influenced?
and Yet they had their own common popular agenda and when it all came crashing down they took the road they were familure with -
They took the road back home to their old life
VSS 25
Watch what Jesus does -
Jesus in full conversation and full relationship with them - Meeting them on what ever road they were on -
Meeting them in their own conclusions that Hope was lost -
Sadness and disappointment that ruled their day - with this brief interesting occurrence with the women and the Peter and John.
Meeting them in their own surrender that the plan was complete ruined -
Jesus begins to reveal Himself -
25 And he said to them, “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.
We have to remember that These are Jewish Men Jesus is walking with - These are Jewish Men who Jesus is connecting with _
These are Jewish Men that Jesus is meeting them on the road that is leading away from the Resurrection -
These are Jewish men, who are supposed to know the old testament- who are in great sadness - who are in great disappointment who are in a place where they are giving up and walking away -
These men of all people, are not supposed to be in this place and on this road but they are.
And Jesus meets them right where they are and meets them right on the road they are on that leads away from the Resurrection.
Jesus says “Oh foolish ones” Meaning - Oh my goodness it is foolish for you to be sad and disappointed -
Here is why Jesus said this to them - You are slow of heart to Trust the Prophets!
Then Jesus asks a question he already know the answer to
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”
VSS 27
Jesus then continues to reveal Himself little by little while He is on the road - On the journey with these to guys.
He relates to them in a way that they can relate to -
He goes to what they should have know but were slow to believe and He builds in them a trust - A belief - A faith and he Does it in the most relatable way to these guys -
He opens the Scripture and Beginning with Moses - Who wrote the first five books of the Old Testament -
AND
Jesus goes through ALL of the Prophets - 5 major ones and 12 minor ones and revealed to them ALL Of the scriptures from all of thee sources that were written concerning Himself -
THE GOSPEL CONNECTION
Loved ones -
For the last 2000 plus years up to and including this morning - Jesus has been meeting people on their road - On their Journey!
This morning the resurrected Jesus meets all of us on our road.
Weather we are headed to him or away - Jesus is calling!
The Resurrected Jesus - God in the flesh -Who on the cross - Joyfully poured out His blood as the once and done sacrifice that satisfied the wrath of God - is meeting each one of us this morning -
Th resurrected Jesus who is the Ultimate expression and example of the Love of God that He has for you IS meeting you on what ever road you are on.
Maybe you are listening to this and wondering to your self - That all fins Preacher - You have no clue what My road has been -
I can say to you - Loved one - I know what Mine has been -
You may be here this morning and your road is filled with fear and sadness and anxiety and doubt -
And you have come to Jesus not knowing what to expect - You are on the road toward Jesus with your pain and anguish and your doubts and fears
Loved one - just like to women who went to find Jesus in their Hopelessness and disrepair - The Resurrected Jesus meets you and Give you victory and Hope and Healing and power and confidence!
You may be here this morning and you have been and are possibly on the road that is leading away from Jesus - Away from Jesus becasue your expectations of Jesus are not met -
Your road is filled with disappointment - Uncertainty - Sadness and you have just Thought - “I will go my own way, because it seems that is the only way I know and all hope in anything other than myself seems to work!
Loved ones Here the resurrected Jesus reveal Himself and His great love for you. He is meeting you on your road this very moment -
Hear Him declare to you there is life and hope and joy and certainty -
PRAYER TEAM
