Sermon for 4/18/21 15 Minutes
Notes
Transcript
Luke 24:36-48
Luke 24:36-48
This morning I'll be reading Luke chapter 24 verses 36 through 48.
And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Luke 24:36-48
The two disciples from the Emmaus Road story,,, have just returned,,, and they have told the rest of the disciples about seeing Jesus earlier on the road,,, and they have just finished with this explanation when Jesus appears amongst them.
Luke 24:36–48 (HCSB)
36 And as they were saying these things, He Himself stood among them. He said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 “Why are you troubled?” He asked them. “And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself! Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” 40 Having said this, He showed them His hands and feet. 41 But while they still were amazed and unbelieving because of their joy, He asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, 43 and He took it and ate in their presence. 44 Then He told 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, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 He also said to them, “This is what is written: The Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead the third day, 47 and repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.
Let us pray:
Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.
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Easter Sunday we saw how the stone had been rolled away so that we could "see",,, and that continues today as we look at these verses.
Jesus is continuing to help them "see" even after they have received word from others that He is alive and well.
We must be reminded of this as well,,, since there are times when we have trouble "seeing" today!
Let's look at these verses and see how they can help us in our walk with God this week.
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Verse 36 says: 36 And as they were saying these things, He Himself stood among them. He said to them, “Peace to you!”
The disciples are in a locked room,,, according to John 20:19,,, still hiding from the Jewish authorities when Jesus enters the room.
They were already on edge,,, still scared,,, maybe even more than they had been,,, maybe part of it was that they didn't understand everything that was happening,,, and this was adding to their worries.
And then Jesus is standing right there with them,,, and to try to alleviate their fears,,, He tells them,,, “Peace to you!”
Of course,,, we know from the next couple of verses that they are terrified.
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Verses 37 and 38 say: 37 But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 “Why are you troubled?” He asked them. “And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
Jesus is standing there with them,,, and they have already heard that He is alive,,, and has appeared to several,,, but,,, they are still terrified.
Jesus gets right to the problem by asking them,,, “Why are you troubled?” He asked them. “And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
If they would have truly listened to Jesus while He was teaching them,,, paid attention to His words,,, understood His words,,, they would have been expecting Jesus,,, instead of being frightened.
When we read the Bible today,,, we need to take the time to truly understand what we are reading so that we aren't misunderstanding like the disciples have done here.
If there is something that you don't understand,,, we have numerous sources on the internet that can help,,, or ask me,,, or others for help,,, anyone will be glad to help.
Also,,, it helps tremendously to just be aware of the Holy Spirits help and guidance as you read.
We must also remember,,, to trust God when we are going through troubling times.
Just because we are hurting,,, or confused,,, or scared,,, whatever the condition we find ourselves in,,, we must remember that God knows what we are going through and He will help us,,, but we must trust Him.
Easier said than done,,, I know that,,, but our faith will help us so much,,, if we just do our best,,, to trust in His power to help us,,, in His time,,, and,,, in His way!
All of these will help you,,, so that you don't get a scolding like the disciples do here.
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Verses 39 and 40 say: 39 Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself! Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” 40 Having said this, He showed them His hands and feet.
Jesus has appeared to them in a way that defies our understanding.
The door was locked,,, no one could get in unless it was unlocked and opened by those inside,,, or,,, unlocked with a key by someone outside the room,,, or,,, it was smashed in and opened by force,,, which is what they were expecting,,, but yet,,, Jesus has appeared amongst them.
This is something that is not possible for us to understand.
He tries to show them that it's really Himself in the flesh and not a ghost,,, so He shows them His hands and feet,,, and ask them to touch Him so that they can see that He is flesh and bones.
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Verses 41 through 43 say: 41 But while they still were amazed and unbelieving because of their joy, He asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, 43 and He took it and ate in their presence.
Continuing to try to convince them,,, Jesus ask them for something to eat.
So they give Him a piece of broiled fish,,, and He ate it in front of them.
After eating the fish and watching Him,,, the disciples have apparently been convinced.
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Verses 44 and 45 say: 44 Then He told 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, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
Now Jesus is going to show them in the scriptures the same things that He has just shown Cleopas and his companion on the Emmaus Road.
And He opened their minds up to understand what they should have already known,,, but couldn't see.
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Verses 46 through 48 say: 46 He also said to them, “This is what is written: The Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead the third day, 47 and repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
Jesus is showing them the words,,, about Himself,,, that were written down by those that came before Him.
All of the places in,,, The Law of Moses,,, the Prophets,,, and the Psalms,,, which are the three divisions of the Old Testament as it was sometimes referred to in Jesus’ day.
Jesus told them that because of His life,,, death,,, and resurrection,,, this "Good News" could be proclaimed to all the nations,,, and the forgiveness of sins was available to all!
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Now,,, going back to our Easter Sunday message,,, where the stone was rolled away so that everyone could see that Jesus wasn't there that morning,,, we can see where a pattern begins to take place that Jesus must fix.
The stone was rolled away so that the disciples could see that Jesus wasn't there,,, the women have delivered a message from Jesus to the disciples,,, and Jesus has been visited by Peter,,, Cleopas,,, and the other with him,,, and the disciples still,,, cannot,,, "see"!
So,,, what does Jesus do?
He appears to them as well so that He can open their eyes,,, so that they can "see"!
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All of this proves that we can "hear" the word of God,,, but until we "see" Jesus ourselves,,, we won't truly "see" either.
And Jesus won't leave us alone until we either "see",,, or,,, it becomes too late as our time on earth is up!
That's why Wesley believed,,, and talked about "Prevenient Grace",,, which is the Holy Spirit just waiting on any chance to help us,,, or nudge us,,, I like to say,,, into a relationship with Him at any time.
Just as He didn't leave the disciples alone that Resurrection Sunday,,, He won't leave us alone either.
We serve an awesome God!
One that loves us much more than we truly deserve,,, but I'm so thankful that He does,,, because I don't know that many of us would make it without it!
I know that I wouldn't.
Just like the disciples,,, I had to be shown,,, just one time wasn't enough,,, it happened over and over,,, at least for me.
God could have given up,,, but praise God,,, He didn't,,, and I'm doing now,,, what I should have been doing a long time ago.
God didn't give up on me,,, and He won't give up on you either!
The only thing that can separate you from the love of God,,, is not accepting it before your time runs out and you spend eternity in hell instead of heaven.
And He doesn't want that,,, but it's our choice,,, He won't force us,,, but we must choose before it's too late.
All you need to do,,, is just admit that,,, you are a sinner,,, and ask for forgiveness.
Believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead.
Tell Him that you turn from those sins and invite Him into your heart and life.
Then trust and follow Jesus,,, as your Lord and Savior.
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If you've already accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior,,, continue to watch and learn as you continue your journey.
Because Jesus wants us to "see" clearly as we continue our walk with God.
And just like He did with the disciples,,, He will not leave us alone until we are "seeing" the way that we should!
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If you need to answer God's call today,,, or,,, you just need to pray,,, the alter is always open,,, as we sing our final hymn
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