The Assurance of Things Hoped for
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Luke 24:1-?
Luke 24:1-?
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
They went to the tomb to prepare the dead body
They expected to see a corpse
A custom at this time was to bury a body and then a few years later return to collect the remain.
They would then place the bones in an Ossuary.
The women were performing this custom.
They fully expected to
While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.
Two Angels
Click #1
1. Jesus is Risen, this is why He was not in the tomb.
But they could not to understand
They remembered His words, but they could not understand what He meant
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
They women relayed to the disciples what they had seen at the tomb
V.11
But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.
They did not believe
They thought that the women were speaking nonsense
Peter however, according to his character, ran to the tomb to investigate
He discovered that the tomb was empty, but he did not understand
The text said Peter wondered to himself what had happened.
In all of these instances, they did not believe
What was the expectation of the women in verse 1
they expected to see the body of Jesus in the tomb
Peter and the others did not understand
They fully expected to see the body of Jesus in the tomb
They believed the King to be dead
They also expected to see the promises spoken while he was with them in the tomb as well.
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2. They incorrectly expected that the hope would be buried as well.
I think what added to their dismay was the fact that the body was missing.
I believe that they thought if they could at least see the remains, they could hold onto what He said
But now that the body was missing, the tangible evidence of their Messiah was gone.
They did not believe in His words
V. 8 tells us they remembered but it was not in their heart
The words of Jesus were remembered, but they were not real
Turn to the book of John
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Again, they were looking for the body
Mary says in verse 2, they have taken Him and we don’t know where they have put Him.
They expected Jesus to be dead.
That is what they were looking for
They were focused on the difficulty, uncertainty of the situation.
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3. They did not understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
Peter and John return home
Mary remains at the tomb.
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Two Angels confront her about her tears
If you remember this account in the book of Luke, one of the angels asks Mary why she is looking for the living among the dead.
V. 13 Mary repeats that she does not know what has become of the body of Jesus
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4. Mary chose to focus on the anxiety of the unknown.
She continues to dwell on the perceived loss of the promises spoken of by Jesus
V. 15 Jesus Himself confronts Mary
He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
Mary did not recognize Jesus
Mary did not expect to see Him
She was consumed in the
She pleads with who she thinks is the gardener to just give back the body.
V. 16
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
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5. He calls you by name.
He calls you by name because He wants to be in fellowship with us.
It was not until Jesus called out to her that Mary was able to recognize the fullness of the promises spoken by Him.
Prior to this she was focused on the circumstances
So often when we face difficulty, our focus is on the circumstances
We need to remember to keep our focus on Jesus
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
These two could not recognize Him
they were focused on sorting out the solution of the problem
How often do we do this
How often do we plague ourselves with trying to solve a problem
We roll the scenerios around in our minds over and over again
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
They chose not to recognize Him
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
You would think they would have got it
They chose to continue to focus on their unbelief
Returning back to where we started this morning
When they went to the tomb, they did not see Him
When they walked on the road they could not see Him
They were focused on the perceived loss of the promises
They were focused on unbelief
They chose not to trust in what has been written.
Let me tell you what I mean
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
They invited Jesus into their home for the evening
They continued to think He was just another traveler
Jesus took bread, gave thanks and He broke it
Immediately, they were able to see Him
Jesus reminded them of the symbol of communion
They breaking of the bread pointed to the fact that Jesus came to us to be the Lamb of God that was broken
He took the punishment that was due us upon His shoulders
This reality that Jesus revealed to them as He broke the bread was not just something they had knowledge about, it became real to them.
They were able to see Jesus in this symbol
They were able to recognize His love for them in His sacrifice.
Surprisingly, after Jesus broke the bread and they recognized Jesus as the Messiah, He disappeared.
V. 30 and 31
When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
The truth that Luke draws out in these verses is very close to the focus of this message
When Jesus broke the bread, they were able to see Him, not as a man. But as their Messiah.
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6. They saw Jesus for the first time as their Savior.
In all of the events thus far, at the tomb, on the road, they were looking for a man
They were looking for the physical body for Jesus
They neglected to look for Him in the fullness of His glory, that being the Lamb who was slain that takes away the sins of all who call upon His name.
they were looking for a physical sign and wonder
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
Up until this point, the individuals we have been reading about had hope only in the things that they had seen
They were faithful only in the physical presence of Jesus
They were looking for tangible things to address a spiritual reality.
They were looking for the fulfillment of what they perceived to be an earthly promise
Jesus did not just come to be King on earth
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7. He came to be King of your heart!
He came to win you back from sin and death.
He came to deliver you from the curse.
He came to be your King, your Savior, your Deliverer.
Do you expect to see Him?
In church, obviously we are expecting to be filled with His presence.
We expect to see Him in church.
But do you expect to see Him in the everyday?
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8. Do you look for Jesus as your Savior?
Do you expect Him to be present in your life everyday?
This is something that the people we read about failed to do.
They failed to see Him as Lord of their lives in the mundane tasks of the day.
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9. Jesus is with you, dwelling in your heart, everyday!
The presence of the Holy Spirit is with us everyday.
Are you looking for Him?
Do you expect that He will be at work in your life?
The writer of Hebrews tells us:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
10: Hebrews 11:1 NASB: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Believe in what has been written.
Find assurance that He is who He says He is
He is Risen!
He is no longer in the grave.
He sits this very moment upon His throne in heaven.
He waits to return, to put an end to the chaos we suffer through in this world.
Find assurance in His promises
Trust in the truth of His Word
Trust in the fact that He is the One who extends and upholds the covenant
He is Risen!
This is the assurance of things hoped for.
Benediction
And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”