Mission of the Risen King

Well, good morning. It's good to be here with you.

I don't know about you.

This past week for me has been a particularly challenging one.

Personal disappointments,

the news of others who are suffering in various ways,

not only because of this virus, but exacerbated by this virus

as they face other challenges.

It's just been a harder week.

I've battled to have my hope maintained,

and I've found myself at times struggling to not fall into despair.

I find myself crying like the man who cried out to Jesus.

I believe help my unbelief.

I think that's a common struggle that we may be facing in our world today

and in our lives in general,

and maybe particularly in this most unusual season that we are in.

As we come to the end of the book of Luke,

this is the end of our series,

we come to a situation where the disciples are believing and not believing as well.

We saw last week that Jesus met with some of the disciples

as they were walking away from Jerusalem in despair and discouragement.

And as he met with them, he revealed himself to them,

and he opened their eyes to see that he indeed was risen from the dead.

And so we see in Luke 24, 34,

that he returns,

or that these disciples returned to Jerusalem

to talk to the 12 apostles and the disciples,

and they're all together saying,

the Lord is risen indeed.

So believing, they're rejoicing.

And yet Jesus is not done with them,

and he has more for them.

And this is the passage that we're going to look at this morning.

They believe, and yet they don't believe.

And as he reveals himself to them in that context,

he anchors them in their faith,

and he launches them out into the world

to be witnesses to him as a resurrected Savior.

And my friends, this is the hope,

is that this passage can do the same for us this morning.

So let's look.

We're in Luke chapter 24, starting in verse 36 to the end.

Luke 24 · chapter mention

So let's go ahead and read that together,

and then we can pray.

As they were talking about these things,

Jesus himself stood among them

and said to them,

Peace to you.

But they were startled and frightened

and thought they saw a spirit.

And he said to them,

Why are you troubled?

And why do you doubt?

Why do doubts arise in your heart?

See my hands and my feet,

that it is I myself.

Touch me and see,

for spirit does not have flesh and bones,

as you see that I have.

And when he had said this,

he showed them his hands and his feet.

And while they still disbelieved for joy

and were marveling,

he said to them,

Have you anything here to eat?

And they gave him a piece of broiled fish,

and he took it and ate it before them.

Then he said to 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

and the prophets and the Psalms

must be fulfilled.

Then he opened their minds

to understand the Scriptures

and said to them,

Thus it is written,

that the Christ should suffer

and on the third day rise from the dead,

and that repentance and forgiveness of sin

should be proclaimed in his name

to all nations,

beginning from Jerusalem.

You are witnesses of these things.

And behold,

I am sending the promise of my Father upon you,

but stay in the city

until you are clothed with power from on high.

And then he led them out as far as Bethany

and lifting up his hands,

he blessed them.

While he blessed them,

he parted from them

and was carried up into heaven.

And they worshipped him

and returned to Jerusalem with great joy

and were continually in the temple,

blessing God.

Let's pray together.

Lord, even as you helped the disciples so long ago,

we ask today that you would do for us.

Lord, that you would open up our minds

so that we would understand the scriptures.

And Lord, that as you open up our minds

to give us understanding,

Lord, you would strengthen our faith.

Lord, that you would fill our hearts with joy.

And Lord, that we would be moved

to worship and proclaim you

as we understand this passage this morning.

Holy Spirit, I pray for your help,

both for me as I speak

and for all as we listen to your word,

Lord, that you would help us this morning

to believe.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, this is the final resurrection appearance

of Jesus in the book of Luke.

And remember, if you aren't aware,

that Luke is actually the first half

of a two-book series.

The book of Acts was Luke's second volume

that continues the work of Christ

through the church,

the proclamation of his name

and the work that he does

in building his church.

But here we see Jesus

at this last section,

anchoring his followers

in a truth that cannot be denied

and launching his followers

into a mission

that will consume their lives.

So let's look at those two things

in order, a truth to be anchored

and then a mission to be launched into.

First, we're going to look at 24, 36 through 47,

a truth to be anchored in.

The truth is that Jesus really did rise from the dead.

And they become eyewitnesses of this

as they see him in his resurrection body.

Now, it's a fascinating story

because we've already seen Jesus appear to people.

He's appeared to Mary.

He's appeared to Clopas.

Peter went and saw the empty tomb.

There are a number of people

who have already have real evidence

of Jesus rising from the dead

and they have all gathered back together

and they're trading these accounts

and they're comparing them.

And it seemed, as we said in verse 34,

that they did believe it.

And yet, Jesus then shows up in their midst

and as is not unexpected

because no one had ever seen someone

be raised from the dead like this before.

They didn't believe it.

Jesus steps into the midst of them

and he knows their response

and so he says, peace be with you.

Don't be afraid.

And yet, they are afraid.

They think they've seen a ghost.

They think they've seen a spirit

because this was all that they could imagine.

If coming back from the dead meant anything,

it meant this,

that you would come back as some kind of spirit

and they were terrified.

And Jesus is so gracious and gentle with them.

Why are you so troubled?

Why do doubts rise in your heart?

Look at me.

See that it is really I.

Look at the way that he says this in verse 39.

See my hands and my feet,

that it is I myself.

He repeats that.

In Greek, it comes out so strongly.

It is really me.

I am the one that is standing before you.

This is not just a vision.

This is not a dream.

It is really me.

You can see.

And not only say you can see me,

but it says touch me.

And touch actually has the sense of being handled.

You can put your hands on me

and know that it is really me.

Because spirits you can't touch,

they don't have flesh and bone the way I do.

And then he said this,

and he showed them,

and he showed them especially,

his hands and his feet.

His hands and his feet with the marks of the crucifixion,

the marks of his death just three days ago,

just recently where he had gained these scars

that would be on his physical body forever,

remembering his death for them.

This is not just a vision of a spirit,

but this is Jesus,

the real one who hung on the cross,

risen again.

It's remarkable.

And they believe,

and yet there's this great phrase in verse 39, right?

And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling,

it's kind of like,

I remember when I was in college,

me and my brothers conspired

to travel back to visit my parents

for their 25th anniversary.

They didn't know that anyone was,

no,

one of my brothers had planned to go home

and celebrate with them,

and the rest of us were,

you know,

off living in other parts of the country.

And we managed to surprise them

so that we just drove into the driveway together

and opened the door,

and there we were.

And mom and dad said,

I can't believe you're here,

with joy and marveling.

And I think that's what the disciples are doing here.

Like,

I can't believe you're here.

It's joy,

it's wonder,

it's amazement,

it's still a little doubting.

Like,

is this really true?

Is this really happening?

So Jesus appears to them,

and he's so gracious.

He just casually says,

hey,

do you have any leftovers around?

Can I get something to eat?

And this is not a throwaway.

It's a weird detail,

isn't it?

But it's not a throwaway.

Jesus is intentionally saying,

you can see me,

you can touch me,

now watch.

Spirits don't eat food.

There's no body to put the food in.

It just doesn't happen.

And so he picks up a piece of bread,

and he eats it.

And in doing this,

he's establishing for his disciples,

not just Mary,

not just Clopas,

although how gracious it is

that God started with them,

but now even the twelve,

they are all eyewitnesses to

the living flesh and blood,

risen Jesus Christ.

And having done this then,

he goes on in the next couple of verses

to open their minds

so that they can not only see him,

but so they can understand

what it is

that he is doing.

So they can understand

what it means

for what they're seeing.

Having satisfied their eyes,

now he's going to

help their minds to understand.

And this is the fourth time

in chapter 24 of Luke

that Jesus says again

that the Christ must suffer and die

and then be raised again.

It's the fourth account

where this is the basic storyline

of the life of Jesus,

that he came to suffer and to die

and then to rise again.

And Jesus says,

this is what I've told you

all along.

This is what the Old Testament

is talking about

when he says in verse 44,

the law of Moses

and the prophets and the Psalms.

Those aren't particular books

of the Bible.

He's actually using that

as shorthand

for the whole Old Testament.

The law of Moses

would have been the Pentateuch.

The prophets included

not only the latter prophets,

which we think of like Isaiah

or Jeremiah

and the minor prophets,

but also the former prophets,

what we normally call

the historical books,

which are telling forth

about what's true

about what God did in the world

in establishing the kingdom

of Israel.

And then the Psalms

doesn't just mean

the book of Psalms,

but includes all the wisdom literature.

So Jesus is saying

the whole Old Testament

was talking about me.

Maybe he was thinking

about Leviticus 16

and the sacrifice of atonement

done in the temple.

Maybe he was thinking

about Psalm 22.

My God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

The cry of hope

and dereliction

at the cross.

Maybe he was thinking

of Exodus 34, 6,

where Jesus reveals,

or when God reveals himself

to Moses,

says,

I am the Lord,

slow to anger

and abounding

and loving kindness

from generation to generation.

Maybe he was talking

about 2 Samuel 7,

where he tells David,

makes a covenant

with King David,

that there will be

a kingdom upon which

one of his descendants

will sit,

which will reign

forever and ever.

and maybe lots more

of the Old Testament.

One commentator says this.

He's talking about

the need for the payment

of sins,

including sacrificial victims,

the pervasive theme

of suffering in the Psalter,

the comprehensive testimony

of the Old Testament

to God's mercy,

love,

and forgiveness

of the penitent,

and the increasing specifications

of the Old Testament

covenants,

culminating in Jeremiah 31,

31 through 34,

and Ezekiel 36,

25 through 28.

Both of those last prophecies

talking about

a new covenant

that is to come

when God will come,

make a new covenant

with his people

where he will take the law

and he will write it

in their hearts,

and he will renew

their hearts of stone

and give them a heart of flesh

where the Holy Spirit

will come

and make them born again.

It says,

all of these things

are leading

and pointing to Jesus,

the first one

who was born again

as he was raised

from the dead.

Why is this so important

for Jesus to say this again?

He already did this

with Clopas and his friend

on the way to Emmaus.

He's already done this once.

Why is he doing it again?

Pastor Kent Hughes

former pastor of a church

in Wheaton, Illinois,

said this,

Jesus did not want them

to rest their belief

in his resurrection

on their personal experience alone.

He was not interested

in an elite group

with a special knowledge

or experience of Christ.

Resting their faith

on a miracle

was not sufficient.

He wanted them

to ground their experience

of his resurrection

on the massive testimony

of Scripture.

So their establishment

as eyewitnesses

isn't simply

that they were there

and they could see it,

but now he's opening

their minds

so that they can see

that this book

testifies about Jesus

from start to finish,

and that in that understanding

it is rich

and meaningful

and has cosmic power.

And with this power,

with this understanding,

then comes the call

of proclamation.

Do you see the three things

that Jesus said

in 46?

Thus it is written,

the Christ should suffer

and on the third day rise.

And then verse 47,

and then his message

should be proclaimed

to the ends of the earth.

You see,

because if Jesus

really did rise from the dead,

and if it really is true,

what the Bible says

about the significance

of that,

it changes everything.

This is my own experience.

Having grown up

knowing something

about Christianity,

Christianity,

but not really understanding

Christ and the gospel.

In high school,

I had friends

who believed in Christ,

and they shared with me

by their lives

and by their love

and by their words

more about who Jesus is

and what he did.

In the end,

someone gave me a copy

of Mere Christianity

by C.S. Lewis,

and as I read it,

my mind was opened,

and I became convinced

that Jesus really was

who he said he was

in the Bible.

And if Jesus really was that,

then it changed everything.

It called me to respond.

It called me

to have to make a decision.

Do I believe

and entrust myself

to this Savior

or not?

And if it's true,

then not only

do I have to respond,

but that it's a message

that must be proclaimed

to the ends of the earth.

And so,

we come to the second point.

Not only does Jesus

anchor his followers

in a truth

about his resurrection,

but having anchored him,

then he launches them out

into the world

to proclaim this good news,

to be on a mission

that they are launched into.

And this is a focal point.

You see this in verse 48

and following.

You are witnesses

of these things.

And he's not merely saying

you are passive recipients

of these things.

He's saying witnesses

who must now testify,

witnesses who now must stand

in the court of public opinion

and say,

this is what I have seen

and heard

and know is true.

He says to his disciples,

this is what I have called you to do.

And this is what he says

to his disciples even today.

This is what I have called you to do.

And look,

we need to recognize one thing.

We are not eyewitnesses

in the same way,

are we?

And yet,

Daryl Bach,

one of the commentators

on Luke,

says this,

we are witnesses,

however,

in a different sense

than these original disciples.

They testified

to what they saw,

whereas we bear witness

to their testimony

and to our experience

of the resurrected Jesus.

God's call wasn't simply

for the first group

of people in that room,

men and women,

who saw him

to tell the story

for one generation

and then for it to fade,

but that they would be a model

and that their eyewitness testimony

becomes the basis

upon which we have a testimony

and a witness

for us to share

throughout all generations.

This is what the passage

that Laura read earlier

from 1 John says,

what we have seen,

what we have heard,

what we have touched

with our hands.

This is what we proclaim

and pass along to you

so that you may have

the joy of knowing Christ.

Friends,

this is why this book

is so important

because we are not

without testimony.

We are not without evidence

that this is true.

The whole book of the Bible

and particularly

the New Testament

testifies to the reality

of this

and empowers us

to be witnesses

as well.

What are we empowered

to do as witnesses?

Well, there are a couple of things.

One, being witnesses

means we have something to say.

In verse 47,

it says,

what do we have to say?

We have to talk about repentance

and forgiveness

in the name of Jesus.

Repentance means

that there's a call

to respond

to the truth

of the resurrection.

Repentance is a response

of turning away

from other things,

turning away

from other ways

in which we might try

to become right with God

or to save ourselves

or to make us right

in the universe.

It is turning

from all of those

other things

and turning to Jesus

because he rose

from the dead.

Why?

Because he has achieved

forgiveness of sins

on our behalf.

If repentance

is the response

that we're calling people to,

forgiveness

is the offer

that we're giving to them.

Not because we can do it,

but because Jesus

has already done it.

You see,

the whole story

of the gospel

is that Jesus came

to bear the sin

of human beings,

of you and me,

as we reject

and deny God

on a regular basis

by our unbelief

by our willful independence,

by our self-salvation.

And Jesus came

to die on the cross

for those sins

so that we might not bear

the wrath of God

against those sins,

but rather

that we might receive

forgiveness

because the sins

have been paid for

by Jesus.

And so rather than them

being in our account,

the account has been cleared.

And we are now able

to come to God

in trusting faith.

This is what Jesus

has done for us.

And so repentance

is the call to respond.

Forgiveness is the offer

that's given out

in Jesus' name.

That is on the basis

of what Jesus has done

and who He is.

Jesus,

our substitute

and our Savior.

Jesus,

by His resurrection,

the one who has victory

over sin and death

and is declared

to be vindicated

as the Son of God.

A resurrected Christ

calls the world

to respond.

and in that response

results in a new

relationship with God.

Friends,

I don't know

if you've thought about this.

There are many today

in our world

who think

aren't all religions

the same?

They believe

in a higher power.

They try to make us

better people.

They're hoping,

you know,

ideally to improve

the world.

And sure,

some of those things

are similar

across the board.

But Christianity

is distinct

in this very thing.

It claims

that God

came to earth

and lived

and died

and rose again.

And if He did that,

that is the most

important thing

that we would ever know.

No other religion

teaches that.

This is the thing

that I had to wrestle

with

on my own journey

to faith

and this is what

we all have to wrestle

with

as the world,

as Christ

is proclaimed.

Friends,

I wonder

what do we preach?

And by that,

I don't mean

standing on a street corner

or sitting up here

in a pulpit.

But by our lives,

what do we say?

Jesus is a friend

is a friend

next to you.

Jesus is one

who comes

and helps us

in our troubles.

Jesus will heal

your diseases.

Jesus is going

to bring meaning

and purpose

and richness

to your life.

Friends,

I'll tell you what,

all those things

are true

and they're wonderful

truths about

who Jesus is.

but the core

of the gospel

is that Jesus

came to die

for sinners

like you and me.

And by rising

from the dead,

he achieved

a salvation

for us

whereby we may

have peace

with God,

forgiveness

of sin,

and eternal

life with us.

are we ashamed

to talk about that?

Are we embarrassed

to talk about

a resurrected Savior?

Are we convinced

in our own mind

that it really

did happen?

Can we explain

its significance?

Friends,

it's good for us

to know

and to grow

in our understanding

and our ability

to explain it

to others.

I want to point

you to a few

resources.

We're going to

put them up

on the stream

in the chat.

They'll also be

on our website.

One of the great

resources out there

is actually one

of our elders,

James Choi,

on his faculty page

in the School

of Management

at Yale.

James Choi,

you can look it up,

Google his name.

He has a great

thing called

Why I Am a Christian

and it is a page

worth looking at.

There are some

other resources

out there

that I think

are wonderful

resources for you

to become established

and convinced

about the resurrection

and understanding

of it.

William Lane Craig

wrote a book

called The Sun

Rises.

There's also

a great book

out there.

It's edited

by a guy named

David Baggett

but it's called

Did the Resurrection

Happen?

And it's a conversation

and actually

an ongoing conversation

between Gary Habermas

and Anthony Flew.

Anthony Flew

was an atheist

and Gary Habermas

was a Christian

and they debated

the evidence

for the resurrection

but this book

is 20 years later

talking about

the evolution

of their conversation

and involving

some other people

in the conversation

to talk about it.

It's a wonderful exchange.

And for those of you

who are scholars,

N.T. Wright,

the resurrection

and the Son of God

is an overwhelmingly

convincing narrative

testifying to the truth

of the resurrection

of Jesus Christ.

And if you're out there,

if you're in seminary

or if you're in divinity school

or if you're in

religious studies classes

and you're wrestling

with this

at a whole other level,

this is the book

for you to go to.

It's about 700 pages.

It's not easy.

I'm not going to lie.

But it's a wonderful resource

for you to be convinced,

for you to know

these things.

Friends,

these are ways

that you can be equipped

to be convinced of

and understand

why we believe

the resurrection.

but I'll tell you what,

you don't have to know

all those things

to be able to bear witness.

You don't have to be

a New Testament scholar.

You do need to know

His Word

to know how it is an account

of Jesus raised from the dead

and to be willing

to stand up and say,

this is what we know.

This is what we know.

And if this is true,

it changes everything.

So witnesses have something

to share,

don't they?

But they also have

a world to tell.

Jesus goes on

in verse 47

and He says,

repentance and forgiveness

of sin

should be proclaimed

in His name

to all nations

beginning

in Jerusalem.

And this is an amazing thing,

right?

Because Jerusalem

has been the terminal point

of Jesus' life

and ministry.

He ends up there

to accomplish

His work of salvation

by dying and rising

from the dead.

But now Jerusalem,

according to Jesus,

is the launching point.

It is the place

from where

this sound

is going to go out

to the ends

of the earth

to all people.

And of course,

this has always been

God's plan.

This was not a new thought

like,

hey,

we've got a great product.

Let's see how many people

we can sell it to.

This has always been

God's plan.

Going all the way back

to Genesis 12,

God comes to Abraham

and He says,

I am calling you

to trust in Me

and to follow Me

and I will make you

a father of great nations

and I will bless you

and I will make you

a blessing

to all peoples

of the earth.

in the very beginning

of God establishing

His redemptive work,

He said,

the goal of this

is that the whole world

would be blessed.

And we see it

throughout Scripture.

Isaiah 49,

Isaiah 49:6

verse 6 says,

it is too light a thing

that you should be

my servant

to raise up

the tribes of Jacob

to bring back

the preserved of Israel.

I will make you

a light to the nations

that my salvation

may reach

the ends

of the earth.

Or Psalm 22, 27,

all the ends

of the earth

shall remember

and turn to the Lord

and all the families

and the nations

of the nations

shall worship before you.

And friends,

this doesn't seem

new to us,

but in the first century

where Jesus,

as a Jew,

coming among Jews

primarily,

initially,

this was momentous.

Now Luke has given us

hints all the way along

where Roman centurions

and Syrophoenician women

and all sorts of people

are being brought in

from the outside.

But Jesus,

risen from the dead,

I have not come

just for the Jews,

but for the Greeks,

for the Ethiopians

and the Arabs

and the Persians

and all the peoples

around in their world.

and now we know

that he meant as well

the Laotians

and the French

and the Aleutians

and the Quechua

and the Russians

and the Maasai

and people from every continent,

from every people group,

from every tribe

and language and tongue.

And we know this

because in Revelation

there's a picture of God

gathering people

from every tribe

and tongue and nation

around the throne

worshiping Jesus.

Friends,

if you've ever wondered

whether Christianity

is an exclusive religion,

whether it is inaccessible,

whether it is only for

a certain group of people,

here we see so clearly

it is not.

God has opened wide

the doors of his banquet hall

to the world

and he has said

by the proclamation of Jesus

to the end of the world,

he is inviting everyone

to come in.

Come and take part

in his salvation banquet.

Turn from the fruitless meals

of your own life

and feast here in Jesus.

Believe in him.

He's not just

the savior of a tribe,

but he's the savior

of the whole world.

Friends,

we here at Trinity

have a great opportunity

because we live

in a wonderful city

that is a crossroads.

Did you know

that over 16% of people

who live in New Haven

were not born in America?

It's really interesting,

isn't it?

Yeah.

It's a high percentage,

far higher

than the national average.

Because we have universities

that are world-renowned,

because we are a sanctuary city

for refugees,

we have people

from all over the world

who are our neighbors

and our friends

and our co-workers.

What an opportunity

we have

to bear witness

to Jesus

to the ends of the earth

right here.

But I also want you

to know

that the elders

at Trinity

pray regularly

that we would not

merely be a place,

a church that witnesses here,

though we want

to do that well.

But we pray

that some of us

from our midst

would hear the call

to go to places

like Jonathan and Natalie,

go to places

where Christ is not known,

go to places

where people

have not heard

about a resurrected Savior,

that they would be willing

to spend their lives

doing this.

We pray that Trinity

would be a church

that launches people

into the world

ready to be witnesses

for them.

So what about you?

Are you ready

to be a witness?

Whether near or far,

are you ready

to stand

and tell the story

of Jesus

who came

and lived

and died

and rose again

for our salvation?

Feels pretty daunting,

I'll bet,

to many of you,

as it does to me

often.

The good news

is that Jesus

knows how hard it is.

And so at the very end

of this passage

we see two things

that give us great hope.

One,

in verse 49,

he gives us a promise

that we don't have

to do this alone.

Luke says it

very briefly.

He'll expand on this

in the book of Acts

hugely.

That he is going away

to the Father

so that the Father

can send the Holy Spirit

down on his disciples

to empower them

and fill them

with confidence

and joy

in the resurrected Christ

and to loosen

their tongues

to proclaim him.

And so he tells them,

go to Jerusalem

and wait

because this is

the next move.

I'm going to pour out

my Spirit

and I'm going to

empower you

for this mission

that I've called you to.

And then finally,

look at the way

that these disciples

end their days.

He led them out

as far as Bethany

and they lift him

and he blessed them

and he goes up

to heaven.

And again,

this is a very brief

account of what we see

more expanded

at the beginning

of the book of Acts

where Jesus bodily

raises up,

right,

so that he's

with the Father

sending the Spirit

with the promise

that he will come again.

And the effect of this

is that when he had

parted from them

and was carried up

to heaven,

what did they do?

They didn't say,

huh,

that was weird

and go home.

It's what I might have done.

Instead,

they go back

to Jerusalem

as he told them

and they worshipped

in the temple.

And remember,

the temple

was the very place

where four days ago

the leaders of the temple

had crucified Jesus

and they're going

right back

to that place

to worship God

with great joy

anticipating

God's helping power

coming upon them

so that they will

live out this calling.

if at the beginning

of this passage

they were still

where I am often,

I believe,

Lord,

help my unbelief.

At the end of this passage,

they are worshipping

courageously

in the face

of their enemies

with joy

because they have seen

and know

that Jesus

is risen from the dead.

May that be ours as well.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we thank you

for this passage.

We thank you

for

the way

that it comforts us,

the way

that it challenges us,

and the way

that it calls us.

Lord,

I pray for those

this morning

who may be

wrestling with

the truth

of the resurrection.

Lord,

will you

come alongside

of them

and equip them

and help them

to know

and to understand

this truth.

Lord,

I pray for all of us

that we would

be strengthened

in our faith,

filled with joy,

and that our tongues

would be loosened

to bear witness

that Christ is risen.

He is risen indeed.

Lord,

Lord,

that we would do

this here

in New Haven

and in the New Haven

area

and to the ends

of the earth.

We pray this

in Jesus' name.

Amen.