The Resurrected Lord Draws Near

Let's turn back in our Bibles this morning to Luke's Gospel, 24, where we've read again just one verse just to help us focus our thoughts a bit.

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Lord, we need your help today. Both I as preacher and we as a congregation of listeners, we need to hear what you are saying to us, and we need your help.

Give us, therefore, clarity and certainty, and help us, Lord, with the work of the Holy Spirit today, confirming to us the things of God.

And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

You know, it's funny on an Easter Sunday to start a sermon by talking about how, at times, the world and our lives can feel particularly hopeless.

I've been kind of maybe wondering a bit about that over the last wee while, just as you look at the way global conflicts seem to kind of spiral out of control a wee bit,

and you end up thinking, what on earth is going on? How do we make sense of the world in which we live?

The same can be true almost down to the level of our own lives.

There can be times and experiences of confusion and uncertainty.

Sometimes it's mundane small things.

If you're a visitor today and you manage to get to the island, maybe you're anxious about how you're going to get off because of the ferries.

If you're from here and you're wanting to get away still the second week of the school holidays, maybe there's confusion over that.

It could equally be that there's profound turmoil in your life because of great sorrow and sadness.

This week was a sad and difficult week for many of us in the Free Church, particularly in the Free Church ministry.

The last 30 years, Donald MacDonald, Dr. Donald, as we knew him, he was one of our lecturers in the seminary who passed away after a long illness with MS.

It seems a profound passing of the seasons and the time that is going on.

And yet, we come to the resurrection.

We come to this story of the disciples, Cleopas and the other, leaving Jerusalem on this resurrection Sunday.

And that feeling of confusion seems to characterize, it's the best word, to characterize what's actually going on in their hearts.

Because as we read these verses, the temptation is to think they don't know what happened in the first 12 verses of Luke 24.

You're almost tempted to say, well, maybe they didn't know that, you know, some of the women had been to the tomb and the angels had said he's risen.

Or that Peter and the other disciples had been to the tomb and seen it was empty.

And that Mary Magdalene had actually seen the Lord himself and come with a report of it.

And you're thinking, no, no, that's not the case.

They were familiar with all of this.

They knew the whole story up to this point.

And yet, as they're leaving Jerusalem to go out in the opposite direction of Christian fellowship, as we'll see,

as they're leaving Jerusalem, Luke uses an interesting word where he says they were discussing this together.

The word that's used there for a discussion is a heated discussion.

They were arguing about what had happened.

And they were confused by all of this.

And their confusion, its root is found in one simple idea.

It is that they had given up hope.

The cross for them had seemed too hopeless.

Jesus, who went to the cross, for them, had promised something other than what they had come to realize.

And in the midst of all of that, there was absolute confusion in their experience.

And so that's where we have to start today, in what seems to be the hopelessness and the confusion of the cross.

And perhaps for some people here today, that's where you are.

You're familiar with the Christian message.

You know that Jesus died.

And you know that the Christian teaching is that he rose again.

And that our teaching is that he went and resides now in heaven with the Father after his ascension.

And that there is a promise that one day he will return.

You know that story, that narrative, the point.

But at the center of it all, there is the cross.

And that is a bit confusing for you.

It can be for a lot of people.

When Paul spoke about saying he preached Christ and him crucified,

he acknowledged that the message of the cross was to the Jews foolishness and hopelessness.

And something that was utterly despicable to the Gentiles.

The cross is a place of weakness and apparent defeat.

A God who dies?

What on earth was all of that about?

And so, when we think about the cross,

we have to begin by understanding what has actually happened in that place.

The victory of Jesus in the resurrection

is a victory over death.

And the cross served as a means of death for Jesus.

We need to be absolutely certain about that.

The notion that somehow Jesus, as Muslims would teach us,

that Jesus didn't really die at the cross.

That a holy prophet of God could not possibly experience death.

And would be whipped away at the last moment.

Whisked away by sovereign power of God.

And replaced with some kind of mannequin.

It just doesn't bear out the truth.

Jesus died there.

He experienced the consequences of sin that were promised

all the way back in the Garden of Eden when Adam first sinned.

And in Adam's first sin, he was told,

On the day that you eat of that fruit, you shall surely die.

And that day, Adam experienced death.

Not the physical death of his body,

the separation of body and soul.

But he experienced on that day

a separation of death

from the easy and living fellowship

he had with God the Father.

On that day, when Adam ate of the forbidden fruit,

he didn't even have to wait for God's judgment to be announced.

Adam became terrified of God.

Fearful of God's judgment.

And so Adam, on that day, had hid himself.

Concealed himself in the garden

when God came looking to meet with him.

And the terrifying and awful thing

of the cross of Golgotha

was that Jesus experienced

that breakdown in fellowship with God.

He experienced a death of friendship with God.

Where at the cross,

he was no longer able to speak of God as his Father,

but said,

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

And that experience of abandonment at the cross,

that experience of a death of relationship

was part and parcel of the awfulness of that event.

And the consequences of that broken relationship

is itself physical death.

Without God,

our bodies just can't keep going.

They just won't.

And so Jesus,

at the cross,

experienced then not only

the death of that relationship,

but he experienced then

physical death as well.

And in the midst of all of the brutality of the cross,

you cannot lose sight of that.

Now,

for these disciples

who are on the way out to Emmaus,

for them,

part of the confusion is

they're thinking,

well,

they didn't doubt that Jesus was the Messiah.

They seem to have placed

all of their messianic hope on him

because they say in verse 21,

when they're explaining to

this mysterious stranger

who's come alongside them

who they don't recognize as Jesus himself,

they say,

we had thought,

we had not just thought,

we had hoped

that he was the one

to redeem Israel.

We had thought he was the one

who was going to restore

the majesty of the kingdom of Israel.

He was going to restore

the potency of the throne of David.

He was going to restore

national heritage and pride.

He was going to bring everything back

to the way we wanted it to be.

And now,

because he had experienced death,

our hope is crushed.

For them,

things were not

as they wanted them to be.

It's interesting as well

that they don't deny

the death of Jesus.

They don't even deny

the stories of the fact

that the grave is empty.

They treat them as idle rumor.

For them,

the resurrection story

just cannot be true.

It just can't be the case

that Jesus is risen.

It is so far

outside their experience.

And so,

a providence

has come into their path,

a situation has come upon them,

which they just are unable

to reconcile

with what they had wanted,

with what they had thought

ought to be the case.

So they had their own

conception of what God's

work in their lives

and in the lives of Israel

and their people

was going to be

and what had actually happened

was completely

foreign to that.

And so today,

maybe you're someone

who knows the story

of Christianity

and knows what we believe,

but you're confused

by what happened

at the cross.

Maybe that's one group

of people who are here today.

But equally,

there's another group

of people who could be here today

and who are experiencing

in their own lives

an experience of God's providence

that is disconnected,

shall we say,

disconnected

from what their concept

of God is.

I mean,

isn't God meant to be

a loving

and powerful God

who can deliver us

from all manner

of problems?

Isn't God

a wonderful character

who doesn't allow suffering

or somehow,

if he is

somehow allowing suffering,

then there must be

a very temporary reason

for it

and it can be overcome

very quickly and easily.

And yet,

my experience

is one of prolonged suffering.

So why is God allowing this?

Is that fair of him?

Is it good of him?

Is that true of a loving God?

Is that his character?

Is that what God does?

Maybe today,

your experience

or the experience

of someone close to you

is so far

from what you think

it ought to be

that it's leaving you

just like these disciples were.

They know the story

but they just don't believe it

and they've lost confidence

in the possibility of hope

with such a God.

The reason I say that

is because I know it's common.

It's become common.

Some people found,

for example,

the COVID pandemic

far too difficult.

It's hard to reconcile

the burdens

and the hardships

of that season of life

with what God is really like.

Some people have been fed

a diet

of

what I would actually call

false hope

but in the form of

prosperity gospel teaching

on YouTube

and on the internet.

Word of faith teaching

that says

you just need to name it

and claim it

and God will give it to you.

You just need to hold out

for things being

the best they can be

and believe in it

and it will be so.

As if somehow

Christianity works

on the power

of positive thinking.

And that's so different

from the real experience

of our lives,

isn't it?

where so often

the real experience

we have

is one where there's

bitterness and sorrow

and hard things

that come into our path.

And we should not be mistaken.

The disciples

leaving Jerusalem

that day

were in that place

of great

and difficult sorrow.

So much so,

in fact,

that they're leaving

Jerusalem.

This is the thing

I find really interesting

about the story.

The rest of the disciples

are still gathered

in the upper room.

The rest of them

are still gathered

presumably even

where they had been

for the Passover

with Jesus

just a few days before.

And yet,

these disciples

are heading out

towards Emmaus.

Why are they doing that?

Well,

I presume they're doing it

because for them

at that moment,

the fellowship

of the other disciples

had become

maybe a bit uncomfortable.

They're cutting

themselves off

as it were.

They're going away

in a different direction.

And so,

they're moving away

from fellowship

rather than

into fellowship.

That's what the devil

tempts us with

when times are hard.

When times get difficult

for us,

what the devil does

is he says to us,

you don't need to be

in Christian fellowship

just now.

That'll just depress you.

That'll just be

too much for you.

That'll just be unhelpful.

Keep your own company.

They might not understand

anyway how sorrowful

you are,

so stay away from them

and have nothing

to do with them.

And perhaps

everything will pass.

Yet it doesn't.

The old stories

of the coals

of a fire

that are taken away

to a separate place

that tumble

out of the hearth

and onto the floor.

These coals,

they don't stay burning

and warm for long.

They go out

because coals

need to be

in the presence

of other coals

for a fire to burn

and keep them going.

And so,

this was a place

of real hopelessness.

And yet,

what is amazing

in God's providence

is that it's into

this most hopeless

situation

that Jesus comes.

In fact,

I do wonder,

in fact,

is this simultaneous

to the appearance

of Jesus

in the upper room

or is it very

in close proximity

to it?

When Jesus disappears

at the end

of this incident,

when they're breaking

bread together

and they then,

you know,

Jesus then immediately

afterwards

as they're talking

about these things,

a short time later

Jesus appears

in the upper room.

I wonder,

is it simply the fact

that Jesus in this place,

in his great grace,

goes to perhaps

the most needy disciples

first

and appears to them?

It's only afterwards

that he appears

in the upper room

to the rest.

And it's out of

his great love

that Jesus appears.

Not

a million miles away

from where these

disciples are.

It's not like

he sends an angel

to them to comfort them

and to say something

to them.

He comes himself

in person.

That's what verse 15

says to us

whilst they were

talking and discussing

together.

Luke almost

puts attention

on this.

Jesus himself

drew near

and went with them.

That these disciples

who are so dismayed,

who are so sorrowful,

who are so overwhelmed

by this terrible

situation

that they find

themselves in,

at this very moment,

Jesus himself

comes close

to them.

And he's very

patient with them

because we remember

our doctrine.

Jesus is God.

God is

omnipresent.

He is all-knowing.

He sees everything

so he already knows

what's going on

in their lives

and what's going on

in their discussion.

He already knows

the details of it

but it's almost as if

he pleads ignorance

with them.

He wants to hear

from them themselves.

What's the matter?

Are you a stranger

in Jerusalem

that you haven't

heard these things?

They're almost incredulous.

They can't believe it.

And so they start

spilling out to Jesus

all of the things

that have confused them,

all of the things

that they found

so difficult,

all of the things

that they found

impossible to talk to,

perhaps to Peter

or to the other disciples

but they're able to talk

about it here

amongst themselves,

the two of them.

And they spill

all of this out to Jesus

who they assume

is actually just a stranger

and Jesus listens to them

patiently and gently

and hears all of

their concerns.

I would say to you today

if you're a Christian

going through these

perplexing,

difficult valleys,

excuse me,

pour it out to Jesus.

Tell him

the confusion

of your moment.

Or today

if you're confused

as well about the cross,

if you haven't come

to a place of faith yet

and you're still

in that place

of anxiety

and confusion

and perplexion

about what exactly

does the cross even mean?

I would say

talk to Jesus about it.

Pray about it.

Pray about that confusion

and ask God

what it all means.

Because he is patient

and he is willing

to come down

to the level

of mere humans

like us

and who will

patiently minister to us

by coming alongside us

and hearing our complaints

and moans

and understanding

what it is

that we are really

battling through

because he will

listen to us.

And this Jesus

comes alongside them,

listens to what

they're saying

and then

he begins

to open things

up to them.

Verse 25,

is it?

O foolish ones

and slow of hearts

to believe

all that the prophets

have spoken.

The idea

of the foolish ones

there

is a very

gentle rebuke.

But the idea

of the fool

in the Old Testament

is the one

who simply

just denies

the work of God.

The fool

is the one

who in his heart

has said

there is no God.

And Jesus is saying

you need to remember

in all of your confusion

at the moment

you're forgetting

God.

And so beginning

in Moses

and all of the prophets

he begins to show them

the necessity

of Christ

suffering these things.

He begins to show them

the necessity

of the cross.

Now

we're not told

what emphasis

Jesus drew out

from the Old Testament

on this occasion.

but we can imagine

what that would have been.

Perhaps it is the fact

that there is a necessity

for a sacrifice

to provide a covering.

And so that idea

of a sacrifice

providing a covering

it doesn't begin

on the teaching

of the law

on the Day of Atonement

it actually begins

on the Day of the Fall

in Genesis 3

when Adam

and his wife Eve

are ejected

from the garden

having tried

to make coverings

for themselves

from fig leaves

God provides

for them

a better covering

in the form

of an animal skin

that he fashions

into a garment

for them.

God clothes them

covers them

from their nakedness

and their shame

and their exposure

as they're cast out

of the harmony

and peace

of the garden

into the wilds

of the sinful world

that has now

unfurled itself

because of Adam's sin.

Perhaps it's that

God will provide

a lamb

a substitute

again it's there

at the beginning

in Genesis

where God says

that the seed

of the woman

will one day

bruise the head

of the serpent

and he will

bruise his heel

there's that sense

of God sending

a redeemer

of some sort

but then there's

more than that

you go into

the story of Abraham

just a few chapters

later in Genesis

and God provides

a lamb

when Abraham

goes up the mountain

to sacrifice his son

perhaps it's that

God will provide

a remedy for salvation

it's there in the story

of Noah

we were looking at that

a couple of weeks ago

where God

carries Noah

through the flood

and God remembers

his covenant with him

and his promises to him

but the book of

the law

the books of Moses

just the book of Genesis

alone in the first

20 odd chapters

there's loads

of detail there

about how the Messiah

would have to suffer

these things

and it's there

in its proto-form

there at the beginning

of the books

of the Torah

and then the prophets

simply expound on that

and explain more

and more

what God's redemption

is going to look like

and why it is so

utterly necessary

because we

are so

utterly sinful

we can't save ourselves

and so God

has to do something

to save us

and it culminates

ultimately

in God

sending his son

to die

in the place

of sinners

the Christ

of the anointed

Messiah

and then

he enters

his glory

and that idea

of glory

in Luke's gospel

it's a wonderful

study

you can go in

and have a look

through it yourself

today perhaps

but the idea

of him entering

his glory

in Luke's gospel

is bound up

in the cross

there is no glory

without the cross

itself

it's a key theme

in certainly Luke's

theology

it grows out of

Paul's theology

as well

it's necessary

for Christ

to suffer

in order to

enter the glory

so the path

to glory

is through

the cross

not sidestepping

it

not getting

around it

not getting

away from it

but through it

it is necessary

and these disciples

are left

in that position

where

you know

their questions

the things

they've been

arguing about

are being addressed

the things

that they've

been uncertain

about

Jesus has

very gently

taken them

to the scripture

and shown them

very openly

on the pages

of scripture

and said

this is how

it all fits together

there's a reasonableness

to our faith

as Christians

it carries

an internal

consistency

it makes

sense

when people

mock and deride

Christianity

one of the things

they often say

is your faith

is a blind faith

it doesn't believe

in anything concrete

it is nothing certain

except you would

turn around

and say hang on

a minute

there are literally

hundreds if not

thousands of years

of written

recorded history

in the Bible

that find

their culmination

and their climax

and their fulfillment

in the cross

of course it makes sense

dozens of writers

approved by God

down through the centuries

all pointing us

towards the same

moment

when God's own son

would come

and bear

the sins of the world

at the cross

and then furthermore

they need to grapple

with the resurrection

itself

death could not

hold him

it has no grip

upon him

because

he is

the perfect

sinless one

he is the one

who emerges

triumphant

from the dark

realm of Sheol

and who comes

back with victory

and gifts

to share

with us

to pass on

and one of them

is in fact

his own presence

because the wonderful

thing is

when these disciples

they urge

Jesus

this unknown

stranger

they urge him

to come in

with them

for supper

that night

and to stay

with them

because

the light's

getting on

and so Jesus

stays with them

and what's

fascinating

is it's in

that moment

of close

intimate

personal

fellowship

that their

eyes are

opened

because Jesus

took bread

and blessed

it and gave

it to them

and their

eyes were

opened

and they

recognised

him in that

so I

find it

fascinating

their trajectory

remember

is away

from Jerusalem

away from

fellowship

with the rest

of the

disciples

away from

probably

the upper

room

where bread

had been

broken

together

and these

two

disciples

are now

finding

Jesus

in the

breaking

of bread

together

what they

discover

is

fellowship

restored

is fellowship

entirely

renewed

and

God

is found

there

we can't

pause

or escape

rather

this reality

that the

path of

real

progress

and maturity

in the

Christian life

is a path

of real

fellowship

with other

believers

in which

is found

fellowship

with Jesus

and it's

actually

the fellowship

with Jesus

that spurns

us on

and that

enlivens

and

enfreshens

us

and so

when Jesus

breaks bread

with them

they then

the consequence

of Jesus

breaking bread

with them

and them

realising

Jesus is

in this

look what

he's just

told us

and we

have to

what they

then realise

is we

have to

share what

Jesus

has told

us

with

others

and the

first place

they want

to go

is go back

to the

other

disciples

that they've

just

left

they want

to get

back

into

Christian

fellowship

with these

disciples

to

embolden

them

to encourage

them

to bless

them

just as

Jesus

has blessed

them

so what

Paul

writing in the

New Testament

in one of his

letters

he talks about

the importance

of us

comforting others

with the

comfort with

which we

ourselves

have been

comforted

this is

what it

is

to live

as a

Christian

to walk

as a

Christian

to go

on as

a

Christian

in a

discipled

way

led

and taught

by Jesus

ultimately

it is to

share that

blessing

with others

and to

encourage

them

and to

build

them

up

that's

why I

was saying

to the

kids

this morning

the hope

of the

resurrection

is a

hope

that we

dare

not

share

Christ

is

risen

and this

changes

all of the

dynamics

of the

church

and everything

of our

experience

and everything

that we

are going

through

hard and

difficult and

dark places

that we

have to

walk

they are

all

transformed

because

Jesus

has come

into them

with us

and because

we discover

the fellowship

of Jesus

with us

in these

dark places

that we

must therefore

be bold

and say

to others

Christ

is there

to be

found

and Christ

is there

to comfort

you

in the

dark

places

you have

to go

to

particularly

the places

of your

own sin

particularly

the places

of your

own

failing

the places

of your

own

inadequacy

the places

where you

have stumbled

and fallen

completely

short

Christ

is there

for you

his cross

has paid

for that

sin

and now

we get

up

and we

rise

with renewed

strength

it might feel

like it's on

broken wings

but you know

what

God has

healed you

he's healed

you

through his

son

Jesus

who has

come

and ministered

in your

experience

and so

the disciples

they run

back to

Jerusalem

they run

and when

they get

back

they hear

the stories

the Lord

has risen

indeed

and has

appeared

to Simon

and then

they say

well he's

appeared

to us

as well

and he

made himself

known to

us

in the

breaking

of bread

that simple

fellowship

of Jesus

that miracle

of the

life of

Jesus

now

it's revealed

I think

bizarrely

not in

grandiose

miracles

and angels

singing in

the sky

but rather

it's revealed

in the simple

things

these simple

places of

love

and fellowship

and companionship

where Jesus

comes alongside

and encourages

us on the

way

and so

today I

would ask

you

whether you

are in

that place

of confusion

whether you

are in

these places

of sorrow

in the

darkness

of hard

experiences

I would

urge you

to find

that Jesus

is there

already

and that

he has

come alongside

you

and that

he is

showing you

the truth

and he is

showing you

the way

because he

is ultimately

the life

of your

hope

see him

for who he

is

and love

him

and worship

him

and follow

him

and he

will lead

you to

good places

let's pray

heavenly father

we thank

you today

for the

presence

of your

son

Jesus

we thank

you

that although

he is

enthroned

in heaven

and at

your right

hand

he still

sends the

holy spirit

to convey

to us

the presence

of almighty

God

that he

still comes

alongside us

himself

in his

word

and that he

speaks to

us

that we

hear from

him

and we

hear from

him

words of

life

and blessing

and hope

and so

Lord fill us

today with

that confidence

in who you

are

who your son

is and what

he has done

and the work

of the Holy

Spirit as it

goes on in

our lives

and we

ask these

things in

Jesus name

Amen

we're going

to sing in

conclusion

in words of

Psalm 16

this is

Sing Psalms

verses 8

to 11

the last

four stanzas

this is the

confidence that

David had

in knowing

the Lord

was with

him

I often

suggest this

as we're

singing the

Psalms

that where

David uses

the word

of the

Lord

the name

of the

Lord

Yahweh

we can

clearly

and fairly

and with

absolute

consistency

substitute

in the

name

of

Jesus

if that's

how we

want to

understand

it

before me

constantly

I

set the

Lord

alone

because

he

is

at my

right

hand

I'll

not

be

overthrown

therefore

my heart

is glad

my tongue

with joy

will sing

my body

too

will rest

secure

in hope

unwavering

so although

David is

writing

prophetically

in the

Psalm

about the

resurrection

ultimately

of Jesus

there is a

sense in

which that

is also

true of

us

that our

bodies

when we

die

will rest

in the

grave

but not

without

hope

because

Christ

is risen

and there

is hope

for us

and so

death

will not

have its

hold

over God's

people

forever

but there

is hope

for the

children

of God

who have

Christ

at their

hand

at their

side

with them

and who

will lead

them

ultimately

through

death

itself

and to

the path

of life

divine

ultimately

so we

are rooted

in these

verses

because we

are rooted

in Christ

and that

I hope

is true

of each

one of us

today

that we

would be

rooted

in Christ

Jesus

and therefore

find our

hope in

him

so before

me

constantly

I set

the Lord

alone

let's

stand to

sing to

God's

praise

before

me

constantly

I

set

the

Lord

alone

because

he

is

at

my

right

hand

I'll

not

be

overthrown

therefore

my

heart

is

glad

my

tongue

with

joy

will

sing

my

body

too

will

rest

secure

in hope

unwavering

for you

will

not

allow

my

soul

in

death

to

stay

nor

will

you

leave

your

holy

one

to

see

the

tombs

decay

you

have

made

known

to

me

the

path

of

life

divine

please

shall

thy

know

at

your

right

hand

joy

from

your

face

will

shine

now

the

grace

of the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

the

love

of God

the

Father

and

the

fellowship

of

God

the

Holy

Spirit

be

with

each

one

of

you

now

and

always

Amen

to

to

to

to

to

!

to

to

to

!

to

to

to

to