Hello there friends!
Goodness, we hope that Holy Week has been a great one for you and that, for you Oldham County families, this upcoming week of Spring Break is a great opportunity to relax and have some good down time!
We are in the final week of our series “The Road To Easter”, where we are looking at some of the most significant episodes of Jesus’s life that led to the cross and the resurrection. While the cross and the empty tomb of resurrection are the end of that road, Easter is the culmination of God’s eternity-spanning plan to rescue us, His people, from the clutches of sin and death and give us new life, a hope, and a future wrapped in His never-ending love. And as we take an extend look at the interactions and events that led into Easter, I believe there is so much we can learn from and grow through in our mission to live out the hope and resurrection of Jesus in our own lives and share that hope with the world around us!
It has been the greatest pleasure, privilege, and burden getting to walk down this road with you all. There is so much that can be said about the Resurrection that it has nearly been agonizing to figure out just what to share with you! The ENTIRE foundation of our faith rests in Jesus rising from the grave and being alive today. It is His resurrected life that gives us new and resurrected life! So today we are going to zero in on that first Easter morning and the those who experienced it so that we can experience it fresh and anew! Let’s make a start of it!
Empty Tomb, Empty Faith
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 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? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 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, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 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.” —Luke 24: 1 - 12
All four Gospels record the empty tomb scene more or less the same way, with some minor differences. The 11 disciples are in hiding and would not take the risk to go to the tomb to continue with the burial rituals so some of the women who also followed Jesus had to take up the task. Some of other gospels include extra info about the finding of the empty tomb, such as the Roman guards who were present being nearly frightened to death at the sudden appearance of the angels, clothed in lightning, as some translations say. When the angels remind the women of what Jesus had told them about His death and being raised from the dead, scripture says “they remembered His words”. This remembering isn’t simply a recollection of facts but a visceral, emotional connection, one that prompts them to action! It energized their faith! They run to tell the disciples… and the disciples don’t believe them. While the gospel of John records that Peter and John ran to the empty tomb to see for themselves, the other disciples did not believe, would not believe.
There are so many interesting parts to the Resurrection story: the Roman cover up, Thomas’s experience with Jesus, the fact that Jesus first revealed His resurrection to women and chose to use them to communicate the most important event in human history to the disciples (that’s a whole other sermon for another day haha!) But what draws my eye in this particular story is the fact that the disciples didn’t believe. Their faith ironically like the tomb, empty. WHY? They had seen the miracles that Jesus had done, including raising Lazarus from the dead. They heard the same teachings as the women about His death and resurrection. They knew the scriptures and prophecies of the Messiah. As a matter of fact, some of the disciples required multiple sightings of Jesus before they would believe. Why?
Of all the stories of the Resurrection, I think perhaps the greatest clue to why they struggled and why we sometimes still struggle with belief lies on the Emmaus Road.
Standing Still
“That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” —Luke 24: 13 - 16
Only the gospel of Luke records this story but it considered by many to the one of the most powerful and important moments in the Resurrection story. We aren’t sure who exactly these 2 disciples are, although we are sure that they aren’t part of the 11. Likely they are apart of the 72 that Jesus sent out earlier to do ministry and/or those who were around during the raising of Lazarus. The fact that they are discussing who Jesus was in a positive light and later relate the events at the empty tomb tells us that they were very much connected to the 11 disciples. We do not know if these 2 are in hiding or running away like the 11 but regardless they are leaving Jerusalem, discussing “wrestling and wondering” with the events that had transpired.
Jesus has likely already appeared to Mary as recorded by the gospel of John, but now He shows up here. Scripture says, “Their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”. The word “kept” here has a spiritual, “passive” sense to it. It implies that that their inability to recognize Jesus has a spiritual purpose, that they couldn’t or WOULDN’T see Him and that they were ALLOWED to not see Jesus. But again the question is why?
“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. 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?” 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, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 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. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 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.” —Luke 24: 17 - 24
One of the key elements in the gospels and in particular Luke’s is the theme of movement or walking. Often in the New Testament, walking and movement are associated with faith, with the act of living in the Spirit of God, with believing and obeying and trusting. But notice here, when Jesus enters into their conversations and they are forced to truly examine what happened and what they experienced: “And they stood still, looking sad”.
After describing the events around Jesus’s life, ministry and death, these 2 disciples make this heartbreaking statement and what I believe to be the key to them not recognizing Jesus: “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” Luke specifically drew the attention to the brokenness and stillness of the disciples because of the heartache that they had endured. Their belief in Jesus, their hope for what He was going to do, to rescue and restore Israel had be destroyed. Belief and faith is movement, it is walking with God. And because Jesus had died and their dream had died, their faith died as well. They stopped moving. Notice all the way back to the beginning of the story. The 11 disciples were paralyzed with fear and doubt; they would not go to the tomb to see their Master. And when the women came back with the news that Jesus had risen, they didn’t believe them. The couldn’t believe them. They wouldn’t believe them. They were kept from seeing Jesus. Because their faith was empty and dead. It wasn’t moving.
How many of us have been here? How many of us have faced the “silence of God”, disappointment, failures in relationships, bad diagnoses, lost job opportunities, hurt from the church and other Christians? And we inevitably cry out “Why God why”? And so often our faith stalls out. And we stop moving.
I think it’s an issue that relevant not only for Christ-followers but the whole world. The world, non-christians, opponents of the faith demand proof for Jesus’s existence, for His miracles and His resurrection. And I think we as Christ-followers get stalled out here too. Everything in our modern society feels like it’s built around instant knowledge, instant gratification, whatever is the least that we can do to get the maximum results. Why did Jesus only reveal Himself to 500 hundred or so people? Why didn’t He reveal Himself to the Emperor of Rome or appear before the Jewish ruling council?
When we as people are faced with fear or doubt or disbelief or hardship, often it freezes us. Not knowing what to do, not being able to understand a situation or see our way through it makes us unsure of our next steps. So we stop moving. The disciple’s faith had stopped moving.
“And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” —Luke 24: 25 - 27
Jesus, not trying to be harsh but almost treating them as children who are lost (and aren’t we all), walks with these disciples further done the road and takes them on a journey through the scriptures to show them the proofs that they shoudld have known but missed.
Our faith must be like this as well. In moments of our faith being tested, we have to wlak through it. Doubt does not have to be the enemy of faith, AS LONG AS WE DO SOMETHING WITH IT! Honestly, faith isn’t truly faith until some doubt is present. If all the anwsers are right there in front of us and the path is completely lit, then we don’t need faith to walk forward! Faith, according to Hebrews 11: 1, is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see! Faith is the walking and living and pursuing of God when it is not easy. It is the trusting of God even when things don’t make sense or the road ahead is uncertain.
The world today often struggles to believe the validity Jesus and the scriptures, even we do as Christians sometimes. But that doubt and questioning should push us to seek and search for the truth, to walk and pursue our faith instead of standing still and hiding. Jesus is asking us to walk with Him and His resurrection!
Burning Hearts
“So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.” —Luke 24: 28 - 35
Jesus walks with His disciples and shares a meal with them. He takes the opportunity to remind them of the New Covenant that He created for them by His act of obedience; His body broken and blood poured out for them. And in the same way the women remembered Jesus’s words earlier, remembering by connecting their head knowledge and heart feeling to create true wisdom, the disciples are finally able to recognize and see Jesus! They were slow of heart (not moving) and Jesus sat their hearts aflame with passion and love and the desire to pursue Him! And so they returned to Jerusalem, back into the heart of darkness, into personal danger, into the place of the lost to share the universe-altering news that they had seen Jesus, that He was indeed risen!!!
This is the movement of God, the burning passion of His sacrifice. The cross forgives us of our sins and sets us free; the Resurrection fills us with burning life and faith anew! The Resurrection of Jesus makes possible true belief, faith and trust. The Resurrection pushes us to walk into the darkness, filling us with the light and fire of God, to share with the broken and lost. The Resurrection allows us to act and live and speak and think and feel and see like Jesus does! The Resurrection reminds us of the sacrifical life of Jesus and shows us how to live our lives in the same way. Because Jesus was broken for us, we can be broken for others. And because Jesus is alive again and grants us new life and purpose, so we too can live out that new life and purpose for the sake of others and show them the way to God.
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” —Matthew 28: 16 - 20
Jesus, in His Great Commission to us, say to “GO”, to keep moving, to live out our faith and love the world, even in the midst of doubt. And He says that even in our doubting that He will be with us, walking alongside us, all the way to the end and beyond. But the trick to it all is the action of belief, faith and truth; to keep moving.
“Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” —John 21: 25
Jesus has not stopped moving or acting or speaking or working in and through our lives. The Resurrection makes possible the purposes of God and the future of our lives. What God can accomplished through our lives is infinite when we consider the power and promise of the Resurrection. What does the Resurrection make possible in your life today and forevermore?
You are alive because He is alive! You are loved because He is love!
Believe it!