Cornerstone – Week 76

I love that Delta Airlines bumper video we have. You all put your seatbelts on. You know what to do in an emergency. Whether you do it, we'll find out, but good morning. How's everyone doing this morning? My name is Robert Pier. I'm one of the pastors here at The Grove. We're so glad that you've joined us in worship today. It's going to be a great day. Go ahead and get your Bibles open to Luke 24. Luke 24, we're going to dive right on into God's word this morning, because this morning, we get to read about the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Woo! Let's try that again because that was like, it's really not there, in the most tender way I can possibly say that. Let's try that again. Today, this morning, we get to read about the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Woo! Amen. Yes. Praise the Lord. I love the tradition. If you've been at our church for years and years, maybe you're newer and you don't know this tradition, so I'm going to tell you. When we sing about the resurrection of Christ, we celebrate it.

I loved even hearing some of you begin to clap as we sang, "And on the third, at break of dawn, the Son of Heaven rose again," right? I mean, that is the hope of everything we're doing. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single greatest, most significant event in all of history. Amen. And without the resurrection, all of this is meaningless. If Jesus isn't risen, then this is meaningless. It's true. If Jesus isn't alive, then what are we doing here?

Because if Christ wasn't raised, He couldn't save. There have been plenty of false messiahs throughout all of history, and their remains remain six feet under. But Jesus is the only way to salvation, the only way to God the Father, the only way to eternal life. There are not multiple ways. That's right. And there's no confusion on this. There's no agnosticism in Christ. It's not like, "Well, we don't know, so Jesus might be the best one." No. There are not multiple ways.

There is no polytheism, right? "Well, it's good, if you want to pray to this god that works and that god that works, it's all going to get you to the same place." No, it's not. It's not. Jesus is the only way to salvation. He is the only way to the Father. He is the only risen Lord. It says in John 14:6, Jesus said to them, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." It's only Him, and the resurrection is the proof of that.

Luke 24. Now, as we dive into the text today, we are going to read of eight "Are you kidding me?" moments. Okay? It's going to be a fun day. I've had no coffee today, believe it or not. I just woke up with this energy, all right? There's going to be eight "Are you kidding me?" moments. Now, sometimes that's the only appropriate response for the circumstance we find ourselves in, or the conversation you're texting about where you're like, "Are you kidding me?

This again?" Or, "Are you kidding me?" I mean, well, you can say it a lot of different ways, but it's often the most appropriate. When was the last time you found yourself in an "Are you kidding me?" moment? I feel like sometimes I have them every day. Every day, sometimes. Are you kidding me? Even just that. Maybe you've had one today. I'm sure you have. Sometimes it's the only appropriate thing to say. Today, there are eight "Are you kidding me?"

moments, and they're all coming from different perspectives. Okay? Some are coming from us, some are from Jesus, some are from His disciples, and some are from the angels. But it's less about the vantage point and more about the circumstance. And that's going to lead us to, "Are you kidding me?" eight times. Eight. All right? Trust me. Maybe more, but that's all I've got right now. You might say it a lot more. Who knows? I don't know. You know. We'll find out.

Now, let's practice that together, because I feel like that would be beneficial for all of us to do, and I think your neighbor would love if you would turn to them and say, "Are you kidding me?" So turn to your neighbor and say, "Are you kidding me?" Are you kidding me? Well done. Luke 24, if you're there, say, "I'm there." I'm there. Now, as you know, this Cornerstone series has been based on a chronological study of the harmony of the Synoptic Gospels.

The Synoptic Gospels meaning Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They most similarly mirror and parallel each other. Now, before we dive in, there are five harmony similarities in the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the Synoptic Gospels. Whether you're reading in Matthew or Mark or Luke, you're going to find these five elements in the account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first is that Christ died. You might be like, "Well, duh." But there's a lot of people that like to disprove the resurrection by somehow encouraging you to believe that Christ didn't die.

He just fainted. Like, He was so close to death, and then they took Him off the cross. He just passed out. But the reality is He was dead. No one survived crucifixion. And if somehow He did survive crucifixion, they stabbed Him with a spear through His lung and His heart. And I don't know anyone who's survived that before. So the first truth is that Christ was dead. He was dead. Second, the second truth is that the tomb was empty on day three. Praise the Lord.

Amen? Praise the LordHe's risen, just as he said. The third is that angels appear, and they explain what's going on. In all three of these accounts, we see that angels will appear and explain. Fourth, we see the first eyewitnesses of the empty tomb are women, and this is actually really cool. It's actually one of the proofs of the validity of the resurrection, because women are always right. No. We'll discuss this more later. But fifth, sadly, the apostles and disciples refuse to believe the women initially.

We see those five elements in every single account. So let's get into it. Look at verse one. Luke 24:1. "Now on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus." Okay, so who are they? Sneak peek. Go to verse 10. Look at verse 10. We see three women here. We have Mary Magdalene, we have Mary the mother of James, and we have Joanna.

I don't know who Joanna is. She got a slightly different name. Good for her. Other gospel accounts talk about Salome being there. Either way, as we harmonize the scriptures, we see that there are not just these three women, but there are multiple women who come to the tomb. These are just three among the other women, and it says that they came early in the morning. That is consistent. Every gospel account records them being there on the third day, either at dawn or before or as the sun was rising.

They are there at dawn. Okay, so what do we know about dawn? Dawn is when the sun first shows itself, right? Which meant what? Which meant that all these spices they prepared, they prepared in what? In the darkness, which meant what? That it was before morning, which means possibly that could be an indication that their grief was stealing their sleep. I can understand the sleepless nights that grief can bring, can't you? And as they approach the tomb, the stone was rolled away.

It's interesting that in other gospels, the women are actually talking about, "How are we going to roll the stone away?" And they get there, and it's rolled away. And when they enter the tomb, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you kidding me? There's the first one. Do you want to try that? It's kind of fun. You need to get it out there. So turn to your other neighbor, not the one you did the first one to, the other one, because they're going to miss out.

And be like, "Are you kidding me? Where is the body? The stone is rolled away. Are you kidding me? What is happening? What's going on?" Here they came to the tomb to tend to the body, and they found it empty. Are you kidding me? When was the last funeral you attended where the casket was empty? I'm not trying to make light of bad circumstances or those who are lost at sea, but never. But here, these women come upon, and they find the tomb is empty.

The body is not there. Can you imagine their confusion? Look at verse four. "And it happened that while they were perplexed about this," of course, "behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing." We can open this up if we want. We should all just be used to it, all right? It's going to happen. "And when the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground." Okay, real quick, as they were there, as they were standing there, two men, what does it say?

It says they suddenly stood near them. Instantly, two angels were standing beside this group of women, and it says that these men were described as wearing dazzling clothing. Has anyone seen the Michael Jackson biopic yet? There's a lot of bedazzling clothing in that Jackson 5 era. How do the other gospels describe the appearance of these angels? Well, it says in Matthew, in the next slide here, it says that, sorry, Mark, it says that there was a young man sitting on the right side wearing a robe.

So they come in, they find this young man sitting there wearing a white robe. In Matthew, it says, "And his appearance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow." It says in Matthew that the angel descended from the heavens, and he rolled the stone away, and he sat upon it and was just hanging out, and the guards were so frightened that they fainted and they fell and appeared like dead men. At the appearance of these dazzling men in dazzling clothing, the women were terrified, and they bowed their faces to the ground in fear.

Look on. "The men said to them," verse five, " 'Why do you seek the living one among the dead?' ""He is not here, but he is risen. Remember how he spoke to you while he was in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again." And they remembered his words. The angel looks at these women and he says, "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He's not here, but he has risen."

Praise the Lord. This is worthy of celebrating. This is why we have that tradition of worship where we celebrate. It's worthy of celebrating because the resurrection of our Lord and Savior vindicates the very hope of the gospel. And yet, this leads us to our second "Are you kidding me?" moment. Because the angels look at these women, they say, "Don't you remember what he said? Are you kidding me?" Are you kidding me? Don't you remember what Jesus said?

Do you remember the feeling of learning something new as a kid? Or you had this conversation with a person who was a mentor or a teacher, and they told you something that just was amazing. It had a great impact on you, and you go home and you share this groundbreaking new discovery with your parents, only to hear them say, "I already told you this. You kidding me? I told you that." Well, not like this guy did over here. He was pretty good at it. You know, like, "I told you that.

Why don't you listen to me?" I had one of those moments for the first time about a month ago. One of the kids told me something that was so groundbreaking, and I was like, "I've told you this. Are you kidding me?" And then I had to call my mom, be like, "I'm so sorry. There's probably so much you've told me that I've given credit to somebody else, and that's why I'm the unspoken favorite." It'll never be said. Never be said. Jesus had predicted his resurrection numerous times, that they should've been expecting it.

He told them over and over and over. Were they not listening? How many times did Jesus tell them? A lot. Let's look at Matthew alone. Matthew 16:21, "From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed," and what? "And be raised up on the third day." Okay. Very clear. Not a, "He's going to be raised up," "When?" "Eh, whenever he feels like it."

Or, "Eh, I don't know. Could be a day. Could be two. Could it be three? Quite possibly." No, it's pretty clear. Third day. Look on. Next time. Matthew 17, chapter later, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him, and he will be raised on," what? "The third day. And they were deeply grieved." Matthew 20, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem," this is Jesus, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and will deliver him over to the Gentiles to mock and flog and crucify him."

And on the what? He will be raised up. Mac Powell keeps coming into my mind. I keep hearing, "Third day. Third day. Third day." Give me revelation. Matthew 26:2, "You know that after two days," this is Jesus talking. This is all Jesus talking. "The Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be delivered over for crucifixion." Over and over and over. Here's the game plan. Here's what's going to happen. Here's what's going to happen. Here's what's going to happen.

Even so much that his enemies knew it was coming. Look at Matthew 27. This is the Pharisees talking to Pilate. "Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate and said, 'Sir, we remember that when he was still alive, that deceiver said, "After three days I am to rise again." '" And they asked for guards to protect the tomb. And so here, these women come to the tomb with spices to anoint a dead body.

Three days later, the enemies, the people who killed him, are like, "Guard it. He said he was going to rise in three days." And the people who knew him, and walked alongside of him, and listened to him for three years, not just 28 chapters of a book, but for three years, came to the tomb with zero expectation and zero anticipation, preparing to anoint a dead body. I can sort of understand why the angel's like, "Are you kidding me? Why do you seek the living one among the dead?

You know it's the third day. Hello? Is anyone there?" They came either in denial or in disbelief of what Jesus had told them, and we do the same all the time. Before we get too hard on all these human people, we are humans, too, and we sin, and we do the same thing all the time. How often do we forget the very truth of the word of God? How often does the going get tough or circumstances get rough, and we block out the truth from God's word from our minds?

And unlike the proverb which talks about that we should trust in the Lord with our heart and lean not on our own strength, we do the opposite, and we just kind of lean back on what we can handleAs opposed to coming and trusting in the Lord and remembering his word. Because it is in those moments where we need to not only know that God's Word is good and true and powerful and accurate and authoritative and infallible, but we need to cling to it no matter what circumstance we may find ourselves in.

The good, the bad, the ugly, the desperate, the great, the "are you kidding me?" moments. What happens next? Look at verse nine. "And when they returned from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. Now Mary Magdalene and Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the rest of the women with them were there. They were telling these things to the apostles, but these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they were not believing them."

The ladies return, and they reported all these great things to these men who trained under Jesus, and yet the disciples respond with, "Are you kidding me? That's nonsense." That was the apostles' response to these women. "Are you kidding me? That's nonsense." It's our third one, by the way, if you're keeping track. Like a little check mark on the side. Verse 11 is such a heartbreaking verse. It makes us want to say to them, "Guys, are you kidding me?

What do you mean, are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?" And sadly, they did not believe the women's testimony. The fact that women discovered the empty tomb and that Jesus first appeared to women, which is recorded in one of the other gospels, is incredibly significant. First, it is proof of the validity of the resurrection. Because in that culture, if you were going to create a false narrative, if you were going to stage a fake resurrection, you wouldn't have made the women your key witnesses.

You wouldn't. Not in that culture, not in that day. Second, the women were the only ones, think about this, this is cooler for me. They're the only ones that actually witnessed everything. They were there when Jesus died. Scripture tells us that we only really have recorded that the only disciple that was there when Jesus died was John. So the women were there when Jesus died. The women were there when Jesus was buried, and they witnessed that. Because some people who want to deny the resurrection say, "Well, the women went to the wrong place.

Not good with directions, so they went to the wrong tomb, and it was empty." No, because the women are the only ones who actually saw what tomb it was. The disciples wouldn't have known where the empty tomb was had it not been for the women witnessing Joseph of Arimathea taking Jesus in and burying him. And now they're the first to see that there's an empty tomb and the body's not there. This is probably why Luke mentions those three names in verse 10, because it would've been the fulfillment of the law's requirement in Deuteronomy 19:15, which you can look up at your own time, where you needed two or three witnesses to bear evidence of the validity of an event.

So I'll give you three names that were there. Look at verse 12. "But Peter stood up. Hearing this, Peter stood up and ran to the tomb, and stooping to look in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away by himself, marveling at what had happened." Peter hears, he gets up, he runs to the tomb, "I got to see it for myself." In John 20, John describes this moment where he and Peter were running together to the tomb. Not sure why John's not included in Luke, but John makes sure in John's gospel that he clarifies that he was there.

And not only that he was there, it says, "And the two were running together, and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first." No matter what he says, I'm faster, more of an athlete. I got there first. I love that. We would totally all do that, by the way. If I was there and I was writing the gospel and I got there first, absolutely I'm mentioning that for the generations to follow. I mean, first John has three epistles.

Peter only has two. That's all right. Forget it. Let's keep going, please. What happens next? Look at verse 13. "And behold, two of them were going that same day to a village named Emmaus, which was 60 stadia from Jerusalem. And they were conversing with each other about all these things which had happened. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself approached and was going with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing him."

So after, this is all, we're in the same day, okay? So even though we've shift sections, and even though your Bible has now created a new header, we are still day zero. All right? It's still day three. Jesus has risen. He's appeared to the ladies. Nobody believes them. These two guys are, "Ah, we've got to go out to the countryside." Why? We don't know. We don't know why they're going there. We don't know what they have to do, but the two disciples head out to Emmaus.

And we're told that it was a journey of about 60 stadia. Now, one stadia is roughly about an eighth of a mile. So we're talking about a seven-mile long journeyAnd as these men are traveling by foot, and they're walking this distance into the countryside, they are discussing all the things that had happened. And not only were they discussing them, but scripture says that they were conversing and debating them. So here are these two men, assumedly they're friends, they're going together to their destination, and they're not just in the pursuit of Emmaus, but they're in pursuit of truth, and they're trying to wrestle through everything that they've seen, and they're debating everything that had transpired.

Hey, remember for a second, we're talking about events that are a week old. It's the first day of the next week. This is still very fresh. Some translations actually describe their conversation as an animated, heated conversation. Now, I'm on this Instagram group chat that is always an animated, heated conversation about nothing ever that's of any importance. I've got two friends, we get on there, and we argue all day long about NBA players. Who is better?

I literally have too many texts yesterday as I'm trying to focus on this, about if Tracy McGrady was better than Carmelo Anthony. To which I got pretty heated, saying, I think I wrote, quote, "That's very ignorant of anyone who didn't watch Tracy McGrady here in Orlando to think that Carmelo Anthony was a better player." All right? And we could go on longer right now. Nothing matters of those conversations. They're a lot of fun to have with people you love and care about, but it got very heated and animated quickly.

And I think about these men walking on the road together, and they're trying to rationalize and comprehend all that had happened over the past week. Think about it a week ago. They were walking alongside of Jesus while people were throwing their coats, and throwing palm branches down saying, "Hosanna," proclaiming him to be the Redeemer and that salvation comes in the name of the Lord. To just a few days later, they've got mobs of people that are chanting, "Crucify him," they're putting him on a cross, they're stabbing him in the side, and they're burying him.

And now we have these women coming, saying the tomb's empty. How do we comprehend all of these things? And in the midst of that moment, Jesus joins them on the road, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him, which I think is an interesting picture of God's sovereignty as it pertains to the predestination of our salvation. That God is the one that draws the sinners to salvation. And it's a truth that we see in scripture, that it's not we who choose God, God chooses us, and He draws us to Himself according to His goodwill.

Praise the Lord. It ought to make us more grateful for our faith. We did nothing to earn it. You did nothing to earn your salvation, nothing. By some grace of God, He called you to salvation. Praise the Lord. Man, that ought to fuel your heart to give Him everything you have. Amen? Don't think that you've come to church enough, or you've done good works enough, or you've read enough scripture. You didn't bring anything to the table for God. You can be near to Jesus, you can be around Jesus, you can hear about Jesus, you can attend the things where they talk about Jesus, but unless the Lord so chooses to open your eyes, you won't be able to see Him.

And so the question is, loved ones, has the Lord opened your eyes? Do you recognize Jesus? Can you see Him in your life? Can you see Him in the Bible? Though they knew Jesus and had walked with Him, they were prevented from recognizing Him in this moment. Look at verse 17. "And he, Jesus, said to them, 'What are these words that you are discussing with one another as you are walking?' And they stood still, looking sad. And one of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to him, 'Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these last days?'

" The kids would call that he woke up and chose violence. Jesus, in almost a humorous way, almost, asked them, "What are you guys talking about? What are you talking about?" He's going the same direction. He's leaving Jerusalem, heading out to Emmaus. He's like, "Hey, what are you guys talking about?" And now we don't know much about Cleopas, beyond his name, and that he was completely baffled and shocked by this question. It's almost as if he looked at Jesus and said- Are you kidding me?

"Are you kidding me? Are you the only one who's leaving Jerusalem not knowing about the things that have just happened? Where have you been? Wake up. Are you kidding me?" What does this response teach us? Not that he'd just come out of a hours long debate with his friend, though that would take your grace level really low, wouldn't it? What's it teach us? It actually, it's notOne of those, it teaches us that Jesus's crucifixion was not a small, isolated event that was happening in Jerusalem at the same time of Passover.

You have to understand at Passover, millions and millions of Jews descended upon Jerusalem to celebrate this holiday. And I think sometimes we might think it's like some of those intersection takeovers we're seeing on the news right now, where you just kind of get a swarm of angry mob people that then do a lot of damage, and that was sort of it. But what this response, what this question shows us is that this was not just a small, little takeover.

That of the millions of people that descended upon Jerusalem for Passover, everyone knew of what was happening and what happened to Jesus, the Nazarene, and many, if not most, had some sort of involvement. Whether they were in protest or they were a spectator, people knew what had happened. People were there. They saw it. This wasn't a small thing that was easily covered up. Everyone knew. It wasn't a pocket incident. It was viscerally widespread, a all-encompassing major event.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife Emily and I went and saw the Michael Jackson biopic, and I can't get the songs out of my head. I've even talked to my daughter's ballet teacher about, "Hey, can we get some private lessons over the summer? I need to get the moonwalk down and just kind of feel all these things out." But as I'm thinking more on Michael Jackson, do you remember where you were when you learned that Michael Jackson had died? So many nods.

I remember where I was. I don't remember what I was wearing, thankfully. Okay, it's not that graphic. But I remember where I was, I remember who told me, I remember what happened. When Michael Jackson died, it was a widespread global phenomenon. Now, for the younger generation in the room, you have to understand Michael Jackson's global popularity. All right? Now, I got curious. And when curiosity strikes, AI responds. And so I asked ChatGPT, I said, "Can you generate a list of the 10 most famous individuals, dead or alive?"

It generated a list, and then I asked, "Well, what about some of these people?" And then it added them in later. Didn't change the top two. Now, there's no clear list or survey of globally who are the most famous people to have walked the face of the earth. So this is the best that AI could come up with, with everything it pulls from. So who do you think the most famous person, globally, to walk the face of the earth, dead or alive is? Elvis. We got it.

Some people are saying Elvis. Jesus, we're winning, okay? He's risen, so he's not dead, he's alive, and we're winning. All right? So Jesus is number one. Praise the Lord. Turn to your neighbor and say, "Phew." All right? Phew, Jesus is number one. Number two. Who do you think number two is? Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson is number two. Are you kidding? Do we want to keep going? It's kind of fun. Who's number three? Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan is number three.

Oh, for all the people who said, "What?" Please. It just hurts my heart, all right? The good news is LeBron's not in the top 10. And he's not in the top 15, and I didn't ask beyond that, all right? So thank goodness, okay? Or else I would've been like, "Are you kidding me?" And I wouldn't even use this. All right? Number four is Muhammad. Number five is Cristiano Ronaldo. And then number six is Messi, so ha ha, Amir. Ronaldo's better. Number seven is Elvis.

Number eight is Princess Diana. Number nine is Adolf Hitler. And number 10 is Marilyn Monroe, which I was surprised about. Anyone curious what the next five were? You want me to keep going? Somebody said no. Well, we're going to keep going anyway. You didn't have a choice. It was coming. Napoleon is 11, Charlie Chaplain is 12, Bruce Lee is 13, Taylor Swift is 15, and Muhammad Ali rounds us out at 15. Or Taylor Swift's 14, Muhammad Ali is 15. If only she could've been our lucky number 13, but it didn't work out.

Sorry. Now, if Michael Jackson is so popular that you remember where you were when you learned of his death, how much more shocking would it be to these two men, three days after this event happened, to be walking out of the city in which it happened, being asked by some stranger they didn't recognize for clarity of, "Now what happened? What was going on?" But Jesus' questions are also an interesting picture of God's patience towards us. In order to teach us, He listens to us tell Him what He already knows.

Isn't that interesting? Look at verse 19. "And he said to them, 'What things? What things?' And they said to him, 'The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a mighty prophet in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to the sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened.'

"But also some women among us astounded us, when they were at the tomb early in the morning, and not finding his body, they came saying that they had also 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 exactly as the women also said, but him they did not see." Man, it would seem like these guys have everything they need to preach the gospel. They got it down. And as I sit here and I read this, I think about what Jesus told them, "I'm going to be delivered over to the chief scribes.

I'm going to be crucified, and in three days, I'm going to rise again." And yet these guys are like, "Well, he was delivered over to the chief scribes, and he died, and now it's been three days. We don't know where his body is." Come on. They proclaimed his ministry, his death, and an empty grave, yet they admitted that they saw him only the way they desired him to be. They saw him from a geopolitical sense and not a spiritual salvific sense. They saw the Messiah as a conquering hero rather than the suffering servant Isaiah 53 describes him to be.

And what do you think Jesus' response was to that? "Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?" Look what he says in verse 25. "And he said to them, 'Oh foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?' " "Are you kidding me? You've already said it. You already have all the right answers. Are you kidding me?" "Do you not know the Scriptures?

Isn't this what was necessary for the Christ to do, to go and to suffer?" Verse 27, "Then beginning with Moses, and with all the Prophets, he interpreted to them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures." Jesus taught them of himself using the Scriptures. Now, how would you teach others about Jesus using the Scriptures? How would you do that? How would we do that? What are some of your favorite verses about Jesus? Maybe you think, well, John 3:16.

Well, listen. Think about this. When Jesus taught them, we didn't have the New Testament yet. These words weren't written down for us yet. By God's grace, we have them today. Praise the Lord. And they help us better understand Jesus and the church. But think about this. You don't need the New Testament to preach Jesus. So many of us, I think there's this horrible philosophy and theology today that somehow the New Testament is greater than the Old Testament, that somehow the New Testament throws out the Old Testament.

But the reality is when Jesus says, "Do you not know the Scriptures," he's never once referring to the New Testament that hasn't been written. We can preach Jesus out of the Old Testament alone. Okay? Just simply put, let's look at Isaiah 53. All right? And it's in a couple slides, so I'm going to bounce around for time. "He was despised and forsaken of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Okay? He's going to be turned over to the chief priests and scribes.

"He was pierced through for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our peace fell upon him, and by his wounds, we are healed." There is forgiveness through his suffering and sacrifice. Our iniquities, our transgressions are the cause of his sin, but they're also what we are healed from through his sacrifice. Do you see that there? It's not a stretch. It's right here. "All of us like sheep have gone astray." Yes, we have.

We are living before Christ, under the prince of the power of the air, in the ways of the world. We have gone astray. Next slide. "He was oppressed, he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth." He was obedient to the will of God. I'm thinking about the have this attitude in yourself like Christ had, who although exists in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by being obedient to taking on the form of man, by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

I'm thinking about that right there. He was silent before his accusers. Look at this. So his grave was assigned with wicked men. We're all sinful. We're all wicked. He's put into the grave, and yet, okay, he was with a rich man in his death. Who buried Jesus? A wealthy man. Joseph of Arimathea, right? "But Yahweh was pleased to crush him, putting him to grief. If you would place his soul as a guilt offering, he will see his seed." Here it is. "He will prolong his days."

If this man was crushed, yet it pleased the Lord, he will prolong his days. We see the gospel right there, and Jesus fulfilled these words. Praise the Lord. Amen. So right there, if that's all we had, that would be enough to proclaim the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Understanding the Bible, the word of God, is both essential and necessary for faith. Romans 10:17 says, "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."

Church, we must be biblicists. We must be biblicists. A lot of fancy people like to throw on a lot of fancy theological words, but at the end of the day, we are called not to be some sort of theological word. We are called to be biblicists. We are called to read the Bible at face value and to understand it literally because it is the very truth of the word of GodAnd we need to read the Bible for ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to convict us through it.

We error in theology when we fail to fully understand scripture, for a proper hermeneutic allows scripture to interpret scripture, capturing the total message of the Bible. Because God's word stands on its own, it interprets itself. It requires study, yes, it does. But it is written for the average man to be able to understand it and apply it. You don't need some sort of special degree or some sort of training to understand the word of God. If you truly are in Jesus Christ, you've been given the Holy Spirit, and He illuminates the word of God for us.

You don't need pastors to interpret it for you. You don't need parents or professors. You don't need theologians or reformers. You don't even need the early church fathers, as helpful and as beneficial as they can be at times, and sometimes not all the time, teaching things that don't align with God's word. That's why we have to be Berean's church, the people group that was praised by Paul for listening to Paul's teaching and then going and seeing if it's in scripture and then coming back and affirming it.

That ought to be us. We don't want to be blind, being led by blind. We want to see the word of God as it's clearly written. Because the word of God stands alone. Psalm 119:160 says, "The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous judgments is everlasting." 2 Timothy 3, "But you continue in the things you learned and became convinced of, knowing from whom you learned them, and that from childhood you have known the secret writings which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Peter 1:3, "Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." So do you know God's word? Do you read God's word, ever?

Are you able to have confidence and defend your faith in Jesus? How does one claim to follow Jesus or be a Christian if they have never once read the Bible? How do you even know what you're talking about? How would they know the difference between righteousness and godlessness? And look, I'm not being critical on new believers who have no idea what's going on and they're learning. Hey, church, let's come around those people and let's not judge them for the years they weren't in Christ.

Let's help them in their sanctification by showing them truth. If faith comes from hearing the word, how can one have any faith without reading the Bible? Look on, look at verse 28. "And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going further. But they urged Him strongly, saying, 'Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.' So He went in to stay with them. It happened that when He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and after breaking it, He was giving it to them.

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was opening the Scriptures to us?' " Are you kidding me? Jesus was with us? Are you kidding me? How did we miss it? He's right here. Now, it's important to note that they were not taking communion in that moment. And it was very custom for Jesus to break and bless bread throughout the Gospels before a meal.

So what do these men do next? Look at verse 33. "And they stood up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found gathered together the eleven and those with them, who were saying, 'The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon!' And they were relating their experiences on the road, and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. Now while they were telling these things," verse 36, "He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'

" How cool is that? Now, I was shocked how many commentators felt the need to try to explain how Jesus was able to appear and/or vanish in certain places. It's like people really struggle to understand it. There's so many questions of how He did it. The door was locked, but He came in. How is that possible, right? But listen, was Jesus not fully God and fully man? Was Jesus not supernatural? No one seems to question how Jesus fed the 5,000. He had a lunch, and all of a sudden, 5,000 people are fed.

He's pulling bread out of midair and no one's going, "How'd He do that?" Jesus walked on the water. No one questioned how He healed the paralytic by telling him, "Get up and walk." Nobody questions how He healed the blind man when He spat in the mud and then rubbed it on the eyes. No one questions that. No one even questioned how Jesus actually rose from the dead. But how did He enter the room when the door was locked? I'm like, are you kidding me?

That's a personal one. That's not in here. That's just from me. Are you kidding me, guys? I was reading like, come on, JohnHe's supernatural. I just had to get that off my chest. I'm sorry. But he appears that very night. Same day, guys. Morning, midday, now it's the night, and the 11 apostles and the disciples are gathered together. It's been a busy day for Jesus. Interesting that it's said in verse 34 that he appeared to Simon beforehand. Nowhere else in the Gospels do we see this recorded, not even in the Gospel of Mark, which we know Peter didn't write, but he heavily influenced Mark as he was writing.

Yet, Paul tells us that Jesus appeared to Peter in 1 Corinthians 15, three through five. You can take a picture. That'll be on the screen in a second, but we're going to keep going, so leave it up there for a second. Yet, upon seeing Jesus, everyone was frightened. Verse 37, "But being startled and frightened, they were thinking that they were seeing a spirit. And he said to them, 'Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your heart? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.

Touch me and see. For a 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." But even though they could see him, and they could hear him, and they could touch the piercings, not scars. Think about this. Hasn't scarred over. There's holes there. It's the evidence. Three days ago, this happened. But it says in verse 41 that they were still not believing. Now this is out of joy, almost like this disbelief, like, "This is too good to be true.

I can't believe this is true." And look at what it says in verse 41. "And while they were still not believing because of their joy, and they were still marveling, he said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat? I'll show you.' And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and he ate it before them." Have you ever had to eat something to prove a point? You hear a lot about that with international travel, right? You're in a professional meeting of sorts, and they're like, "Oh, here, eat this tarantula that we fried."

But you got to do it. You got to prove a point. I remember when I first started dating my wife, Emily, I had to win over her stepfather. Now, I love Steve. Steve's a great guy. I think he's watching this from St. Pete, which is such a blessing to my heart. We've got a great relationship, but in those early days, getting to know each other, I had to prove myself, right? I had to show I can provide, I can protect. I'm not going to back down. And so the first time I met Steve, I flew out to Utah to spend a few days getting to know him.

We golfed together. It was a lot of fun. And he took me to the steakhouse, where he invited me to try raw oysters. Now, I never have consumed raw oysters before. Until that point, I sort of looked at them like the walrus in "Alice in Wonderland" sort of did, right? "The time has come," that's sort of in my mind what I was thinking in that moment. And I don't know if you've ever had a raw oyster, but when you pick up that shell and you look at that raw, gooey, cold, wet, slimy piece of matter, you're just kind of saying, "I don't know how we're going to do this.

Do I chew it? What's in it if I chew it? What will the texture be of this thing?" But I'm a man. I'm not going to back down. I got to prove a point. I got to show I can provide. So I took that little natural shot glass of terribleness, if you will, and I threw it right down the back of my throat. I got it on video, too. I was a boss in it. You would be so proud. I didn't make a grimace. I just took it like a man. And it worked. Obviously, it worked.

We're married now, so it worked. That's great. But that cold, wet, slimy crustacean is definitely an acquired taste. But can you imagine Jesus? He's like, "I'm here. Guys, I'm here. Are you kidding me? I'm standing here. You're touching the holes. Fine, give me a piece of fish. Let me eat it. Let me show you that I'm not a ghost." But yet, this is our good shepherd, isn't it, who loves his sheep. He knows his disciples are scared, confused, uncertain, excited, cautiously optimistic, and he brings them peace.

Look, he brings them peace in his welcome. He says, "Peace to you." He brings them peace in the reassurance of what you're seeing is real. And he brings them peace in his wounds. He brings them peace in his word. Look on. Look at verse 44 as we land the plane here. "Now he said to them, 'These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are 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." Here is the final, "Are you kidding me?" Jesus had to unlock it for them. If you're not a follower of Christ, you will not understand the Bible. Until salvation and until the Holy Spirit is upon believers, the word of God is foolishness to the lost. That's what it says in 1 Corinthians 1:18, "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God."

Perhaps you're here sitting at The Grove today, and you've tried to read your Bible. You get it open. You just don't understand it. It's like, "I'm here. I come to church. But I don't... I'm reading. I don't get it." And I would just invite you to assess your heart and ask, are you truly saved? Are you truly saved? And if you repent of your sin and confess Jesus as Lord, you will have your own "Are you kidding me?" moment the first time you read the word of God and it's illuminated to you in a new way.

Jesus reveals himself to whom he pleases, when he pleases, and our text today is a clear example of that. So the question is, has he revealed himself to you? Look at verse 46. "And he said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.' " Verse 48, "You are witnesses of these things."

This was their call, to be a witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that's what they would go do. If you look at all the first and the major sermons in Acts, Peter is standing up and he is saying, "We are preaching the risen Lord. That Jesus, whom you crucified, he is risen, and he is alive." They proclaim the resurrection as proof of forgiveness and the deity to a generation that saw and condemned and crucified the Messiah, Jesus. Today, we stand as witnesses, church, and we proclaim forgiveness and the deity of the Messiah, Jesus, through the lens of his resurrection, for without the resurrection, our faith is meaningless.

And so let me say today, as Jesus instructed his disciples to 2,000 years ago, there is forgiveness through repentance because Jesus is no longer dead. He's alive. The resurrection was necessary. How could he have victory over your spiritual state if he couldn't have victory over the byproduct of sin? How could he have victory over sin if he couldn't have victory over death? It's not enough for him to be the Passover lamb that died and shed his blood to cover you if he didn't rise.

But he is risen, just as he said, and there is still an empty tomb with no body to be found, and we are witnesses to that. And so church, today, if today is the day where the Lord is drawing you to himself, make a 180-degree life-changing turn in your life and repent of your sin. There's forgiveness only available through repentance, and you can have that today. He's alive. He's our hope. Let's pray. Father, you draw to yourself whom you desire, when you desire, and the way in which you desire.

Father, I am convinced that there are people in the room here this morning that though they are seeking you, they don't understand what it is that they're reading, and I know that's on account of you just have not opened their eyes. I pray that you would open their eyes to the goodness of Jesus Christ, that he is not a figure who is still hanging on the cross of every crucifix, of necklaces that we see all over our culture and society, but that he is risen and there is an empty tomb, and he has victory over sin and death.

And that he has given that to us. Thank you. Lord, I pray that you would draw those to repentance, even now, that if they hear your voice, that they would come and they'd say, "Okay, God, I am done living for myself. I am done being defined by sin in my life, and I want my identity to rest in the very blood of the risen Savior, Jesus Christ." May they confess him as Lord and believe, and would you grant faith to those today. We love you, and we worship you in our response.

In Jesus' name, amen. We can't talk about the resurrection and not worship the Lord in response. So please stay and join us, and let's worship together and let's respond in this way. And as soon as the song is done, you are loved. We'll go out and live as his witnesses together. So come on, every voice.