Foundation • Luke 24:1-35
53:34 Teaching begins
Notes
Jesus rises from the dead in a funny way. He’s already risen at the beginning of chapter 24. He doesn’t show up until verse 36. The focus is not so much on His appearing to people alive from the dead. That’s important, but it’s not the first thing that happens.
Twice Jesus’ devastated disciples are turned right in their faith because they grasp what Jesus said, and the Scriptures that speak about Him.
Luke focuses on the words Jesus spoke and the Scriptures, because Jesus Himself focuses on that. Those words God wrote centuries and millennia before are the foundation you need in order to believe.
I’m reading in Luke chapter 24.
1. A group of women find out first that Jesus is risen, vv. 1-12.
A. Luke mentions this group of women in chapter 8, that Jesus healed them of sickness and demon possession, and that they also provided for Him and the disciples out of their own means.
B. They are overwhelmed by the stone rolled away and the tomb being empty. They were just devastated by Jesus’ death, but now what? They’re stunned, unable to understand what this could mean? What happened to Jesus? What do we do now?
C. Angels appear and compound the issue. The women bow to the ground and the angels who tell them what has happened. They say, “Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee? He said He would be crucified and on the third day rise from the dead.” They point the women to what Jesus kept saying to them on the way from Galilee to Jerusalem.
D. The women remember that Jesus did say that, and this changes their whole situation.
1. The devastation is gone. Not just this present disappointment and confusion of what is going on, but the greater disappointment and grief of losing Jesus.
2. Now they are excited and rejoicing and happy, realising this is exactly what He told us, and He did it, everything He said has happened. This is what He meant!
2. The women go and tell the apostles, and the apostles don’t believe them.
A. It’s at this point that Luke identifies this group of women.
1. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James.
2. One of those certain other women was Salome, mother of the apostles James and John.
B. They are very different in background and status.
1. Joanna’s husband is Herod’s personal assistant. She’s right up there in government, in society. Luke 8 shows us some of these women have been providing for Jesus and His disciples from their own money. They have intelligence and means.
2. There are single women, married, mothers. They are young, old, capable, knowledgeable.
3. They have also been with Jesus. He’s healed them of demon possession, of sickness, They’re experienced.
C. They tell the eleven, because Judas became a traitor, and to all the rest, which includes Cleopas and the Other Guy, whom we’ll see in a minute.
D. And their words seemed to them to be idle tales, nonsense, and they did not believe them.
1. They are repeating the words of Jesus that the angel reminded them of. You know! You heard Him say these things! The tomb is empty, this is why! He’s not dead anymore, He’s risen from the dead!
2. Can you imagine Salome look at James and John, her own sons, and they don’t believe her. Really, guys? Would I lie to you? You think I’m crazy? He said so!
E. Peter gets up and runs to the tomb and looks in it and sees the linen cloths lying by themselves. If somebody stole the body, why didn’t they steal it wrapped in the cloths? Why unwrap it and then steal it?
F. But he goes home marvelling, and that’s it. John went with him, and he probably went back to tell the guys, but they still don’t believe that Jesus is risen from the dead. Something is missing in their faith, and we find what it is when we look at the next event.
3. And that’s when Jesus deals with more devastated disciples, vv. 13-27.
A. Two of Jesus’ disciples, Cleopas and, for lack of a name, we’ll call him the Other Guy, are going to a village about seven miles from Jerusalem, called Emmaus. They’re going over the same three topics and not getting anywhere: Jesus is dead, the tomb is empty, those women are crazy.
B. Now, Jesus comes up to them as another traveller in the same direction. They are prevented from recognising Him, so as far as they know, He is just a guy, never seen Him before.
C. He makes like He’s trying to figure out what He’s overhearing, like, now, what’s the deal here? What are you guys talking about while you’re walking and sad? Cleopas is exasperated, a little bit. Are you the only guy in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what’s going on? Jesus very humbly says, “Like what?”
D. Cleopas lays it out: It’s about Jesus, He was from God, the priests and rulers had Him crucified, and we were hoping He was going to redeem Israel. And it’s the third day since it happened and a bunch of women are telling us that He’s alive, and some of us went and checked out the tomb, and it was just like they said, but they didn’t see Him. It’s just a hot mess.
E. Jesus says this to devastated and disappointed men:“Are you the only guys in Jerusalem who don’t know what’s going on? You should know, and you don’t! If you listened to the prophets you’d know! Everything that’s happened is exactly what God said would happen!”
F. Jesus goes on to show them that the Messiah would be crucified and rise on the third day, in the first five books of Moses, in the Psalms, in the Prophets, over and over again. God said this would happen, and it’s salvation.
4. We see the effect it has on them when they get to Emmaus. and invite Him to stay with them.
A. They eat, He takes bread and blesses it, breaks it, they recognise Him, He vanishes.
B. They don’t talk about vanishing, they talk about what understanding the word of God did to them. Weren’t our hearts burning within us while He talked with us and opened the Scriptures to us?
1. The Mormons use this verse to justify their doctrine of the burning in the bosom. You’re supposed to pray, if this Mormon doctrine is true, then give me the burning in the bosom. It’s a sensation, it’s a feeling, and people get that feeling, and they say, “I got the burning in the bosom! That means that all this doctrine is true!”
2. What Cleopas and the Other Guy are saying is, they understood what the Scriptures were saying, this is not a disaster, this is the plan of God for the salvation of the world! Understanding grips them, fills them with wonder and praise, because they understand that God wrote this down centuries and millennia beforehand. They were amazed at the detail, the knowledge, the wisdom. He wrote that this was going to happen, then He did it. Jesus the Son of God died for us. Now Jesus is alive. Only God could write what He would do, and then do it. He has accomplished what He said He would do.
C. They go back to tell the others, and when they get there, they say, yeah, we know!
5. So what?
A. These women are devastated. The angels say, “Remember the words He spoke to you.” They remember Jesus’ words and the understanding puts them right. Jesus is alive!
B. The two disciples are devastated. Jesus tells them what the Scriptures say, and their whole understanding changes when they grasp the word of God. He had to die and rise again from the dead!
C. You can hear “Jesus is risen” and it does nothing for you, just like the apostles, looking at their mom repeating the very words of Jesus. You don’t believe, because you don’t know what the Scriptures say.
D. For you to have intelligent, strong trust in Jesus you need all the word of God. If you ignore the Old Testament your trust in Jesus will be weak and wobbly, without a foundation.
E. Next week we’ll reconstruct Jesus’ Bible study as best we can. You’ll see that the more you grasp what God has said, the more you believe.
F. In the meantime, decide you are going to read your complete Bible. The more you read the more it will change your understanding of your situation. You will grasp that Jesus died for your sins, and He is alive.
Let’s pray.