Harbor Presbyterian Church - Uptown

Conflict and Community:

Can You See Jesus When He Comes?

Luke 24:11-35

Introduction

Last week Rick Warren said that during hard economic times, people go to three places:  Movies (for entertainment), bars (to talk about their problems), and church (for hope). 

What an amazing opportunity we have to give people real hope!  To do that we need to have joy.  Joy comes when we see that our hopes are being fulfilled.

Disciples needed hope.  They were down.  So much that when news of empty tomb came, didn’t believe.  How about you?  Are you living with joy?

Jesus knows we need help.  So he comes to us, and he shows up in our lives all the time.  Question is:  Would you see Jesus if he came up to you?  Could you recognize him?  The disciples couldn’t. 

In the midst of their confusion, Jesus appeared.  He is coming now, here into YOUR questions.  Are you ready?  What questions do you have?  Here he comes. 

This is not just for non-Christians.  Sometimes this is how it works for Christians too.  Trials come and we don’t know how to respond.  You come across a truth you don’t know how to handle:  God’s wrath or predestination, the command to have joy in the midst of your trials.  You can’t figure it out.  You’re perplexed.  You talk about it, you search it out.  Jesus also will show up in that process.

We’re going to see three points today from these verses:  I. Blindness keeps us from seeing Jesus, II. Jesus Comes to us in the Bible, III. Jesus Comes Closer to us in the Lord’s Supper

1. Blindness Keeps Us From Seeing Jesus

V16—they were kept from recognizing him.  This is the real problem.  This is the same day as last week’s passage.  There is news coming out that Jesus is risen, but no one believes it.  These two are walking to a town called Emmaus, which was 7 miles from Jerusalem.  Jesus shows up to help them, but they don’t recognize him. Why? The reasons connect with us and why we don’t recognize him often. 

First, Jesus has a new resurrection body.  His body  was evidently similar in appearance, but different enough that people didn’t immediately recognize him.  For us, this is similar to when life’s circumstances change.  Sometimes we have seen Jesus in certain places—growing up, or with a certain social group, but when those circumstances change, we can’t see Jesus anymore.  Our change in circumstance can blind us to Jesus.

Second, usually, with spiritual matters, it’s our wrong expectations that blind us. When the truth shows up, we’re not looking for it.  We might think that Jesus would show up in one way, only to miss him when he shows up. 

Sometimes our wrong expectation is a wrong view of ourselves.  We might think, “I don’t need a savior.  I’m not that bad.”  If you think this, then if Jesus shows up in your life as a Savior, you’re not going to recognize him.

Our sin does blind us.  We are by nature self-justifying.  We make excuses for ourselves and when we do that, we are hiding the truth and when Jesus shows up to show us the truth, we won’t recognize him. 

Many religious people miss Jesus because they’re busy trying to be good.  They think Jesus is all about them being good enough for heaven, and they can’t see him.

Just as common is that sometimes we have a wrong view of Jesus.  This was the problem of these two disciples.  They expected that the Messiah, the Christ would come and conquer.  Him dying was no where on their mental map.  This made it so they couldn’t see him.  You??

Against this blindness, Jesus offers two solutions.  First:

2. Jesus Comes to Us in the Bible

Jesus’ response in verse 25 is a mild rebuke, mixed with mirth and compassion.  Then Jesus begins to love them by showing them the specific truth that will meet them in their disappointment. This wasn’t just a generic “Through the Old Testament” bible study.  This was Jesus given them the truths that will change everything for them.  

He shows them how the Scriptures teach that the Messiah was supposed to suffer.  I had a ten year old ask me last week—so do you have to believe in the resurrection of Jesus to be a Christian?  When I said, yes and commended him for listening to the sermon, he then asked, well then what’s the rest of the Bible for?  I told him to come back this week to hear Jesus’ answer.

If you could have been present at one event in the bible to be an eye witness, what would it be?  Many people have said they would have loved to be a fly on the wall to hear the hours that Jesus spent explaining the Scriptures to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.  While we don’t have the transcript, here is a list of what Jesus might have shared:

***SEE THE EXPOSITION OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES BELOW***

V27—It’s all about him!  This is why we say the whole Bible is the gospel.  It all points to Jesus!

This is what made all the difference for these two disciples.  They knew that the Messiah would come and reign as a king, but they never dreamed that the king would actually come to suffer.  Power and authority was meant to be used to get comforts of life.  For Jesus, he used his power and authority to serve.  Serving was what he was doing on the cross.

That Messiah would come and atone by dying himself was inconceivable.  They thought the king would come and conquer—victorious and power.  Other kings crush the weak, leave them behind.  So many people—religious and non think that Jesus is a tyrant. 

But Jesus came in love.  He came to die.  Messiah came and died.  So amazing.  They couldn’t fathom.  This shows the heart of God. 

“What Jesus did on the cross was not in spite of his identity as the One God.  Rather it was "the very expression of the very heart of the one God."”  NT Wright

“For Jesus, the decision to become divine was not a decision to stop being divine.  It was a decision about what it really meant to be divine.  As you look at the incarnate son of God dying on the cross the most powerful thought you should think is:  this is the true meaning of who God is.  He is the God of self-giving love.” NT Wright

“The impulse to serve lies at the very heart of deity.”  Don Macleod

Now these two could see that this was God’s plan all along.  The Savior would come and he would save BY suffering for his people.  This is a whole new perspective! 

It’s no wonder the disciples hearts were burning within them!

Jesus was giving them the place to believe that the cross could fit into the plan of God.  Jesus crucified could still be the Messiah.  Their hope is coming true!  This began to give way to joy!

You—Sarah, new mental category, Hayden, Kim, Bill. 

All these people realized with the disciples—we’ve heard this before but never understood it. 

Where are your expectations?  You want Jesus to show up in your life?  Read the Scriptures.  Own them.  He comes in the word.

Reading the Bible isn’t supposed to be a drudgery.  It’s also not supposed to be the checklist that if you perform God will love you.  We all should read the bible—not to try to earn God’s blessings, but rather the Bible is where we learn how to experience the blessings that God has already given us!

Have you had this experience?  This burning in your heart?  I have.

1Ti 3; 2Th 3:16-18.  In my studies, in conversations with people.  Listening to sermons.

For some people, it’s ideas that make your heart sing.  PROPHET.

For others, it’s accomplishing God’s will in your life that makes you heart excited because you see that you’re a different person.  KING.

For others, it’s seeing God’s love, his peace, his perspective well up inside you. 

The more of it you know, the more of it comes to mind in life’s circumstances.

Can I just tell you, I love the Bible!  I love it.  It’s amazing.  Deep, profound, transforming. 

And recognize that often suffering is part of the plan of God.  We often think that suffering is a sign that God is mad at us, or that when we suffer, life isn’t what it should be.  But we see here that often suffering has a redemptive value.  Suffering was how Jesus served and blessed the world.  When you are suffering, look for ways that your suffering can be used to serve others.  Let his suffering change your perspective, your attitude.  When you serve others in the midst of your suffering, you reflect and embody Jesus.

This then begins to untwist the tangles of wrong expectations.  When you see this—this right view of Jesus, you end up with a right view of yourself and your life. 

When the disciples’ faith was failing on the road to Emmaus Jesus didn’t open their eyes in a spectacular experience, He used the Word to penetrate their hearts and set them on fire.

Luke records this for us so that Jesus can continue to do this for us.

3. Jesus Comes Closer to Us in the Lord’s Supper

Convinced him to stay and eat.  Were so excited about his teaching.  Jesus did and at dinner he re-enacted the Last Supper.  Then they realized it was him!  V31—their eyes opened after their hearts. 

At that point, everything clicked.  His survey of the Old Testament pointing to the crucifixion and resurrection all came together with the actions from the Last Supper.

Jesus keeps showing up at the Lord’s Supper for you.  It is nowhere more clear this good news than at the Lord’s Table. The Lord’s Table shows that Jesus is for you, and in you.

For you—he was broken/poured out to bring you forgiveness through his sufferings.

In you—you eat and drink—this gives you his glory.  You are united to him.  All that he has is now yours.

“Easter brings about the birth of the new world.  The resurrection of Jesus is its beginning.  Every time hearts burn at biblical exposition, every time faith recognizes Jesus over broken bread…” we realize that his resurrection is meant to involve us.  NTW, LFE

Belgic Confession:  “As certainly as we receive and hold this sacrament in our hands and eat and drink the same with our mouths, we also do as certainly receive Jesus himself by faith (which is the hand and mouth of our soul).”

This is more than a sign—it’s a seal.  It’s a guarantee.  You have these blessings because you believe.  This assures you of union with Jesus. 

Through you.  Passion for his church—it’s one loaf, we are all one body in Christ.  Passion for the nations. All blessings of God have a tag:  “Pass it on.”  Gen 12:1-3.  This ropes you in and gets you involved.

“This is how the kingdom is to come:  by the representatives of Israel’s Messiah going out into the world to proclaim him as its rightful lord.” NTW, RSOG 654

The supper is a celebration—it’s a wedding feast.  It’s not supposed to be a ceremony that causes you to feel awful, it moves you to recognize that you need Jesus and that you have him!

“The first meal mentioned in the Bible is the moment when Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit.  The direct result is:  ‘the eyes of them both were opened, and the FALL”(Gen 3:7).  Now this other couple, Cleopas and his companion, are at table:  ‘their eyes were opened, and they recognized him’(Lu 24:31).  This, Luke is saying, is the ultimate redemption; this is the meal which signifies that the long exile of the human race, not just of Israel, is over at last.  This is the start of the new creation.”  NTW, RSOG 652

Luke Timothy Johnson said this is the reversal of all the went wrong at the fall. 

People in Luke’s day—we wish we could have seen him, been there!  Luke says—no that’s not the issue—you know what made them see?  Word and Supper! Last week we saw that the empty tomb gets you wondering, searching.  Now we are seeing that you get answers/clarity/assurance from the Word and Sacrament.

For them, and now for you!

Do you use iTunes?  There are two things that make iTunes wonderful.  First, it organizes your music, audio, and video life.  You get all your tunes in one place.  You can organize them, make lists, play it all back.  It’s great.

But then you also have a place in iTunes where you access the media world.  Anything you could possibly hope to find—music, videos, television episodes, shorts, lectures, books, it’s limitless. 

This is one way to think about believing in Jesus. Many people come to Jesus to straighten out their life.  That is good.  Jesus does this in so many ways.  But when you come to Jesus, you also get access to another.  It’s not the media world, it’s the world to come.  Jesus has passed through death into the world to come.  When you believe, you are united to him in that world and you are given all his blessings. 

What do you need?  You can look it up in the word and you receive it in the Lord’s Supper.  This restores hope and ushers in deepening joy.

AMEN.

 

***THE EXPOSITION OF THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES***

*Genesis 3:15 points to Jesus as the seed of the woman, coming to destroy the work of the devil but to suffer as he conquers him.

*Genesis 22 points to Jesus in the life of Abraham, as the ram who would be our substitute, offering himself up in death to God.

*Exodus 33 Moses points to Jesus as he intercedes for God’s people, offering to sacrifice himself if God won’t forgive them.

*Leviticus as a whole points to Jesus as our high priest and our sacrifice, making us acceptable to God and mediating with God on our behalf. 

In Numbers, we recognize that Jesus suffered so that God’s people could enter the ultimate, heavenly promised land.  He is also the bronze serpent, raised up in death, to which if anyone looks, he or she is healed of their sins.

In Deuteronomy, we recognize that Jesus’ takes on the punishment we deserved and his life grants us the blessings of God.

Joshua pictures Jesus, who leads us in the discipling of not just one nation, but all the nations of the world. 

*In Judges, we recognize that Jesus redeems us through his death and resurrection when we are being oppressed by our sins and enemies.

*In Ruth, Jesus is pictured as our kinsman redeemer, giving us an inheritance through his death and resurrection when we have lost ours.

*In 1-2 Samuel, David points to Jesus as the king after God’s own heart, whose faith leads him in triumph and who leads us to be faithful.

In 1-2 Kings, Jesus brings unity, not division through his blood, making one united family out of all the nations of the earth (Eph 2:11-22). 

*In 1-2Chronicles, we see that because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, God’s love continues even after we’ve experienced his discipline and correction.

Ezra pictures Jesus whose death and resurrection makes his people holy and extends the holiness of God into all the nations of the earth. 

In Nehemiah, we see that Jesus through his death and resurrection is rebuilding the people of God to serve and worship him and bless the nations.

*Esther points to Jesus as the one who received the death penalty for pleading for the life of his people. 

*Job points to Jesus who was the ultimate undeserving sufferer, yet trusted God in his suffering and blessed his friends.

In the Psalms, we see the prayer life of Jesus, and we see him taking the punishment due to the wicked so that the blessings of the righteous might be given to sinners like us.

Proverbs shows us Jesus, the embodiment of wisdom, taking the punishment of the fools so that they might become wise and receive the blessings that accompany wisdom.

*In Ecclesiastes, we see Jesus as the one who worships God and keeps his commandments, which gives us meaning and purpose in a life that often seems meaningless.  His life shows there is meaning, his death and resurrection show that God will restore and redeem life under the sun.

*In the Song of Solomon we see that marriage, love and sex honor God, and this points to the greater love that Jesus showed us by dying for us on the cross to make us his beloved.

*Isaiah shows us Jesus as God with us, who comes to rescue his people by suffering for their sins.

Jeremiah shows us that Jesus keeps the New Covenant for us, guaranteeing blessings to us by removing our sins and restoring us to fellowship with God.

*Lamentations shows us the heart of Jesus, who weeps over our brokenness and whose death and resurrection replaces our mourning with joyful song.

*Ezekiel shows us that Jesus offers himself in death so God could bring us back to life and strengthen us by his Spirit to be his people filling the world.

*Daniel shows Jesus as the king who suffers and is vindicated by God to reign over a kingdom that ends up filing the whole earth.

Hosea shows that Jesus’ death and resurrection redeems us from spiritual slavery and prostitution.

*Joel shows that Jesus’ death and resurrection brings the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to strengthen the church.

Amos shows Jesus confronts hypocrites and dies to forgive all who return to God.

Obadiah shows that God will love his people and free them from oppression through Jesus death and resurrection. 

*Jonah shows that Jesus has to pass through death and resurrection to save us from our self-righteousness, so we can bless the nations around us.

Micah points to Jesus as the descendant of king David, who would come forth from Bethlehem and through his death and resurrection would re-establish the kingdom of God to bless the nations. 

Nahum points to Jesus as the coming judge of all the earth, whose death and resurrection seals the judgment against all of his enemies.

*Habakkuk shows us Jesus’ death and resurrection guarantees God’s blessings no matter what life’s circumstances.

Zephaniah pictures Jesus as the coming Lord who, in the midst of judging the nations and the hypocrites of Israel, will undergo death and resurrection to restore his people to blessing.

Haggai pictures Jesus as the head of the church who calls and empowers his people to build up the church, so that the blessing of God’s presence might be seen and experienced by all. 

*Zechariah shows Jesus, our high priest, was pierced for our sake, taking our filthy stained garments of sin and giving us a spotless robes of righteousness.  

*Malachi shows us that Jesus is coming, and in his death and resurrection he opens heaven to let the blessings flow.