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Why We Believe Jesus Rose From The Dead
Luke 24:13-35
March 28, 2021

I know it’s been a couple of weeks since we were together in Luke’s gospel,
But certainly you remember where we left off.

Luke has now reached the glorious truth of the resurrection.
• We saw Jesus’ birth
• We saw Jesus’ ministry
• We saw Jesus’ death
• We saw Jesus’ burial
• And now Luke gets to the part of the story that is ABSOLUTELY UNIQUE TO CHRISTIANITY and that is THE RESURRECTION.

A friend of mine posted on social media this last week
A picture of the empty tomb and wrote,
“The real symbol of Christianity.”

AND HE’S RIGHT.

Certainly we focus a lot of our attention on the cross and rightly so,
For it was there that Jesus atoned for the sin of His own.

But what makes the Empty Tomb the really fitting symbol
Is that the resurrection is unique to Jesus.

NO OTHER RELIGION OR WOULD-BE SAVIOR CAN CLAIM IT.
Only Jesus conquered death.

The resurrection is the single most important truth of Christianity.
For even the cross is made void apart from the resurrection of Christ.

You are very familiar with that famous passage from Paul:
1 Corinthians 15:12-19 “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

NOTHING about the life of Christ is of eternal significance
IF the resurrection doesn’t occur.
• His birth
• His miracles
• His preaching
• Even His death
Those things may be inspiring, but are powerless to save
IF Jesus does not rise from the dead.

Paul said it perfectly, “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

BUT CHRIST WAS RAISED.
He is alive.

And each of the gospel writers set out to prove that point to us.

As we noted last time,
Every one of them has one glaring omission in their account. None of them include the actual resurrection.

NONE OF THEM SAW IT.

They are instead forced to prove to us that the resurrection occurred based on other facts.
• Matthew liked the story about the guards and how they abandoned their post
after having seen the stone rolled away.
• Mark liked how Jesus appeared to the women and they were eye-witnesses
of the resurrected Lord.
• John like the condition of the empty tomb, and the orderly fashion in which
the grave clothes were displayed.

But Luke included none of that.
• There is no mention from Luke about the guards
• There is no mention from Luke about Jesus appearing to the women
• There is very little mention from Luke about the appearance of the empty tomb

LUKE HAS A DIFFERENT PIECE OF EVIDENCE
THAT SOLIDIFIES FOR HIM
WHY HE KNEW JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD.

And if you’ll remember, “proof”
Was the very reason Luke set out to pen his gospel in the first place.

Luke’s gospel opened with:
Luke 1:1-4 “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.”

• Luke set out as a historian bent on giving definitive evidence to the person
and work of Jesus.
• He noted that there had been many eye-witnesses who had told many
stories regarding Christ.
• Luke set out to investigate it all and write down an accurate account.

He was very much about giving the most compelling evidence possible
Regarding who Jesus was and what He did.

And now Luke comes to the most important event, the resurrection
And Luke gives us his most compelling evidence
That Jesus was dead and is now alive.

WHAT IS LUKE’S EVIDENCE THAT JESUS ROSE?
The Scripture says He rose.

That is Luke’s proof.
That is Luke’s main point.
We believe Jesus rose from the dead because the Bible says He did.

We started looking at it a couple of weeks ago.

WE SAW THOSE WOMEN:
• Rising early Sunday morning (possibly even late Saturday night)
• Gathering the spices and approaching the tomb
• The saw the stone rolled away and they were “perplexed”

• They had no solution for what had occurred.
• It never even entered their mind that He might be alive.
• For this they were mildly rebuked by the angel who asked them, “Why do you
seek the living One among the dead?”

• And then the angel said, “Remember how He spoke to you…”

The proof offered by the angel to the women that Jesus was alive
Was the fact that Jesus said He would die and rise again.

• The women ran with this proof to the 11 and their companions,
• But Luke told us that they would not believe these woman, but instead their
words were like “nonsense” to them.

The entire problem going on among all the followers of Jesus
Is that they are all in disarray and despair
Simply because they have not believed the Scriptures.

Well, having seen the women two weeks ago,
THIS MORNING we move forward to a story only Luke includes.

Jesus appears to two men who are on the road to Emmaus.

Let’s work our way through the text.
#1 THE COMMUTE
Luke 24:13-14

What we are seeing here is
THE FINAL UNRAVELING of all that occurred over the past 3 years.

It is their assumption that:
• Jesus is Dead
• It is all over

These men had been with the 11.
• We read in 24:9 that when the women left the tomb they “reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.”
• These two guys were some of “the rest” that were mentioned.
• BUT NOW IT’S OVER

“And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.”

• Perhaps they lived there, perhaps it was the first leg of their journey.
• Either way, the Passover is finished
• And so is any hope of Jesus delivering Israel.

(14) “And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place.”

What you have here is an attempt to gain understanding
Not just to the past 3 days, but likely to the past 3 years.
(they are trying to “wrap their minds around all of it”)

• They had been convinced (as you will see) that Jesus was someone special.
• They had pegged Him as the redeemer of Israel.
• They had expected a great deliverance.

• They certainly saw His miraculous power…
• They certainly heard His preaching…

• They were filled with expectation.

But now, it all seemed to come crashing down.

And so you can imagine their conversation.
• “I can’t believe He’s gone…”
• “Remember when He healed that leper..?”
• “Remember when He fed the 5,000..?”

Their faith had been thrown into a tail-spin
And now they were trying to make sense of everything
As they walked to Emmaus.

What will become apparent is that the omniscient Jesus,
Who no doubt knew what they were talking about,
Didn’t care for their conversation.

It actually reminds me of Ezekiel 8
• When Ezekiel and some of the elders of Israel are sitting around discussing their current situation. (They are in exile)
• The implied conversation seems to be a confusion among the elders and Ezekiel as to why God won’t just forgive Israel instead of exiling?
• The LORD heard that conversation too, and in response to it, the LORD grabbed Ezekiel by the hair of the head and transported him in a vision to Jerusalem and let him see all that was happening so that he would understand why his reasoning was so far off.

That is the type of thing that is about to happen here.

We have two men stuck in grief and confusion
And they are discussing how everything just went wrong.

And the Lord is about to figuratively grab them by the hair of the head
And address their despair as well.

The Commute
#2 THE CONVERSATION
Luke 24:15-24

So here we find that the Lord Himself crashes their party.

(15-17) “While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad.”

So Jesus shows up, but they aren’t allowed to recognize Him.

Again we find that with Luke eye witnesses are NOT the main goal.
Luke actually includes that these men did not get to see Him initially.

WHY?
Because Luke is building a case that
Our faith does not rest on sight, but on Scripture.

We all remember what Peter will say later:
1 Peter 1:8 “and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,”

• We haven’t seen Jesus either.
• We don’t believe because we have seen Him.
• We believe because the Scripture says He came, the Scripture says He died,
and the Scripture says He rose.

Incidentally, that is also why we believe His currently sitting at the right hand of the Father and why we believe He will return.

This is a very important foundation Luke is building for you.
I really can’t stress this enough.

Back in the 70’s and 80’s we endured what was known as “The Inerrancy Controversy”

• Evangelicals actually debated whether or not the word “inerrant” should be used of the Bible.
• There was a fight regarding whether the Bible was without error.

Fortunately that battle was won, and though there will always be skeptics, the truth today of the Bible’s perfection has been preserved.

But today we do not fight for the INERRANCY of Scripture;
Today we fight for the SUFFICIENCY of Scripture.

Is the Bible enough?

And there are many who actually answer, “No”.
• We have those in the charismatic movement who are continually seeking new fresh revelations from the Holy Spirit or even dreams or visions.

• We have those born out of the evangelical movement who measure truth by their feelings and experiences.

• We have those seeking to maintain academic credibility who continually run to scientific evidence and apologetics in order to defend the faith.

And in reality what each of those do at their core is say,
“Scripture alone is not a sufficient defense of the gospel.”

They say that in order to defend the gospel among skeptics we need:
• Scripture and signs and wonders
• Scripture and experiences
• Scripture and scientific evidence
• Scripture and philosophical logic

BUT LISTEN TO LUKE.
He is beating his drum as loudly as he knows how that
All you need is the Scripture.

• Even when these men are confronted by Jesus they are not permitted to
recognize Him.

• And as you will see they are going to be told to stand on Scripture as their
evidence that Jesus is alive.

SO JESUS APPROACHES.
And I told you He didn’t care much for their conversation.

In fact He says, “What are these words that you are exchanging..?”

• And the men stopped
• They were looking sad
• And “One of them, named Cleopas, answered…”

Now I want you to pay special attention to the answer of Cleopas here.
(You could preach an entire sermon just on what he says)

You would call it “THE IMPOTENT GOSPEL”

What you have in verses 18-24 is the gospel we would be forced to preach
IF Jesus had not risen from the dead.

If Jesus was not raised, THIS is the weak and powerless and depressing message that you and I would still be preaching today.

Hearing this highlights again for us the importance of the resurrection.

Romans 1:4 “[Jesus] was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead…”

The power of the gospel comes from the fact that Jesus is alive.
If Jesus was not raised, then this would be our pathetic message.

Listen to what Cleopas says.
(Let me break it down into 4 points)

1) JESUS WAS DIFFERENT (18-19)

“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 days?” And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people,”

One thing Cleopas was sure of is that Jesus was different.

• Cleopas calls Him “a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people.”

The thing that jumps out at you immediately is that
Cleopas called Jesus “a prophet”.

Now some have said that he is merely pointing out that Jesus is a prophet like Moses.

Deuteronomy 18:15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.”

That was a messianic promise from Moses.

But I don’t think for one second that is how Cleopas meant it.

Jesus is about to point out that Cleopas
HAD NOT LISTENED to the Old Testament prophets.

No, I think Cleopas calls Jesus “a prophet” because
That is the best thing you can say about a dead man.

• If He’s dead you CAN’T call Him the Son of God.
• If He’s dead you CAN’T call Him the Savior of the World.
• If He’s dead “prophet” is the best title you can give Him.

That is actually a title of honor for everyone except Jesus.
For Jesus that is a horrible reproach.

But Jesus was “mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people.”

• It was evident that Jesus had God’s power.
• It was evident that Jesus spoke God’s message.
• It was evident that Jesus enjoyed God’s favor.
• It was evident that Jesus captivated the crowds of people.

Cleopas even insinuates that Jesus was the greatest who ever lived.
• He was better than them all.
• No prophet who ever came could hold a candle to Jesus.

Jesus was different.
Jesus was better.

But then comes the bad news.
2) JESUS IS DEAD (20)

“and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.”

The cross is a key component of the gospel message today.
• We preach it because of its power to save.
• We preach it because of its promised atonement.

But to Cleopas (who thought Jesus was dead) the cross was no message of salvation.
• To Cleopas the cross was a depressing defeat.
• To Cleopas the cross was a tragic loss.

JESUS WAS DEAD.

You can hear Cleopas as he reminisces all that Jesus once was,
But the story ended in tragedy
With Jesus hanging on a Roman cross.

What a horrible message that would be if that is all we had.

And the longer Cleopas preaches the more depressing it becomes.
3) WE ARE DEFEATED (21)

“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.”

You can’t miss the words “But we were hoping…”
• As in – “not any more”
• As in – “now it’s over”

They had pegged Jesus as the redeemer.
That part was accurate.

What they misunderstood was what redemption meant.

Cleopas, like the rest of the Jews, thought that their greatest need was deliverance from Rome.
• To them the redeemer would come and deliver Israel from Roman oppression
and save them from Roman rule.
• They had pegged Jesus as that guy.

But the redemption they really needed was not from Rome.
• They needed redemption from sin.
• They needed forgiveness from God.
• They needed to escape God’s wrath.

This was the redemption Jesus actually brought.

Had Cleopas understood that, the cross would have made sense,
But since he didn’t, the cross was nothing but failure and despair.

To them Jesus died without redeeming Israel.
They could not see that He died to redeem Israel.
They thought they had lost.

Again, without the resurrection,
This would be the gospel you would preach today.

• Jesus was someone great
• But Jesus was murdered
• He died without ever completing the mission we hoped He would complete.
• He came to redeem us, and He had the power to do it, but they killed Him
before He got the chance.

Wow, that’s a great message isn’t it?

Well that’s the gospel you get if you remove the resurrection.

Jesus was Different, Jesus is Dead, We are Defeated
4) SOME ARE IN DENIAL (22-24)

(22-24) “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find 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 had said; but Him they did not see.”

You will remember that when the women came and reported what they had seen and heard that the men in the room thought it was “nonsense”.

Count Cleopas as one of those.
• These women were dreaming…
• These women were being irrational…
• These women were believing and proclaiming fairy tales…
• They were conspiracy theorists…

Now Cleopas admits that they did investigate their claims.

“Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.”

In other words:
We investigated their claims, and it is true, His body is gone, but there is no evidence that He is alive.

• Do you see how weak a faith is when it is only built on visual evidence?
• Do you see how weak a faith is when it is only built on experiences?
• Do you see how weak a faith is when it is only built on emotion?

BASED ON ALL OF THAT
These men saw no reason to believe that Jesus was alive.

And that was their message to the world.
• That was their conversation.
• That is what they were talking about.
• That was their message to Jesus whom they thought to be an ignorant stranger.
• That would be the same impotent gospel you would preach to the world if Jesus was not raised.

And to that impotent gospel, Jesus speaks up.

The Commute, The Conversation
#3 THE CORRECTION
Luke 24:25-27

Here is the “grab them by the hair of the head” part.

“O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!”

• Jesus DID NOT rebuke them for failing to believe based on the moved stone.
• Jesus DID NOT rebuke them for failing to believe the testimony of the women.

Why did Jesus rebuke them?
For failing to believe the prophets.

They were rebuked because they did not believe the word of God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

These men didn’t believe God.

Do you understand that?
• That is why the Scripture is so important.
• When we believe the Scripture, we are believing God.

And we say that
• God is a far more credible witness than science.
• God is a far more credible witness than experience.
• God is a far more credible witness than even eye witnesses.

That is certainly what Luke is revealing.

The prophets said that Jesus would die and rise again
And Jesus rebuked these men because they did not believe it.

• Jesus called them “foolish”
• Jesus called them “slow of heart to believe”.

Only a fool would fail to believe what God has said.

And Jesus continues.
(26) “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”

• If they had believed the Old Testament they would know that it was.
• If they had read Psalms 16 or Psalms 22 or Psalms 118 or Isaiah 53 then it would have been evident to them that the death and resurrection of the Christ was necessary.
• But they had been foolish and had failed to believe the prophets.

So Jesus gives them a sermon.
(27) “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

Look, I’ll be honest.
I love the Bible and agree that it is absolutely perfect.

But, if I were allowed the liberty to tweak one thing,
This sermon would have been included in its entirety.

To have Jesus walk you through the Old Testament
And show you Himself throughout would have been amazing!

• He would have talked about that promise to Eve about how her seed would crush the serpent…
• He would have talked about how God clothed Adam and Eve in animal skins and the first blood sacrifice…
• He would have talked about Noah’s ark and how Jesus carries us through judgment…
• He would have talked about that ram caught in the thicket as Abraham was about to kill Isaac…
• He would talked about wrestling with Jacob…

And a host of other things like:
• The Passover Lamb
• The rock in the wilderness that gave water
• The manna that fell from heaven
• The serpent in the wilderness

• He would have explained Psalms 16 and how the Holy One would not undergo decay
• He would have explained Isaiah 53 and how He died for the sins of the people.
• He would have explained Psalms 118 and the champion who delivered the people.

What a sermon that would have been!

And here’s the point.
None of it was experiential or ecstatic or even scientific.
When Jesus laid out proof He did so by preaching the Scriptures.

IT IS ENOUGH!

And it answers again the question for us.
Why do we believe Jesus rose from the dead?
• Because the Scriptures says so.
• The Prophets said He would
• Jesus said He would
• Later the apostles in the N.T. will say He did.

And what is obvious to Luke in this text is that
THE SCRIPTURE WAS ENOUGH FOR THESE MEN.

The Commute, The Conversation, The Correction
#4 THE CONVICTION
Luke 24:28-35

So these men make it to Emmaus, and Jesus “acted as though He were going farther.”

He is seeing if they want more.

They did.
(29) “But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them.”

• Jesus is now in the house and the preaching no doubt is continuing.
• And then Jesus reveals Himself,

But again there is something remarkable about what is said.

(30-32) “When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

• So Jesus lets them see who He is, but then He vanishes.
• He is gone.

And these men now believe that Jesus has risen, but look at why.

(32) “They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

Do you see that?
• These men were foolish and slow of heart because they had not believed the Scriptures.
• But once the Scriptures were explained they became men of conviction with burning hearts.

The Scripture did that.

And look at their conviction.
(33-35) “And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.”

• 7 miles in the dark, back to Jerusalem to declare that Jesus really was alive.
• They went back and retold the story.

And Luke’s overall point is clear:
• The women were perplexed and ultimately rebuked because they had not believed what Jesus had said.
• These two men were sad and ultimately rebuked because they had not believed the prophets.

And let me tell you the same is true for you.

• You can dive into science…
• You can dive into experience…
• You can look for all sorts of extra-biblical proofs that Jesus is alive…

BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE YOU NEED AND THAT IS THE SCRIPTURES.

We believe Jesus is alive because
• The prophets said it
• Jesus said it
• And now for us, the apostles said it as well.

Listen again to Paul:
1 Corinthians 15:1-5 “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

Did you hear it?
“according to the Scriptures”

I want you to understand that
• Jesus is alive.
• He did rise from the dead.
• We do not have a powerless gospel like the one Cleopas preached.
• We have a Savior who conquered death.

And we know He did because the Scripture says so.

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The Psalm of Pious Resolutions
Psalms 101
March 14, 2021

I stole the title of this Psalm from Charles Spurgeon.
He noted that such a title might better help us remember its content.

It is a Psalm that I remember having a profound impact upon me
Back when we did our “Month of Stillness” many years ago.

In our quest to seek the Lord, I was certainly moved by verse 2,
“I will give heed to the blameless way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.”

That is still a great reminder of the reality that
If we are a people who desire the presence of God in our lives
Then certainly we must understand
The commitment involved on our end.

Because I have been married 22 ½ years, and am now an expert I can tell you some of what I have learned.
• I enjoy watching a movie or sporting event or a television program at night, most of the time to fall asleep, but I’m not gonna lie, I like to watch it.
• Carrie on the other hand detests television, movies, sports on TV, and even the dust that lands on the television itself.
• Now, because I am a marriage expert, I’ve learned that when I come home and desire a conversation with my wife; that conversation will not happen if I turn on the TV at the same time.

Others have learned that conversations with people are hard to carry on
• If you the radio is turned up loud,
• Or the other person is buried in their phone,
• Or one person is trying to watch a movie.

I’m not saying there’s never a time for those types of things in your life, but we do understand that those are not things that necessarily build relationships with other people.

And then we come to God.
Can we really expect to have our relationship with God grow if there is never time set aside to build that relationship?

Are we really expecting God to break into our TV program with one of those “Emergency Broadcast System” interruptions and say,
“Pardon the interruption, please stand by for a message from the Lord.”

You get it.
If you want a closer and growing relationship with Jesus
Then you have to commit to it too.
Relationships run in both directions.

This Psalm has always inspired and even convicted me with that truth.

But more than just that,
The Psalm is actually the great resolution of a newly crowned King.

It is “A Psalm of David” as you notice in the sub-heading

And it is a Psalm that reveals the resolutions of David
• As to what kind of king he wants to be
• And how he plans on leading the nation.

And it is a lofty goal to say the least.

It certainly would fall in line with what we might call THE CHRISTIAN AMBITION.
2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”

Certainly in reading this Psalm we understand why David is called “A Man After God’s Own Heart”

That is certainly his attitude.
• He fears God
• He loves God
• He desires to please God

HE WANTS TO BE A GODLY KING
It sure would be nice if modern day politicians
Would adopt such passions as this ancient king of Israel.

These are commendable resolutions to say the least.

And in order to walk through the Psalm we are going to break them down into two main points.
#1 HIS PRIVATE CONVICTIONS
Psalms 101:1-4

These 4 verses have to do with David’s own PERSONAL COMMITMENTS
For his personal walk before the Lord.

And we understand that this has to happen first.

We all remember how Jesus scolded the Pharisees:
Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.”

Any effort to put on a public persona of godliness
Without actually pursuing godliness in the heart
Is the worst of hypocrisy.

David was no such hypocrite.
He desired purity first in his private life
So that it might spread into his public ministry.

Let me break this first point down so that we might better grasp David’s convictions.

1) HIS FOCUS (1)

He begins with:
“I will sing of lovingkindness and justice”

OFTEN times when we mention those words we are speaking of them as SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES OF THE LORD.

• “lovingkindness” being His CHECED or loyal covenantal love.
• “justice” being His propensity to always do what is right or just.

And while they are certainly attributes of God,
That is NOT how David speaks of them here.

Rather, David speaks of them as goals to be achieved.
David speaks of them as the standard to which he hopes to attain.

• Because they are God’s attributes, David wants them to be his attributes.
• Because they are said of God, David wants them to be said of him.

David wants to be a loyal king.
He wants to be committed and loyal to God’s covenant.

And David wants to be a just king.
He wants to walk in God’s justice and goodness and rightness.

It’s as if he starts off his reign by announcing,
“May my reign be a reign of loyalty to God and justice to all men.”

It is a high mark and high ambition for any in a position of leadership.

David continues “To You, O LORD, I will sing praises.”

This is the focus of David’s reign.
He desires his reign to be a loyal and just reign
So that it might be glorifying to God.

• God is the object of his reign
• God is the motive of his reign
• God is the beneficiary of his reign

That is David’s goal; that is David’s focus.
He longs for his reign to be one of loyalty, justice, and glory to God.

2) HIS DEVOTION (2)

We might say that this is David’s
BLUEPRINT for how he plans on obtaining that goal.

“I will give heed to the blameless way. When will You come to me? I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.”

This has nothing to do with David’s outward persona
Or his public reputation.
This is all about David’s heart before the Lord.

David outlines his goal and it is “the blameless way”

David’s goal and objective is to walk in such a way
As to be blameless before God.
He doesn’t want to offend God in any way.

WHY?
Because he longs for the presence of God in his life.

Note the “When will you come to me?”

David longed for God’s presence.
• We remember David’s strong desire to bring the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem.

But David also understood that God was offended by sin
And any hope of fellowship with God
Must be accompanied by a blameless life.

After all, David also wrote:
Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

David understood the required character to abide with God, why should that character be any different if we desire God to abide with us?

David was focused on being blameless before God.

And this included the strictest commitments to purity.
“I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.”

Someone once said, “Character is who you are when no one is looking.”

It does no good to come to church and sing “How Great Thou Art”
If I go home and look at pornography in my closet.

It is hypocrisy to put forth a pious attitude in church
if I’m a devil to live with at home.

Again you remember the Pharisees.
• Those men with lengthened tassels and broadened phylacteries…
• Those men who sat themselves in the seat of Moses…
• Those men who prayed on the street corner…
• Those men who neglected their appearance when they fasted…

And yet at the same time
• They devoured widow’s houses…
• They loved the approval of men…
• They were lovers of money…
• They kept people out of the kingdom of God…

David was no Pharisee.
He did not desire a public life of piety without a private one first.

He was committed even in the privacy of his home
Where no one but God was watching.

That was his devotion
3) HIS DISCERNMENT (3)

Here you see that David understood that
There were forces working against him in his quest for holiness.

There was an invisible force that lurked behind every tree
That sought to trip him and see him stumble into sin.

David understood what many believers today have failed to understand.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

• David knew he was being hunted
• David knew there were traps set everywhere

He knew that success in his efforts to be blameless
Would require a strict commitment
To guarding what he put into his mind.

“I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;”

“worthless” is BEL-E-YAH-AL

It speaks of what is wicked, ungodly, or unprofitable.

Paul used a form of the word in 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?”

We are talking about things that have nothing in common with Christ.
There is absolutely no benefit to them in life.

Their only purpose is to pull us away from Christ.
David said, “I’ll have nothing to do with that.”

WHY?
“I hate the work of those who fall away;”

That would be the very opposite of CHECED (loyalty)

David says, “I’m not going to even look at the vile things of this world because all they do is pull people away from God and I hate it when people fall away from God.”

“It shall not fasten its grip on me.”

So David sees that there is a constant battle raging
Which seeks to sever him from his pious goals
And David has a plan for defeating it.

David says, “I’ll stay away from everything impure and godless so that I will never join those who fall away.”

In some ways it’s applying the instruction of Jesus
Who taught us to pray that we would not enter into temptation.

Well that was David.
I’m going to avoid temptation with everything I have.

His Focus, His Devotion, His Discernment
4) HIS EXPECTATION (4)

This is what David EXPECTS TO ACHIEVE
If he faithfully maintains the blueprint he lines out in the first 3 verses.

“A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil.”

We remember:
Psalms 1:1-3 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”

That is the truth that David is seeking to apply.
• I’m going to focus on holiness…
• I’m going to devote myself to walking in integrity in all aspects of my life…
• I will stay away from those things which tempt me and pull me away…
• And the end result is that “I will know no evil”

So those are David’s Private Convictions
That is his personal life

#2 HIS PUBLIC COMMITMENTS
Psalms 101:5-8

After getting the log out of his own eye,
David’s next objective will be to remove the specs from Israel.

As King he understand his calling.
Romans 13:3-4 “For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

1 Peter 2:13-14 “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.”

• It is actually one of the few legitimate functions of the civil authorities.
• They are given the sword by God for the purpose of punishing evil.

Well, David seems to understand that.

Here is the new platform of his administration.
1) INTOLERANCE FOR THOSE WHO OFFEND GOD (5)

“Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure.”

We quickly recognize on that list things that God hates.

Proverbs 6:16-19 “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”

Psalms 50:20-21 “You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. “These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.”

And who could ever forget that “God is opposed to the proud”.

Could David really be considered a faithful king
If he condoned the things God hated?

David’s calling is to punish evildoers
And David says that is precisely what he is going to do.

He will have an intolerance for the things that God hates.
2) DEVOTION TO THOSE WHO LOVE THE LORD (6)

Here is a verse for every young man or young woman.
Find someone who lives this life correctly
And watch them and listen to them.

This verse might be a summation
Of the entire message of the book of Proverbs.

“My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in a blameless way is the one who will minister to me.”

David was not going to listen to the wicked who have wicked desires,
But his refusal to listen was NOT DUE to some sort of pride
Where he wouldn’t listen to anyone.

David was more than happy to listen to those who are “faithful”
David sought a blameless life and so he is eager to listen to blameless people.

This is the way to ascend in David’s administration.
• If you want to be removed, then just do the things God hates.
• If you want to gain the ear of the king, then maintain a faithful and blameless lifestyle.

This is David’s public commitment.
These will be foundations of his reign.

3) REMOVAL OF THOSE WHO ARE PHONY (7)

Of course when you put out the memo that you are going to remove the wicked and listen to the godly then it only stands to reason that
INSTANTLY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO START ACTING MORE GODLY.

But what David knew is that for some it will only be an act.
They will try to deceive him in hypocrisy.

And David says, when I find that person out, he has to leave.

“He who practices deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who speaks falsehood shall not maintain his position before me.”

If I find out that you are not living a life of integrity
In your private life then you will lose your position.

I’m not in the business of listening to or taking advice from frauds.

I want the pure in heart.
I want those who are truly seeking to walk in the fear of the Lord.

4) COMMITMENT TO PRODUCE A RIGHTEOUS CITY (8)

He understands that the wicked are like weeds.
They continually return and continually have to be dealt with.

And so David says:
“Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, So as to cut off from the city of the LORD all those who do iniquity.”

• He’s gonna spray the weeds…
• He’s gonna hoe the weeds…
• He’s gonna burn the weeds…

His goal is to have a weed free lawn.

I’m going to be a righteous king who rules in righteousness
And produces for the glory of God a righteous city.

Those are DAVID’S PIOUS RESOLUTIONS.
It’s pretty impressive.

But you’re already picking up on the problem.
DAVID NEVER LIVED UP TO THEM.

I mean the GLARING ONE is in verse 3.
(3) “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes;”

Of course we read:
2 Samuel 11:1-4 “Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.”

That certainly doesn’t sound like “the blameless way”
That David was seeking.

David spoke of the integrity of his house and yet we know his house was filled with issues.
• We have Amon who raped his half-sister (Absalom’s sister)
• David never addressed it.
• We have Absalom who led an insurrection

Not exactly a home life to be proud of.

We could talk about him and his righteous and upright administration, but we all remember Joab.

He was the general for David that continually shed blood
And pulled underhanded schemes.

Remember him murdering Abner?
2 Samuel 3:26-30 “When Joab came out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know it. So when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him privately, and there he struck him in the belly so that he died on account of the blood of Asahel his brother. Afterward when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are innocent before the LORD forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. “May it fall on the head of Joab and on all his father’s house; and may there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who takes hold of a distaff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.” So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon.”

David never dealt with Joab.
Instead, on his deathbed he told Solomon to do it.

1 Kings 2:5-6 “Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed; he also shed the blood of war in peace. And he put the blood of war on his belt about his waist, and on his sandals on his feet. “So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.”

That’s not exactly great conviction.

David spoke big that he would cut off the deceitful and remove the wicked and the arrogant.

• Yet, when Absalom was killed for all those things
• He wept so greatly that Joab rebuked him for wishing that Absalom had lived
and all his army had perished.

Or another big day in David’s life.
2 Samuel 24:1-4 “Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and register the people, that I may know the number of the people.” But Joab said to the king, ” Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to register the people of Israel.”

That is clearly the kind of ARROGANCE
That David wasn’t going to condone or put up with.

Now, my PURPOSE HERE IS NOT label David a liar or a phony, not at all.
• David was a man of faith.
• David loved God.
• David strived to please God.

BUT DAVID FAILED.

This is the reason I borrowed Spurgeon’s title for the Psalm.

I like the title: “The Psalm of Pious Resolutions”

I especially like the word here “resolution”
It makes us think of our culture and the propensity to make
“New Years Resolutions”

The problem with 99% of those is what?
• No one ever keeps them.
• Most resolutions have to do with diet and exercise and very few last even a month.
• It only takes a couple of weeks before we run into the flesh and we are conquered.

And that is why we must read Psalms 101 with a gospel perspective.

In the first 4 verses David outlined his blueprint for personal holiness.
• It was to seek the blameless way
• It was to walk in integrity in his house
• It was to keep all worthless things out of his sight
• And then he would know no evil.

In short,
If I can keep all those vile things out of my bubble, then I’ll be holy.

But there is a drastic problem in that.
SIN IS ALREADY IN THE BUBBLE!

Matthew 15:19-20 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

• Sin is not an external problem that you must hide from.
• Sin is an internal problem that you must be cured of.

And when the objective for curing sin is to work harder
Or strive more then there is always failure.

And for this I would remind you again
Of the great struggle that Paul gives us.

Romans 7:14-24 “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

I’m telling you David could have wrote that!

• And again, you all know I’m a huge fan of John MacArthur and RC Sproul and they both disagree with me here.
• They say Romans 7 is a spiritually mature man who grieves his ongoing sin.

I DISAGREE.
This is Paul, who when confronted with sinfulness
(regenerated to a heart that sought God),
Gave it his best effort to never do it again.

Paul, like David, wrote down his pious resolutions
And went out with the best of intentions.
BUT HE FAILED

WHY?
Because the Old Covenant always fails!

Hebrews 7:18-19 “For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”

Paul would go on to say it too:
Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

When men took a list of the things God hates and said, “I will work like a dog to never do those things, they all failed miserably.”

Now, that doesn’t mean that David was lost.
• David did love God.
• David looked to Christ.
• David was a man of faith.

But the point to be made is that
Pious commitments were impossible in his own strength.

Where do we find the strength for those types of commitments?
THE HOLY SPIRIT!

Romans 8:5-14 “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh — for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

There you notice that all the things David desired were correct.
• Paul even tells us that we are under obligation to put to death the deeds of the body.
• We labor and strive for that.

But we do it with the power that the Holy Spirit provides.

Psalms 101 is a Psalm of perfect passion and limited power.
For David to write that Psalm under the Old Covenant was a futile dream.

But for us to read it under the New Covenant
It becomes a glowing example of the Christian ambition.

We should all sing Psalms 101!
This should be our cry!

But we do it with the strength and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit
Who sets us free from the Law of sin and of death.
We do it with the power He provides!

But this is the goal!

2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”

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The Resurrection According To Luke
Luke 24:1-12
March 14, 2021

We actually are afforded here with a really wonderful opportunity.

• We are seeing a nearly 4 years study in the book of Luke come to an end and we are now arriving at the resurrection.
• At the same time in only 3 weeks we will celebrate Easter Sunday.

So instead of 1 week of resurrection, we’re going to get about a month.

That’s great for us because there’s not a more hope filled message in the world than the message that Jesus conquered death.

So this morning we start our journey in Luke’s gospel
Looking at his account of the resurrection of Jesus.

We obviously start with the ever relevant reminder that
The message of the resurrection is of extreme importance.

It is NOT an over-exaggeration to say that
If you remove the resurrection Christianity is destroyed and
If you do not preach the resurrection you are not preaching the gospel.

Perhaps no passage states that better than:
Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;”

• In order to be saved Paul says that a person must believe that God raised
Jesus from the dead.

The resurrection is the UNIQUE message
Which the CHURCH ALONE POSSESSES.

And this is the message that the apostles preached to the world.

Certainly Peter’s preaching was focused on this truth.
Acts 2:22-24 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

Acts 3:14-15 “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”

Acts 4:10 “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health.”

Acts 5:30 “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.”

And when the book of Acts shifts to the ministry of Paul,
We find that this message is central to his preaching as well.

Acts 13:29-30 “When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. “But God raised Him from the dead;”

When preaching in Athens, Paul said:
Acts 17:31 “[God] has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

It was Paul who actually summed up his entire ministry when he said:
Acts 24:21b “’For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.'”

Of when Paul is on trial and Agrippa shows up and Festus is trying to explain to him who this prisoner Paul is. Festus says:
Acts 25:18-19 “When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting, but they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive.”

YOU SEE THE MESSAGE.
They preached that Jesus had been raised from the dead.

Now it was only a few weeks ago that we very adamantly said that
THE CROSS WAS THE CENTRAL POINT OF CHRISTIANITY.

And I will stand by that statement forever.
The cross is the central moment.

However, without the resurrection the cross is useless message.
• It is the resurrection that validates the cross.
• It is the resurrection that assures us of the righteousness of Christ.
• It is the resurrection that guarantees that the atoning work of Christ was indeed successful.

We hold that on the cross that righteous man
Experienced the wrath of God for sin that was not His own.
That He was in fact the propitiation for sinners.

That whole message falls apart if Jesus remains dead.

1 Corinthians 15:14 “if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.”

1 Corinthians 15:17 “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.”

• Every other hero’s story may contain his glorious entrance…
• Every other hero’s story may include his mighty deeds…
• Every other hero’s story may culminate in his dramatic death…

But only Christ’s story continues with a resurrection from the dead.
The Christian message is unique.

Jesus rose from the dead in a physical body
And He promises a bodily resurrection to all who believe in Him.

The resurrection is HUGE!

And this morning we study that from Luke’s gospel.

• Now, you are well-aware that each of the gospel writers include and omit
certain facts about the story.
• They are inspired by the Holy Spirit to tell you the account from their
perspective.
• They all know more than they write.
• It ISN’T just unabridged history.
• There is a theological point.

If you want to see the entire story and the entire day weaved together, then I highly recommend you listen to John MacArthur’s two sermons on Luke 24:1-12
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/42-291/an-empty-tomb-with-an-angelic-explanation
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/42-292/witnessing-women-and-doubting-disciples

But you know that no writer gave us the whole story
Because they weren’t trying to give us the whole story.
They were giving us selected parts of the story to make a point.

Now, there are some facts that all 4 writers include.
• The Empty Tomb
• The Angelic Witness
• The Women Give The Report
• The Disciples Don’t Initially Believe

All 4 gospel writers include those 4 realities.
One might consider those the essential truths about the account.

However, there is ONE GLARING ABSENCE to each of their accounts.
There is one thing that none them show you.

NONE OF THEM SHOW YOU THE RESURRECTION.
None of them give that information, because none of them saw it.

They knew Jesus died (John saw it)
They knew Jesus was buried
They saw Jesus alive

But none of them saw the moment it happened,
That part of the story is not in Scripture.

That means that each of the gospel writers
Is left to prove the resurrection by a different means
Than an eye-witness account of it.

• These are men who would tell the world that Jesus rose from the dead.
• These are men who would die a martyr’s death for proclaiming that message.

And each of them give you their proof that Jesus rose from the dead
Even though they didn’t actually see the resurrection take place.

Now, for curiosity sake:

Matthew’s main focus is on THE GUARDS
• That they were stationed to guard the tomb
• That they abandoned their post
• That they returned to the city
• That they were bribed to lie about what they saw
• That they agreed to a lie that would have gotten them in trouble

Matthew 28:11-15 “Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.”

In Matthew’s gospel that becomes the lie that proved the resurrection.

Mark’s main focus is on THE EYE WITNESSES WHO SAW JESUS ALIVE
• Namely here Mark points out that the women saw Jesus.
• In fact Mark includes that later Jesus rebukes the disciples for their refusal to
believe the women.

Mark 16:14 “Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.”

If this was a “made up” story
No fiction writer would have used women as his main witnesses.

These women were the only ones to see the entire story unfold.
• They saw Jesus die (John was the only disciple)
• They saw Jesus buried
• They saw Jesus alive

They were credible witnesses and to Mark that is a great proof.

John’s focus seems to be on THE EMPTY TOMB
• Specifically the fact that the stone was gone and the grave clothes were left.
• No grave-robbers are going to strip a dead body naked before they steal it.

John 20:6-8 “And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed.”

That empty tomb and the presence of those grave clothes was John’s great evidence that Jesus was now alive.

BUT LUKE USES NONE OF THOSE.

Luke mentions nothing about the guards,
Nothing about them being stationed, about them being frightened, or about them being bribed.

Luke doesn’t include that Jesus appeared to the women.
No account of Jesus’ talking with Mary, nothing there.

Luke does mention the empty tomb & that Peter saw the linen wrappings,
But Luke does not say that this fact convinced Peter.
Luke only includes that Peter “went away to his home, marveling…”

None of those proofs are Luke’s main proof.

WHAT IS LUKE’S MAIN PROOF OF THE RESURRECTION?
THE WORD OF GOD

Luke’s account is the longest, spanning some 35 verses.
• It starts with the women at the tomb
• It ends with the men on the road to Emmaus.

And all of them get rebuked in their unbelief for the same thing.
They did not believe the word of God.

(6-8) “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still 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,”

Or even later with those men on the road to Emmaus:
Luke 24:25-27 “And He said to them, “O foolish men 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?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.”

And even later when Jesus appears to the disciples.
Luke 24:44-46 “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, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,”

This is Luke’s crowning proof.
• The prophets said Jesus would rise from the dead…
• Jesus said He would rise from the dead…
• And now the gospels say He did rise from the dead…

It is, in my opinion, the greatest proof we have
That Jesus died, was buried, and that He rose from the dead;
THE BIBLE SAID HE WOULD & THE BIBLE SAYS HE DID.

• We didn’t see Jesus actually die
• We didn’t see Jesus actually buried
• We didn’t see Jesus actually rise
• NEITHER DID THE GOSPEL WRITERS (with the exception of John and His death)

We believe because Scripture says it happened.
That is clearly why Luke believed
And that is the emphasis of the story that he shares with us.

And that is the truth we want to examine over the next few weeks.

Well, let’s look at our text this morning.
There are 4 things to be seen here.
#1 A MISSING BODY
Luke 24:1-4a

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.”

If you’ll remember the Sabbath had crept up on them on Friday evening.
• The Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and Jesus hadn’t died until 3pm.
• Then Joseph had to get Pilate’s permission to get Jesus’ body.
• Joseph then had to take Him down, wrap Him, and transport Him to the tomb.
• By the time this was all finished, it was too late to adorn the body of Jesus with spices.
• They had to wait.

Well the Sabbath ended at twilight on Saturday night,
And so in the middle of the night the woman took back up their mission
To adorn the body of Jesus.

• They traveled outside of the city,
• They were carrying their supplies.
• Mark’s gospel says they were actually worried about how they were going to move the stone.

But, when they got there:
(2) “they found the stone rolled away from the tomb,”

To them it appeared that someone had already been there.

In fact, John’s gospel seems to relate that simply upon seeing the stone moved that Mary Magdalene immediately turned around and made a bee-line to tell Peter that the body of Jesus had been stolen.

John 20:1-2 “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

That was her assumption. “Someone has taken His body”

That was likely the assumption of all the women.

For (3) “when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.”

And here is what is INTERESTING.
(4a) “While they were perplexed about this…”

“perplexed” is APOREO

It is the negative form of the Greek word that POREUO
Which means “to carry on” or “to go one’s way”.

APOREO then means “people who don’t know where to go”,
Or “people who are trapped or fenced in”.

In a mental sense it is people who are “stumped” or “at a loss”

They don’t know what to think or what to do with this.
• They are totally dumbfounded.
• They are without a direction.

Why do I tell you that?

• Because don’t you think it’s just a little strange that upon seeing that Jesus’ body was gone, NONE OF THEM EVEN REMOTELY CONSIDERED THE POSSIBILITY THAT HE MIGHT BE ALIVE?

That wasn’t even considered as an outside possibility…
That thought didn’t even enter their mind as what might have occurred…
They had no expectation of a resurrection at all.

To them a missing body could only mean someone stole it.
And if that’s not what happened
Then they were totally perplexed as to what it could have been.

It was the greatest of mysteries.

A Missing Body
#2 AN ANGELIC REBUKE
Luke 24:4b-8

What a great confrontation here!

(4-5) “While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?”

• The women are at a total loss as to what has happened
• And instantly they are confronted by two glowing angels.
• And immediately they were terrified.

“terrified” is EMPHOBOS which is an intensified form of PHOBOS (phobia)
• They were scared out of their wits.
• These same angels had caused the guards to fall into a coma earlier in the morning.
• These women are “terrified”

And it is then that “the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?”

It’s a really great question.

How many times have you ever found yourself looking for someone?
• Maybe you get separated from your spouse at Wal-Mart…
• Or you’re looking for the UPS man around Spur…
• Or you simply need to find a person to visit with them…
• You know what it is to search for someone.

How many times in that search have you said, “You know, I think I’ll go look at the cemetery, I bet that’s where they are”?

That is the sort of sarcasm that is behind this question.
“Why do you seek the living One among the dead?”

Well the obvious answer is
Because they didn’t think He was “the living One”.
They thought He was dead.

• They saw Him die
• They saw Him buried
• They figured He was like every other buried person they had ever known,
• They figured He was still here.

And it is at this point that the angel gives them
THE GREATEST NEWS THEY HAD EVER HEARD.

(6) “He is not here, but He has risen.”

It is a huge statement!
As we said at the beginning.

The resurrection of Jesus is the VALIDATION that Jesus was sinless.
Acts 2:25-32 “For David says of Him, ‘I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. ‘THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. ‘YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.’ “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. “And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”

We have no doubt that Jesus was innocent because God gave vindication of His life.

It is also VERIFICATION that His atoning death was successful.
Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.”

Just as He died because we are sinners,
So also He was raised because we have been justified.

The fact that He is alive proves His saving death was effective.

It also gives us great confidence that DEATH (the consequence of sin) has been DEFEATED.
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

This is great news that these angels just announced to these women.
JESUS IS NO LONGER DEAD, HE IS ALIVE!

BUT THEY DON’T STOP THERE.
• ONLY LUKE includes what they say next.
• It is a simple and soft rebuke.

“Remember how He spoke to you while He was still 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.”

You know how that works.
And you know the insinuation.

It’s when you do something wrong and your boss or parent or spouse says, “Remember I told you not to do that”.

It’s not just an insinuation that you are wrong,
But that you are wrong because you didn’t listen.

That is the rebuke you see here.
• Ladies, the reason you are at a loss is because you did not listen to Jesus.
• You did not listen to the word of God.

Remember right after Peter made that famous confession of Jesus:
Luke 9:21-22 “But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

JESUS HAD ANNOUNCED IT.

Matthew’s gospel includes this reminder:
Matthew 12:38-40 “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, ” An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jesus HAD told them.
• They had failed to listen to Him or believe Him.
• They had not listened and that is why they were “perplexed”

But now the angels straighten them out.
(8) “And they remembered His words”
• The light bulb came on.
• Jesus had said He would be raised, and now He was!

A Missing Body, An Angelic Rebuke
#3 AN IGNORED REPORT
Luke 24:9-11

So now the ladies have been sufficiently rebuked
For their failure to believe the words of Jesus.

And they are off to tell “the eleven” their new-found news.

Interestingly enough all the other gospel accounts include that
JESUS THEN APPEARED TO THEM, but LUKE DOES NOT.

It almost seems strange that Luke would omit
Such an amazing and seemingly important piece of information.

You’d think that these women seeing Jesus alive
Would have been something Luke would have wanted to include.

But he doesn’t because
Luke’s authority is not bound up in what is seen with the eyes,
But in what is heard in God’s word.

Let me remind you of another story that only Luke includes.

Remember the rich man in hades?
Luke 16:27-31 “And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house for I have five brothers — in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ “But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ “But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'”

There Abraham helps us RANK our verifying proofs.
• And according to Abraham (in the story Jesus tells) the written word has more authority than even a visual sighting of a resurrected man.

THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR US
Because we have never seen the resurrected Jesus.

We certainly don’t go to lost people and say, “Wait right here and let me go get Jesus to appear to you.”

No, we offer them only the word of God.
And I’ll tell you this; not only is it enough, it is the greatest proof!

It is such a great proof
That Luke doesn’t even include
The in person visit Jesus had with these women.

They had Jesus’ words, and according to Luke that is all they needed.

And these women take those words now to the eleven.

(8-11) “And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.”

So they take this message to the eleven and unfortunately:
“these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.”

What words?
• Well the context of Luke’s gospel indicates to us that “these words” are the same words the angel just reminded the women of.
• We read in verse 8 “And they remembered His words”

But it is “these words” that now appeared as “nonsense”.

Do you see why the disciples are terrified?
Do you see why the disciples are depressed?

It is because they have not believed the words of Jesus
And even when confronted with them again they still will not believe them.

That’s why there are more rebukes on the way.

To the eleven the promise of a bodily resurrection was nonsense.
• Today we’d call it “A Crazy Conspiracy Theory”

If you’ll remember Martha had similar logic.
• Lord you can’t move the stone, he’s been dead 4 days and he’ll stink.

If you’ll remember the Corinthians tried to apply the same logic.
• 1 Corinthians 15:35 “But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?”

The Corinthians wouldn’t believe in bodily resurrection
Because they couldn’t understand it.
The disciples are right there.

• The women wouldn’t believe what they couldn’t imagine…
• The disciples won’t believe what they can’t understand…
Both revealed a failure to believe the word of God.

A Missing Body, An Angelic Rebuke, An Ignored Report
#4 A CONFUSED DISCIPLE
Luke 24:12

When you put all the gospel accounts together you find that
• Peter had left at the report of Mary Magdalene that Jesus’ body had been stolen.
• He and John had actually run to the tomb and John outran Peter,
• But where John stopped outside the tomb, Peter went on in.
• Peter was curious.

BUT WHAT WAS HE DOING HERE REALLY?

Peter was seeking to verify what he had heard.
• These women believed the angel’s words before they saw Jesus alive
• That wasn’t enough for Peter, he wanted visual proof.

In some ways he was a fulfillment of what Abraham had said
Because he hadn’t believed the prophets or Jesus either.

He had to see for himself.

All Peter saw was an empty tomb.

And the Bible says “he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.”

“marveling” is THAUMAZO
It means “to wonder at”

Often times it is translated “amazed” as in the crowds were amazed at Jesus.
It is used of Jesus when He saw the great faith of the centurion

IT SPEAKS OF WHAT OCCURS
WHEN SOMEONE SEES SOMETHING THAT IS UNEXPECTED.
And that sums up Peter.

He, like the rest, did not expect the resurrection.
This was all unexplainable to him.

Namely because he had not believed the words of Christ.

Now there is much more here,
• Especially as we get to those men on the road to Emmaus,
But let me simply remind you that
Our greatest proof that Jesus rose from the dead
Is that the Bible says He did!

I had a conversation with a Camp Leader several years ago who told me, “If the Bible was proved untrue, it wouldn’t affect my faith in the least.”

I asked him what his faith stood on then.
• He said, “Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”
• My response was, “I doubt you’d even know of the crucifixion of Jesus were it
not for the Scriptures.”
• He then assured me that Jesus would appear to you, as Jesus had appeared
to him.

But even if I believed Jesus actually appeared to him (I’m skeptical),
• Certainly that is not the norm for everyone.

Beyond that, according to the story we read earlier,
• That is not enough to make people believe.

THE WORD OF GOD MATTERS

• Why do you believe Jesus is the Son of God?
• Why do you believe Jesus was born of a virgin?
• Why do you believe Jesus worked miracles?
• Why do you believe Jesus died on the cross?
• Why do you believe Jesus rose from the dead?

Did you see any of those things?
Did you talk to anyone who saw those things?
• No – you simply believe them because the Bible says they happened.

And that is more than enough!

We believe because God in His word says that it happened.
THE FOCUS HERE is that Jesus Himself said it would happen.

You’ll see next time that it is way more than just Jesus who said it would happen.

Often times at Easter we sing “He Lives! He Lives!” And we sing “You ask me how I know He lives…
…it’s because the prophets said He would, and Jesus said He would, and the apostles who were inspired by the Holy Spirit said He does!”

It’s more than experiential, it’s contained in the inerrant word of God!
We believe Jesus rose because the Bible says so.

There’s much more to talk about here in the coming weeks.