WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:04.959 But it'd be helpful for you and for me if you could have that passage in front of you as we look at it together. 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:10.640 We're going to be in Luke chapter 24, and so the very end of Luke's gospel. 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:22.800 As we come to an end, let me just remind you where Luke begins his story of Jesus, that he begins with probably the most clear of all the purpose statements of the four gospels we have. 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:26.480 That Luke tells us that he is writing to a particular person. 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:28.800 He names him as Theophilus. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:38.000 We were meant to think that he is a young Christian, someone who grew up hearing about Jesus, probably in the generation after Jesus lived. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:44.960 And Luke, he has claimed to be a historian, that he has compiled and interviewed all the historical accounts about Jesus. 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:51.840 And he tells Theophilus, I have written it down carefully so that you can be certain about what you believe. 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:58.240 That Luke, he is writing intentionally so that we could be certain about what we believe. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:00.960 And as we come to the end here, we get to see why. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:07.680 That the certainty about what we believe about Jesus can then lead to a certain mission. 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:17.040 That as we have certainty about what we believe, it leads to then a certainty about what God would have us to do, who we are, how we live. 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:20.560 And so with that in mind, let's give our attention to God's word. 00:01:20.799 --> 00:01:25.519 We'll be reading Luke chapter 24, verses 44 through 53. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:40.239 Then he, that is Jesus, said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:55.760 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, Thus it was written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for forgiveness of sin should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:06.239 You are witnesses of these things, and behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:10.960 And he led them out as far as Bethany and lifted up his hands, he blessed them. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:15.439 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:22.719 And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:25.120 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:26.960 --> 00:02:31.039 Let's pray and ask for God's help as we listen together. 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:38.080 Heavenly Father, we do pray that you would open our minds as well. 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:44.319 Open our minds to understand this portion of your scripture and to open our eyes to see the Lord Jesus. 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:47.599 By your Spirit, would you stir our hearts to believe? 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:49.360 We ask this in Jesus' name. 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:50.240 Amen. 00:02:52.240 --> 00:03:01.840 And so our big theme this morning is that Luke, he wants us to have certainty about what we believe, which will then lead to certainty about what we're meant to do. 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:10.319 It kind of reminds me of those situations, although they seem rare, when everything seems to line up just right in your life. 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:13.759 You feel like you're doing what you were meant to do. 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:22.879 The rare moment when your identity, who you feel like you are, drives your vocation, what you're doing. 00:03:23.599 --> 00:03:25.759 Who we are lines up with what we need to do. 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:27.360 It's really the sweet spot. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:28.800 It's rare. 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:38.719 I think an example sometimes is young parents when they're about to be parents, and you know, before the moment, before the child comes, they often feel unprepared, not ready. 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:44.719 But then so often, when that baby arrives, they realize, in a way, this is what they were made for. 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:46.800 Maybe especially the mother. 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:55.120 You know, having children and being a parent, it's still hard, but you realize that you were, in a way, ready without knowing it. 00:03:55.840 --> 00:04:08.960 This is the type of confidence that Luke wants to enable in his readers that because of who Jesus is, and we can be certain about that, because of who he is, then we can also be certain about the mission that he has given us. 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:14.719 We're going to be summarizing and working through that mission as nothing short of redemption. 00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:33.360 That God's mission is to meet human beings in their need, and so to meet human beings, even the creation itself, in the sinfulness and brokenness of this world, and then to redeem it, to restore it to full value, to perfection, to full life in the world to come. 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:41.920 And so the story of the redemption is bringing together those two realities: the one we know and the one we hope for and desire. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:52.560 And so our job this morning is to grow in certainty about how Jesus fulfills and embodies and empowers God's plan of redemption through us. 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:57.920 And so as we work through this passage, it might be helpful for you to have the outline in front of you. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:06.079 In particular, there's a couple diagrams we're going to reference, and so if you don't have a program close by, uh maybe grab one, or there's one right outside the door. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:14.319 But we're just going to be working through this passage in three main points: all about God's plan of redemption and how Jesus brings that to fruition. 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:26.560 And so we'll see that Jesus fulfills God's plan, that Jesus embodies and therefore extends God's plan, and then Jesus empowers God's plan. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:32.079 And so, first, Jesus fulfills God's plan of redemption. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:35.519 That this is one of Luke's main points. 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:47.839 That in this last chapter, Luke and Jesus, they're trying to bring this out that he is the fulfillment of the Old Testament story and all the promises of redemption. 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:59.360 And so if you look back down to where we began our reading in verse 44, Jesus, he's speaking to his disciples and he reminds them of the summary of his teaching when he was with them. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:02.399 He says, These are the words that I spoke to you, I was still with you. 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:12.639 And so, up until this point, that everything that was written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:25.759 And so Jesus summarizes the Old Testament in that way: the law of Moses, what we can think of as the Pentateuch, the first five books, the prophets, really almost everything else, and then the Psalms, it's really the wisdom literature. 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:29.120 And so he says, all of the Old Testament was about me. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:37.680 We saw similar claims last time that as Jesus appeared after the resurrection, he was doing more than just proving that he was alive. 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:42.800 In each case, he was proving that he was the answer of God's plan of redemption. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:51.839 And so you can either look back or just remember back when Jesus in disguise meets the guys on the Emmaus Road in verse 26 and 27. 00:06:52.399 --> 00:07:00.160 Rather than just showing himself to them, he says, You foolish ones, slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:06.959 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them all that the scripture said concerning himself. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:09.360 What's the point? 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:11.680 The whole story, it's about me. 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.920 And you'd need to know that right now. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:28.000 Same thing when he goes to the disciples in verse 32, their critical conversion moment, when they get it, they say, Did not our hearts burn within us when he opened the scriptures? 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:31.279 You see, this is one of Luke's primary points here. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:39.040 And so when we get to verse 44, this idea of fulfillment, that everything had to be fulfilled, it's more than just come true. 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:46.160 It's more than how we might use the word, kind of like fulfill our destiny, like the hero story. 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:49.040 Fulfill here is to make full. 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:54.160 If you care about such things, the the Greek here is the root of our word for plethora. 00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:56.079 Word of the day program, right? 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:58.319 It's like all of it, everything. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:04.560 And so the expectations and promises and plans have been filled up, flowing over. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.600 The cup of wrath that Jesus was going to take, emptied. 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.800 The cup of grace filled. 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.879 Really, this is how Luke started his story of Jesus, if you remember back. 00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:23.600 Luke's gospel, it's the one that has all those beautiful songs from Zachariah and Elizabeth and Mary. 00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:27.839 It's the one where the angels show up the most, declaring big news. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:38.240 And so Luke, out of all the gospel writers, he sets his story about Jesus within these thousands of years of redemptive history, all coming to completion in Jesus. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:47.279 That Jesus, we have to know in this moment, he is the fulfillment of all of God's plans. 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:57.919 And so to help us kind of remember that and reflect on that, I just want to share a little bit of a survey of how you might find it helpful to think about the storyline of the Bible. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:09:00.080 And so this isn't in the back of your program. 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:08.000 And so the most simple way is to think of the diagram of creation, fall, redemption, restoration. 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:11.440 That the Bible tells the story of creation. 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:14.240 God created everything good by his power. 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:18.559 And then there was the fall where humanity turned away from God and into sin. 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:23.519 And so all of humanity's experience, even creation itself, was then affected by that. 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:27.360 And then really the rest of the story is a story of redemption. 00:09:27.840 --> 00:09:35.519 Connecting to the fall, meeting humanity in their fall and brokenness, but then promising restoration at the end. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:39.679 So creation, fall, redemption, restoration. 00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:54.080 But perhaps another way to think about the Old Testament story, and one that's a little bit more robust, and so in that way, might be helpful for us, is to think about what we would describe as the five marks of God's redemption. 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:57.279 And so this is just stolen from our church planning network. 00:09:57.440 --> 00:10:05.279 And so this is how we think about God's work in and through the church, and it's really how we see God working all throughout human history. 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:09.519 That God has consistently worked in these five ways. 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:12.960 From start to end, the Bible is a story of God's redemption. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:14.240 And so what did it look like? 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:18.240 Well, there were two kind of horizontal themes running through time. 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:20.879 And so kind of like parallel railroad tracks. 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:22.639 Two things that were always there. 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:32.879 It was God's good news, his gospel, often in the form of covenants, promises, and then his presence, often seen in the temple. 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:39.120 That from the very beginning, remember when Adam and Eve fell into sin, God's first response was a promise of redemption. 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:46.240 There is going to be trouble now, but one is coming who will strike the head, crush the head of the serpent. 00:10:46.399 --> 00:10:48.159 There is going to be a fight. 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:50.320 The first gospel promise. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:56.080 And that's how Jesus, that's how God works on the rest of the Bible, always bringing his grace to people in their need. 00:10:56.240 --> 00:11:00.080 And yet when he did that, he always did it with his presence. 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:04.639 That even though they had run away from him, he would not be separate from them. 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:14.240 And so one example is that when Eve first becomes pregnant after the fall, she declares, With God's help, I have made a man. 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:16.879 We're not in the garden anymore. 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:20.480 Maybe God's far away, but no, she says, no, no, God is still with us. 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:22.879 With his help, we're doing this. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:30.639 And so two parallel themes, always there: God's word, his gospel, and God's presence, really experienced to the temple. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:37.759 And then how would God ensure that humanity would understand and experience this gracious relationship? 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:44.559 Well, that's where we see the three offices that work to apply God's grace and his presence in the Old Testament. 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:50.639 Three offices, three positions that would try to bring God's grace to the people. 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:58.639 Not all the time, not perfectly, but they were there as kind of precursors and signs and glimmers of what God might do in the future. 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:01.279 And so God would send his prophets. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:03.840 His gracious word would come. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:11.200 Just as God's word formed the world at creation, so a new creation would be formed by his word. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:19.279 God would send his priests, those who would stand between, who would mediate between God and his people. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:26.720 They would bring God's forgiveness and his holiness down to the people, and they would take the sin and the sacrifice of the people up to God. 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:31.039 And then his king, his shepherd. 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:42.720 That God would show us what it would be like for us to live under his care and protection, for his rule, his word to rule our lives, for us to trust ourselves to him. 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:46.320 And so that's really the story of the Old Testament. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:54.240 God's covenant, his gospel, his temple presence, and then being applied through these offices of prophet, priest, and king. 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:58.399 And if you know anything about the Old Testament story, you know how this story goes. 00:12:58.879 --> 00:13:00.080 Not enough. 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:02.480 Not enough. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:06.960 In our reading in Jeremiah, we're told what was wrong with the Old Covenant. 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:08.480 It was the people. 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:11.440 The Old Covenant wasn't enough for us. 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:14.320 Having a physical temple to go to, it wasn't enough. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:15.759 We could just neglect it. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:20.879 Having a covenant of grace to just listen to, it wasn't enough because we would mistrust it. 00:13:21.360 --> 00:13:26.639 Having prophet, priests, and kings weren't enough because we wouldn't follow them, and then sometimes they weren't good enough. 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:28.320 Most often they weren't good enough. 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:32.639 And so all of that then leads to the expectation of what would God do? 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:35.039 A new covenant. 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:39.679 Where Jesus Himself would bring together all these five things. 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:42.639 What is the good news of God for creation? 00:13:42.960 --> 00:13:43.759 His son. 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:47.759 How do you know God is present in the world? 00:13:48.080 --> 00:13:53.039 His Son, who would come in tabernacle, literally temple among us, that's John 1. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:54.559 And what would Jesus do? 00:13:54.799 --> 00:14:03.440 He would do the Old Testament offices, He would speak to us as a prophet, He would mediate for us, intercede for us as a priest, and He would rule over and care for us as a king. 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:07.519 And so all those five things come to fulfillment in Jesus. 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:08.480 Fool. 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:14.000 So let me make a couple points before we move on. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:18.080 You know, the new covenant, it was never a new plan. 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:21.279 The new covenant was never a new plan. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:26.240 What this means then is that it's not like God wished he could have gotten away with the old. 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:31.440 As if he could have gotten away with that and so he could have withheld his son from us. 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:35.519 No, the old was only ever preparing for the new. 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:42.960 The old was only ever preparing for the new so that we could see the beauty and trust the goodness that God would accomplish in Jesus. 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:45.440 We needed to know that we needed more. 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.720 We desperately needed new. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:53.759 And so anything less than fulfillment in Jesus wouldn't be enough. 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:59.200 So that anything more that God could accomplish than in Jesus, it's not possible. 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:00.399 We have it all. 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:02.639 We have it all filled up. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:06.799 And so just consider this moment for yourself and for your own soul. 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:13.039 You know, God has always wanted to give to you the full reality of redemption. 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:18.240 He has always wanted to give to you the full reality of redemption. 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:31.200 That he is not withholding from you, he is not holding back, he's not waiting for you to come through, but he is eager to give to you, starting now and into eternity, the fullness of the Lord Jesus. 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:41.120 And so let's also acknowledge that anything that takes away from or adds to that fulfillment is less. 00:15:42.320 --> 00:15:48.799 Anything that takes away from or adds to who Jesus is and what he's done, it is less for us. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:50.159 And so what is the church? 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:51.440 It is the body of Christ. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:54.000 What is the Spirit is the power from Jesus. 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:55.679 The Bible is his living word. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:58.720 The sacraments represent and apply Jesus to us. 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:00.960 Worship is for and through Jesus. 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:05.200 Sanctification is by the power of Jesus into the image of Jesus. 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:07.440 All it is him. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:16.320 And so to be frank, not by Mary, not by works, not by nature, not by wisdom, not by power. 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:18.639 Him fully. 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:21.519 Jesus is the fulfillment. 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:25.279 He brings to the fullness all of God's plan of redemption. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:39.679 And so what this means then is that his incarnation, when he took on flesh and everything that follows, the cross, the resurrection, the ascension, all of that then is the embodiment, the physical embodiment of God's plan. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:41.440 And this is our second point. 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:44.320 This one's kind of the shorter one right in the middle. 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:50.320 That Luke, he wants us to be certain that Jesus embodies God's plan of redemption. 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:55.919 And I add the extends kind of in parentheses because that's what Jesus' embodiment really does for us. 00:16:56.080 --> 00:17:04.720 It extends the redemption, but I don't want us to miss the embodiment, that there is a physicality, a personality to redemption. 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:06.720 And so look back at our passage. 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:13.119 In verse 45, as Jesus opens up their minds to understand the scriptures, what happens? 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:17.839 They come to know the embodied experience of Jesus. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:18.880 Verse 46. 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:24.720 He said to them, Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead. 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:31.519 As we saw last time, this was really the crux of the challenge for the disciples, for those first apostles. 00:17:31.680 --> 00:17:36.240 They could not understand a Savior who would have to suffer in the body. 00:17:36.559 --> 00:17:41.440 And so they could not expect a Savior who would be resurrected in the body. 00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:48.880 That's what they needed to be opened up in their minds, that the Messiah, that Jesus would suffer, that he would need to be raised from the dead. 00:17:49.119 --> 00:18:07.680 Think of it this way: this is God's plan of redemption, that the promises of grace, the covenant of the Old Testament, that were pictured and physically experienced in the Old Testament system, the temple, they were then embodied physically in Jesus as the suffering savior. 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:11.839 The new is not less physical. 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:21.200 The spiritual and full redemption that God has prepared was more than the Old Testament shadows, yes, but not less physical. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:23.279 And so look at the results. 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:29.839 As the apostles, the disciples, they have their minds open to see who Jesus really is, embodied. 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:30.880 What is the result? 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:32.000 Verse 47? 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:38.240 That repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem. 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:49.519 The redemption that gets embodied by Jesus in the incarnation leading to his death and resurrection then continues, extends, in the physical ministry of the church. 00:18:50.319 --> 00:18:51.839 We don't want to miss this. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:58.880 The message of grace now gets proclaimed by the people of grace, the apostles. 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:02.640 Repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:09.200 And it happens through the person, you might even say the body, the temple presence of Jesus. 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:10.480 Because how is it happening? 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:15.119 It's gonna get proclaimed in my name to all the nations. 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:17.279 You see the point? 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:21.279 The plan of redemption, shadowed and prefigured in the Old Testament. 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:25.119 It gets fulfilled and embodied in the person of Jesus. 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:33.599 And so then it can be extended wherever the gracious message of Jesus goes, proclaimed in his body, the church. 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:38.319 All that to say is that the mission of Jesus continues. 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:41.680 Because notice the critical phases of the plan. 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:46.240 It was prepared in Scripture, it must happen. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:47.599 It should happen. 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:56.559 Two parts that Christ should suffer and rise, incarnation, and that the message of Christ should be proclaimed after the ascension. 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:07.279 Still embodied in Christ, no longer just by his physical human body, but extended by his growing physical spiritual body, the church. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:14.319 If you're thinking I'm making too much of these connections, and it's a fair, it's a fair question, just look with me at the end of the passage. 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:27.119 After Jesus ascends, verse 52, we find the disciples and they have worship, they're worshiping Jesus, and they've returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they're continuing in the temple, blessing God. 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:33.279 Two things to note great joy has the root of the word for grace, caris. 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:37.279 And so their great joy is the joy that comes from receiving grace. 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:38.160 Who are they? 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:43.279 They're the people who have been enjoyed by recipients of the covenant, grace. 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:45.119 Where are they gonna do it? 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:48.240 Not that they need to stay and worship in the temple, you know the rest of the story. 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:49.039 They don't do that. 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:51.200 But why does Luke tell us they're doing there now? 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:55.200 Because they have now become the embodiment of God's grace. 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:57.440 Joy in God's presence. 00:20:57.680 --> 00:21:06.720 Luke is making it clear for us that Jesus' ascension has made the New Testament church the place, the reality, the experience of God's grace and presence. 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:10.720 And so Jesus continues to have a message and a mission. 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:16.400 A covenant, grace, a mission, a temple. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:17.839 Where does it happen? 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:19.279 In the local church. 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:27.440 A message, repentance for the forgiveness of sins, a mission proclaimed in his name, the presence of God with the purpose of God. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:38.160 And so what this means is that the church has a message and a mission, and we cannot do less because nothing could be more valuable and significant than this. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:50.400 So as we come to our third point, Jesus' embodiment of this redemption then gets extended out in his church by his presence with them, by his ascension. 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:51.920 And so look how it happens. 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:55.759 How does Jesus empower God's plan of redemption? 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:59.759 Luke, he wants us to see it, he wants us to be certain of it that Jesus. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.640 Jesus is still empowering God's plan of redemption. 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:04.079 Jesus is still at work. 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:05.119 He's still doing it. 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:06.559 He hasn't pieced out. 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:08.559 This isn't just like a waiting time. 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:10.880 He'll come back later and see how things are going. 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:14.720 And even if we made no progress by then, he'll just kind of speed it up to the end. 00:22:14.880 --> 00:22:16.640 That is not what is going on. 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:26.400 Jesus empowers God's plan of redemption by, big surprise, continuing those three offices of prophet, priest, and king. 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:30.160 Pre-shadowed in the Old Testament, fulfilled in Christ. 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:31.680 Let me show you how. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:32.880 The prophet. 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:38.640 That Jesus makes the church an effective hub of redemption proclaimed. 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:44.319 Verse 45, Jesus has opened the disciples' minds to understand the gospel. 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:50.480 And then in verse 48, he commissions them to be witnesses of the gospel. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:54.160 You see, the church is the place of the message. 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:57.440 And so the disciples are the people of the message. 00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:01.119 The word for witness there, it is a public or legal testimony. 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:04.480 It's the idea of the apostles as eyewitnesses. 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:12.079 And then, secondly, we Christians, especially, especially in the corporate community of the church, we pass on the testimony of the apostles. 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:16.799 We have received it as like legal guards, and now we can pass it on. 00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:30.000 In a similar way, proclaiming there, when the repentance and forgiveness is supposed to be proclaimed, it's the idea of a public herald, a public and authorized testimony of the church, the ongoing work of Christ as prophet. 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:35.200 Jesus is still alive, and so he is still speaking. 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:40.799 He is still alive, and so his word is alive, and his word is still life-giving. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:43.839 And he forms and transforms people through that. 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:47.759 And so what this means is that Jesus is still opening minds. 00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:59.119 That Jesus is opening his word, opening minds. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:02.400 The word for open there, it's a significant one. 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:05.519 The word most literally means firstborn. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:10.880 And so it's the word that means opening of the womb, the first breakthrough. 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:17.440 It's the same word that is used when Jesus opens deaf ears or opens blind eyes. 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:22.160 It's the word that intends divine action and intervention. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:24.480 God has done something here. 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:30.160 And so one commentator has said that every believer may pray Psalm 119, 8. 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:33.440 Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from your law. 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:50.960 The God who once opened tomb darkened eyes on the Emmaus Road continues to unveil Christ in Scripture today, assuring his people that the same power which opened deaf ears and opened a Gentile woman's heart and opened the very heavens is active whenever his word is read and proclaimed. 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:58.160 Jesus is embodying and passing on his ministry as prophet. 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:01.519 He's also doing it as priest. 00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:08.160 That he makes the church an effective hub of the gospel experienced and received. 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:12.720 And so in that way, Jesus is mediating the grace and presence of God. 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:16.480 It is taking it from him, from God, to us. 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:20.000 And so you can kind of think of it as a connection wire. 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:21.119 A connection wire. 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:25.440 Look down at verse 49. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:33.440 Behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:40.720 And so the promise of the Father, it is the down payment of the experience and the reception of God's grace, the Holy Spirit. 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:44.720 It what makes us believe and trust that everything else God said is true. 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:51.680 If he gave us himself to live with us, if he's assured us of our adoption, if he's helped us believe, then he'll help us with everything else. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:53.039 This isn't a good illustration. 00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:54.960 There's no good illustrations of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:57.440 They're all limited and slightly heretical. 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:59.920 But you can kind of think of it as like power lines. 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:05.440 That Holy Spirit is like the power lines that connect us to the electrical power station. 00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:07.839 It brings the power from God to us. 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:10.160 He brings the power from God to us. 00:26:10.640 --> 00:26:17.440 Because notice how Jesus describes the result of this promise of the Holy Spirit, this powerful connection. 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:28.319 It's a powerful connection between the realm of God on high to the seemingly ordinary and limited realm of the apostles. 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:33.519 You will be clothed, you down here, with the power from him up there. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:35.839 That's the work of a priest. 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:43.440 A priest would mediate, bring together the power from on high with the people, even all the language here being clothed. 00:26:43.519 --> 00:26:49.680 That is very priestly language of the priest who gets clothed in the holiness of God and yet he brings the sin of the people. 00:26:49.839 --> 00:26:51.519 How do those two things go together? 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:53.599 The mediation of the priest. 00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:58.079 And so, what is the ongoing priestly work of Jesus? 00:26:58.480 --> 00:27:05.039 That he empowers the experience through the Holy Spirit that Jesus is representing God to us. 00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:06.720 You can think of it this way. 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:13.119 You know, even today, there's a human being sitting on the throne at God's right hand. 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:15.440 Even today, there is a human being. 00:27:15.599 --> 00:27:20.079 We don't know what he looks like, probably not blonde hair, but he looks like us. 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:28.160 He looks like us, and he is sitting on the throne in God's right hand, a first fruit, a first sign that redemption is possible. 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:34.000 That there was a human being who took on sin, who suffered the penalty of it, and yet has been redeemed. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:40.880 And then by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is bringing our lives into the grace and power of God. 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:45.119 The priestly work of Jesus, that he's handing on to his disciples. 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:47.759 Thirdly, the King. 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:53.839 Jesus makes the church a community that is formed under the rule and care of the King. 00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:56.000 Verse 15 and 51. 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.640 The sudden end of Luke's gospel. 00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:03.359 Jesus, he leads them out as far as Bethany and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:07.039 And while he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:08.160 Notice the story. 00:28:17.920 --> 00:28:24.559 And so remember the blessing of God, it's more than just saying good things, more than wishing the best, more than acknowledging the need. 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:27.599 It's like when we say bless you when somebody sneezes, oh, bless you. 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:29.279 You need something. 00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:31.759 No, no, this is the verbal blessing of God. 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:34.000 It is the effective blessing of God. 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:39.119 The spoken word, the intention of God that has the effect of what it means. 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:43.680 To cause, to prosper, to give favor. 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:50.240 It's that ancient promise given to Abraham, I will bless you so that you will be a blessing to the world. 00:28:50.480 --> 00:28:53.359 It's the temple blessing given to the Israelites through Aaron. 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:56.880 May the Lord bless you and keep you, make his face shine upon you. 00:28:57.839 --> 00:28:59.599 That's what's going on here. 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:02.240 Jesus lifts up his hands. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:09.519 He says the last word, much like we try to do in our service here, that we end with the last word from God, the blessing on his people. 00:29:10.240 --> 00:29:23.039 And so as we live as a community under the care and protection and rule of God through Jesus, we demonstrate what it looks like to be both blessed by God and then by extension to be a blessing to the world. 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:26.240 That's what Peter says in Acts 3, just a couple of chapters later. 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:30.000 Peter declares that God has sent Jesus to bless us. 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:31.359 Notice how? 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:34.400 By turning each of us from our wicked ways. 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:36.160 What a blessing. 00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:44.000 What a blessing that God would turn us from our ways that would lead to death and instead put us on ways that lead to life. 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:54.880 And so as we come to know and experience Jesus as King, especially as we do so in the community of the local church, we realize that Jesus has been protecting and caring for us. 00:29:56.319 --> 00:30:10.720 So I hope you have this testimony as you grow in faith that you will realize that there are parts of his word that you have found challenging and hard to believe, but over time you will realize that they had only been for your good, even when you struggled by doubting them and disobeying them. 00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:19.200 There'll be times when you realize that God has been doing something in and through us that's more than we could have produced on our own, beyond what we could have deserved. 00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:29.279 That's the picture of the king who is above, who is caring for more than we could see, who is more powerful and more able. 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:38.240 And so, Luke, he ends his gospel with this picture, the description of Jesus bringing to fulfillment all of God's plan for redemption. 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:42.240 I want you to notice an amazing thing as we close. 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:46.160 That Jesus does it by leaving. 00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:50.640 Jesus does it by leaving, more specifically, ascending. 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:53.920 Jesus is kind of like the first church planter here, right? 00:30:54.079 --> 00:30:58.559 He's the first church planter, but as soon as he gets a small group gathered, he gets out of there. 00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:00.000 Could you imagine? 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:05.039 As soon as it seems to be starting, he's gone. 00:31:05.839 --> 00:31:18.079 In John's gospel, Jesus explains why, John 14, verse 12, he says, Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do because I'm going to the Father. 00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:31.119 And so in this powerful moment at the end of Luke's gospel, Jesus has transitioned his disciples from doubt and denial and disappointment to a dynamic, joyful engagement in his mission. 00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:34.640 He pieces out and they find abundant joy. 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:39.680 He brings to fulfillment all of God's plan of redemption. 00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:43.279 And he continues to apply it to us. 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:45.759 He continues to apply it to us. 00:31:46.079 --> 00:31:47.920 He is God's good word. 00:31:48.480 --> 00:31:52.079 He is God's presence with us, among us, and for us. 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:55.119 And so he does God's work. 00:31:55.519 --> 00:32:03.279 He speaks life to us, he intercedes grace to us, he rules over us with his care and protection and correction. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:10.559 And so what this means, final application here, that this is the identity and the mission of the church. 00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:18.720 And so, Augustine, one of the early church fathers, he says there is no real distance separating Jesus as head from his body, the church. 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:20.000 There's no real distance. 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:29.839 It seems like it to us, but spiritually, there is no real distance, no distance that could separate God's power found in the Lord Jesus to his body now in the local church. 00:32:30.079 --> 00:32:33.039 So we are the embodiment of God's gospel grace. 00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:34.880 We are the people of the message. 00:32:34.960 --> 00:32:42.640 We are the missional presence in the world, the outpost, not a sanctuary, not a fortress, the outpost of mission. 00:32:42.799 --> 00:32:43.920 And so what do we do? 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:44.799 That's who we are. 00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:48.960 Our identity is the people of grace, the missional presence, that's who we are as a church. 00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:50.000 And so what do we do? 00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:54.880 We carry out his continued ministry of prophet, priest, and king. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:57.279 More to be said there. 00:32:57.519 --> 00:32:59.839 For some of you, though, hopefully this is a reminder. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.640 This is what we often talk about when it comes to the identity of our church and what we want to do together. 00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:09.839 If this is new to you, hold on, we'll talk about it more as we go forward. 00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:12.240 But I want to close with this picture. 00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:15.680 You know, watching the World Cup, I know Eric and I are enjoying it. 00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:17.440 I think most of you are missing out. 00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:19.039 But some of us are watching the World Cup. 00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:24.400 And one of the beautiful things about this World Cup in particular is that the best players are at their best. 00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:27.279 The best players are really showing out. 00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:32.400 And unfortunately, as the United States loses, there's a lot of conversation, of course, about what's wrong. 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:35.680 This huge country of all these people, great athletes. 00:33:35.839 --> 00:33:40.880 Why do we come underprepared, under-able so often with soccer? 00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:49.039 Well, part of the issue is that actually to be a successful soccer player requires a much different collection of abilities than some of our other sports. 00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:53.359 Hate to break it to you, LeBron James would not be a good soccer player. 00:33:53.680 --> 00:33:57.519 Messi would probably not be able to cut it in any other professional sport. 00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:05.839 That soccer requires some unique combination of endurance and athleticism and creativity and touch with your foot. 00:34:06.079 --> 00:34:10.559 It's a very unique thing to be cultivated and experienced. 00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:13.679 That in a way you almost have to be born for it. 00:34:14.400 --> 00:34:16.639 Maybe you've seen the film Chariots of Fire. 00:34:16.719 --> 00:34:25.039 It's a story from 1981 from the Olympics, from this guy, Eric Liddell, who was a Christian, and basically he's struggling with what it means to be a Christian and an athlete. 00:34:25.280 --> 00:34:28.480 And as he's working through it, he says this amazing thing. 00:34:28.639 --> 00:34:32.800 He says, I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. 00:34:33.039 --> 00:34:36.320 And so when I run, I feel his pleasure. 00:34:41.519 --> 00:34:49.440 He says, I've noticed something about me that God has made me like this, and so when I experience it with him, I experience his pleasure. 00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:58.239 That's a sweet spot of discovering and finding confidence in, and therefore enjoying who God has made you to be. 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:17.519