As the sun sets on Jerusalem, we find ourselves walking alongside Jesus in what would be his final days, witnessing his unwavering resolve and the subsequent unraveling of hope that follows. Join us in an emotional exploration of these sacred moments, from the resounding Hosannas of Palm Sunday to the echoing silence of an empty tomb, each step laden with the weight of prophecy and the lightness of ultimate victory. As we recount the events on the road to Emmaus and share stories of transformations akin to my own journey from a place of despair to one of purpose, this episode promises to not only delve into history but also touch your heart with tales of redemption and new beginnings.
Amidst the backdrop of ancient scriptures, we invite you to reflect on the personal encounters that mirror the restorative power of Christ's resurrection, including the candid exchange between the risen Jesus and a penitent Peter. Through these narratives, we come to understand the profound implications of an empty grave—not as a conclusion, but as an eternal promise of reconciliation and a life forever changed. With no stone left unturned, we grapple with the question of what it truly means to embrace the essence of Easter and how this cornerstone of faith can cast a light on our own path to peace, gratitude, and a deep sense of belonging within the family of believers.
As the sun sets on Jerusalem, we find ourselves walking alongside Jesus in what would be his final days, witnessing his unwavering resolve and the subsequent unraveling of hope that follows. Join us in an emotional exploration of these sacred moments, from the resounding Hosannas of Palm Sunday to the echoing silence of an empty tomb, each step laden with the weight of prophecy and the lightness of ultimate victory. As we recount the events on the road to Emmaus and share stories of transformations akin to my own journey from a place of despair to one of purpose, this episode promises to not only delve into history but also touch your heart with tales of redemption and new beginnings.
Amidst the backdrop of ancient scriptures, we invite you to reflect on the personal encounters that mirror the restorative power of Christ's resurrection, including the candid exchange between the risen Jesus and a penitent Peter. Through these narratives, we come to understand the profound implications of an empty grave—not as a conclusion, but as an eternal promise of reconciliation and a life forever changed. With no stone left unturned, we grapple with the question of what it truly means to embrace the essence of Easter and how this cornerstone of faith can cast a light on our own path to peace, gratitude, and a deep sense of belonging within the family of believers.
Speaker 1:
So we've spent the last couple weeks looking at the way how Jesus would eventually find himself to the cross. When he first came on into earth, he was born. It's always wise to celebrate Christmas. He lived for about 30 years. There's not a whole lot of information we have in those 30 years, but he lived to be 33. And the last three years of his life he would go on and accomplish and he would do so much. He would spend his time teaching and he was healing and he was feeding people and he was feeding people and he was establishing this core group of believers that their purpose was to take everything that he was doing and to model that.
Speaker 1:
And there's a moment I believe it's in the Gospel of Luke where the Scriptures tell us that Jesus has this immediate kind of understanding and he looks towards Jerusalem and he starts to head towards Jerusalem. And this is before Palm Sunday, right, so he hasn't arrived yet, but he has this resolve to enter into the city of Jerusalem because he understands that what comes next is going to change the course of humanity. He understands the cross, he understands the suffering, he understands how difficult it's going to be, but he does it anyway, and so he turns his face to Jerusalem and he heads in. And he enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and he's greeted with cheers and they love him and they're throwing down their coats and he's riding on a donkey and everyone's cheering his name. The Savior has come, Hosanna, Messiah. And then, not even five days later, it all changed. As he spends his time in Jerusalem during his last week, he starts to challenge the religious leaders of the day. There's a moment in the Scripture where it tells us that he flips over some tables because they're abusing his father's house. So come Friday, he finds himself in front of those same people, but instead, this time they're calling for his crucifixion.
Speaker 1:
A man who was loved by many was soon going to be put to death by the same people that loved him. And as he goes before Pilate, as he goes before this trial that should have never happened. As they lie about him, as they smear his name, as they throw accusations around, he's claiming to be the son of God. He is God. There's no way. As he finds himself unjustly tried, he remains silent. Unjustly tried, he remains silent Because he understands that his life has to come to an end Because if it doesn't, then there's no future for us. So he's taken away, he's beaten, he's flogged, he's spit on, he's cursed at. He's beaten, he's flogged, he's spit on, he's cursed at, he's crucified, which is one of the worst possible forms of execution. This execution is saved for murderers and insurrectionists and people who desired to harm and take life, and Jesus has done none of this and insurrectionists and people who desired to harm and take life, and Jesus has done none of this. If anything, he's given life to so many, but he knew that his life and the loss of it was the only way to save ours. So they murder him and they bury him in a tomb Not his tomb, A borrowed one and so they, his disciples, have fled. They scatter.
Speaker 1:
After. He was crucified on Friday. If you know anything about the Jewish holidays, Jewish tradition, their Sabbath was practiced on a Saturday, so he's crucified on Friday, Immediately following his crucifixion is their Sabbath. And I have a couple of friends who are practicing Jews and one of the things that I've always kind of found fascinating about culturally how they practice, is their Sabbath. They take it very seriously. They really don't do anything. If you go back to the time of Jesus, there were like strict regulations. You could walk like half a mile and no more. You had to cook your meals the day before, like anything that was considered work you had to do, and so I have friends of mine who they do this. They cook on Friday, so they don't even have to open the refrigerator on Saturday, they understand.
Speaker 1:
So the day after he's crucified, these men and women that have been following him find themselves returned to their homes. They might have ended up together, but for the most part, most of them went back home because on the day on that Saturday, they weren't allowed to do anything, and so they had to go back home and start to process and grieve the fact that their best friend, their teacher, the man who did nothing but bring light to their life, was murdered. Peter has to go home and deal with the fact that in the moment of adversity, he denied even knowing who he was. Moment of adversity, he denied even knowing who he was. The Gospel of John tells us that Sunday morning the women got up and they were taking the spices to the tomb. They hadn't even had time to really prep the body properly for burial, let alone grieve the loss of the one they love. But in Luke, chapter 24, 13 through 35, Luke's gospel accounts that morning. Mind you, this is after the women have gone. This is after they've realized that the tomb is empty. There was no time to prepare the body for burial because there was no death. They find themselves standing in front of an empty tomb in awe of what had just happened.
Speaker 1:
And so Jesus has this interaction while on the road to Emmaus with two disciples. Luke's account 24, 13-35. It says now that same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these, talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them what are you discussing together as you walk along? They stood still, their faces downcast.
Speaker 1:
One of them, named Cleopas, asked him are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened in these days? They're baffled. Have you not heard, when have you been? Says, what things he asked About Jesus of Nazareth? They replied he was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people, the chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death and they crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel and, what is more, it is the third day since all of this took place.
Speaker 1:
In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and they told us that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And some of our companions went to the tomb and found it, just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus. He said to them how foolish you are and how slow to believe. All the prophets have spoken. Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.
Speaker 1:
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going further, but they urged him strongly stay with us, For it is nearly evening, the day is almost over, so he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread and gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other were not our hearts burning with us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scripture to us. They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem, where they found the eleven and those with them assembled together and, saying it is true, the Lord has risen, disappeared to Simon and the two told what had happened on the way and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Speaker 1:
So these two disciples are in a season of mourning. They're trying to process what has happened. They don't quite understand. All they know is that the man that they hoped would redeem them, that would save Israel, was now dead. Because of their leaders, they crucified. And so they come across this man who they don't know is Jesus, and they're kind of baffled. How do you not know what's happening? You not know what's happening. By the way, a seven-mile walk takes about three and a half hours, and the reason I know that is because on Friday for Christ Walk, they walk seven miles and it takes about three and a half hours from downtown Steubenville all the way out to Wintersville, so three and a half hours.
Speaker 1:
So they're walking with him this entire time and they're kind of going back and forth and I can you know, I just imagine them telling him what's going on and they're downcast, they're depressed, they're probably confused because how do you not know? And their perspective in this moment is we have lost our hope, We've lost our Redeemer. They killed him, and then Jesus uses the scriptures. Keep in mind they didn't have the New Testament, like you and I do, but they had the Old. And, starting with Moses, Jesus, as he walks, starts to help them understand.
Speaker 1:
Don't you understand that, this Jesus, that you're talking about me, by the way? You don't know that yet, but I'm going to show you that since the beginning of time, I was always the plan. There was never a doubt in Jesus' mind that his death was necessary. There was never a doubt in God's plan for all of creation. When you go all the way back to the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis, when sin enters into the world because Adam and Eve and their disobedience, there's never been a moment in the history of the world that God created that he didn't understand that redemption was part of the plan. He was never confused by that Right, he never was worried, he was never concerned because he knew that, although Adam and Eve had cost us that relationship that really close walking with him in the garden, God's plan was to always bring us back Always. And he knew. He knew the only way this could happen was through the sacrifice of someone who was perfect. And if you read the Old Testament, you'll see the nation of Israel as they continue to fail again and again and again the animal sacrifices they performed. It's really not enough enough. There's always been a bigger picture.
Speaker 1:
I like how NT Wright explains this. He says sometimes the task in reading the Bible is to remember that it's not simply a gathering of stories from the history of Israel. So we are intended to read the Bible, especially the sections we commonly refer to as the Old Testament, as a story of the unfolding plan of God. Wright explains that the travelers were struggling with, so they had been seeing it as the long story of how God would redeem Israel from suffering. But it was instead the story of how God would redeem Israel through suffering, Though in particular the suffering which would be taken on himself by Israel's representatives, the Messiah.
Speaker 1:
When Luke says that Jesus interpreted to them all the things about himself throughout the Bible. He doesn't mean that Jesus collected a few or even a few dozen isolated texts, verses chosen at random. He means that the whole story from Genesis to Chronicles, which is the last book of the Hebrew Bible the prophets came earlier pointed forwards to a fulfillment which would only be found when God's anointing took Israel's suffering, and hence the world's suffering, onto himself, Died under its weight and rose again as the beginning of God's new creation, God's new people. This is what has to happen, and now it has. And this is what we are trying to understand.
Speaker 1:
Is that Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday? Is that Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday? Everything we believe in hinges on what Jesus did. Without the empty tomb, there is no hope. Without the empty tomb there is no redemption. Without Jesus overcoming death, there is no future. So I want to ask you a question this morning.
Speaker 1:
I love this story with Jesus walking with those to Emmaus, because he changes their perspective. He challenges what they know and says listen, you don't quite understand, but I'm going to give it to you and I'm going to let you see what I already knew, that since the beginning I was here and I was coming and the world was going to be redeemed through me. You wanted me to save Israel. I saved everyone, so let me challenge you this morning, because we live in a world that we really like to work in absolutes. What do they say? The only two things for sure in life are death and taxes. Right, by the way, it's April 15th is tax filing day, in case you need to be reminded of that, Don't forget. No, but those are the two things that we often have no control over. Death is a part of life. It comes. There will be a day where we physically leave the world that we live in, and so you and I. Anytime we talk about death, we see it as it's always talked about, as the end.
Speaker 1:
There's a lot of people that live in this world who are convinced that after they die, that nothing will happen next, that this is the life that you get If you're lucky 60, 70, 80 years to make a difference. I've accepted the fact that they're probably not going to write about me in the history books. I've accepted the fact that my life is short and that, if I believe that, that at the end of my life there's nothing, it's not the worst thing in the world, but it also doesn't give me anything to look forward to. There's nothing. It's not the worst thing in the world, but it also doesn't give me anything to look forward to. What Make a bunch of money, have a good job, be known, just to die and to someday be forgotten. It's kind of hopeless, if you think about it, that there are people walking around who believe that this is it and there's nothing more.
Speaker 1:
So let me challenge your perspective. What if there is? What if everything the Bible has said about Jesus is true? What if he did suffer? What if he did die? But what if he really did come out of that grave? What if he overcame the one thing that you and I can't? Death could not stop him. He sacrificed everything, he lost his life and then he picked it back up again. What if just go with me what if everything Scripture says is true and that this man, this Nazarene, wasn't in the tomb that morning? What if he overcame death? What if he overcame sin? What if he paid the price so that you and I can give back to God? What if your life was more than your time spent here? What if there is something after this life. That's why Easter is so important, Because without the empty tomb there's nothing, but with it there's everything, Everything we could possibly imagine. The book of Revelation tells us that heaven is going to be this place. That's perfect no more hunger, no more pain, no more suffering. I don't know about you, but some days I can't wait.
Speaker 1:
I am not old, but I turned 38 this year and I think my knees are 70. I feel it. I wake up every morning and I look at my life and I love my life and I do, but I can feel the burden of life, how hard it is as people pass away around me, as trials come, as I watch my kids grow up into this world. I love my life, but I worry Because if this is all there is and there's nothing next, then what's the point? I remember when I was 15 years old and I started going to church for the first time. Listen, I was a rough teenager man. I was angry and I would fight anyone that wanted to fight. I was depressed. I would wake up every day of my life just hoping that it would end, because in my mind, what was the point? And then I found Jesus and everything changed. It wasn't instant. But finding Jesus and understanding what he did for me gave me purpose. It gave me a plan. I think about my three boys every time I wake up, as much as I love them and as crazy as they are, and as much as I hope them and as crazy as they are and as much as I hope that Miles becomes a nose tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles, because that would be amazing. As much as I love my kids, had it not been for Jesus, I don't think I would have been here to see it. I don't think they would have been in this world. I don't think I would have met my incredible wife. I don't think I would have had the memories that I have, because he gave me hope that my life was not my own, that I had been bought at a price and that he died so that I could live.
Speaker 1:
There's a moment in Scripture in John 21, 15 through 17,. And this is after Peter has denied Christ three times, so much so that he cursed him Because in the moment when all the pressure was on, Peter refused to acknowledge him. But John 21, 15, 17, this is after the resurrection says when they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said. You know that I love you. Jesus said feed my lambs. What a silly question. Then again, Jesus said Simon, son of John, do you love me? He answered yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said take care of my sheep. The third time he said to him Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things and you know that I love you. Jesus said feed my sheep.
Speaker 1:
This moment in the life of Peter is crucial because we know, if you continue from the book of Acts on, that Peter went and he would lead an incredible movement as Christianity, as Christ's followers, spread. Peter was the one who you know. Church history tells us that he was crucified upside down. So this man who had denied, even knowing who Jesus was, would eventually face the same death. But in this moment, the three questions that Jesus asks they redeem the three denials that Peter gave Three times. Peter denies him Three times, Jesus redeems him.
Speaker 1:
I love this idea because the God that I love and the God that I serve, the God that we believe in is all about redemption. He meets people where they are. He's not concerned about your past. He's not concerned about the mistakes that you've made, that you will make. He's concerned about you and your future and whether or not you know him. And when Jesus was dying on the cross, your redemption and my redemption was at the front of his mind. He had to save us because we could not do it ourselves. We celebrate the empty tomb because without the empty tomb there's no redemption.
Speaker 1:
God's in the business of restoring things. 2 Corinthians 5, 17 says Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here. Romans 12, 2 says Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, and you will be able to test and improve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will. God not only redeems you, but he restores you.
Speaker 1:
I think about, like I said, that teenager part of me, man that hated life and wished for death, and I was so angry. And now I'm not that person anymore. I wake up every day grateful for another one. I wake up every day. I still deal with anger sometimes, but I'm a lot better than I used to be, but I find myself more at peace with my life and who I am, and it's because God is working in me. My life and who I am. And it's because God is working in me, he's making me more into the person he created to be. He bought my life, he paid the price and then he's given me everything I could possibly need to live for him. Without the empty tomb, there's no restoration.
Speaker 1:
2 Corinthians 5, 18 through 19 says all of this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That God is reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them, and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation Romans 5.10,. For if, while we are God's enemies, we are reconciled to him through the death of his son, how much more have we been reconciled to be saved through his life Colossians 1, 20 through 22,. And through him to reconcile himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior, but now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Romans 8, 14-17,.
Speaker 1:
For those who are led by the Spirit of God, or the children of God, the Spirit you received did not make you slaves so that you live in fear again. Rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship, and by him we cry Abba, Father. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now, if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, If indeed we share in his sufferings, nor that we may also share in his glory. The word reconciliation it's a big one, but it means that you and I, through Christ, have been brought back into the family. God has made a way for us to one day walk with him again, to be in his presence, to experience everything he has for us.
Speaker 1:
I can't imagine living through this life thinking that this is it, but I think it makes it a whole lot easier when I know that it's not, when I know that hope is coming, when I know that someday that I'm going to be in a place that's going to be glorious, when the sun's always shining, Never hungry, never thirsty. It's all about perspective. So that's the question what if Jesus really rose from the dead? What does that mean for you? If he really overcame sin and overcame death? What does that look like?
Speaker 1:
The world tries to convince us that it's not possible Because in our mind and I know I've said this before when you look at our beliefs and what the Bible teaches, sometimes if you're not part of it from an outside perspective, it seems odd. It doesn't make a ton of sense. But that's the question what if everything the Bible says is true From the very beginning to the very end? What if Jesus really did die? And what if he really did rise up from the grave? What does that mean for you? Does that give you hope? Should let's pray?