Sermon Outline, April 11

The Word, the Bread, and the Nations, Luke 24:1-53

INTRODUCTION
Jesus was condemned to death, but throughout Luke?s account various people declare that Jesus is innocent. Seven times, someone states that he is righteous or treats Him as not guilty (Luke 23:4, 14, 15, 22, 41, 47, 51). On the day after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, the ?eighth day,?EJesus receives an eighth verdict, the most important of all: God the Father declares Jesus ?righteous?Eby raising Him from the dead.

THE TEXT
?Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb . . . .?E(Luke 24:1-53).

HE IS RISEN
Easter is a surprise. It was a surprise for the first witnesses to the resurrection, but not because they thought resurrections were impossible. Jews were hoping for resurrection, which would mean the full restoration of Israel. At the resurrection, all Israel from every time would be joined in fellowship: Abraham would sit with Nehemiah at table, a happy Jeremiah would be chatting with Noah in another corner of the room, while David and Ehud would be laughing over war stories. What was surprising for the women who came to the tomb was the fact that resurrection had already happened. They did not understand that the resurrection would come in two stages ?Efirst the head, and then the body. They were surprised that one Man would be raised, while everything else remained the same and everyone else stayed in their tombs.

Many modern Christians speak the language of resurrection, but don?t believe that Jesus?Ebody was actually raised. ?The resurrection was not a conjuring trick with bones,?Esaid a former Anglican Bishop of Durham. But Luke is at pains to show that Jesus?Ebody was raised. The women do not find a body in the tomb (v. 3), and later Jesus eats broiled fish with His disciples to demonstrate that He is not a spirit (vv. 38-42). Jesus is transformed, for sure; He has a body that is equally at home in heaven and on earth. But He has a body, and it is, in an important way, the same body that died on the cross (v. 40). Luke shows that the Christian hope is not ?life after death.?E The Christian hope is ?life after life after death.?E

ROAD TO EMMAEUS
The bulk of Luke?s resurrection story is taken up with Jesus?Eappearance to two disciples who are fleeing from Jerusalem toward Emmaus. In this story, Luke shows us some fundamental aspects of the life of the early church.

They seem to have good reason to flee. Not uncommonly, the Romans suppressed troublesome movements by slaughtering both the leader and all the followers. Then Jesus joins them. When He asks them about their conversation, they explain that their expectations about Jesus have been destroyed. He was a great prophet, and they were hoping that Jesus was in fact the greater Moses, the promised prophet who would redeem Israel in a new exodus (vv. 18-21; Deuteronomy 18:17-19). In response to their puzzlement, Jesus leads a Bible study, explaining the things concerning Himself in the Scriptures (vv. 26-27). This incident dramatically illustrates how important the Old Testament is for Christians, and how important it is to understand the Old Testament typologically. The two disciples know the entire story of Jesus, His miraculous life, His crucifixion, even His resurrection (vv. 18-24), but they know nothing until they see that these events form the climax to the story of the Old Testament. Is it any wonder that the contemporary church, with its colossal ignorance of the Old Testament, is as confused as the two disciples? We must see Jesus?Erebuke addressed to us: ?O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!?E(v. 25). Typological interpretation may seem quaint or even pointless; in fact, it is essential to the well-being of the church because it is essential if we are to know Jesus.

But Word by itself is not enough. Even after Jesus has explained everything about Himself in the Scriptures, the two disciples still don?t recognize Him. That occurs only when He breaks bread with them (vv. 30-31). It is the same for the church throughout the ages: The Word without the Bread is merely intellectual, detached from the things of real life; the Bread without the Word turns into a magic act. When the Scriptures are taught and the Bread is broken, then Jesus can be known.

Once the disciples recognize Jesus at the table, they immediately return to Jerusalem. They had been fleeing from danger; now they return to danger. They had been confused about the reports of the women; now they become witnesses of the resurrection. Their encounter with Jesus in Word and Bread equips them for mission.

ASCENDING TO THE FATHER
Luke describes Jesus?Ejourney toward Jerusalem as an ?ascension?E(9:51), since the ultimate goal of the journey is for Jesus to return to His Father (24:50-51). His ascension is the prerequisite for the coming of the Spirit, the ?power from on high?E(24:49). Through the Spirit, the disciples will carry on the mission that had been prophesied in the Scriptures, to proclaim ?repentance for forgiveness of sins?Eto the nations (v. 47).

?Repentance?Eis of course a personal obligation. Every sinner, confronted by the claims of Jesus, must turn from sin and unbelief toward God in faith and obedience. But we should not lose the political dimension of what Jesus says. Through Jesus, God is fulfilling the promise to Abraham that his seed would bring blessing to all nations. And part of that blessing is the proclamation of national and international repentance and reconciliation. In a world where nations are locked in seemingly interminable conflict, the only hope is through their union in Christ.

As the Church knows the Jesus the Risen Lord in the Word and Bread, she is prepared for the mission of preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins to the nations.

CLOSING THE CIRCLE
Luke?s gospel is a large circle. It begins in the temple, with the angel?s announcement to Zecharias that he would be the father of John the Baptist, and it ends in the temple, with the disciples of Jesus continually praising God. The gospel begins with the songs of Mary and Zecharias, and ends with the great joy of the disciples. Near the beginning of the gospel, Jesus is lost for three days and is found by his parents; he explains by saying ?Did you not know that I had to be in My Father?s house??E(2:49). Here at the end Jesus is found on the third day, and has to explain again that He had to be about His Father?s business.

But the circle that Luke closes here is actually much bigger. At the beginning of human history, man fell into sin by eating fruit from a forbidden tree. Once Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit, ?the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked?E(Genesis 3:7). Luke gives us a similar scene: Jesus breaks bread with the two disciples ?and their eyes were opened and they recognized Him?E(Luke 24:31). It is the first day of a new creation, a renewal accomplished in the resurrection of Jesus. On the first Easter, the Father not only says ?This is My Son, the Righteous One.?E He also declares, ?Behold I make all things new.?E