Luke's Gospel

Okay. I'm gonna we're gonna have the reading first. We'll we'll sing just afterwards before Pete comes up to preach. But the reading is in Luke chapter 24. I'm gonna read from verse 36 to the end of the to the book.

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them. Peace be with you. They were startled and frightened thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, Why are you troubled? And why did doubts rise in your minds?

Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself touch me and see. The ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, do you have anything here to eat?

They gave him a piece of broiled fish and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures. He told them this is what is written.

The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. And repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I'm going to send you what my father has promised. But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple praising God. Great to see you.

My name is Pete Woodcock. I'm 1 of the pastors of the church, and we're finishing Luke's gospel. There's a whole load stuff said about me choosing the the choice passages is just is not true. It is not true. In fact, I'm usually given the passages that no 1 else wants to speak on.

So I want some sympathy, please. But we're right at the end of Luke's gospel. Let me pray. Father, help us now. As we've come to the end of this particular journey of this gospel and learned so many things, please by your spirit, help us to learn, relearn, relearn again, keep on learning so that we may know that Jesus is lord, that he is a defeater of death, and that we have this message of repentance and forgiveness to take to the whole world.

Help us now as we look at these last few verses, Lord take our minds and our hearts and help us not to be foolish and slow of heart, but help us to listen and obey in Jesus' name, Now, in the whole realm of literature and drama and plays and those sort of realms, comedy and tragedy have particular meanings in those realms. They're defined really by the whole flow of the story line and the plot and where the plot is heading. That's how you define them. So in fact, Shakespeare's tragedies can have the audience laughing. And Shakespeare's comedy sometimes can have the audience crying.

But it's it's where the story is heading that defines that the classic definition of comedy and tragedy. Where where where is it ending up? And that's the difference. You'll see at the end. So at the end of a Shakespeareian comedy, there's usually a wedding.

At the end of a Shakespeareian tragedy, there's usually a funeral. So you get the picture here. And then in a comedy, I think the the thing about the comedy is you you might have like a couple that are meant to be together. You want them to be together. And then there's an evil sort of person or evil events that stop them being together.

And then the the story will twist and turn in all kinds of ways and you're not sure what is gonna happen, but there's a happy ending. That's that's what a comedy is. An in comedy often, it's rooted in misunderstanding. People not knowing who they're talking to. Confusion of identities, and then it's all resolved at the end, and it's a happy ever after sort of ending.

Now when you read the end of Luke, When you come to the end of Luke, after his long storytelling, you come to chapter 23, and you're coming towards the beginning of chapter 24. It really reads like a tragedy. It really reads like a tragedy. It's it's it's shocking. Jesus, the Savior, is crucified.

It's shocking. It's it's shocking. But in fact, it is a comedy And how how Luke has written it is fascinating. It's true. These events are true, but Lucas put this together to show us the twists and the turns of what appears to be a tragedy, the misunderstandings, the confusions.

The not understanding who the identity is of Jesus Christ, you'll see that it's a happy ending. It's amazing. The main characters, the disciples of Jesus, are confused and bewildered and sad at the beginning of chapter 24, the last chapter. But by the end, those same characters are full of joy and they're praising God continually. Look at verse 17, of the chapter.

They stood still, their faces downcast. They've got downcast faces. Look at verse 21, We had hoped. Their hope is gone. They had hoped, but it's gone.

Look at verse 37. They were startled and frightening. Thinking they saw a ghost. That's the beginning. They're the they're the sort of beginning and midway of the chapter.

But right at the end of the chapter, verse 52 and 53, Then they worshiped him, that's Jesus, returned to Jerusalem with great joy and stayed continually at the temple praising God. You see the difference? And then if you go back to that whole event of of these 2 people on the road to emmaus, the story just before the verses we're taking out that Rory opened up a couple of weeks ago for us, and you can hear about. But it's an interesting story, isn't it? And it's a comedy.

Because here are these 2 men, these 2 followers of Jesus, they're going from Jerusalem to this town called Amayas, and they're discussing the events that happened. They're discussing the teaching and the life and then the desperate death of Jesus on a cross. The 1 they'd put their hope in, dead. It was a tragedy in their life. And these 2 had dismissed the claims of the women, this is where the comedy, I think, comes in.

The women had gone to the tomb And they said that Jesus had risen again from the dead, but they dismissed the women as silly little women. They're talking nonsense. The women don't know what they're talking about. It's nonsense. They dismissed the women as nonsense But we, the reader of Luke, know that they weren't talking nonsense, those women.

Jesus had risen from the dead. And that it was these men, as Jesus called them in verse 25, that are foolish and slow of heart. So do you see it? We're we're watching this play go on. We are in the know that these women are right, and these men who think the women are not talking nonsense are the ones who are foolish and slow of heart.

And it's these downcast foolish and slow of heart men that are walking along the road, and Jesus joins them. And they end up talking about Jesus to Jesus, but not knowing it was Jesus. It's a comedy. Look at verse 18. 1 of them called ClearPass, asked him Jesus.

Listen to what he asks him. Are you the only 1 visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that happened there in these days? They're talking to Jesus. About what happened to Jesus. They're foolish, they're slow of heart, but Jesus lovingly, graciously opens the bible up, reveals himself, opens their eyes, and opens their heart as we saw a couple of weeks ago from Rory.

God's grace is to the thick people. God's grace is to the foolish and the slow of heart people. And that gives me great confidence, doesn't it you? So verse 31, then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and that's a great encouragement. So those 2 then go back to Jerusalem.

They're walking the way to to Emeus, They understand who Jesus is now and that he's risen, and they rush back sort of on the road that they've just come on back to Jerusalem. So verse 33 and 34, they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the 11 and those with them, that's the disciples of Jesus, assembled together, and saying it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon. So now he's appeared to these women, to the men on the the road to emmaus and to Simon Peter, the the followers.

And they're all discussing this event. Now what Luke is doing in these verses is he's condensing down a 40 day period. Where Jesus is teaching them again and again, the same truths because he's a good teacher going on and on and on. We already read the at the beginning of Luke, in Luke 1, why Luke wrote wrote this gospel. I won't read it all, but it'll come up.

But just that that verse 4, it says that you may know the certainty of things that have been taught. So Luke has written this gospel so that these people will be certain, and it is It's the certainty of this resurrected Jesus that needs to be secure in the minds of the disciples and in their hearts. This is so important. And so for 40 days, Jesus is gonna teach them this so that they're absolutely secure in their certainty. Jesus had broken out of the grave, He had proved his power over the strongest thing on earth, which is decay and death.

Can you do that? Jesus has proved that he's done it. He stayed 40 days with the disciples. Now 40 days is a significant thing in the in the bible and I have no time to open up all of 40 days. But Jesus himself had spent 40 days at the beginning of the Gospels in the wilderness tempted by the devil.

Now, he's 40 days triumphant over the devil and death. On this earth, 40 days to prove to his disciples that he truly had risen from the dead that he is not a ghost. He came to them in different ways and in different places and at different times, 40 days to remove every lingering doubt from the minds of these these these disciples so that they could be certain of these truths. 40 days, he taught his disciples, what his resurrection meant and what they are supposed to do in the light of it. It's interesting before his death and resurrection, he said to the disciples, I have many things to teach you, but you're not ready for them yet.

But now in these 40 days, He opens their understanding to the Scriptures, 40 days for them to focus on the ongoing mission to go and preach the gospel. So that they'll be certain. So these are the events. So let's get into our verses. The first thing I want you to see, I've already said it.

We've already seen it in Emeus. Jesus opens their eyes. He did it back in verse 31, but he does it again here. While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them peace be with you. They were startled and frightened thinking they saw a ghost.

He said to them, why are you troubled and why do you why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see me. A ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.

Then he said this. When he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. He wants them to see the facts of the resurrection, and he opens their eyes. So here they are, they're talking about the news that they've heard, They're talking about whether Jesus is alive or not. They're listening to people's testimonies, and they're wondering they've dismissed the women.

They're not even thinking about them, but they're wondering what what is going going on, and then Jesus stands among them. Now, look, you've got to get this. What would you think if there was someone that you knew very well, someone that you loved intensely. Someone that you had seen die by professional execution as you knew he was dead and buried, and then you saw them standing in the room. What would you think?

It's a ghost. It's a spirit. It's an apparition. We're hallucinating. Something's gone wrong.

This is scary stuff. See, this is a very real account, isn't it? Because Luke is writing truth. Verse 36 again, while they were still talking about this, Jesus stood amongst them. And he said to them, peace be with you.

Now I think that peace be with you would have scared me even more. It's a bit like when people say, no. Don't be frightened. No. Don't be frightened.

Well, I didn't I I wasn't frightened. Now, what what is there to be frightened of? And it's like, so they piece me with you, what? What's going on? Why does he say that?

This ghost They're startled and they're they weren't expecting to see Jesus alive. Even though some of them had seen and they were talking about this very thing, they still needed persuading. They must be certain of these events. And so Jesus invites them to touch him, to make sure he's not a ghost. First 39, look at my hands and my feet.

It is I myself, touch me and see, a ghost does not have flesh and bones. As you see I have. Look for yourself. Here's the evidence. This is evidence.

And as the truth slowly dawns on them, when they see his hands and his feet, verse 41 says, they still did not believe because of the of joy in amazement. Isn't that a real experience? Of course. It's it's gonna take time, 40 days to rub this. This is so outstanding news.

There is no news ever in the world greater than this. Nothing. Nothing is more important. Than this news, is there? See, we go on about finding ourselves, and I want to be this, and I want to be that, your job, your career, your life, you're finding yourself means nothing in the light of this that someone has defeated death.

That is extraordinary. I mean, is it true? Can it be true? This is so outstandingly good news. That someone has broken through death and come to life again.

This is he must be a ghost. But Jesus is no ghost. He has a real body, he has flesh and blood, and bones, and he eats, fish. This isn't as 1 bishop in his heretical way, said a cundering trick with bones. Try to cover up this.

This is real, blood, and bones, and a real person. Jesus is not a resuscitated corpse. However, you do that, I don't know. He has raised a new life, the voice that was silenced as he breathed his last on the cross. Speaks again, peace.

Be with you. The hands and the feet that bled to death and the life bled out of them, as the nails were cruelly shoved through them, are moving and walking What these men were witnessing is none other than a miracle. And what we're reading is none other than the miracle. Can you get this? This is death, death defeated.

So we need to be sure this happened. And so Jesus gives 40 days of reassurance. Opening their eyes to these truths again and again. These are the ones that are going to witness to this truth as they witnessed and touched. He opened their eyes to the facts of this extraordinary event.

But the second thing is, he opened their minds. He opened their eyes, but he opened their minds. He said to them This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms. Then he opened their minds so that they could understand the scriptures, and he told them this is what is written.

The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. He opens their minds. He's concerned that they don't just believe the facts about a physical resurrection. I mean, that's 1 thing and he does He chose them the facts so that so that you could be certain this happened. These men saw this, touched this.

They were there. But he but he needs to not just open their minds to the eyes to the facts, but he needs to open their minds to what those facts mean. And he did that by opening the scriptures up. You see, that that's the festive thing, isn't If we want to know what is going on, if we want to humbly know, we need to hear a voice from God. The trouble is we're so arrogant we think that we can work things out.

We need our minds open, and we saw that. When we were looking at the road to emmaus event. And tell his disciples understand what had happened and why it had happened. They'll still not be very good witnesses. And why did this happen?

What is this death and resurrection about? It was always and is God's plan. That's what it's about. The death and resurrection was not just an accident. It wasn't just nasty people taking hold of Jesus and killing him.

It was actually the very plan of God that the Christ must suffer and die on the third day rise again. And it is the plan of God. It's not just was the plan of God. It is the plan of God because there's a future to this plan and that is that all nations and all people will hear of repentance and forgiveness of sins. That's the plan.

Jesus will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day God's plan. And just as that must happen, He the the the preaching of repentance and forgiveness must happen. Must. These 2 things are just as it must happen that Jesus dies on the cross for sin. It must be that people preach that.

Otherwise, people won't know about it. And so we need to understand with our minds that this is God's plan. And this is what we are to be about, this side of the resurrection. And if we're gonna be of any use, to Christ. We must be persuaded not only that the physical resurrection is is true, but Jesus is the Victor over sin He's the victor over death, he is the lord of heaven and earth, he's the 1 who gives us life after death, that we're not following some dead leader.

We're not asking people to follow a dead leader, but a risen Christ that can bring us into the press of God as forgiven people. So he opens their minds by the Scriptures. So don't be arrogant enough not to read the scriptures. Think you don't need them, which leads me to my third point. Jesus opens their mouths.

So Jesus must suffer and die, and rise again on the third day and verse 30 47. And repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be or the older version says must be, and I prefer that, must be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. And you are my witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my father has promised but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. Now, Jesus will open their mouths, and he doesn't quite do it here, and you have to read the sequel of Luke's gospel, which is the book of acts to see that fulfillment happen.

What Jesus is talking about here is that their mouths must be open to preach the gospel. They must do that. That is part of God's plan for the church. But they can't do that without receiving divine power. That's the Holy Spirit.

Which will come at pentecost. Preaching repentance and forgiveness is not a job that can be done in human power. You can't do it in human power. You can do loads of things. You can persuade people to do almost anything by human power.

You can get them to give up their money, you can lie to them and manipulate them through, but you cannot by through human power preach, repentance, and forgiveness of sins, you need the Holy Spirit. You need empowerment from on high, You see? And you can tell the Holy Spirit Church by the way that does the the preaching of Jesus. A non Holy Spirit church will get wrapped up in politics and all kinds of stuff. All kinds of stuff.

People who are usually moving away from the Holy Spirit plan, you know, get involved in all kinds of things, passing on blogs that are all about, you know, conspiracy theories and all kinds of stuff will take up the church's mind. But in order to preach repentance, and the forgiveness of sins, it's the holy spirit we need. And we must have him to do the must of preaching the gospel. In Jesus, God's mighty process of restoration of the universe has already begun. And the apostles were go at to go out and to preach that restoration, not merely as a theory, but as a certainty, they had seen the first man of the new creation with their own eyes and they had handled him and touched him and owned him, and loved him, and spoken, and prayed, and heard him taught for 40 days.

He's the 1 that they take out to offer forgiveness of sins, which leads me to my fourth point, and the last. But I have 3 points under the fourth point. Jesus led, lifted, and left. I nearly did this as 1 sermon because it's an amazing little passage. Look at verse 50 to 53, we're at the end of the 40 days, he's going to ascend to God.

He's going to ascend the Holy Hill to God. Look. When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, He lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they stayed continually at the temple praising God.

He led them, lifted up his hands and left them. He led them. Now do you see where he led them? This is really this is the shepherd teaching his sheep He leads them where. He led them out from Jerusalem to the vicinity of Bethany.

Now in the book of acts, Luke absolutely gives the exact place of that, which is the Mount of Olives. Clicking anybody, the amount of olives. And Luke says that's a a sabbath a sabbath stay walk. Now you're only allowed to walk 2 hours on the sabbath it's a 2 hour walk, that's what he means. So what did they do?

Well, listen to where they went. They're going from Jerusalem. They walk through the streets of Jerusalem. This is the risen Christ with his 11 disciples. Isn't this amazing?

So they walk through the streets of Jerusalem. That's extraordinary. They go down the Kidron Valley, There's a little brook at the bottom of the kidron Valley. It's just outside of the wall. It's quite a steep ravine.

And it's outside of the wall of the temple where the blood pours into from the sacrifices of the temple. He goes down the kidron valley, he goes up the other side, he passes through Geth's Semony, and then up onto the hill. From the hill, they could see Jerusalem on 1 side, and the village of Bethany on the other side. Now put all that together. Jerusalem was the place that he was rejected and he suffered death on the cross, that's where the Lord Jesus died on the cross.

But Jeff Semony was the place that he swept great drops of blood as he took the cup of wrath from the father's hand where he said, not my will, but your will be done. Bethany was the place that he raised lazarus to life after 4 days dead in the grave, and where Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life. And the Mount of Olives was the place where he spoke about his second coming. Did you get it? He led them.

He's leading them directly. He's teaching them, reminding them that these great events These are the great events. The death, the resurrection. Jesus submitting to God's will, the death, the resurrection, the second coming. But he didn't just lead them like a shepherd leaves his sheep, and in so doing teaching them.

He lifted up his hands. This is where I was gonna to a whole sermon. He lifted up his hands. He lifted up his hands, and he blessed them. You see, he didn't leave this world, defeated or angry or cursing.

He didn't say that. He blessed them. He lifted up his hands, and he blessed them. He lifted up his hands, like the high priest in the old testament, lifts up their hands and blesses the people after the sacrifice sin has been given. And now they're forgiven and right with God.

He lifted up his hands. So that they would know sin is forgiven, and blesses them. He lifted up his hands, like the authority he has to bless. He has the authority to bless through his hands. Psalm 24, I should have put it up, but didn't.

Psalm 24 says this, who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Because this is what's gonna happen. Jesus is going to ascend to the place of God. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place.

Listen, he who has clean hands. He lifted up his hands. Clean hands and a pure heart who does not lift up his soul or his hands to an idol. He lifted up his hands. Clean hands, hands that can cleanse us.

He blessed us with his hands. Cleansing hands. Isn't that amazing? The hands Jesus lifted up, to bless us are the same hands he showed his disciples, to guarantee that he is risen again. Pierce hands, eternal hands that will have holes in them, because he's the savior, the savior's hands.

Nothing but blessing has ever come from those hands. He lifted those hands up. These are the hands that touch the eyes of a blind man, and made him see. They're the hands he lifted up. These are the hands that touch the leper an unclean 1, and made him clean.

These are the hands he lifted up. These are the hands that multiplied the loaves and the fishes so that 5000 men plus women and children could feast on these are the hands, pierced hands. Hands for salvation, hands of life and sight and blessing. He lifted up his hands. You see that?

Psalm 24 carries on, listen. Lift up your heads, you gates. Why? Lift up lift up the gates. Be lifted up your ancient doors.

The ancient doors Behind which is the king of glorious heaven itself, lift up your heads, you gates, be lifted up your ancient doors, that the king of glory may come in, he's coming back to rule. Who is the king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord mighty in battle, lift up your heads, you gates, lift them up you ancient doors. That the king of glory may come in.

Who is he? This king of glory? The Lord Almighty. He is the king of glory. He lifted up his hands as he went into the glorious place and blessed.

So he led them out, he lifted up his hands, and thirdly, he left them. As he was blessing them with his hands still lifted up. He was taken up into heaven itself, and he left them. And what did they do? Well, it's not a tragedy.

It's a comedy. They worshiped It's amazing. How could they be happy to see him go? Because They have a job to do, and they will see him soon. They worshiped him.

He's opened up the place, the King of Glory has gone in and all his followers can go into So let me finish. There's enough evidence for you to believe, according to Luke, If you don't, it's not because there's enough evidence. It's because you are hard hearted, slow of heart, and you're a fool. So will you repent? Will you know this forgiveness?

Will you find Jesus and find life, or will you protect yourself from Jesus? Is your life going to be a tragedy Might have a few laughs on the way. You might get what you want on the way. But as you breathe your last, You're not going to where the King of Glory went. It's a tragedy.

Or is it a comedy? Is in the end, all the twists and turns and the pains and the difficulties of life, and the misunderstandings all come together as the Lord of glory welcomes you into his kingdom with open hands. What are you gonna do with this? You on the interwebble, wherever you are, What are you gonna do? What is your life?

Will it be a tragedy or a comedy? A happy ever ending, a happy ending forever and ever as you come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Father God, you know every 1 of us. You know all the pains and tragedies and difficulties in our life. But we thank you that Jesus has risen from the dead is alive and has opened away for us to follow the king of glory, because he is the king over everything, even death.

We thank you for Jesus, who said he is the resurrection and the life. Please help us to repent, and know his forgiveness. We pray in his name, our Ma'am.