Hope is Alive!

We are into week four of our series leading up to Easter. And if you have been here for our other services, as you know, we like to spend some time in our service where we open the Bible together and we unpack it, we explore it, and we think about what it might be saying to us. And over the last few weeks, we've been working our way through Luke's gospel as Jesus has gone to the cross. And we examined that last week with Pastor James from Luke chapter 23. If you've missed any of the messages, you can catch up online.

They're on podcast or on YouTube or on the church website. You can see them there. But this morning, we're in Luke 24, and so you can turn there. We're gonna get there in just a few moments. But if you know the Easter story, you'll know that just days before, where we find ourselves in Luke 24 on this Sunday morning, Jesus has been brutally crucified.

It's quite a remarkable thing that happens because not long before that, the Jews in Jerusalem who had come for this Passover festival, this significant feast, had cheered him into Jerusalem as king. And within a couple of days, they are then swept up in the hysteria. They're mocking him, they're spitting on him, they're taunting him, they're beating him. And then we see that Jesus is whipped, he's beaten, he's tortured, and then he's nailed to a cross. And we know the effect that this has on Jesus followers.

We saw that through the other chapters of Luke. We see that they are heartbroken. They've gone into hiding. They're mourning his death. But more than that, they're mourning everything that his death means to them.

They believed that he was the one that the Old Testament scriptures had promised, the one that had been prophesied. But now he was gone. And because of that, so was their hope. And so then we get to Luke 24, and something incredible is about to happen, something that Jesus had promised would happen. But maybe the disciples, his followers, they'd never really understood it, but here we see that hope is coming.

And so as we turn our attention to Luke 24, we're going to look at two stories today, because there's two moments that happen in the first 30 or so verses of this chapter. Two incredible stories that come to us about people encountering an empty tomb and. And a resurrected Jesus. And there's so much in here for us to consider as we explore it today. So as we open God's Word together, let's pray.

Our Father we thank youk for the Bible. We thank youk for the words on these pages that are life to our souls. We pray that yout'd speak to us today, that by hearing youg word that we might be drawn closer to youo, that yout might change us to be more Christlike, that we would have a new understanding of the sacrifice of Jesus and what it means that he is now risen. So we ask Holy Spirit, that you would speak to us today. Amen.

So let's read from Luke 24:1. It says this, but very early on Sunday morning, the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. They had found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in, but they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. As they stood there, puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes.

The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn't here. He has risen from the dead. Remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.

So we'll just pause there for a moment. Luke 24 begins very, very early in the morning. The time is between 3am and 6am that this group of women who are amongst Jesus followers, they head to the tomb. They'd either seen or they'd heard of where Jesus body had been laid. And so now they go with spices that they've prepared.

Now we think of spices as being something that's just used for cooking. They're not planning on going and having a fry up for breakfast here. They use them for embalming bodies. In that Middle Eastern heat, bodies would begin to decay pretty quickly. And as they decayed, they would smell.

And so there was a real practical purpose. The way that they would show love and care for the one who was deceased was by preparing their body properly so that people couldn't smell it. And so as they head to Jesus's tomb, they expect to find his body there. We read that as they arrive, they're met with something that's quite incredible because they come and they find that this massive stone that would have weighed well over a ton that had blocked the entrance to the tomb has been rolled away over. In Mark's Gospel, Mark recounts that as the women are walking to the tomb, they're having a conversation about how on earth are we going to move this stone.

But they get there, and Matthew's Gospel tells us that an angel has come before them. And they haven't seen this, but an angel has moved the stone for them. And so I think as they arrive, they probably think, praise God for a miracle. Praise God that this stone has been rolled away. So now that we can access Jesus body, now that we can get in there and we can show him in death the respect that he deserves.

And so we read that in verse three, the women, they go into the tomb. And as they enter the tomb, they still expect to find Jesus body wrapped there. But instead of his body, they find the strips of linen, kind of like what you might expect a mummy to look like. Jesus had been wrapped. But they go in there and they find that while the linen is still there, laid out in the shape of a body, Jesus body isn't there.

Now, I wonder if you can imagine their confusion. They've come to prepare Jesus body. They come and they find that the tomb is open. And then in front of them, two men, we read, in dazzling clothes appear. And the women are shocked.

They're speechless. And Luke tells us that these angels, they say to the women, why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? They're saying to them, why have you come to this place of death and decay seeking someone who is living? Now, I hear that, and I'm kind of like, surprised that the women didn't jump in here and say, where else would you expect us to be? We saw that his body was here.

We saw he was put to death. He's dead. Where else should we be looking for him? But before perhaps they can say that, the angels say to them, you should have known he wouldn't be here. You should have known.

This is what they're saying. You should have known he wouldn't be here. He's risen. Don't you remember? This is exactly what he said would happen.

Jesus said that he'd be betrayed, that he'd be put to death, but that he'd rise again. Now, it's remarkable, isn't it, because these are followers of Jesus. This is like the most loyal group of people. The rest had, like, fled. They deserted him when they saw he was being put to death.

Even some of the loyal ones fled, but these are the really, really committed ones. But even these women were not predisposed to believe in a resurrection. Even though Jesus had given them advanced warning, it hadn't sunk in, you know, no one was sitting outside the tomb. You know, if they believed what Jesus has said they should have been camped outside the tomb, kind of counting down. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, sunrise.

He's alive, he's back. But they don't do that because they're mourning. They think all is lost. They were reluctant to believe that. The fact that they were reluctant to believe actually underscores the truth of the resurrection because these accounts were not naive followers.

It wasn't wishful thinking of a few people. They were stunned and they had to be convinced by solid evidence because they didn't expect it. And at first they didn't believe it. And so then we see the women respond to what the angels say. Over in verse 8 it says this.

Then they remembered that he had said this. So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his 11 disciples and everyone else what had happened. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn't believe it. However, Peter jumped up and he ran to the tomb to look stooping.

He peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings. Then he went home again, wondering what had happened so suddenly to the women. They hear that the angels say to them, what were you expecting? This is exactly what Jesus said was going to happen. And so all of a sudden, the stone rolled away, the grave clothes left lying there, Jesus body gone.

They realized this is what he said, exactly what he said would happen has happened. And their response is immediate. They go from mourning to rejoicing. I picture them running back to where the other disciples are. And you can kind of imagine the scene that as they arrive there, gasping for breath, they're saying, guys, it's happened.

Jesus is alive. His body is gone. The angels have come and they've said, jesus is alive. Get up, stop mourning. He's alive.

And I wonder if you were in that room as the women returned, picture yourself as a Jewish man. How would you respond? Would you have believed them? Would you have wondered maybe in the midst of grief that the women had gone a bit crazy, that maybe they've just like got themselves whipped up into a frenzy, that they're lost in their grief, that they've connected some dots that maybe exist and we see the response of the men. Luke tells us that they hear the women and they think it sounds like nonsense.

And they tell the women that, remember, to them it sounds far fetched because they're not looking for a resurrection. But we read that Peter gets up finally, he jumps to his feet, but Even Peter's slow to believe because what does he do? He runs to the tomb, he stoops in, he sees Jesus body is gone. And instead of rejoicing, he goes back and he wonders what's happened. He still is slow to believe.

And then we read of a second story. This story happens not in Jerusalem, but on a road 11 kilometres out of town. And on this road are some of Jesus followers. Luke tells us that they're disciples. They're not part of the original 12, but they're other followers of Jesus and they'd given up their lives to follow him.

They'd probably left jobs and families and houses, they'd gone all in to follow Jesus. And now they're trudging out of town. And we get the picture of these two people who are not filled with joy, they're hurting. They feel lost, they feel betrayed, they feel like they've put their hope in something that ended up being hopeless. And they're leaving Jerusalem because they've quit, they've given up, they're going back to their old lives.

And as they're walking, and you might have done this as well, maybe with a friend or a workmate, you go for a walk and you just play things over and over and you debrief and say, oh, I can't believe they said this or they did that. They're walking and they're discussing what has happened. Like, can you believe it? Can you believe that he's really dead? They speak of his arrest and the crucifixion and now these strange reports that some are saying that he's alive, that the tomb is empty.

And then we read over in verse 15, it says this. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him. We read here that the resurrected Jesus appears on the road, but these two people who are traveling, they don't really know who he is. They don't recognize him.

We don't know how that works. It says that God perhaps made it so they can't. Or maybe they just aren't ready to believe that Jesus, who they saw dead, is now alive, but they don't recognize him at first. And that's really important because what's happening here is that God wants them to understand something in their hearts before they see it with their eyes, wants them to understand some truth in their hearts before they see it with their eyes. And Jesus says to them, guys, what are you discussing?

And they're a bit incredulous in their response. They're like, are you like the only person who doesn't know what's been happening? Are you the only person who hasn't heard or seen these things that have happened to Jesus the man from Nazareth? And then in verse 21, we see the heart of their disappointment because they tell Jesus the story and then they say, we had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

Do you notice how they said we had hoped? You see, that's the reason for their disappointment. It's the reason for their despair. It's the reason why they've given up. Because their hope had died on Friday.

And even though they'd heard some crazy story about the women and the tomb being empty, even though they have heard that some are saying that he's alive, it hasn't changed their hearts because they're not expecting a resurrection. Like his disciples earlier that morning. They're not ready to believe. But then Jesus speaks. And in verse 25, he says this.

You foolish people, you find it so hard to believe. All that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures, wasn't it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have had to suffer all these things before entering his glory? Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets explaining from all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Now, it's easy to read Jesus rebuke as harsh, but it isn't. It's a gentle rebuke.

It's a realignment. He's not insulting their intelligence. He's simply highlighting the fact that these followers of his are failing to trust what God had already revealed. They should have known. They should have known.

Jesus has told them that he would suffer and that he would die. And not only has Jesus told them that the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament scriptures have also been telling them that this is exactly what's going to happen. And so Jesus, it says, takes them through the entire story. He talks them through. And Luke doesn't give us a list.

I wish we had that list of passages that Jesus had used. But we could imagine that perhaps he goes right back to Genesis, to the promise that was made to Eve that her offspring would crush the serpent, that there would be victory through suffering. Perhaps Jesus speaks to them of Abraham offering Isaac a father, preparing to sacrifice his son. The sacrifice that God provides a ram for that foreshadows God sending Jesus as the perfect sacrifice. Maybe he reminded them of that first passover lamb in Egypt, the way that the blood of the Lamb on the doorpost saved them from death.

Maybe he took them to the prophet Isaiah and he said, all this time, before Jesus even came, Isaiah the prophet spoke of a suffering Messiah, of a Savior who would come and who would be pierced for our sins. We don't really know the depth of what he went through with them, but what we do know is that they started to realize that Friday wasn't a failure, that Friday was actually part of God's plan. It was the fulfillment of what had been promised throughout Scripture. And then Luke tells us that as Jesus is speaking, they reach the village, they reach the town that they're headed to, and they say to him, come and stay with us and eat. And in verse 30, Luke says this.

As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and he blessed it. Then he broke it and he gave it to them. Suddenly their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And at that moment, he disappeared. Luke tells us that despite the darkness and the distance, the two disciples, the two followers of Jesus, they get out and back on that road and they head back to Jerusalem, ready to share with the rest of Jesus followers the hope that they now have because they have met the resurrected Savior.

And so we have these two stories this morning, these two moments that Luke captures for us in chapter 24. And I want to share a couple of brief reflections with you from these passages this morning. Things that we need to reflect on, challenges for us to consider. And what I've built them around is this idea of what the Resurrection means for us today. And so if you picture yourself in that story, in that scene, as the women at the tomb, or those people on the road to Emmaus, or in your own life now, what does the Resurrection mean, mean to you?

And the first thing is this. The Resurrection says to us today that death isn't the end. You see, we live in a world that tells us that death isn't the end. Sorry, death is the end. You know, we consider ourselves far too rational, far too advanced to believe what these uneducated kind of first century people believe, that somehow there could be life after death.

We think of ourselves as beyond that. But we mustn't forget that they were surrounded by the same voices. They were surrounded by these ancient philosophies that said, when you die, that's it. There's nothing beyond this life. There's just death and then nothingness.

But the Resurrection says to us today that death doesn't have the final word. The Resurrection says that when the stone was rolled away, so was this fear that we have that death is the end. And I Love the fact, the way that the Gospels write about it, it's so honest. Like if I was trying to kind of make people believe something, I wouldn't be so honest. But there's so much truth here because of the honesty of it.

You see that even Jesus closest followers didn't believe it. They come to the empty tomb, the women, they're expecting death. They were there to prepare Jesus body, and instead they're confronted with these incredible scenes. The grave is empty. Jesus is alive.

The disciples, they don't believe it either. They need to see evidence. They want to see this evidence that Jesus is actually alive.

And yet when they see it, we discover that their lives are transformed. The women at the entrance of the tomb, the guys on the road to Emmaus, the disciples cowering in a room in grief, are transformed from mourning, fearful followers of Jesus to now proclaiming the incredible truth that death isn't the end. You see, that's what the resurrection does for us today. It says to you and to me that this life isn't all there is. It says that there is something beyond this fragile and temporary life.

The resurrection means new life for you and for me as well. And just like it brought incredible hope to those people in Luke 24, it should bring hope to us as well. The second thing that the resurrection means for us today is that hope isn't uncertain. And so this morning, you might have another question. Maybe you'd say, I believe there's a future.

I believe that, you know there is a life after death. But how do I know I'm secure in it? How do I know I'm good enough, that I've done enough? And that's why the resurrection matters. Because when Jesus was raised, it wasn't just a miracle.

It wasn't something to just wow the disciples or wow you and me today. When Jesus is raised, when he's resurrected, it's a guarantee. It says to you and to me that your sin is dealt with, that death has been conquered, that the wrath of God has been satisfied. And so, because of the resurrection, we don't have to live in spiritual uncertainty. You don't have to strive to earn your place.

The resurrection is your assurance that the outcome is guaranteed, not because of your goodness, but because of Jesus. And so today, all you have to do is, is put your hope in him, just like the women, just like those on the way to Emmaus, just like the disciples. All you have to do is to say, jesus, I believe. And then lastly, the resurrection means that the best is yet to come. Now, I was really reluctant to use that because it kind of sounds like one of those pithy little things that, like, a motivational speaker tells you.

But I actually couldn't think of a better way to say that the resurrection means the best is yet to come. Because the incredible hope that the resurrected Jesus gives us is that there is a better thing yet waiting for us.

And so this morning, you might say, well, I know that there's a future. I know there's life after death, and I trust that I'm secure in it. But is it even worth hoping for? And you might say that because life here has been really hard. You might say that because life, whether it's recently or whether it's in the past, has been full of disappointments, it's been full of sickness, it's been full of grief.

And that's what the Resurrection gives us. It doesn't just give us comfort, it gives us restoration. Because the resurrection means a renewed creation is coming. It's not just your old life back when you die, not just more of the same struggles that you've experienced here and now, but a new, resurrected life in a world made whole.

The Old Testament says to us that God placed eternity in our hearts. You see, it's part of who we are. We're actually made and designed for a perfect world. And that's why there's such a longing within us. You see that right around the world, across cultures, across people groups, across nations, there is a longing within us that we are longing for a place where there's no pain, where there's no relationship breakdowns, where there's no grief, where there's no sickness, where there's no disappointments, there's no death.

A place and a world that isn't broken down and damaged by sin. And that's the message of the Resurrection. It says, hey, you should look forward in hope. You should look forward in hope. Because what is coming is a world made perfect.

What the Resurrection promises to you is a world made perfect the way that it was made to be, where there is no more sickness, there is no more pain, there is no more suffering, there is no more grief. There is joy everlasting in the presence of the Saviour. What an incredible promise that is. And so today, on this Easter Sunday, my prayer for you is that you don't miss the awe and the wonder of the Resurrection. You don't miss the awe and the wonder that those women, as they listen to the angels and as they hear what has been said and they realize that Jesus is alive.

That that wouldn't be lost on you just because you've heard it before, but you would know the truth of the resurrection and the promise that it gives each one of us. That death isn't the end, that our hope is secure in Jesus, and that the best is yet to come. What an incredible hope that is. Let me pray. Our God.

We are challenged by the Bible this morning as we reflect on these two incredible stories. Oh, that we wouldn't miss the awe and the wonder of the resurrected Jesus. We thank you that we are invited into new life because, Jesus, you have conquered death.

We ask that we would know that reality this morning. That we would know the assurance that comes just by saying, jesus, I believe. And so, Jesus, we put our hope and our trust in you. And we look forward in a confident hope of what is waiting for us, of a time when everything is made new again, that everything is restored to being the perfect way that the Father made it. That we would look forward in expectancy of a time where there is no more sorrow, there is no more pain, there is just joy and life eternal.

And so we ask that we would know that today, in your precious son's name, amen.