How to Encounter the Risen Jesus
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please turn to the book of Luke—the last chapter 24.
If you are new to the Bible—the Bible is divided into 2 parts—the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Luke is in the NT…the 3rd book—Matthew, Mark, Luke...
If you are here today there could be several reasons why you come to church, particularly on Easter.
It could be you grew up going to church every Sunday, so this is simply what you do. we are glad you here.
It could be that you go to a church a couple of times a year—maybe Christmas, maybe Easter, maybe Mother’s Day because your mom or grandma made you come. shout out to all moms and grandmas. we are glad you here
it could be that you are curious about Jesus and the Christian faith—and if so—we are glad you here.
it could be another reason...
whatever reason you came—our hope for you is that you have an encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ—
He is why we are here—and when you truly encounter him whether for the first time or on an going basis—IT CHANGES EVERYTHING!
IT IS ELECTRIFYING
YOU HAVE A NEW VIEW, A NEW MISSION, A NEW PURPOSE, A NEW IDENTITY, A NEW SAVIOR AND LORD…and life becomes what you were designed for.
we are going to read about one such encounter that 2 followers of Jesus had with Him
and how we can encounter Jesus...
Please stand...
Please turn to the book of Luke 24. Luke 24:13-35
Luke 24:13–35 (NIV)
13 Now that same day (the same day Jesus rose from the grave and His empty tomb was found) two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.
15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;
16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “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.
20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;
21 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 this took place.
22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning
23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.
24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther.
29 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.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together
34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Encountering the Risen Lord Jesus changes everything...
If we are going to encounter Jesus… (and this applies if you are seeking or new to Christ or if you have been a Christian—this is a good reminder…)
if we are going to encounter Jesus, there are 4 realities here....
If we are going to encounter the Risen Jesus...
we must believe the historical facts about Jesus (vs. 19-24, 34)
In verses 19-24, the 2 disciples recount to Jesus—even though they know it is him yet—these words—did you catch them.
19 “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.
20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;
21 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 this took place.
22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning
23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.
24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
these are historical facts—that a literal man lived—the God man—Jesus Christ—fully man and fully God. He was from Nazareth. He did miracles—was a powerful man in word and deed.
and he died a horrible death on the cross. and there is an empty tomb we can’t make sense of it yet—but we know is His resurrection.
In other words, if you are going to have a life-changing encounter with Jesus—you must know some of the Gospel—good news facts about Jesus—that these things are not fairy tales. they ACTUALLY HAPPENED.
one of my mentors in the faith while at school was a NT professor named D.A. Carson. and he talks about how the good news of Jesus is HISTORICAL—meaning it actually happened in history.
and he says this… “Consider Buddhism. Supposing you could prove with some high degree of plausibility (I don’t know how) that Gautama the Buddha never lived.
Would you destroy Buddhism? No, of course not. Buddhism stands or falls by its philosophical coherence, by its ethical attractiveness, and so forth, to many people. And if somehow (I’m not sure how) you could prove that Gautama never lived, Buddhism itself would not be jeopardized in the slightest.
Supposing you could prove that Krishna in Hinduism never existed, was not a true god, would that overthrow Hinduism? No, of course not. Hinduism claims there is a universal truth which manifests itself in many millions of gods. If you don’t like Krishna, there’s always Shiva and millions and millions of others. In that sense, you see, there is no possibility of overthrow of a system by appeal to some sort of historical artifact....can’t be done.”
But, in Christianity, if you could prove Jesus never rose from the dead, you’ve destroyed it. If you could prove he never lived, Christianity is invalidated. Why? This is according to the first witnesses. Paul himself writes if Christ really did not rise from the dead, then several things follow: First, the witnesses that claimed to have seen him over a period of 40 days are liars. Second, he says, we are of all people most miserable because we’re believing something that is untrue and promulgating (spreading) it when it really isn’t true. (see https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/sermon/there-is-no-absolute-truth/)
our faith—encountering Jesus is dependent on historical claims. if Jesus never existed, if he never died and actually, bodily rose from the grave—then we are wasting our time.
Carson continues: A little over two years ago, a reporter put a question to the then archbishop of Perth who was then primate of the Anglican Church of Australia and asked him, “Suppose we found the tomb of Jesus and we could demonstrate with high, high credibility that Jesus never really did rise from the dead and this was Jesus’ body, what would this do to your Christian faith?” The dear archbishop replied, “Nothing. For I believe Jesus has risen in my heart.”
Paul understands the issue with a somewhat different lens, much more straightforward clarity. “If Christ has not risen,” he says, in verse 17, “your faith is futile.” In other words, part of the validation of faith is the truthfulness of faith’s object. Let me repeat that. It is very important. Part of the validation of faith (it’s not the only validation) is the truthfulness of faith’s object. In this case, Jesus’ resurrection.
If Jesus has not risen, they can believe it till the cows come home, but it is still a futile belief because it’s believing something that isn’t true. Paul goes on to say, “Indeed, if you believe it anyway even though it isn’t true, you’re to be pitied more than all men. You’re just a bit of a joke.”
do you believe Jesus actually did these things? our faith rises and falls on actual historical events. the Bible doesn’t ask us to believe fairy tales—but real events and people that witnessed it....
so if you are going to encounter Jesus—you have to believe He existed and He actually did what the Bible claims. you believe this at first—and you keep on believing. In fact you grow in this belief as you study the historical facts of Jesus—you increase your faith by studying the validity of these events.
the 2nd reality…if you are going to encounter Jesus...
we must see Him as the center of all Scripture (vs. 25-27, 32) this is what changes us initially and day to day
look at what Jesus says...
Luke 24:25–27 (NIV)
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets (OT) have spoken!
26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
remember—at this point—the NT has not been written.
They only have the OT for the last 400 plus years. from Genesis to Malachi.
Jesus shows them in the OT—how all of it is about Himself.
He does this later too.
Look at Luke 24:44
44 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.”
the entire OT points to Jesus. It is about Jesus even though his name is not specifically mentioned.
for me—learning this was absolutely LIFE CHANGING.
I used to think the OT was all about the law—and a bunch of rules—it was a God of judgment and a god of wrath. and the NT was a god of love b/c of Jesus.
not true—both the OT and NT show the same God—and the OT points forward to the need for Jesus to come, and the NT shows that and reflects back upon it. a God who is 100% holy and 100% grace.
How does the OT point to Jesus—great question.
some are direct and obvious. for instance—Moses says this
15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.
who is the prophet like Moses? Jesus!
or Isaiah 53:5
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
who is that about? Jesus...
but the rest of the OT is about him, too.
Just read Leviticus—all Bible plans fall and rise on Leviticus.
we start well reading Genesis and Exodus—which are pretty interesting…It’s like one soap opera after another with Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses and the Israelites...
but then Leviticus comes—and we see the requirements for the animal sacrifices—lots of talk of blood, and guts, and intestines and organs and kidneys. about clean and unclean laws…about skin conditions. how does that relate to Jesus?
well the NT tells us—that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. the blood of bulls and goats could not really take away sin. God had simply arranged it that way—to show the need for the ultimate Lamb to come—to take our sin once and for all.
one of the takeaways I would give you from this—is that whenever you read the Bible—
don’t ask first, “How it applies to me?”
Ask first, “What does this teach me about God or Jesus?”
and then— “how does this apply to me”
This will REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR BIBLE READING.
for instance, many of you know the story of David and Goliath. David the little shepherd boy—killed Goliath the giant—with a slingshot.
we often hear that from this—God can help us face our giants—true statement and a good statement
but if we ask—what does this teach me about God...
we might say—God loves to show his power in weakness. He can overcome all odds.
and if we apply this to Jesus—we might say—that David reminds us of Jesus…in fact, Jesus descended from David’s line.
and if the Israelites needed a hero and a Savior back then to fight Goliath—a representative to fight against evil. They were desperate and terrified. all hope seemed lost. (stand in the gap!)
—we are more desperate…we need a hero and Savior to represent us and fight our worse enemies—sin, which separates us from God, the devil, death, hell itself...
as you do this—as you start to see Jesus and God in all of Scripture—what I call big God theology--
32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
your hearts start to burn with delight!
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
as we look upon Christ in Scripture—we are transformed...
if you want to encounter Jesus today—look no further than these pages.
if you are new to the Bible, read the book of Mark.
If you want more of these OT connections to Jesus—read the book of Hebrews
Jesus Story book Bible is one of the best references.. (read this?)
you can encounter that same Jesus as you read the Bible today!
the 3rd reality…if we are going to encounter Jesus...
3. Reality #3 we must believe it is absolutely necessary that He had to die and enter His glory (vs. 26) suffering and glory go together
26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
the word “have” translates the Original Greek text—it was absolutely necessary that Jesus die.
He HAD to suffer and die on the cross as part of God’s plan.
there was no other way.
In other words, the OT—our story—is one where God made us, delighted in us, and wanted us to live in perfect relationship with Him and all of humanity and creation.
but it didn’t take long. Adam and Eve the first human beings, though they were in paradise—cast of God’s rule.
they thought “we know best” and they did the one thing they were told not to—eating from the tree.
in that moment, they put themselves in the place of God.
that’s what sin —it is degodding god—knocking him down, and putting ourselves in his place…and it was disastrous.
the rest of the OT shows the consequences of this—
now all of us live with this propensity to sin--
you and I see it all the time.
if you have a little kid—it doesn’t take long until they are old enough when you give them a rule—an order—they look at you and say “no!”
or you say “don’t touch that.” they may only be 1—but they are calculating—is it worth touching it— ‘yes it is totally!’ (who taught them to be that way)
little sweet babies show this desire to be their own master...
and it has ruined our lives.
our fundamental problem the Bible says we have is sin and that we are under the judgment of God—our relationship with God is broken…and He is a patient perfect judge...
that’s not a popular message—but the Bible says it again and again in so many ways.
---and our fundamental need is to be rescued from our sin, to be restored to a relationship with God
and there is a way—Jesus came—He lived perfectly never sinned.
and he suffered—not for his sins but for ours. This was all part of God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Spirit’s plan—he had to…to pay for our sin in our place, so that if we believe in Jesus—trust He actually paid—and believe He rose from the grace—we will be forgiven...
we will be restored...
there is no other way—it was necessary—Jesus had to die..it took the death of the infinite, eternal Son of God—to spill His blood to pay for our sin before a holy. we dare not take it for granted.
the Messiah—Jesus did this, then He rose—and entered His glory---resurrection glory-new body—and He eventually ascended where he reigns in heaven at the right hand of the Father.
suffering was necessary
Jesus paid it all
on a gruesome bloody cross.
and rose victoriously.
there are attempts to do away with this reality—but if you are going to truly have an encounter with Jesus—you have to encounter your sin, how offensive it is to God, and God’s beautiful gift—that He gave His Son in your place so you could be free from sin, forgiven, and live under God’s beautiful authority.
You may not like this message—or you may not like what God’s Word says about a particular sin—but it is amazing that God would go to such great lengths to rescue you and get you back.
this connection between Jesus suffering and then being glorified…is hard-wired now into our lives too. it changes our relationship with suffering!
if we have surrender to Jesus—we realize that God can use our suffering — no matter what comes—for our good and for his glory. that life often has a connection between suffering and glory....
the disciples had hoped Jesus would do something different—but Jesus had to die to fulfill what was most necessary—God often doesn’t meet our expectations but does something greater...
On a recent episode on the Bachelor finale---one social media commentator said this...
now believe it or not…I don’t watch the Bachelor nor do I keep up with it—but I know the premise of the show.
if you watch it, I am not judging—at least I am trying not to judge you...
one social media influencer said this about this episode—if you don’t know how these shows work—it is a contest for one man—the bachelor to date a bunch of different women and by the end of the season choose 1 woman to marry. and in the last episode—2 women are left, and apparently, they broke Bachelor protocol
Daisy goes to Kelsey’s hotel room before the bachelor chooses his wife. they have a heartfelt conversation. and even then, they both have clues that Kelsey will be chosen not Daisy.
they actually ride in the limo together to meet the bachelor—a first in the franchise. (usually they go separately)
and Daisy meets the bachelor first, expresses that she knows she is not the one he is choosing.
she goes back to Kelsey and they actually embrace and Daisy tells Kelsey that she knows her mother who died in 2018 is proudly looking down on her.
so one social commentator says “In the face of what most would consider a competition and all the superficial stuff that comes with Holly wood and reality TV, they showed America that true beauty is more than skin deep.
and she goes on to say—what’s interesting about these last 2 women on the show—both of them experienced suffering in their lives.
Daisy lost her hearing. Kelsey her mom in 2018. and i can’t help but think that suffering is at least part of what gave them each the character and maturity that we all loved to see.”
it’s not the makeup or the dress that gives us beauty. sometimes it’s the ugly things—b/c we gain depth, wisdom and character through suffering.”
while I don’t know if these women are believers or the person commentating is…she just expressed a very biblical idea.
that these women showed true beauty and glory through suffering.
in the Bible—we see this all through....
Christ had to suffer (b/c of sin)—and then enter his glory. his suffering—showed his glory and beauty. how much he loved us...
and if we follow Christ—our suffering for Jesus—with Jesus at the center—leads to beauty too. our suffering, if dedicated to Jesus—shows how amazing He is…our suffering actually can lead us to encounter Jesus more...
(what did you talk about on Easter—Jesus and the Bachelor)
4. Reality #4 - we must believe He seeks us first—(He loves to encounter us—He loves to open our eyes—we need Him to open our eyes (vs.30-32) In fact you may be feeling that this morning.)
16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
when they first met Jesus, they couldn’t fully recognize him—some of you feel that today. still making sense of who Jesus is, what He has done—on the cross, what it means to follow Jesus...
but look later Luke 24:30-31
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
this is beautiful—who opened their eyes to see Jesus as He fully was?
almost all theologians believe it is God. the Holy Spirit.
You could call this interaction—that they encountered Jesus.
but another way to say it—is He encountered them.
He sought them out.
He pursued them.
He journeyed with them...
even though he was frustrated that they didn’t get why he came—to live, to die for their sins, to give them new life-resurrection life now and for eternity.
he was patient and pursued. and he enabled them to believe.
no matter what theological perspective you take—some more strongly emphasize this than others—i believe all emphasize that if we are going to encounter Christ—He did the hard work of encountering us first, and he enables us to believe.
it is a gift of His grace...
He still does that today...
If you are here today—and feel God pulling at your heart..recognizing that the way you have been living is offensive to God, and you see the beauty of Jesus—that He would die for you so you could be forgiven and start new with purpose and mission and identity—the Holy Spirit is already pulling at your heart.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,
(we saw this in our current series on the book of Acts—how Christ pursed the Apostle Paul who was a terrorist, confronted him, and showed his glory to Him)
and if you have been following Jesus for years—perhaps over 90 years today—you are here and still here by the incredible grace of God that He initially pursued you and keeps on pursuing you....how can you keep encountering Jesus daily—so your heart burns within you—electrifying you...
have you had your first encounter with Jesus?
if you have had your initial one—you need ongoing encounters—He walks and talks with you along the way...
what is Jesus calling you to do today in response so that you can keep encountering Him.
maybe it’s to read Scripture more seriously?
maybe it’s to commit to community like we see here?
maybe it’s to talk honestly with Jesus
Easter Egg Event---please sign up—encouraged to attend—from 0 to 99. Do not drop off your kids—but attend with your family. open to the community—a great outreach event. but if you would sign up online that would really help us. and sign up to bring food to share…we have specific dishes recommended.
(we see this illustrated)
20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.