What Do I Do Now?
Notes
Transcript
Luke 24:38 “And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?” – What Do I Do Now?
For some people, the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ may sound a little like a strange piece of fiction. The Bible’s straightforward and historical account of the bodily resurrection of Jesus is an amazing claim. Nevertheless, based on the testimony of Scripture, and the witness of the Holy Spirit, the Church has for 2,000 years affirmed the doctrine that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day.
In Luke 24, we find the story of one of Christ’s appearances to His disciples after His resurrection. When He showed up in their meeting, they were shocked and scared. The living Lord asked them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?” So, What Do I Do Now?
I. DON’T WORRY - JESUS IS RISEN!
Luke chapter 24 records the events on the day of Christ’s resurrection. Though some women had discovered the vacated tomb early in the morning, and angels had testified to His resurrection, throughout this chapter, the disciples are a disheartened, discouraged group. When the resurrected Jesus finally appeared to them later that evening, He found that they were still a largely worried and troubled crew.
In verse 36-38, when the Lord saw their emotional state, He asked them, “Why are you troubled?” That word “troubled”, is translated from a word that means “to stir up”, and was used to describe the agitating or troubling of water.
When the Lord saw the troubled and worried hearts of His disciples, He used the truth of His resurrection to ease their worries. His resurrection is the power that can overcome our worries.
When our hearts are “stirred up” with worry, all we see are black clouds and bleak storms. In those moments, we can look back to an empty tomb, to the truth of His resurrection, and we can say what the songwriter declares: Because He lives I can face tomorrow, Because He lives all fear is gone, Because I know, He holds the future, Life is worth the living just because He lives!
The disciples feared that since the Jews had taken and executed their Lord, surely they were the next ones on the list. With their Master dead, they lived in fear of their enemies. But, on Sunday evening, their fears were abolished by the sight of Jesus, standing before them, holding out His living hands and feet for all of them to see. Obviously, their enemies were not able to kill the Lord of Glory! With Him alive, there would be no stopping them as they spread the good news of the gospel. Therefore the Bible leaves us with this:
Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;”
Matthew 6:30-33 “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
1 Peter 5:7 “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””
Proverbs 12:25 “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.”
That good word is this: DON’T WORRY - JESUS IS RISEN!
II. DON’T WONDER - JESUS IS REAL!
Look again at the question our Lord posed to the bewildered disciples on that resurrection evening. In verse 38, He asked, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Notice that phrase “doubts arise.” It literally speaks of questions or reasoning coming into a heart. It gives the idea of speculations or doubts. Doubtful thoughts. Jesus asked the shocked and awed disciples why there were questions arising in their hearts as they looked at His resurrected body. Why would Jesus ask such question? He is trying to get the disciples to see that though it seems like all hope is lost, He is fully alive. He is not as they “supposed Him to be just a spirit.” Jesus is not Casper the Friendly Christ ghost. He is fully alive. And if you believe the Scriptures, it gives us the proof; verse 39 “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” Not only is Jesus fully alive, He is fully alive forever. If you scour the remainder of Scripture, and study the pages of history, you will never find a time in which the Lord Jesus died again. In fact, if you read the book of Hebrews, you find that He “ever liveth,” and is at this very moment seated beside His Father in heaven, interceding for His people. Hebrews 7:24-26 “But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens.”
Col. 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Don’t you wonder about Jesus? He is real. Death could not keep its prey, Jesus is my Savior, He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord, Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph ‘ore His foes, He arose a Victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever with His saints to reign, He arose! He arose! Hallelujah, Christ arose! I believe there is one more thing the text teaches us.
III. DON’T WAIT – JESUS IS READY!
The resurrected Lord showed His hands and feet to His disciples as evidence of His bodily resurrection. Verse 41 records their reaction. It says, “...But while they still did not believe...” The empty tomb is more than a cliche, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus is more than a theological persuasion. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day is the fuel that pushes His church into the uttermost parts of the earth, declaring the gospel.
Psalm 39:7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.”
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
2 Corinthians 6:2 “For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
James 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Hebrews 3:7-8 “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,”
If I could take you into that blessed throne room, amid the shouts of saints and songs of angels; where the Lord Jesus is right now seated, you would find that He is not some sort of mystical, ghost-God. In fact, if you and I were so privileged to approach His regal throne, and if He were to extend to us the same invitation He did to His disciple on that Easter evening, and allow us to touch and handle Him, we would find that He is still as alive as we are. He still has skin, and pores, and hair, and eyes and ears. He is still as alive as He was when He walked the dusty roads of Galilee. And, if we were to fast-forward ten million years into the future, when this old earth has passed away, and a new heaven and a new earth are the eternal home of God’s chosen people, there, in the middle of it all, seated on the throne would be none other that Jesus of Nazareth, still alive and well!
No, Jesus is not standing here with His hands and feet held out for you to touch. But as He told Thomas, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and still believe.” He is alive, and a living Lord Jesus can make all the difference in your life. Will you come to Him in faith, and let His life change yours?