A Journey with Jesus: Prepare
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· 6 views— DT: The words of Christ prepare our next steps of witness.
Notes
Transcript
04/17/22 (Resurrection Day)
Dominant Thought: The words of Christ prepare our next steps of witness.
Objectives:
I want to inspire my listeners to prepare for their journey with Christ.
I want my listeners to find ways to remember the words of Christ.
I want my listeners to choose someone to tell the message of the Risen Christ.
A friend shared the following with me about one of our local heroes, Abraham Lincoln. On May 4, 1865, after weeks of his body being on display, Abraham Lincoln was “laid to rest” in a cemetery near his home in Springfield, Illinois. But Lincoln didn’t "rest in peace."
In 1876, there was a plot to raid his grave and steal his body from the cemetery. It didn’t work.
11 years later, because of rumors that his body wasn’t in that grave, his coffin was dug up and opened to confirm it was there. It was.
But the rumors continued, 14 years after that, the coffin was dug up again.
Both times witnesses were present who testified Lincoln was still in the grave.
Fear of grave robbers made each “move” of Lincoln’s tomb necessary for a more secure location.
But each time, it also caused fear that maybe thieves already got him.
That is also why the tomb was opened several times—to ensure that the body was indeed Lincoln’s.
In fact in the final move, Robert Lincoln was summoned to view the body to confirm that it was his father’s which he did.
In all, Lincoln’s body was moved 17 times and his coffin opened 5 times before finally resting in peace 36 years after his death
He was placed inside a steel cage, beneath two tons of concrete poured ten feet high over his coffin in his tomb today.
Lincoln is still in his grave and there were witnesses to that.
But Jesus is NOT in His grave, and there were witnesses to that as well.
As we move through this story from Resurrection morning, we encounter the earliest witnesses of the empty tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we encounter this story in Luke 23.54-24.12, we’ll find four actions of these earliest witnesses that can encourage us in our walk with Jesus.
Preparing for the ordinary provides for unexpected opportunities (Luke 23.54-24.3).
The first word that caught my attention as I was preparing for this day months ago was the word, “Prepare.” Jesus was placed in the tomb on Preparation Day (Luke 23.54). Preparation Day is Friday. It is the day in Jewish homes filled with preparations for Sabbath that begins at sundown. On preparation day, you run your errands. You finish your business for the week. You bake your breads and cook your food so that on Sabbath Day, you can stop to rest and worship.
The women saw the place where Jesus was laid (23.55). Jesus was placed in the tomb at the close Preparation Day as the sabbath was beginning (23.54). Multiple witnesses saw the place. So, it is difficult to explain the objection of the women visiting the wrong tomb.
In addition to Preparation Day, In Luke 23.56, the women go home and prepare spices and perfumes that they will later go anoint the body of Jesus after the Sabbath. These women are identified in Luke 24.10. This group is similar to those listed in Luke 8.2-3. Both Mary Magdalene and Joanna are listed. Also, in Luke 24, Mary mother of James and the others. Luke 8.3 mentions Suzanna and others. Joanna is the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household. “These women were helping to support them out of their means” (Luke 8.3).
The women went home and prepared spices and perfumes (Luke 23.56). I wonder what that process was like? Was it expensive? Did the women buy theses spices/perfumes as they had supported the disciples earlier? The women rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the command. These are faithful women. Were they able to rest in the shadow of death?
Then, Luke 24.1 identifies what happened after the Sabbath rest. The time was, “on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.” The found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. I notice Luke describes Jesus as Lord here in Luke 24.3.
As you read the first accounts of the Easter story, we see Preparation Day and the women preparing to care for the body of Jesus. This preparation carried all rhythms and routines of normal life. Every week had a preparation day. Whenever someone died, someone prepared the spices and perfumes for the body. Normal rhythms and normal routines. These normal rhythms and routines provided the women with an amazing opportunity early on that Sunday morning.
They find the tomb empty—no Lord Jesus.
You have made preparations to come here today or to join us online. Some of you chose special clothes to wear for Easter today. Others have planned a special menu for a family gathering this weekend. You have brought your Bible or downloaded a Bible app so that you can read God’s Word.
We have made preparations for you. Musicians came in Tuesday evening to prepare. I sent prayer requests out to my prayer team for this moment. Weeks ago, our cook teams planned a menu and gathered helpers for our breakfast. We made preparations. Many of these preparations are normal and routine. We make these preparations because we believe when we gather Jesus is among us. We believe God does immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. So, as you go through your normal routines of life, I invite you to look for the amazing opportunities Jesus offers you everyday. Think about how God may speak to you through this season in your life. Think how you may encounter the Risen Christ in a fresh way.
Sometimes our preparations and experiences may lead us to something we did not expect. On this occasion, a group of women prepared spices for a body that was not there.
Wondering about the Risen Christ can lead to understanding (Luke 24.4, 12).
The routine of the women transformed in an instant when they encountered a tomb with no Jesus. The second word that caught my attention is wonder. It occurs in Luke 24.4 and Luke 24.12. In English, we read wonder. However, in the original language it is two different words.
The first word found in Luke 24.4 for wonder carries the idea of perplexed or uncertain. It is like saying, “I’m at a loss for what to do.”
N.T. Wright asks the question in Surprised by Hope, “Just how empty was the tomb on Easter morning?” (p. 33).
The women and disciples wonder what happened. The women wonder what happened since they did not find the body of Jesus where they last saw it.
Part of the learning process comes when we are perplexed—mental ambiguity. Part of learning new things is wrestling with ideas. I try to alway ask questions. I know how an engine runs, but I still don’t know how an engine runs. I still have no idea how the internet works.
This week, I took my son over to Jacksonville to practice parallel parking. He did much better than me on my first attempt. Learning new information can be difficult. So, imagine the women expecting to anoint a body only to find it not there.
Can you imagine the conversations between the ladies? Mary, were are at the right place aren’t we? Yes, Joanna. Remember we were here with Joseph and saw them place Jesus in the tomb? Has someone been here before? Would someone steal the body? Where could He be? What could have happened?
As they are wondering, some men dressed in white show up. But for now, let’s just sit with the women in their dazed confusion. It’s okay to have some questions.
If you are here today with questions about Jesus or the church, then you are in good company. That means you are thinking. Even in our wondering, the Risen Christ can give us understanding.
The second time we see wonder, Peter investigates the empty tomb and is wondering (Lk. 24.12). This word for wonder is not so much about confusion, but about awe or amazement. It leaves people saying, “Wow!” In Luke 2.18, the people marvel or wonder at the words from the shepherds that a baby is born in Bethlehem. People marvel at the teaching of Jesus (Luke 4.22) and how he calms the stormy sea (Luke 8.25).
Many people today still wrestle with A) Did Jesus raise from the dead? B) If He did raise from the dead, then how do I respond? In other words, if Jesus rose from the dead, then what difference does it make in my life and in this world today?
The word describing Peter wondering in Luke 24.12 is one of amazement. It’s where you respond with “Wow!” or awe or wonder.
Remembering the words of Christ strengthens our faith (Luke 24.4-8).
The women are outside the empty tomb still trying to figure our what has happened. Suddenly, two men dressed in clothes like lightning show up. Two men in white also show up in Acts 1.10. Both times they ask questions,”Why do you look for the living among the dead?” and “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?” (Acts 1.10). The men affirm Jesus is not here He has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee. Then, they quote similar words from the passion predictions about the Son of Man.
Luke 9:22 (ESV)
saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
In Luke 9.44, Jesus says “the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.”
In Luke 24.8, the women remembered His words. The spoken words of Jesus ignited their memories. In this, exchange, the men reminded the women of the words of Jesus. Then, the women remembered. Sometimes we need our memories “jogged” Jog comes from the Late Middle English word “jag” which means to stab or pierce, like our word “jagged.” So, it is quite clear that the passion of Christ should jog our memories. The piercing of Christ can pierce our minds to remember His words.
The words from the two men in lightning clothes triggered their memory. Then, they remembered His words (Luke 24.8). We have faulty memories. Last week, we were recalling when we built the church building in 2008. Beth was pregnant with Weston, and I along with Fred Patterson tar papered the church roof. Fun memories. Memories can encourage and empower us.
Once, we are reminded, then we remember. Sometimes we need prompts for our memories. What are some memory prompts? Scripture, stories, pictures, videos, senses (food, tastes, smells, sounds, feels, sights), conversations.
Telling the message of Christ overflows from our story (Luke 24.9-10). Again, our English text translates two different words in the original language with the same English word, “told” found in Luke 24.9,10. The first word carries the idea of announcing. The second is a more common word for telling or expressing.
In Luke 24.9, the women tell all these things. They announce or report their findings to the Eleven. Think about when you told your family and friends you got engaged or got the scholarship or the promotion. You tell, but there’s more than just telling. You announce the news to a group of people. Who would you tell? As we move through the story of Easter, I want to encourage you to share this good news.
The word for nonsense or idle chatter is...
used only here in the NT. Although this noun belongs to the technical vocabulary of medicine where it denotes the delirium caused by high fever, Spicq (TLNT, 2:387) observes that the sense of this term in the Lukan co-text derives from its usage in “familiar, sarcastic conversation.”
It could be the male disciples respond sarcastically to the faithful women with words like, “Yeah, right. The tomb is empty.”
I appreciate the honesty of Luke. The women who first witnessed the empty tomb were not readily believed. If you’re making this story up, you would have the most influential people witness the empty tomb first. Then, on their first report, the disciples would readily believe it. That’s not how it went down. The women share it. The disciples discard it as wild tale. Can you relate?
Luke says a second time that the women told these things to the apostles.
As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
In Luke 24.1-12, Jesus is absent physically. The tomb is empty. The story changes by what is not there. However, He is still present--His words (Luke 24.6), His messengers (Luke 24.4), and His witnesses (Luke 24.9-12). Luke will give us physical appearances of Jesus. But, in this section, we must live in the moment of the empty tomb without the physical Christ much like we find ourselves today. We can rest in the truth of the story. We can find comfort in His words. We can find direction for our lives.
I watched a portion of Tony Evans teaching on Right Now Media called, “Journey with Jesus.” Berlin Christian Church would like to give access to Right Now Media for free. You can text “BERLIN CC” to 49775. In a way that only Tony Evans can say, he reminded followers of Christ, “We wear His name. We bear His name. And we share His name.”
Tom Wright--Easter Oratorio (Surprised by Hope, p. 71):
The heaven bows down. With wounded hands
Our exiled God, our Lord of shame
Before us, living, breathing, stands;
The Word is near, and calls our name.
New knowing for the doubting mind,
New seeing out of blindness grows;
New trusting may the sceptic find
New hope through that which faith now knows.
The words of the Christ prepare our next steps of witness.