Living by the Light of His word — Luke 22-24

0:00 Matthew chapter 24. I have till about 12:15, so I might start to speak a little bit fast. So let's start by reading our passage for today, beginning in verse 13. Oh, look at that. The theme for today.

0:16 Now behold. Okay. So now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem and they talked together. I want to ask. I need to move this down.

0:33 Excuse me. Okay. And they talked together of these things which had happened. So it was while they conversed in reason that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained so that they did not know him.

0:51 And he said to them, what kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? And have you not known the things which happened there in these days? And he said to them, what things? So they said to him, the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified him.

1:33 But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us when they did not find his body. They came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.

2:07 Then he said to them, O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Verse 28, then they drew near to the village where they were going and he indicated that he would have gone further, but they constrained him saying, abide with us for it is toward evening and the day is far spent. And he went in to stay with them.

2:48 Now it came to pass as he sat at the table with them that he took bread, blessed and broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew him and he vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the road and while he opened the scriptures to us? So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the 11 and those who were with them gathered together saying, the Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. And they told about the things that had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread.

3:36 Let's pray and ask the Lord's blessing. Our father in heaven, we do thank you for the wonderful privilege to gather in the name of your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who does in fact sit on the throne on high at the right hand of the Father. The one who is worthy of all glory, honor, admiration, and respect. And yet he himself came as the suffering servant and went to the cross to bear our sin upon himself.

4:04 So father, we thank you that we can gather in his precious and most wonderful name. We thank you that you have given us your word, that we can hear from you. So father, we do pray that you would speak this morning, that each heart would be open to that which you have for them. So father, we commit ourselves in this time to you in the Lord Jesus name. Amen.

5:04 And yet it starts here by saying, now behold two of them. So presumably, two of the disciples that were there in that meeting room in the first 12 verses of this chapter, two of them were on the road to Emmaus. Now presumably they were there because it says now two of them, but then also we get the validation of that when they recounted to the Lord Jesus what had happened, the experience that was in front of them. I just think this is such an amazing thing that you have this great eyewitness testimony from these women who had gone the tomb and had seen it. At the end of chapter 23, if I'm pulling all this together correctly, they were eyewitnesses of the tomb and how the Lord had been laid down there.

5:58 So this isn't just somebody who happened to have gone to the tomb and they went to the wrong one and suddenly they're not there, But they had actually been there in Luke chapter 23 to observe how he had been laid down. And then they wanted to go and prepare the spices and bring them back. So that's why they were going there early in the morning, but they get there and he is not there. So while they're reasoning these things in their mind and they're kind of going through this conversation with each other, it says Jesus drew near, but their eyes were constrained so that they did not know him. And the Lord asked him this question, what kind of conversation is this?

6:42 So in verse 17, he said, what... This is the New King James, and he said to them, what conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad? Now the critical text will say, will end the question as you walk, and then it says, and some of you might have this in there like in the ESV or something like that, will say, and they appear to still be sad. So while the Lord's asking this question of saying, what is this conversation that you're having? And it's clearly demonstrated that you're sad through this.

7:19 Now West, in his expanded translation of the New Testament, w u e s t, says... It refers to it as an animated heated conversation. Do you guys know what that looks like? An animated heated conversation? So like just about every conversation I have with somebody is an animated heated conversation.

7:45 So Denzel's laughing quite loudly because he knows exactly what this looks like. So as I read that, that West described it this way, this they're worked up, they're excited about this. And like I said, I totally relate to what this looks like. The excitement, the anger, the frustration, the confusion, all of these things that they're trying to do it. So the Lord draws near to them and says, What is this conversation you're having?

8:12 What's happening? And you got to love their response. And of course, we see it through the eyes of the past or the eyes of the future looking to the past. When they ask this question and saying, are you indeed the only stranger in Jerusalem and you don't know all that's been happening? Do you not know what they just did?

9:12 Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem and you have not known the things which happened there? He said, what things? So they respond to that in verse 19. They said to him, the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty indeed and word before God and all the people. Now the first thing that strikes me about this, and you can give this consideration, was the phraseology that was used, the title that they actually gave the Lord Jesus.

9:45 Well, maybe the second thing that strikes me. The first thing is that the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth. So just hang that up in your hat for a few minutes. Then the second thing, he was a prophet mighty indeed. So that title of being a prophet.

10:03 Now, of course, we know if we look back to the Old Testament, we know that a prophet was foretelling all that that would come. We know that John the Baptist was a prophet. This morning, we were reminded of that great statement in John chapter one about behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Like the prophetic voice coming from God, one who was sent by God in order to communicate what God was going to do. And to me, like this is like a downgrade from who the Lord Jesus is.

10:36 Like and to me that would go back to a misunderstanding of who he was and all that he was doing. I think of Hebrews chapter 11 or excuse me, Hebrews chapter one in the beginning, it said, and I'm not gonna quote this perfectly, so forgive me, but God who in sundry times and diverse manners spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days has spoken to us in his son, who is the express image of the invisible God. Like this is who Jesus Christ was and they were saying he's a prophet mighty indeed and word before God and all the people. Verse 21, they go on to say, but we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Now what did that mean?

11:27 Again, you and I looking through from now through the past through the cross, we know that Jesus Christ came to redeem Israel and the rest of the world. Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So what did they mean by that? What was their perspective? So it's interesting if we just take a little look through of the Old Testament to understand the minds of the disciples during this time.

11:52 So first of all, as you were, I guess it was back in December 2023 at the start of the Luke series, you went through and you see at the very beginning in Luke chapter two, you see how they are waiting for the consolation for the redemption of Israel. One of my favorite parts about that is Simeon because I just love that. It refers to him as this man was justened about waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And he said, seeing the Lord Jesus, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word for my eyes have seen your salvation of light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. Anna, prophetess, it says this in verse 38 of chapter two, she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

12:52 So again, their perspective of redemption, if you read those by themselves, again, we're reading them through the lens of the cross. We're seeing salvation as being what we understand salvation to be. We're reading redemption for what we understand redemption to be. But what they're seeing salvation and redemption at that point and even the disciples on the road to Emmaus is very very different. So if we just think back through the Jewish history for just a few minutes, the promised people of God, the promise given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and carried on and then all of the children of Israel after that time, they were constantly being oppressed and being taken captive by others and needing to be delivered.

13:42 We can look back to their history of course as they went and they went into slavery down in Egypt and they were there for over four hundred years. And so the first one is in Egypt. And then of course, there's the Babylonian captivity later. They were under Medo Persia. And then finally here in the New Testament, they're under the oppression of the Roman rule.

14:06 They have always been a people that have been under oppression and mind you, I totally skipped right there the period of the judges, which they were constantly be taking being taken under oppression of the rulers of that place and the children of Israel were constantly crying out when they got to the end of themselves. They would cry out for a deliverer and God would be faithful and provide a deliverer. So this is the sort of things seemingly that they were expecting. So in Daniel chapter seven verses thirteen and fourteen, it says as he was writing this prophetically, I was watching in the night visions and behold one like the son of man. Now keeping in mind here in the New Testament, the Lord Jesus refers to himself as son of man more times than anything else as I understand it.

15:33 Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples nations and languages should serve him as everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away in his kingdom, the one which shall not be destroyed. In Psalm chapter... Or Psalm two, excuse me. I don't like to refer to the chapters in the Psalm. So Psalm two, Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing?

15:58 The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. In verse six, I've set my king on my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree. The Lord has said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you.

16:16 Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. At this point, as they were waiting for the consolation of Israel and they were expecting the Messiah to come, they were not looking, for example, at Isaiah chapter 53, which we'll come back to. What they were looking at were all of these passages, the one who was going to come.

16:51 In other words, the picture of the Lord Jesus in Revelation chapter 19. Now I saw heaven open and behold a white horse and he who sat on him was called faithful and true and in righteousness, his judges and he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire and his head were many... On his head were many crowns. He had a name that...

17:13 Written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the word of God. This is what they were expecting. The Messiah to come in and deliver them from all of the oppression of those around them. You also have to think that as they look back at their own history, they look back at all of the leaders that God had raised up over time and how they had demonstrated great power, authority, and leadership through it.

17:43 Once again, we can think of Moses who would stand at the Red Sea with all the people of God grumbling and complaining saying, did you bring us out in the wilderness that we might die here? It would be better if we stayed back in Egypt. Which I love that phrase just simply because the statement is actually saying this, I would rather have died enslaved to the Egyptians than to follow God out here and die in the wilderness. Like that's what they were saying very practically. That wasn't gonna be what was gonna happen because God is faithful and true when he was bringing them out, and then they were entrapped with the Egyptians behind them and the Red Sea before them.

18:28 What does Moses cry out? Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord for he will fight for you. The rod in the ground, the staff in the ground, and suddenly the sea parted and they were able to go through. You see this great victory through Moses. They were entrapped by the Egyptians in the Red Sea, and yet they saw the great victory so much so that they sang and danced afterward in celebration of it.

19:06 Then you see, of course, the period of Joshua. Have you gone through the book of Joshua lately? We just finished our series in Northgate about the book of Joshua. So you see over and over again how Joshua led the children of Israel into the Amorites and taken all of the land. Now, of course, Joshua reminded them at the end of his life all that God has said, I have done these things.

19:30 Like the number of times God refers to himself in Joshua chapter 24 is like 17 to 19 different times where it said, I did this. I called out Abraham. I'd led them through the wilderness. I'd led them through the Red Sea. God did it all because he is faithful and true.

19:48 But they're looking back at these people, the judges, Samson, who was killed more in his death than he did when he was, you know, before his death. And all of these one Gideon who went forward faithfully responding to God with 300 soldiers. And now here's Jesus, who was turned over by the chief priests and the rulers of the people, not even the Romans coming in, but was actually, what do you call that, a mutiny? Like a mutiny, the people of God, the children of Israel are the ones that turned him over and this Jesus, the one who is meek and mild and humble in every single way. Yet the God of heaven that they were expecting them sigh, this just does not register to them.

21:14 And then, like, the greatest six words in the Bible are the things the Lord Jesus says. Do you know what those things are? Those words? I just had to count it just to be clear. Didn't know how many words it was.

21:29 But I have prayed for you. Seriously, enter into that for just a moment. Are those not the greatest six words in the Bible constructed together? The Lord Jesus prays for you. He prayed for Simon that your faith would not fail, and when you return, strengthen the brethren.

21:55 Now Peter's response is, Lord, I would never fail you. I would go to prison or die for you. He said, surely you're gonna deny me three times before the rooster crows. Now what was Peter thinking? Peter was thinking, I am ready to go into battle with you.

22:15 I couldn't help but think about the scenes in Braveheart. Have any of you seen Braveheart? A few of you. A lot of you are more spiritually sensitive and perhaps didn't watch the movie Braveheart, but you just look at the people that they came around. And I just remember this one scene in particular, if you've seen it, Mel Gibson, William Wallace was on his horse, and he said, I am William Wallace, in a nice Scottish accent, which I wish I And he said, I am William Wallace.

22:51 They looked at him and said, You're not William Wallace. William Wallace is like ten feet tall and he's like this giant because reputation preceded him. And they look at the Lord Jesus, this meek and this lowly one, and they're expecting, not actually, but they're expecting William Wallace. The figure of William Wallace, This idea of this ten foot person that's ready to go into battle and to fight. And I think that's what Peter was doing.

23:21 So then he was shocked. When he actually denied the Lord, it's because he was expecting this battle. I'm making this up. I have no idea what was actually in Peter's mind, but I'm only thinking that he's expecting that a battle was going to ensue and that's what he was willing to do. But this idea that simply I'm going to go to prison or I'm going to die as a result of denying you?

23:44 Like I'm waiting for that time to come when the angels are going to come in. The legion, right? He said, Don't you know that I could have 12 legions of angels coming in to save me? Wasn't that when Peter cut off Malchus' ear? And he said, Don't you know why are you trying to defend me?

24:03 Could at any moment, and you kind of figured that's what Peter was waiting for. This is going to happen. But then he denied him. The third time, when the rooster crowed, and it says that he wept bitterly. I think Peter's perspective is, I'm just waiting for the battle.

24:21 And what Jesus was coming to do was so vastly and drastically different than any of them expected. So the passage goes on, and we're moving on here quick, I promise. Luke 2four 20 five-twenty seven, and I just love to hear the Lord Jesus in his humble, kind, and I truly believe shepherd gentle tone, O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe and all that the prophets have spoken. It matter how you read like the tone you hear those I probably, when I was a younger man, would have assumed that this was, Oh foolish ones! Don't you know what the prophets have spoken?

25:03 But no, I think this is the shepherd, much like Peter or the Lord Jesus to Peter in John chapter 21. Peter, do you love me? Yeah, you know I love you. Do you love me? Yeah, you know love you.

25:16 Do you love me? Yeah, you know all things. You know that I love you. He's so gentle, the shepherd is. And I truly believe this is exactly how he's asking the question.

26:05 So now we have no idea for sure what he said. We can only imagine what he's trying to describe here. That it's not the one that was prophesied of Daniel chapter seven. It's not the one that was referred to in Psalm two, but the suffering servant who had to come. For redemption truly is a result of our sin and the need for our sin.

26:33 When you think about the consolation of Israel and that they were waiting for the redemption and everything else, you have to realize that every single time they found themselves being oppressed by the other nations around them is because they were being disobedient. It was their own sin that put them there. So what Jesus is actually trying to get them to understand is all of that oppression, everything that you're under, the root problem to why you were oppressed is your sin. The redemption that you need to know and experience and the reason that I came was that you might be... Excuse me, that the root problem, which is sin, might be resolved, and that's the redemption that he came for.

27:24 Now the Lord Jesus, it says in Matthew chapter eight just as one example, and he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and after three days rise again. Like Jesus in his earthly ministry was already communicating that this was going to happen and yet they're still surprised that it was happening, didn't understand it. Again, this is another wonderful example of Peter and when I say wonderful, it I don't mean actually wonderful. It's not a good example of Peter, but a wonderful reminder to us of Peter's response and he spoke this word openly and then it says Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Like imagine that.

28:19 So fathers and mothers in the room, the thought of your children rebuking you is just beyond comprehension, right? I mean, it's happened. I'm sure. Like, it's happened to me. And you just imagine the God of heaven who came into the world that you are looking to be the Messiah to resolve all of your oppression issues and everything else, and you pull him aside to rebuke him, the audacity of Peter.

28:48 You gotta love it because he's really a picture of the rest of us. Yeah? And he says, get behind me Satan, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of man. This whole idea that the Savior coming in glory to do all of these things will happen someday, but that's not yet. The things of God is to deal with the root issue.

29:14 So Moses and the prophets, where did he start? I don't know. Perhaps Genesis chapter three and verse 15, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. Does he go back to Psalm two and it says, I will declare the decree the Lord has said to me, you are my son today, I have begotten you.

29:38 In Psalm 22, now you would think Psalm 22 might have come to mind while they were observing this, while they were at the foot of the cross observing all that was happening. Would think this might have come to mind. My God, my God. Why has thou forsaken me? Eli, Eli, Lama, Sabaatani.

29:58 We sang of that this morning, didn't we? You would think these things might have come to mind. Verse six, but I am a worm in no manner, reproach a man and despise by the people. All those who see me ridicule me. They shoot out the lip.

30:12 They shake their head. Did they not do that at the foot of the cross? He trusted and saying they shake their heads saying he trusts in the Lord. Let him rescue him. Let him deliver him.

30:26 See if he delights in him. That's exactly what they did to the Lord Jesus at the cross. You remember the one thief said, if you be the Christ, then save yourself and us. They were at the foot of the cross and they were mocking him and railing these insults at him. If thou be the Christ, save yourself.

30:46 Come down from the cross. Psalm 22 is pointing to the fact that all of these things were happening. Psalm 16 verse 10 says, for you will not leave my soul in shield nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption. I mentioned earlier Isaiah 53, and we're not gonna dive through the whole thing, obviously. But we know now that you look back at Isaiah 53, and that paints the most beautiful and perfect picture of the one who came.

31:40 Behold his reward is with him and his work before him. Then you get to the next one, Isaiah 42, Behold, My servant whom I uphold, My elect one in whom My soul delights. Behold, My servant. This is the one Isaiah 53. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows.

32:02 He was despised and we did not esteem him. We esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed.

32:26 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. Behold, the lamb of God. And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, he opened not his mouth. The expectation that they had of the Messiah, the Redeemer, was very, very different.

32:50 The Lord Jesus expounded to them from Moses and all the prophets, and he'll later... Next week, he'll perhaps get in this and it refers to and the Psalms. And we read through a couple of those this morning. All things concerning himself. So as they drew near to the village to Emmaus, they were gonna stop by and he feigned as though he was gonna continue on.

33:14 They pleaded with him to stay that the day is far spent. And then it says this in verse 30, now it came to pass as he sat at table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. And then their eyes were opened and they knew him and he vanished from their sight. I have to be honest, one of the little pictures that I see here in Luke chapter 24 is Deuteronomy chapter six. Deuteronomy chapter six, you have the reminder to set the word of God before your family and the generations to follow when you when you walk by the way, when you rise up, when you lie down, and when you sit.

33:53 And here we see the example of the Lord Jesus drawing near to them as they walked on the way to be able to communicate these things. And now they sat at table. You think of John chapter 12 after Lazarus was raised from the dead and yet Martha was preparing the meal once again and Mary there sit at worshiping at the Lord's feet and Lazarus was one that reclined at the table with him. This idea of this fellowship coming together. So the beauty of just being together, being reminded by God's word of all of who God is and all of what he's done.

34:26 So now in doing this, suddenly in the breaking of bread as when their eyes were opened, they realized it. Now we don't know exactly what that was. Like some would conjecture the possibility that as he broke the bread and then handed to him, they might have seen the nail scarred hands. I have no idea. All I would say and pray and trust for you and for me in this day, when we gather together on Sunday morning to come together to remember the Lord Jesus Christ and that we break the bread that we see him.

35:06 Nothing else. No other distraction. Nothing else gets in the way of simply seeing the Savior. As Samuel started us off this morning of beholding him. This is what we ought to do.

36:01 Because the subject matter, the Lord Jesus Christ is... There's no one like him. There is nothing like what God has done for you and for me, and our hearts ought to burn. I think of Rahab. Again, when the spies had come into the land, they said...

36:21 She said, we have heard of all of the things that your God has done and believe that he is God. Our hearts did melt. Simply by hearing the things that had happened, our hearts melted. By hearing all of the things that the Lord Jesus was saying concerning himself. It says, our heart burned within us while he talked with us on the road.

36:51 Please let us know that to be our experience. Every time we open up the word, let's be reminded what an opportunity is to be an encourager one to another by communicating the word of God together to each other. When we get together that there would be fellowship so we can walk away from that conversation saying our hearts burned because we saw and thought of the Lord Jesus Christ in this. So as soon as they had this realization and their eyes were opened, it says they immediately got up and they ran back to the city so that they could tell the 11 and all the disciples that were with them. And while he when they get there, they're already rejoicing because it said it wasn't just that the woman saw the empty tomb and Peter had seen the empty tomb, but now he had shown himself to Peter.

37:46 They actually saw him. So now these two come back in and they said, he was there. He revealed himself to us in the breaking of bread. Could you just imagine that you and I don't have that same sort of experience. He hasn't just come and physically stood before us, come into our midst.

38:06 And yet at the testimony of others have had that experience, I think of one John chapter one, again, I'm not going to quote it well, but he talks about having held him, having beheld him, him, what their ears have heard, what their eyes have seen concerning the word of life. And we pass this on to you, and truly your fellowship can be with us as ours is with the Father. Like, we pass it on. It passes on from generation to generation and though we won't see it physically, we can rejoice in the fact that we have had that experience or can have that experience. Okay, so lastly, just application and conclusion.

38:50 Some things for us to think about. We had a brother speak last week for Easter and one of the things that he said is the disciples should have been expecting the resurrection and yet they weren't. So one of the questions for us to ponder is we should be expecting the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are we? All that the prophets have spoken, All that had been communicated.

39:19 Are we living with expectation of the one who is to come? He promised he would come. Are we living with that expectation? What things has he said that we're not paying attention to? Are we looking to...

39:34 Are we looking for the God who is or the God who we want him to be? The disciples at that time were looking for the one who they wanted him to be, not the one that he is. Are we looking for the one that is or what we want him to be? Do we become discouraged simply because life isn't meeting our expectations? Jesus will meet us on the road.

39:59 We could be like these disciples as we walk through this life. We don't understand all that's happening, but Jesus will meet us where we are and reveal himself to us in those moments. Really, because it comes down to this, which is our theme for the summer, To Whom Shall We Go? That ought be the cry of our heart, and that was one of the great things Peter said. To whom shall we go?

40:22 For you have the words of eternal life. In John chapter 14, the promise is given. Let not your heart be troubled. Do you believe in God? Believe also in me.

40:38 In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be also. We have a great future to look forward to.

41:26 Father, we thank you for Jesus Christ, for the life that is given through him, for the forgiveness of sin. Father, if there's anybody here this morning that is yet to have trusted in Christ, we pray that they would see the savior through your word and know eternal life through him. Father, for those of us who are walking this journey with you, we pray that we would not get discouraged as we walk through this life, that we would look to the one who is to come. So help us be a people prepared for your coming, Looking for it anxiously for the glory of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray in the Lord Jesus name.

42:06 Amen.