1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:05,120 And if you would open your Bibles to Luke chapter 24 and to 2 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:12,040 pray for us, and we'll dig in, Father God, as we come together 3 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:17,560 in the name of your son to read a story about your son on the 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,080 day of his resurrection. We pray that you would do for us 5 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:26,280 what you, what Christ, did for Cleopas and the unnamed disciple 6 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:29,000 that was with him, or that you would open our eyes. 7 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:33,960 That we wouldn't be merely surrounded by the things of God 8 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:37,240 without understanding, but that you would open our eyes so that 9 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,760 when we see what you have done, we would not only see it, but 10 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,880 also understand it and to take in its meaning. 11 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:49,440 And so, Holy Spirit, would you come and would you, would you 12 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,200 open our eyes? Would you give us understanding 13 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:56,880 of the illumination of Your Word so that we could treasure it, so 14 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,280 that we could respond and worship, so that we could obey, 15 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,840 so that we could be edified and be glad in Christ? 16 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,720 So would you do that among us today, Lord, for the sake of 17 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:10,720 Your name among all nations, we ask it. 18 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:16,240 Amen. So we have in our family a 19 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:20,640 series of questions that will ask one another to try and just 20 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,400 determine what kind of soul each of us have. 21 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:25,920 What is your Patronus? What is your? 22 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,800 If you could, if you could pick any superpower, what would it 23 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,200 be? 1 of the great questions that we 24 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,760 ask each other on the regular is if you maybe not on the regular, 25 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:39,800 but in times past, if you had a time machine and you could go 26 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,320 anywhere at any time and see anything, where would you go? 27 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,600 You have one shot. It's like 1 wish but to go and 28 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:50,840 to see absolutely anything and there's a bunch of things that 29 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:53,960 you would doubtless a bunch of answers that we would give 30 00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,120 depending on what we love and what parts of the Scripture 31 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,800 really excite our interest. There's a million places I would 32 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:06,040 want to go, but if God told me I could only go one place, this 33 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:09,080 would be it. I would go right here and walk 34 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,560 with Christ and listen to him for seven miles to give the 35 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:17,040 seven mile sermon. It's not to put too much weight 36 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:20,560 on this sermon, but we are looking at you're not going to 37 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,320 hear this morning, but we are looking at this morning the 38 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:26,160 greatest sermon that's ever been preached. 39 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,040 This is Christ. There is in Christ who's going 40 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,680 to come to his people and he's going to exposite. 41 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,480 He's going to take the meaning of the entirety of the Old 42 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:40,920 Testament and show it to them and the meaning is Christ 43 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,320 himself. So we get to walk through this 44 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:46,840 together. The first thing I want to show 45 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:51,680 you is the Mary masquerade. I look look in verse, look in 46 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:59,280 verse 13, Luke says that very that very day for the life of 47 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:03,440 me, I don't know why the the Bible translators never include 48 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:06,320 there's a there's a word here. The word is it do it's a it's a 49 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:11,400 Greek word that means behold, watch, look at this like I'm 50 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,040 about to blow your mind with what I'm about to show you. 51 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:16,560 It's calling attention. It's the preacher leaning 52 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:18,400 forward and saying, listen to me. 53 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:23,080 This is important, Luke. That's that's the that's at the 54 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:28,240 very start of this whole text. He says, behold, listen, watch. 55 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:32,400 The very day that Christ was risen from the dead, in the 56 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,920 morning he reveals himself to the women. 57 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:40,840 In the afternoon he walks with these two nameless disciples. 58 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,520 It's wild. What do you do on the day of 59 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:49,560 your greatest triumph, right when you just defeated sin, 60 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:55,040 Satan, death, hell, fulfilled all of God's promises, what do 61 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:59,800 you do? Well, Jesus planned a surprise 62 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:04,120 for these two disciples. He said these things, these 63 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:07,880 things I've spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that 64 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,280 your joy may be full. This is John 1511. 65 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:16,399 And so our risen Christ intends for us to be glad in his 66 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:18,920 triumph. The way that this text reads, 67 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,520 it's really fascinating and I'll show you as we get, as we get 68 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:25,440 into it. But you, you can just imagine a 69 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:28,880 dad who's planning a great surprise for his kids. 70 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:32,360 That's Christ. He's concealing himself so that 71 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:37,280 he can blow their minds. So that very day, two of them 72 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:40,960 were going to a village named Emmaus, about 7 miles from 73 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:42,840 Jerusalem. You need to have in your mind 74 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:47,000 there's probably millions, at least a million, probably 75 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,760 millions plural, that have come up to Jerusalem to celebrate the 76 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:52,680 Passover. Sabbath is now ended. 77 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:55,680 And so the first day of the week, they're going back out. 78 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,440 There's still some. There's like an ebb and a flow 79 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,520 to Jerusalem at this point. So you have all of these people 80 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,200 coming from the diaspora up to worship, but the the city 81 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,120 doesn't have the infrastructure. And so you come up to worship, 82 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,960 you worship, and then you go back out to the surrounding 83 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:13,800 villages, spend the night so that you can come back the next 84 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:16,000 day. They're going to Emmaus, which 85 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,640 is a 7/7 mile journey from Jerusalem and they were talking 86 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,760 with one another about all these things. 87 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:25,560 And if you write in your Bible, put that in brackets. 88 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,200 It's something that Luke repeats again and again and again. 89 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:32,120 These things, the the things concerning the Passion week of 90 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:35,080 Christ, they're talking about these things that had happened 91 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:39,040 in verse 15. While they were talking and 92 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:43,840 discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with 93 00:05:43,840 --> 00:05:49,760 them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him and he said 94 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:52,720 to them, what is this conversation that you are 95 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,080 holding with each other as you walk? 96 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,480 Sometimes the the so we're told that their eyes were kept from 97 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:05,120 recognizing him. He he draws near and doesn't 98 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:08,640 say, hey, here I am. I've been risen from the dead. 99 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,960 He asks them about what do you what is this conversation? 100 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:17,440 And Luke tells us something fascinating. 101 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:22,240 He doesn't give just the answer. He gives the the pause to the 102 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:25,880 answer to show us kind of the gravity of what these men are 103 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:30,040 dealing with. It says they stood still looking 104 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:32,240 sad. They don't give their answer 105 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:33,880 right away. They just have you ever, have 106 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:35,840 you ever been there where somebody asked you a question 107 00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:41,040 And it's like it, it goes to the very soul of your being and you 108 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:46,320 can't give an answer right away. I heard a UFC fighter this week 109 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:49,960 being interviewed by a podcaster and this guy was just asking 110 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,200 about why he got into fighting. And this guy started telling a 111 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:58,400 story about growing up in a family where his his mom was 112 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,800 unfaithful to his dad. His dad was extremely violent 113 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:05,880 and he said I would, I would sneak into my parents room and 114 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,000 sleep under the bed thinking my dad was going to kill my mom at 115 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,200 any moment. And so I was there to protect. 116 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,840 And as he's talking about these things, this, this podcaster 117 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,200 asked him a, a question, a follow up question to it. 118 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:23,480 And you just hear this like pause and you hear this like 119 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:31,040 gutter roll, soul shattering, like, like a a soul that is 120 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,080 wounded and broken. He can't answer. 121 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:37,680 And there's just this dead silence. 122 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:40,000 And the podcaster said something awesome. 123 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,680 He was like, it's OK, buddy. I'll just I'll just sit and give 124 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:46,800 you a moment and and just sit here with you as this as this 125 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:51,640 man who could break all of us in a line just weeping about his 126 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:54,480 childhood. Have you ever been there where 127 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:57,800 somebody asks you a question and it goes to the to the deepest 128 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,320 brokenness that you've ever dealt with and you just can't 129 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,480 answer right away. Luke tells us that Clay Opus and 130 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,080 this guy that he's with. What are the things that you're 131 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:11,640 talking about? And they stood there looking 132 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:14,360 sad. And then one of them named 133 00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:17,240 Cleopas answered him. Are you And I watched the irony 134 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:24,680 here as as the as the one who is a very God, a very God is veiled 135 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:29,200 in human flesh and also risen from the dead and re veiled to 136 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,520 them so that they don't recognize that it's Christ. 137 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:38,120 Watch the irony, they say. Are you the only visitor to 138 00:08:38,120 --> 00:08:42,559 Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened that 139 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:47,280 if these things that have happened there in these days, 140 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:50,560 are you, are you the only one who hasn't heard the news? 141 00:08:50,560 --> 00:08:54,680 The irony is they're talking to the only one that actually knows 142 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:57,640 everything that's happened. He's the one that these things 143 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:00,560 happened to and he's the one that overcame all of these 144 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:04,520 things. And watch what Jesus does again. 145 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:09,000 He asks a follow up question in verse 19. 146 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:12,400 What things? What things? 147 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:13,520 Tell me what? What? 148 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:14,600 What things are you talking about? 149 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:16,800 Yeah, Maybe I'm the only one I haven't heard. 150 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:23,280 Behold your risen Christ playing the hand of his sacred surprise 151 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:28,240 like a master that he is. He is veiled from their eyes. 152 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:32,200 They're meditating on his passion week, and they're 153 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:34,840 devastated. Their soul is shattered because 154 00:09:34,840 --> 00:09:38,400 they had they had hoped that he was the one to redeem them, and 155 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:40,440 he died. And they're so all of their hope 156 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:46,600 is over and he sort of sucks out their sadness like poison. 157 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:52,960 Now it's very interesting because the, the gospel, if you 158 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:55,160 were to ask what is the gospel? There's, there's sort of a 159 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:58,720 Cliffs Notes of the gospel. That is the person and the work 160 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:02,200 of Christ. It's who Jesus is very God of 161 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,680 very God who incarnated, born of the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect 162 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:08,720 life, that that's that's his essential identity. 163 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:12,400 He is God and his man. It's the person and the work of 164 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:14,360 Christ. What did Christ do when he 165 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:16,160 incarnated? What did he accomplish? 166 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:18,720 So you've got his person and you've got his work. 167 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:22,480 And what's wild is you've got the person of Christ standing 168 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:26,320 there talking with Cleopas and this unnamed disciple, and they 169 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:29,640 know the work of Christ. They just don't know what it 170 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:31,760 means. This is the very first time 171 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:36,520 where the gospel is the the facts of the gospel are 172 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,440 communicated by anybody other than Christ. 173 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,080 This is the very first time. And I want you to, I want you to 174 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:46,640 listen to how much they know about what happens to Christ. 175 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:51,440 Meanwhile, they, they still don't know the meaning after he 176 00:10:51,440 --> 00:10:55,120 says what things they said to him concerning Jesus of 177 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:58,760 Nazareth, the man who was a prophet, mighty and deed and 178 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,240 word before God and all the people, and how our chief 179 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,480 priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and 180 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:08,040 crucified him. But we noticed the tents here. 181 00:11:08,240 --> 00:11:12,680 We had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel. 182 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:16,800 Have you ever hoped desperately for something and it just comes 183 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,560 up empty? Most devastating thing ever. 184 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,840 We had hoped he was the one we've we've all been waiting for 185 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:25,600 since Genesis 3. We thought this was the serpent 186 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:29,880 crusher. Yes. 187 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,680 And beside all this, so they even know about the 188 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:35,240 resurrection. Beside all this, it is now the 189 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:36,920 third day. Luke highlights this. 190 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:39,840 The third day since these things had happened. 191 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:44,360 Moreover, some of the women of our company amazed us. 192 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,080 They were at the tomb early in the morning and when they did 193 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,640 not find his body, they came back saying that they had even 194 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:53,880 seen visions of angels and that he was alive. 195 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:57,240 Now it's, it's very interesting because in this time, neither in 196 00:11:57,240 --> 00:12:01,160 the Jewish culture nor the Roman culture could a woman testify in 197 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:04,720 Israel on the on the evidence of two or more witnesses is a fact 198 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,200 confirmed. You could have 1000 women who 199 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:10,120 testified to the same thing and in court, it doesn't matter 200 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,480 because they're just, they were seen as a class that that 201 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,080 couldn't vote, that that couldn't bear witness. 202 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:19,480 They're just, they're, they're not in the class of witness 203 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,040 bearers. And God, in his glorious wisdom, 204 00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:26,840 decided that it would be women who were the first to testify to 205 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:30,200 the resurrection of Christ. And a lot of a lot of people are 206 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:32,240 ashamed about that. It's something we should boast 207 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:34,440 in. This is what God has done is 208 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,960 that the IT was the women watch this now the the entire 209 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,200 testimony of the church, the spread of the gospel is built on 210 00:12:41,680 --> 00:12:44,160 the witness of the apostles who saw him. 211 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:48,960 But you need to understand that the women who the women were the 212 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:50,760 first ones to bear witness to the apostles. 213 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:52,920 They're the ones that came to the apostles and said we've seen 214 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:54,600 him. He's he's risen from the dead. 215 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,640 And so the the foundation of the witness bearers is among the 216 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:00,800 women. This is very interesting, right? 217 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:04,280 It's a biblical mega theme that Eve was told in the very 218 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:08,160 beginning that her seed would come and crush the the serpent. 219 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:11,360 And so not that she would come and crush the serpent, but that 220 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:14,040 she would give that that through the woman light would come into 221 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:17,080 the world. And so throughout history, 222 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:21,000 there's always been this glorious feminine responsibility 223 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,760 to be the light bringers that that they're not going to be the 224 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:26,440 warriors. They are forbidden to be the 225 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:28,800 warriors, but they are supposed to give birth to the warriors 226 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:30,360 and raise them up to be that way. 227 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:35,240 And so when the real final Savior comes, it is also women 228 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,320 not only who bring him into the world through the the Virgin 229 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:44,280 Mary, but also women who are the 1st to see the evidence of the 230 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:46,400 new world that Christ has been raised from the dead. 231 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:47,960 And they bear witness to the apostles. 232 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:52,320 And so these guys say, look, our, our women said the women of 233 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,280 our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in 234 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,320 the morning when they did not find his body. 235 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:00,360 They came back saying they'd seen visions of angels who said 236 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,520 that he was alive. Some of them who were with us 237 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:06,560 went to the tomb and found it, just as the women had said. 238 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:10,840 But him they did not see. So this is the first time that 239 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:13,560 somebody other than Christ preaches the facts of the 240 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:15,960 gospel. Paul says it this way in First 241 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:17,880 Corinthians 15. Now I would remind you, 242 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:19,640 brothers, of the gospel I preach to you. 243 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:25,000 Watch this which you received, in which you stand and by which 244 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,440 you are being saved. If you hold fast to the word, I 245 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:30,200 preach to you unless you believed in vain. 246 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,480 What he's saying is this whole notion that has kind of plagued 247 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,680 our culture for a while of like you hear the gospel, you walk an 248 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,480 aisle, pray a prayer, fill out a prayer card, and then you just 249 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:42,840 live your life as before, waiting for Jesus to save you on 250 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:47,040 the last day is not it's not a biblical it's not a biblical 251 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:49,240 response to the gospel. Paul says three things. 252 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:52,880 This is a gospel which Once Upon a time you received and you were 253 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:56,640 born again in which right now you are standing. 254 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:01,320 So don't don't talk to me about like, well, one time I walked in 255 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,040 now prayed a prayer, signed a card. 256 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:07,760 And so I'm I'm good. No, it's the gospel in which you 257 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:13,400 stand today or not like are you standing in the person and work 258 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,680 of Christ which he's going to detail out in a few moments, but 259 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:20,120 he says this is the gospel you received in which you stand by 260 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:24,240 which you are being safe. It's continually saving you if 261 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:27,280 you hold fast to the word. I preach to you and he and he 262 00:15:27,280 --> 00:15:30,360 goes on to say for I delivered to you as of first importance of 263 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:34,440 what I also received that Christ died for our sins in accordance 264 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,800 with the Scriptures. OK notice in accordance with the 265 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,200 Scriptures. This is the plan all along, that 266 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,680 he was buried and then he was raised on the third day in 267 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:47,480 accordance with the Scriptures. That this was a biblical 268 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:51,400 fulfillment, that Christ was crucified and raised on the 269 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:52,760 third day. It was in accordance with the 270 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:55,160 Scriptures. So I just want you to see this, 271 00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:58,640 brother. Sister, the facts of the gospel 272 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:02,960 are all here, but their eyes are as blind to the meaning as they 273 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,520 are to the man who is asking them about their troubles. 274 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:10,360 They can't recognize Christ and they can't recognize the meaning 275 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:12,640 of the gospel. They know all the facts, they 276 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,840 just don't know what it means. The facts of the gospel. 277 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,200 Think about this, right? It's the very facts of the 278 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:21,360 gospel that we boast in. Christ crucified for us, 279 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,320 rejected by the Jewish leaders, risen from the dead. 280 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:26,720 That's your boast. That's my boast. 281 00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:29,520 That's their devastation. They don't understand it. 282 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:35,280 We're it's, it's caused them great fear, anxiety, because 283 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,800 they don't know the meaning. This is a great metaphor for 284 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:44,120 unbelievers and believers alike. You can make the case that all 285 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:48,280 of our troubles talking about believers, all of our troubles, 286 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:51,680 all of our fears, doubts, anxieties, they're all rooted in 287 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:56,200 the fact that we are unable to see God as he is in light of the 288 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:58,800 gospel. Or we are unable to see 289 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:03,600 ourselves as we are in light of the gospel or we are unable to 290 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,720 see the world as it is in light of the gospel. 291 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,880 So anytime we have fear, anxiety, stress, anger, like 292 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:15,680 those things that are, that are fruits of the flesh, not fruits 293 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,040 of the Spirit. All of those things are rooted 294 00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:21,960 in the fact that we have not yet learned to see all things 295 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:26,960 through the lens of Jesus Christ crucified and raised for Sinner. 296 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,200 Who is God in light of the gospel? 297 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,000 Who, who is he in light of the gospel? 298 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,200 Well, if we didn't know the gospel, we would typically 299 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:40,960 offload what we received from our fathers on to God that he's 300 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:45,440 either non existent, never met him or he's he's there. 301 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:49,160 And I know he has like a a kindness or an affection towards 302 00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,760 me, but he's but he's distant. He's never around. 303 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:54,160 I never get to see him. And so I would never call him to 304 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,320 ask for help because you know, he's, he's like out there or 305 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:00,280 he's abusive and violent and vengeful and I'm afraid of him. 306 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:04,160 But when we come to the gospel and we see God as the the Father 307 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:08,400 of lights in whom every good gift comes from him and whom 308 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:11,080 there's no variation or shadows due to change, that he is the 309 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,320 fountain head of all goodness and blessing toward us. 310 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,040 This is who God is in the gospel. 311 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:20,400 He is our Father. Who are you in light of the 312 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:22,800 gospel? If without the gospel, who are 313 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,160 you? You are a grain and a sand, one 314 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:28,880 among million just sad people walking around with no purpose 315 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:30,600 and no future. That's it. 316 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,280 And you can, you can medicate that and numb that, but 317 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,400 ultimately without the gospel, you are just a cosmic nobody. 318 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:41,480 And so am I. But in the light of the gospel, 319 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,440 who are you? You're the beloved of Christ. 320 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:47,320 You are one for whom Christ died. 321 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,000 And so is the person sitting next to you. 322 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:52,080 What is the world in light of the gospel? 323 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,480 It's it's chaos. The, the evil men are in charge 324 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:57,880 and they're ruining everything and they're ruining everything. 325 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:02,160 And, and if that's all we can see and we, we fail to see that 326 00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:06,280 the world as it is, is the, is the canvas upon which Christ is 327 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:10,400 going to paint his sovereign mercy, his sovereign grace. 328 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:15,320 So all of our anxiety is rooted right here that we look at God's 329 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:19,080 self for the world without Christ and we live therefore in 330 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:22,560 despair. But to look at anything, all 331 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,560 three of those things through the lens of Christ crucified and 332 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,400 raised for sinners is joy unmeasured. 333 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,400 Now so, so they have all of the facts of the gospel, but they 334 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,040 have no meaning. Now. 335 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:40,240 Watch what Jesus does for them. In verse 25, He says this 336 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:45,320 gracious but firm rebuke. He said to them, oh, foolish 337 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:50,560 ones and slow of heart to believe, I love that he gives 338 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:53,040 them that grace. It's not just that he calls them 339 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:56,960 like you, our guys are so dumb. He says you're slow of heart to 340 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:01,320 believe that the book of Exodus describes Israel in their 341 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:04,040 bondage, that Moses comes and he says, I've been sent my God to 342 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:05,960 redeem you. I'm I'm going to rescue you. 343 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,440 God is going to rescue you. He's heard your troubles and 344 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:11,560 he's going to rescue and. They've been enslaved for 400 345 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:14,960 years and the text says that they had they were unable to 346 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,520 believe the word of Moses because of their long slavery. 347 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:20,120 They just been beat down and crushed in spirit. 348 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:24,760 They could not muster the joy to to hear the promises of God and 349 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:27,160 hold the promises of God and rejoice in them. 350 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,920 Jesus says these guys are the same way, oh foolish ones. 351 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,400 And slow of heart to believe. Now watch what they're slow of 352 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,400 heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. 353 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:45,880 Was it not necessary? Circle that word that the Christ 354 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:51,560 circle that word should suffer circle that word these things 355 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:57,600 and enter into glory. Circle the word glory necessary 356 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:02,160 Christ suffer glory. So just to think about this with 357 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:06,800 me, if we could read all of the Scriptures imaginatively, like 358 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:10,160 with a with a lens, the way that the the way that the New 359 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,280 Testament writers read the Old Testament. 360 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:14,920 If we could read it imaginatively, we would know 361 00:21:14,920 --> 00:21:19,240 that the overwhelming mega theme of God's people is this promise 362 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:23,480 first suffering next glory to follow. 363 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:28,680 OK, wise man once said that God's favorite shape is a check 364 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,160 mark, right? You start here, you go down, and 365 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,280 then you go up higher. I think God's favorite shape is 366 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:36,680 the square root. And I don't do math, but I just 367 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:40,280 know this, this, this symbol. So a square root, right? 368 00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,680 If you're going to draw it with a pen, you start here, you go up 369 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:44,880 a little bit, then you go down really far, then you go up 370 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:46,520 really far, and then straight over. 371 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,800 So amending it never the horizontal, just the continued 372 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:53,640 vector into eternity. But you start here, go down, up. 373 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,440 You go a little bit down, way up, super down, way high. 374 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:01,320 That's the square root. That's God's favorite shape. 375 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,480 And that's the purpose of or the, the the picture of the 376 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:06,400 whole Old Testament. And so think about this. 377 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:12,760 We're told that Christ begins with Moses and all the prophets. 378 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:16,240 He interpreted that in to them in all the scriptures, the 379 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:18,760 things concerning himself. He's just going through. 380 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:20,320 It's the greatest sermon ever preached. 381 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,640 He's going through the beginning to the end of the Old Testament 382 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:27,840 and he's saying these are the things concerning myself. 383 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:32,320 So you think about Adam, he's a perfect man in a in a garden. 384 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:35,560 And he's given a future Commission, right? 385 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:40,080 A future oriented Commission. But the problem is we're told 386 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,640 that he's not good alone. So he's so he's a perfect man in 387 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:45,440 a garden. He's given a command that that 388 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,120 goes up a little bit, but then we're told it's not good that 389 00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:51,080 you're alone. And so God in a picture kills 390 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:55,320 him, breaks him, wounds his side, takes from his side a rib 391 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:58,640 that he fashions into a bride. And then he's risen from the 392 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:00,200 dead. And he's so much higher than he 393 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:02,160 was before. He's so much more now. 394 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:07,000 He has power, he has ability to be fruitful, multiply, fill the 395 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:11,080 earth, and so he receives back his self, which is his second 396 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,080 self, and he's better off than he ever was. 397 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:18,160 Adam and Eve, perfect in a garden, naked, unashamed, 398 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:21,000 blessed by God. So they're, so they're there. 399 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,840 They receive blessing from God and they become the prototype of 400 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:26,920 marriage in the picture of Christ in this church. 401 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,280 And then when they believe Satan, they fall out of favor, 402 00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,880 they are expelled from the garden and they go down, down, 403 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:37,440 down, down, down until Christ takes their ultimate punishment, 404 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,760 their death. And then he rises from the dead 405 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:45,040 and all humanity with him. And so the human arc is is up 406 00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:48,360 really far down, really far up, and then forever. 407 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:51,960 That way you think about Abraham, he receives a promise. 408 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:53,720 Abraham, Earl of the Chaldeans, right? 409 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,400 He receives a promise from God in Genesis 12. 410 00:23:57,200 --> 00:23:59,680 God calls him out of nowhere. He goes, He gets this like 411 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:02,640 little blip of upward command of God. 412 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:07,160 I promise you, I'll bless you. I'll give you land seed 413 00:24:07,160 --> 00:24:08,880 blessing. I'll make of you a great nation, 414 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,240 a great name in all the earth and in you all the nations of 415 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:16,000 the earth will be blessed. So he goes, he gets this promise 416 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:20,080 and then he goes so far down because in 20 years of 417 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:26,960 barrenness, this exalted father Abraham, exalted father is, is 418 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,840 what his name means. He has 20 years of barrenness in 419 00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,520 the land of promise where he never acquires a square inch of 420 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:36,400 land until his wife dies and then he has to buy it. 421 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:41,920 So it's this, it's this promise first, subjection later. 422 00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:46,400 And then he rises up with his with his offspring to inherit, 423 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:52,240 to inherit the, the land. So you have, you have Isaac, 424 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,120 right? God had promised Isaac Abraham's 425 00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:57,000 20 years barren. And then he has a son of the 426 00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:58,600 flesh, which is a really good thing. 427 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:01,320 Ishmael, it's a, it's a Ishmael is a blessing. 428 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:04,080 But God says, no, my covenant is not going to be through Ishmael. 429 00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:07,760 It's going to be through a son from you and from Sarah. 430 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:09,960 You're going to have a son of the promise. 431 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,120 And so Isaac is born and God says it's not going to be my 432 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:14,840 covenant is not going to go through Ishmael. 433 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:19,640 It's going to go through Isaac. And so finally Abraham is 434 00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:23,480 holding in his hand that the the, the person through whom God 435 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,400 is going to bless and inherit and bring about the covenant 436 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:29,040 promises. And then God says, now I want 437 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,560 you to take that son and I want you to go to a place called 438 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:34,160 Mount Moriah. More on that in a moment. 439 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:36,520 But I want you to go there and I want you to take your son and I 440 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,960 want you to take the wood of his offering and lay it on his back. 441 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:45,080 And I want you, exalted Father, to take the your son, your only 442 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:47,040 son, the son whom you love, Isaac. 443 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,640 And I want you to put the wood of the sacrifice on his 444 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:51,920 shoulders. And I want you to go up on Mount 445 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,320 Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. 446 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:58,680 And so, and so the text tells us not New Testament, but Old 447 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,640 Testament texts says that they were three days journeying. 448 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:05,120 So in the mind of Abraham, the author of Hebrews tells us that 449 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:08,280 in the mind of Abraham, Isaac was as good as dead for three 450 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:11,600 days. And his conclusion was Isaac is 451 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,040 the son of the promise, but I've got to kill him. 452 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,520 And so God is going to have to raise him from the dead. 453 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,760 That was his faith. That's the reasoning of faith is 454 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:24,840 that Abraham said, I'm going to, I'm going to offer him up and 455 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:26,480 God is going to raise him up from the dead. 456 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:29,800 And so when they go up on to Mount Moriah, they find the 457 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:32,120 substitute. And it's not, listen to me, it's 458 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:34,360 not a lamb, it's not a baby lamb. 459 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:39,680 It's a ram caught by his horns. The text tells us the horns are 460 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,040 always a symbol for Kingdom, for authority, for kingship. 461 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:48,080 Think about the book of Daniel. This ram is caught in his horns 462 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:54,200 in a Bush of thorns on Mount Moriah, and and the lamb dies in 463 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:57,360 Isaac's stead, and Abraham receives Isaac back in 464 00:26:57,360 --> 00:26:59,600 resurrection. So you have this, you have this 465 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:01,080 up, you have this down really far. 466 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:03,960 He thinks he's going to die. And then God raises him from the 467 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,560 dead. Jacob promised in the womb to 468 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,640 rule his brothers, to rule his brother. 469 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:10,960 The older shall serve the younger. 470 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:15,000 Jacob receives Esau's birthright and his blessing, assuring that 471 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,240 he would be Lord of the earth. And then he spends 21 years. 472 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:22,200 Think about this, he's promised you are going to be the covenant 473 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:27,360 son, but then he has to leave home fleeing from a fratricidic 474 00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:29,320 brother. Esau was going to kill him. 475 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:34,560 So he spends 21 years in Laban's house being cheated, lied to, 476 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:38,440 humiliated and abused by his father-in-law, right? 477 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:42,680 Not exactly how you would expect the one to inherit the nations 478 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,360 to be treated, but he spends 21 years suffering that way and 479 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:49,880 then the end of his story, the end of Jacob's story is he's in 480 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:52,840 Egypt. His son has saved the world and 481 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:57,440 Pharaoh comes to Jacob and asks for a blessing and fulfillment 482 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:01,240 of the Abrahamic covenant that Abraham, as it were his blessing 483 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:06,000 the nation's you have Joseph given 2 dreams and of domination 484 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,280 when he was 17 that the fruit of his hands and the and the 485 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:15,200 essential character like his, his name, his his Kingdom is 486 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:18,000 going to be exalted above that of his brothers and his 487 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,000 father's. And then he spends the next 13 488 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:24,960 years enslaved, slandered in prison, forgotten, impoverished 489 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:27,600 cap. The capstone of that is he 490 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:31,840 slandered and he's thrown into the prison and he's there for a 491 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:35,840 number of for a number of years until he interprets the dreams 492 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,920 of two men who are who are escape from prison, one to 493 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:43,520 death, 1 to exaltation. And they forget about him not 494 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,760 for three, not for three days, but the text says they forget 495 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:48,200 about him for two measures of time. 496 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,920 For two years they forgot about him, which means on the third 497 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:55,720 year Joseph is rised up, not released from prison. 498 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:58,120 That would be awesome. Congratulations, you're now free 499 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:00,920 to go. No, we're, we're taking you out 500 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:04,280 of prison to put you on the throne and you're going to rule 501 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:06,240 the world. You're going to save the world. 502 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:09,320 So again, you have this guy who go, he gets a promise. 503 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,360 He goes down into the pit and he's exalted to glory. 504 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:16,240 You have David anointed as a young man, anointed as king. 505 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:18,360 He was so young. The text tells us he was 506 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:20,240 identified in the tent of his mother. 507 00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,720 Think about this. Samuel comes to Jesse's house 508 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:26,080 and he says, call all of your sons. 509 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:28,680 So imagine if you came to my house and said, I want you to 510 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,080 call your sons. And I say, Eli, come here. 511 00:29:31,080 --> 00:29:33,080 And I I don't even mention Judah. 512 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:36,640 It's a pretty wild thing. Like, yeah, well, he's just a 513 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:37,960 kid. He doesn't really matter. 514 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,880 The idea is David is identified in the tent of his mother, but 515 00:29:41,880 --> 00:29:45,320 he's anointed king. And then the next story that we 516 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:49,920 read about him is he goes to battle Goliath on on the 517 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:51,680 battlefield. And when he shows up there 518 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:54,080 having been anointed king, his brother slander him. 519 00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:57,360 They say that he's shirking work, that he's that he's a hot 520 00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:59,360 head. David comes out onto the 521 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:01,840 battlefield. You know the story and you and 522 00:30:01,840 --> 00:30:04,600 you should be able to guess it. David is identified with the 523 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:08,520 tint of his mother. Goliath is identified again and 524 00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:13,680 again and again with bronze armor, bronze Nahosh, serpent, 525 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,440 Nahoshet. There, there he is. 526 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,720 If you, if we spoke Hebrew, the description of Goliath, we would 527 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:24,360 read serpent, serpent, serpent, serpent, serpent, serpent. 528 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:26,920 He's a, he's a Serpentine man, a giant. 529 00:30:27,200 --> 00:30:29,120 So you have the seed of the woman, this little boy, he's 530 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:31,560 been anointed king. And you have the seed of the 531 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:33,120 serpent. And they're going to do battle. 532 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:37,560 And we, if we recognize or, or knew our Genesis 3, we would 533 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,400 know what's going to happen. The serpent's head is going to 534 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:42,640 be crushed. Exactly what happens. 535 00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:47,520 David crushes his head, cuts his head off, but the story ends 536 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:51,280 marvelously. David takes Goliath's head and 537 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:55,840 he makes his way to Jerusalem of all places, to the very place 538 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:58,840 where Abraham brought Isaac and Isaac was substituted and his 539 00:30:58,840 --> 00:31:01,920 life was spared. And David takes Goliath's head, 540 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:08,480 Goliath of Gath, which becomes through usage Galgotha, the 541 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:11,360 place of the skull, and he buries Goliath's skull in 542 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:13,840 Jerusalem. It's not that the place looked 543 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:17,320 like a skull, it was that David buried the head of Goliath there 544 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:23,280 and that's the very place where our Christ was crucified for our 545 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,720 sin. Christ, right? 546 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:30,880 All of these again exalt exaltation, supreme suffering 547 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:33,200 and then further exaltation to glory. 548 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:36,680 Jesus was called in the womb before he entered the womb, the 549 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:41,040 son of David, the Son of God. He was, he was called at two 550 00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:43,160 years after his birth. The wise men show up and say 551 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:45,200 where is he who has been born King of the Jews. 552 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,320 He was declared to be the Son of God at his baptism, and then he 553 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:52,040 spends the next three years of his life in the outskirts of 554 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:55,360 Israel, only to be rejected by the Jewish leader, sold out by a 555 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,880 close friend, abandoned by his closest disciples and friends, 556 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:01,520 and nailed to a tree like a common thief and 557 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:04,200 insurrectionist. Think about this, the most 558 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,480 dignified part of the death of Christ. 559 00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:10,680 If I were to ask you, what is the one thing in the death of 560 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:15,160 Christ where he where he was uncommonly dignified? 561 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:18,960 And it would be his tomb that he wasn't thrown out on the refuse 562 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,560 heap in Gehenna, that he was put in the tomb of a wealthy man, a 563 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,440 new tomb that had been cut for a wealthy man. 564 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:27,480 That's the most dignified part of his humiliation. 565 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:31,720 But then he rose up three days later to eternal dominion. 566 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:34,800 And so the question I would ask you is, why does God do it this 567 00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,120 way? If we were writing the story, 568 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:41,920 and Paul tells us that we are, we are being transformed from 1° 569 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:45,000 of glory to the next, just like triumphalism. 570 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:46,760 I don't ever want to take a step back. 571 00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:49,400 If I'm telling the story, there's no set back, there's no 572 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:54,120 loss, 1° of glory to the next. Well, two things. 573 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:58,000 Because God, by God's decree, the fundamental gesture of the 574 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:01,080 universe is death and resurrection. 575 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:04,640 That's the fundamental gesture of the story that God is telling 576 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:07,480 is death and resurrection is comedy. 577 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:10,040 It's comedy. That's what God loves to tell. 578 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,720 If if if we had a family movie night and I gave you three 579 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,800 options. You can, you can go watch Gone 580 00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:18,880 with the Wind, which is sort of epic. 581 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:24,560 You can watch Of Mice and Men where where Lenny gets shot in 582 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:27,960 the back of the head tragedy. Or you can watch Nacho Libre, 583 00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:32,520 Gone with the Wind, Anybody. No. 584 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:36,200 Of Mice and Men, Anybody. No. 585 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,120 Maybe, maybe some. No. 586 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:41,800 We would choose Nacho Libre. We would choose where this 587 00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:49,280 lovable loser right kills Ramses and gets incarnation incarnacion 588 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:51,720 where he where he kills the dragon, he gets the girl, he 589 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:53,640 rescues all the orphans of the world. 590 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:57,560 Listen, there's a reason we like comedy best of all. 591 00:33:58,080 --> 00:33:59,920 Comedy always ends with a wedding. 592 00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:05,000 It always ends with with the lovable loser conquering the the 593 00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:07,840 foe that cannot be defeated and then he gets married. 594 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:12,320 That's because we're Christians and God has seen to it that the 595 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:15,600 world is comedic. He promises that the world is 596 00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:17,040 comedy. Listen to me, brothers and 597 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:20,600 sisters, the world ends well. The world ends in the defeat of 598 00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:23,679 evil and in the marriage covenant of the Lord. 599 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:27,280 The second reason is because our God would not have us lose heart 600 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:29,159 even in the worst of circumstances. 601 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:32,800 This life is the closest thing to hell that a believer will 602 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,600 ever face. Some of us are going through 603 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:38,159 really rough times. Some of us are neutral, some of 604 00:34:38,159 --> 00:34:42,800 us are in great times. But when it's at its worst, this 605 00:34:42,800 --> 00:34:45,280 life is the closest thing to hell that you'll ever face. 606 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:47,760 It only gets better. It only gets better. 607 00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:51,400 Sadly, the reverse is true for those outside of Christ, This 608 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:55,840 life, it's an unthinkable devastating truth. 609 00:34:55,840 --> 00:34:58,200 But this life is the closest thing to heaven that they will 610 00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:01,520 ever know. But but for the believer, like 611 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:05,160 as as bad as it can get, God is going to raise it up to much 612 00:35:05,240 --> 00:35:11,480 greater glory. So give me please 5 more minutes 613 00:35:11,480 --> 00:35:17,600 to show you something magic. So Christ is interpreting the 614 00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:20,440 things concerning himself in the Scripture. 615 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:25,160 In verse 28, the text says they drew near to the village to 616 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:28,800 which they were going. So 7 miles, leisurely walk while 617 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,240 they're talking. We're talking about a number of 618 00:35:31,240 --> 00:35:33,040 hours. And so as I beg you for five 619 00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:36,440 more minutes, just be grateful that I'm not preaching for four 620 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:39,400 hours in light of the sermon that they got, that they got 621 00:35:39,720 --> 00:35:42,120 theirs was much better. So they drew near to the village 622 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:44,760 in which they were going and he acted so. 623 00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:46,720 So he's still playing this mystery. 624 00:35:46,720 --> 00:35:51,160 He's still teasing them. He acted as if he were going 625 00:35:51,160 --> 00:35:53,800 farther, but they urged him strongly, saying stay with us 626 00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:57,200 for the afraid of stored evening and the day is now far spent. 627 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:00,000 And so he went in to stay with them. 628 00:36:00,560 --> 00:36:03,800 And when he was at table with them, he took bread and he 629 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:05,360 blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 630 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:07,560 And their eyes were open and they recognized him. 631 00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:12,520 Now this could be that as he's, this could be just the physical 632 00:36:12,520 --> 00:36:15,360 act of he's been walking. They haven't noticed what's 633 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:18,640 going on, but now he grabs the bread and he lifts it up and his 634 00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:21,520 sleeves fall and they see the scars and they say it's, it's 635 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:24,040 him, it's the Lord. It could be just physical. 636 00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:27,200 It could also be the, the spiritual blindness that that 637 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:29,600 was put on them, that they could not recognize him. 638 00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:34,160 But the text stresses and emphasizes this, that it was 639 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:37,640 when he took bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to 640 00:36:37,640 --> 00:36:39,840 them. Their eyes were open and they 641 00:36:39,840 --> 00:36:42,800 recognized and they recognized him in the breaking of bread, in 642 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:46,640 the feeding of his people. And then unthinkably, he 643 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:49,720 vanishes from their sight. Now just pause for a moment. 644 00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:54,320 You've, you've been, you've been taught the entirety of the Old 645 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:56,480 Testament. You've seen now the meaning of 646 00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:00,160 all the sacred Scripture, and the meaning is Christ who was to 647 00:37:00,160 --> 00:37:03,280 be rejected, suffered, and exalted to glory. 648 00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:07,800 You've seen all of that, and now you see the resurrected Christ 649 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:10,560 and he vanishes. What's the first words in your 650 00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:13,240 mouth? Where did he go? 651 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:15,720 Run outside, Call him back. Where are you going? 652 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:21,840 Watch what they do in verse 32. They said to each other. 653 00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:27,200 Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the 654 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:30,880 road, while he opened to us? The Scriptures they are. 655 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:37,440 They are so overwhelmed by the meaning of Scripture that they 656 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:42,080 can't even lament that Christ has gone from their presence and 657 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:45,200 watch what they do in verse 33, they rose that same hour 658 00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:47,240 returned to Jerusalem. How do you like that? 659 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:51,120 That's like my friend will over here in the corner that jogs to 660 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:57,160 Taco Tuesday and then jogs home. Like who walks 7 miles just gets 661 00:37:57,160 --> 00:38:00,280 there and says we, we got to go back right And so they turn and 662 00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:01,640 they go back to Jerusalem same day. 663 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:04,320 They found the 11 and those who are with them gathered together 664 00:38:04,320 --> 00:38:08,520 saying the Lord has risen indeed and he appeared to Simon verse 665 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:11,720 35 and then they were told what had happened on the road and how 666 00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:15,920 he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. 667 00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:19,400 Something about the breaking of the bread that causes Christ to 668 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,040 be known to them. So they say, did not our hearts 669 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:24,920 burn within us while he talked to us on the road when he opened 670 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:29,560 to us the scriptures? 2 things I I just learned this 671 00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:33,480 week digging into this and, and I've it's the smartest human 672 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:35,640 I've ever learned from. His name is Doctor Warren Gage. 673 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:39,520 He was he's a he's a theologian. He was a practicing lawyer, like 674 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:43,200 super, super, big time Dallas mega lawyer firm. 675 00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:46,600 He's really phenomenal. And he was saying that they were 676 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:48,880 taught in court. You put your when you're 677 00:38:48,880 --> 00:38:52,320 building a case, you put your strongest arguments first so 678 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:54,520 that by the end you don't lose your audience. 679 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:57,720 So you put you, you start off with your strongest argument. 680 00:38:58,520 --> 00:39:03,080 And so I want you to, I want you to see these these disciples are 681 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:05,920 devastated because they think that Christ is not alive. 682 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:07,720 They think that he's gone. They think that their hope is 683 00:39:07,720 --> 00:39:11,240 perished. And he has at his disposal at 684 00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:16,440 any moment the trump card of like, look at the scars, put 685 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:19,400 your hand here. But he doesn't do that because 686 00:39:19,400 --> 00:39:24,080 that's not as good proof as the testimony of the Old Testament. 687 00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:27,320 The scriptures of the Old Testament are more sure 688 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:29,800 testimony to us than the scars on his hands. 689 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:33,800 And so he takes the time to teach them the entirety of the 690 00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:37,720 Old Testament. Secondly, that he leaves them, 691 00:39:37,720 --> 00:39:40,520 which sounds heartbreaking until you realize that he leaves them 692 00:39:40,520 --> 00:39:43,560 to ponder the scriptures that he had just taught them. 693 00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:50,000 So he gives them everything they need to be fed on his, on his 694 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:53,840 rejection, on his crucifixion, and on His exaltation by leaving 695 00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:56,600 them with the Scripture. So Jesus is risen. 696 00:39:56,960 --> 00:40:00,400 We cannot see him. The good news is that he is 697 00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:03,240 still made known to us in his word and in his sacrament. 698 00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:07,400 He still reveals himself to us in the breaking of bread. 699 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:09,920 Why do we break the bread? Why do we come to the Lord's 700 00:40:09,920 --> 00:40:13,040 Table every Sunday? Because and I quote. 701 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:18,200 He was made known to them in the breaking of bread, and it's 702 00:40:18,200 --> 00:40:21,480 still the same way. Christ is still the living Lord 703 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:25,920 who feeds His people, and who surprises us with hope made new, 704 00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:29,120 and who reveals Himself in the tending of His flock. 705 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,160 We are His body. He gave Himself up for us that 706 00:40:32,160 --> 00:40:35,200 He might sanctify us, having cleansed us and washed us with 707 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:38,360 the water of the Word, so that He can present us back to 708 00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:42,160 Himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, so 709 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:46,560 that for the rest of all time Christ can nourish and cherish 710 00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:50,600 us, because we are His body and we are his bride. 711 00:40:51,280 --> 00:40:55,920 So can I just invite you, brother, sister, look here at 712 00:40:55,920 --> 00:41:00,160 the table. See the normal bread that brings 713 00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:03,440 with it, by God's grace, God's Holy Spirit, a real 714 00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:05,360 participation in the body of Christ. 715 00:41:05,680 --> 00:41:09,800 See the wine that by God's Holy Spirit is a real participation 716 00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,720 in the forgiveness of sins every Lord's day of our lives. 717 00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:16,240 And in the breaking of this bread and the pouring out of 718 00:41:16,240 --> 00:41:20,520 this wine, we see Christ who suffered for us, that he might 719 00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:24,120 rise up and enter into his glory, and that he might bring 720 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:27,560 us with him. There is no greater joy 721 00:41:27,560 --> 00:41:30,480 available to man than Christ himself who has offered to you 722 00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:34,840 here and now and succumb and welcome to Jesus Christ. 723 00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:42,160 And we pray for us, Lord Jesus, we confess we are just like 724 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:48,280 Cleopas and the unnamed disciple that we we lose sight of and and 725 00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:53,840 have not fully understood the meaning and the accomplishment 726 00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:57,240 of your rejection, your crucifixion, your resurrection, 727 00:41:57,240 --> 00:42:01,880 and your ascension. These are things we need help. 728 00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:05,680 We need help recognizing who you are as the resurrected Lord of 729 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:09,600 the earth. And so, Lord, we ask you this 730 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:13,960 morning once again that you would reveal yourself in the 731 00:42:13,960 --> 00:42:17,960 breaking of bread, that you would show yourself to us as we 732 00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:21,760 come to this table together, eating the bread, drinking the 733 00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:26,760 wine, remembering the broken body in the shed blood of our 734 00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:28,960 Savior. So would you draw near to us? 735 00:42:28,960 --> 00:42:30,920 Would you minister to us at the table? 736 00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:33,360 Lord, we ask him in Jesus name, Amen.