Small Steps: What is Jesus saying to me in the Word?

Luke 24:36-49

Listening guide

Easter is not just a letter from a law firm.... 

Easter is a better __________. 

“Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” (verse 44) 

Easter isn’t just a story that he can celebrate. It’s a story …...  

“The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (verse 46-47)   

Easter is a story we can all _____________. 

Ask yourself: What is Jesus saying to me in his Word?   

Discussion questions

Sermon

I gave you this illustration last week. I don’t know if you liked it, no one told me. Easter is like getting a letter from a legitimate law firm saying that you are the long lost relative of a very important family. You have just inherited millions.  

That would be a great story.  

It would be a little awkward for sure. I can’t imagine what you would tell your family when you got home. 

The conversation with your friends, that would be pretty fun. Can you imagine saying, Hey everyone, you’ve been great. Thanks for being my friends. I’ll try not to forget you in my life. I’m off to Switzerland for a weekend of business deals and skiing! I’ll see you in Congress someday! 

Can you imagine telling your boss, hey boss, thanks for all the opportunities and encouragement you gave me. I’m sorry I can’t teach the 4th graders anymore. I’ve got to go be the VP for business development for this big fortune 500 company.  

What a great story! That would be a crazy story! 

As far as I can tell, there is just one problem. Your story doesn’t do a thing for me.  

If you get a letter saying you’re part of an important family and you’re suddenly rich, and I’m your friend, how does that help me?  

If you’re suddenly famous and rich, and I’m your brother, what does that mean about me? 

If I’m your mother and you’re walking out my door because you belong to another mother, where does that leave me? 

Now maybe I can get some money from you. Maybe I get a business reference from you. But I lose you. I still lose out.  

That’s where this illustration breaks down. Easter is a much better story. 

Adventure  

That’s what Jesus wants to give us this week. Jesus wants to give us a better story to celebrate.  

Development 

Today’s event, Jesus showed up in a room with his disciples. He showed them his hands and feet. He was not a ghost or a spirit. He was actually physically alive.  

This is one of those crazy places where Luke is trying to tell us just how different the resurrection of Jesus is. Peter, James, John, and all the other Jewish people had no problem with a resurrection at the end of the world. They believed everyone would rise at the end.  

They also thought there was a life after death. They thought people were spirits or ghosts or something like that.  

What they didn’t believe, no one believed that people rise from the dead. They never thought Jesus would show up with a body. Suddenly they saw this once dead now living man.  

Jesus changed the entire story. He said, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” (verse 44)  

You’ve got to know how weird this is. If you read the Old Testament and you’ve got this verse in mind, you won’t read the name Jesus one time. I know the name Joshua is the same root as Jesus, but you won’t find the name Jesus.  

If you read the Old Testament, you won’t hear about a cross.  

If you read the Old Testament, you won’t read about a soldier and an empty tomb.  

What you will find is an endless string of birds and sheep and cows sacrificed.  

What you will find is a prophet who leads his people to the promised land.  

What you will find a slave who sets people free.  

What you will find is a servant who saves people.  

What you will find is a king who reigns forever.  

What you will find is the mighty made low, the humble raised up, and the dead coming to life.  

What you will find is a story to celebrate. What Jesus has done, he has said, No matter how bad things are. No matter how sick people are. No matter how poor people are. No matter how confused people are. No matter how many people die … you should celebrate.  

This is the thing... God has said, no matter how much hell demands from you, I’ve given more. No matter how much death asks of you, I’ve answered more. No matter how much sin steals from you, I’ve handed out more.  

The real stories, the deep stories .... the “if we serve we can succeed”. The “if we sacrifice someone can prevail”. The “if we give generously, we will reap richly”. Easter says celebrate ... because they’re true.  

They won’t be true for you if you don’t trust him. But Easter says they can be true because of him for all of you.  

That’s what Easter. It’s a story we can celebrate. And unlike the story of ancient Israel, it’s a story for all of us, for you.  

Because Easter is only kind of like the letter from the law firm. Easter is more like a story of Pheidippedes. In 490 BC a man named Pheidippides ran about 150 miles from the city of Marathon to the city of Sparta. He needed to ask the Spartans for help to fight the Persians. He then turned around and ran back. He ran 300 miles over a few days! But that isn’t the run that made him famous. Because a little while later the Greeks won the battle at Marathon, he ran the 26 miles from Marathon to Athens. He announced “Joy, we win!” Pheidippides - Wikipedia  

What did he make for us? The marathon. Do you know how many people’s lives he changed with that run? Millions and millions have people run the race people will call “the best and most rewarding type of pain out there” What Does it Feel Like to Run a Marathon? The No BS Truth - Better Than Alive “Running has given me so much … I can’t wait to do this again.” What It Feels Like to Run Your First Marathon | Marathon Training Academy. Millions of people run races because of him.  

I bet a lot of you would say, I would never run a marathon. I bet there are only one or two people in this whole room who have in the past or would in the future run a marathon.  

But the point of the illustration is this:  

 “The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (verse 46-47)  

Jesus both suffered and rose. He is the one person who both lost and won all by himself.  

Ever since the first human beings, Adam and Eve, some people suffered and some people succeeded. Some people won and some people lost. Cain lived and Abel died. Abraham grew rich and Lot became corrupt. Jacob got the birthright and Esau lost out. The Hebrews were enslaved, the Egyptians walked free. Achan went down, Joshua rose up. Saul lost the crown, David gained the throne. The Israelites went into exile, the Assyria captured them.  

And this continues even today. The Germans lost WW2, the Americans won. The Republicans lost the elections, the Democrats won. The Democrats lost the election, the Republicans won.  

Pheidippedes is one of those rare stories where the same guy lost and won. Because he ran this great race that has changed human history, giving millions of people the inspiration to get healthy and do more. But even he died.  

Jesus is the only one who first died then rose. He has completely shifted the story. His story is the only one where people are both losers and winners.  

The death and resurrection of Jesus is the one event that tells each and every one of us we are both more sinful, broken, and corrupt than we imagine and we are more forgiven, loved, and accepted than we could possibly believe. 

For any of us to come after him, we must practice both repentance and the forgiveness. All of us. All of the time.  

I can’t help but think of the example of Corrie ten Boom. I think I’ve mentioned it before because it’s just so powerful. She and her sisters were prisoners at the German war camp Ravensbruck during WW2. Her sister Betsie died there.  

After the war, she became an active evangelist and went to Germany to proclaim the gospel. A guard came up to her one day after a talk. He asked, “A fine message, Fraulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea! ... I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein, will you forgive me?” 

And her response is beautiful. If you have a chance, look it up sometime. In short, she said, “I stood there—I whose sins had again and again been forgiven—and could not forgive. Betsie had died in that place. .... Then she prayed “Jesus, help me!” .... And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. “I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!” . . . I had never known love so intensely, as I did then. But even then, I realized it was not my love . . . It was the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Scott Sauls, A Gentle Answer, Thomas Nelson, 2020, pp.19-20) 

Easter is a story we can all celebrate because Easter says the only way we can get in is both repentance and forgiveness. There is not a neighbor … because we all win and lose. Easter is a story we can all celebrate 

Action 

I want you to take this as the greatest story. Here is the next step I want you to learn to ask yourself as we follow Jesus? what is Jesus saying to me in his Word?  

Because the Word of God died to make this story come alive. You are reading the greatest story ever told. No one else has come up with such a marvelous, such a magnificent, such a simple, such a profound, such a humble, such an amazing story.  

And certainly no one else has made it come alive.  

It’s easy to think that pastors have a profound and complicated practice of reading this great story. I don’t. My regular practice of reading is pretty simple. I read 2 chapters. I write down one verse that I notice. I explain the verse. I apply verse. I respond to the verse. 

I can’t tell you how many mornings I have heard this story speak to me. I know I ask many of you what is Jesus saying to you in his Word and maybe you don’t feel like you have a good answer. If I have something to say, it’s not because of a great seminary education.  

I know how much some of you love a good story. Easter is a story we can all celebrate