Participants: Charissa Fong
Series Code: FGW
Program Code: FGW000014
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00:26 Good evening everyone.
00:27 Our subject tonight is going to be a very wonderful subject: 00:32 "Jesus: Who is He? " 00:34 Can't think of a better question to answer. And so 00:36 before we open the Word of God tonight I invite you to 00:39 bow your heads with me for a brief word of prayer. 00:42 Father in heaven, as we study Your Word tonight 00:45 I pray that You will send Your Holy Spirit 00:47 to speak to our hearts. 00:48 May we find Jesus tonight. May we encounter Him personally. 00:52 We thank you, Lord, for doing this in Jesus' name, Amen. 00:57 Well friends, there is no one quite like Jesus. 01:01 In fact, you can walk down the streets of time - 01:04 anyone can walk down the streets of time - 01:06 and they will be guaranteed to bump into Jesus along the way. 01:11 His birth divides history. 01:14 The noted historian H. G. Wells 01:16 he once made a list of the top 10 greatest men 01:20 who have ever lived. And #1 on that list 01:23 he put Jesus Christ. 01:25 But friends, Jesus doesn't belong on that list. 01:28 He doesn't belong on any list. 01:30 Because you can talk of Peter the great or Charlemagne 01:33 the great or Alexander the great 01:35 but you can't really talk of Jesus the great. 01:38 He is Jesus the one and only. 01:40 There has never been and there never will be 01:43 another one just like Jesus Christ. 01:46 And yet, He never wrote a book. 01:48 He never held an office; He never owned a home. 01:52 He never had a family of His own. 01:54 He never went to university. 01:56 He never traveled outside the 320 kilometer radius 02:00 from the place of His birth and yet... 02:13 Jesus is the most impacting personality of all time. 02:17 But question: who on earth is He to you and I today? 02:22 Oh yes, we know He lived. 02:24 We know He existed, but who is He to us tonight? 02:27 Well friends, two travelers on a dusty road 2,000 years ago 02:32 they pondered this very question. 02:35 And I think it would be really good for us to walk with them 02:38 on their journey to find out what they discovered 02:41 about Jesus. And so to find their story 02:44 we go to the book of Luke chapter 24 verses 13 and 14. 02:48 You can look it up in your Bibles. 02:50 We can follow along on the screen. 02:53 Luke chapter 24 verses 13 and 14. 02:59 And it says: 03:17 Now for these two travelers on the road that day 03:20 Jesus was great but He was very dead. 03:24 You see, they had believed in Jesus. 03:26 They had believed in Him so much so that they had 03:29 placed their faith in Him. 03:31 But things hadn't gone to plan. 03:34 One night Jesus was arrested. 03:36 The next day He was crucified... nailed on a cross between 03:40 two thieves, hanging between heaven and earth. 03:43 His lacerated body, bruised and bleeding from the tortures 03:47 of the night, a crown of thorns pressed into His brow. 03:51 And above Him on that cross a wooden sign that read: 03:55 THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 03:59 The next day all over Jerusalem 04:01 the newspaper headlines were all the same: 04:04 Jesus is dead. 04:06 And for these two followers of Jesus it was too much to take. 04:09 They were like sheep without a shepherd. 04:12 They felt like hounds that had been chasing this mechanical 04:15 rabbit and then suddenly the rabbit had disappeared 04:18 and they didn't know what to do with themselves any more. 04:21 There were so many questions they had to work through. 04:24 And so when the Sabbath ended, Sunday morning came, 04:27 they got out of town. They had to leave town. 04:29 It was haunted with the memory of that fateful Friday. 04:33 But friend, sometimes the destination is not nearly as 04:37 important as what happens along the way. 04:39 Because the Bible tells us that while they're walking on this 04:42 road they encountered Jesus. 04:46 Watch what happens in verses 15 and 16. It says: 05:02 This is amazing to me. There they are 05:05 real people walking on a real road 05:08 and a real man comes and joins them and they can't see it. 05:12 Now it could be that they had been crying so much 05:15 they just weren't seeing things properly any more. 05:18 Or perhaps as the Palestinian sun was setting in the distance 05:21 it was shining in their eyes and they couldn't see 05:24 things clearly about them. 05:26 Although I suspect this last reason is perhaps the true one. 05:29 They just weren't expecting to see Jesus. 05:32 Because let me illustrate. I have family in Queensland. 05:35 And every time we go to Queensland we love to go 05:38 to this restaurant called Sizzlers. 05:41 Have you heard of Sizzlers? 05:42 Oh, it's wonderful. All-you-can-eat buffet. 05:46 And I remember one year we went to Sizzlers. 05:49 And we got in. The waitress took us to our table. 05:52 We sat down and then we said: "OK, let's go get our food. " 05:55 And as I stood up to go and get my food in this restaurant, 05:59 I looked at the buffet and there was this girl 06:03 at the buffet and she was wearing exactly the same 06:06 striped top as myself. 06:08 And that was very upsetting to me 06:10 because that meant I couldn't go to the buffet 06:12 without being... you know, people might play snap with me. 06:16 And so I spent the rest of our time in that restaurant 06:19 that night trying to time my trips to the buffet 06:22 so that they didn't coincide with hers. 06:24 And I was so caught up in that and, you know, the conversation 06:28 that we were having, that it wasn't until the end of our 06:31 lunch there that day that we realized that the people behind 06:35 us - directly behind us at the table behind us - 06:39 were good friends we hadn't seen for years. 06:41 And they were there all along... we just never saw them. 06:43 Why? Because we weren't looking for them. 06:46 We weren't expecting to see them. 06:48 And I think that was probably one of the good reasons 06:50 why these disciples didn't see Jesus that day. 06:53 They weren't expecting to see Him. 06:55 And I believe that that's the reason why a lot of people 06:58 don't find Jesus today. They're not looking for Him. 07:00 They don't expect to see Him. 07:02 But He is closer than we think. 07:04 Notice what happens next on the road: 07:15 Have you ever met someone who was just the most amazing 07:18 person you've ever met, and you've never met anyone 07:21 like this before? 07:22 Well friends, that's what Jesus was to these disciples. 07:26 He had brought so much hope to them. In fact, 07:28 all of Israel... they had been so hopeful because Jesus 07:32 had turned up on the scene. 07:34 But friends, when someone as amazing as Jesus 07:36 comes up and then disappears 07:39 then people who had so much hope 07:42 now had so much sorrow. 07:44 And Jesus... Jesus had warned them. He said: "Look, 07:47 I will be given into the hands of evil men and they will... 07:50 they will crucify Me. " 07:51 But they didn't want to hear that. 07:53 No, they had had selective hearing when it came to 07:55 listening to Jesus. It's a bit like some of us kids 07:59 you know when we're growing up. Our parents say: 08:01 "If you do this then you can do what you want. " 08:03 You know, "Put the rubbish out and then you can go and play 08:05 in the yard. " My parents told me that. 08:08 And I would listen to them and I'd only hear the last part. 08:11 I'd go out and do what I want. 08:13 Then my parents would come home and say: "Why aren't the bins 08:15 out the front? " And I said: "Well you said I could play 08:17 in the yard... " which is true. 08:19 But it's selective hearing. 08:21 You see, these disciples, what they had wanted to hear 08:24 was that Jesus was going to come and He was going to be 08:26 victorious over the Romans. 08:28 He was going to come and deliver them from Roman rule and 08:31 reign as their king and every- thing was going to be great. 08:34 And His suffering and death... it just didn't fit 08:37 into that picture they had of Jesus. 08:39 In effect, they had created their own Jesus. 08:43 So how do we find the real Jesus? 08:46 Let's see what Jesus Himself has to say: 09:12 Question: how did Jesus prove Himself? 09:16 How did He prove that He was exactly who He claimed to be? 09:21 Did He perform a miracle? 09:23 Did He suddenly disappear and then reappear and say: 09:25 "See, take that... that's evidence. " 09:27 Did He take a stone and make it levitate? 09:30 No. There were no claps of thunder, no magical apparitions. 09:33 According to the Bible, Jesus proved Himself 09:37 by going back to the age-old Word of Scripture. 09:40 He proved Himself from the Word of God 09:43 to be its central protagonist, to be its central theme 09:47 and character. Jesus wasn't merely preaching a gospel... 09:51 He was that gospel. 09:54 And so the Bible tells us beginning in the very alpha 09:57 of Bible history He begins to make Himself known 10:01 to these two disciples. 10:03 And it has been said that should everybody dust off their Bibles 10:07 and read them, we should see the greatest dust storm 10:09 the world has ever seen. 10:11 And it's sort of true because you think about it: 10:13 when we ask people "what do you believe? " they don't really 10:16 know what they believe. 10:18 Like this man... he asked his Christian friend, 10:21 he said: "So what do you believe? " 10:22 He said: "I believe what my church believes. " 10:24 He said: "Well what does your church believe? " 10:26 Said: "The church believes what I believe. " 10:28 He was getting frustrated now and he said: 10:31 "Well what do you and your church believe? " 10:33 "Ah, we believe about the same thing. " 10:35 We don't really know what we believe. 10:37 And for that reason the Bible says: 10:54 And friends, Jesus wanted these disciples to believe in Him. 10:58 Not to follow Him because they loved the action 11:00 or the atmosphere that permeated His life. 11:03 He wanted them to follow Him 11:08 because they were absolutely convinced from scripture 11:12 that Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy scattered 11:15 all over the Old Testament. 11:18 And to help you understand that, please allow me to illustrate. 11:22 You see now on your screen a picture of my family 11:25 with my great aunt and my great uncle. 11:28 They live in Perth, and for the first time in my life 11:31 I got to meet them last year in June. 11:34 Was it June or July? June or July. 11:36 And they are lovely people. My great auntie there, she is 11:39 a great cook. And she gave us some lovely biscuits. 11:43 And when I first met my great uncle, 11:45 you know, we greeted one another and he looked at me kind of 11:48 puzzled for a moment. 11:50 And then he said: "Wait; hang on a minute. 11:52 Can you just stand back and turn side on again? " 11:55 Now it was kind of a strange way to be greeted by your 11:58 great uncle. You've never really met him before. 12:00 But I obliged. I was very obliging and 12:03 I stepped back and I turned side on and he looked at me. 12:06 He studied me, and then he snapped his fingers 12:08 and said: "Ah, that's it! You remind me of Michael Jordan. " 12:13 That was very touching; my life changed that day. 12:17 But the reason why he thought that was because the day before 12:20 he had been watching the funeral of Michael Jackson. 12:23 I said Michael Jordan. 12:24 He said: "You remind me of Michael Jackson. " 12:26 He'd been watching the funeral of Michael Jackson the day 12:29 before and obviously when he saw me in that coat 12:32 he just thought of two things: Michael Jackson... 12:34 coat and Michael Jackson. 12:36 And in the same way, my great uncle took one look at me 12:39 in that black coat and said: "Michael Jackson" 12:42 so it is that God had placed prophecies all over the 12:45 Old Testament so that when they were fulfilled 12:48 in the life of the Messiah people would look at the signs 12:51 and they'd look at Jesus and they'd say: "Ah, 12:53 that's who you remind me of. You must be the Messiah. " 12:56 And friend, did you know that: 13:08 And that is just absolutely amazing. 13:10 And so as Jesus begins to talk to these disciples 13:14 and to try and revive their faith 13:16 He starts going through what these prophecies were 13:19 and how they were fulfilled in His life. 13:21 And I'm pretty sure He went straight back to the book of 13:24 Isaiah. He reminded them of His birth. 13:27 How the Bible had foretold that the birth of the Messiah 13:30 would be a miraculous one. 13:32 Isaiah 7 verse 14: 13:44 Friend, Isaiah wrote this prophecy: do you know how long? 13:48 He wrote it around 600 years before Jesus ever appeared 13:52 on the scene. And of course, that had been fulfilled 13:55 in Jesus' life. Matthew chapter 1 verse 18: 14:09 And then I'm pretty sure Jesus reminded those disciples 14:12 of the birthplace of the Messiah. 14:14 Do you remember that the Bible told us that the prophets 14:17 told us He would be born in Bethlehem? 14:33 And then of course you and I know the story 14:36 so well how Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger 14:41 there in Bethlehem. 14:46 The fulfillment was there. The New Testament confirms 14:49 the fulfillment of Micah's prophecy. 14:51 According to the Bible, Jesus is more than a good man. 14:55 More than an ethical teacher; more than a moral philosopher. 14:59 He was the divine Son of God. 15:02 I'm pretty sure this is how Jesus' sermon 15:06 started off on the road to Emmaus. 15:09 But this was all revision for Cleopas and his friend. 15:12 They knew all of this stuff. 15:14 That's why they had believed in Jesus in the first place. 15:17 What they didn't understand was why He had to suffer and die. 15:21 And so, friends, they continued on. And Jesus had to tell them 15:25 something else. Louis Pasteur, he was the father 15:28 of immunology. And he was working on a vaccine 15:31 in the 17th century for rabies when an epidemic broke out. 15:36 And one little boy... he contracted rabies. 15:39 His name was Joseph Meister. He contracted rabies 15:43 after being bitten by an infected dog. 15:45 And his mother came to Louis and she said: Look, you've 15:49 got to try your vaccine on my son or he'll die. " 15:52 Louis said: "I haven't tried it yet; it's not fully developed 15:55 yet; it hasn't been properly tested. " 15:57 She said: "Please try. " 15:59 And so finally he gave in and he administered the vaccine. 16:03 To tell a... make a long story short, 16:06 the boy survived. He recovered. 16:08 And when he did, the epidemic was doomed. 16:11 History tells us that near the end of Louis' life 16:14 he wrote his own epitaph. 16:16 And as he formulated the statement that would adorn 16:20 his tomb, he resisted the temptation to chronicle 16:23 all of his achievements and successes. 16:26 Instead he wrote this one solitary line: 16:29 Joseph Meister lived. 16:33 Because you see, the success of one's life is not really 16:36 in all of the accolades and achievements 16:39 and awards and degrees that we have 16:41 but rather in the lives that are changed as a result 16:44 of that one person's life. 16:46 And friends, if we take that as the rule for judging 16:49 the greatness of a person, then Jesus... He surpasses everyone 16:54 by far. You see, you and I 16:56 we are all suffering from a terminal disease 17:00 and it's called sin. 17:02 According to the Bible, the Bible says: 17:09 And when Adam and Eve sinned back there in the Garden of Eden 17:12 God didn't turn His back on planet earth and say: 17:15 "Oh dear, they've stuffed up. Look, We'll just go and 17:17 make another planet and start all over again. " 17:19 No, God had a plan to save the human race 17:23 and that plan involved Jesus Christ. 17:26 Sending Him down on this earth to be born as a baby. 17:29 To live and to grow into a man who would die to take our place 17:33 on a cross. And about 2,000 years ago 17:36 we know the story. How wise men from the east, they followed 17:39 a star in the sky. And when they did 17:41 they came upon Jesus there in Bethlehem. 17:54 That's in Luke chapter 2 verse 7. 17:57 No room for Jesus. 17:59 The King, the God of the universe steps down and becomes 18:02 a little helpless baby, and there's no room for Him 18:04 in any inn in town. 18:06 It was all booked out. 18:08 But friends, Jesus did it because: 18:23 Isn't that incredible? God becoming a "bondservant... " 18:30 Jesus came. He lived on this earth. 18:33 He lived a pure life; there was no sin in His life. 18:38 And friends, as we look at Him we say: "What went wrong? " 18:42 "Why did people crucify Him? " 18:43 "He was just the most wonderful person that ever lived. " 18:46 And as we look at His life we see that He had to die. 18:50 In fact, the Old Testament prophesies that Jesus would die. 18:53 And it sheds so many... Let me rephrase that. 18:57 It had so much to say on it. 18:59 So let's take a look at the prophecies that were fulfilled 19:02 in His death. The Old Testament predicted 19:05 the manner of His betrayal. 19:07 It said: "Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted 19:12 who ate my bread has lifted up his heel 19:14 against me. " And of course, we see the fulfillment of that 19:17 in Judas when Jesus said to Peter, He said: "It is he 19:21 whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it. " 19:25 Peter had said: "Well who will betray You? " 19:27 And that's what Jesus said. 19:28 Then Jesus also... He fulfilled prophecy in His life 19:32 when He was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. 19:36 "So they weighed out for my wages, " the Old Testament said, 19:39 "thirty pieces of silver. " 19:41 And then, of course, was Jesus sold for 29? 19:44 28? 31? 19:47 No! Fascinatingly He was sold for 30 pieces of silver. 19:52 And you can see it right there in Matthew chapter 26. 19:56 Then the Bible told us that He would be beaten. 20:01 Says: "And they gave My back to those who struck Me 20:04 and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. 20:07 I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. " 20:11 And of course we know from the gospels that Jesus suffered 20:15 an awful death. He was humiliated and beaten. 20:18 "Then they spat on His face... " in Matthew 26:67. 20:22 "They spat on His face and beat Him 20:24 and others struck Him with the palms of their hands. " 20:28 The Bible tells us that they would pierce His hands and His 20:31 feet. It says: "And they pierced My hands and My feet. " 20:34 And of course Jesus was crucified and you can see 20:37 the reference there in John chapter 20 verse 25 20:40 where Thomas said: "I will not believe unless 20:43 I see His hands and His feet. " 20:46 Again: "He was numbered with the transgressors" 20:49 the Bible said in Isaiah chapter 53 verse 12 20:53 this would be the case and we see the fulfillment 20:56 in Mark chapter 15 verses 27 and 28. 20:59 And you're thinking: "Charissa, you're going very fast. " 21:02 I know. But as you leave tonight you will receive a handout 21:06 with a summary of all of these texts so you can go home 21:08 and look at them yourself. The Bible says that they would 21:11 cast lots for His garments. In Psalm chapter 22 and verse 18 21:17 it says: "They divide My garments among them 21:20 and for My clothing they cast lots. " 21:22 And this was written 1,000 years before Jesus even died. 21:25 And the fulfillment we see there in John 19 verses 23 and 24. 21:31 And listen to this: even the last words that Jesus said 21:36 on the cross - His last dying words - 21:38 they were foretold in prophecy. Psalm 22 verse 1: 21:43 "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? " 21:47 And then the fulfillment is there in Matthew chapter 27 21:50 and verse 46. And friends, needless to say, we can conclude 21:55 with Jean Jacques Rosseau: 22:04 Another quote here: 22:31 And you say: "Charissa, come on, that's easy. " 22:35 But let's think about this. 22:37 Supposing I said to you that 700 years from tonight 22:41 the prime minister of Australia would be born in Tyrene. 22:46 And it happened 700 years later. 22:49 You'd all say: "Wow! That's pretty amazing! " 22:52 But if I told you not only would he be born here 22:55 but he would suffer and die here and then that he would be 22:59 sold for 30 pieces of silver here and then he would be 23:02 crucified here... And if we make this analogy applicable to Jesus 23:07 that was said of Jesus before crucifixion was ever invented. 23:10 Well you think: "That is absolutely amazing! " 23:13 Don't you think? And of course you can say 23:16 "Well Charissa, you've just used the Bible to prove Jesus. 23:19 Don't you think that's circular reasoning? " 23:22 In a way, but the Bible isn't written as a circular book. 23:26 You and I need to remember and I have just pointed out 23:29 that these things were written by 40 different authors 23:32 over a period spanning 1,500 years. 23:35 Hundreds of years before Jesus ever came on the scene 23:38 and they were making prophecies about the Messiah 23:41 which came true. 23:43 And then you have to admit that it adds an element of truth 23:47 to it when Jesus says: "I'm going to rise on the third day" 23:50 and He does. 23:52 No one else can do that and no one else has done that. 23:55 One summer a little girl... she came home... 23:59 She'd never been to church, but a vacation Bible school was 24:02 visiting her town, and so she went. 24:05 She came home and she was so excited. 24:08 She came in the door and she said: "Mom, Mom, 24:11 you wouldn't believe it. I've just... I learned about 24:14 Jesus today. He's a real person... not a swear word! " 24:18 There are many people today who don't know the real Jesus. 24:22 They don't know the real Jesus that you and I have seen here 24:26 from prophecy tonight. 24:27 And friends, as we take another look... 24:29 we're going to take another fact of Jesus in tonight... 24:32 the Bible makes a very interest- ing reference to Jesus Christ. 24:36 In Isaiah 53:3-7 watch how it refers to Jesus: 25:32 Jesus is referred to here by the prophet Isaiah 25:37 as a Lamb. And again in the book of Revelation we find 25:41 exactly the same reference: Revelation 13:8. 25:51 Here again Jesus is referred to as "the Lamb 25:55 slain from the foundation of the world. " 25:57 What on earth does this mean? 25:59 Why does the Bible refer to Jesus as "the Lamb? " 26:03 Well friends, the Bible says here in Romans 6:23 26:16 When Adam and Eve sinned they were separated from God 26:20 and God had to send them out of the Garden of Eden. 26:23 And when He sent them out, their vitality began to decrease 26:28 and they began to die because that's what sin causes, 26:31 it causes death. 26:32 And the Bible tells us in Genesis 3:24 26:45 Very sad. God had no pleasure in evicting Adam and Eve 26:49 from that garden. And when He did, He had a word of hope 26:53 for them; He had a word of promise for them. 26:56 Notice what He said: He said in Genesis 3:15 27:12 Now what does that word "bruise" there mean? 27:15 It means crush, and it's a lot more serious 27:18 to have your head crushed than your heel crushed. 27:22 In other words, God was telling Adam and Eve 27:25 back then in the Garden of Eden "Listen, there is coming One 27:29 who will crush Satan... who will gain the victory over the enemy 27:34 of this planet. " And we will look more at that enemy 27:36 tomorrow night. And to remind them of this wonderful promise 27:40 of hope and restoration, God instituted a sacrificial system 27:46 back there in the very beginning. 27:49 Why? What were they to do? 27:50 Adam and Eve were to take a pure, spotless lamb 27:54 and they were to slay that lamb and offer it as a burnt 27:58 offering. And when they did that 28:00 they were showing faith in the Lamb of God who would come 28:04 and die for them to offer them eternal life. 28:08 You see? And of course in the very next chapter 28:11 we see Abel and Cain. They offered sacrifices to God. 28:14 What happened? 28:28 Why didn't God respect Cain's offering? 28:31 Because Cain offered Him the best of his produce. 28:35 Cain had a green thumb. He grew the best vegetables 28:38 you could ever find; had the most wonderful mango trees. 28:42 And he had brought the best of his produce to offer to God. 28:45 But it wasn't a lamb 28:47 and it did not show faith in the Lamb that God would send 28:52 and so God couldn't accept it. 28:54 Because Hebrews 9:22 says: 29:00 No remission for sin without the shedding of blood. 29:02 And friends, when God was leading His people 29:06 out of Egypt back there in the book of Exodus - 29:09 out of Egypt and to the Promised Land - He instructed Moses 29:12 to build a sanctuary and a tabernacle that was to mirror 29:16 the one that was in heaven. And here in this sanctuary 29:20 God... He taught these people many ceremonies 29:23 which were to teach them more about Jesus. 29:25 And one of those ceremonies which He instituted on their 29:28 journey from Egypt to the Promised Land 29:31 was a ceremony called The Passover. 29:34 Sounds very complicated, but basically 29:37 on the 14th day of the 1st month 29:40 the people were instructed to slay a lamb. 29:42 And then they were to put the blood of that lamb on the 29:46 doorpost of their home because it was a reminder 29:49 that when they were leaving Egypt and that angel of death 29:52 had passed over and the first- born of every family 29:56 had been killed, that angel had passed over the home 30:00 of those who had placed the blood of the lamb 30:03 above the doorpost. It was to remind them of that. 30:06 Now question: did the blood of the animal that they slaughtered 30:10 back then, did that have anything to do in saving them? 30:13 No! Only the blood of Jesus could save us. 30:17 But again it showed that they had faith 30:21 in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 30:24 The Bible tells us in Hebrews 9:26 30:32 And again, Hebrews 10 and verse 4: 30:40 Jesus had to do that. 30:41 How do we know that Jesus was that Lamb of God 30:45 foretold in the Bible? 30:47 Because one day John the Baptist was preaching 30:49 by the river Jordan. And as he was preaching 30:52 He suddenly stopped. And he looked off in the distance 30:56 and coming towards him was a man. And as He came closer 31:00 and closer the Bible tells us that John exclaimed... he said: 31:11 Friends, this is the real Jesus. 31:15 This was the mind-blowing corroborating evidence 31:19 that Jesus was sharing with His disciples there on the road 31:22 to Emmaus. He needed them to see that His death and His 31:26 resurrection weren't meant to be the destruction of all their 31:29 faith and all their hopes. It was to be the very evidence 31:33 upon which their faith was to rest. 31:37 And friends, as the disciples listened to Jesus on the road 31:40 their hearts began to throb again with excitement. 31:44 They must have said: "Wow! It suddenly makes sense. 31:48 We get it. Jesus had to die. 31:51 He had to suffer so you and I, we could have eternal life. " 31:55 And this thought thrilled them. 31:57 And you guys... you are very excited. I know you are. 32:00 You're just keeping it all to yourselves. 32:02 Friends, Christianity is Jesus Christ. 32:07 God didn't drop a scroll of theology from heaven 32:11 and say: "Read this and that's the gospel. " 32:13 No. He came Himself. 32:15 The Bible says: 32:41 The greatest sermon that was ever preached 32:44 was never written down. It was never filmed; 32:47 it was never aired to the world. 32:49 But we know who preached it. We know when He preached it. 32:52 The day after the cross... the day of the resurrection. 32:55 And we know to whom it was preached. 32:58 A pastor... he went to visit an elderly man in his home 33:02 and they began talking about Jesus. 33:04 And he was telling him all these wonderful things about Jesus. 33:07 And he said: "You know, Jesus Christ... " 33:09 to this old man sitting in his chair he said: 33:11 "Jesus Christ is the greatest Man who ever lived. 33:14 He's the most gracious, loving person who ever walked 33:18 upon the planet. " He said: "I tell you something 33:21 and it will startle you. According to the Bible, " 33:24 he said, "and the historic Christian faith, Jesus of 33:29 Nazareth, that carpenter of Galilee, He was more than a Man. 33:35 He was the eternal Creator. 33:37 He was the Creator of the universe. 33:39 The omnipotent, omniscient, almighty God. " 33:43 Instantly the man sitting opposite him 33:46 his eyes filled with tears and he said: "You know, 33:50 I have never really been to church in all my life, " 33:53 he said, "but I have always thought that that is how 33:56 it should be. That God should be like Jesus. " 34:00 Jesus is the most beautiful person you can ever encounter 34:05 and He is God. 34:07 And before they knew it, these two disciples on the 34:10 road to Emmaus that day, the time had just gone, 34:13 the sun was set now and they found themselves 34:16 outside the motel there in Emmaus. 34:19 And the Bible says: 34:30 Now this might sound absolutely strange to you tonight 34:35 but I really dislike calling people on the phone. 34:38 I dislike calling people on the phone because I always feel bad 34:41 that I'm going to be interrupting them in something 34:43 that they're doing. So I don't call people. 34:45 I e-mail people. If I have to call them, I always 34:47 rehearse what I'm going to say before I speak to them. 34:51 And that's always not really a good thing to do 34:53 'cause they never do what they're supposed to do 34:55 on the other end. 34:56 But friends, I'm so glad Cleopas wasn't like me. 35:00 I'm so glad he wasn't afraid to ask Jesus to stop... 35:04 to come in with him. Because if he had not asked 35:06 he would never have known who walked with him 35:10 on the road that day. 35:12 And by the way, friends, if you want to really encounter Jesus, 35:15 if you want to develop a personal relationship 35:18 with Jesus Christ, invite Him into your heart. 35:21 Invite Him in. Because when we relate to God as a person 35:24 then we develop a personal relationship with Him. 35:27 He is not an intellectual issue to be debated in a hotly 35:31 sterile academic arena. He's a real person 35:34 you can have a friendship with. 35:36 The Bible tells us in Luke 24 35:53 This is an incredible scene that the Bible here tells us about. 35:57 They went in and it was time to eat. 35:59 And so Cleopas, he gets the bread and he takes the 36:02 bread basket and he is just about to begin to break 36:05 the bread because he is the host here in the home 36:08 when suddenly Jesus takes it from him. 36:11 And He blesses that bread and then He begins to break it. 36:16 And Cleopas as he is watching all of this he's kind of 36:19 surprised because he is the host and Jesus has just taken over 36:23 his role. But as he watches Jesus closely 36:26 he realizes that He is doing everything that they had seen 36:29 Jesus doing. And then as Jesus breaks that bread 36:33 His sleeves fall back and Cleopas sees 36:36 the print of the nails in His hands. 36:39 And then at that moment, bang... Jesus disappears. 36:43 And suddenly there are two jaws on the floor. 36:47 Wow! Can you believe it? The subject of our conversation 36:52 has been walking beside us the whole time 36:55 and we didn't see it. And friends, the Bible goes on 36:58 here in the book of Luke: 37:21 Ah, friends. These two men... they're not the same two men 37:24 any more, are they? I mean they get to Emmaus. 37:27 They realize that Jesus was with them all along 37:30 and they don't even unpack their bags. 37:32 No, they just make a straight U- turn and go back 37:35 to Jerusalem. It didn't matter that the street lights 37:38 weren't working that night. It didn't matter that the 37:41 sun was down and that the road was rough. 37:43 No, they were excited. Their hearts were ignited! 37:47 And as they were rushing back to Jerusalem 37:49 they kept repeating over and over again 37:52 "He is risen! He's alive and we know it 37:56 because we encountered Him on the road! " 37:59 Friends, Napoleon Bonaparte... he was a warrior for most of 38:04 his life, and he was a greedy man filled with ambition. 38:08 But at the end of his life he was exiled to the island 38:12 of St. Helena. And there history tells us 38:15 that he picked up a Bible. 38:17 He began to read that Bible. 38:19 He poured over and over and over the scriptures. 38:22 And after reading that Bible, he wrote this in his journal... 38:27 He said: 39:07 The words of Billy Graham: 39:20 Friends, in closing tonight let me tell you this story. 39:24 In the recent earthquake that happened in China 39:27 in 2008- in May of 2008- 39:30 a woman was found in the rubble of an apartment that had fallen 39:35 down. And when the rescuers found her 39:37 they found her body as though she was in a position 39:41 like she was kneeling. She was on her knees 39:43 and hunched forward. 39:45 And they, you know, the rescuer came and they tried to 39:49 see if there was any life. 39:51 And they called out to her, they shouted out to her. 39:53 He took his baton and he banged it on the ground. 39:56 But there was no movement, no sound, no life. 39:59 And the rescue team that came to find her were very 40:03 disappointed. There was so much death all around them. 40:05 And so sadly they left the scene and continued on 40:09 to see if they could find life somewhere else 40:12 in all the rubble. 40:13 But as they were walking away 40:15 the leader of the team, he had a light-bulb moment 40:18 and he had an idea. 40:20 And so he left the group and he rushed back to the woman. 40:24 And then he reached his hand beneath her body 40:27 and he felt something warm. 40:31 And so he shouted out to the rest of them: "Come back! 40:34 Come back! There's life; there's life. Come back! " 40:37 So the team rushed back to where he was. 40:40 And he reached beneath the rubble and they began to dig 40:43 away at the debris. And as they did 40:46 they managed to pull out a little baby boy. 40:50 And this is actually a picture of him right there. 40:52 You can see him on the screen. They pulled that little baby 40:55 boy out of the rubble. He was sleeping at the time. 40:58 And as they pulled him out they were so excited. 41:01 It was so wonderful to see life amidst so much disaster 41:05 and death. And the baby... They took the baby to the 41:08 company doctor and he inspected the child. 41:11 And as he opened the blanket which the baby was wrapped in 41:15 a mobile phone fell out. 41:18 And he picked it up, and there on the screen 41:21 were these words. It said: "My dearest child, 41:25 if you are able to survive 41:27 you must remember that I love you. " 41:31 And he had seen many births and deaths in his life 41:35 but needless to say when he read that 41:38 and he looked at that little life that had been saved 41:41 because the mother... She had given her life 41:43 to shield her son. 41:45 He broke out in tears. And as that phone 41:47 was passed around the company everybody shed a tear. 41:51 Friends, 2,000 years ago the Bible tells us that Jesus... 41:56 He bent over to take a blow for you and I. 41:59 The Bible says He was wounded for my transgressions. 42:03 He was wounded for our transgressions. 42:06 He was bruised for our iniquity. 42:08 The chastisement of our sin was upon Him 42:11 and with His stripes we are healed. 42:14 And He has left a message for you and I... 42:16 a message that has stood the test of time and that continues 42:20 to be relevant to us tonight. 42:23 He says: "My son, My daughter, 42:26 remember that I love you. 42:29 I have given My life for you. 42:32 I shed My blood for you. " 42:35 With those outstretched hands on Calvary that was the message 42:39 that He had for you and I tonight. 42:42 Will we accept Him? Will we give our lives for Him? 42:45 Will we accept the atoning sacrifice of the Lamb of God 42:49 as our own? I pray that we do. 42:51 Would you bow your heads with me tonight? 42:53 Our Father in heaven, we thank you, Lord, 42:56 for the story of Jesus. 42:58 Oh please, write on our hearts every word. 43:01 We thank you, Lord, that You appeared to those two disciples 43:05 and You revealed Yourself through the Bible. 43:07 Lord, as we have seen You revealed through prophecy 43:10 again tonight, we pray that our faith might be strengthened. 43:14 May we leave this church excited 43:17 with a message of hope that You are risen, You're alive, 43:20 and we know it because we've encountered You tonight. 43:22 Bless us now as we journey on into this week. 43:25 For we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17