Good News for Doubters - Luke 24:36-49
Who Is Jesus? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Who is the gospel for? I think most of us know the Sunday school answer. We know that Jesus said that it’s the sick who need a doctor, not the well. We know that the gospel is for weak sinners. Yet, even though we intellectually know who the gospel is for, we have trouble believing it. My experience tells me that when people begin to face their weakness, when they begin to feel spiritually unwell, that very often they distance themselves from the Lord. One of the most likely times for a person to stop attending church or to start attending less frequently is when they feel overwhelmed by the stress in their lives or when they have an unconfessed sin or when they’ve begun to have real doubts about their faith.
Why might that be? Very often, it’s because we feel ashamed of these things, and we feel like a hypocrite to sing of God’s glory when we’re doubting He’ll take care of us or when we know we’ve sinned against him or when we’re struggling with the fact that He has allowed evil in the world. That is, we feel ashamed that we are weak, and we feel ashamed that we aren’t well. So, we run away so that we don’t have to face it an look our weakness in the eye.
God’s Word
God’s Word
A lot of you grew up in environments or played sports in environments or have worked in environments that have taught you to conceal your weaknesses. If you didn’t, you’d be yelled at and humiliated. And, one of Satan’s great attacks on the joy and peace of Christians is to convince you that Jesus would respond to you the same way. So, you run from him. You withdraw from the church. You put down your Bible. But, this morning, I want you to hear How Jesus Would Really Treat You (Headline) by showing you how He treated his own disciples in a moment of weakness.
We’re easily “spooked.”
We’re easily “spooked.”
Luke 24:36–38 “As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”
So, I’m pretty sure I work with sociopaths. Something that you should know about me is that I tend to get lost inside my own head sometimes, or I get really into what I’m working on. And, if I’m really locked in on something and somebody just shows up like serial killer, I tend to startle and jump when I look up and see them. And, Andrew has made it an art form really. Well, that’s kind of the picture with Jesus and his disciples after his resurrection. All of them have just watched their leader be nailed to a cross because of the things that He’s taught them. They must’ve assumed they were next. So, John tells us that they’re all hiding out in a locked room scared to death. Then, all of a sudden, Jesus walks through the locked door, and says, “Peace to you!” You can imagine how startled they were. It says they were “startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.” They’re seeing ghosts.
Jesus “builds” with the weak.
This is a reminder that Jesus has chosen to build his kingdom out of the weak, not the strong. These trembling, spooked disciples are a picture of who the gospel is for. Jesus has chosen to build his church and his kingdom out of the weak and frail and doubting; so, we’re easily spooked. Sheep always are.
Notice the two questions that Jesus asks his startled disciples: “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Jesus is wanting them to see the connection between those two questions. They are only troubled because they are filled with doubt. Jesus had told them what to expect. He had told them that He would die and then rise on the third day. But, they haven’t hung “Welcome Home” banners. They’ve blockaded the door.
That sounds a lot like us, doesn’t it? You know, if we had the capacity for complete, unhindered faith, we’d never be troubled again. If our minds were unhindered by our sinful nature so that they could fully apprehend the completeness of God’s sovereign grace toward us, we wouldn’t be worried about money or our job or our kids or our reputations. Our souls would be at complete rest in the trustworthiness of Jesus. No, wherever we are “troubled,” doubt is uncovered and revealed. But, we are weak like the disciples here, and so long as we aim to live by faith, we will, at the same time, struggle with doubt, though hopefully to a lesser and lesser degree as we grow in Christ.
When I was growing up, it was very common to hear preachers says, “If you’re 99 percent saved, you’re 100 percent lost.” And, I believe that these brothers were pure in heart. But, what’s the problem with that statement? It’s based on how I feel, and usually, how I feel after that sermon. Well, there’s a lot of days I only feel 60 percent saved. It has nothing to do with Jesus’ strength. It has to do with my weakness. And so, it’s a statement that preys upon the instability of my faithfulness rather than bringing me back to the stability of Jesus. It’s a statement that’s meant to create doubt and accentuate doubt. It’s a statement that’s meant to spook the weak, and we’re easily spooked.
Jesus is “gentle” with the weak.
That’s not how Jesus would really treat you. That’s not how He responds to weakness and doubt. Think of Jesus’ disciples. JC Ryle helped me to see this. They’ve just abandoned Jesus in his hour of need. They’ve run away like cockroaches. They’ve denied him. They’re hiding because they’re so filled with doubt. Wouldn’t you expect him to yell at them? Wouldn’t you expect him to make them feel ashamed? Wouldn’t you expect him to be angry and harsh? But, what does Jesus say: “Peace to you!” Jesus didn’t come to humiliate their doubt; He came to relieve it. Jesus didn’t come to make them more afraid; He came to bring them comfort. Jesus didn’t see their doubt as an opportunity for insecurity. No, He came to them to make them feel secure.
Jesus is gentle with the weak. And, that means Jesus is gentle with you. His resurrection, his Gospel was good news for his doubting disciples. So, He gives them two assurances that all doubting, weak disciples need. They’re the same ones we need this morning. First, Jesus says…
It’s really “okay.”
It’s really “okay.”
Luke 24:39–43 “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.”
1 Corinthians 15:17–19 “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
These men have just witnessed Jesus massacred on the cross. They heard the crowds shouting to crucify him. The assumption has to be that they’re next, and so fight or flight kicks in and they choose flight. They’re hiding. So, realize what Jesus standing in their presence really means. It means they’re okay. It means that Jesus is who He said He was. It means that Jesus has really overcome death. It means that He was serious when He told them that He would rebuild them Temple in three days and that He would go and prepare a place for them. It meant that eternal life really was theirs. So, they’ve been living for three days with dread of what was about to happen, convinced they were about to lose a battle that would cost them everything. And, the battle had already been won. Their minds were spinning out of control with thoughts their lives were ruined, and the whole time Jesus had them taken care of.
And, this is a picture of how Jesus cares for his doubting, startled disciples while wait for his return. We live in the already/not yet. You’ve heard me say that before. Our salvation is already assured. Our battle has already been won. But, it’s not yet been fully realized. It’s not yet what it feels like. We’re saved, but we’re still waiting to be fully saved. There’s a lot of room for doubt and sin and weakness while we wait on our resurrection, isn’t there? But, we’re seeing how Jesus assures us that our battle was really won at his resurrection.
Notice how Jesus convinces them that they’re okay. He does it by convincing them that it’s really him, and He’s really resurrected. Jesus goes to great lengths to appeal to their senses. Do you notice that? “See my hands and feet,” Jesus says. He’s telling them to look at the wounds where the nails were. These aren’t superficial. They can see them. He tells them to take it a step further, “Touch me, and see.” It’s too good to be true. They’re still thinking He’s a ghost or a hallucination. They’re doubting what their eyes are seeing. So, Jesus says, “Hand me some fish.” (Really wish He would’ve asked for a pork chop and messed them up. New Covenant humor.) Jesus eats to show that He’s a fully, resurrected, physical man.
“Emotion” needs “reality.”
This is what good apologetics does. This is the way that you overcome doubt. Meet emotion with reality. It’s intellectual. It’s personal. It’s powerful. A few years ago, Sara started screaming in her bed. And, as a parent, you’re just immediately electrocuted with adrenaline, and you run to them as fast as you can. And, when I got there, Sara was having a nightmare and was scared to death. So, I yelled at her! I told her to stop being such a scaredy cat! Of course not! I picked her up. I pulled her close. I told her, “It’s me, dad! Look at me! Look at me! It’s me. It’s dad. You’re safe. You’re okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
That’s what we see Jesus doing with his disciples here. And, that’s what He does with us in our doubts and weaknesses. He takes our eyes away from our nightmare, and He places them on himself so that we can know that we’re really okay.
“Resurrection” creates “margin.”
You see, that’s why what you believe about the resurrection will determine whether you live for now or for later. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 that if the resurrection isn’t true and physical and bodily, then we’re most to be pitied. If you think the resurrection isn’t real or if you think it’s just some disembodied trip to ghost town, then you’re wasting your life living for Jesus. But, if you understand that Jesus was raised physically and bodily from the grave as the first fruits of your own resurrection, then you can know that right now is a short-term investment in an eternal life — that’s a real life. That is, if the resurrection isn’t true, we can’t afford the kind of sacrifices that following Jesus requires. Because this is all we have. But, if the resurrection is true, then there’s no such thing as a sacrifice because you’ll enjoy the reward for it far longer than you’ll know the sacrifice. So, you have the margin to leave a more desirable life to be a missionary or a more convenient life to be a foster parent. You have the margin to sacrifice things you want to contribute to the mission of your church or to serve teenagers that won’t appreciate you.
These men became so convinced of the victory of the resurrection that they would all die as martyrs based on this moment. Think about that. The resurrection turned these cowards into martyrs.
But, there’s a second assurance gives to doubters here…
It’s under “control.”
It’s under “control.”
Luke 24:44–49 “Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.””
“Jesus” is the “Christ.”
Two different times in Luke 24 Jesus appeals to the OT to show himself as the Christ (v. 46). That’s who Jesus wants his disciples to realize that He is. (This is the culmination of this series. Jesus is the greater Adam and Israel. Jesus is the coming of the Kingdom. Jesus is the Son of Man to reign over us….BECAUSE Jesus is the Christ. Jesus is the Messiah, the promised anointed deliverer of God’s people.) But, to make this point thoroughly after the resurrection, Jesus appeals to the OT twice. That is, when Jesus’ disciples are spun out of control and doubting and defeated and afraid, He sees it as the perfect opportunity to have them zoom out and see that this is all part of the Big Story.
What’s He saying? This has always been the plan. This is all under control. You can imagine him turning with them through their Bibles. “You know about Israel. They were God’s firstborn Son. But, they weren’t faithful to him. Don’t you see that I am God’s firstborn Son who has come now to be faithful to the Law in my life in all the ways that Israel was unfaithful? You remember Moses. God spoke to him face-to-face, but He always promised that a Greater prophet was going to come. I am the Prophet who speaks the words that bring life and death. Don’t you see that? Think of all of those bulls that have been slaughtered over all of the generations. Think of how much blood has been shed so that your sins could be atoned for. But, what power does the blood of bulls really have? Don’t you see that this was pointing to the cross? Don’t you see that the cross wasn’t just the evil desires of evil men, but the gracious plan of our holy God? Don’t you see that I am the Great High Priest who came to lay down my own life as the atoning sacrifice? And, you’ll remember David. The great King that God said would have an heir sit upon the throne forever. Well, don’t you see that’s why I’ve been raised? I’ve returned from the battleground of the grave, and I’ve returned victorious so that we can share the spoils together! Don’t you see this was always the plan! I am Israel! I am Moses! I am the priest and the sacrifice! I am the Son of David! I am your prophet, priest, and king. Don’t you see that this was all part of the plan, and this all under control!”
And then, He looks at them, and He says, “And, you’re the witnesses!” That is, they are the ones that have witnessed his fulfillment that they might enjoy his forgiveness. They’ve witnessed the cross. They’ve witnessed the resurrection. They’ve experienced the forgiveness. It’s his way of saying, “This has always been the plan, and you’re part of the plan!”
Notice that Jesus has to “open their minds to understand.” This has nothing to do with the quality of the disciples. This has everything to do with the quality of the Savior. He has come and fulfilled the plan, and their salvation was part of that plan. They are not forgiven because of the high quality of their faith. They are forgiven because of the high quality of their Savior. They didn’t do any fulfilling. He did. They’re just witnesses. He did the all the work. Only this realization can bring with the assurance of your salvation. You’re salvation is not subjective. It’s not based on how saved you feel. It’s not based on how in control your life feels. It’s based on how rock solid the fulfillment of Christ is. It’s based on how under control Christ is. You’re 100 percent saved, even when you feel 60 percent saved, so long as Jesus is your Savior. The quality of your salvation is anchored to the quality of your Savior, not the quality of your faith.
“Weakness” is the “plan.”
(Joe sent this to Kelli. Land this in people’s lives.) Paul says that he had a thorn in his flesh, and it drove him crazy. He called it a weakness, and there’s a lot of speculation over what it could have been. And, Paul says that he prayed and he prayed that God would remove this thorn from him, but God did not remove it. And, here’s what he realized. His weakness was part of God’s plan. It was under control, and because it was under control, then he could know that God was going to use it in a way that Paul would never regret. So, you have two choices with your doubt or your sin or suffering. You can either resent it, and let it leave you locked in a room scared for your life. Or, you can rejoice in it that God has it under control and his plan has already accounted for it. That is, your weakness can either be your excuse to run away from God or it can be your reason for running to him. What will you do with yours?
