Sermon Notes - Easter 2023 - Luke 23-24 - Littleby Baptist Church - April 9, 2023

 

1.     Luke 23:44-49

a.      Jesus the Christ, our Messiah, the Lord of All… entrusted His spirit into the hands of the Father and died.

b.     Jesus had performed miracle after miracle.

c.      He taught about repentance.

d.     He called people to Him.

e.      Yet, some struck their chest in triumph over His death.

f.      Others watched the events play out as they watched the man they believed to be their Lord die.

2.     Many on the day of Our Lord’s death had already decided who Jesus was to them.

a.      Some thought He needed to die for His supposed blasphemy.

b.     Others believed He is the Son of God but did not understand why He had to die.

c.      Every person to ever walk this earth will need to decide who Jesus is to them?

d.     A person to hate or a Savior to love.

3.     Luke 23:50-56

a.      A good and righteous man, Joseph, had already decided who Jesus is.

b.     Like many in that day, the particulars about the death and resurrection were not known to Him.

c.      But He was looking forward to the Kingdom of God.

d.     He must have believed that Jesus had something to do with the Father.

e.      That there was something about His teachings that rang true.

f.      Even as a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council, Joseph loved God and wanted to know the one the Father sent.

g.     Joseph believed that Jesus was the Messiah.

h.     The ladies that followed Jesus from Galilee.

i.       Some of them had been following Jesus for some time.

j.       They had decided that Jesus was who He said He was.

k.     They believed that He was the Son of God.

l.       They followed Jesus during His ministry and was going to take care of His body as soon as the Sabbath had passed.

m.   They were devoted followers of Christ, even if they did not understand everything that was happening.

n.     They knew who Jesus was to them.

4.     Luke 24:1-8

a.      The ladies who believed in Jesus… the ones that had been following Him from Galilee, they were the first to see the empty tomb.

b.     They were terrified… they did not understand what it meant.

c.      But they believed.

d.     When the angles told the ladies about Jesus having Risen from the dead, they remembered His words.

e.      They knew who Jesus was.

5.     Luke 24:9-12

a.      In this telling we only see Peter running to the tomb, but in the Gospel of John we see that John runs with Peter.

b.     They did not understand what the ladies were telling them.

c.      It was like they had blinders on and could not hear the truth.

d.     These are the same disciples that we read about in John, who believe.

e.      John 6:68-69

f.      They believed in Jesus.

g.     They believed He is the Son of God.

h.     Their trust was in Him.

i.       But they were struggling with the circumstances as they had unfolded.

j.       When he got there, Peter saw that the body was not there… and was amazed.

k.     Maybe Hope was creeping into that mind of his.

l.       He believed but did not fully grasp what was happening.

6.     Luke 24:13-21a

a.      Here we have Cleopas and another disciple walking on the road to Emmaus.

b.     These two are guys who believed that Jesus was the Son of God.

c.      They had witnessed many signs and heard Jesus’ teaching.

d.     They believed, but were confused.

e.      They saw the Messiah as one who was going to redeem Israel by freeing them from the Roman oppression.

f.      They believed; they likely would be in the category of Loving God… but just did not understand.

g.     I would say all of us fall into the category at one point or another.

h.     Early in our walk with Jesus, we understand little.

i.       As time goes on, we begin to understand more but there is always so much more to learn.

j.       We like these two believed, but could not connect all the dots.

7.     Luke 24:21b-27

a.      Without revealing the truth about who He was, Jesus laid out scripture to the two disciples.

b.     He was correcting their understanding of who the Messiah was.

c.      That He needed to suffer to pay the price to redeem all of humankind.

d.     Scripture has been given to us so that we can learn these things.

e.      The Holy Spirit works in us to help us to see THE Truth, His Truth.

8.     Luke 24:28-32

a.      When the time was right.

b.     When Jesus had finished explaining Scripture to these guys.

c.      When they understood that the Messiah had to suffer.

d.     Their eyes were opened, and they saw that Jesus had risen from the dead.

e.      He is the resurrected Lord.

f.      They KNEW who Jesus was!

9.     Luke 24:33-35

a.      I would imagine the excitement in that room was growing.

b.     The ladies saw the resurrected Jesus at the tomb.

c.      Jesus had appeared to Simon.

d.     He taught these guys while walking down the Emmaus road.

10.  Jesus had appeared to a handful of people who believed in Him.

a.      But it did not stop there.

11.  Luke 24:36-43

a.      Jesus appeared to His followers.

b.     He stood in their presence.

c.      He spoke to them.

d.     They could see Him, touch Him, and they watched Him eat a piece of fish.

e.      A dead man or a ghost could not do these things.

f.      If their was any doubt that Jesus was a live, it would be gone.

g.     They KNEW who Jesus was alive!

12.  Luke 24:44-45

a.      During His visit, Jesus once again unfolded the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms to His followers.

b.     He essentially showed them where in the Old Testament that it foretold Jesus coming.

c.      But He did not stop there.

13.  Luke 24:46-47

a.      Jesus pointed out the prophecies that showed that He was the Messiah.

b.     Then He explained what that really meant.

c.      As the Messiah Jesus was going to suffer, He was going to die, and still today He is the resurrected Lord.

d.     For those in His presence that day, there would be no doubt.

e.      They saw Jesus.

f.      They heard Jesus.

g.     And their eyes were opened to what Scripture said about Him.

h.     They believed.

i.       They not only knew that Jesus was alive, but they knew who Jesus is!

14.  Luke 24:48-49

a.      What do witnesses do?

b.     They tell others what they saw, what they heard, and what they experienced.

c.      They were witnesses that were to be empowered with the Holy Spirit.

d.     Witnesses that started to spread the Good News about Jesus.

e.      Most faced torture and death, but they spread the news of Jesus anyways.

f.      They must have fully believed that Jesus is the Messiah.

g.     Our Lord and Savior.

h.     They Knew who Jesus is!

15.  The question we need to ask ourselves is, Who is Jesus?

16.  Is He some wise teacher from a long time ago that teaches morals that we should listen to?

a.      I would say Yes, but so much more than that.

17.  Is Jesus some guy who claimed things that really did not make sense to those around Him?

a.      In some ways, Yes. But only because those who heard Him did not understand what he was saying.

b.     Everything Jesus said and taught was 100% true.

18.  Is Jesus some historical person and a wise teacher… absolutely, but He is so much more.

19.  Jesus is the one the Father sent.

20.  He is the creator of all we know.

21.  He is the Son of God.

22.  He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning, and the end.

23.  He is the one who died for us to pay the sin debt that we owe.

24.  He is the Resurrected King of kings who grants us eternal life with the Father.

25.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

26.  Jesus is the only way to the Father.

27.  As we sit here today, we must answer the question. Who is Jesus?

28.  If your answer is that He is a guy that had an impact on the world and that is as far as it goes, I want to encourage you to read the Gospels and learn all you can about that guy named Jesus.

a.      If that is you, I would love to talk to you.

29.  If your answer is that Jesus is the Son of God and that through His sacrifice, you are redeemed.

a.      You are absolutely correct.

b.     If this is a new revelation to you, I would love to talk to you about our Jesus.

c.      If He has been your Lord for some time, I want to encourage you to let the Holy Spirit work in you.

d.     Let Him guide you, mold you, and shape you so that God can use you.

30.  So, I ask you, Who is Jesus?

31.  He is the one who has redeemed us from our sins.

32.  He is the resurrected Son of God!