[0:00] Now, our reading is from Luke chapter 24. I'm going to start reading at verse 13.
[0:11] If you have a church Bible, you'll find that reading on page 1061. So, reading from verse 13.
[0:33] Now, that same day, remember the events of that day, remember how the empty tomb had been discovered.
[0:43] And on that day, the day of the Lord Jesus Christ's resurrection, two of them, two of the disciples, were going to a village called Amias, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
[1:00] They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. And as they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them.
[1:16] But they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, what are you discussing together as you walk along?
[1:27] They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have happened there in these days?
[1:48] What things, he asked. About Jesus of Nazareth, they replied. He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed, before God and all the people.
[2:06] The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death. And they crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.
[2:24] And what is more, it's the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us.
[2:35] They went to the tomb early this morning, but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they'd seen a vision of angels who said he was alive.
[2:49] Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said. But they did not see Jesus. He said to them, how foolish you are and how slow to believe all the prophets have spoken.
[3:08] Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.
[3:25] A little bit later on, we'll hear more of that account. Chapter 24. And we take up the account in verse 28.
[3:37] So Luke chapter 24. And I'm reading now from verse 28. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going further.
[3:53] But they urged him strongly, stay with us, for it's nearly evening. The day is almost over. So he went in to stay with them.
[4:06] When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks. He broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.
[4:21] And he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us?
[4:35] They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. And there they found the eleven and those with them assembled together and saying, It's true, the Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.
[4:50] Then the two told what had happened on the way and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.
[5:14] They were startled and frightened, thinking that they'd seen a ghost. He said to them, And while they still did not believe because of joy and amazement, He asked them, Do you have anything here to eat?
[6:00] And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you.
[6:18] Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures.
[6:35] I did half suspect that when I was told that half the congregation were going to be absent, that there would hardly be anyone here when they knew who the preacher was.
[7:07] But it's good to see that you were so steadfast and immovable, and you came to worship. Let's look at God's Word.
[7:18] We read from, had a reading from Luke chapter 24, which occurred around this time of year, almost 2,000 years ago.
[7:32] And two men, disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, were walking that seven mile distance from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
[7:45] And they were having a discussion together. And it was quite evident that they were distressed. They were having a discussion about the events that had happened over the weekend.
[8:04] And along came someone, as far as they were concerned, a stranger. It was the Lord Jesus Christ. But it is evident from the record of scripture that they were not allowed to recognize him at first.
[8:24] So here comes the Lord Jesus, joins them as they're walking. And it's the sort of typical thing that you would have if you went out in the countryside, you're walking along, there are other folk there, and it's usually the case, even in our country, that you can engage in conversation much easier with people when you're out in the open spaces, on an open road, a track rather, when there's no traffic around.
[8:52] You can engage in conversation and we pass pleasantries, don't we? So here comes the Lord Jesus Christ and he overhears their conversation and he engages with them in conversation.
[9:03] What are you talking about? What's concerning you? And so they tell him that something dreadful has happened, something tragic has occurred in Jerusalem on the Friday before, how one that they'd hoped was going to be very significant in the nation, one that was going to be very significant to the Israelites and to the Jews, had been crucified.
[9:29] and it's now the third day since and well, we've heard sort of, all sorts of things. Some women went to his tomb where his body had been laid and they saw angels and the angels said, he's not here, he's risen.
[9:49] And the women came back and told us and the men went but they couldn't find anything at all, no evidence, just the empty tomb. And it's fascinating how Jesus responds.
[10:06] Oh foolish ones, don't think it was put over harshly. We can't imagine as we read the Gospels our Lord dealing harshly with his disciples.
[10:17] It would be with a note of sadness that they'd been with him for three years and didn't understand the ways of God more clearly.
[10:30] Oh foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have said. Isn't it interesting that Jesus did not rebuke them for not believing the women?
[10:50] He didn't rebuke them for not believing the angels. He rebuked them because they didn't believe the Old Testament Scriptures.
[11:07] When you read through the New Testament, it's quite evident that the Lord Jesus Christ in the first four Gospels makes the Old Testament the basis and the root, the foundation of his life and teaching.
[11:27] He's constantly saying, have you not read? Or it is written. Or as said the prophet. His ministry was built on the Old Testament.
[11:40] And as you go from the Gospels into the Acts of the Apostles, you'll find that the followers of Jesus, the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, they went around teaching about Jesus and they were constantly saying, it's been written.
[11:56] It's been written. This is a fulfillment of the Scriptures. And this really is the amazing, powerful proof of who Jesus really is.
[12:12] We're in a day when people seem so skeptical. I work with a group of youngsters every Wednesday. We alternate between Scarborough and York.
[12:24] We have a teaching session, an interactive teaching session first on Old Testament prophecies of Jesus Christ. And then they go out onto the street engaging in conversation.
[12:38] They've been doing it now for 25 weeks. It's our 25th anniversary on Wednesday when nine young people, young adults between 18 and 23 years of age came over giving six hours to the study of God's Word and to seeking to share the good news with the people on the street.
[13:01] They've tried all kinds of means of addressing people and talking with people and engaging with people and by and large folk are just not interested.
[13:15] They're not interested in the things of God. And when it comes to preaching in the assemblies and the churches, the preaching often relies on the power of the Holy Spirit.
[13:30] We'll preach about Jesus Christ and preach about Calvary and preach about the resurrection and rely on the Holy Spirit to convict those who are there who are not converted, who aren't Christians, rely on the Holy Spirit to convict them and say, as it were, yes, that's true.
[13:51] But so rare is it to hear the approach of Jesus or the approach of the apostles, the approach that's there in the scriptures to present to people who don't know God, who don't know the Lord Jesus, the proof, the indisputable proof that Jesus has come from God.
[14:18] He's come from God. He is of God. He is the Son of God. He is the Messiah, the promised one. with so many religions and so many philosophies in the world, and we're not in the position where we compare Jesus Christ and Christianity with other views.
[14:42] Jesus Christ says something that sets him apart from every other religious thinker and religious leader in the world, past or present.
[14:54] They say, I think. If they're honest, they say, I think. I understand. I reason.
[15:05] I give them thought and contemplation. Jesus doesn't say that. Jesus says, I know. Samantha Gotama Buddha meditated and contemplated and came up with his philosophy of life.
[15:24] And much of it is good, wholesome morality. But he was doing what so many of the others did, sitting and thinking his way about life and eternity.
[15:45] Jesus doesn't do that. if his claims are true, if his claims can be substantiated, he isn't saying, I think this is what life is all about.
[16:01] I think this is how it all began. I think this is what, where we're all going. He said, I know. I've come from God. God. I was with God from that never beginning eternity past.
[16:18] I was thoroughly involved in the creation of everything that exists. And I've come from God fully aware of the truth.
[16:29] which means we've got to substantiate his credentials. And here he is, you see, telling us something very, very important on that immerse road through that event.
[16:45] He's saying Christianity doesn't depend upon the word of others. Christianity doesn't depend upon miraculous appearances and angels flitter in and out.
[16:59] Christianity stands or falls on the basis of the Old Testament scriptures. And if people would only give time to reading and studying the wonderful prophecies that are given about Jesus Christ, it would confirm them or convince them or convict them.
[17:25] depending on their spiritual state. That Jesus has come from God and speaks with God authority. It occurred to the Jews at the time of the birth of Jesus.
[17:47] Do you remember when the wise men came? It's recorded in the scriptures. The wise men came over from the east from Babylon or Persia. They came from the east traveling, following a very unusual and supernatural star.
[18:05] And they came to Jerusalem and it seemed like the star either had stopped or had gone from their sight for a while. And so they did what you can understand them doing.
[18:18] They're wise men and they're looking for a king, a special king that's been promised. And so they go to Herod's summer residence there in Jerusalem.
[18:30] Herod's the local king. They go to his summer palace and they say, where is this king that was promised? We've come to worship him. Now Herod didn't know a thing about it.
[18:43] But his response to them is, if there's a king being born, I want to know about it because I'll deal with him. That's obviously what was intended as you can see from the way in which the events occurred.
[18:57] But he says to them, well you go continue looking and when you've found him, send word back to me and I'll come and worship him as well. Not for one moment.
[19:08] He was obviously lying. His intention was to arrange for this new king to be butchered. Which is why he sent soldiers into Bethlehem and the surrounding area and massacred every male child from two and under.
[19:32] But how did they know it was going to be Bethlehem? How did Herod know it would be Bethlehem? Well he called his counsellors. Herod was an Indomayan, not a Jew. But he obviously had Jewish counsellors because some of those counsellors said, well the king, this special promised king, king promised by God, is going to be born in Bethlehem because it's promised.
[19:55] It's prophesied, it's predicted. He has to be born in Bethlehem. In Micah chapter 5 and verse 2. That's why Herod massacred the children.
[20:10] Because he'd been told the promise of the king, the promise of Messiah, the promised one that God will send will be born in Bethlehem.
[20:22] So his birth was predicted. It had to be in Bethlehem. That's why Nathaniel, as you'll read in John chapter 1, why Nathaniel was a little bit left-footed when Philip went and told him, we found Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.
[20:39] Nazareth, Nazareth, Nazareth. And anything good come out of Nazareth? He wasn't being racist. He wasn't saying there are horrible lot of people there.
[20:53] He was meaning, he was a Bible student, you see, he was one who studied the Bible, studied with John the Baptist and some of the other young fellows. And he couldn't understand how it could be Jesus of Nazareth.
[21:08] It's got to be Jesus of Bethlehem if it's going to be the true Messiah. And so Philip, not knowing how to answer him at that time, said, yeah, well, come and see. Come and meet him. Nathaniel was soon convinced when he met him.
[21:22] It was all based on the Old Testament. God promised the sufferings of his son way back 4,000 years or more before the birth of Jesus Christ.
[21:41] He promised. It wasn't very specific at that point, it just said there's someone going to come. There's going to be a man who's going to come and he's going to suffer significantly, but he's going to succeed, succeed effectively.
[21:59] He's going to win. He's going to engage in a battle and he'll win. Look at Genesis 3.15 where the first promise was given. And then the scriptures unfold and we learn that this special one is going to be a descendant of Abraham, is going to be a descendant of Judah, Abraham's grandson.
[22:31] Judah's given a wonderful promise. He's going to have a tribal existence. His people are going to exist as a tribe known as a tribe for many, many years, right until the coming of the promised one.
[22:44] Shiloh, the peacemaker, Genesis 49 and 10. Judah will have an existence. The fascinating thing is if you look into the history, that Israel built, joined, united together under David, King David, great King David, was divided after his son Solomon's death, some 40 years later, was divided because Solomon's son was a bit of an arrogant young fellow who thought he could do better than his father and go further than his father and he created a civil war.
[23:33] And the nation was divided. Ten tribes in the south, two tribes in the north. Two tribes in the south, ten tribes in the north. The tribes in the north only lasted for a few hundred years.
[23:48] They were taken, all the lot, shipped out to Assyria. Their records lost. Two tribes remained, Judah and Bethlehem, and Benjamin, sorry, old age and bad memory.
[24:08] Two tribes, Judah and Benjamin. But they were taken into exile, weren't they? They were taken away. They were taken over to Babylon.
[24:22] And strangely, it was there in Babylon where Israel's name was changed. The Israelites were no longer referred to as Israelites, not always, not often. But from that period, they were called Jews.
[24:37] And Jews is just a contraction of Judah's, of the tribe of Judah. So the only tribe that had a recognizable existence and a traceable ancestry, Jews, those of Judah, according to the promise of God until Jesus Christ came, until Shiloh came.
[25:07] It's fascinating to follow through the Scriptures. There are over 350 prophecies in the Old Testament and if you take time to read them and study them through, you will be thoroughly convinced if you're a Christian, thoroughly convinced of the groundwork of our Lord's life and ministry, suffering, death, and resurrection.
[25:32] And if you're not a Christian, oh, by the grace of God and the providence of God, it will convince you that you should be a follower committed to Jesus Christ.
[25:45] He has to be of the tribe of Judah, that was the promise and prophecy. He had to be the son of David, that was prophesied. He had to be able to be in the line, to be in that line.
[25:56] Born in Bethlehem, as we said, born of a virgin, that was predicted. Isaiah 7, 14, son of God given all the details of his cross were spelt out in the Old Testament.
[26:11] Nailed, hand and feet, Psalm 22. They will look upon me whom they have pierced, said God, in Zechariah chapter 12 and verse 10. More and more prophecies that convince that Jesus is the Christ.
[26:28] One of the fascinating ones among all these amazing prophecies is the prediction of David in Psalm 100 where he says Messiah will be a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
[26:47] Now what's that all about? Well, that comes around 1,000 years before the birth of Jesus. David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says of the Messiah, the Christ, he's going to be a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
[27:08] And to know who Melchizedek is, you've got to go back beyond David a thousand years and to an incident that only takes three verses to mention in the book of Genesis.
[27:22] In the book of Genesis chapter 14 from verse 18, there's an account of how Abraham went after the enemies, the Chadli homer, and they rescued Abraham's nephew Lot and his family and their goods.
[27:48] None of them were hurt, they were delivered from their captors. And Abraham was on his way back home with them and he met this intriguing fellow, this man who was just presented there in verse 18, then Melchizedek, king of Salem, blessed Abraham.
[28:11] If you want to understand about it, you've got to go to the New Testament and over into the letter to the Hebrews, Hebrews and chapter 7, where it is explained what God was doing.
[28:27] Melchizedek, king of Salem, that's the old name for Jerusalem. And he was king and called priest of God most high.
[28:38] So he was king and priest, a king priest. But under the law of God at Sinai, no Israelite could be a king and priest.
[28:52] You could be a king if you were of the order of Judah. You could be a priest if you were of the order of Levi, but you couldn't be both. It was impossible.
[29:05] It was forbidden. So comes the Lord Jesus Christ and we discover he's a priest after the order of Melchizedek. What does it all mean?
[29:16] It means that this one who came from Judah, who's a king, is declared by God to be also a priest. But he couldn't be a priest as an Israelite.
[29:28] Ah, just a moment. He's after the order of Melchizedek. And what happened when Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and the Levitical priests had not yet been born, and the division had not yet been made between the tribes and their roles, what happened there when Melchizedek blessed Abraham was that the superior blessed the inferior, and Levi was still in the loins of Abraham, it's put.
[30:00] That's how it's expressed, not yet born. So the superior is over the inferior, and the superior priesthood of Melchizedek is superior to the new Levitical priesthood and royalty.
[30:15] so this is amazing provision of God. Who else could have thought it up? It can't happen by chance. It can't be a coincidence.
[30:27] For any who are prepared to study the scriptures, you can know. Following the lines of prophecy, King, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, what a wonderful thread that is.
[30:44] Wonderful promises. He's the great prophet of Deuteronomy chapter 18 and 18. That great and special prophet whose words would be the words of God, the words that have to be obeyed, the difference between life and death.
[31:03] So our Lord Jesus Christ was gently rebuking them on that Emmaus road for not believing the scriptures and putting their confidence confidence in the predictions, the Old Testament predictions about Messiah Christ because that's where the proof is.
[31:23] We don't promote the Christian faith by looking for miracles and looking for visits, spiritual visits. We don't promote it by bullying people and threatening people.
[31:39] We promote it by asking permission to share the good news of Jesus and to prove who he is from the scriptures. You remember when Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees?
[31:52] In John chapter 5 it's recorded. Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees because he declared himself to be the son of God. And they in effect said, prove yourself that you're the son of God.
[32:06] God. So Jesus said, if I speak on my own, if I give my own testimony, then it's not true, it's not valid.
[32:17] Which is a strange thing for Jesus to say, but he said it nevertheless. And what he meant was, according to the law of God, one person getting up and claiming something didn't carry any weight because anybody could claim things.
[32:36] And if you're going to be heard and understood and believed, you've got to be able to present witnesses. It went right back to the old law in Deuteronomy 19 verse 15.
[32:49] A person can't be committed for a crime, sentenced for a crime unless there are two witnesses, preferably three.
[33:02] And that became the basis of law for Israel from Sinai. In order to establish guilt at court, there had to be two witnesses, preferably three.
[33:14] That's why they looked for two witnesses when they wanted to crucify the Lord Jesus. But they couldn't find two witnesses that agreed. They couldn't find it. They couldn't do it by law, so they did it without law.
[33:25] They did it unlawfully, illegally. It not only was the basis upon which they established guilt, but it was the basis upon which they established validity.
[33:37] So Jesus is saying, if I speak on my own, there's no reason for you to believe me, but I've got witnesses. That's what he says, John chapter 5, from verse 31 through to verse 47. I have other witnesses.
[33:50] I have John the Baptist. What's his testimony? He'll tell you that I'm the Son of God. You respect him? Believe him? He says, I'm the Son of God.
[34:01] I've got other witnesses. The miracles that I perform, these testify, these prove that I've come from God, that I'm the Son of God. But then I've got the Scriptures.
[34:13] These testify of me. The Scriptures of the Old Testament testify to Jesus. Prove. Because it spans back 4,000 years before the birth of Jesus.
[34:28] And it's given time and time again. In fact, it's 500 years before the birth of Jesus when that promise is given about him being born in Bethlehem.
[34:40] And there weren't any more prophecies for 400 years before the birth of Jesus. So they were given years and years back and couldn't possibly amount to coincidence.
[34:55] It's utterly indisputable. Jesus told a parable. Do you remember the parable of the rich man and Lazarus?
[35:07] If you look at that parable in Luke chapter 17, you'll see how Jesus reasons. There is the man, the rich man dies and is in hell. Lazarus dies as in Abraham in heaven and there's no way of getting from one to the other.
[35:24] The rich man calls out to Abraham and says, send Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch my lips because I'm in thirst here.
[35:37] And Abraham told him there's no way that Lazarus can get through. Oh, and he says, well, send someone to my brothers. I've got five brothers still alive at home.
[35:47] Please send someone and tell them about this horrible place so that they don't come here with me. You might think when you read it that he was concerned, suddenly concerned there in hell about his brothers.
[36:01] Nah. He says to Abraham, if someone goes from the dead, they believe him. Abraham says, if they don't believe Moses and the prophets, they won't believe though someone rise from the dead.
[36:18] That's the words of Jesus in the parable and the story. He's saying, if they don't believe the predictions of the Old Testament scriptures, they'll not be convinced even if they see a miracle.
[36:34] So we've got powerful proof, wonderful, powerful proof, that Jesus is Messiah the Christ, the promised one of God and that we can rely on what he says implicitly.
[36:50] We can trust him. In a world where there's so much confusion and so many different voices being raised to tell us how to live and what life is all about, we hear Jesus who says, I've come from God.
[37:08] God, and I know the truth. In fact, I am the truth. I am the truth. Father God, we bless you for every one of us that can say Jesus is Lord.
[37:28] And pray Father that it might be the blessing that everyone here will share, knowing that he has come from you, speaks with that authority and certainty and confidence because he knows the truth and because he is the truth.
[37:47] Oh, that we might all know him as the way, the truth and the life. For your name and glory's sake. Amen. Amen.