WEBVTT 00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:03.399 Hello, you're listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:03.560 --> 00:00:05.620 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown, 00:00:05.799 --> 00:00:08.539 Harrisburg. This epiphany in Lent, we're back 00:00:08.539 --> 00:00:11.000 in the Gospels, specifically the Gospel of Mark. 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:14.660 We are seeing the revelation of God in Jesus. 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:17.879 Mark is showing us the true King becomes a servant 00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:21.079 for us. He says right at the heart, the Son of 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:24.420 Man came not to be served, but to serve and to 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:28.530 give his life as a ransom for many. And Mark 00:00:28.530 --> 00:00:31.670 is nearly always asking his audience, what do 00:00:31.670 --> 00:00:36.530 you make of that? So, what do you make of this 00:00:36.530 --> 00:00:41.090 good news? We'd love to meet you and we hope 00:00:41.090 --> 00:00:43.189 you'll consider coming and joining with us each 00:00:43.189 --> 00:00:45.189 Sunday morning at 10 a .m. in the heart of Midtown 00:00:45.189 --> 00:00:48.009 Harrisburg. You can find us online at secondcitychurch 00:00:48.009 --> 00:00:50.390 .org and on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. 00:00:51.189 --> 00:00:56.950 We hope you enjoy this sermon. God bless. Thanks 00:00:56.950 --> 00:00:59.390 be to God. Let's pray. Lord, we bless you and 00:00:59.390 --> 00:01:02.429 we praise you, Lord, for freeing this sister 00:01:02.429 --> 00:01:05.549 who is seeking to care for these women. God, 00:01:06.450 --> 00:01:08.090 I pray that you will do a great work even through 00:01:08.090 --> 00:01:12.129 her short imprisonment. God, that through her 00:01:12.129 --> 00:01:15.129 suffering, Christ might receive great glory. 00:01:15.549 --> 00:01:17.849 And God, even through this answered prayer, that 00:01:17.849 --> 00:01:19.989 we, your church here, all the way around the 00:01:19.989 --> 00:01:24.159 world, Might devote ourselves more to life with 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:27.540 you and to laying our burdens before you and 00:01:27.540 --> 00:01:30.739 Finding in you that our despair is turned to 00:01:30.739 --> 00:01:36.060 hope that our sorrows can be turned to joy God 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:38.659 bless us now as we look at this resurrection 00:01:38.659 --> 00:01:45.879 narrative Or through this news I feel like our 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:47.939 hearts at least my heart already feels like it 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:52.010 is burning for you to work So I pray that you 00:01:52.010 --> 00:01:57.890 would do that now. Amen All right You just heard 00:01:57.890 --> 00:02:00.650 from Elise one of my favorite passages in the 00:02:00.650 --> 00:02:03.370 Bible and I know I say that occasionally But 00:02:03.370 --> 00:02:06.290 it's true. I can have multiple favorites just 00:02:06.290 --> 00:02:10.909 like you can this is one of them I Love this 00:02:10.909 --> 00:02:13.569 story because it has some suspense to it. It 00:02:13.569 --> 00:02:17.129 has some sorrow and grief. It also has some humor 00:02:17.129 --> 00:02:20.870 in it It always seemed a little strange to me 00:02:20.870 --> 00:02:22.889 that Luke is the only one that recounts this 00:02:22.889 --> 00:02:26.569 story. It's just so wonderful. Most likely, because 00:02:26.569 --> 00:02:28.229 he tells us actually in chapter one that one 00:02:28.229 --> 00:02:30.110 of the things that he's doing in his gospel is 00:02:30.110 --> 00:02:32.389 he's trying to give a true account of the things 00:02:32.389 --> 00:02:34.770 that happened. And he interviews people and all 00:02:34.770 --> 00:02:37.250 these kinds of things. And he mentions Cleopas 00:02:37.250 --> 00:02:39.449 here probably because he had interviewed Cleopas. 00:02:39.689 --> 00:02:42.289 Hey, what are some of the stories of Jesus? And 00:02:42.289 --> 00:02:44.289 Cleopas probably said, I've got a good one for 00:02:44.289 --> 00:02:47.960 you. tell you about our walk back to Emmaus. 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:51.680 I think it's just such a wonderful story. And 00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:54.319 that's why you've heard it a few times from my 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:56.139 lips. We've looked at this story a few times 00:02:56.139 --> 00:02:58.939 together. And so when I was preparing for it, 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:03.139 I searched some of my old sermons and this is 00:03:03.139 --> 00:03:08.979 where it's a little embarrassing. And last year 00:03:08.979 --> 00:03:11.319 on this very week I preached from this passage 00:03:11.319 --> 00:03:15.460 and I didn't remember that. I was like, how are 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:18.199 you supposed to remember what I'm saying if the 00:03:18.199 --> 00:03:20.800 words from my own mouth seem to go out sometimes 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:24.099 and they die in my own ears? I preached this 00:03:24.099 --> 00:03:28.060 passage not once last Easter tide, but twice. 00:03:29.539 --> 00:03:32.319 The second week of Easter, which we are on today, 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:39.680 and the third week of Easter. Anyway, I am not 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.490 gonna give you my sermon from last year. partly 00:03:42.490 --> 00:03:44.650 because it just doesn't work that way. In case 00:03:44.650 --> 00:03:47.129 you're wondering, I've never actually gone back 00:03:47.129 --> 00:03:51.229 and been like, wow, that was really great. They 00:03:51.229 --> 00:03:56.389 need to hear that again. But I am going to give 00:03:56.389 --> 00:03:58.889 you a similar introduction and tell you something 00:03:58.889 --> 00:04:03.240 that I said last year. So what I want us to do 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:05.419 in this Easter tide is I want us to look, actually 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:06.539 what we're going to do is we're going to look 00:04:06.539 --> 00:04:08.560 at some of the resurrection narratives, the post 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:11.520 resurrection narratives of Jesus. And then also 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:14.240 through those stories say, who are we to be as 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:16.600 a people? What does it mean for second city church? 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:19.540 And what are some of our priorities in light 00:04:19.540 --> 00:04:21.899 of Jesus post resurrection interactions with 00:04:21.899 --> 00:04:27.379 his disciples? Okay. So this morning we're going 00:04:27.379 --> 00:04:29.459 to consider this idea that we are to be the people 00:04:29.459 --> 00:04:32.579 of the word. And you can think about the power 00:04:32.579 --> 00:04:35.339 of words, especially in light of me not even 00:04:35.339 --> 00:04:39.699 remembering that I preached this text twice last 00:04:39.699 --> 00:04:42.939 year, last April, this very month, a year ago. 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:47.819 Here is the shortest of Emily Dickinson's poems, 00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:50.639 which I gave you last year also. It's called 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:53.800 A Word is Dead. A word is dead when it is said. 00:04:54.019 --> 00:04:59.600 Some say. I say it just begins to live that day. 00:04:59.899 --> 00:05:02.199 Since it's so short, I'm going to read it twice. 00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:09.980 A word is dead when it is said. Some say. I say 00:05:09.980 --> 00:05:15.360 it just begins to live that day. And what I suggest 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:17.160 to you last week is that that tends to be true 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:19.120 of most words, almost all words, significantly 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:21.220 powerful words, but then actually the odd thing 00:05:21.220 --> 00:05:24.240 is that my own words seem to die in my own ears. 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:27.279 But my encouragement to us is to actually interact 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:31.230 with the living word. The real word as it comes 00:05:31.230 --> 00:05:34.949 to us from God the Father the Lord Jesus Christ 00:05:34.949 --> 00:05:37.410 and the Holy Spirit So think with me about the 00:05:37.410 --> 00:05:39.949 scene that we have in Luke chapter 24 Think about 00:05:39.949 --> 00:05:42.189 the story what we have is we have this couple 00:05:42.189 --> 00:05:44.709 walking back to their home in Emmaus It says 00:05:44.709 --> 00:05:47.430 about seven miles away about seven and a half 00:05:47.430 --> 00:05:51.350 miles. We know today some people think that this 00:05:51.350 --> 00:05:55.509 is Cleopas actually Clopas is is the name given 00:05:55.509 --> 00:06:00.160 to us in John chapter 19 and his wife Mary So 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.259 Cleopas is mentioned here. It's very possibly 00:06:02.259 --> 00:06:05.379 that it's Clopas and his wife Mary there in John 00:06:05.379 --> 00:06:09.300 chapter 19. But you can sort of feel just the 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:12.839 dread as they walk back, the slow plodding of 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:15.139 their feet as they make their way back home, 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:17.660 having celebrated the Passover, having spent 00:06:17.660 --> 00:06:20.180 time with their Lord. And if it's true that that's 00:06:20.180 --> 00:06:21.779 who they were, then they were actually at the 00:06:21.779 --> 00:06:26.110 very cross of Christ when Jesus tells John, You 00:06:26.110 --> 00:06:28.629 know, there is his mother in Mary and Mary, there 00:06:28.629 --> 00:06:31.790 is your son to John, the disciple of John. You 00:06:31.790 --> 00:06:36.069 can imagine their dismay and the failure of their 00:06:36.069 --> 00:06:40.310 hopes. They had seen Jesus there on the cross. 00:06:41.149 --> 00:06:42.730 And so they're talking about these things that 00:06:42.730 --> 00:06:45.189 they had witnessed. And again, think with me 00:06:45.189 --> 00:06:47.810 of this week. This week began with the triumphal 00:06:47.810 --> 00:06:50.470 entry. Remember that we reenacted in a slight 00:06:50.470 --> 00:06:53.769 way as we wandered around our building and up 00:06:53.769 --> 00:06:57.550 through our stairs and into this sanctuary and 00:06:57.550 --> 00:06:59.470 they had thought probably they probably thought 00:06:59.470 --> 00:07:02.129 here's the king here's the new ruler who's going 00:07:02.129 --> 00:07:07.370 to put the world to right and yet as that week 00:07:07.370 --> 00:07:12.610 continued on their hopes were dashed the one 00:07:12.610 --> 00:07:15.470 who would bring the kingdom of god crucified 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:18.079 You know, they had probably heard the stories 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:20.500 of the Last Supper at the very least. Maybe it's 00:07:20.500 --> 00:07:22.540 very possible that they were actually there in 00:07:22.540 --> 00:07:24.279 that upper room. We don't know that it was just 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:26.220 the disciples. We know it was at least the disciples. 00:07:27.779 --> 00:07:29.439 But there they were. They had probably heard 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:32.860 the story of the disciples fleeing in the garden. 00:07:33.699 --> 00:07:36.000 Maybe they'd heard of the 30 pieces of silver 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:38.959 that Judah, just 30 pieces of silver that he 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:42.819 betrayed his Lord with, how he had gone and hung 00:07:42.819 --> 00:07:46.449 himself. Certainly what they were talking about, 00:07:46.470 --> 00:07:47.829 they were probably talking about all these things, 00:07:48.050 --> 00:07:49.910 but almost certainly what they were talking about 00:07:49.910 --> 00:07:52.610 was the crucifixion of Christ. That was probably 00:07:52.610 --> 00:07:54.610 the central thing that they were talking about. 00:07:55.810 --> 00:07:59.029 That their Lord, their teacher, their would -be 00:07:59.029 --> 00:08:03.689 King died on a Roman cross. And the odd thing 00:08:03.689 --> 00:08:05.310 probably they were talking about is their own 00:08:05.310 --> 00:08:08.850 religious leaders that instigated it. And it 00:08:08.850 --> 00:08:11.149 was the very power that they at least hoped would 00:08:11.149 --> 00:08:13.959 be overthrown in the Roman empire. that brought 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:17.740 it about with their evil cross. There was so 00:08:17.740 --> 00:08:19.980 much to talk about, but here's what's certain 00:08:19.980 --> 00:08:24.259 about this walk and this long walk home, this 00:08:24.259 --> 00:08:26.199 slow walk home, that of all the things that they 00:08:26.199 --> 00:08:28.259 were talking about, it was something that took 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:30.980 away all of their hope, all of their joy, and 00:08:30.980 --> 00:08:34.960 only brought despair. Because they were headed 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:38.620 back to a world where sickness, just like our 00:08:38.620 --> 00:08:42.139 world seems rampant, where Work seems to be more 00:08:42.139 --> 00:08:45.580 life -taking than right life -giving Where you 00:08:45.580 --> 00:08:47.340 know, they're worrying about how the kids gonna 00:08:47.340 --> 00:08:50.700 grow up. Are they gonna follow Jesus to the end? 00:08:51.879 --> 00:08:57.100 For people move in and out of their lives They 00:08:57.100 --> 00:08:59.200 put all their eggs in the basket of Jesus and 00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:01.320 it seems as though the cross was the Easter bunny 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:06.220 who sat on them if you will Life with our bodies 00:09:06.220 --> 00:09:09.019 and our minds don't seem to work, where our relationships 00:09:09.019 --> 00:09:12.399 so rarely have the kind of intimacy that we desire 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:16.220 and long for and were made for. Just say they're 00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:20.200 going back to a life like our lives, right? One 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:25.480 that you and I know. But then they encounter 00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:29.940 the word. And oddly enough, it seems as though 00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:34.009 they're slow trotting to Emmaus. which turns 00:09:34.009 --> 00:09:36.909 them around to run back to Jerusalem at the end. 00:09:37.850 --> 00:09:39.889 They encountered the word. And I want us to just 00:09:39.889 --> 00:09:42.870 look at how they encountered the word and then 00:09:42.870 --> 00:09:44.970 encourage us to say, this is how actually we 00:09:44.970 --> 00:09:47.830 are invited to be people of the word, okay? So 00:09:47.830 --> 00:09:49.909 the first way that they encounter the word is 00:09:49.909 --> 00:09:52.409 actually, I'm titling this the questioning word. 00:09:53.250 --> 00:09:55.450 Okay, the questioning word. First they encounter 00:09:55.450 --> 00:09:59.429 the questioning word. So please open your Bible, 00:10:00.029 --> 00:10:03.440 grab that. Bible in the pew in front of you. 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:16.879 It's on page 1051. So here's the thing, for all 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:21.440 the times that I have preached this text, I have 00:10:21.440 --> 00:10:24.059 never pointed out and I don't even know that 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:28.110 I have exactly noticed that in all of these verses 00:10:28.110 --> 00:10:31.049 from Luke chapter 24, 13, all the way to Luke 00:10:31.049 --> 00:10:36.289 chapter 24, verse 35, in all 22 verses, the only 00:10:36.289 --> 00:10:39.289 times that we hear the actual words of Jesus 00:10:39.289 --> 00:10:46.110 other than his rebuke are in questions. We're 00:10:46.110 --> 00:10:48.169 never given what we kind of want, right? What 00:10:48.169 --> 00:10:49.970 we want, well, we're gonna get to this in a second, 00:10:50.230 --> 00:10:52.909 is the great details of the Bible study, right? 00:10:53.750 --> 00:10:57.429 Instead, what we get is Jesus' questions. Verse 00:10:57.429 --> 00:11:00.610 17, look down there with me. And he said to them, 00:11:01.350 --> 00:11:03.690 what is this conversation you're holding with 00:11:03.690 --> 00:11:06.850 each other as you walk? And I love this. And 00:11:06.850 --> 00:11:10.850 they stood still looking sad. They're just, I 00:11:10.850 --> 00:11:13.110 mean, they're just taking it in and just asking 00:11:13.110 --> 00:11:16.750 us a question. But this is what questions do, 00:11:16.850 --> 00:11:19.769 right? They invite contemplation actually. Maybe 00:11:19.769 --> 00:11:21.590 that question was exactly what they needed to 00:11:21.590 --> 00:11:24.370 hear to get them to pause for a moment and to 00:11:24.370 --> 00:11:27.210 sit in the sadness of what had taken place and 00:11:27.210 --> 00:11:30.809 to contemplate. So then the next verse, verse 00:11:30.809 --> 00:11:33.110 18, then one of them named Cleopas answered him, 00:11:33.389 --> 00:11:35.909 are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does 00:11:35.909 --> 00:11:38.190 not know the things that have happened there 00:11:38.190 --> 00:11:41.370 in these days? And verse 19, and he said to them, 00:11:42.889 --> 00:11:48.269 what things? Now keep in mind, Y 'all, we are 00:11:48.269 --> 00:11:53.070 talking about the risen Christ. The long -awaited 00:11:53.070 --> 00:11:56.230 Messiah, He just conquered death. He paid the 00:11:56.230 --> 00:11:59.710 debt of our sin. He conquered the powers of darkness. 00:12:02.830 --> 00:12:05.450 Does Jesus know what conversation they are having? 00:12:06.909 --> 00:12:11.850 Yes, I would bet on it. Does He know the things 00:12:11.850 --> 00:12:17.070 that have just happened in Jerusalem? Yeah. He's 00:12:17.070 --> 00:12:22.830 like at the center of it all, no doubt. I mean, 00:12:22.830 --> 00:12:26.250 if indeed this is the Clopas and Mary who are 00:12:26.250 --> 00:12:29.909 mentioned in John chapter 19, he had just seen 00:12:29.909 --> 00:12:33.889 them a few days earlier. They were one of the 00:12:33.889 --> 00:12:40.330 last people he saw before he died. And yet Jesus 00:12:40.330 --> 00:12:45.029 questions them. It seems as though this is his 00:12:45.029 --> 00:12:48.629 desire for them to ask questions so that he's 00:12:48.629 --> 00:12:51.370 not just stating, here's what you gotta do, here's 00:12:51.370 --> 00:12:57.009 what you gotta believe. The truth is that a word 00:12:57.009 --> 00:13:01.629 can often be dead in a way if it is just a statement. 00:13:03.870 --> 00:13:09.289 But a question invites more life, more participation, 00:13:09.870 --> 00:13:13.529 right? More dialogue and reflection and response. 00:13:14.570 --> 00:13:18.190 A question brings forth life, whereas a statement 00:13:18.190 --> 00:13:23.950 so often dies. Not one of my favorite playwrights, 00:13:23.950 --> 00:13:27.370 I remember reading him years ago, the absurdist 00:13:27.370 --> 00:13:30.929 Eugene Eugène Ionesco, his French playwright, 00:13:31.850 --> 00:13:34.509 wrote, it's not the answer that enlightens, but 00:13:34.509 --> 00:13:40.690 the question. And he's right. Jesus rarely gives 00:13:40.690 --> 00:13:42.610 answers. Have you noticed this? Sometimes it's 00:13:42.610 --> 00:13:46.539 almost annoying. Jesus just answered the question, 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:49.539 but He wants our participation. He wants our 00:13:49.539 --> 00:13:54.559 life with Him. He asked questions. Think about 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:58.360 this. The very first thing that Jesus says in 00:13:58.360 --> 00:14:04.559 the Gospel of John is a question. What are you 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:10.299 seeking? What a way for the Word who has made 00:14:10.299 --> 00:14:13.220 flesh to first engage with others. What do you 00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:19.080 desire? Would you say, what are your hopes? What 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:22.820 are you seeking? Jesus questioning us, not just 00:14:22.820 --> 00:14:24.840 them long ago. And interestingly, I actually 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:27.740 read this week that if you count them all up 00:14:27.740 --> 00:14:29.899 through the ministry of Jesus, there are nearly 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:34.860 300 questions that Jesus asks. Let me give you 00:14:34.860 --> 00:14:39.700 just a few of them. Why do you worry about clothes? 00:14:42.820 --> 00:14:46.769 If you love those who love you, What reward will 00:14:46.769 --> 00:14:54.230 you get? Aren't those questions still pertinent 00:14:54.230 --> 00:14:58.309 today? How we obsess over the things that we 00:14:58.309 --> 00:15:02.230 have or how we just want to love those who think 00:15:02.230 --> 00:15:06.710 like us and act like us and disdain those who 00:15:06.710 --> 00:15:09.970 are different. Here's another question of Jesus. 00:15:11.549 --> 00:15:19.639 Why are you so afraid? Another one, why do you 00:15:19.639 --> 00:15:24.919 doubt? This great question that I hope you are 00:15:24.919 --> 00:15:27.419 all wrestling with and inviting others to wrestle 00:15:27.419 --> 00:15:33.820 with. Who do you say that I am? And genuinely. 00:15:34.250 --> 00:15:36.529 We could go on and on and our whole sermon could 00:15:36.529 --> 00:15:39.529 just be me asking questions that Jesus asks us. 00:15:39.990 --> 00:15:41.929 But this shouldn't be any surprise for us because 00:15:41.929 --> 00:15:45.870 what does God himself do after Adam and Eve first 00:15:45.870 --> 00:15:48.769 sinned in the garden way back when in Genesis 00:15:48.769 --> 00:15:52.429 chapter 3? But he asks them a question. Where 00:15:52.429 --> 00:16:01.889 are you? Where are you in relation to me? Friends, 00:16:02.110 --> 00:16:05.029 for all the questions we may have about God, 00:16:05.990 --> 00:16:07.929 what's most important actually is that he is 00:16:07.929 --> 00:16:13.809 asking us questions. And I want us to be a people 00:16:13.809 --> 00:16:18.210 who invite the questioning word. Because what 00:16:18.210 --> 00:16:20.669 God is doing in Christ and asking these questions 00:16:20.669 --> 00:16:23.350 is he's inviting us into actually dialogue with 00:16:23.350 --> 00:16:26.289 him and life with him and an ongoing life with 00:16:26.289 --> 00:16:36.019 him of dialogue. That's what questions do. And 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:40.120 let me say this, okay, the questioning word does 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:42.620 come to us through the scriptures. I just mentioned 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:46.019 that the gospel writers give us nearly 300 questions 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:49.720 from our Lord himself, but often actually the 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:52.240 questioning word comes through the body of Christ 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:57.980 living, the church, right? You together. So often 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:00.840 the questioning, Word comes to us over cups of 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:04.019 coffee with a friend, right? Or in our small 00:17:04.019 --> 00:17:06.279 group settings or whatever, right? Questions 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:11.400 like this. What hopes have dashed your life today? 00:17:13.259 --> 00:17:15.660 It's not just back then, but it's in the questioning 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:18.440 of our life together now. Where are you finding 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:21.960 joy? Which is another way of saying, what do 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:26.880 you desire? What are your hopes? I mean, ask 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:32.430 each other. Who do you say that Jesus is? Invite 00:17:32.430 --> 00:17:34.769 dialogue through the body of Christ. It's the 00:17:34.769 --> 00:17:37.309 application we can have, right? Invite thoughtful 00:17:37.309 --> 00:17:42.069 questions. Because what we see actually, and 00:17:42.069 --> 00:17:43.549 this is what happens, right? It's through these 00:17:43.549 --> 00:17:45.789 questions, Jesus just says what things, and what 00:17:45.789 --> 00:17:48.390 happens is that their initial, right? They stood 00:17:48.390 --> 00:17:50.390 still looking sad. That's what happens after 00:17:50.390 --> 00:17:52.130 their first question, and then Cleopas speaks 00:17:52.130 --> 00:17:54.869 up. Well, after their second question, they begin 00:17:54.869 --> 00:17:58.740 to recount. Right concerning the things of Jesus 00:17:58.740 --> 00:18:01.019 of Nazareth the man prophet mighty indeed and 00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:03.579 it keeps going on for a little while They actually 00:18:03.579 --> 00:18:06.400 begin to open up as the question is posed to 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:13.059 them life Participating in life comes out of 00:18:13.059 --> 00:18:22.359 these questioning words from God And yet there 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:27.480 is a moment here or sort of a movement to another 00:18:27.480 --> 00:18:29.359 commitment that I hope we have with regards to 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:31.259 the word. So I want us to be a people that invite 00:18:31.259 --> 00:18:35.019 the questioning word, but I also want us to be 00:18:35.019 --> 00:18:37.619 a people who sort of investigate the given word, 00:18:37.660 --> 00:18:40.759 okay? And that's sort of our next thing, the 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:43.920 given word. So Jesus asked this question in 19, 00:18:44.059 --> 00:18:47.039 what things? And then, you know, Cleopas opens 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:49.940 up and he recounts what had happened in Jerusalem. 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:55.039 And then in verse 24, it ends like this. Some 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:57.819 of those who were with us went to the tomb and 00:18:57.819 --> 00:19:01.000 found it just as the woman had said But him they 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:03.839 did not see which is why they're making their 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:11.240 way home, right and Jesus then says The one non 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:14.240 questioning statement he says in this in this 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:18.519 passage verse 25. He says this Oh foolish ones 00:19:20.049 --> 00:19:22.349 which is how he treats his disciples sometimes, 00:19:22.349 --> 00:19:23.930 right? You might remember a few weeks ago, he 00:19:23.930 --> 00:19:27.170 said, oh, you little faiths, oh, foolish ones 00:19:27.170 --> 00:19:30.289 and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets 00:19:30.289 --> 00:19:36.910 have spoken. Which is to say that as a people, 00:19:37.069 --> 00:19:38.509 we can't just be a people that are committed 00:19:38.509 --> 00:19:42.490 to the questioning word, to dialoguing with scripture, 00:19:42.490 --> 00:19:44.269 but we actually have to be a people who are open 00:19:44.269 --> 00:19:47.170 to the given word, to receiving what God has 00:19:47.170 --> 00:19:51.970 given us, right? I hope you see the difference 00:19:51.970 --> 00:19:53.690 there. There's the invitation to a questioning 00:19:53.690 --> 00:19:55.609 word, but then we're supposed to actually investigate 00:19:55.609 --> 00:19:58.529 what is it that God has actually said? How has 00:19:58.529 --> 00:20:03.549 he already communicated himself? So then Jesus 00:20:03.549 --> 00:20:05.390 gives this Bible study that we all wish we could 00:20:05.390 --> 00:20:08.190 have been a part of, that we get no details of 00:20:08.190 --> 00:20:13.069 here. Jerusalem to Emmaus is mentioned, it's 00:20:13.069 --> 00:20:16.049 nearly about seven miles. And I imagine sort 00:20:16.049 --> 00:20:19.519 of a slow... plodding walk, if they're downtrodden, 00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:22.400 talking about the suffering of their Messiah. 00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:27.160 And so maybe it's three hours long. And in these 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:30.059 three hours, we're told in verse 26 that beginning 00:20:30.059 --> 00:20:32.900 with Moses and the prophets he interpreted to 00:20:32.900 --> 00:20:36.220 them in all the scriptures, the things concerning 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:39.859 himself. And we could go over these things together. 00:20:40.220 --> 00:20:42.319 That might be profitable, but we could talk about 00:20:42.619 --> 00:20:45.779 The suffering Christ through the lens of the 00:20:45.779 --> 00:20:49.420 sacrificial system of the Old Testament. We could 00:20:49.420 --> 00:20:51.440 talk about David and how he was the great King 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:53.960 who looked for the greater King like in Psalm 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:59.220 2. Or how his Psalms so often pointed to the 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.200 suffering reality of this life and how they're 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:05.960 to be offered up as prayers to God to be received. 00:21:06.859 --> 00:21:09.420 And we could talk about the suffering of Israel 00:21:09.420 --> 00:21:11.839 through the deportation and the exile and all 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:15.819 that. But part of the point that I want us to 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:18.720 see here is that Jesus is saying you need to 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:23.440 search the scriptures Be a people that are devoted 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:29.119 to the scriptures He says oh foolish ones Did 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:31.640 you not know that it was necessary and then he 00:21:31.640 --> 00:21:36.720 opens to them the Bible Questions are good. I 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:40.440 hope we all learn to be good askers of questions 00:21:42.170 --> 00:21:47.769 Bringing your questions to God is good. Letting 00:21:47.769 --> 00:21:51.970 God ask you questions is deeply, deeply important. 00:21:53.650 --> 00:21:57.410 But we must be a people of the word who are devoted 00:21:57.410 --> 00:22:02.509 to the study, to the memorization, to the contemplation 00:22:02.509 --> 00:22:05.349 of what God has revealed, what he has given to 00:22:05.349 --> 00:22:10.180 us in the Holy Scriptures. Second Timothy tells 00:22:10.180 --> 00:22:13.819 us all scriptures breathed out by God and profitable 00:22:13.819 --> 00:22:19.599 for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and 00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:22.599 for training in righteousness. That the man of 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:25.799 God may be complete, equipped for every good 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:28.460 work. What I'm telling you is I think one of 00:22:28.460 --> 00:22:30.880 this resurrection narrative here is Jesus inviting 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:32.960 us into receiving the word through questions, 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:36.819 but he's also saying, do you study? Do you know 00:22:36.819 --> 00:22:40.619 what it says? Do you understand? Have you given 00:22:40.619 --> 00:22:43.640 yourself to contemplating the word that I have 00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:49.539 already given to you? One of the things I think 00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:51.599 you'll quickly notice if you've been around Second 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:53.900 City for a little while is that we are people 00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:57.640 of the given word. If you just look through your 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:00.700 liturgy, most weeks we have about seven or eight 00:23:00.700 --> 00:23:03.200 scripture passages and they are intentionally 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:07.410 from all over in the Bible. All scripture is 00:23:07.410 --> 00:23:13.450 breathed out by God and profitable. I wanna encourage 00:23:13.450 --> 00:23:17.289 you to devote yourself to the study of scriptures. 00:23:17.930 --> 00:23:20.710 Maybe start by joining, there's some of us that 00:23:20.710 --> 00:23:23.069 are reading through the Bible in two years, okay? 00:23:23.109 --> 00:23:25.589 So it's just a couple of chapters a day. If you're 00:23:25.589 --> 00:23:27.509 wondering kind of like, where do I start? Just 00:23:27.509 --> 00:23:30.450 jump in where we are. If I would have said that 00:23:30.450 --> 00:23:32.930 a month ago, you might have... stopped in a week 00:23:32.930 --> 00:23:35.609 because it was a pretty tricky part. It's getting 00:23:35.609 --> 00:23:38.670 a little bit easier. It's soon going to get a 00:23:38.670 --> 00:23:42.730 little more easy. Jump in with us. Maybe take 00:23:42.730 --> 00:23:45.630 on this challenge, okay? Every month we have 00:23:45.630 --> 00:23:47.890 this scripture passage that we encourage the 00:23:47.890 --> 00:23:50.470 children to put to memory. What if this year 00:23:50.470 --> 00:23:53.230 you said, I'm going to memorize all of those. 00:23:53.710 --> 00:23:55.740 I'm going to put them to memory. And you just 00:23:55.740 --> 00:23:57.599 devoted yourself. I'm gonna memorize the word 00:23:57.599 --> 00:24:01.119 with my kids or with my friends. We're gonna 00:24:01.119 --> 00:24:04.059 devote ourselves to the given word of God. Maybe 00:24:04.059 --> 00:24:05.920 ask a few other people to read the Bible with 00:24:05.920 --> 00:24:09.059 you. Just get together and read. Talk about it 00:24:09.059 --> 00:24:12.599 some, but mostly just read. Devote yourself to 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:15.839 the given word. What I'm saying is that we as 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:18.519 a church, if we look at this resurrection narrative, 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:20.740 what we should actually desire is to be people 00:24:20.740 --> 00:24:24.059 of the word and to invite the questions of God 00:24:24.730 --> 00:24:27.730 into a life with God, but to understand that 00:24:27.730 --> 00:24:33.569 the given word of God is still effective. It's 00:24:33.569 --> 00:24:39.470 still life -giving. Useful for correction and 00:24:39.470 --> 00:24:42.130 reproof and for teaching and for training today. 00:24:43.549 --> 00:24:48.089 All right. Finally, what I want to suggest to 00:24:48.089 --> 00:24:50.529 you is that this text invites us into being a 00:24:50.529 --> 00:24:53.470 people of the suffering word. Okay, the questioning 00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:56.500 word. the given word and the suffering word. 00:24:58.759 --> 00:25:00.619 Again, I think it's really interesting that what 00:25:00.619 --> 00:25:03.279 we have from the words of Jesus we have in this 00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:06.700 beautiful passage, there's three questions, and 00:25:06.700 --> 00:25:09.960 then there's a statement. And the statement isn't 00:25:09.960 --> 00:25:12.619 the one that we normally want to hear from Jesus 00:25:12.619 --> 00:25:16.220 to his disciples. Here's these dejected disciples, 00:25:16.539 --> 00:25:18.779 they're kicking the rocks on their way back to 00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:22.119 town, just like wondering what's happened? All 00:25:22.119 --> 00:25:24.400 their hopes are dashed. And you sort of want 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:26.839 Jesus to just come around and be like, guys, 00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:35.099 look at me. It's me. Instead, verse 25, he says, 00:25:35.779 --> 00:25:41.579 oh, foolish ones. It's not exactly the Jesus 00:25:41.579 --> 00:25:45.279 that we all picture, but he says, oh, foolish 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:47.039 ones, slow of heart to believe all the prophets 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:50.700 have spoken. And he says, was it not necessary 00:25:50.700 --> 00:25:55.539 that the Christ should suffer? It was not necessary 00:25:55.539 --> 00:25:58.440 that Christ should suffer these things and enter 00:25:58.440 --> 00:26:01.960 into his glory. Anyway, he gives them this great 00:26:01.960 --> 00:26:05.839 Bible study and they draw near to the village. 00:26:07.240 --> 00:26:09.640 And probably one of my favorite details of this 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:12.279 story, what I find very humorous, is it says 00:26:12.279 --> 00:26:15.160 that he acted like he was gonna go further. And 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:21.839 I just want you to picture Jesus acting. I wonder 00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:25.069 how slow he walked. He was like, all right, I'm 00:26:25.069 --> 00:26:27.990 moving on. What are you gonna do? And then they 00:26:27.990 --> 00:26:30.950 invite him in, but while he's at table with them, 00:26:31.849 --> 00:26:36.730 right? They invite him to be at table with them. 00:26:36.750 --> 00:26:39.329 And it says in verse 30, that he took bread and 00:26:39.329 --> 00:26:42.569 blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. 00:26:44.580 --> 00:26:47.960 Which is exactly what is said just two chapters 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:50.279 earlier when Jesus is in the upper room with 00:26:50.279 --> 00:26:53.299 his disciples And he takes bread and he blesses 00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:55.579 it and he breaks it and he gives it to his disciples 00:26:55.579 --> 00:26:59.980 and it's and he says this is my body broken for 00:26:59.980 --> 00:27:04.240 you and It's in that moment of reenacting the 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:07.420 reality that his body is broken for his disciples 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:12.740 That says that their eyes were opened Their eyes 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:16.660 were opened They realized, they recognized him 00:27:16.660 --> 00:27:20.839 when he was taken, blessed, broken and given, 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:23.720 which is to say it is in the remembrance of the 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:28.299 suffering reality of the word made flesh that 00:27:28.299 --> 00:27:33.000 they actually see properly Jesus and they understand 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:39.099 properly their place in the world. Look with 00:27:39.099 --> 00:27:41.279 me for a moment at the image on the front of 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:48.220 your bulletin. This is a famous picture by Caravaggio. 00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:56.299 I want to draw your attention to the man on the 00:27:56.299 --> 00:27:58.140 right. There's a lot of wonderful things that 00:27:58.140 --> 00:28:00.619 are happening in this story. This is called the 00:28:00.619 --> 00:28:04.579 Supper at Emmaus. But the man on the right is 00:28:04.579 --> 00:28:07.359 reaching his arms out. And what I read is he's 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:10.339 reaching his arms out in astonishment. But you 00:28:10.339 --> 00:28:12.380 could also see that he's reaching his arms out 00:28:12.380 --> 00:28:16.099 actually. in the shape of a cross. And imagine 00:28:16.099 --> 00:28:19.000 if this man was Cleopas. He would be doing this 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:22.460 both in this wonderful way of saying, wait, what 00:28:22.460 --> 00:28:25.660 has happened? But wait, I remember that you're 00:28:25.660 --> 00:28:30.259 the one whose body was broken. He's saying you 00:28:30.259 --> 00:28:32.200 are the one that was hanging out on the cross 00:28:32.200 --> 00:28:36.579 just like this. And now you're alive right before 00:28:36.579 --> 00:28:42.960 me. His whole being as it were, is receiving 00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:48.119 Jesus as the suffering word. What I'm saying 00:28:48.119 --> 00:28:51.000 is that you cannot just, and it's at this moment 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:52.500 that they actually understood and that their 00:28:52.500 --> 00:28:55.920 lives were changed and that they run back to 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:58.700 tell others. Because you cannot just receive 00:28:58.700 --> 00:29:03.380 Jesus as the questioning one. It's kind of fun 00:29:03.380 --> 00:29:06.990 to dialogue with God maybe. Most people who are 00:29:06.990 --> 00:29:08.970 interested in spirituality will maybe say, oh, 00:29:08.990 --> 00:29:11.470 let's question who God is and allow him to talk 00:29:11.470 --> 00:29:13.690 to me and I'll talk to him and let's have a dialogue. 00:29:15.170 --> 00:29:17.670 That's good. Jesus invites us into that. And 00:29:17.670 --> 00:29:20.009 it's not enough just to sort of know what the 00:29:20.009 --> 00:29:23.289 Bible says, though we should devote ourselves 00:29:23.289 --> 00:29:27.089 to it. But what Jesus says is you miss the whole 00:29:27.089 --> 00:29:29.990 thing if you do not understand that God comes 00:29:29.990 --> 00:29:34.779 and he suffers. And it's in his suffering. That 00:29:34.779 --> 00:29:38.640 you have life So thanks to what I'm saying is 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:40.960 we must be this people that receive him not just 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:43.180 as the questioning word the given word But as 00:29:43.180 --> 00:29:50.440 the suffering word made flesh for us Dietrich 00:29:50.440 --> 00:29:53.240 Bonhoeffer that great German theologian who opposed 00:29:53.240 --> 00:29:57.599 Nazi power was imprisoned for it and died in 00:29:57.599 --> 00:30:00.990 prison for that opposition. You might know this, 00:30:01.049 --> 00:30:03.430 that he studied in New York City at Union Theological 00:30:03.430 --> 00:30:06.049 Seminary. Maybe you know this. I think it was 00:30:06.049 --> 00:30:10.329 1931. He was there for about a year. And you 00:30:10.329 --> 00:30:12.589 may know that while he was there, he worshiped 00:30:12.589 --> 00:30:15.509 primarily at a Baptist church, Abyssinian Baptist 00:30:15.509 --> 00:30:19.549 up in Harlem. And he spent a lot of his time 00:30:19.549 --> 00:30:21.509 actually studying the history of the black church 00:30:21.509 --> 00:30:25.069 in the United States. He actually wrote this. 00:30:25.470 --> 00:30:28.259 If it had not been for the black church, There 00:30:28.259 --> 00:30:34.380 would probably be no church in this country Why 00:30:34.380 --> 00:30:38.759 did he say that He said that because he understood 00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:43.099 that the suffering of Christ the center of the 00:30:43.099 --> 00:30:46.940 church's life and If you do not experience if 00:30:46.940 --> 00:30:49.480 you do not know the reality of the suffering 00:30:49.480 --> 00:30:55.720 Christ you miss it all You don't get it at all 00:30:58.059 --> 00:31:00.400 He said the black church had such a commitment 00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:03.359 to the experiential religion and God's suffering 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:06.200 that it gave them life and through them gave 00:31:06.200 --> 00:31:10.099 life to others. And what we so often see, frankly, 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:12.640 is that the church is all about power grabs, 00:31:13.759 --> 00:31:18.420 all about coddling up to those with power. And 00:31:18.420 --> 00:31:20.440 what these disciples saw before them and what 00:31:20.440 --> 00:31:25.720 made them turn was the broken body of Christ 00:31:25.720 --> 00:31:31.359 taken blessed, broken, given. And their eyes 00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:34.720 are open and they know why their hearts were 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:41.859 burning and their lives are changed. Because 00:31:41.859 --> 00:31:45.119 that is what will change us. Receiving the questions 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:48.640 of God, devoting ourselves to the given word 00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:51.220 and the scriptures, but also understanding that 00:31:51.220 --> 00:31:53.400 it is in the suffering of Christ that we have 00:31:53.400 --> 00:32:02.420 life. is where life comes from all right this 00:32:02.420 --> 00:32:07.240 sermon is long enough let me read again this 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:12.200 poem a word is dead when it is said some say 00:32:12.200 --> 00:32:17.380 and why i began let me say this actually why 00:32:17.380 --> 00:32:19.940 i began with telling you that I forgot what I 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:22.059 preached this week even though it was the same 00:32:22.059 --> 00:32:24.380 last week last year even though it was the same 00:32:24.380 --> 00:32:28.799 text is because sometimes that's true sometimes 00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:32.319 words go out and they seem to die she says I 00:32:32.319 --> 00:32:36.099 say it just begins to live that day and that 00:32:36.099 --> 00:32:39.339 is what we have in Christ That's what we have 00:32:39.339 --> 00:32:41.940 in Jesus. That's what we have in his questions. 00:32:41.940 --> 00:32:44.240 He's inviting us into a further life with him 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:47.180 That's what we have in the scriptures all scriptures 00:32:47.180 --> 00:32:50.660 breathed out by God and is useful meaning has 00:32:50.660 --> 00:32:55.220 continual life and even in the suffering life 00:32:55.220 --> 00:33:02.640 of Jesus is found true life and so second City 00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:07.000 Church What will we be committed to? What do 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:12.759 we want to be known for? I'd say we want to be 00:33:12.759 --> 00:33:15.759 known as the people of the word, the people of 00:33:15.759 --> 00:33:18.420 the questioning word and the given word and the 00:33:18.420 --> 00:33:21.759 suffering word. And if we devote ourselves to 00:33:21.759 --> 00:33:25.220 those things, we will be a transformed life giving 00:33:25.220 --> 00:33:30.960 people. Amen. Lord, thank you for your word. 00:33:31.500 --> 00:33:34.259 God, thank you for the word made flesh in Christ. 00:33:34.750 --> 00:33:37.210 who John says comes to us right from the beginning 00:33:37.210 --> 00:33:41.930 asking us, what do we desire? And he's giving 00:33:41.930 --> 00:33:45.809 us life. Lord, I pray that we would be a people 00:33:45.809 --> 00:33:49.750 who devote ourselves to the word, to allowing 00:33:49.750 --> 00:33:52.690 you to ask us questions and to searching out 00:33:52.690 --> 00:33:55.690 your scriptures and finding in them a life and 00:33:55.690 --> 00:33:59.859 reproof and correction and training. But most 00:33:59.859 --> 00:34:01.799 of all, Lord, I pray that we would find our life 00:34:01.799 --> 00:34:06.319 in the suffering word, Jesus on the cross, that 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:11.179 God himself comes into the midst of sorrow, into 00:34:11.179 --> 00:34:18.239 the midst of religion gone wrong and political 00:34:18.239 --> 00:34:21.159 grabbing after power and all of this that seems 00:34:21.159 --> 00:34:24.900 so wrong, Lord, that God, you come and you suffer 00:34:24.900 --> 00:34:28.239 for us. God, I pray that we would find our life 00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:31.719 in the cross, that we would find our joy in the 00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:34.619 empty tomb. God, that Second City Church would 00:34:34.619 --> 00:34:38.480 be a people of the Word. We pray this in the 00:34:38.480 --> 00:34:43.539 name of Jesus, the Word made flesh. Amen. Thank 00:34:43.539 --> 00:34:45.760 you for listening to Second City Sermons podcast. 00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:48.280 We hope this sermon has encouraged you to worship 00:34:48.280 --> 00:34:51.579 God and to celebrate the gospel of Jesus. Please 00:34:51.579 --> 00:34:53.880 consider subscribing to this podcast and joining 00:34:53.880 --> 00:34:57.099 us in person each Sunday at 10 a .m. You can 00:34:57.099 --> 00:34:59.360 find us online at secondcitychurch .org and on 00:34:59.360 --> 00:35:02.360 Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Thanks again 00:35:02.360 --> 00:35:03.699 for listening. God bless.