04-20-2025 - The Lord is Risen Indeed!
Text: Luke 24:33-34
A very blessed Easter to every one of you! Our Lord is Risen Indeed! This morning, we’re celebrating the most important event that happened for all mankind because what took place so long ago sealed the eternal fate of every person who has ever walked or will walk this earth. Where all of us end up for eternity depends on if we believe what is written in the Bible regarding Jesus Christ and His reason for leaving Heaven.
We’re most familiar with the women who went to the tomb to embalm the body of Jesus and what they encountered. But today, let’s look at others who saw the risen Lord. Our text is from Luke 24:33-34 where He wrote: “(33) And they rose up the same hour, and turned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them who were with them, (34) saying, the Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.”
As you read this, notice that it’s the only Gospel that mentions that Jesus appeared to Peter alone. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:5 that Jesus was seen by Peter, then of the twelve. Interesting that he mentions twelve when we know Judas killed himself before the resurrection. Luke was one of Paul’s traveling companions and no doubt had many conversations with him about the resurrection, so, it’s fitting that he mentions this encounter in his Gospel. And Jesus would have showed special concern for Peter because he no doubt felt completely unworthy after disowning his Lord the night He was arrested. But Peter repented, and Jesus forgave him. And soon, God would use Peter to build Christ’s church.
Our text also tells of two men, one who was named Cleopas and happened to be the father of the Disciple James the Less as well as the brother-in-law of the mother of Jesus. We aren’t told the name of the second person, but most scholars believe that it was likely Luke himself and likely one of the twelve mentioned by Paul. These two men were traveling to the village of Emmaus and along the way and they had an encounter with Jesus. They didn’t recognize Him at first but later became convinced that the man they met and walked with was Jesus because during the trip they shared a meal together and He took bread, blessed it, and broke it. It was after that that Jesus allowed them to see who He really was and then He vanished from their sight. This sent them running to the eleven Disciples to tell them that the Lord is Risen Indeed.
Jesus’ body wasn’t a figment of their imagination or the appearance of a ghost. The Disciples also touched Him and He ate food with them. On the other hand, His body wasn’t a restored human body like Lazarus (told about in John 11). He was able to appear and disappear. Jesus’ resurrected body was now immortal. One day, we will receive this kind of body at the resurrection of the dead as show in I Corinthians 15:42-50.
The most important question ever asked throughout time is “Is Christ Risen?” The answer is and always will be a joyful yes. If He didn’t rise, Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15:17-20 our faith is worthless, because we’re still dead in our sins. We would have no promise of seeing our loved ones who have gone before us in Heaven and if this life is all we have then we are all miserable. But because He is risen and is alive, we have the promise of eternity with Him and being reunited with all those who have left this life before us. The Lord is Risen Indeed!
These five words tell us that Jesus is alive and that He is our Lord and our Savior. While He walked this earth, many thought He was a great man, some thought He was a prophet, and some thought He would deliver them from Roman rule. But now they knew they had underestimated Him. The resurrection of Christ sets Him apart from all others. The Lord is Risen Indeed!
These are words that speak of life. After His death many spoke about how he was betrayed and beaten, the humiliating walk to the cross, the agonizing way He died, and His burial by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea who offered up his own tomb for Jesus. There were even doubts that Jesus was alive on that first Easter morning even though Jesus said many times He would be resurrected. All who loved Him the most were in mourning over what had happened to Him. The women that came to embalm His body loved Him. And Mary, thinking she was speaking to the gardener, asked Him where the soldiers had taken His body. He then allowed her to see who He really was. The resurrection changed everything.
The uniqueness of the Gospel – which is the good news of Christ -- is that it brings life to all who will choose to believe what it tells us. And the fact that the Lord is risen indeed speaks of the love of God for all of us. Our text tells us that He appeared to Peter -- the same cowardly Peter who denied he ever knew Jesus. Scripture doesn’t tell us, but scholars believe it is likely that when Mary went to tell the Disciples that Jesus was alive, Peter was the first man to see Him after His resurrection.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the declaration of God’s love for sinners. It’s the only thing that offers forgiveness to all, even backsliders like Peter. Because of the Resurrection, we know that the living Jesus loves us. It’s His willingness to suffer so horribly on the Cross that proves His love, and it’s the Resurrection that guarantees His power to save us from our sins and giving us the opportunity to be part of His kingdom for all eternity. The Gospels tell us of the life of Jesus, the miracles He performed, and the people He encountered after His resurrection. But they don’t tell us everything. John wrote in chapter 21:25 if everything that Jesus did, who He saw, and who He spoke to was to be written down, there would not be enough books in this world to contain it all.
Many will say that they believe Jesus lived and was the Son of God, but they don’t believe that He rose from the dead. This kind of thinking will never save anyone. He had to suffer, die, AND rise again to prove to us that God had defeated death for all that will choose believe in His Son as their Savior. It’s an all or nothing belief. And it’s a choice everyone must make. Short cuts, such as living a good life, don’t give anyone access to God’s family. It is only complete acceptance and trust, by faith, in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savoir of your life that will lead to eternal life in His kingdom.
Finally, let’s consider this: Christianity has survived for over 2,000 years which speaks to the fact that what was said and written about this man Jesus is true. Also, everything in the Old Testament points to the coming Messiah. Jesus fulfills all the prophets descriptions of who this Messiah would be, how He would live and how He would die. If it were just a myth, it would have died out long ago. There is no denying how those who have Jesus as their Savior experience a peace and joy in their lives that the world doesn’t understand. Even in times of trouble. So, we can celebrate all that this day gives us. We should never let a sinful and deceitful world cause us to doubt that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is coming again to gather all that choose Him as Lord to be part of His eternal kingdom. Our Bible is clear that Jesus came to be the vehicle that removes our sins so we can be reconciled with God. Belief and trust in Him make us equal heirs to all that God has. My friends, our Lord is Risen Indeed!