“Take your time and don’t forget to breathe!” the attorney said as he turned to me. “I’m not sure I can do this”, I replied. “You have to or simply as no one else!” he said. “If you take your time and you recall all of the things that you saw in order, if you carefully answer each question but offered nothing more than you should say…” “How do I know what is too much information?” “That’s what this coaching is supposed to be for. I am not here to tell you what to say. I’m here to tell you how to be an effective witness… What you saw needs to be shared. If you don’t speak in the pattern of an effective witness, your story will never be told. My opponent will chop up your words and make it impossible for anyone to understand what really took place at night…”
Words like these are spoken in the offices of attorneys made after night as they prepare clients to take the stand in one of our American courts. Being a witness is not something everyone is able to do. Some people tell a story by beginning in the middle. Some people leave out critical details that make their stories seem unbelievable even when they’re telling it exactly as they remember it. Some people include so many details in everything they say, that the overriding message is lost. For these reasons and many others, attorneys prepare witnesses before they take the stand.
Today we celebrate Resurrection Day. Today is the day that we mark the beginning — the new beginning — the testimony of life that conquered death. Today we speak about testimony, we speak about witness, we speak about the truth that changed everything about everything. I want to challenge you today with a word concerning the pattern of an effective and faithful witness.
Key Principle: God has a pattern for effective witness of the truth that Jesus is alive — and it’s found in his word.
The Angelic Messengers (24:1-8)
24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 “He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” 8 And they remembered His
words,
The angel sopened with a question of disbelief – “Didn’t the Master say that He would be elsewhere?”
Angels often don’t understand the reluctance for men to believe. When Zecharias questioned Gabriel about the prophecy concerning John, Gabriel was taken back. Lk. 1: 18 “Zacharias said to the angel, “How will I know this for certain? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 The angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 “And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” Gabriel could not understand the need for proof because of where he came from, and the nature of the God that he serves.
The angels moved from a question to a reminder – “Don’t you recall what He said?”
It appears as though the angels concluded the problem was not one of disbelief – but of memory. The women must have forgotten what Jesus told them in Galilee. The only way the angelic messengers could conceive of the disbelief of Jesus’ close companions was simple memory loss.
To some degree, these two issues are at the heart of our disobedience. We don’t obey because we are inattentive to the Word of God, or because we don’t truly believe that God meant what He said. Both are different color stripes of the same rebellious nature.
One writer said: “While sin is rampant in the Church, and practical righteousness is spoken of as a dream, God commands us to “stop sinning.” Many claim that this is impossible; they say that we cannot stop sinning. They view sin as they do the law of gravity: insisting that it can’t be broken – despite the help of an almighty, all holy God who has promised us everything we need for life and godliness…We are all in a war against passions and desires which seek to dominate our lives (Gal. 5). The question that dogged me for years was; “How obedient can I – and should I – be?“(stopsinning.net). Is the problem that we MUST do wrong? Is the fact that I am a sinner by birth an inevitable excuse for all my choices
today?
This issue of our true walk with God must be that we search diligently God’s Word and we live expectantly – that what He says He will actually DO. Years ago, J.C. Ryle wrote: “A man may go great lengths, and yet never reach true holiness. It is not knowledge-Balaam had that: nor great profession-Judas Iscariot had that: nor doing many things-Herod had that: nor zeal for certain matters in religion-Jehu had that: nor morality and outward respectability of conduct-the young ruler had that: nor taking pleasure in hearing preachers-the Jews in Ezekiel’s time had that: nor keeping company with godly people-Joab and Gehazi and Demas had that…Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God’s judgement-hating what He hates-loving what He loves-and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. He who most entirely agrees with God, he is the most holy man. A holy man will endeavour to shun every known sin, and to keep every known commandment. He will have a decided bent of mind toward God, a hearty desire to do His will-a greater fear of displeasing Him than of displeasing the world, and a love to all His ways. He will feel what Paul felt when he said, “I delight in the law of God after the inward man” (Rom. 7:22), and what David felt when he said, “I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:128).
The testimony of the angels can be reduced to this: Remember and take extremely seriously (and literally) what the Savior promised. How the history of the church has been degraded by movements that have actively sought to tell us that the Scripture is either a grand allegory, or a series of simple stories — not factual in nature, that were designed to give us moral principles.
Despite the growth of evangelical churches today there is a widespread pattern of spiritually arrested development. We live in a time of unprecedented prosperity, surrounded by Bibles and every media necessary to reach the world for Jesus Christ. Yet, we also live in a world filled with luxury and Christianity filled with compromise. It is not rare that I am meeting a Christian who knows little or nothing of the Word of God after years of following Jesus and being in church. One of the outgrowths of that is that few believers seem to understand that God disciplines the children that he loves (Hebrews 12: 5-11). We seem somewhat unaware of the kind of believer that God will bless. God’s Word teaches that there are specific kinds of people that He will bless:
· God will bless one who is growing in his or her knowledge of God and applying that knowledge is becoming more Christ-like. It is not enough simply to know the truth, it must be lived. (Pastor Richard Land, Real Homeland Security, p. 120-133)
· God will bless one who is hiding his Word in his heart, and showing his Word in his actions (Psalm 119 11).
· God will bless the believer who focuses on walking in purity as it regards his sexuality and his thinking, according to 1 Thessalonians 4. It is no lie — the devil has decided to attack the Christian church and the beginning of the 21st century through sexuality. Our lack of moral restraint is quickly canceling our ability to stand on the truth and claim that we can live differently.
· God will bless the believer that takes holy things and holds them in high esteem. By this, I mean marriage which God has been holy, personal responsibility which God has sanctioned in his Word, reverence toward him and toward the truth. We as Christians particularly in the modern period are blaming our government for taking on roles that seem out of step with their purpose. Yet too often government is forced to step into places where it would rather not be — decisions that should be made by families that cherish the elderly and care deeply for the young.
Let me repeat it again. The testimony of the angels can be reduced to this — Remember and take extremely seriously (and literally) what the Savior promised. This is the only effective path to true witness. Every church in every Christian movement that has minimalized the literal and careful teaching of the Bible as God’s holy Word that simply must be followed as within two generations become nothing more than a philanthropic organization, devoid of its original calling, and mellowed into a bland mass. The Angels reminder was timely for us today.
The Women (24:9-11)
24:9 [the women] returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. 11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.
- The women had a personal transforming encounter with God that was verifiable by others.
- The women wanted to share this incredible news with those who SHOULD have been open to hear it from them.
- The words appeared to the disciples as “nonsense” (lay’-ros: silly talk or idle chatter) and they “would not believe” (apistu-o: not faith or belief). Yet, this requires a closer look. Were they rejecting the women alone, or the words the women were transformed by – the reminders. The essence of the women’s testimony was not subjective, but it was dismissed as such. The belief they had was based on the transformation of recalling the WORD OF GOD as the angels told them to. Yet, no one was open to listening to their reminders – they were simply discounted.
Here we must face a startling reality – blessing follows belief. God is under no obligation to bless those who do not take Him and His Word seriously. He is under no obligation to draw people into our churches if we refuse to walk in His Word, teach His Word, live His Word, trust His Word.
God longs to bless a group of believers that gather in love with Him and one another. Yet, too often our lists are so long and our sleep so short – it is hard not to pass as ships in the night. He gifted believers with spiritual gifts to weave us TOGETHER into a body – not to make superstars of those with the more visible gifts.
We show respect, love, and care for the work God is doing in each other when:
- We take the time to listen to one another.
- When we practice hospitality as Hebrews 13:2 admonishes “do not forget to entertain strangers”.
- When we care for those who cannot care for themselves as Hebrews 13:3 mentions.
- When we care for one another so much that we are afraid to defraud one another in our thoughts or our actions as Hebrews 13:4 reminds.
The witness of the women was simply this: we must learn to grow together. We must take seriously God’s ability to change each of us, and grow us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. We take one another seriously not because of who we are, but because Jesus himself is transforming us. We know this, not because of what we see or experience alone, but because it is consistent with God’s holy Word. The message of the women is message to the body — take each other seriously. Failure to do so will blunt our ability to share the life-giving truth of Jesus to the world.
Peter (24:12)
24:12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
- Peter wanted to check out the words of the women, so he personally investigated their report.
- When he saw the empty tomb, he was astonished (thou-mad’-zo: to be surprised, Marvel, be amazed) but he did not report back to the others. Peter had a personal experience to share, but because of his guilt, shame and for other undisclosed reasons he simply went home and became quiet.
The witness of Peter is not uncommon in the church today. It is the silent witness of one who has met the truth of the resurrection, but has been on willing to share with anyone else. Is it the over commitment of our day that causes us to be so unwilling to share about Jesus? Is it that we have turned the witnessing experience into something that is more difficult than most of us can pull off? Is it that I’m simply too lazy, too uncaring, too self interested to talk to my neighbor? The text does not explain why Peter did what he did. Nor can I explain why I have done what I have done for much of my life in regards to personally explaining Jesus Christ to lost people.
Peter’s reaction to the empty tomb is one that is far too familiar in the modern church — silence. All that it cost Jesus to be my savior demand is that I would not sit silent while those around me perish. I do not say this to give guilt to any, but to be faithful to the truth of the word of God. The night is coming. We must get busy. We must be found faithful. Apart from Jesus they have no hope — and apart from us they may well have no Jesus. It is not the government’s job to share the message of Christ, is not the school’s job to share the message of salvation — that work belongs to the believer alone.
Cleopas and his friend (24:13-35)
24:13 And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. 16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. 17 And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” 19 And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. 21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. 22 “But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. 24 “Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” 25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. 28 And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He were going farther. 29 But they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, andthe day is now nearly over.” So He went in to stay with them. 30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they
recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, 34 saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
- Cleopas and his friend were walking on the road back home from Jerusalem after startling events had shaken them. They were hurt and their faces showed it. Chuck Swindoll adds: “Luke describes the disciples’ conversation as bantering ideas back and forth with great emotion in a shared search for answers (Luke 24:14–16). The Greek phrase homileo suzeteo, “talking and discussing” (24:15), would be more literally translated as “conversing” and “disputing.” The disillusioned followers desperately wanted to know why their expectations of the Messiah had come to such a tragic end.”
- Jesus used the Scripture to explain all that had to be concerning his death on the cross and the resurrection on the third day.
- Cleopas and his friend shared their disappointment at the news of the death of Jesus. They also shared that they had heard of the resurrection. It was not until Jesus prayed, blessing the father for the food and wine, that they knew was Jesus. Again, Swindoll adds some helpful words here: They did not believe Jesus had risen from the dead, so they were left with three faulty perspectives. First, their viewpoint lacked a spiritual dimension, leaving them with a human understanding of the events. Take note of how Cleopas characterized the death of Jesus. Don’t miss the lack of any divine involvement. Second, their own agenda determined their expectations. Many disciples made the mistake of thinking that the Messiah would merely recapture the glory days of King David. In other words, they hoped Jesus would bring Israel the same power and prosperity she once enjoyed, only magnified and multiplied. Given their exclusive worship of God, this would not be an inappropriate wish. But compared to the reality that lay before them—Roman oppression and a dead Messiah—their hopes for glory seemed to have been utterly destroyed. Third, they failed to acknowledge the resurrection. If these two followers believed that Jesus had risen from the dead, two things would have been true. First, they would have been walking toward Jerusalem to see the risen Lord, not away. Second, they would have seen the trials,crucifixion, and burial of Jesus as the fulfillment of all He promised, not as the end of their hopes.
- When they realized that they had encountered the risen Christ, they immediately went back to Jerusalem. They shared the complete encounter with the disciples, from the time on the road until the time they recognized theSavior. Jesus revealed His identity after explaining “He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” (Lk. 24:27). Funny how they had been staring into the face of the risen Jesus, yet didn’t see Him until the Word was used to transform their faulty expectations. With the careful review of the Scriptures they saw things through God’s eyes. At that moment both the resurrection and the Risen Lord became visible. The Greek phrase for “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him” is ophthalmos dianoigo epiginosko – literally “their eyes were completely opened” and “they came to fully comprehend Him.” They came to recognize as the risen Messiah – the fulfillment of God’s long announced plan. They got excited because the sting of death was broken!
Walking through a park, I passed a massive oak tree. A vine had grown up along its trunk. The vine started small–nothing to bother about. But over the years the vine had gotten taller and taller. By the time I passed, the entire lower half of the tree was covered by the vine’s creepers. The mass of tiny feelers was so thick that the tree looked as though it had innumerable birds’ nests in it. Now the tree was in danger. This huge, solid oak was quite literally being taken over; the life was being squeezed from it. But the gardeners in that park had seen the danger. They had taken a saw and severed the trunk of the vine–one neat cut across the middle. The tangled mass of the vine’s branches still clung to the oak, but the vine was now dead. That would gradually become plain as weeks passed and the creepers began to die and fall away from the tree. How easy it is for sin, which begins so small and seemingly
insignificant, to grow until it has a strangling grip on our lives. And yet, Christ’s death has cut the power of sin. Yes, the “creepers” of sin still cling and have some effect. But sin’s power is severed by Christ, and gradually, sin’s grip dries up and falls away. -J. Alistair Brown.
The witness of Cleopas and his friend can be summarized simply: their perspective was changed by seeing things through God’s eyes – and they shared the encounter with Jesus and with God’s Word with completeness, urgency and immediacy. They explained the Scriptures as God had shared them with each of them. They were in every respect, pictures of a faithful witness. They were not easily convinced. Only the testimony of the word, backed up by the transforming presence of the Savior, could change their heart and mind.
The Master Himself (24:36-52)
24:36 While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 “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.” 40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate it before them. 44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 “You are witnesses of these things. 49 “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” 50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising God.
- The witness of Jesus is also presented in the passage. Jesus came to his followers as he promised he would.
- Jesus open the hearts and minds of his followers by sharing the truth of the word, helping them to experience his new life, and by using the Spirit of God to prompt their minds as in 24:45.
The witness of Jesus can be summarized very briefly — unless the mind and heart is open by God, the witness of the truth will be ineffective. We do not simply wrestle against flesh and blood. We are not simply arguing the truth with those who
refuse it. We are standing amidst a spiritual battle, and sharing the gospel with those who many times are unable to receive it. I do not argue that we should not share the gospel, and I do not argue that we do not put off that responsibility far too easily. I am simply saying that the reception to the gospel is not entirely in our hands. There is no mechanical way we can open the heart that is closed.
How many apparent has sat sobbing over the realization that they cannot open the heart of their child. We are not given the keys to another’s heart. We have only the keys to our own — and they were made to be surrendered to our master.
The witnesses of the resurrection as recorded in Luke 24, remind us that we must be attentive to the word of God and take what God has said very seriously and literally. It must be lived out in our lives, and truly except in our hearts. We must learn to celebrate when others around us are experiencing excitement about their walk with God. The witnesses of the resurrection also remind us that blessing follows belief, and that belief is not simply in subjective experience but can be carefully substantiated against the word of God. Some of the witnesses of the resurrection hid themselves, unable or unwilling to share their faith with others. Still others, went great distances and walked long hours out of sheer excitement — the message will not be transmitted most effectively by the people you think it will.The leaders of the faith were the quiet ones. The unnamed legions of followers of Jesus were carrying the message when his disciples were all but mute. Finally the witnesses of the resurrection remind us that the process of belief is not simply the winning of an argument — at the opening of a heart. This process will begin and ends with the God that made us. God has a
pattern for effective witness of the truth that Jesus is alive — and it’s found in his Word.
