I recognize that as I announced that hymn, I said an old
hymn.
And whenever you look at the bottom line of the copyright, you
see it was written in the 1990s.
I'm not suggesting from my perspective now that the 1990s was
old.
But isn't it interesting our perspective on what old can be?
That's all part of who we perceive ourselves to be.
It's been interesting over the past number of weeks.
Age has been talked about whenever I've had different conversations.
Now, that normally ties in with how you've all loved to comment
on my beard over the past couple of months as well.
But our identity is truly wrapped up, not just in who we are,
but what we look like.
You've all looked in the mirror coming out this evening to
make sure your hair was in place, or to make sure your tie was
straight, or something about your physical appearance that everyone
else would see.
You care about that because that's part of your identity.
And how much more inside do we worry about who we are?
I guess over the past number of months, as we've hosted different
events from weddings to funerals, we One of the things that
always intrigues me is why certain people are there, particularly
if I know the person and I can't for the life of me figure out
what the relationship is.
And so the conversation normally begins and so what brings
you here today?
And that then will cause a conversation of a couple of minutes
while either family relations are told.
And finally, for me, the light goes on as to who's related to who
and things I didn't know, or simply how friendships began and
have continued, where people join family members and friends alike
in the saddest moments of life as well as in the happiest.
And we're proud of our family connections.
We may not be necessarily proud of family events and things
that have happened, but we are proud of who we are, our identity.
I know that the folks down the road in Kilkeel will mock those of
you who were born on the shore road and called you gadgies.
But I think there's something about you that's proud to be a gadgy.
And for those of you not from this parts, talk to someone beside
you and they'll interpret what that means.
But we're proud to come from the Mornes.
We're proud to come from Anna Long, because there's something in
it that defines us and identifies us as a people.
Whenever we come to Luke chapter 24 and verses 13 to 35 this
evening, it's part of the Easter story that I love.
I love the normality of these disciples walking these seven miles
from Jerusalem down to a mess.
They're walking, they're talking.
It's what we do.
Only we now do it in motor cars.
We talk, we catch up, we talk about the good things and we talk
about the things that trouble us.
And when a stranger comes along, we want to tell them or we
want to find out about them or they about us.
And so our identity becomes what we share and what we communicate.
And there's no shadow of doubt of who these disciples want to identify
with.
Because what, what we'll be looking about this evening is Christ's
identity in us.
What does it mean to know Christ in us, so that like these
disciples on the road to Ms, indeed we will speak of Jesus.
Even in their confoundedness, these disciples wanted to speak of
the Savior, even though at this stage they did not fully know
what had happened that morning, nor did they know the one
who was traveling with them.
Now, in the time that we have, with communion ahead of us, we'll
not be going through this verse by verse as we ordinarily would
do, or section by section.
Rather, we're going to pick out key things from this day that
we discover here in Luke 24.
And it all begins with verse 13.
And it's important, it's important that we know that it is
that very day.
This is yet but just ours, since the women were at the tomb
as we looked at this morning, and Peter went to the tomb to see
as well.
And that's important for the end because when they go back, they
affirm what Simon Peter saw and said that he was speaking the
truth, as were the women.
And so these memories are still fresh.
They're still caught up in the emotion of the day.
And so these two disciples are, yes, walking that relatively
short distance in the time that it was the seven miles from
Jerusalem to what was then a small village of Emmaus.
And they're talking, they're sharing their hearts and their experiences.
They've witnessed their leader Jesus crucified on the Friday, the
day that we call Good Friday, because of what he accomplished on
the cross.
And they've heard the report from the women of the empty tomb.
And to the mind of a 1st century follower of Jesus, these
things don't make sense.
How could they?
You see, they have got caught so caught up in the events of the
previous days.
They're also caught up in their grief and their sense of loss
that they miss the fact that Jesus said all this was going to
happen.
And they demonstrate that they knew it.
But at this moment on the road walking, they don't understand or
believe it.
And so as they walk and as they talk, the two are joined by
another traveler along the road.
And Luke is quick to tell us that it is the risen Lord Jesus.
But to the two traveling, the identity of Christ is kept from them.
Then the next 11 verses really recount what we've already seen.
At the start of this chapter, they detail how Jesus responds to
what these two disciples are going through as they recount what
has happened.
It's actually the Namibian biblical commentator Paul John Isaac
who describes this scene like this.
He that is Jesus is presented as someone who travels with his followers,
walking beside them and talking to them in their pain, confusion
and fear, and bringing healing.
He is the one who creates an opportunity for his followers to
reframe their perception of the recent events in Jerusalem.
And so here we have Jesus doing what he has always done and
what he continues to do in resurrected form.
He walks with his followers and he ministers to them in the normal
things of life.
And as we look through the Gospels, we see how Jesus ministers
in the normal and in the everyday.
In Matthew 12 we're told he walks with his disciples, he eats
with them.
And those who want to know more about him is recorded in Luke
10 and Luke 19.
And he talks with his disciples and answers their questions
best seen in Matthew chapter 18.
And so Jesus example to us throughout the Gospel is that he
cares about the everyday things that we are involved in, not
just in the big crisis moments of life.
And so as you live your everyday life with its equal measure
of joys and sorrows, worries and fears while at college or at
work, in the field, in the home or wherever you're employed,
in the quiet times and in the family times, do you know Christ
in all of these moments?
Do you know Jesus and His saving grace at work in the normality
of your life?
Because if we believe that God is the God of creation and the God
who loved us so much that he gave his only Son as a living sacrifice
for us, as John 3, 16, 17 tells us, then we must believe that
the power and the comfort of that sacrifice is in the normal,
everyday activities of life as much as it is in the major life moments
now, this means that we cannot escape the presence or the love or
the intention of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our conversations,
in our places of work, in our homes, and probably in the hardest
of all in our relationships.
See, whenever we understand that Jesus works in our everyday.
It means that the Gospel dictates how we view and treat our
money, how we view and treat other people, our time, our work
and our involvement in all of life.
Discipleship See, the question is, does the Gospel impact your life
in this way every day?
Or is your relationship with Jesus just reserved for Sundays at
worship or other church related activities?
Because if we only reserve Jesus to these times, then we are
putting ourselves in his place or the place that should be his for
the rest of the week.
That is, we are making ourselves our own saviors.
And in reality, as we stand in the place where Jesus should stand
in our lives, we are making ourselves many gods.
A life Following Jesus demands, demands walking in the way
of the Gospel every moment of every day.
And this is what Jesus does on the road to mess.
He cares about the ordinary.
He cares about who you are.
So please, never feel abandoned by the Lord, even though
the world may abandon you, he will not because he cares about this
moment and the next, and the next and the next.
And so we can truly trust in him, just as these disciples did
when they realized who he was.
Jesus truly cares for you as he has cared for all of his people
throughout every generation.
But back in the passage of Luke 24, we turn to verse 17 and
Jesus asked the two what they're discussing along the road.
And so they stop.
They're shocked so much that they have to stop and stand still,
looking at this stranger as if to say, what are you talking about?
Do you not know what's going on?
And they can't understand how someone could be ignorant of the
events that have just happened.
Now we don't know.
But Jesus asks them about the things that have happened.
In verses 19 to 24 the story is told of the things that have occurred
to Jesus.
Then in verse 25, Jesus responds.
And from this verse Jesus begins to reveal how the events that
have happened have all been foretold in Scripture.
Jesus, and remember he is still a stranger to these two disciples
comes across quite strong as he says in Luke 24, 25, 26 O foolish
ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken.
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?
This is a statement in which Jesus is exasperated by his followers
and he's letting them know it.
He says, oh, foolish ones and slow of heart to believe.
That's quite the judgment against them.
These are disciples who have spent three years in his company.
They've learned from him and they still don't get the truth that
he taught them.
They were faithful Jews who would have known their scriptures,
everything that Jesus has said.
And they still failed to understand God's plan of salvation,
even though he had mapped it out for them through the prophets
and the prophets songs and the psalms.
But Jesus, desiring that his followers should know the truth,
leads them through Scripture to tell them about himself.
And this is how Luke puts.
And I think it's beautiful how he does.
And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he.
He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning
himself.
And here we are this evening, where we were this morning.
What was was the word of Jesus that convinced the women and the
disciples of what had happened.
And here again, it is the living Word of God that convinces
these disciples of who Jesus is.
And so Jesus brings them back to the one place where they can be
sure of absolute truth, the only place that is worth their time,
the Word of God.
It is in the Word that they find the answers that they're looking
for.
And so, as we started thinking, identity is important to
us all, from the oldest to the youngest.
It's important and we show it in different ways.
And we will want to say what we belong to and what we cling to
and what our values are because they define who we are.
But when it comes to Christ, whenever we know his fullness as
proclaimed here, beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
in other words, throughout all of Scripture, do we find our identity
in him?
Because that's what Jesus is drawing these disciples to.
He's effectively asking the question, do you believe everything
that I've told you?
It's about Jesus and the truth of His Word.
Because when we know His Word, we know him as Savior and Lord, and
therefore we will want him as our Savior.
And so tonight I ask the question to make sure that you hear.
Is he your Savior as revealed in all of Scripture?
Is he the One in whom you're trusting so that you can stand before
our God as a redeemed person and as a forgiven person?
Or are you, depending on the works of your hands, in other words,
your best guess at how to do life well, or on your education or
on your social status?
I tell you this evening, the words of Peter are true when he says
in Acts 4 and verses 11 to 12, this Jesus is the stone that was
rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.
And there is salvation in no one else.
For there is no other name under heaven given among men, by
which we must be saved.
You see, there is no other name by which we can be saved.
And so the invitation from this journey on the road to Emmaus
is to come to Jesus as revealed in all of Scripture.
Come to him not because I say so, but because Jesus is God's only
way so that we can be justified before Him.
And you may think that this is a strange statement to be making
at a communion service.
But the reality is that we could be here deceiving ourselves
or deceiving the world.
We proclaim Christ but do not truly know him.
Because we want to speak the language that gets us into a good
standing in the community or meets certain expectations.
Or we could be proclaiming Christ, but have never come to him
in humble submission to know that our sins are forgiven.
And so we cannot take it for granted that everyone listening is
a follower of Jesus.
And so tonight is your identity in Christ.
Are you taking him quite literally at his word, that everything
that has been revealed to us convinces you and convicts you that.
That he is the Savior, the one in whom you must place your trust.
And you see, as we finish this disciple or this passage, the two
disciples have reached their home.
And the traveler who has accompanied them goes to walk on.
But they invite him in to stay the night.
As the day is drawing to a close.
And as they sit around the table, something it seems that they've
done before with Jesus, their eyes are open to the true identity
of.
Of their traveling companion.
It all becomes clear as Jesus gives thanks for the bread and breaks
it.
And as their eyes are open to the truth, Jesus immediately disappears.
And they look at each other and ask one of the most important
questions we could ever ask ourselves, as recorded in verse 32.
And this is truly God's word that you want to hide in your heart.
For they said to one another, did not our hearts burn within us
while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?
This was when the disciples knew their true identity.
Up until this point, they had been lost in their grief, their sadness
for a leader who had been executed.
And in reality, a broken dream, because they believed he was
the one to come to redeem Israel.
But now they knew their true standing.
Not as great business people or persons of social or political
standing, but as people found in Jesus Christ.
They knew their true identity as disciples of the true risen Savior.
And so tonight I asked the question, do you know Christ is Because
I want to ask you, are you confident in your identity in Him?
And although it may seem a strange question to ask at a communion
service, it is an important one because it is around this table
as we take of the elements of bread and wine, as we listen to the
word, that we are confident of our identity.
Because we, too, like those disciples of old, must say, did not
our hearts burn within us as we hear of the wonders and the love
of Christ?
Are you found completely in Jesus, or are you still to be persuaded?
You see, our only hope in this life and for all eternity is Jesus
Christ.
He doesn't promise riches, nor does he promise fame or indeed comfort
in this world, but rather an eternal inheritance that is imperishable,
undefiled and unfading.
You see, this is all that matters.
Everything else will be consumed in fire.
But it is our faith and trust in Jesus Christ that will only last.
And if Jesus is your savior and you are his disciple, then you
will do what the disciples did in verses 33 to 35, what Zacchaeus
did in Luke 19:7, what the woman at the well did in John 4:28,
30, and what Andrew did in John 1:40.
You will go and you will tell others you see, a sign of our faith
in Jesus is that burning of our hearts.
But it's a burning of love and passion for Him.
And if this is what is consuming our hearts, then we will
want it to overflow to others.
And how quick are we to talk about this and about that?
We talk about the weather, we talk about the sporting results,
and we talk about the price of petrol and diesel and maybe more
pointedly, heating oil.
But are we as quick to talk about Jesus and the gospel that so
wonderfully saves?
Verse 33 tells us that these disciples got up that same hour and
returned to Jerusalem.
Remember, they were inviting their traveling friend, who turned
out to be Jesus, in because it was getting late.
And now they're the ones immediately returning to Jerusalem.
This is how important this was, they told the disciples.
And because of their Testimony in verse 34, they say, the Lord has
risen.
Indeed, the disciples believe and are changed for all eternity.
Of how much value is Jesus to you?
If he truly is your Savior and the most precious thing to you, then
you must take tell others the good news of the gospel and of salvation.
This is not a choice on our part.
It is what Christ commanded us to do in his final words in Matthew
28.
And so this evening we've been thinking about people and we've been
thinking about our identity, our true identity in Jesus.
Jesus issues an invitation to us all to trust him as our Savior
and to continue seeking him and depending on him for salvation.
And so tonight, come to Christ.
Come to him and know the joy and blessing of sins forgiven, but
also share Christ and see his joy overflow in yourself and in others
as you tell these wonderful truths, so that not only may your
heart burn within you, but the hearts of others will burn too.
And finally, live Christ.
Be with his people.
Enjoy their fellowship and their company.
Sing together, pray together, make much of Christ together.
This is God's design for his people and has always been in the
Old Testament and in the New.
And so we live Christ to know our identity, our true identity and
worth in him, and to demonstrate it.
And so tonight, as we come to Christ, as we share Christ and as
we live Christ in approaching the table of the Lord, may indeed
each of our hearts burn within us so that we will know Jesus as
our risen Savior and confirm the that he is the only one to whom
we look to to be the salvation of our very souls.
Let us pray.
Our Father God, we thank you.
On this resurrection Sunday evening we join with those disciples
of old on the road to Emmaus.
That as the sun set on their journey, their eyes were opened and
their hearts burned as they knew the Savior.
So may it be for us, as we not only look to Christ in the days that
are ahead, but as we gather around his table and to know the
refreshment that comes from these elements, that we will know
the movement of the Holy Spirit amongst us.
And that, Father, we will delight in declaring the truths of
the Savior.
And we pray these things in his name and his name alone.
Amen.