God's Goodness in the School of Affliction

The Lord Is My Portion - Psalm: 119:57-64

The Comfort of God's Word Psalm 119:49-56

Life From The Dust - Psalm 119:25-32

The Pilgrim Life - Psalm 119:17-24

The Guarded Life - Psalm 119-9-16

Psalm 119 - Outline

Big Idea: The resurrected Jesus meets the fear and doubt of my life with His real, bodily presence and speaks peace to my troubled heart. Introduction: Peace is one of the most desired and least experienced realities in our lives. We look for peace: By resolving circumstances By controlling events By creating outcomes But Luke 24 shows us a different kind of peace. This passage finds the disciples in fear, confusion, and uncertainty. A resurrected Jesus steps into that moment and speaks peace to those he loves. So, this passage answers an important question: What kind of peace does Jesus actually give, and how does He give it? First: The Peace of Jesus Comes to Fearful People (v. 36–37) As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. Jesus appears among them and says, “Peace to you.” This is not a calm room. The disciples are: gathered behind closed doors confused by reports of the resurrection startled and frightened by Jesus’ appearance And the room becomes even less calm because Luke says they thought they were seeing a spirit. But the important point here is that the peace of Jesus is not given after their fear is resolved. It is given in the middle of fear. He comes into their confusion and speaks peace into it. APP: If you are waiting for fear to be eliminated before you have peace, you won’t ever have peace. The peace of Jesus is not the reward for calmness. It is the gift He gives in the midst of fear and doubt. Second: The Peace of Jesus Confronts Our Fear (v. 38–40) 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. Jesus responds directly to their inner struggle: “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Then He shows them: His hands His feet He invites them to touch Him. Jesus does not ignore doubt or shame their fear. He confronts it with the resurrection, as if to say, “Is there anything a resurrected Savior cannot do/calm?” IMP: This means the resurrection is not presented as an idea to believe, which we often see it as, but it is a reality to embrace so that it changes the way we interact with life. APP: In other words, you don’t overcome fear by pretending it does not exist. You overcome it by remembering that Jesus has come back from the dead. If God can do that, what can’t he do? Where are doubts rising in your heart? about God’s goodness about your future about the truth of the gospel Jesus meets your doubt and fear with his resurrection. Third: The Peace of Jesus is Grounded in His Real Resurrection (v. 41–43) And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them. Luke tells us Jesus’ followers still struggled to believe, “for joy.” So Jesus takes it further. He asks for food and eats in front of them. This is not incidental to what Jesus is doing. It is essential. Jesus is proving He is not a spirit He is not a vision He is physically, bodily alive Again, Christian peace is grounded in a historical, bodily resurrection. It’s not just a fact to believe. It’s a reality to bring into your world when you are troubled. If Jesus is alive: sin has been dealt with death has been defeated the future is secure APP: Your peace will only be as stable as what it is built on. What is it built on? If it is built on: circumstances, it will fluctuate feelings, it will shift control, it will collapse But if it is built on the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, it will provide you peace in the midst of fear and doubt. Ill: I’ll create a word about Ebenezer here. Fourth: The Peace of Jesus Leads to Assurance and Rest The progression in the passage is important. Is there, fear - Jesus speaks peace doubt - Jesus reveals Himself confusion - Jesus provides assurance Real peace that will change you comes through encountering the risen Jesus. APP: Peace is not something you create. Just like salvation, it is something God has created for you and that you receive from Jesus. This means: you don’t have to hold everything together you don’t have to resolve every question you don’t have to secure your life or future Jesus has already secured what matters most and his resurrection proves it. Fifth: Applying the Resurrection to Your Life Now So, the question is not: “Do you have a peaceful life?” The question is: “Have you received the peace of Jesus?” And for those who have: “Are you living in the power of his resurrection?” ILL: Think about how Paul applied Jesus’ resurrection to his life (And this may be the most important part of the sermon). Philippians 3:10-11 - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Paul means two things here: He wants to live again after he dies. He wants to enjoy the resurrected life now What Paul longs for in Philippians 3 is what the disciples are encountering in Luke 24. They are not just seeing Jesus alive. They are seeing the beginning of the life Paul says he wants to attain. In Luke 24, the disciples are standing in the presence of the risen Christ. In Philippians 3, Paul is saying, “I want that life to fully take hold of me.” This means the resurrection is something to believe. But it is also a life to enter, a power to live by, and a future to press toward. The same Jesus who stood in that room and said, “Peace to you,” is the one Paul is pressing toward, and He is the one who gives us both the power to live now and the promise of life forever. ( Friends , that’s a great conclusion for believers but it will take the rest of the week for me to flesh that out and say it with the full force it deserves). Conclusion: Think about this - The words “Peace to you” are not casual. They are purchased. (Hallelujah!). Jesus can speak peace because: He went to the cross He bore the wrath of God He satisfied divine justice His resurrection proves he is King of kings and Lord of lords Gospel: The peace He offers is not superficial calm. It is reconciliation with God and all the benefits of it. As Paul says in Romans 5:1 - “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” You can have that peace!

Big Idea: You can be near the things of God and still miss Jesus until He opens the Bible to you and reveals Himself. When He does that, everything changes. Introduction: These two disciples are not searching for Jesus even though they’ve heard reports he’s alive, women have seen angels and Peter and John have seen the empty tomb. Even so, they are not staying in Jerusalem waiting to see what happens next. They are leaving town. Jerusalem and headed toward a small town. Now, they’ve listened to Jesus correct their misunderstanding about a suffering Savior but they’ve not yet returned to Jerusalem. They’ve got the facts. They just have no feeling. That should get our attention. Because it means: You can know the facts about Jesus and still not know Jesus. So what does it take to move from us from information to recognition and from recognition to submission? That’s the big question this text hopes to answer - This text answers that. First: You Can Be Close to Jesus and Still Miss Him (vv. 28–29) Jesus has been with them walking and teaching and now He acts as though He will go on. They urge Him to stay but they still don’t know who He is. IMP: They are with Him—and still blind. This is not ignorance. They are coming to the truth. This is partial understanding without true sight. There are people in the church and around the things of God but Jesus is not real. APP: Proximity is not the same as conversion and it’s also not the same as discipleship. Second: Jesus Must Make Himself Known (vv. 30–31) Notice what Jesus does. He takes bread. He Blesses it. He breaks it. He gives it to them. And then: “Their eyes were opened.” IMP: That is the hinge of the passage. It is not that they figured it out, that they remembered some key piece of information that changed everything or connected the dots. Instead, God acted. Knowing Jesus is not something you achieve. Loving Jesus is not something you produce. It is something God gives. You don’t come to Christ because you got smarter or reasoned better or felt something more deeply than others. You became a Christian because God opened your eyes. Note: Somewhere around here I’m going to build a theology of conversion that will look something like this –What just happened at that table is not just the story of these two disciples. It is the story of every Christian. Because the Bible is clear: We do not come to Christ by discovering him. We come to Christ by the Holy Spirit enabling us to see him and changing our minds and hearts about him. a) God Must Open Our Blind Eyes These men were not ignorant. They had information. But they could not see. And the Bible says the same is true of every one of us. 1 Corinthians 2:14 - The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God… he is not able to understand them 2 Corinthians 4:4 - The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. So what must happen? ILL – Saul on the Damascus road is the perfect example of this – God blinded him to give him sight. 2 Corinthians 4:6 - God… has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ APP: Salvation is when God does in your heart what He did in creation—He says, “Let there be light.” b) God Must Give Us A New Heart The problem is not just what we see. It is what we love. We don’t naturally love Christ. We don’t naturally choose Him. So God does something deeper. Ezekiel 36:36 - I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you The Holy Spirit changed our heart and made us fall in love with Jesus c) Then God gives us faith Even the act of believing is not something we produce. Ephesians 2:8-9 - By grace you have been saved through faith… it is the gift of God. Philippians 1:29 - It has been granted to you… to believe in Him Faith is not your contribution. It is God’s gift. d) Sanctification Follows the Same Pattern And here’s what matters for this text. The way you are saved is the way you grow. You don’t begin by grace and continue by effort. Galatians 3:3 - Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? No. Philippians 2:13 - It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. The same God who opened your eyes to Jesus, gave you a new heart and faith, must continue to shape your heart. Lazarus in John 11 is the perfect example off this: 1 – Ephesians 2:1 - And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 – Ephesians 2:5 - Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, Think about Lazarus dead in the grave. Jesus called specifically to him and only Lazarus came out. That’s salvation. Then, Jesus had to instruct him be loosed from the linen cloths that bound him. That’s sanctification. Back to the Text: So when you read 16 - But their eyes were kept from recognizing him and 31 - …their eyes were opened, and they recognized him - That is not just a small detail. That is a declaration. This is why prayer is so important – A Prayer – John 11:1-3 - Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” A Model – v 4 - But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” A Resurrection – vs 43-44a - “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out A Loosing – v 11:44b - … his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” This is what we are working for. This is what we are praying for. Third: The Word Burns In Our Hearts Before Our Eyes See Jesus (v. 32) After Jesus vanishes, they say: “Did not our hearts burn within us… while He opened to us the Scriptures?” Before they saw Him something was already happening. Their hearts were being stirred, their assumptions were being dismantled and their understanding was shifting. The Word was doing its work. APP: Jesus does not bypass the Scriptures. He reveals Himself through them. We want shortcuts. We want immediate clarity and instant recognition But God works through the Word to give us sight. Fourth: When We See Jesus, Everything Changes (vv. 33–35) These two disciples, who earlier in the day were confused and discouraged, now get up “that same hour” and return to Jerusalem. It’s the ae road but the opposite direction. Everything reverses from leaving to returning, from confusion to clarity, from depression to declaration. APP: When you see Jesus in the Bible, everything changes. You don’t need to manufacture your witness. When Christ is real, you don’t stay on the road away from Him. If nothing has changed in your life. If there is no definite direction, no urgency to living and no witness to others, the issue isn’t knowledge, it’s seeing Jesus. Conclusion: These disciples had all the information they needed but that wasn’t enough. They didn’t see Jesus in the Word. Until Jesus opened the Bible, opened their eyes, and made himself known. Some are still walking the road away from Jerusalem. You’ve heard it. You know it. You’ve been near it. But Christ is still distant. And the problem is not that Jesus is absent. The problem is that you don’t see him. Because when you see him – your heart awakens your mind changes your direction reverses  (That’s Bible repentance!)

Big Idea: Jesus teaches that his suffering was not a tragic detour from God’s plan but the necessary path to glory that was foretold in the Old Testament. Introduction: I have a hard time on Good Friday. I don’t like to rehearse the cross. It’s painful to see images of Jesus, the only perfect and most beautiful human being to ever walk this earth, be so misunderstood, and then rejected, that fallen, sinful, guilty people horribly hurt him. If Jesus’s suffering wasn’t in the Bible, it would be beyond belief. In our text today, Luke places us on the road to Emmaus, just hours after the resurrection. A Word about Emmaus: a) Location - About 7 miles (60 stadia) from Jerusalem (Luke 24:13). The exact site is debated. It is most commonly associated with Emmaus Nicopolis, northwest of Jerusalem b) Meaning of the Name - Likely from a Hebrew root meaning “warm spring” or “hot baths.” It suggests a place of rest, retreat, or recovery and that happens in this text. c) Biblical Significance - Only mentioned explicitly in Luke 24. Where are we so far in God’s redemptive story? The tomb is empty, Jesus has risen, but The meaning of the cross is still unclear. So, these two disciples are not doubting the facts as much as They are misinterpreting them. They have heard the reports, but they don’t yet understand the story. What do they need? Well, remember Nehemiah 8. After Ezra read the Bible, he organized the people into small groups and sent “teaching priests” (KJV) into the congregation. – 8:8 - “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” a) “Read… clearly” - They proclaimed the text publicly and distinctly. This is the act of reading the Bible itself. b) “Gave the sense” - They explained the meaning of the text. - This is interpretation, not just repetition. c) “So that the people understood” - The goal was comprehension, not mere exposure. These two disciples need “the sense” of what happened so they can “understand” it. This is also why you need to be in a CG where you can ask good questions and find important answers to life’s most important questions. But note: These two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem, away from the place where redemption has just been accomplished, because they can’t reconcile a suffering Messiah with their expectations of glory. Many people struggle with this same concept. ILL: What do we do when our experience and resulting thinking don’t match what we think the Bible says? Perhaps a better question is, “What should we do?” Here’s an example - In Acts 8, an Ethiopian official is leaving Jerusalem and reading Isaiah 53 along the way. It’s the very passage that speaks of a servant who suffers and is led like a lamb to the slaughter. He does not understand it either. Acts 8:26-35 - Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. Do you see the difference? These disciples are walking away from Jerusalem, confused and discouraged. The Ethiopian eunuch, just as confused, leans in and says, “How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?” These disciples are moving away from the very place of redemption because they can’t reconcile suffering with glory. The eunuch stays with the text until God gives him understanding. These three people share the same confusion, but not the same posture. The disciples seem to drift. The eunuch seeks answers. Don’t ask the Bible to match your experience. Ask the Bible to explain your experience. First: The Question Beneath the Question - “We had hoped…” (v. 21) Observation - The disciples recount the events with accuracy but interpret them with despair, saying, “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” Their problem is not lack of information. It is misplaced expectation. Interpretation – As many of the Jews, including the disciples, they assumed redemption would come through visible triumph, not suffering. They expected a conquering king, not a crucified Savior. Their question, though unspoken, is this: “If Jesus is the Redeemer, why did He suffer?” That’s a great question and… Correlation - This tension runs through the Bible: a) Isaiah 53 presents a suffering servant, “pierced for our transgressions” b) Psalm 22 describes a righteous sufferer surrounded and mocked. Psalm 22:16c-17 - …they have pierced my hands and feet – I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me… c) Daniel 7 presents a glorious Son of Man receiving a kingdom The Bible never separates suffering and glory. It always holds them together. APP: We often ask the same question in different language: If God is good, why is there suffering? Why am I suffering? If Christ has saved me, why is my life so hard? Like these disciples, we tend to interpret our circumstances apart from the Bible. When your expectations collapse, don’t rewrite the Bible story. Don’t reinvent God. Return to the Bible. Let God define what your redemption actually looks like. GOOD CG QUESTION: How do people reinvent God when their expectations don’t match their life? First: The Question Beneath the Question - “We had hoped…” (v. 21) Second: The Necessity of the Cross - “Was it not necessary…?” (v. 26) Observation - Jesus does not comfort them first. Instead, he corrects them. = 25 - “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” Then He asks the pivotal question: 26 - “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Interpretation – The answer is “yes,” and the word “necessary” is the key to the entire passage. It was not Plan B Ephesians 1:4-5 - …he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will So, the cross was not accidental It was unavoidable It was required. Required by what? By the plan of God – Romans 3:24-26 – [We] …are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. By the righteousness of God This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. By the justice of God It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. God’s will for you does not come apart from suffering. It comes through it. Correlation - This necessity is woven through the Bible: a) Genesis 3:15 — the serpent-crushing seed is wounded b) Exodus — redemption comes through blood c) Leviticus — atonement requires sacrifice d) Isaiah 53 — the servant suffers to justify many The entire Bible is moving toward a cross that must happen. APP: We often treat suffering as unnecessary interruption. Jesus calls it necessary participation in God’s plan for our lives. So, don’t interpret your suffering as evidence that God’s plan has failed. In Christ, suffering is not meaningless. It is often the very means God uses to accomplish His purposes in you. Suffering is not a detour. You are on a road the Bible has already mapped for Christ, others before you (think Hb 11), you, and others after you. Third: The Bible Interpreted Through Christ “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (v. 27) Observation - Jesus opens the Bible to them. He does not give them a new experience. He gives them a new understanding. Interpretation - Jesus teaches that the entire Bible points to Him. Not just predictions, but actual patterns: The Passover lamb The sacrificial system The rejected prophets The suffering righteous one All of it converges on Christ. So, the cross is not one event among many. It is the center of the story. Correlation - Later in Luke 24:44, Jesus will say that everything written in: the Law of Moses the Prophets the Psalms must be fulfilled in Him. IMP: The Bible is not a collection of disconnected stories and humans aren’t the point of those stories. The Bible is one story, with one hero, moving toward one necessary moment – the cross! APP: Many people read the Bible for guidance, inspiration, or comfort. All of those things matter, but if we miss Jesus, we miss the whole reason for the Bible and its meaning. Always read the Bible with this ultimate question: “How does this text lead me to Christ?” And… when you suffer, don’t first look for an explanation. Look at Jesus who stands at the center of the story and realize suffering is essential to our salvation. ILL: Hebrews 12:1b - …let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us… Weights are our interpretation of God and his story: comfort, our way, anything that is counter to our interpretation of how our lives should go. Bottom Line: (Theological Weight) The question “Was it all really necessary?” receives a clear answer from Jesus: Yes. It was all, really necessary. It was necessary for redemption It was necessary for the fulfillment of the Bible It was necessary for the glory of Christ It was necessary for the salvation of sinners The cross was not a tragedy that interrupted God’s plan. It was the plan. Conclusion: These disciples were walking away from hope while speaking to the risen Jesus. They did not recognize Him because they misunderstood the necessity of His suffering. And we are often not that much different. You may be looking at your life, your pain, your unanswered questions, and asking: Was this necessary? Jesus does not answer that question with sentiment. He answers it with the Bible. All the Bible leads you to a Savior who suffered, not because He lost control, but because He was in control. If the cross was necessary, then your salvation is secure. If the cross was necessary, then your suffering is not wasted. If the cross was necessary, then glory is coming. So, don’t walk away from Jerusalem. And don’t walk away from the cross. Stay on the road where suffering leads to glory.