Luke 24:13-53 "What Is the Point of Christmas?" They were continually in the temple blessing God. Tonight or tomorrow you get to open your presents. You'll be pretty happy won't you? Will you remember to say thank you? To "bless" someone is to say good things about them. Will you say good things to your parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters? But how long will that last? In a few days you'll probably forget. The disciples were continually in the temple blessing God. Something happened that was so good, that they didn't forget. They kept going back to the temple over and over again in order to bless God to praise God for what had happened. What was it? What gave them such joy that they didn't forget? Jesus had blessed them (verse 50), and as he blessed them, he was carried up into heaven (v51). Jesus has blessed you. In your baptism God placed his name on you. When you were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the exalted Jesus himself blessed you. Just as Jesus blessed his disciples, so now he has blessed you. And now we come together into the heavenly temple with joy, in order to bless God because he has blessed us in Jesus. Why did Jesus come? What is the point of Christmas? We're going to look at three parts of this: 1) Why the Christ had to suffer 2) Why the Christ had to fulfill everything written about him, and 3) why we should bless God continually for that 1. Was It Not Necessary that the Christ Should Suffer and Enter His Glory? (24:13-35) Have you ever wished that you could have walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus? After all, in verse 27 we hear that Jesus began with Moses and the Prophets and interpreted in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Have you ever wondered what Jesus said that day? The Old Testament is filled with all sorts of strange things. How does the Old Testament speak of Jesus? Wouldn't it have been great to hear Jesus do this? Did you know that you can still hear what Jesus said that day? It's not an audio recording it's not even a verbatim transcript but the New Testament is filled with it. The book of Hebrews is a great example. From start to finish, the book of Hebrews explains how the whole OT speaks of Jesus. If you want to understand what Jesus said on that day, read Hebrews. But Jesus set forth from the scriptures from the Old Testament, from Moses and all the Prophets why the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory. It might have gone something like this. Cleopas, you've been looking for the kingdom of God, right? You've been longing for the overthrow of the Romans, and the establishment of the throne of the Son of David. But how does the Scripture say this is going to happen? After all, why did God call David and establish his covenant with him? Cleopas: Well, in the days of Samuel Israel rejected God as their king, preferring a king like the other nations. So God established the house of David to lead Israel back to himself. Yes, remember what God said about Israel through Moses? Israel is my son, my firstborn, let my son go that he may serve me. But Israel rebelled. In the wilderness they did not listen to Moses, and God judged that generation and their bodies lay in the wilderness. So God raised up Joshua, and God said to Joshua that his faithfulness would result in Israel receiving the inheritance (Joshua 1). (And you know that Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua!) But then Israel rebelled, and in the days of the Judges, Israel became like the Canaanites. And so because Israel refused to live like the son of God, God raised up David and told him that he would adopt David's son as his own. And so the Son of David would restore Israel. But what happened to the sons of David? They intermarried with the cursed house of Ahab, and they rebelled against God and were no better than Israel! And so God sent them into exile. But how could God restore the exiled house of David? That's what Isaiah talks about. Isaiah says that Israel is God's servant, right? That Israel must pass through suffering to glory, right? Well, you can see the whole story of Israel in the life of Jesus. Think: He was born in Bethlehem like David; in his infancy he was brought out of "Egypt" both literally and figuratively. When he was a baby, Herod sought to destroy him just like Pharaoh sought to destroy the sons of Israel. He was baptized in the Jordan River just like Israel was baptized in the Red Sea. He was tempted in the wilderness just like Israel except Jesus passed the test! In his ministry he healed the sick, raised the dead, and proclaimed the kingdom of God, just like Elijah and Elisha. And on the cross he too was exiled from the presence of the Father he was cut off like Israel except he was innocent. Remember what Isaiah says about the servant? That he would bear the iniquity of his people? That he would be buried with the rich? The whole scripture teaches that Israel must die that suffering and death is the only path to life and glory. Think back to Adam and Eve! God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent but also promises that the serpent would crush the heel of the seed of the woman. You've been thinking that the way to glory is through triumph and battle. But that is not what Moses and the Prophets teach! No, Cleopas, the way to glory is the way of the cross. The Messiah had to suffer, and only then enter his glory. If I were you, I would believe what your women friends said do not be slow to believe what the prophets have taught! This is the first point to remember this Christmas: Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory? All we like sheep have gone astray each to his own way but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. The Jews do not seem to have realized that the suffering servant would be the Messiah, but Jesus makes it clear that way of the cross is the only way to glory. But as we saw last time, Jesus' teaching did not open their eyes. It was only in the breaking of bread of they realized who Jesus was. As they acknowledged later, Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures? The truth of God's word is not a matter of intellectual understanding. Jesus "opened" the Scriptures to them. The scriptures are a closed book to those who don't understand. But Jesus "opens" the scriptures to them, and their hearts burn within them. How do you hear the word? As Jesus opens the scriptures to us, do your hearts burn? Do you see here the glory of the suffering Messiah? Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! As you gather with family and friends, remember that the point of Christmas is that for Jesus (and therefore for us who are in Jesus) the only path to glory is the path of suffering. You are called to suffer with Christ. Do not be surprised at the suffering you face! Only receive it with meekness, and indeed with joy because you know that God is using this suffering to conform you to Christ. And so when that family member who always gets under your skin starts digging again this year, take a deep breath, and then give thanks to God that he has counted you worthy to suffer with Christ, and respond with grace and kindness! (And of course, if you are guilty of being the digger, then repent and ask God and your family members to forgive you!) 2. Everything Written About Me (24:36-49) Well, no sooner did Cleopas and his friend tell the eleven what had happened, when Jesus shows up again, and said to them, Shalom. Eirenen humin. Peace to you. This is the standard Jewish greeting. Peace. But it takes on new meaning when it comes from the lips of the resurrected Lord. The prophets warned against those who said "peace, peace," when there is no peace. The angels had proclaimed "peace on earth" at the birth of this baby. And now Jesus comes to his disciples proclaiming "peace." Of course, at the appearance of Jesus, they were startled and frightened, and thought they saw a ghost (or spirit). And he said to them, Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 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. This was no mere apparition. Jesus was raised from the dead, body and soul! And to prove it, Jesus took a piece of fish and ate it before them. And then he reminded them of what he had said before that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. The whole Old Testament was about Jesus. It finds its fulfillment its end, its goal in him. As you read the Old Testament, you are reading a story that is headed to Jesus. Every book of the Old Testament is pointing to him. Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. This, too, is the point of Christmas. Zechariah understood that the birth of his son was all about Jesus. Simeon and Anna, who met the baby Jesus in the temple, were longing for the consolation of Israel and they saw it in Jesus. As you gather with friends and family, do not merely remember the birth of Jesus. Remember how the birth of Jesus was the beginning of the fulfillment of all the hopes and dreams of God's people throughout all generations. Jesus explains the OT by saying, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You see, the point of Christmas draws us into the story as well! When God comes in the flesh to redeem Israel, he also fulfills Israel's purpose which was to be a covenant to the nations. God had said to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him; and throughout Israel's history there were reminders that God had not forgotten the nations (Rahab, Naaman, etc.) but Jesus says that when you understand that the OT is all about the suffering and exaltation of the Christ, then you also understand that the OT is about the spread of the gospel to the nations. So Christmas is all about the fulfillment of the story of Israel, but because it is the fulfillment of the story of Israel, it is also the fulfillment of our stories as well. The Messiah is not only the Son of David, and the Son of Abraham, he is also the Son of Adam, the Son of God (as the genealogy in Luke 3 points out). Your story finds its fulfillment here. Why do I say that? Why do I say that your story finds its fulfillment here? Your family may be from western Europe or eastern Asia or South America. You may be descended from royalty or from a long line of thieves or lawyers but Luke reminds us of what he said in that genealogy. We are all descended from Adam. While the story of Israel is a very particular story telling the good, the bad, and the ugly about the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob we discover in Jesus that this very particular story comes to completion in a very particular man a Jewish man from the contested town of Bethlehem. But this very particular man is also God-in-the-flesh. God came in the flesh as a very particular man, so that every particular story would find its meaning in him. Because just as Adam's sin corrupted the whole race, and brought all of humanity under God's wrath and curse, so now Christ's righteousness heals the whole race, and brings all of humanity under God's mercy and grace. Every story finds its meaning in Christ either for eternal glory through faith in him, or for eternal suffering through rejection of him. But there is no neutrality. Every story is transformed by the exaltation of Christ. Because he is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The exaltation of Jesus to the right hand of the Father means either that you will pass through suffering to glory with him, or that you will simply suffer. 3. They Were Continually in the Temple (24:50-53) The disciples understood this. They understood that there was no neutrality. And so they worshiped him. No self-respecting Jew in his right mind would worship a mere man. The disciples recognize that Jesus is God. And so they worship him. And then they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. The story of Jesus is not merely a story of way back then. It is a story that is here and now. Because we are gathered in the temple, just like the disciples. Luke's gospel begins in the temple, with Zechariah offering incense in the holy place. In other words, Luke's gospel begins worlds away from our experience. It begins with the people of God praying at the temple praying for the coming of the kingdom of God. And after the birth of Jesus Luke takes us back to the temple for the purification rites, as Jesus' parents offer the sacrifice for the firstborn as Moses had commanded. And once again we see people at the temple, praying, waiting, longing for the coming of the kingdom the redemption of Jerusalem. And Luke reorganizes the temptations of Jesus. While Matthew and Mark put the temple temptation second, reserving Satan's offer of the kingdoms of the world for the final temptation; Luke puts the temple temptation last the temptations end at the temple. And then after Jesus' ministry in Galilee from chapters 4-9, Jesus walks the road to Jerusalem in chapters 9-19. The whole gospel of Luke is directed towards the temple. God's judgment is going to come first against Jesus, but second against the temple against Jerusalem. And now Luke's gospel ends where it began: with the people of God praying at the temple but no longer are they praying for the kingdom to come, rather, they are blessing God because the kingdom has come! Why does the story end here? Because all stories end at the temple! The creation of the world ended with God establishing a sanctuary a garden in Eden where he could dwell with his people. The Exodus (the great deliverance from Egypt) ended with God establishing the tabernacle a place where he could dwell with his people. The formation of the Kingdom in David's day ended with God establishing the temple a place where he could dwell with his people. The restoration from Exile in Ezra ended with God re-establishing the temple a place where he could dwell with his people. And of course the book of Revelation ends with God establishing the New Jerusalem a city where no temple is needed, because God himself dwells with his people! Of course in Acts 2 we will hear about the establishment of the new temple the people of God as the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the church. But until that day, the disciples remain in the earthly temple, awaiting the promise of the Father. And we, who have receive that promise in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, are still continually in the temple, because we are that temple! And we gather in the heavenly temple (as Hebrews 12 says), because we have been seated in the heavenly places in Christ (as Eph 1 says), and blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. This is what gives us the grace, the wisdom, and the power to endure through the trials and the suffering that God sends. We endure not through gritted teeth and growling under our breath but joyfully, patiently! Because we are his witnesses. Do you know what the word for witness is? (v48) Marturion. Yes, that's the word from which we get the word martyr. A martyr is one who witnesses to Christ. You are called to martyrdom! You are called to bear witness to Christ in the midst of suffering and trial. And having heard this from Jesus, the disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. You are called to bear witness to Christ in the midst of suffering and trial. So let us go forth with great joy and bless God that he has counted us worthy to suffer for the name of Christ!