When He had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

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It says they stayed continually at the temple to worship God. All I could think about this morning is the fact that we have boxed worship into an hour service on a Sunday morning. Worship is about what comes from within. I can’t help but believe God used this pandemic to help us see our shortcomings and shift our focus off of a building and program and onto Him. I feel there are some people who haven’t worshiped since the buildings shut the doors because their worship was a response to a building/service/program and not a response to God. It’s time to shift back to Him and Him alone.

While they were taking about this, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, and me you see I have.”

When He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, He asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate it in their presence.

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

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He had to open their minds to understand scripture. Sometimes people speak about how confusing the Bible is. They don’t understand what it’s saying. Question…have you ever prayed for God to open your mind so you can understand it? Have you ever pursued His truth in a way that you remained silent so that He could speak? Next time you dive into scripture…pray for God to bring understanding to what you’re reading. Let Him speak.

Now the same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him.

He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these last days?”

“What things?” He asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and put rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him; but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find His body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” And beginning with Moses and the Prophets, He explained you them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if He were going farther. But they urged Him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them.

When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread.

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You never know who you may be speaking to or helping. They didn’t know they were asking Jesus to stay with them…but they were doing what Jesus would’ve done. They exemplified what it looks like to put the need of another above their own. They were saddened by the events that had taken place, and yet they didn’t allow their circumstances to determine their actions. They continued to live as Jesus would’ve required. This needs to be you and I as well. No matter what is going on around us, we continue to speak and act as Jesus would. You just never know who it is you might encounter…

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered His words.

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

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The Eleven has received news that He was alive. This would be difficult news to believe unless you could see it for yourself…but I want to point out the fact that Peter and John actually did go to see for themselves. Is it possible that you and I have missed out on some miracles of God because we weren’t willing to get up and seek it? Maybe we were too busy being frustrated or disappointed…maybe we were too busy being angry or sad. But today I just want to put that question out there…when is the last time you have really asked God for something to happen in your life, and then you actually live like you were pursuing Him to show up? Don’t miss out on the miracles of God because you’re so hung up on yourself and your circumstances. Seek God in every moment.

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how His body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

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Joseph takes body and lays it in his tomb. There was just so much unknown in this moment. Why did this happen? Who is He? What do we do now? All of Jesus’ followers were just sort of left in limbo…not understanding that the temple that was to be rebuilt in three days was referring to Him. Here’s the thing…you and I know the rest of the story. We know the victory over sin and death. We know that tomb wasn’t the end…and yet…our lives often times still reflect defeat and despair. Constantly complaining…speaking negatively…arguing…judging…slandering. No wonder so many outside the church want nothing to do with it. We don’t even act like our God is worth serving. We look lost…scared…and selfish. We know the end of the story! Start living with some hope! Start living in response to an empty tomb! Start living forgiven and saved! May your life leave no doubt to the glory of God!

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When He had said this, He breathed His last.

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew Him, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

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They stood at a distance…watching. It’s almost as if they were waiting to find out it wasn’t real. That Jesus was just testing them. It’s like they were waiting to see Him get off the cross by Himself or the angels and taking His rightful throne and ruling the world. They waited…but nothing changed. Jesus was dead. At the moment, they couldn’t understand what they had just witnessed. He said He was the Messiah…but now He is dead. He healed the sick, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind…but now He is dead. What they didn’t know…in three days time…the whole world would be changed forever. They waited and watched…confused and defeated. But in the words of Bob Goff, “Heaven started counting to three.”

As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and out the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed Him, including women who mourned and wailed for Him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed. When they came to a place called the Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals-one on His right, the other on His left. Jesus said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His clothes by casting lots.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at Him. They said, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also came up and mocked Him. They offered Him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

There was a written notice above Him, which read: This is the King of the Jews.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

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Luke’s Gospel really focuses on the reactions of others. The rulers mocked…the soldiers mocked…the criminal mocked…Jesus was receiving it from every side. On top of the physical pain and torment, He was being mocked by mankind who He loved so much He was dying for them. Jesus went through all of that…for you. He went through all of that…for them. He went through all of that…for me. We serve an awesome God. Today…rest in His love. Be picked up by His strength, and be renewed by His grace.

At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”

Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”

They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”

He replied, “You say that I am.”

Then they said, “Why do we need anymore testimony? We have heard it from His own lips.”

Then the whole assembly rose and led Him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”

So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

But they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by His teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

In hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see Him. From what he had heard about Him, he hoped to see Him perform a sign of some sort. He plies Him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing Him. Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in an elegant robe, they sent Him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends-before this they had been enemies.

Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against Him. Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; as you can see, He has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish Him and then release Him.”

But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!” (Barabbas has been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in Him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have Him punished and then release Him.”

But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that He be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

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As I read this passage today, I just became angry at these Jews who sent Jesus to the cross. Then…the more I thought…the more God spoke into my heart. I am part of that crowd. Not that I was there that day shouting crucify. But I have chosen the path of sin many times in my life. It’s my sin that sent Him to the cross. In fact, it’s our sin that sent Him there. It infuriates me to read of their hatred towards Jesus. It should infuriate me even more when I allow sin to creep into my life. Fight against the temptations. Don’t chose to live by the very things that sent Him to the cross. Change your attitude…get angry at sin and it’s decay and destruction.

The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating Him. They blindfolded Him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to Him.

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Jesus was blindfolded…beaten…mocked…and insulted….and He didn’t say a word. He took the beating and the slandering. Why? For you and me. He closed His mouth and took the punishment, the pain, and the hurt and bore it for us. And this was just the beginning. He did it for you…because He loves you that much. It should’ve been us taking on that hurt for the sin we have gotten tangled up in. It should’ve been us having to offer a sacrifice. It should’ve been us facing death and torment. But praise be to God. Give Him praise today…lift up His name today…because you and I are forgiven. God is good!

Then seizing Him, the led Him away and took Him into the the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there has kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with Him.”

But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know Him,” he said.

A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”

Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

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Peter’s response to turning his back on Jesus was to weep bitterly. I feel like for many of us, our response to sin (turning our back on God) is to just seek forgiveness and move on. It doesn’t really bother us that we have sinned like we it should. We don’t really take the time to truly be repentant. Remember, repentance was one of the main teaching points of Jesus while He was on earth. It should bother us more when we sin against Him. It should hurt…it should move us to try never to do it again. Do you hate sin? Does it make you sick? Does it make you bitterly torn when you choose it over God? Because…well…it should.