Let's take our Bibles and turn
back to the book of Luke chapter 24. Luke 24. I'd like to look at verses 36
to 53. I've entitled this message opening our understanding. A precious account of the last
days of our Lord's earthly ministry was given by the Holy Spirit
and penned by Luke in this chapter. The Lord had crossed the path
of two on the road to Emmaus. When he did, he expounded unto
them. They asked him if he was recently
in the area because of some things that they were talking about.
And the Lord asked him, what are you talking about? They said,
are you a stranger here? And when he did that, he began
to expound unto them in all the scriptures. things concerning
himself. I thought about that this morning.
I thought, I looked up the word all, and
that's what it meant. And I thought, what a statement. He expounded unto them in all
the scriptures, in the prophets, in Moses, Psalms, the things
concerning himself. When he appeared as though that
he would go on farther, they constrained him. Stay with us. He sat at meat with them. He
took some bread, broke it, and when he broke the bread and gave
it to them, their eyes were opened. Scripture says over in the book
of Mark, 1612, that he had met with them in another form when
he first walked with them. They didn't know who he was.
And he opened their eyes. They knew him. They clearly recognized
who he was. And the scripture says that he
vanished out of their sight. I looked at a lot of people that
debate, you know, did he just leave? Did he vanish? Vines Concordance interprets
the word to mean that he immediately disappeared out of their sight. Now when he disappeared, the
two obviously experienced the same reaction according to the
power of God's Spirit because they immediately began to say
the same thing to each other. They said one to another, did
not our heart burn? within us while he talked with
us by the way and while he opened to us the scriptures. The scriptures
are hidden. They're hidden to the carnal
man. They're hidden. We see through a glass darkly
what we know. We know in part. We prophesy
in part. We think we know something. We
don't know. We don't know much. And their comment spoke volume. Did not our heart burn within
us? The scripture says, Jeremiah
23, 29, is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, like a hammer
that breaketh a rock in pieces. Well, verses 33 to 35 says, and
they rose up, Luke 24, 33, they rose up the same hour. and returned to Jerusalem, and
found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,
saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And
they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known
of them in breaking of bread." Now, surely the two, not long
before, had constrained the Lord. It was coming to the end of the
day and they asked the Lord to abide with us. The day is far
spent. But now they're not concerned
about time because they rose up and they traveled the six
furlongs, about seven miles to Jerusalem, and found the 11 apostles,
the scripture says, and those that were with them. They were
gathered together, and they began to tell them what things had
happened. They said, the Lord is truly
risen. We saw him. And he talked to us, and he opened
to us the scriptures, and how he broke bread, and we knew who
he was. We didn't know him until he did
that. And verse 36 says, And as they thus spake, Jesus himself
stood in the midst of them and said unto them, Peace be unto
you. Now hear the Lord while they're
talking. They said, now listen, he's risen.
He appeared to Peter and he appeared to us. We saw him. We talked with him and unexpectedly
he stood in the middle of them, he stood in the midst of them
and said unto them, peace be unto you. Now he had just a few
days before laid down his life for the sheep. He had suffered,
he had died, the just for the unjust. and he finished the work
that was given him by the father. He had commended his spirit into
the hands of his father and then gave up the ghost, the scripture
says, entering once, the scripture declares, into the holy place
he had, with his own precious blood, obtained eternal redemption
for his people. And they were there. The apostles
were there. Now here he is. He's standing
in the very presence of them and he's speaking peace to the
very ones that had fled while he was hanging upon the tree
and those that had pledged their allegiance to him. We'll die
with you. And each of them, he said to
them, peace. be unto you." How comforting
must have been those words, even to Peter, especially to Peter,
who had denied the Lord three times before the cock had crowed
twice. How merciful is our Lord and
Savior to assure us that He has established peace for us. before God, peace be unto you. That He's blotted out our sins
and they're cast as far as the east is from the west. And peace,
that gift of His that's to undeserving sinners. Now let me tell you
the pitiful thing. I'll speak for myself. What I've just said, I heard
myself say this. My sins are forgiven for Christ's
sake. They're blotted out. They're
cast into the sea behind the back of God. There's therefore
now no condemnation. A little understanding I have
of that. This is pitiful. It's pitiful. Paul said, O wretched man that
I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Verse
37 to 40 says, And they were terrified and affrighted, and
supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are
you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself. Handle me, and see, for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had
thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. You know,
I noticed something. If there were no such thing as
spirits, the Lord would have corrected their ignorance right
then. But he said spirits don't have,
you know, hands and feet like you see me have. So obviously
we know that there are spirits. We know that there are. And so
the Lord is gonna comfort them. He spoke in peace, but he knew
that they were terrified and affrighted. They were scared
thinking that they were, they thought that they were in a place
that was secure. And here he is, now here's the Lord, and
he's standing in the midst of them and they look and they see
him and they think that they're seeing a spirit. And the reaction
that they have, the Lord knows their heart. Why are you agitated? Why are these doubtful imaginations
or reasonings, why are they arising in your hearts? He said, listen,
it's me. Look at my hands, look at my
feet, surely to let them behold the nail prints that had just
a few days before been inflicted upon him at the crucifixion.
Handle me, handle me, he said, and see for a spirit hath not
flesh and bones as you see me have. And he showed them, he
showed them his hands, and surely they touched him. They handled
him. Turn to 1 John 1, 1 John 1. John
was there. John was there when the Lord
appeared to him. And listen to what he says in
1 John 1. 1 John 1, verse 1, that which was from the beginning,
that obviously from the commencement of his appearance into this world. It wasn't from the beginning
of eternity. There is no beginning of eternity. There's no beginning,
there's no end. That's why I say I can't even
think in eternity. I don't know how to, my mind
doesn't comprehend, yours doesn't either. How do you comprehend
that which never began and will never end? That which was from
the beginning, obviously. of his appearance into this world,
that which was from the beginning, which we've heard, which we've
seen with our eyes, which we've looked upon, our hands have handled
of the word of life, that which was from the beginning, which
we've heard, that is with understanding." A lot of people heard him. John
said, we heard him with understanding, which we've seen with our eyes,
obviously indicating the evidence of his deity being proved by
miracles and signs and wonders, which we've looked upon. You
know, and now that is almost, you'd think, well, he just said
we've seen with our eyes, which we've looked upon. That means
that he was seen by them with perception. Again, a lot of them
saw the miracles, but they didn't perceive still that it was Him,
and that our hands have handled of the word of life. The Lord
encouraged them, you touch me. You look, you feel my feet touch. These are the scars of your redemption. My scars, they're mine. Oh, the
mercy of God to give the evidence of His resurrection. That evidence
that would be the comfort of God's people. And it's our comfort
too. Peace be unto you. He laid down
His life at Calvary. And God raised Him from the dead.
And He ever liveth. You know, it's one thing to hear
the words, peace be unto you. But you know what I need? I need
for the Lord cause that to be experienced in my heart, that
I can understand it, that I can hear it. They were physically
blessed to see Him and touch Him and handle Him. They were
comforted. But according to the word of the Lord, we who believe
now, they saw Him. They saw Him. They touched Him. They looked upon Him. They perceived
who He was. But for us that We've never seen
him physically. We've never touched him physically.
Listen to this, John 20, 29. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they
that have not seen and yet have believed. Those that did see
the Lord's miracles actually performed, they were blessed. But our Lord has revealed here
that we're blessed too. by the revelation of God's spirit,
by faith, to behold him, to see him. I mean, when he said to
them, look on me, look at my hands, look at my feet. Now,
in your mind's eye, you see that. You saw that. You see that. You
say, I didn't see it like they did. I know, but the Lord said,
you're blessed to see him and to realize why those wounds were
inflicted. That blessing that we're receiving
right now, that's of the Lord. Turn to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1,
6-8. 1 Peter 1, verse 6-8. Wherein you greatly rejoice,
though now for a season, if need be, you're in heaviness through
manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith, being much
more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried
with fire, might be found under praise and honor and glory at
the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love. In whom, though now you see him
not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full
of glory. Back in Luke chapter 24, verse
41, it says, and while they yet believed not for joy, They just couldn't believe it.
That's what it's saying. He's here. He's here. He's right here. They believed not for joy and
wondered. He said to them, have you here
any meat? And they gave him a piece of
broiled fish and honeycomb. And he took it and did eat before
them. Now here he mercifully eats. in front of him, show him that
this is me. Look, I'm not a spirit. Spirit
don't have hands and feet. Look at me, look at these scars.
Handle me. He removed all doubt in their
mind that while he ate, they sat there and they watched him.
They watched him. They were comforted. The Spirit
of God moved again. I'll just read this. If you want
to turn back to 1 John 1, verses 2 to 4. John said, again, being
there. I mean, this is a firsthand account.
He said, for the life was manifested. We've seen it. and bear witness
and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father
and was manifested unto us. That which we've seen and heard
declare we unto you that ye also may have fellowship with us.
And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son,
Jesus Christ. These things write we unto you
that your joy may be full." John was saying, listen, I was with
Him. and I'm writing these things
down to you." The Spirit of God moved him to write these things
down. You know, God's people, they read that, and they say,
that's so. John was there. You believe he
was there? Yeah, I believe he was there.
Why? God said he was there. Verse 44-49. And he said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law
of Moses in the prophets and the Psalms concerning me. Then
opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures. and said unto them, thus it is
written, and thus it behoove Christ to suffer, to rise from
the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem, and ye are witnesses of these things. After he settled
their hearts, and he was pleased to summarize everything. He said, I've been with you now
three and a half years. And what he taught them, He taught
them that they might have as a first-hand witness of the knowledge
of the gospel, and he reminded them. He said, now everything
that has been eternally ordained, everything that was ordained
according to God's everlasting covenant of God's grace and God's
mercy, it must have been fulfilled. I must have died. I must have
suffered. I must have been buried. I must
have been raised from the dead for your good and the glory of
God. And he told them that and then
he opened their understanding that they might understand the
Scriptures. He removed the veil of the Scriptures
And he took that veil off of the ignorance. He removed the
ignorance of their heart and they understood. How much they
understood, I don't know. But we understand some things. He's removed the veil of our
hearts to cause us to understand the Scriptures in part I'll admit
it, we know this, we don't understand everything. How many times have
we seen something and said, I never saw it that way before. But it
was consistent with everything we knew of the gospel, of the
glory of the Lord Jesus. He opened their understanding
to see the meaning and the message of the Old Testament Scriptures. They looked at him and now with
understanding eyes, understanding heart, the ark, that was you. That was a picture of you. And
Noah and his family in the ark. That rainbow after God caused
the waters to to assuage, to be back. That was God's promise. That's you. That was that smitten
rock. That was you. That brazen serpent,
showbread, the golden candlestick, the city of refuge. You're the
one that we flee. He opened their understanding.
He opened the scriptures to their understanding. And they began
to see. And he said, this is what I told you. I told you before
that I must suffer, die, and rise again the third day. And
that my name must be preached starting at Jerusalem. And all
of this is being accomplished in how clearly the Lord revealed
that no human being born in Adam can understand God's book except
the Lord Himself give understanding. Spiritual discernment must be
given. to a needy, helpless sinner,
because the book of God is a closed book. It's a closed book until
the Lord gives eyes to see and ears to hear. Somebody can read
this, you read this right here, and they might say, well, I understand
it. Not unless the Lord gives you
understanding. You don't understand it right now, unless he gives
you understanding right now. You say, well, I've heard this
before, and I understood it before, and I'm still understanding it.
No, you're not. He said, without me, you can do nothing. You can't
do that, no. If you understand it right now,
it's because he's given you understanding. And then while they were hanging
on to every word that he was saying, the Spirit of God moved
upon Luke to reveal the triumphant conclusion of our Lord's earthly
ministry. It says in verse 50 to 53, and
he led them out as far as Bethany. And he lifted up his hands and
blessed them. And he came to pass while he
blessed them. He was parted from them and carried
up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned
to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple,
praising and blessing God. Amen. Who can enter into the
majesty of this moment? He leads them to a place where,
in just a moment, He's going to ascend into heaven. And the
scripture says he lifts up his hands and he invokes a blessing,
a benediction upon them. And while he's being carried
into heaven, he's continuing to bless them. He's speaking
to them. As I was sitting here thinking,
I'm thinking, turn over the book of Acts. Luke was moved to record this. Book of Acts, chapter 1. Speaking to them, it says, verse 1, I'm just going
to read verse 1 until, oh, probably verse 12. The former treatise
have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to
do and teach. until the day in which he was
taken up. After that, he was, through the Holy Ghost, had given
commandment unto the apostles whom he had chosen." Now this
is what he was doing. He was just talking to them.
There he met with them, met in their midst, and he comforted
them, told them, said, peace be to you. And he led them out
to this place. And this is what Luke's talking
about right here. He said, verse three, to whom
he also showed himself alive after his passion, by many infallible
proofs, being seen to them forty days, and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God, and being assembled together
with him, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have
heard of me. For John truly baptized with
water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many
days hence. He was telling them, he said,
the day of Pentecost is coming. It's gonna be a few days. When
therefore, no, but when they therefore were come together,
they asked of him saying, Lord, will thou at this time restore
again the kingdom of Israel? He said unto them, it's not for
you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath
put in his own power. But you shall receive power after
that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria unto the
uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these
things, this is what, when he said he blessed them, he was
talking to them. That's what he was doing. He
said, I'm telling you, this is what's gonna happen. He was blessing them.
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he
was taken up. and a cloud received him out
of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven,
as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,
which also said, you men of Galilee, why stand ye here gazing up into
heaven? The same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you
have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem
from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem, a Sabbath
day journey. Those precious moments that they
had with the Lord after he was raised from the dead, and when
he pleased him to meet with him, just before he was ascended into
heaven, and he blessed him. What did he bless him? He told
him. He told him what was going to happen. This morning, as we've
assembled together, the Lord has blessed us to tell us the
things concerning himself. He opened their understanding. Lord, open our understanding
that we might behold the scriptures, behold you in the scriptures,
for your sake and our