in Luke 24 verses 1 through 8. Let's read
those verses together. Now upon the first day of the
week very early in the morning they came unto the sepulcher
bringing the spices which they had prepared and certain others
with them. You remember in the last two
verses of chapter 23 they These women had seen how his body was
laid there in verse 55, and then they returned and went and prepared
these spices, and then they came very early the next morning and
brought those with them. And they found the stone rolled
away from the sepulcher. And they entered in and found
not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they
were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them
in shining garments. And as they were afraid and bowed
down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, why seek
ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember. That's a key word there,
isn't it? Remember, remember. How he spake unto you when he
was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third
day rise again. And they remembered." They remembered his words. If I announce to you at least
three times that I would not be here on this coming Wednesday
night. I'm not saying that, but if I
did say that, and if I had said it three times on Sunday morning
and Wednesday night, I'm not going to be here on Wednesday
the 25th, I guess it'll be. I'm not going to be here. I want
y'all to meet together, somebody else will preach, and I hope
y'all will come together and worship like we always do, but
I won't be here that day. I'll see you later, but don't
look for me on Wednesday night. Don't expect me. If you came
on Wednesday night and I wasn't here, would you be confused?
Would you be going, where's Chris? Some of you might. I might. Sometimes we just don't listen,
do we? But that's what happened here. You wouldn't say, where
in the world is Chris tonight? That's pretty much what happened
in verses three and four, where his body's not here. The Lord
had told his disciples at least three times, there's three times
recorded in the scriptures. And there are many things that
he did and said that aren't recorded in the scriptures. Listen to
the way he said it in Luke 18 31, clearly, plainly, Then he took unto him the 12
and said unto them, behold, we go up to Jerusalem and all things
that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall
be accomplished. What God has prophesied through
his prophets is gonna bring it to pass. For he, the Son of Man,
me, shall be delivered unto the Gentiles and shall be mocked. and spitefully entreated and
spit it on. And there's a reason why I'm
showing these, I'm emphasizing these details because all of
that had already happened. They had watched it happen. They
heard him say it was gonna happen and they watched it happen. And then his body wasn't there
when they went in the tomb. You see what I'm saying? They
watched all of that. That's not something that happens
every day, that somebody's arrested and mocked and spit on and nailed
to a cross. And he told them that's what
was gonna happen, and it did. And then they went in that tomb.
Part of what he told them was, I'm not gonna be in that tomb
after three days. They shall scourge him and put
him to death, and the third day he shall rise again. Well, you
might think, well, these ladies weren't told that, it was the
12, it was the disciples. No, verses six and seven in our
text. These angels said, he told you,
remember what he told you? So he had told them too. So that's
four times he said it, and probably quite a few more. And not that long before, It
hadn't been that long, because what he was saying was, we're
going to Jerusalem, and here's why. And then they went to Jerusalem.
So it wasn't that long ago. Here's what's good, we're gonna
go to Jerusalem now, and here's what's gonna happen when we go
to Jerusalem, and it happened. I think you get the point, don't
you? I'm gonna be, mocked, arrested,
mocked, spitefully treated, spit on, crucified, and then they
watched all of those things happen, and then rise again. And then
he was arrested, mocked, spitefully treated, spit on, and crucified. Would you think that maybe what
they, that person told you, if they told you those things were
going to happen and you watched them happen, would you think,
he told me the truth? And would you forget? Would you
forget maybe the last part that he said, I'm going to rise from
the dead on the third day? Would you, maybe, maybe they
just, you know, he was telling us and they just forgot that
part. I doubt that. And listen, we're not making
fun of these ladies or the men that also didn't believe. Not
only did the men not believe what the Lord told them, even
after they saw most of it come to pass, but the ladies came
and said, he's not in there. And they didn't believe them
either. They didn't even believe that he wasn't in the two. We're not making fun of them,
we're not condemning them. I pray that what we're doing
is learning something about ourselves and about how gracious our Lord
is to teach us and how that it's by grace through faith that he
saves sinners, faith in himself, faith in his precious blood,
and this is important. I'm not saying this. Sometimes
you can define something by saying what it ain't. And this is not
what we're talking about. This is not what we're seeing
here. I'm not saying that believing the Lord, believing the word
of God, believing the gospel is as easy as believing me if
I told you I'm not gonna be here Wednesday night. It's not the
same thing as far as difficulty is concerned. It's not as easy,
but I'll tell you something, it is that simple. It's just
as simple. It's just as plain. If I tell
you I'm not gonna be here three nights from now, and I'm not,
the gospel is just that simple. It's not easy. In fact, it's
impossible to believe without grace. It was grace that taught
my heart to fear. and grace took away my fear.
I love that song. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, because they are spiritually
discerned, 1 Corinthians 2.14. By grace you're saved through
faith. That's not of yourself, it's the gift of God. It's the
gift of God. And so it's not something you
can do, but I tell you, it's not complicated either. When
God turns the light on, you come to him as a simple-minded child. He said, if you don't come to
me like a little child, then you're not coming. You're not
even gonna see the kingdom unless you come that way. Simple, trusting,
loving faith. I believe him, I believe him.
By his grace, I believe him. It's that simple. These ladies
had watched all but the very last thing that he said come
to pass. They'd watched it all come to
pass. And those are things that don't just, those weren't common,
ordinary things that he said were gonna come to pass. That's
something that would make an impression on you. It's something
that would make you think, he told us this was gonna happen. Nothing confusing about it. All
but the last one had already happened. And now his body is
gone. His body's gone. And they were
much perplexed. And the men later in this chapter
that they'd had time for it to sink in for a while. These ladies
came, you know, the morning of his resurrection. And, you know,
I could see maybe being confused for a little while. The men had
the benefit of having time to think about it. All that he had
said, And all of it coming to pass now, his body just gone
by then, it's gone, it's nowhere to be found. They still hadn't
found it. They experienced everything he
told them coming to pass. And the Lord still had to open
their understanding that they might understand. Here's the
lesson. Here's the gospel truth now.
Look at verse 44 in our text, and we won't get near that far
today, but we need to see that. Why were they much perplexed
about it? You know, it seems almost incredible, isn't it,
that they wouldn't just, you would think that if they went
in there and his body was there, that would be confusing, right?
Wait a minute, he said he was gonna write. This is teaching us something
now about us. and how gracious the Lord is to teach us anyway, in spite
of the fact that we don't even know the one plus one equals
two. Verse 44, and he said unto them,
these are the words which I spake unto you. Remember, the angel
said, remember, while I was yet with you that all things must
be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses. Not only
did he tell them, but he was telling them what they already
knew from the Bible. And then they experienced it
and still didn't get it. And in the Psalms, concerning
me, it's all concerning him. And the gospel's a hymn, the
Bible's a hymn book. Then opened he their understanding,
that they might understand the scriptures. Oh, and look after
that. And he said unto them, thus it is written, and thus
it behooved Christ to suffer. and to rise from the dead the
third day, and that repentance and remission of sin should be
preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these
things. You see them in the scripture
now. I showed you where it says that that was gonna happen. I
told you it was gonna happen when I was with you before, and
now you've seen it happen. You're witnesses of these things.
Plain as the nose on your face, not complicated, not confusing,
but without the Lord supernaturally revealing it to us, we are lost. We're in the dark, confused,
perplexed. We don't know up from down. Could
there be anything more clearly taught in the scripture? If the
Lord leaves you in the dark, if he does not give you eyes
to see and ears to hear, you will stand in a burning house
with smoke all around you and the light of the flames dancing
around you. And someone can come right where
you are and say, the house is on fire. We've got to get out
of here. And you'll stand there and say,
house, fire, get out. You won't have any idea what
they're saying. And they'll even try to pull
you out of the fire. This is spiritual now. Jude 1.22, of
some have compassion, making a difference, and others save
with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment
spotted by the flame, hating even the smoke, that you smell
on their garments, pull them out of the fire. The house is
on fire. But if the Lord does not open
your heart to receive the truth, if he doesn't open your understanding,
if he doesn't give you a love of his truth, you will pull away
from them and run into the flames. I've seen it happen, and you
have too. Remember in Mark chapter nine,
That little demon-possessed boy, his daddy came to the Lord Jesus. The little boy was demon-possessed,
and his dad said sometimes he casts himself into the fire.
We had to pull him out of the fire, and sometimes he throws
himself in the water. And we have to save him, we have
to get him out of the water. And he said to the Lord, if you
can do anything, if there's anything you can do,
have compassion on us and help us. That's his exact words. If there's anything you can do,
have compassion on us and help us. Can you imagine a more pitiful
situation than that? And do you remember what the
Lord said to him? Let me read it to you. Jesus
said unto him, if you can believe, all things are possible to him
that believeth. Think about that for a second.
He said to the Lord, he said to the Lord, if you can do anything,
if you can do anything. And the Lord said, the question
is, can you believe? The question is not, can I do
something? The question is, can you believe on me? There's no
doubt that the Lord can do something about it. Oh, here he is now. In a straight way, the father
of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe. Help. And the question is, will you
believe on the Lord Jesus? There's no doubt he can save
you. There's no doubt whatsoever. Can you believe on him? Can you believe? The question
is not, can the Lord save you? That's not the question. The
question is, can you believe? And you know that same question
was asked in the book of Ezekiel in this form, can these bones
live? That's the question, can these
bones live? Can a sinner believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ? Can dead bones come to life and
get up and walk? Can a sinner come to the Lord
Jesus Christ? That's the question, our lesson
is all about that this morning. She was perplexed and confused
and those women and the men, they didn't know anything. You
know why? Because they're dead. They're
dead in trespasses and sin, they're blind. Blind to the truth of
God, blind to the scripture, plain as the nose on your face.
The problem is not people don't understand the gospel, up here. Can these bones live? Can you
believe? And listen to what it says in
Ezekiel 37, when the hand of the Lord was upon me and carried
me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst
of the valley which was full of bones. There had been a great
battle that had taken place there The dead had lain there for some
time, and all of their flesh and their skin had rotted away,
and they're just skeletons laying in a field. It says, he caused
me to pass by them round about, and behold, there were very many
in the open valley, and lo, they were very dry. They were parched,
dry, dead bones. No life for a long time. They
were extra dead. and he said unto me, son of man,
can these bones live? Boy, what an answer. You know
what Ezekiel said? Oh Lord God, thou knowest. Thou knowest. The only one that
can answer the question can these bones live? And the only one
that can answer the question, can you believe, is the one that's
able to make those bones live. And the one who gives sinners
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, Lord. And listen, that's
in that man's answer. He said, Lord, I believe, help. He wasn't bragging. Well, he
didn't say, well, yo, of course I believe. I haven't taught since
I was Sunday school, you know. He said, Lord, I believe, but
help me. What do you mean help? Help you
what? Help with what? I don't believe. Isn't that what he said? I believe,
Lord, but help me because I don't believe. That's what unbelief is, not
believing. And our faith is full of it.
Our faith is full of that. Can these bones live? With men,
no. With God, yes. Can you believe? With men, no. I believe, but
Lord, help me. Help me because I don't believe.
Without you, unless you help me, unless you have mercy on
me, unless you open my eyes, it'll be plain as the nose on
my face and I still won't see it. If God does not give me faith
in his son, I will run to hell with all of my heart, with people
dragging at me to pull me back. And I'll tell you this, if he
does, if he does give you faith, that which is impossible becomes
the simplest thing you ever did. It really does, doesn't it? If he
does give you faith to believe his word, then believing him, everything
he said is the simplest thing. God is sober, of course he is,
he's God. That's not hard to understand,
is it? That's not hard to get a hold of. He's God. He does
as he pleases. That's what David said. My God's
in the heavens. What does that mean? He does
whatever he wants to do. That's what it means. He's God.
Of course he's sovereign. Of course he does as he, he saves
whom he will. Of course he does. He's God. I'm a sinful wretch and I don't
deserve anything from God, but hell, of course I am. Look at
me. The Lord says it wouldn't be
right to take the children's bread and give it to a dog like
me. Well, of course, that's just the truth. The thing is though,
my house is on fire and he's the door. I've got to have him. Lord, even the dogs eat the crumbs
that fall from the master's table. If I'm not one of your children,
he said, it's not right to give the children's bread to dog.
Well, if I'm not one of your children, let me be your dog. As long as I'm yours. Whatever
I am, I just want to be yours. Now that's what happens when
he turns the light on. The house is on fire. Of course
we got to get out. Of course we've got to go through
the door. There ain't but one. Christ redeemed every soul for
which he died. Of course he did. It's the blood
of God. He's God Almighty in human flesh. He's risen from the dead. Of
course he is. He said he would. Impossible. And yet simple. Simple. They watched it happen. and couldn't believe it until
he opened their understanding. The truth is taught as clearly
here as anything and as anywhere in the word of God. Them walking
in that tomb and not knowing what was going on. What could
be clearer than that? That without God, it's impossible. even though it's the simplest
thing in the world, just to believe God. Did you know it's absolute,
utter insanity not to believe God? You gotta be completely
out of your mind. He's God. He's the only one you
can believe. Who are you gonna believe? To
whom shall we go? That was simple to Simon once the light was on.
To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. And I know that we're not there yet, but I want us to look
at later on again in this same chapter, another part of this.
And I'm gonna be very brief this morning, because I went a little
long while ago, and I don't wanna worry. This is the simplest thing,
but this is something that almost nobody believes, that God has
to reveal his son to you and in you, or you'll never know
him. You'll never know him. As plain as it was, blind as
a bat, Dead in trespasses and sins. Done as a rock. I started to actually bring a
box of rocks this morning. And say, here we are. But I thought
that'd be silly, so I didn't do it. That's what we are. A box of rocks now. You see that
here in the text? Until God opens our understanding. And then it's just as simple
and plain. And Paul said, seeing we have
such hope in Christ, we use great plainness of speech. We don't
have to talk about complicated stuff because the gospel is not
complicated. It's really not. Look at verses 49 through 53. And behold, I send the promise
of my father upon you. Again, God promised something,
God said something's gonna happen and it's gonna happen. That's
what he's saying. Just like what I told you has happened, I'm
telling you what my father, the promises that he's made to his
people, they're coming upon you. And tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem
until you be endued with power from on high. He said, don't
you do anything until I, Give you power. Don't do anything
in the flesh. Don't do anything in the power
of the flesh. Wait for me, and then do what I give you to do. Verse 50, and he led them out
as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed
them. You know, when the Lord blesses
you, he just keeps blessing you, doesn't he? He just blesses you. Over and over and it came to
pass while he blessed them. He was parted from them And carried
up into heaven So he opened up their understanding And then he blessed them And then verse 52 and they worshiped
him That's not going to happen until those other two things
happen He's got to open your understanding
so that you can see the most obvious thing you've ever heard
of. And he's got to bless you, got
to bless you. It's his blessing. And they worshiped
him and they returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually
in the temple praising and blessing God, amen. So he said, don't
you do anything in the power or the excitement of the flesh,
you know, wait on me. And he opened their understanding. Like you remember Lydia in Acts
16, there was a group of women that worshiped together. And
they didn't have a pastor, but they gathered together and worshiped
the Lord. It doesn't say how much they knew or how they had
gotten together or what they understood. But it says this,
the apostle Paul heard about it when he went down there and
preached to them. It says they listened to him. It also says
the Lord opened Lydia's heart and she worshiped. The Lord opened her heart and
that's what happened here. And they worshiped him and they
rejoiced. What did Paul say? We are the
circumcision, the covenant people of God. which worship God in
the spirit. And you remember the third one?
And rejoice in Christ Jesus. That doesn't mean that he's one
of the things we rejoice in. That means we rejoice in Christ
Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. That's who we are.
That's who we are because he gave us understanding and blessed
his people. And they were continually in
the temple. They met with God's people. Is this us this morning? Has God opened your understanding
that you might understand? One of the first things we understand
is that we would never understand unless he gave us grace to understand. And when we do, we rejoice in
what? Doctrine? Facts, how much we
know? No, we rejoice in a person. We rejoice in the Son of God. And we rejoice in the fact that
he gave himself for us and redeemed us with his precious blood. We
rejoice, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set on the right hand of the glory
of God. He that is alive and was dead
and behold is alive forevermore. We rejoice in him and what he
did for us. They met with the people of God
and they praised and blessed God. Let's do that this morning
together in our hearts. Praise the God who took a box
of rocks and opened, made those dead, dry bones live.
That's what he did. And gave me faith in his son.
That's what that picture's. Life, Christ is life. He that
believeth on me, what did he say? Everlasting life. Even dead,
dry bones. Only dead, dry bones. He that believeth on me shall
have everlasting life. Can these bones live? Well, I'll
tell you this. There's just really one answer
to that. He knows. If he makes them live, then yes.
If not, no. And you can't say yes or no.
You cannot answer yes or no to that, but he can.