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Sunrise: Ill-Prepared for the Cross

Easter

Apr 21, 2019


by: Jack Lash Series: Easter | Category: Easter | Scripture: Luke 24:6–9
I. Introduction
 A. When Jesus was 30 years old, He began His public ministry. And one of the first things He did was to choose 12 men to be His disciples.
 B. And for three years, Jesus spent most of His time training the Twelve to continue His ministry after He was gone.
II. Jesus did all He could, but frankly, after Jesus was taken away from His disciples, the disciples didn’t do so well.
 A. In their final hours with the Lord before the cross, they didn’t look like they were ready to move on without Him.
  1. At the Last Supper, they argued about who was the greatest among them.
   a. Then Judas left to betray Him.
   b. And Peter boasts about his loyalty
  2. And then after the Last Supper, the disciples didn’t do any better.
   a. Fell asleep twice in Gethsemane during the Lord’s time of agony.
   b. When they come to arrest Jesus, Peter jumps up and cuts off the high priest’s servant’s ear.
  3. Then Peter denies Jesus in the courtyard because he was so afraid of getting arrested with Jesus.
 B. As their Lord was being crucified, John is the only one who showed his face.
  1. Apparently, the other disciples were cowering in fear and grief.
 C. The stories of the morning of the resurrection are remarkable for their absence of the Twelve.
  1. They were together, it seems, at least some of them, because the women went to tell them that the tomb was empty and they finally came out of hiding to check out the empty tomb.
III. Jesus had prepared them for this moment. Repeatedly, He had told them that what was going to happen. But it never got into their thick skulls.
 A. One time Jesus said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” – Luke 9:43–44 But still it didn’t sink in.
 B. A few hours before he was arrested, He had said to them, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”
  1. But they didn’t get it. So, He made it even clearer: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a baby has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” – John 16:16–22
  2. But the disciples unwillingness to accept what Jesus told them about the crucifixion prevented them from being able to hear what Jesus told them about the resurrection.
IV. Jesus has prepared you for whatever comes your way. And yet so often, we are like the disciples in that we act like we haven’t been prepared at all.
 A. He has prepared you for tomorrow.
 B. He has prepared you for your dark night of the soul.
 C. He has prepared you for the happiest day of your life.
 D. He has prepared you to lose a loved one.
 E. He has prepared you for rejection and for temptation and for confusion.
 F. He has prepared you for the day of your death.
V. But just because He’s prepared you, it doesn’t mean you’re prepared. The disciples weren’t. They didn’t pay attention. They didn’t go back to what He promised. They didn’t give Him credit for knowing what He had been talking about.
 A. They hadn’t paid attention to the things they didn’t like to hear, they hadn’t treasured Christ’s words and stored them in their hearts. So, when they needed them, they were gone.
 B. We need to pay close attention to God’s word, even when it doesn’t seem to apply right now. He’s graciously preparing us for things in our future.
 C. And when things happen in your life: when you get a promotion, or you get a proposal. When you find out you have cancer, or your identity gets stolen, or someone lets you down, go back to the things Jesus said. Go back to His promises, go back to His instructions, go back to His words.
 D. Then you won’t have to be hiding in the shadows; you won’t need to be afraid; you won’t need to feel hopeless; you won’t be paralyzed by shock.
VI. This doesn’t means it’s going to be easy.
 A. Jesus wept when Lazarus died. He sweat tears of blood.
 B. It just means you don’t have to panic. You don’t need to fret.
VII. But when we face everything in light of His promises:
 A. That He makes everything work together for good for those who love Him & are called
 B. That He has a good purpose for the suffering He allows in our lives
 C. That this world isn’t our home, but He is coming again to take us to live in a new heavens/earth
 D. That He doesn’t forget our sorrows but is with us in them to help us and sustain us and guide us.
VIII. Conclusion
 A. Today we celebrate a day unlike any other in human history.
  1. Early in the morning, things were more bleak than at any time in history.
  2. By the end of the day, a tsunami of hope – unprecedented in human history – was beginning its sweep across the world.
  3. And that is where we are too. We live in a dying world, a world of vanity and futility. And yet a new world has already begun. Christ has been raised, the first fruits of a new creation. That’s our new identity. He has delivered us from this present evil age.
 B. The disciples should have known better. They should have known what was going to happen.
  1. Jesus knew. That’s what got Him through it. Hebrews 12:2 “for the joy that was set before him {He} endured the cross.”
  2. But the disciples were slow learners, like us.
 C. Fortunately, Jesus was very patient with His disciples.
  1. Luke 24:6-9 “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
 D. And He’s patient with us as well.
  1. But the sooner we learn to view the circumstances of our lives and the world around us in light of the truth of Christ, the sooner we will be free from worry and anger and discouragement.
  2. The sooner we respond to His invitation to come to Him when we are burdened and heavy-laden, the sooner we will be able to joyfully rest in His amazing love.