{"id":868,"date":"2017-04-30T15:31:23","date_gmt":"2017-04-30T22:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/?p=868"},"modified":"2017-04-30T15:31:30","modified_gmt":"2017-04-30T22:31:30","slug":"easters-open-sign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/30\/easters-open-sign\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter’s "Open" Sign"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Third Sunday of Easter<\/font><\/p>\n

April 30, 2017<\/font><\/p>\n

Luke 24:13-35<\/font><\/p>\n

Easter\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d Sign<\/font><\/p>\n

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Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.  <\/span>They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.  <\/span>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.  <\/span>He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”<\/i>  <\/span>They stood still, their faces downcast.  <\/span>One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”  <\/span>“What things?\u201d<\/i> he asked.  <\/span>“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.  <\/span>“He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.  <\/span>The chief priests and our 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.  <\/span>And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.  <\/span>In addition, some of our women amazed us.  <\/span>They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body.  <\/span>They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive.  <\/span>Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”  <\/span>He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  <\/span>Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”  <\/span><\/i>And the beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.  <\/span>As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.  <\/span>But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.”  <\/span>So he went in to stay with them.  <\/span>When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.  <\/span>Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.  <\/span>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?”  <\/span>They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.  <\/span>There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true!  <\/span>The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”  <\/span>Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.  <\/span>(NIV1984)<\/o:p><\/font><\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

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Dear fellow worshipers of our living Lord and Savior,<\/font><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s late.  <\/span>You\u2019re tired or hungry or sick or lost\u2014 pick the malady that suits you best.  <\/span>You have been driving and driving and driving trying to find what you need, but all you see are signs that say: \u201cClosed\u201d \u201cClosed\u201d \u201cClosed.\u201d  <\/span>You had begun to wonder a long time ago if you would ever find what you need.  <\/span>Then suddenly and quite unexpectedly you see it!  <\/span>The sign says:  <\/span>\u201cOpen\u201d!  <\/span>How do you feel?  <\/span>Excited?  <\/span>Relieved?  <\/span>I would probably be feeling a little of both.<\/font><\/p>\n

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If you have ever been in a situation anywhere similar to the one I just described then you will have a head start on trying to understand how I would like us to look at our text for today.  <\/span>The familiar account of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is a very fitting portion of Scripture to turn to when it comes to remembering how and why Easter is an important part of our life all year long.<\/font><\/p>\n

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Today then as we look at this portion of God\u2019s holy Word let\u2019s see how it emphasizes:  <\/span>Easter\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d Sign.<\/i><\/b>  <\/span>There are three things we want to see today.  <\/span>First we will see how Easter\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d sign begins with the empty tomb of our Savior.  <\/span>Then we\u2019ll see how the open empty tomb leads to an \u201cOpen\u201d sign placed above the hearts and minds of Jesus\u2019 disciples.  <\/span>Finally we\u2019ll see how the \u201cOpen\u201d sign above the hearts and minds of these disciples leads to an \u201cOpen\u201d sign for their mouths.<\/font><\/p>\n

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Our text begins on a rather sad note.  <\/span>On the afternoon of that first Easter Sunday two of the Lord\u2019s disciples\u2014 one named Cleopas and the other unnamed\u2014 were leaving Jerusalem<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> headed toward Emmaus some seven miles away.  <\/span>Luke tells us that as they were walking, \u201cThey were talking with each other about everything that had happened.\u201d<\/i>  <\/span>It\u2019s certainly not hard for us to visualize this scene.  <\/span>In the culture and custom of that day and age this was undoubtedly a very animated discussion!  <\/span>Cleopas and the other disciple were taking turns asking each other hard and perhaps even unanswerable questions about what had taken place in Jerusalem over the course of the last three days.  <\/span>But like that toy car that bumps into a wall and then heads off into a different direction these two men kept running into one dead end after another.  <\/span>Why?  <\/span>Because they did not yet realize the meaning of the \u201cOpen\u201d sign of Jesus\u2019 tomb!<\/font><\/p>\n

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The \u201cOpen\u201d sign of Easter, the \u201cOpen\u201d sign of Jesus\u2019 empty tomb is brought out very subtly in the opening verses of our text.  <\/span>Luke very simply says, \u201cAs 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.\u201d<\/i>  <\/span>Christ had indeed physically risen from the dead.  <\/span>On that very morning His empty grave proclaimed an \u201cOpen\u201d sign the likes of which this world had never seen before!  <\/span>But since these disciples did not yet have a \u201cResurrection Faith\u201d everything was still \u201cClosed\u201d to them.  <\/span>A life without faith in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ is a life filled to overflowing with all kinds of questions but extremely few answers and these two men are a perfect example of what that kind of life is like.  <\/span>Look at the end of verse 17.  <\/span>Luke tells us that when Jesus asked these two men what they were tossing back and forth as they walked along the road they \u201cstood still, their faces downcast.\u201d<\/i>  <\/span>These men could not even lift their eyes from the earth.  <\/span>Their heads hung low.  <\/span>Their foreheads were all wrinkled up.  <\/span>Their shoulders were slumped.  <\/span>Every word they spoke was shrouded in weariness and pain\u2014 all because they did not know the meaning of the \u201cOpen\u201d sign of the Lord\u2019s tomb.  <\/span>The tremendous depth of their sadness is then laid out for us to see in verse 21 of our text.  <\/span>After recounting how Jesus had been put to death by the religious leaders of Israel these disciples then confessed, \u201c\u2026but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.\u201d<\/i>  <\/span>From their perspective the door to all their hopes and all their dreams was slammed shut, nailed down tight and posted with a \u201cClosed\u201d sign when Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross of Calvary\u2019s hill.<\/font><\/p>\n

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We can almost feel the pain and the disappointment that filled the hearts and minds of these disciples.  <\/span>In fact, some of us may have even experienced a very similar pain and disappointment on a very personal level.  <\/span>If ever there was a time in our life when we did not realize what the \u201cOpen\u201d sign of Jesus\u2019 empty tomb meant for us, if ever there was a time when we doubted the physical resurrection of Christ then we can understand the depth of the pain and the disappointment that these disciples were experiencing as they walked the road to Emmaus.<\/font><\/p>\n

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Praise God, my friends, that in His grace and in His mercy our risen Lord and Savior does not leave any of His dear disciples\u2014 including us\u2014 to wallow in that kind of pain and disappointment.  <\/span>By the grace of God Easter\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d sign\u2014 the \u201cOpen\u201d sign that God Himself placed above of the empty tomb\u2014 enables our hearts and our eyes to be \u201cOpen\u201d to the truth of Holy Scripture!  <\/span>Luke brings this our in our text as he goes on to tell us, \u201cHe <\/i>(Jesus) said to them, \u2018How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  <\/span>Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?\u2019  <\/span>And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.\u201d<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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There are people who say that the Bible makes no sense to them.  <\/span>There are people who say that the Bible is too difficult and too confusing for them to understand.  <\/span>There are even people who say that the Bible is written in a \u201ccode language\u201d and if you don\u2019t have the \u201ckey\u201d to that \u201ccode\u201d you will never really know what the Bible really says.  <\/span>Here on the road to Emmaus the risen Christ Himself reveals to us that the Bible will indeed always be a \u201cClosed\u201d book\u2014 unless<\/i><\/b> we read it from the perspective of the death and resurrection of the Lord\u2019s Christ!<\/font><\/p>\n

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When by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit we read the Scriptures in the light of Easter\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d sign, when by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit we read the Scriptures in the way they were intended to be read\u2014 with Christ as the focal point from beginning to end\u2014 then all of the Scriptures become an \u201cOpen\u201d book for us!  <\/span>For example, as our text for today very clearly brings out, Easter opens up for us the entire Old Testament.  <\/span>Easter enables us to see that this Book is indeed history, as in His-Story of our salvation.  <\/span>Easter enables us to see with both our minds and our hearts that from the time of the Fall of mankind into sin to the time of Mary and Joseph the Lord God of Israel was putting all the pieces of the puzzle in exactly the right places so that when the \u201cfullness of time\u201d<\/i> had come God\u2019s Son could come into this world to live a perfect live in our place, to die an innocent death to pay the penalty for our sins and then physically rise to life again to guarantee that \u201cIt is finished!\u201d\u2014<\/i> our salvation is complete!  <\/span>Easter enables us to see that from the time of Jesus\u2019 physical resurrection from the dead to the very day that the risen Christ returns to this earth as the Judge of the living and the dead, our living Lord is guiding and directing both the history of this world as well as the future of this world for the good of us\u2014 His Church!  <\/span>Without that Easter perspective, without the Easter proclamation of the open empty tomb of Jesus, a person\u2019s heart and mind will always remain \u201cClosed\u201d \u2014 and subsequently all the Scriptures will remain \u201cClosed\u201d to them as well.  <\/span>But with Easter\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d sign shining brightly in our hearts then just like these two disciples here in our text we too can say, \u201cWere not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?\u201d<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Easter\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d sign must begin with the open empty grave of our living Lord and Savior.  <\/span>From the open empty grave of Jesus, Easter places an \u201cOpen\u201d sign above our heart and mind which in turn places an \u201cOpen\u201d sign above God\u2019s holy inspired Word.  <\/span>The next step in that progression is for an \u201cOpen\u201d sign to be placed on our lips.  <\/span>Luke brings this out in our text when he tells us, \u201cThey got up and returned at once to Jerusalem<\/st1:city><\/st1:place>.  <\/span>There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, \u2018It is true!  <\/span>The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.\u2019  <\/span>Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.\u201d<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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These two disciples knew that they could not keep their mouths closed.  <\/span>These two disciples knew that they could not wait to tell the other disciples about seeing the resurrected Christ.  <\/span>And so without waiting until morning, without complaining that they had to retrace the seven miles back to Jerusalem<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> at night these two disciples just had to share the Good News of Easter with their friends.  <\/span>But before these two disciples even had a chance to tell the other disciples what had happened on the road to Emmaus the disciples in Jerusalem<\/st1:city><\/st1:place> could not contain themselves with the news that they too had seen the risen Lord!<\/font><\/p>\n

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Easter\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d sign my friends, fills us, the Lord\u2019s disciples, with the need to open our mouths and share with the people around us the glorious news of what Jesus\u2019 open and empty tomb means for us and for this entire world.  <\/span>We simply can\u2019t keep quiet about the greatest news this world has ever experienced.  <\/span>No matter what it takes, no matter what it costs, no matter what lengths we need to go to we need to do everything we possibly can to share with others the glorious message:  <\/span>\u201cIt is true!  <\/span>The Lord has risen!\u201d<\/i><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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There are undoubtedly going to be times when we are tired or hungry or lost and no matter how far we travel we will still see \u201cClosed\u201d signs at the most inopportune times.  <\/span>Then there will be the times when our heart will rejoice at seeing a sign that says \u201cOpen.\u201d  <\/span>My prayer is that Easter\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d sign will indeed be a part of each and every day of your life.  <\/span>Let the \u201cOpen\u201d sign of Jesus\u2019 empty tomb daily \u201copen\u201d your heart and your mind to the truths which the good Lord \u201copens\u201d up to you on the pages of His holy Word so that your mouth will always be \u201copen\u201d to share the Good News of Easter:<\/font><\/p>\n

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He is risen!  <\/span>He is risen indeed!<\/font><\/p>\n

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To God be the glory!<\/font><\/p>\n

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Amen<\/font><\/p>\n

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<\/font><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Third Sunday of Easter April 30, 2017 Luke 24:13-35 Easter\u2019s \u201cOpen\u201d Sign     Now that 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}