Welcome to our service today. It's great to be able to gather together and to worship our God. What a privilege it is to meet with the living God. We're going to come now in a time of prayer as we ask God to still us and make us aware that we are actually drawing near to him. So let us pray. As we begin, I'm going to read from 1 Chronicles 29 verses 10 to 16. This is a prayer of David and it relates to preparing for the temple, but very relevant to us as we draw near to God. Let us hear David's words. So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly and David said, Blessed are you, O Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty Indeed, everything that is in the heavens and the earth. Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and you exalt yourself as head over all. Both riches and honour come from you, and you rule over all, and in your hand is power and might. and it lies in your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name. But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from you and from your hand we have given you. For we are sojourners before you, and tenants, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. O Lord, our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build you a house for your holy name is from your hand, and all is yours. What wonderful words from King David. Let us come now before our God in prayer. Let's seek his face together. Lord, we thank you for these words that remind us of your greatness. of your splendor, of your majesty. Indeed, you are exalted above the heavens. There is no limit to your greatness. And we are mere creatures to come before you. We can offer you nothing, nothing that you do not already have. Even now, as we gather, we understand that there is a multitude in heaven who ceaselessly worship you with a purity and a zeal in worship that we cannot match. We offer to you but poor praises. But Lord we praise you that you are our God and you do accept this worship that we bring. through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. O Lord, we ask that you would be among us, that we would know you as a God who is close, that we would know you as our Creator and our Redeemer. Hear us, O God, we pray, and we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, let us join together as we sing our first hymn, How Great Thou Art. Let us sing together. I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder Life half throughout the universe displayed Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art When through the woods and forest plains I wander, I hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees. From lofty mountain grandeur and till the brook How great Thou art, how great Thou art! Then sings my soul and my Saviour God to Thee. And when I think that God, His Son not bearing, Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin. Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee When Christ shall come With shouts of acclamation And take me home What joy shall fill my heart Then I shall bow Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee Let us come now in a time of prayer as we come and confess our sins before our holy God. Let's pray. Lord, as we come to remember your burning purity, your word tells us the impossibility of living with the Holy One, of living among continual burning. And Lord, we feel that to some degree within ourselves. And we acknowledge that we fall so far short of your standards. And so many of our ways are offending in your sight. And Lord, we come and draw near to you. And we ask your forgiveness, Lord, because you've provided a mediator, the Lord Jesus. And he is the only and perfect mediator between God and people. He came and lived a perfect life that we could never have lived, not in a thousand lifetimes. And He took upon Himself our sins and bore them on the cross. And so it is through Him that we come today. Lord have mercy, Lord pity us, look with favor upon us for the sake of your Son and pour out your blessings. Father, we acknowledge that we are utterly unworthy of these things. We deserve nothing but your judgment. But because of the Lord Jesus, we ask that you would give us blessing instead of curse. Lord that you would even give us grace to overcome these sins in our lives, these sins that we wrestle with daily. We know the power of your Holy Spirit at work within us to give us a holy hatred of sin and a godly delight in righteousness. Lord, that you would impart more of yourself to us, more of your purity to us, that we may walk in the newness of life that you have given us, that we might walk in that resurrection power of Jesus, and that we may appear as lights in the midst of this present darkness. So hear us, our God, receive us, we pray. May we enjoy this time of fellowship as we have such wonderful open access through our Lord Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen. Let us hear from God's word. from Isaiah 53, I'm just going to read one verse, verse 6. Isaiah 53 and verse 6. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him. What an amazing prophecy of the coming ministry of the Lord Jesus. Brothers and sisters as we hear God's word be comforted Understand that he has caused all of your iniquity to fall on the Lord Jesus and he bore that all the way to the cross. Let us sing together as we respond with joy, Rock of Ages cleft for me. Hide me now, my refuge be. Let the water and the blood from your wounded side which flowed before sin the double cure. Save me from its guilt and pain. ♪ Could my tears forever flow ♪ All for sin could not atone ♪ You must save and you alone ♪ Nothing in my hands Naked come to you for dress Helpless look to you for grace Stained by sin to you I cry Wash me, Savior, or I die We're going to come now to a time of intercessory prayer. So let's bow together as we bring some general needs of our world together before God's throne of grace. Let's pray. Father, we thank you that your throne is a throne of grace for us in Jesus Christ and we thank you that we can now approach this throne of grace with boldness. We thank you that we do not have to come cringing with fear, but we can come with a degree of confidence, a high degree, not because of anything in us, but because the Lord Jesus has opened the way so that we are welcome. We are made children through him. and so we can approach you as our Father. We know you love us for the sake of Christ and that you will hear us. Those that are fathers among us listen to our children with their concerns. How much more will you listen to our concerns? Father, We want to pray for our world. We want to remember those that are suffering at this time. Father, we pray that you would, in various ways, minister to them in their need, whether it's been the death of loved ones, whether it's battling illness, or whether it's isolation or famine or whatever difficulties they are facing. Father, we pray that you would use this for good. Father, we believe, we know that you are in control of all of these things, that you are the sovereign God, that none of these things is happening outside of your control, that you are not looking upon these things helplessly, wishing to do something but unable. But on the contrary, you are in complete control of it, Lord. And you're permitting these things to happen at this time. We don't know the reasons, the specific reasons, but we do know that we are a rebellious race and that we have turned our backs upon you. And you have allowed us, in some measure, to feel something of the consequences of this. though we must understand that you have not given this world the full measure of that for if you did we would have perished in judgment long ago. Lord we pray for our leaders Father, and as many now consider relaxing the restrictions that have been placed upon us, we pray that you would give them wisdom, and we pray that it would be done carefully and wisely. We pray that people would respect their leaders, even though they may not always agree with the way things are done. and we pray Lord that nevertheless we would offer them the respect that is due to them because you have given them authority to rule. Father we pray that in due time that these restrictions would be lifted and that we may be able to meet together not only as friends and family and neighbours and work colleagues, but we may be able to meet together in worship. For this is one of the greatest joys and delights that you have given to us as believers, to meet together in worship, to come together in unity, to come together being united together through the Holy Spirit and to join our voices and our hearts together before you. Lord, we look forward to that time. Give us an ever-increasing longing for this, even as we see it as but a foretaste of heaven, our final destination. Father, we pray that in the midst of this hardship, this present crisis, Father, we pray that you would use it for good. We pray that we, as a race, would feel that we are but flesh. We are only human. We are creatures of the dust. And because we've rebelled against you, to dust we shall return. We pray that the people of this world may feel that they are frail, that they are not able to tackle life alone, that you never designed us to live independently of you. We pray, Father, that many in this time may humble themselves, that you may use these circumstances that are under your control, that you would use them for their everlasting blessing. and they may come to call upon your name and find you to be a God who is so near to us, even while we were far away. So Lord, please hear us in these things, continue to work in each of us, continue to stir up our hearts, Continue to give us a deeper longing for you and a longing to see Jesus. Give us a deeper desire to read the Scriptures and to pray and to speak of you and to worship you and praise you. Please, Lord, hear us in these prayers and be with us now. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to come now to the reading of Scripture. And for our reading, not the sermon passage, but the one before, I've chosen 2 Kings 6. And our theme later on well at least in part of the sermon will be spiritual vision and I think that this is a wonderful story that illustrates one who was unable to see spiritual realities and then by the blessing of God his eyes were opened so that he was enabled to see. So let's read 2nd Kings chapter 6 beginning at verse 8 through to 23. This is an incident in the life of the prophet Elisha. Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel and he counseled with his servants saying, in such and such a place shall be my camp. The man of God sent word to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there. The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there more than once or twice. Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel? One of his servants said, No my lord, O king, but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom. So he said, go and see where he is, that I may send and take him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master, what shall we do? So he answered, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Then Elisha prayed and said, O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. And the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, Strike this people with blindness, I pray. So he struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. Then Elisha said to them, This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. And he brought them to Samaria. When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, O LORD, open the eyes of these men that they may see. So the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. Then the king of Israel, when he saw them, said to Elisha, My father, shall I kill them? shall I kill them? He answered, you shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them. Then they may eat and drink and go to their master. So he prepared a great feast for them. And when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel. We'll praise God for his word. We're going to sing now before the throne of God above. I have a strong and perfect wing A great high priest whose name is love Whoever lives and keeps for me My name is graven on his hand My name is written on his heart I know that while in heav'n he stands Satan tempts me to despair And tells me of the guilt within Onward I look and see him there Because the sinless Saviour died, my sinful soul is counted free. For God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me. To look on Him and pardon me. My perfect spotless righteousness The great unchangeable I am The King of glory and of grace Born with Himself I cannot die My soul is purchased by His blood With Christ on high With Christ my Saviour and my God Let us come now to prayer. And we now ask God for help as we seek to understand his word together. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that it is trustworthy. We thank you that you have not left yourself without witness. But you've given us this book, your book, so we may read and understand and know your truth. Lord we would ask that today we may be given insight into your word. We pray for your Holy Spirit to come upon each of us and break through any remaining blindness so that we may understand what you are saying to us. Please Lord be with me as I seek to explain it We pray that you may guide and bless these words to the glory of your name. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's turn to our sermon passage. It's to be found in Luke's Gospel, Luke chapter 24. So we're in the final chapter of Luke, we've been working our way for some time through Luke's Gospel and we are now looking at Jesus' resurrection appearances. We're going to consider today verse 36 to 45. Luke 24 verse 36 to verse 45. Let's read God's word together. While they were telling these things, he himself stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be to you. But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And he said to them, why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, he said to them, Have you anything here to eat? They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it before them. Now he said to them, These are my words, which I spoke to you while I was still with you. that all things which are written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. We continue the story of Jesus' resurrection appearances. On the first day of the week, Jesus appeared to two disciples some distance from Jerusalem. After these disciples saw that it was Jesus, they went back to Jerusalem and told the eleven apostles and those who were with them. While these two disciples were giving their report to the gathered disciples in Jerusalem, Jesus stood among them. This brings us up to date to the passage we're looking at now. As we consider this text, we will look at the fact of Jesus' bodily appearance. And then we're going to turn to just the last two verses of this section and look at Jesus' words to his disciples. The theme that we're going to consider today, as a sort of a theme that spans both these sections, is overcoming unbelief. The first point, verse 36 to 43, is that Jesus overcame their unbelief by showing himself bodily. So he overcame their unbelief by showing himself bodily or in bodily form with a real human body. Secondly then, verse 44 and 45, he overcame their unbelief, that's the unbelief of the disciples, by opening their minds to understand the scriptures. So there are two points. for today. He overcame their unbelief by showing himself bodily or physically. As we've read, Jesus stood in their midst and he came in unaware and he stood there and he said, peace be to you. These are the first words it seems that Jesus spoke to the gathered disciples. And this was no conventional greeting, though it is a common greeting, still a common greeting among Jewish people, Shalom. But this was no mere conventional greeting, but an assurance to his disciples. These disciples were huddled together in fear, we're told that in John chapter 20. Many of these disciples also had failed their Lord. Not only did Peter deny Jesus, but the others, we're told, left him and fled when Jesus was arrested. But the first thing Jesus says when he sees them all together alive from the dead, the first thing he says is peace, peace be to you. Now it is well with your soul. I have come, I have paid the price of your sin, I have risen from the dead, I have overcome. It is well with your soul. But the disciples did not receive this welcome very well. We're told in verse 37 that they were both startled and frightened. They thought that they were seeing a spirit. So why were they startled and afraid? Well perhaps we can understand them being startled, they were there behind closed doors. John 20 verse 19 tells us that the doors were closed because of the fear of the Jews. That word that translated closed could also mean locked. And then suddenly someone stood in their midst and spoke. You can understand them being startled by that. But they said they were also afraid. They were afraid. Because, perhaps, because they didn't know how Jesus managed to come into the room, the door was locked. Perhaps they were afraid because of his appearance. It tells us here they thought they were seeing a spirit. I'm sure that there was some change to Jesus' appearance, that seems evident from the record of his resurrection. Perhaps his appearance was so different that they thought they were seeing a spirit. What follows in this account is the proof that Jesus was not a mere spirit. and that he had been raised bodily, and that he was standing there with a real human body, although a resurrected body, in their midst. In verse 13, he challenges their unbelief. He says, why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your heart? That was their problem. Unbelief. They still were not convinced that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. These were not gullible Galileans, but rather they struggled to come to a place to believe that he had actually risen bodily. And so Jesus, with all his love and compassion and grace, stoops to their weakness. He says in verse 39, and my feet, that it is I myself. And perhaps what Jesus is saying here is that look, look at the nail marks in my hands and my feet. See that it is truly me, although there is some difference of my appearance, yet by these marks you could know that it is certainly me. And then he says to them, touch me. and see for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. Touch me, see that it is real flesh. I'm not simply a spirit. There is much speculation concerning the nature of Jesus' resurrected body. You know, we read some strange things. We read of him vanishing and appearing in certain places. We read of him possibly passing through doors. While the doors are locked, he just appears in their midst. We don't understand these things. We don't know how properly to interpret it. But one thing is for sure, and that is that his body is a physical one. His body is a physical one. The Apostle Paul addresses this issue, why not particularly of Jesus' resurrection body, but resurrected bodies in general, that they are physical. In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, He says this, verse 35, but someone will say, how are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come? What kind of body? That's the issue that he seeks to answer. And he shows how there are different kinds of bodies and there's also a change he refers to, a change in their outward physical nature. Verse 42 he says, so also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body. So there are definite changes between the body that was pre-resurrection and the body that is post-resurrection. He goes on to talk about the difference a bit more in verse 50, he says, I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery, we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." The change that Paul is speaking about here is the difference between being perishable and imperishable. At present our body dies, it perishes, it rots, but we shall receive a kind of body that does not die. But make no mistake, it is still a physical body. This is what we are awaiting, a new real flesh and blood body. Now still, even at this point, it seems they're not fully convinced, or at least these disciples were unable to process this information. It says in verse 41, while they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, It just couldn't grasp this truth, it was too big. And it was like sometimes when you might receive some really good unexpected news, or sometimes some really bad unexpected news, like someone's death. It's hard to grasp these things. We're sort of in a, we're almost in a dream world. We're wondering whether it's real or not. We want to pinch ourselves to see if we're really awake. Maybe we'll go to sleep and wake up in the morning and it will all have been a dream. It's just hard to process. Maybe they were in that kind of frame of mind. And so to make it all the more clear to them, He proves his bodily resurrection by asking for something to eat. It says that they gave him a piece of broiled or grilled fish and he took it and ate it before them. We see here the Lord Jesus in his great patience toward these unbelieving disciples. But here it is, Jesus proofed the reality of his resurrection by appearing to them physically with these proofs. So we have before us the evidence that Jesus was raised from the dead bodily. That body that was laid in Joseph's tomb. was raised. Although changed and had different properties, nonetheless it was that body that was raised. Now before we move on from this first point, I want to draw out something very important that we should glim from the truth of Jesus' bodily resurrection. And this is the point. Jesus' bodily resurrection is the guarantee of our own bodily resurrection. Jesus' bodily resurrection is the guarantee of our own bodily resurrection. Jesus came to save us and to save us in our entirety. Not only our soul, but also our body. He came to overcome death, both spiritual and physical. And that's why it's so important for us to affirm that he physically, bodily rose from the dead. The body, our bodies, are important to God. They're an important part of us. And Jesus came to save these very bodies of ours. That's why we should treasure our bodies, because the Lord treasures our bodies. So the body is important. And as we see this resurrection of Christ from the dead bodily, we need to look at that as a guarantee, almost a promise. of our own bodily resurrection. Paul often argues that there's a connection between the two. He tells us that through faith, through faith we are joined to Jesus in an amazing way. Not only does our sin become his, but also His death and resurrection become ours. Paul stresses that we have both died with Christ, but we also share with Jesus in his resurrection. That's spiritually and physically. Already the Christian experiences that spiritual aspect of resurrection. Now we are people that are alive from the dead, but later on also our body. We must understand this connection between Jesus' resurrection and our own. Listen to what Paul says when he's talking specifically about the bodily resurrection, how he connects it to Jesus' resurrection. He uses the word conformity as if Jesus' resurrection is a pattern that we will follow. This is from Philippians chapter 3 verse 20 and 21. He says, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state, that's our present body, into conformity with the body of his glory, that's his resurrected body, by the exertion of the power that he has even to subject all things to himself. He subjects death to his rule and so our bodies will be conformed to Jesus' body. there is an order that we must observe as well there is an order we do not yet experience that physical resurrection that is still up ahead listen to how Paul explains it in 1st Corinthians 15 and verse 20 and then over to verse 23 he says but now Christ has been raised from the dead the firstfruits of of those who are asleep. The firstfruits, that's a metaphor that he's using. The firstfruits, that is the first part, the first ripe part of the harvest that guarantees that the rest of the harvest is about to follow. Jesus has been risen, that's the firstfruits, but then the rest of the harvest will follow. and become ripe, verse 23, but each in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, after that those who are Christ's at his coming. That is the order. We might use a different analogy. We could think of a train and carriages. the train pulls the carriages it goes up ahead where the train goes the carriages eventually follow and in a similar way because we're joined to Jesus where he is gone so we will also as he's been raised bodily we will follow and be raised bodily And so, my brothers and sisters, as we read this passage and see the evidence of Jesus' bodily resurrection, we have in this passage an assurance of our own future resurrection that will happen on the last day. Paul speaks about this in 1 Thessalonians. He adds not only the idea of a resurrection for those who have died, but also the instantaneous transformation of those who are still living. They also get a resurrection body. 1 Thessalonians 4, 14-18. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, and the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall always be with the Lord. That's our future. Because Jesus has been raised, so also shall we. We die. One day we will expire in this world and breathe our last if Jesus delays his coming. But just as surely as Jesus was raised, so also shall we, so shall you, child of God. As we look at Jesus and as we see that he's risen from the dead, he came out of that tomb with this wonderful new body never to die, so you also will rise from the grave. and have a body that will never die. For those who are not yet Christians and who are not joined to Jesus, for those that persist in that till their dying day, there will also be a resurrection. But they will be raised to stand before Jesus in judgement. They will have to stand before Jesus and give an account for their refusal to believe and their persistent rebellion. They will be raised to go away to everlasting punishment, both soul and body. But for believers, it is a resurrection to everlasting life. Everlasting life. What an amazing hope for the children of God. Let us come now to our second point, the remaining two verses. And we're going to spend a little bit of time considering these important verses. We've already considered that Jesus overcame their unbelief by showing himself bodily alive from the dead. But he also overcame their unbelief by opening their minds to understand the scriptures. In other words, it wasn't enough for him simply to show himself alive. That wasn't it. That's not where Jesus stopped. He also went on to enable them to see his life, death and resurrection in the Scriptures. Verse 44 and 45, Now he said to them, These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which were written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled, that he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures." It wasn't enough just to see Jesus alive. Of course that was important. It was important for them to be his witnesses and to testify to the world. He's alive. But it was insufficient. It was insufficient. Many saw Jesus do amazing things, but it didn't make them believe. In fact, most of the people that saw him do astonishing things, even raise other people from the dead at his command, still they refused to believe. Faith does not come by seeing, but by hearing. Romans chapter 10 verse 17, Paul tells us, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. By the Word of God. That's how faith comes, it's by hearing God speak through His Word and by His Spirit. And so Jesus points them back to the scriptures and reminds them about the things that he had already taught them. He told them so much about the content of the Old Testament. He'd already revealed in so many places throughout the whole of the Old Testament, the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms, those prophecies that spoke of him and his coming. He told them that they must be fulfilled. They must be fulfilled. And throughout Luke's gospel and the other gospels there are so many quotes, so many references to scripture that spoke of Jesus, his life, his death and his resurrection. The Old Testament speaks of Jesus. And so we must never be those who neglect the Old Testament. If we neglect the Old Testament, we neglect so much of the teaching of Christ and about him. We read earlier from Isaiah 53, what an astonishing prophecy of the death of Jesus, so clear. and so many other prophecies of him and so many types and shadows of his ministry indeed the whole sacrificial system which pointed to his once for all sacrifice. Oh the Old Testament speaks of Christ indeed essentially the message of the Old Testament is the same as that of the New Testament and we will fail to understand much of the New Testament without this Old Testament background. So I implore you to be not only a student of the New Testament, but also of the Old. It may be more work in some places, may be harder for us to grasp its meaning, but there is much to be learned from the Old Testament, particularly about the Lord Jesus Christ. So he gave them so much teaching in the past, from the Old Testament, about what he was going to do. It says, these are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you. He had already given them much instruction in the Old Testament. So they had this teaching, but unfortunately the disciples failed to understand that teaching. They failed to understand that teaching. For if they understood it, they would not have been surprised at his death and resurrection. Luke 18, Luke 18 verse 31 to 34 shows what Jesus is talking about here. Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon. And after they have scourged him, they will kill him, and the third day he will rise again. but the disciples understood none of these things. And the meaning of this statement was hidden from them and they did not comprehend the things that were said. So they had this teaching but they didn't understand it. What was lacking? What was lacking? Well the answer to that is given in verse 45. then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. The problem of a lack of understanding was not in the Scriptures themselves, nor was it in Jesus' prior teaching. It wasn't that there was insufficient instruction or clarity in what Jesus said. The problem was in them. They did not understand. And it wasn't because they were uneducated fishermen. It wasn't in the end an intellectual problem. Most of the learned people of the day did not understand at all when Jesus came. They had no understanding really of the teaching and meaning of scripture. This lack of understanding was spiritual. It's a blindness that requires outside help. It says that he opened their mind. He opened their mind. Now an open mind is perhaps not what we think about an open mind. You know, if we think of a person with an open mind, we might think of someone who is willing to have their views challenged, or a person who is open to new ideas. That's not exactly what it means here. To have one's mind opened means that they have an ability to see spiritual truths clearly. An ability to see spiritual truths clearly. And this is exactly what the disciples needed to overcome their remaining unbelief. and that's exactly what we need also to overcome our remaining unbelief. For we struggle in similar ways to the disciples. Just consider that most of us have Bibles and read the Bible, and we read of such astonishing things in Scripture, such as we've been reading today. But we come away from reading the Scripture either not understanding its meaning, or perhaps not understanding its importance. We go away maybe with a bit of information in our head but we have not seen the glory of the truths of scripture. We are like ignorant people who are looking at precious diamonds. I think years ago when I went to look for a diamond with my wife when we were engaged for an engagement ring and just looking at all these diamonds I had no real idea of what I was looking at. Could have given me a cheap fake and I would have been happy with that. I didn't know what I was looking at. And so it is so often that that's exactly our problem as we come to the scriptures. We do not understand what we're looking at. We do not see the priceless value of the truths that are contained in the scriptures. And this reality is something that faces us as believers. And it explains for us Paul's prayer for the Ephesians. In Ephesians 1, verses 17 and 18, this is his prayer for the Ephesians. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know what is the hope of His calling. What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints? Paul prayed. He'd already communicated the truth to them. They knew it. It was probably in their heads. He wasn't telling them anything new, but he prayed that now the eyes of their heart would be enlightened so that they could see the wonder and the amazement and feel the power of these truths in their lives. It also helps us to understand the prayer of the psalmist, Psalm 119, where he prays this very prayer to God. Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from your law. They're already there. The Bible is full of wondrous things. but so often our eyes are closed to it. As believers, we are those who have regained our sight, to be sure, but still we are vision impaired. We don't see very clearly. The lights are on, but the light is dim. so that we cannot see the beauty of the objects. Like being in a room full of marvellous treasure but the lights being so dim we cannot make them out until the lights are turned up. We read in scripture that the God of glory hung on a cross and we read that dry-eyed, unmoved, We read that God has sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in us, corrupt creatures. God's Holy Spirit in a heart still possesses corruption and we are not utterly stunned. We pick up the Bible and read and we fall asleep. Or we choose to do something else. We choose to turn on the television, watch some pointless movie and push aside the story of God. What is wrong with us? What is wrong with us? Terrible unbelief, terrible blindness. that prevents us from seeing the glory of the truths of Scripture. But the great news of this text is this, that Jesus opens minds. Jesus opens minds so that we can understand the scriptures, and not just in an intellectual sense understand what's being said, understanding its meaning, but seeing its importance, its relevance, and feeling its power. Our blindness, your blindness, can be overcome, and Jesus is willing. Jesus opens minds. If we understand what's being said today, this is exciting. And this should fill us, fill us with excitement. What if the Lord came to you and took you up to heaven and pulled back the veil so you could look into heaven? What an astonishing thing. What an astonishing thing. That happened to John, the apostle. But a similar thing can happen to us as he opens our mind and pulls back the veil and helps us to see the things recorded in Scripture. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 9 and 10. He says this, but just as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear not heard, and which has not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit. Oh God has revealed those things. Things that are astonishing, things that haven't even entered the heart of people. All that God has prepared for those who love Him, and here it is in Scripture, revealed by the Spirit. These things we can come to understand as Jesus opens our mind. Oh Lord Jesus, open our mind. Open our mind. Oh Lord Jesus, forgive us for our blindness. Forgive us for reading these things of your life and death and resurrection and almost yawning at it. Oh Lord Jesus, forgive us for not being continually overwhelmed with gratitude for the treasures that you have granted to us. Oh Lord Jesus, open our minds. Well before we conclude, I want to say something to those who are not believers, who may be watching. I cannot assume that all who are listening have saving faith. I don't know who's listening, but even in a church gathering there are always people who do not have true saving faith. If you're in that category today, please hear these words. Your situation is far worse. Far worse than these disciples who are just vision impaired. You are not just vision impaired, but have total blindness. You do not have eyes to see. You may have eyes to see the physical world, but no ability to truly perceive the spiritual. Like we read from 2 Kings earlier, the servant of Elisha, he could see this physical army that was surrounding the town, but he had no ability to see into the spiritual realm, these angels. And in a similar way, If you're an unbeliever, you have no ability to see in any sense into the spiritual realm and understand it clearly. Let me read a few scriptures to you. 1 Corinthians 2.14, But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them. because they are spiritually appraised. 2 Corinthians 3, 14-16. talking about unbelieving Jewish people here, but it relates to all unbelieving people, but their minds were hardened. For until this very day at the reading of the old covenant, or the Old Testament, the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ, but to this very day, Whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart. But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Over in chapter 4, verses 3 and 4, But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving. so that they may not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. And lastly from Ephesians chapter 4 verses 17 and 18 he says, So this I say and affirm together with the Lord that you walk No longer just as the Gentiles, that is the unbelieving people, also walk in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart. What a horrendous description of a person who is unbelieving, a horrendous blindness, spiritual blindness. And this, my friends, is one difference between a true believer and those who are not. And in this we can sort of assess ourselves as to where we stand with God Do I see the glory? As we just read from 2 Corinthians 4, their minds are blinded so that they do not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. Verse 6, for God who said light shall shine out of darkness is the one who has shone in our hearts. to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Have you seen that light? Have you been awed as you look into the face of Christ? Have you seen the glory of God radiate there? If you were spiritually blind, then you'll never truly understand the scriptures. You may dedicate your life to studying it for the simple reason that you lack eyes and you'll ever remain in unbelief. Paul speaks of such people at the end of the book of Acts. These were people who came to hear the word of God from Paul and yet rejected it. Paul quotes from Isaiah, go to this people and say, you will keep on hearing, but you will not understand. You will keep on seeing but will not perceive for the heart of this people has become dull and with their ears they scarcely hear and they have closed their eyes. Without eyes you will never find the way to salvation. You will never find that narrow path that leads to life. You will never see Christ as he truly is. You'll never be led to trust and adore him until you have eyes to see. But instead you'll be led about by the great deceiver Satan and be guided where he wants you to go, which will end in the pit of everlasting destruction. Oh, this truth is not easy to take. It is indeed a humbling truth to think that I am so blind, I cannot see, I cannot read, I cannot understand. But that is the truth of Scripture and that's where we need to come. So that in our desperation, we will come to God and we will cry out to Him for eyes to see. Oh, may God give to you such a burning desire. May you feel your need. May you be humbled and brought low to come to Him and cry out for eyes. Lord, help me to see. Ask Jesus for help. In chapter 4 of Luke, verse 18, it tells that He has come to give sight to the blind. Oh Jesus will come to give sight to you if you but ask Him and seek Him, ask Him to open your mind and He will open your mind as He did to the disciples. That you may hear, that you may understand, that as a result you may believe, because you will see Him, you will understand Him, you will see something of His glory, you will trust Him, and you'll be saved. May it be that each one of us has eyes to see. May almighty God, our gracious God, grant to each one of us eyes to see. And even if we're believers today, may he open our minds to understand the scriptures and see the glory of the magnificent treasures that God has given to those who love him. Amen. Let us pray. Oh Lord Jesus, we thank you to read this account of you. We thank you to read of your magnificent resurrection, bodily. And we praise you how you came to overcome the unbelief of the disciples. Not only by showing yourself, by turning them to the scriptures and opening their minds to understand, oh Lord, overcome our unbelief and any remaining unbelief in us. Hear us, Lord. We desperately need you. We're utterly powerless without you. Grant to us our request for we pray in your name. Amen. Let us conclude with speak O Lord. As we come to you to receive the food of your grace. Take your truth, plant it deep in us, shape and fashion us in your likeness. That the light of Christ might be seen today in our acts of ♪ And our deeds of faith ♪ Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility. Test our thoughts and our in the radiance of your purity. Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see your majestic love and authority. Let the truth prevail over unbelief. Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds. Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us. And by grace we'll stand on your promises And by faith we'll walk as you walk with us Let us come as we conclude our time of worship to thank our God and ask for his blessing upon us. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this time. We thank you that your word is magnificent. We thank you that it speaks to us of Christ. We thank you, Lord Jesus, we see something more of you in your word. Lord, bless these truths to our soul. May you do your work in our hearts. May you cause us to grow, cause our faith to grow. cause our love and our devotion to you to grow, that we might live for you as you have lived and died for us. Go with us, we pray, in the power of your spirit. May we know your blessing resting upon each of us. We pray for Jesus' sake. Amen.