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Amen. Amen. Man, Luke chapter 24 beginning in verse number 1, the Bible reads, 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. 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 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. So we see here that these two men are in fact angels. And throughout the Bible, when angels show up, people will often just think that they're just normal guys. Like, for example, when the two angels go into Sodom and Gomorrah, and they just think that they're just two normal men. That's how they looked. And so they recall to the minds of these women that Jesus had already told them that this was going to happen, that He would be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day rise again. But what's interesting is how people don't listen. And even though He told this to them, it didn't register with them. The disciples heard this a few times, it didn't click, it didn't register with them. And that's simply because when you tell people things that go against their opinions or their ideas or their way of thinking, a lot of times it just goes right over their head. Because it's not what they're expecting to hear. So sometimes when you're explaining something that's really different than someone's preconceived idea, you have to go over it a few times. And even then they might not get it. And you'll probably notice this out of soul winning when you talk to people, how you can just show them it's by faith, it's not by works, you know. And you just show them verse after verse after verse. And then at the end of it all you ask them, so what do you believe a person has to do to go to church, live a good life? And it's not that they're disagreeing with you, it's that they didn't register anything that you said. It all went right over their head. Because it's so different than what they're expecting. You know, I talked to my wife after she had first gotten saved. Of course when she got saved she was not my wife, but later became my wife. But when she got saved, she told me that it only just registered with her what I was saying, that the Gospel was just believing on Christ, that salvation was only by faith. Pretty much the day or the day before she got saved did it finally click with her. And I'm thinking to myself, I'd already been hammering that, I'd already told you that over and over again. But because it was so different than her opinion or what she grew up with, you know, when people hear you talk they kind of translate it into what they think you're saying or what they expect you to say or what they want you to say. And so just be aware of that. And especially when it comes to things that are really ingrained in people. You know, we talked about soul winning. Sometimes work salvation is ingrained or losing your salvation is ingrained. But even amongst saved Christians, certain false doctrines become ingrained and things like the pre-tribulation rapture or things like, you know, being pro-Israel and things. Just because they're so hammered so many times and they just grow up believing that way that a lot of times it's going to take time for people to come around on those issues because of the fact that it's going to take time to sink in. I mean, the disciples were good guys. The apostles were great men who would go on to turn the world upside down. But even they couldn't always grasp the clear teaching from Jesus because it wasn't what they were expecting to hear. You know, I remember one time I got up and I preached a sermon for like well over an hour where I was preaching against birth control. And then like literally days later someone from the church, this is in the really early days, days later someone in the church is like, so, you know, are you guys done having kids and this and that? And I'm thinking to myself like, you were just at a church service two days ago where I spent 75 minutes explaining that. But it's just so shocking that it just, sometimes it just doesn't click. Like surely that's not what he's saying. Surely that can't be what he means. I remember just preaching real hard against TV and how Hollywood's wicked, TV's wicked. And then it's like somebody a week later is like, wait a minute, you don't have a TV? I'm like, what do you think I was talking about? So it constantly blows my mind how I can preach things and people don't always register it. And the lesson is that sometimes you have to repeat things. Sometimes you have to, you know, lay that foundation and then keep building layer upon layer of truth, line upon line, precept upon precept. So don't get frustrated with people that are learning. You know, sometimes people are learning and they have a good attitude and they want, it's not that they're resisting the truth, it's just that sometimes people need to hear things a few times. And that's why the Bible talked about in regard to the Gospel how one plants the seed and then somebody else waters and then God gives the increase. Sometimes people aren't just going to receive it the first time they hear it but it doesn't mean that they're rejecting it. So be patient with people, give people a chance to learn and for things to click with people. Now once the angels bring that back up, it says in verse 8, and they remembered his words. You know, then it came back, you know what, that's right. He did teach that. Why, you know, why didn't we remember that? That's a pretty important teaching. Verse 9, and returned from the sepulcher and told all these things unto the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and other women that were with them which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales and they believed them not. Isn't that interesting? It's just going over their head. It says in verse number 12, then arose Peter and ran unto the sepulcher and stooping down he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves and departed wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. Wondering in the Bible, it doesn't mean always the way we would use wondering in 2018. When we say wondering, it means we're trying to figure out what it means. But often when the Bible talks about wondering, it's more like just being amazed. You know, being in wonder like when John in the book of Revelation wondered with great admiration. He's saying he wondered because it was just amazing to him. It blew his mind. So basically he departed Peter wondering at that which was come to pass. Basically just blown away, he's amazed by it. And it says in verse number 13, and behold two of them, two of the disciples, went that same day to a village called Emmaus which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. Now how far is threescore furlongs? Somebody help me out. Somebody do the math on that. A furlong is an eighth of a mile. A furlong is a city block, okay? And threescore is 60, right? So what's 60 divided by 8? Yeah, seven and a half miles. So it's like seven and a half miles. So in Phoenix, all the streets are a furlong. So 48th street is 48 furlongs from Central Avenue. So basically those are eights of a mile. So it's six miles, okay? Or 48 furlongs. So there you go. And then that measurement of a furlong is a very ancient measurement. And miles are ancient measurements that actually go back to biblical times. So it says that it's about threescore furlongs. So it's about seven and a half miles from Jerusalem. They're doing this seven and a half mile hike, you know, from Jerusalem to Emmaus. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were holding that they should not know him. And he said unto them, what manner of communications are these that ye have one to another as ye walk and are sad? Now let me just stop right here and make an important point here. And the reason I say this is an important point is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our faith. It's the cornerstone of Christianity itself. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul said that if Christ is not risen from the dead, then your faith is vain. You're yet in your sins. You're doomed. We're all doomed. Our whole lives are worthless and we should eat, drink, and be merry because tomorrow we die if there's no resurrection of Jesus Christ and if we have no resurrection coming for ourselves. So the resurrection of Jesus Christ is pretty much the most important doctrine that there is. And even in regard to salvation, it's brought out that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Also in regard to the Gospel, in 1 Corinthians 15, the thing that's emphasized is the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, you don't bury a spirit. You don't bury a soul. What do you bury? You bury the body. So when the Bible talks about the death burial and resurrection of Christ, that shows we're talking about the bodily resurrection. That's the thing that's important. If somebody believes in some kind of a spiritual resurrection but they don't believe in the bodily resurrection, then they're not believing the death burial and resurrection of Christ. So the resurrection is super important. Now, there's a major cult out there and they deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ and that's the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Watchtower Society. They'll use this story, ironically, to deny the bodily resurrection even though Luke chapter 24 is probably the best chapter in the Bible to prove the bodily resurrection. This would be the number. If someone challenged the bodily resurrection, I'd be like, okay, let's go to Luke 24. This is where I would go, literally. With the Jehovah's Witnesses. This is where I take them. And I've had many of them get saved, praise the Lord, because many of them will get saved. They're usually easier to win to the Lord than, say, the Mormons, the other big cult that's out there. But here's what they'll say. Here's what they'll do with this passage to twist it. They'll say, well, the reason why these guys on the road to Emmaus did not recognize Jesus is because he was in a different body. Now that's just weird. Because here's what they say. They say, well, when Jesus Christ rose again, quote, unquote, that was just when his spirit left his body. That's their resurrection, the spirit leaving the body. Well, that's foolish, because every time someone dies, their spirit leaves their body. In fact, that's called giving up the ghost. Ghost and spirit are the exact same word in the Bible. And when people die, they gave up the ghost, as the body without the spirit is dead. So faith without works is dead also. So when the spirit leaves the body, that's death. That's not a resurrection. But they believe that his body just sort of dissolved. The spirit left, and then it just kind of faded away or something, disintegrated. So then you say, well, what about all these verses where he's appearing to them? And they say, well, Jehovah gave him a body to use to show himself to the disciples after that. I mean, is that really doing some mental gymnastics or what? Like he's in a loner body. You know what I mean? Like when you wreck your car, and it's in the shop, and it's like, OK, you take the loner. Or your laptop breaks, you take it on warranty, you get the loner laptop. So basically, Christ was given this loner body, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses. This is what they believe. Make no mistake. And then that loner body was supplied with fake holes in the hands and feet, right, because he had to show them the holes in his hands and feet. I mean, what kind of a weird doctrine is that to say, I mean, that would make God a deceiver. Like trying to make it seem like it was the same body, right? Like, oh, well, let's give you this other body with holes in the hands and feet. I mean, these people are just trying so hard to deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You have to ask yourself why. Why are they doing that? And I've confronted the Jehovah's false witnesses about this out in the field. You know, when they're on our turf, and we run into them out there, and I confronted them about this, and, you know, they usually have one guy who's pretty experienced, and they have kind of a silent partner. And I, you know, I confronted them, and here's what they've said, and I've confronted many of them about this very issue of the resurrection. And this is what they said. Well, why does it matter? You're just kind of splitting hairs whether it's a bodily resurrection or not. Because if it's not a bodily resurrection, it's not a resurrection at all, okay? The resurrection's bodily. It's very important, right? So they say, well, it must have been a different body. See, he was in the loner body. And so because he was in the loner, they didn't recognize him. Now, is that what the Bible says why they didn't recognize him? The Bible tells us why they didn't recognize him. It says in verse 16, but their eyes were holding. So it wasn't anything about his body that caused him not to be recognized. It was the fact that their eyes were holding. So basically, God in his power that can do anything that could create the whole world, he could just basically do a miracle where people's eyes would be blinded to the fact of who they're with and that they just don't recognize him and see him as an ordinary God. Their eyes were holding that they would not know him. Now, this isn't even the first time that something like this happened in the Bible because of the fact that back in the Old Testament, remember when they go after Elisha and they surround the whole place with the army and they're going to arrest Elisha. God miraculously delivers Elisha by smiting the men with blindness. But they're not literally blind to where they are just seeing black or just seeing white. He smites them with a blindness where they don't recognize Elisha as Elisha. And so he comes out and talks to them and he says, oh, yeah, you know, I'll take you right to Elisha. I'm going to lead you right to him. He's not here, but I'll... and they're just like, okay. And he takes them to Samaria, to the capital city of their enemy. And as soon as they get into the capital city of Samaria, basically, God takes the blinders off and they realize like, whoa, you know, we're behind enemy lines here. We're sitting ducks and you know, the king of Israel, he loves it. You know, the fact that the enemy army has just been brought and delivered to him. And he says to Elisha, you know, what do I do? Do I smite them? You know, do we wipe them out? And he says, no, you know, just feed them and say, feed them, take care of them, send them home. And I mean, those soldiers went away wondering like, what just happened? That was weird. Okay. And look, obviously, you know, I think hypnosis is something that's wrong. It's not something that we should be involved in. It's probably falls under the realm of sorcery when you see people, you know, putting people in a suggestive state and then having them bark like a dog and do all this crazy stuff because they just are completely out of it and under the control of someone else's spell as it were. But, you know, people who are hypnotized, they go through a similar experience where they will think that one person is someone different or where the mind doesn't recognize people or thinks of them as a different person. Okay. So that's obviously what's going on, obviously not through hypnosis, but I'm just throwing that out there just to show you how a person's mind can be in a condition where they look at someone and don't recognize that person and then later snap out of it and do recognize that person. So as they're on the road to Emmaus, God performs a miracle where they don't recognize Jesus. And let me explain something to you. It's really Jesus. It's the same Jesus. It's the same body that was nailed to the cross that was buried and that bodily rose again. So they don't recognize him. Why? Because their eyes were holding that they should not know him. Verse 17. And he said to them, what manner of communications are these that you have one to another as you walk and are sad? And the one of them whose name was Cleopas answering said to them, art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem? It's like, where have you been, buddy? And has thou not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said to them, what things? And they said unto him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet, mighty indeed in word before God and all the people. And now the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. See that was the idea that they kind of just had stuck in their head. And when he keeps telling them, hey, I'm going to be crucified, I'm going to be rejected, I'm going to rise again from the dead, that's going over their head because they're like, what are you talking about? You're going to be the king. You're the Messiah. You're going to rule and reign. You're going to free us from the Romans and restore again the kingdom to Israel. So they had a wrong expectation and that's why some of the preaching wasn't getting through. And beside all this, at the end of verse 21, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulcher. And when they found not his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher and found it even so as the women had said. But him they saw not. Then he said unto them, oh fools, and you idiots, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. You know, why don't you believe what the prophets have said? Why don't you believe what Jesus himself said? Because remember when the ladies came back from the sepulcher, it says they told them all these things. Well, what were some of those things? And angels said hey, remember how Jesus already told you that he was going to die and rise again three days later? If the ladies came back telling them all those things, they told them that. But yet they were slow to believe that. It was too shocking to them. It wasn't what they expected. And he says unto them, that's why they're getting rebuked, because it's not like this is their first chance here. And so it says here, you know, ought not, verse 26, Christ, meaning ought not the Messiah, because Christ means Messiah. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Now notice what it says here. He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. That tells me that all the Old Testament scriptures point to Jesus, all of them. That's why it says in Acts 10 43, to him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive the remission of sins. That's in all the prophets. And it starts with Moses, and that carries all the way through the Old Testament. He uses those scriptures to teach them about how Christ was to suffer and die. You know, he probably brought out that story of Isaac being offered in Genesis chapter 22. He probably brought out parallels in the life of Joseph. He just probably got into the animal sacrifices and started talking about the Passover and the Day of Atonement and going through all that. And he's getting into the prophets, and he probably gets into Psalm 22, and then he gets into Isaiah 53. You know, who knows what he got into? We know it's a seven and a half mile walk, so I don't know how deep they were into that walk when he came on board. But seven and a half miles, you know, that's going to take about two and a half hours to do that walk. So if he came a half hour in, he might have been talking to him for like two hours. We don't know how long, because it doesn't tell us when he joined them. But he expounds to them and preaches to them, and they drew nigh unto the village whither they went, and he made as though he would have gone further. So basically, they get to the exit ramp for Emmaus, and he just kind of acts like he's just going to keep on going down the highway and part ways with them at that point. So he made as if he would go on further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tear with them. I mean, they loved hearing what he had to say. They loved his preaching. Why? Because those who are of God, they hear God's word, and they know the voice of the shepherd, and they love good preaching, and they love the word of God in the Bible. So that's what we see here in these guys. And it came to pass, verse 30, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread and blessed it and brake and gave to them. And their eyes were open, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. Now I've heard a theory out there that said, hey, when he broke bread, that's when they saw the nail holes in his hands, and that's when they knew it was him. I don't believe that. I believe their eyes were supernaturally holding, as the Bible says. And then this is where God lifts that holding of their eyes. Right before he disappears out of their sight, their eyes are opened that they might see him. Because if you're walking down the road with somebody for a couple hours talking, you're probably going to see their hands anyway during that time, because he's probably gesturing as he preached and so forth. But anyway, that's just kind of adding something that isn't really there, I believe. But it says in verse 32, and they said one to another, did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us, by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures? And those of us who love the Lord, we've all had that feeling, where we're reading the Bible and our heart burns within us, or we're listening to Bible preaching and our heart burns within us, because we love the Word of God, we love the Lord, we love the Gospel, or we're out soul winning preaching the Gospel and our heart burns within us. And so they now understand why the preaching was so powerful. They understand why this guy knew the Bible, because he was Jesus himself that was teaching them. And they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem. Okay, how far are they going? These guys are in shape, you know. These guys aren't a bunch of couch potatoes, you know. They just walked seven and a half hour, or seven and a half miles, and then they sit down. You say, why do you bring up that distance? Because the Bible brought it up. And nothing in the Bible is incidental, coincidental, or accidental. So the Bible is emphasizing to us that these guys walked seven and a half miles, they sit down to do a quick meal, and just as the meal is starting, they realize, whoa, we've been with Jesus. We need to tell the other fools back home, you know, or if we're fools, we need to go back and tell these guys what happened. All right, let's do it. Seven and a half miles, let's go. So they went back, and they headed straight back to Jerusalem to tell them, and you know, they probably went a little faster this time. I mean, they may have even ran it. And so they got there, and when they got there, they found the 11 gathered together. So these are disciples of Christ, but they're not of the 11 disciples, they're other, because Jesus had a lot of other peripheral disciples, obviously. And they found the 11 gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, the Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. So notice what it says there. Read that carefully. They found the 11 gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, the Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. So basically, they get there, and their thunder has already been stolen, you know, because they think, oh, man, we got to rush back, we got to tell them that we started, they get there, and it's them that tell them, he really did rise again, because he appeared to Simon. And they're like, yeah, no kidding, and they told them what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking bread. So they're both telling each other, it's true, we've seen him. Because obviously, the story about Simon, you know, that's the 11 talking. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said to them, why are you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, for it is I myself, handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me to have. And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. Now, keep your finger there. Go to 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 15. So another verse that the Jehovah's false witnesses will pull out, besides saying, well, you know, those two guys didn't recognize him, because he's in a different body. He's driving the loner. They'll also bring up, well, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, you know. So therefore, it can't be the same body that Christ had, or it can't be a literal bodily resurrection of Christ. Well, 1 Corinthians 15 addresses that objection, and explains it, and rebukes those who don't grasp this. It says in 1 Corinthians 15, 50, now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither does corruption inherit incorruption. But the very next verse explains what he means, because in the very next verse, he says what? Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. So how are we going to inherit the kingdom of God? It's certainly not going to be in our current form, or in our current body, in its current condition, because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and our bodies are filled with blood. The life of the flesh is in the blood. It's the blood that gives our physical body, or what the Bible calls our natural body, its life force is in the blood of the flesh. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, therefore we shall be changed. Now look, if you would, at verse 35. And while you're looking at verse 35, let me just point out, it doesn't say we shall be exchanged. It says we shall be changed. It doesn't say we shall be replaced, like, you know, take out, get rid of that body, put in a new body. No, no, no. When the Bible talks about the new body, this isn't a transplant from one body to another. The new body is the same body changed, right, changed. Just like I preached about at the prophecy conference, how the new earth is the same earth changed. And so look, if you would, at verse 35, 1 Corinthians 15. But some man will say, you know, Jehovah's Witnesses or whatever, how are the dead raised up and with what body do they come? Now fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. What does it mean there? Jesus said, except a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. So he's referring to plants and how that which falls into the ground, the seed is not alive. If you have a bag of seeds, if you have a survival seed bank, it's not alive. It has to first die and then it is quickened, right? So think about it. Is a seed alive? I mean, think about it. That's a pretty obvious answer, right? Is a seed alive? No, seeds aren't alive, okay. But when we plant them in the earth, what happens to them? They come to life. Now Mexican jumping beans are, no, I'm just kidding. But anyway, that's just a joke. The point is that the seeds, they're not living things, but they become a living thing. They come to life, they die, they fall into the ground and then they're resurrected, okay. So that's a picture of the resurrection of Christ. He died, he was buried and he rose again. Well, every seed testifies to that because it dies and then it's buried and then it is quickened. It's brought to life. It comes to life. It's resurrected in a sense. So he says, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain. It may chance of weed or of some other grain, but God giveth it a body as it has pleased him and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there's one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial. That means heavenly and earthly bodies. But the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars. For one star differth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. And this is the key verse, verse 44. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. There's a natural body and there's a spiritual body. So the body that goes into the earth is the flesh and blood body, okay? And that body decays and rots in the ground, but then that body is changed and resurrected as a spiritual body, okay? But it's the same person. Now the difference with Christ is that because he was only dead for three days and three nights, his flesh did not see corruption. His body just lay in the grave as is and then three days later, that body was resurrected. But when that body was resurrected, a change took place. A change took place. And what was that change? The change was that he was no longer in a natural body. He was in a spiritual body. Now don't confuse this with the garbage that the Jehovah's Witnesses are teaching. Because when we say a spiritual body, we're not talking about some kind of a ghost or a spirit. Why? Because go back to Luke 24 with that in mind. Let's see what the spiritual body is like, okay? Because the spiritual body is a body, okay? And what does the Bible say in verse number 39 of Luke 24? Behold my hands and my feet that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me to have. But you know what does have flesh and bones? A spiritual body. So the spiritual body isn't just some entity that floats around as a ghost, but rather the spiritual body is a flesh and bone body. Notice he didn't say I have flesh and blood. He said I have flesh and bone. So what's conspicuously absent? The blood. Why? Because the spiritual body is not powered by blood. Why? Because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. So the natural body, our current body, our life force is in our blood. The life of our flesh is in our blood. But in the new body, the spirit is the life force of the new body. The new body is powered by the spirit, not powered by blood. That's the colossal difference between the physical body, the natural body, and the spiritual body. But we don't want to get too carried away on that word spiritual. The reason it's called spiritual body is why? It's powered by the spirit. It's fueled by the spirit. But when we say spiritual body, we need to understand it's still a flesh and bone body that you can still handle. And the reason I say that Luke 24 is the best, hands down, to me this is the number one place to take someone for the bodily resurrection of Christ is because he said, look, I've got flesh and bone. Then he said, handle me. They can put their hands on him. They can grab him and hold him. He tells them, put your fingers into the prints of the nails. Thrust your hand into my side and be not faithless and believing, John chapter 20. But here, the reason it's so powerful, he says, I've got flesh and bones. Handle me. He shows him his hands and his feet. But then just to show them and just to up the ante, he says in verse 41, have you here any meat? I mean, look, if this doesn't prove to you that it's not an apparition or a ghost or just a spirit without a body, he's going to eat for them just to show them, hey, I am really here. I really did rise again from the dead. So he says, have you here any meat? And they brought him a vegan lasagna. No, I'm just kidding. Actually, it says that they brought him a broiled fish, sorry vegans, and of a honeycomb. They brought him an animal-based meal. And this is important because you say, well, the only reason why we eat meat is because we're in a fallen state. Well, is Jesus Christ in a fallen state when he chewed down on that BK broiler or whatever, the broiled fish? You know, I mean, he ate fish. He ate an animal product here. And he ate the honeycomb. He took it and did eat before them. So he did eat that food right there with him. Also in the Gospel of John, we see him eating with them and so forth. And he said unto them, these are the words, verse 44, which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me, then opened to you their understanding that they might understand the scriptures. You know, that's why it took 40 days with these people because he keeps showing them more Bible verses, he keeps saying, you know, if these guys are going to go out and turn the world upside down, they better know what they're talking about. They better know the doctrine. So he spends 40 days and 40 nights with them after he rise from the dead, just showing them scriptures, driving these things in, making sure that they understand the doctrine and know about it. You say, well, let me back up a little bit. You say, well, you know, the fish, that's still considered a vegetarian by some people. You know, have you known vegetarians who said fish is the exception, right? Okay. Well, riddle me this, if Jesus was a vegetarian, then how did he follow the law blameless when the law required him to eat the Passover every year, which is lamb. Nobody calls lamb vegetarian, right? But he must have followed that law and eaten that Passover every year of his life. And so that goes out the window. Verse 35, he opened their understanding. Verse 46, sorry, 45. Verse 46, and 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 sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send you the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem. Tarry means stay or remain. Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until you be endued with power from on high. And when we see until there, here's what he's saying. Tarry in Jerusalem until you're endued with power on high, and then leave. Bible's very consistent about this in the gospels, in the book of Acts, in the epistles, that they were supposed to leave. They were not supposed to stay in Jerusalem beyond the day of Pentecost. They were to remain until they were endued with power from on high, and then they were going to preach at all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, and then go to all nations. But what do we see when we read the book of Acts? We see years later they're still in Jerusalem. Years later. Disobedient. Okay. Who's the guy who obeyed the apostle Paul? He went to all the different nations. That's why when you start out the book of Acts, it's all about these guys. Did you notice that as you get into the book of Acts, it stops being about these guys? And pretty soon it's more like the Acts of Paul. It starts out being the Acts of the apostles, and it ends up being, for most of the book, the Acts of Paul. I'll tell you why. Because these guys spent too much time in Jerusalem, and the work of God went on without a lot of these guys. I mean, they did great works for God, and eventually history tells us that a lot of them went out and went beyond Jerusalem. And we know that Peter was one that was doing it right in the book of Acts to an extent. Okay. Well, that's why Peter gets a lot of chapters in Acts about what he's doing. I mean, think about it. We have Peter and see him in Acts chapter 10 and Acts chapter 11, those great chapters. You know, why aren't we seeing as much about what the other apostles did? Well, a lot of them are hanging out in Jerusalem and not doing what they're supposed to be doing. And Acts is meant to show us the action of getting the gospel out and winning people to Christ. So, you know, we don't want to just be like, chapter 8, and they're still in Jerusalem. And the Jews still don't want to get saved. And they're still getting first. Chapter 9, chapter 10, chapter 22, chapter 23. And they still stayed there, you know. So, you know, the moral of the story is that, you know, the one who brings forth the fruit, the one who is going out and obeying God and doing the works that God told him to do, you know, that's the one that God is going to focus his attention on. He's not a respecter of persons like, well, but, you know, Paul isn't really one of the original 12, so he's a lesser apostle. That's how he felt about himself. I mean, Paul said, I'm the least of the apostles. But, you know, it doesn't seem like God thought that he's the least when he decides to let him write half the New Testament and, you know, let him dominate half the Book of Acts. You know, what that shows me is that it doesn't matter your background, because he was a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious. But it doesn't matter your background or your status or your title. If you go out and do the works that God has for you, you know, he's going to take an interest in you. And God has his eyes going to and fro in the earth, the Bible says, looking for people on whom he can show himself mighty. And so God's ready to team up with you. God's ready to team up with me if we'll do what he told us to do, if we'll do the work. He's ready to use me. He's ready to use you. It's not just certain people that are the special chosen ones, no. It's the people who do what he told them to do. You know, he'll get behind those people and empower those people and do great things with them. Bible says in verse 50, and he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. The story picks up in Acts because the author of the book of Acts is Luke. So it's the same author. So this is where he leaves it. He finds a nice stopping place here and ends on a note that makes sense. But he's going to pick up the story and recap a little more of the ascension of Christ in Acts chapter 1. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for this great chapter, Lord, powerful teachings on the resurrection, Lord, and help us to be nailed down on this critical doctrine. Arguably it's the most important doctrine, Lord. And so we pray that you would just help us to preach this vital doctrine, the gospel itself, Lord, to unsaved Jehovah's Witnesses, Lord. Help us to get those Jehovah's Witnesses saved and pull them out of the fire, Lord. I pray that you would open their eyes before it's eternally too late, Lord. Because Lord, based on what you've said, every single Jehovah's Witness will split hell wide open simply because of denying the resurrection, let alone all their other myriad heresies of denying the deity of your son, Jesus, and of denying heaven and hell and everything else, Lord. But help us to, as we go out, Lord, help us to preach the resurrection and that their eyes will be opened and that many Jehovah's Witnesses will be pulled out of that cult, Lord. And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.