“Seeing Jesus Resurrected” – a message from Luke 24 for Easter

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection and began a new preaching series entitled “Seeing Jesus for the First Time,” from Luke, chapter 24. I began with a message from Luke 24:1-12, focused on the women who come to Jesus’ empty tomb, meet angelic messengers, and then return to tell of their experiences.

You can find the message outline and video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.

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“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:5-6)

The Women at the Tomb: The Closed Door of Death Is Open

Dark dawn, moving toward the tomb for anointing Jesus’ body

The tomb’s stone is rolled away

Jesus has opened death’s door; His body is not in the tomb

The Women and the Angels: The Closed Door to God is Open 

Two figures (angels in Luke 24:23) stand with them

Jesus’ words about what would happen are true

Jesus has opened the door to God closed by human sin by death and resurrection  

The Women and the Other Disciples: The Closed Door for the Unlikely is Open

The women return to the 11 and the other disciples

They tell what they have seen and experienced, but encounter both disbelief (disciples) and hope (Peter)

Jesus has opened the door to unlikely recipients of God’s goodness

Beginning to See Jesus

Bringing our searching, questions, hope, and faith to the journey of seeing Jesus

Seeing Jesus as the One who opens death’s closed door for us

Seeing Jesus as the One who opens access to God’s presence for us

Seeing Jesus as the One who opens God’s goodness to the unlikely

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Dig Deeper

This week dig deeper in one or more of the following ways:

• Memorize Luke 24:5-7.
• This week, read through all of Luke 24 in one sitting. Take notes on what stands out to you. What characters do you relate to most? What episodes bring questions to you? Pray about what God is drawing to your attention. 
• Consider sharing with someone what Jesus’ resurrection means to you personally. Pray about who that should be and how you should do it. 
• Explore some or all of these resources:
• A previous Eastbrook sermon series, “Resurrection Hope”
• N. T. Wright, Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters
• John Polkinghorne, The Faith of a Physicist: Reflections of a Bottom-up Thinker