“WHY ARE YOU TROUBLED…?”
LUKE 24:33-43

I. Introduction
Jesus Christ is alive! Why are you troubled? Your Lord and Savior is alive! Not only that, but He is here with us this morning in the Person of His Holy Spirit. So why do doubts arise in our hearts?

“Why are you troubled?” and “Why do doubts arise in your hearts?” are two questions the Lord Jesus will ask His disciples in this morning’s text in Luke’s gospel. They’re good questions, aren’t they? Why are the disciples troubled and doubting? Could it be that their lack of understanding, their worldly knowledge, and their human wisdom have all combined to fight against their faith in Jesus’ resurrection and caused them to say, “It’s too good to be true”? Well, they’re right. It is too good to be true…but it is true, nonetheless.

On Sunday, December 15, 1861, Charles Haddon Spurgeon took his pulpit at the Metropoli-tan Tabernacle in London. The title of his sermon that morning was “Too Good to Be True! – A Paradox!” His text was Luke 24:41. He began with these words:
“I shall endeavor to address that timid but hopeful tribe of persons who have heard of the greatness and preciousness of the Salvation of Christ, and have so far believed, that they have been filled with happiness on account of it, but that very enjoyment has made them doubt, and they have exclaimed – ‘It cannot be; it is not possible; this exceeds all my expectations; it is, in fact, too good to be true!’

“I remember to have been myself the subject of this temptation. Overjoyed to possess the treasure which I had found hidden in the field, delighted beyond all measure with the hope that I had an interest in Christ, I feared that the gold might be counterfeit, the pearl a cheat, my hope a delusion, my confidence a dream!

“Newly delivered from thick darkness, the overwhelming brightness of Divine Grace threatened to blind my eyes! Laden with the new favors of a young spiritual life, the excessive weight of mercy staggered my early strength, and I was for some time trou-bled with the thought that these things must be too great a good to be true!”

December 15, 1861! Has anything changed? Is God still on His throne? Is Jesus still alive? Is it too good to be true? Yes, but it is true. So why are we troubled, and why do doubts still arise in our hearts? At one time or another, and to one degree or another, we all struggle with doubt, don’t we? Last week I called it “the believer’s unbelief.” I used as an example the man with the demon-possessed son in Mark’s gospel. He approached Jesus and said…
*Mark 9:22b-24
22b “…if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”
23 And Jesus said to him, “If You can! All things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and began saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”

We relate to this man because he puts into six simple words what you and I sometimes find hard to explain, even to ourselves. But if we can relate to this father’s words in v. 24, why can we not embrace Jesus’ words in v. 23? “All things are possible to him who believes.”

Are we trying to shield ourselves from what we think could be a huge disappointment? Or have we lived in this fallen world too long? Have we become suspicious and cynical, and do we find ourselves unwilling to believe any good news?

Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, trial, conviction, torture, crucifixion, and death on a Roman cross completely deflated the eleven remaining disciples. All was lost, hope was gone, and they were finished. But what about God’s truth? What about God’s Word? What about Psalm 16 that said the Messiah would not stay in the grave? Did Jesus’ disciples believe it?
Psalm 16:9-10
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will dwell securely.
10 For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol (Hades; the grave; the abode of the dead); neither will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

And even if they weren’t sure about that, what about what Jesus Himself had told them?
Matthew 12:38-40
38 …some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But He (Jesus) answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.
40 for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea mon-ster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Did Jesus’ disciples believe Him? They should have known what the Scriptures said about Messiah’s resurrection, and what Jesus had said about His own resurrection. But now they were no longer “in church.” Now they were in “the real world” and He was gone. What could they do? They could go into hiding, wait for the excitement to die down, and then quietly disappear. After all, Jesus was dead. So much for their faith! And this is where we find the disciples late on the first day of the week – the day you and I call Easter Sunday.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

II. Review
On that morning some of the faithful women went to Jesus’ tomb to embalm His body, but they found the tomb was empty, and an angel told them that He had risen from the dead.
They ran to tell the disciples, who immediately declared their story to be “nonsense (Luke 24:11).” But Peter and John went to the tomb and also found it empty. However, Peter did not walk away believing; he walked away “marveling (Luke 24:12).” Then Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, and later that same day He also appeared to Peter (1 Corinthians 15:5).

It was late in the day when two more of Jesus’ followers – not of the twelve, but other men who had become believers because of Jesus’ teaching – were leaving Jerusalem and walking to the village of Emmaus, about seven miles northwest of the city. Jesus appeared to them and walked all the way to Emmaus with them. The two men knew Jesus, but in His glorified body, they did not recognize Him. Along the way He taught them the Scriptures (the OT) and explained to them how God’s Word pointed to Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the One for whom they and all of Israel had been looking. Only then did Jesus reveal Himself to them.
*Luke 24:31-32
31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
32 And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

Only after seeing Jesus alive, did these two men on the road to Emmaus, really and truly believe that He had been resurrected. But is seeing Him necessary for us to really and truly believe that Jesus is alive? If that is what it takes, then there aren’t any true believers in this room. But seeing isn’t what it takes. Rather, it takes faith in God’s Word, His truth.

The writer of Hebrews defines such faith for us. He says “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (11:1),” and “…without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is (11:6)… ” Those who have such faith are blessed. Jesus said to Thomas…
John 20:29
29 “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

III. Text
Is it too good to be true that Jesus has been resurrected from the dead and that He is alive right now? Is it too good to be true that all of us who have placed our faith in Him and His finished work on the cross will be resurrected to eternal life as well? It is too good to be true, but true it is! So why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? And with those questions in mind, we come to this morning’s text.
*Luke 24:33-43 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
33 And they arose that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,
34 saying, “The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon.”
35 And they began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.
36 And while they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst.
37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.
38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 “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.”
40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.
41 And while they still could not believe it for joy and were marveling, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42 And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish;
43 and He took it and ate it before them.

Why do people struggle so with the whole idea of the resurrection of the dead, and particu-larly the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth? I think it is because all the powers of hell have been working nonstop for two thousand years to discredit and make a mockery of His resur-rection. Let me quote John MacArthur from the fourth volume of his commentary on Luke.
“Denying the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ has always been a major tactic employed by Satan and his emissaries in their assaults on God and Scripture. They understand that if He did not rise from the dead, neither His words nor the rest of Scripture can be believed. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the Old Testament, (Jesus’) own claims, and the gospel were false, and Christianity collapses (p. 430).”

Do you see? Our hope for eternal life hangs in the balance. If Jesus is dead, so are we.
*1 Corinthians 15:14, 16-19
14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.
16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised;
17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those who have fallen asleep (died) in Christ have perished (destroyed).
19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.

If you deny the resurrection, you call God a liar. And if you call God a liar, you’re not a Christian, regardless of what you may call yourself. That isn’t a bigoted statement made by some old preacher. It is a biblical fact. It is a core doctrine that is taught throughout Scrip-ture, but nowhere more forcefully than in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Rome.
*Romans 10:9-10
9 …if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Many of you have seen the gospel tract called “The Roman Road,” or “The Four Spiritual Laws.” Romans 10:9-10 is the fourth and final law. (3:23 “all have sinned” – 6:23 “wages of sin is death” – 5:8 “Christ died for us” – 10:9 “believe…God raised Him from the dead.”) Even in such an abbreviated presentation of the gospel, Jesus’ resurrection is central to the message. So no resurrection of Christ = no Christianity; no belief in Christ’s resurrection = no salvation.

In order to deny Jesus’ resurrection, one need’s to ignore the historical evidence and the eye-witness accounts. The Roman soldiers knew He was dead. His burial was witnessed by numerous people. On Sunday morning His tomb was empty. Then Jesus appeared to a number of women including Mary Magdalene. He appeared to Peter and the other apostles, His half-brother James, and at least five hundred more people in Galilee. And then there were those two men, Cleopas and his traveling companion, on the road to Emmaus. We met them and looked at what they had to say last week.

Look once again at their response when Jesus opened their spiritual eyes. “And they said to one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us (Luke 24:32)?’”
*Luke 24:33-35
33 And they arose that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,
34 saying, “The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon (Peter).”
35 And they began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

“…that very hour” was late Sunday evening, well after dark. There was little reason to ven-ture onto the roads after dark and few people would do so. But Cleopas and his friend had news that couldn’t wait. Even though it would be midnight (or later) when they would arrive back in Jerusalem, they hurried to go and find the eleven remaining disciples.

Do you remember when you were first saved? Do you remember how excited you were? It didn’t take long for the unbelieving world to take the wind out of your sails, did it? So why not make it a priority of your prayer life to ask God to reignite that fire. After all, shouldn’t we always be eager to tell others of the joy of our salvation?
Psalm 66:16
16 Come and hear, all who fear God, and I will tell of what He has done for my soul.
In Luke 24:34 the Greek indicates that those speaking are the ones who are already there. So before Cleopas and the other man could share their news the rest told them, “The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon (Peter).” In v. 35 our two friends from Emmaus began to tell their story. But…
*Luke 24:36-37
36 And while they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst.
37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit.

In order to fully grasp what is happening here we need to hear from two of the other gospel writers, Matthew and John. John 20:19 tells us that the doors were shut (and no doubt bolted) when Jesus entered the room and said, “Peace be with you.” Matthew 28:10 tells us that He said, “Do not be afraid.” Yet they were afraid. They thought they were seeing a ghost. But it was not the way His body looked that frightened them. He wasn’t dazzling and glowing brilliantly white like He was at the transfiguration.

On the contrary, He looked perfectly normal, just as He did when Mary Magdalene thought He was a gardener, and Cleopas and his friend thought He was just another traveler on the road to Emmaus. What frightened them was that Jesus materialized out of thin air in a room that had been closed and locked. But the two from Emmaus shouldn’t have been surprised by that. Hadn’t Jesus “de-materialized” in front of them only a few hours earlier?

Last week I addressed the question of our glorified bodies – what will they be like? We know they will be like His. We know they will be perfect, no sin, no pain, and no disease. And we know they will be bodies fit for eternal life. We can only imagine what they will be able to do. But nothing in the physical creation will hinder or limit our gloried bodies.
*Philippians 3:20-21a
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory…

The Amplified Bible translates v. 21 like this: “(He) will transform and fashion anew the body of our humiliation to conform to and make like the body of His glory and majesty…” Based on the OT and Jesus’ teaching, the disciples should have known this, but they did not.
And so, just as the Lord had earlier rebuked Cleopas and his friend on the road to Emmaus, now He rebukes them all. Granted, these may be mild rebukes, but they are rebukes none-theless. In Emmaus Jesus had said to the two men, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” Now, back in Jerusalem, they’re with the eleven.
*Luke 24:38
38 And He said to (all of) them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
There it is – the question of the day. “Why are you troubled?” Here are Jesus’ disciples, even His own apostles. The eleven – and the soon to be added Matthias – are mere weeks away from beginning to turn the world upside down for Christ. But here, before they are empowered by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, their faith fails them, and they refuse to believe in Jesus’ resurrection. So when the risen Jesus stands in their presence, they are “troubled.” The Greek word is “tarassō.” It means to stir up, to agitate. It is often related to fear and trepidation. Charles Spurgeon said, “Unbelief is a great troubler.”

Unbelief – “the believer’s unbelief” – is their problem. When Jesus asks them why they are troubled, it’s as if He is saying, “What are you afraid of – where’s your faith?” Have you ever noticed that when your faith is strong, you’re at peace? And conversely, have you also noticed that when your faith is weak, you’re “tarassō,” stirred up, agitated, and troubled?

The people in that room on the first Easter Sunday are struggling with weak faith. So it’s
no surprise they’re troubled. But now Jesus Himself has miraculously come into their midst. “Why are you troubled?” This is really a rhetorical question. They obvious answer is, “You shouldn’t be troubled; there’s no reason for you to be troubled. I’m alive and I’m here.” Hadn’t the Scriptures (the OT) prophesied His death and resurrection? They had! Hadn’t He Himself prophesied His death and resurrection? He had!

That leads to Jesus’ second question in v. 38. “Why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Why indeed? They had already heard the testimonies of Mary Magdalene, Peter, and one of God’s own holy angels. Now they were receiving the testimony of Cleopas and his friend. Yet they still had their doubts. What will it take to convince them? Will this do it?
*Luke 24:39-40
39 “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.”
40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

Jesus’ hands and His feet! This was the proof they needed. It was the proof Thomas needed when Jesus appeared to him eight days later. There can no longer be any doubt. The Lord wants them (and us) to understand that He, in His resurrected body, is the very same Jesus who was crucified and died. Listen again to what He said to Thomas.
John 20:27
27 “Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.”

“See” means to be convinced. You could not touch or handle a spirit, could you? Now notice something else Jesus’ says about His resurrected and glorified body. In Luke 24:39 He describes it as “flesh and bones.” I would argue that this represents a clear distinction between the temporary body we live in now, and the glorified body we will inhabit through-out eternity. Why do I say that?
I say it because the NT often refers to our mortal bodies as consisting of “flesh and blood.”
• In Matthew 16:17 Jesus tells Peter that his faith didn’t come from mortal men – “flesh and blood” – but from God.
• In 1 Corinthians 15:50 the Apostle Paul tells us that these mortal bodies – “flesh and blood” – cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
• In Ephesians 6:12 Paul reminds us that our struggle in this life is not against men – “flesh and blood” – it is against Satan and his minions.

But in Luke 24:39 Jesus says His glorified and eternal body is “flesh and bones.” His blood has been shed. His precious blood, the blood of the Lamb of God, has been shed for us.
Leviticus 17:11a
11a “For the life of the flesh (the mortal body) is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls…”
Hebrews 9:22b
22b …all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (back to Luke 24:40)

So in Luke 24:40 Jesus shows them the marks of crucifixion in His body of flesh and bones.
*Luke 24:41-43
41 And while they still could not believe it for joy and were marveling, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42 And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish;
43 and He took it and ate it before them.

Is it that the disciples still refuse to believe Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? No; not at all. What v. 41 is saying is that they are overjoyed, because “it is too good to be true.” You might think of it as when someone receives great news and they say, “Oh, that’s wonderful. I just can’t believe it!” The fact is that they do believe it, but it’s just too good to be true. Then Jesus added to their joy with yet another confirmation that He was not a spirit, but was alive in every sense of the word. They watched as He ate a piece of fish.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

IV. Conclusion
The church was born on the Day of Pentecost. The resurrection of Jesus was the central message of Christianity on that day, and it has been every day since. Jesus’ death and resur-rection was the point of the first sermon ever preached. Listen to Peter:
*Acts 2:22-24
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know –
23 this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
24 “And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”

If the story of Jesus of Nazareth ended with His death and burial, the disciples would have had no hope. They would ultimately have dispersed and that would have been the end of it. But, of course, the story didn’t end there. Jesus rose from the dead. He appeared to the dis-ciples in His resurrected and glorified body. He was with them and more than five hundred other people over the course of the next forty days.

If those men and women knew that Jesus’ resurrection was a hoax, a sham, an elaborate con, do you really think they would have risked their lives taking the message of the gospel out into a hostile world? Do you really think they would have willingly succumbed to ridicule, persecution, trials, suffering, and violent and horrible deaths for what they knew was a lie?

Jesus rose from the dead. He’s alive. The disciples knew it. They saw Him. They spoke with Him. They watched Him ascend to heaven. And they were blessed. Are you? Listen Christian, Jesus’ resurrection may be too good to be true. But it is true! Remember Jesus’ words to Thomas… “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed (John 20:29).”

So if you are blessed with believing in Jesus’ resurrection, why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your heart? Let me close with the words from a song we sang on Resur-rection Sunday.
“I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living whatever men may say.
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He’s always near.
He lives, He lives! Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart.
You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.”

~ Pray ~