Infinite Pleasures
Sermon Notes
Intro
The reality is everybody wants to experience pleasure, and everybody wants their pleasures to last. It’s why the pleasures of vacation never feel long enough, the pleasures of a job promotion never feel good enough, the pleasures of food never feels satisfying enough. And one of the great reality checks to the finitude of human pleasure is a funeral. At a funeral we’ll say things like “Life’s too short” or “I wish I had more time with them.” It’s because everybody wants their pleasures to last!
Now the answer to having your pleasures last can’t be found in atheism or naturalism, which teaches this life is all there is, so when you die all your human pleasures die with you. The answer also can’t be found in Eastern Religions, which teaches you’re just a spiritual force that eventually loses all human senses and pleasures. The answer can be found in Christianity, which teaches we’ll have a physical bodily resurrection after we die, meaning our human senses and pleasures will not only continue, but they’ll be also heightened! You’ll have a heightened sense of sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing. Without a physical bodily resurrection none of those things are possible, because a dead body can’t taste, and a spirit can’t touch. A dead body like atheists and naturalists believe can’t taste, and a spirit like Eastern Religions believe can’t physically touch anything. Without a physical bodily resurrection your human senses and pleasures will end when your life ends. One of the great implications of the resurrection of Jesus, is our human senses and pleasures will last beyond this life, and that’s what we’re talking about today. So, let’s turn to Luke 24 and get into it. If you open your bible to the middle, keep turning to the right, you’ll find Luke. We’ll be in Luke 24:36-53. The title of today’s message is Infinite Pleasures, and here’s the big idea. The resurrection guarantees we’ll have infinite pleasures beyond this life. The resurrection guarantees we’ll have infinite pleasures beyond this life.
Context:
Here’s your context. Dr. Luke’s the author of this book in the bible, and he was a medical doctor, investigator, and a historian who was highly concerned about the facts. In particular he’s concerned about the facts regarding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. So, what we hold in our hands is his medical, investigative, and historical report of Jesus. The section of his report we’re studying today, is the section where Jesus has already resurrected from the dead. As we study, we’ll learn 6 pleasurable implications about the resurrection of Jesus. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Luke 24:36-53 states, “As they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst. He said to them, ‘Peace to you!’” The disciples were hiding in a room out of fear of the Jews, and they were discussing some of the recent rumors they heard about Jesus having risen from the dead. But now they know the rumors are true, because they’re seeing Jesus with their own eyes.
Vs. 37, “But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost.” This is one of the ways you can tell this isn’t a legend, it’s because Dr. Luke’s describing real natural emotional responses. If this were a legend, you’d expect their responses to be more positive, to be filled with excitement over seeing Jesus, but instead they’re startled, terrified, even confused wondering if they’re seeing a ghost. It’s exactly how we’d respond if we’re sitting in a room and Jesus all of a sudden appeared! We’d be startled, terrified, and confused too! Dr. Luke isn’t writing this as a legend, he’s writing this as an accurate account of what actually happened.
Vs. 38, “‘Why are you troubled?’ he asked them. ‘And why do doubts arise in your hearts?’” If you’re a skeptic of the resurrection of Jesus, you’re not the first. Some of Jesus’ closest followers were the first skeptics. The text says they had their doubts too! But notice Jesus is willing to sit and talk with them about their doubts, which is the kind of church we want City Awakening to be. We want to be a place where both skeptics and believers can seek truth and find joy in community together. Both skeptics and believers sometimes wrestle with doubts, and we want to sit and talk with people about their doubts, just like Jesus is doing in the text.
Vs. 39, “Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself!” Jesus says look at my hands and my feet, which is the 1st pleasurable implication I want you to notice about the resurrection.
#1 The Resurrection Includes Visible Recognition = One of the great pleasures of the resurrection is that it includes the visible recognition of those you love. Again, Jesus says look at my hands and feet, see that it is I myself, meaning Jesus can visibly recognize them and they can recognize him. That means the pleasures of recognizing those we love will continue beyond this life. If you and the people you love are believers, you’ll be able to visibly recognize each other for all eternity. I’m talking your family, your friends, the person you loved who was tormented by cancer and died! The person you loved who died a sudden death! My very own mother who died 10 yrs ago this April! The one thing all of us want is to see the people we love again, and those who place their faith in Jesus will have the infinite pleasures of seeing and enjoying eternal fellowship with each other again, just like Jesus is doing with those he loves in the text.
Again vs. 39 states, “‘Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself! Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ 40 Having said this, he showed them his hands and feet.” Notice Jesus says touch me and see, which is the 2nd pleasurable implication of the resurrection.
#2 The Resurrection Includes Physical Touch = Another one of the great pleasures of the resurrection is it includes physical touch, meaning you’ll get to physically touch those you love. Jesus is in his resurrected body, he says he has flesh and bones, and tells them to physically touch him. This means we don’t become ghosts, translucent spirits, reincarnated, or just become fertilizer to the natural world as part of the circle of life. When we die our spirit will immediately go to heaven, and when Jesus returns he’ll renew all things including our physical bodies. He’ll reunite our spirit with a renewed, imperishable, resurrected body that’ll have flesh and bones. We’ll be able to feel the ocean breeze, enjoy the relaxation of the sun, smell the sweet fragrance of spring. Some of you are like “Will I have a 6 pack or love handles?” I don’t know, but you’ll love whatever you have. And one of your greatest pleasures will be feeling the physical touch of those you love again. You’ll feel the warm clasp of their hands, the warm embrace of their hugs, for all eternity never to be taken away by the sting of death again. The resurrection guarantees the infinite pleasures of seeing and touching those we love again, just like Jesus is doing in the text.
Vs. 41, “But while they still were amazed and in disbelief because of their joy, he asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ 42 So they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.” There’s the 3rd pleasurable implication of the resurrection.
#3 The Resurrection Includes The Enjoyment of Taste = To which all my foodies said Amen! The text says Jesus ate broiled fish, which again shows we’re talking about a physical bodily resurrection that includes our human senses and pleasures. We’ll get to see, touch, taste, enjoy the heightened flavors of food again. Broiled fish? Done! Linda’s La Cantina steak? Done! 4Rivers Brisket? Done! Tofu burgers? That’s served in hell...I don’t know how it’ll all work if you’re an animal lover, I just know we’ll get to enjoy the pleasures of food in our resurrected bodies like Jesus is doing here. Eating back then was also considered a time of fellowship, and in Revelation 19 Jesus even promises we’ll celebrate Communion in fellowship with all the saints of history. It’ll be one giant family reunion greater than thanksgiving. We’ll get to enjoy great food, great conversations, great stories celebrating all the great things Jesus accomplished.
Vs. 44, “He told them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 He also said to them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead the third day, 47 and repentance for forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Jesus is teaching them the entire bible is about him. He’s saying hundreds of years before his incarnation Old Testament prophets predicted his future death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins, and it’s finally happened. The good news of the gospel is Jesus that lived the sinless life we haven’t lived, died the death we deserved to die for our sins, so we could enjoy infinite pleasures in a restored relationship with God. Jesus says this good news isn’t just for people back then, it’s also for people today including those of you who aren’t believers yet. He says it’s for all the nations! He wants us to live as instruments of grace in our city and share the gospel with others, so they’ll experience the pleasurable implications of the resurrection too.
Vs. 48, “‘You are witnesses of these things. 49 And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. As for you, stay in the city until you are empowered, from on high.’ 50 Then he led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 And while he was blessing them, he left them and was carried up into heaven. 52 After worshiping him, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they were continually in the temple praising God.” This is the second time the text says they were filled with joy. The first was in vs 41 and this is the second. Why are they filled with so much joy? It’s because they realized the resurrection is true, and nothing is more satisfying than being in the very presence of Jesus. As a result, the text says they continually worshiped Jesus, meaning worshiping Jesus became a part of their everyday life and joy. Their joyful worship wasn’t because Jesus made all their wildest dreams come true. It was because they realized nothing was more satisfying than Jesus. They realized Jesus was the one true living God, their best friend, their Lord and Savior they’d get to spend eternity with...But here’s a few more pleasurable implications, none greater than the presence of Jesus.
#4 The Resurrection Includes A Hopeful Future = If you remember Jesus told them to look at his hands and feet. It was to show them the marks of the crucifixion, because those marks are a reminder of his victory over tragedy. They’re a reminder that he was victorious overpaying the penalty for our sins, and he was victorious over one of the most torturous deaths in history. His victory over sin and death gives us hope over sin and death! Just like he turned his scars into something for eternal good, he’ll turn your scars into something for eternal good. Is that where your hope is, or are you placing your hope in something other than Jesus? Are you placing your hope, trying to find relief from your scars and suffering in something other than Jesus? Are you placing your hope in a new job, a new product, getting married, having a day where the kids don’t fight or complain? Are you placing your hope in a new vaccine, new president, new stimulus check? What if those plans fail and the things you’ve placed your hope in are stripped away?...The reason the disciples are filled with so much hope and joy, is because the resurrection proved no matter what happens in life, their future is always hopeful with Christ. The sin and suffering you experience now is only temporary compared to the eternal victory that’s available in the resurrection of Jesus. You’ll suffer now, but you can rejoice victoriously later with Christ.
#5 The Resurrection Includes A Magnificent Future = The resurrection of Jesus shows us we don’t have to try to obtain every pleasure this life has to offer, and we also don’t have to feel we’re missing out if we don’t obtain those pleasures. Bucket lists shouldn’t matter much when there’s a more magnificent future awaiting us. Refusing to believe that only robs you of the very joy you’re trying to obtain, because you’ll constantly feel you’re missing out...I need to get married, need to see Hawaii, need to obtain my bucket list before I kick the bucket...None of it matters much in the grand scheme of how magnificent eternity will be. C.S. Lewis tried capturing this in his book The Last Battle. Lewis states, “All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page. Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, in which every chapter is better than the one before it.” He’s saying all the pleasures of this life will pale in comparison to the pleasures of eternity. The best steak in the best restaurant will be nothing compared to the wedding feast of the Lamb. The Apostle Paul states in 1st Corinthians 2:9, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human heart has conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.” In this life we’re limited to only 5 senses, but what if we have over 100 senses in our resurrected life? It’ll be like trying to describe the beauty of the sunset to a blind person. They’ll never experience its beauty until they actually see it with their own eyes. In our resurrected life we’ll be exposed to infinite pleasures we never realized existed! We’ll taste and be satisfied. Run and never grow weary. Roll out of bead without feeling stiff with rigor mortis. We’ll laugh and never weep, never look back with regret, feeling like we’ve missed out. Easter means this world isn’t all there is, and so we’ll never miss out on pleasure with Jesus.
#6 The Resurrection Is A Guaranteed Future = The resurrection and all its pleasurable implications are a guaranteed future, and we have numerous reasons to believe that. I mean if the resurrection isn’t true, if none of this ever happened, then where’s the body of Jesus? Where’s the body of Jesus? We’re talking the most public figure and the most public event in history, yet nobody knows where the body is?...The Jews and Romans even sealed and guarded the tomb to prevent rumors from spreading about Jesus rising from the dead. So all they had to do was show Jesus’s body and they would’ve squashed the rumors. But the reason they never showed the body is because he had risen! We don’t even know the exact location of his tomb which is incredible! I mean when somebody dies you remember where they’re buried and even bring flowers to keep their gravesite beautiful. But nobody knows where the tomb of Jesus is because Christians didn’t need to remember his tomb since he had risen! The tomb was insignificant compared to the joy of his resurrection, and all the disciples were willing to die to share that joy! In fact, all of them were either persecuted or murdered for sharing the news that Jesus had risen. The only reason you’d be willing to suffer persecution and death for such a claim is if you were 100% certain it happened. The disciples had an unshakable joy and certainty in the resurrection of Jesus not even death threats could shatter. Their courage and joy flowed from being in the very presence of Jesus. None of these pleasures would exist without the presence of Jesus. They’d still be sitting scared and sorrowful in the upper room with the doors locked. But the reason their fear and sorrow were turned into courage and joy is because they saw the resurrected Jesus and knew their future was secure! It was the result of seeing and being in the presence, of the resurrected Jesus.
The Big Idea:
Look the big idea is that the resurrection guarantees we’ll have infinite pleasures beyond this life. It’s the great news of Easter! The great gift Jesus came to give us! The very thing we’re all longing for, which is to experience pleasure and to have those pleasures last! All your sights, feelings, tastes, human senses and pleasures will never last with atheism, naturalism, or Eastern Religious Spirituality. All your human senses and pleasures will never last without a physical bodily resurrection. They’ll only last through faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection! So, if you’re a believer let Easter remind you that you don’t have to keep chasing a bucket list, and you don’t have to feel you’re missing out, because there’s infinite pleasures to enjoy with Christ. If you’re a skeptic put your faith in Jesus today, and your human senses and pleasures will not only continue, they’ll be heightened...as you get to explore a marvelous eternity with Jesus!