The Bible Study Hour

Guest (Male): As Christ was nailed to the cross and drew his last breath, faith died in the hearts of many of the men and women who followed him. How could faith survive when the one in whom their faith was placed was gone?

Welcome to the Bible Study Hour, a radio and internet broadcast with Dr. James Boice, preparing you to think and act biblically. Faith died in these men and women and hope died as well. Hope in the one they believed would redeem Israel and usher in the Kingdom of God. Join Dr. Boice as he takes a deeper look into the faith and hope that died that terrible day and something greater that managed to survive in the hearts of his followers.

Dr. James Boice: I'm sure that some who are listening to the broadcast right now are deeply depressed. But I think that no matter how deep our discouragement may be, it can't be compared to the feeling of utter disillusionment that the disciples felt during the time between the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection. You see, everything they believed, everything they had hoped for was wrapped up in the Lord Jesus. And so when he died, in a certain sense, they died also. And I think those who are discouraged right now can find some help by learning from these discouraged disciples.

There was much about Jesus that they didn't understand, but what they did understand they believed and they followed him because of this. They followed him for three years. He was their life. Where he went, they went. What he said, they heard. What he instructed, they tried to obey. And then all of a sudden, even though he had warned them of it, he was taken away, tried, crucified, and everything that they believed died with him.

Now, that was true for all of them. And so after Christ was crucified, they immediately began to scatter back to where they had been previously. Cleopas and Mary went back to their village, the women went home, the disciples were beginning to scatter and eventually would go back to Galilee. It was just over, you see. And so they were going home. Now, this death of faith is nowhere better illustrated than in the case of the disciple Thomas. We don't know a great deal about him because he's not mentioned many times in the New Testament. But what we do know indicates that he possessed a very sober outlook on life.

On one occasion when Jesus and the disciples had received a message that their friend Lazarus was sick and Jesus had determined to go up to Bethany in the area of Jerusalem, Thomas was present and Thomas understood what it meant to go back to Jerusalem. That's where Christ's enemies were. His enemies were there, danger was there. He knew the threats that had been made against Christ's life. But you know he loved Christ and he was going to be with him to the end, albeit grimly. So he said, "Let us go up with him also that we may die with him."

That was Thomas. Later in the Upper Room when Jesus said, "Whither I go ye know and the way ye know," Thomas wouldn't allow him to get away with that because Thomas thought that he at least didn't know the way. And so he said, "Lord, we do not know where you're going and therefore how can we know the way?" You see, he was a man of a very sober disposition. And so we're not surprised to find that a week after the resurrection, even though the other disciples had come to Thomas and had told him that they had seen the Lord, he declared that he would just not believe it.

John tells us about it in chapter 20. Thomas said, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." We call Thomas doubting Thomas, but strictly speaking, that's an inaccurate designation because this isn't doubt here. As he's told about the resurrection of Christ by the other disciples, it's disbelief. Alexander McLaren said quite rightly, "This is flat, frank, dogged disbelief."

And that's true because Thomas, like so many of us, said, "I do not see evidence for it and I will not believe until I see the evidence myself." Now, we wouldn't say just because he was sober-minded about things that he never had faith. Certainly, he had faith in Jesus enough to follow him for three years. But the crucifixion had ended it. That's my point. It was done.

And so Thomas said that as far as he was concerned, it was over. I can even hear him say, although he didn't say the words outright, "Jesus should have listened to me. I knew it would happen. I said that if he went up to Jerusalem, he'd be killed. He went, he was killed. Now it's over. I am going home." Well, faith died in these men and women. I want you to notice that hope died also. Their faith was wrapped up in him, but their hope was no less wrapped up in him.

Oh, it's true. It was a rather limited hope. It was fashioned according to their own expectations of the future. They were Jews. What they were looking for was a political Messiah who would deliver them from the power of the Romans. But nevertheless, it was a hope and the hope was wrapped up in Jesus Christ and when he died, their hope died. Now, if Thomas is a great example of the death of faith, the Emmaus disciples, whom I identify as Cleopas and his wife Mary, are great examples of the death of hope.

You know their story. They had been in Jerusalem during the days of the Passover and early on the first Easter morning, the women had gone to the tomb and seen the angels and come back with the angels' message. "He's not here. He has risen as he said. Come see the place where the Lord lay. Go quickly and tell his disciples that he's risen from the dead." They had heard that message because they tell about it later. And yet so far were they from believing in a resurrection, so far were they from having any Christian hope whatsoever, they didn't even bother to go to the tomb to investigate it for themselves.

It was done, that's all. And so they started out for their home in Emmaus as they had planned to do on the night preceding. On the way, Jesus came along and he caught up to them. He said, "Why do you look so sad?" They said, "Haven't you heard all the things that have happened in Jerusalem over this last weekend?" He said, "What things?" He wanted them to tell him. They said, "About Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet, a man mighty of God, who was taken by the chief priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees and was turned over to the Romans and crucified. But we had hoped that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel."

That's very interesting that they use that word "redeemed" because of course, what in the world was Jesus doing if he wasn't redeeming Israel and all his people who should believe, Jews and Gentiles also? Redemption means to buy out of slavery. And he was buying us back out of the slavery of sin. Well, that wasn't the kind of redemption they were looking for, of course. They had been looking for a political redemption and Jesus had died without redeeming them politically from the domination of Rome.

So they expressed their disappointment and they said, "Our hope has died. It died with Jesus because we had hoped, you see, that he might have been the one who should have redeemed Israel." Well, faith died, hope died. But you know there's one thing that hadn't died and that was their love for Jesus. Love did not die. Love did not die in the hearts of these men and women who had come to love the Lord.

Now, it's true for all of them. It's why they talked about him. It's why they couldn't quite tear themselves away from the places which they had associated with him. But just as Thomas is a great example of the death of faith and the Emmaus disciples are a great example of the death of hope, Mary Magdalene is a great example, the greatest example, of the living qualities of love. Now, we don't know a whole lot about Mary.

We're told in Luke in the eighth chapter that Jesus had done a mighty work of grace in her life, casting out seven demons. We know that she was one of the women who ministered to Jesus and his disciples out of her substance, using her money to support them in part during the years of their ministry. That's about all we know until we come to her activities during this last week of Christ's life. We do know that Mary had been forgiven a great deal and therefore, as the Lord himself said on one occasion, the one who has been forgiven much loves much.

And she did love the Lord Jesus Christ much. Love kept her near him during these final hours. It's very instructive to reconstruct what happened during these last hours of the crucifixion and then during the days preceding the resurrection. Mary was one of the few who was there in Jerusalem in those days. We're told on three separate occasions and in three of the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and John—that Mary specifically was there and she saw the crucifixion.

And if she saw the crucifixion, she probably witnessed all the other events connected with it. She was in Jerusalem to hear the cries of the crowds as goaded by the priests they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him." She heard the judgment of Pilate, "I find him innocent but nevertheless take ye him and crucify him." She saw the crucifixion, she heard the nails driven through his hands.

She undoubtedly heard the terrible cries that came from our Lord on the cross, "I thirst," and then "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" as Jesus bore our sin. She witnessed the hours of darkness, she experienced the earthquake. Finally, she was there for the death itself. And if you ask, how could a woman in this frame of mind, distraught as she undoubtedly was, stay and witness such a horrible thing, that which would be a trial for the strongest of men?

Who has stomach for something like that? The answer is she stayed near the cross because she loved him. She was determined that she would not leave the Lord Jesus Christ unto the end. And you know even then she didn't want to leave him. She hadn't been able to do anything for him during the hours of his agony, but when he was dead she said, "Well, at least now I can anoint the body."

And so she talked to the other women about it and they agreed with her and they went off to buy spices. And at some time, probably on that same evening, they saw the body taken down from the cross and witnessed it being laid in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb, as Joseph and Nicodemus got the body from Pilate and caused it to be buried. She knew where it was and she planned to come back on Sunday morning after the Passover Sabbath and the regular Saturday Sabbath were over.

Now, the morning came. And you have to understand something of the details of the story in order not to miss the poignancy that's here. This Mary, who loved the Lord Jesus Christ more than anything in all the world, came with the other women to the sepulcher early in the morning with her spices. And as they went, they said to themselves, "Now we have a problem, you know. The stone has been placed over the mouth of the tomb. We saw that done. And who's going to remove that for us?"

They didn't know who could do it. And if you say, well then why were they coming with the spices if they knew the stone was there? Did they really have plans for somebody to move it? No, they didn't. They didn't know who could do that. As a matter of fact, they hadn't the faintest idea how they would get the spices to the body. But they wanted to try anyway. So they were there early as the light first began to come up on that Sunday morning.

And when they got into the vicinity of the graveyard and in sight of the tomb, they saw that the stone had been removed. Now, it suited their purpose to have the stone removed, but it wasn't what they were expecting. And so they were confused. They looked about among themselves, they said, "What will we do?" They said, "Well, one thing we ought to do is tell the disciples. Someone should go." And then either they appointed Mary to go or Mary volunteered.

At any rate, she's the one who started off to find the only disciples who were in the city that morning, Peter and John. And she went to find them and she gave them the message and she said, "The body's not there. They've taken him away." Peter and John raced to the tomb, leaving her behind, gentlemen that they were. And while Peter and John were on their way, the women came close to the sepulcher.

There they heard the angels give the first announcement of the resurrection, and then they left. And then Peter and John came and they went into the tomb. John believed because of the position of the grave clothes. And then they left. And at last, after all this, Mary arrived back at the tomb once again. Now she was alone. She had begun to go with the women, but she had become separated from them.

She had gone to find Peter and John and they had run off without her. And so here she was, standing there all alone. What was she to do? Think what she'd been through. The one she had loved most of all in all the world had been taken from her, brutally killed, buried. She'd been weeping for him, probably for days. She tried to do the only thing she knew how to do, bring spices to anoint the body.

And now even that was frustrated, the body was gone. So she had done the only thing she knew to do. She had gone back to where she'd last seen him, back to the graveyard and the tomb. And there she was standing there weeping, weeping in the graveyard. I don't know how this woman found tears to weep three days after the crucifixion. Undoubtedly she'd been weeping all the time, but there she was weeping.

And it was through tear-filled eyes that at last she looked into the tomb and saw the angels. The angels said, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said, "Because they have taken away my Lord and I don't know where they have laid him." Now, can you understand the significance of that? When the other women saw the angels, they knew they were angels. They were frightened.

But Mary didn't recognize them as angels. Mary wasn't startled by their appearance. She didn't say, "What are these men or angels or whatever doing here in the graveyard at this hour of the morning?" She wasn't thinking about that at all. She didn't care. All she was thinking about was Jesus. And so we read in John 20 that after she had explained why she was weeping, she had no more interest in the angels or the tomb and she turned around.

There was Jesus, but again she didn't recognize him. It's foolish to speculate why she didn't recognize him. We know that later when the Lord appeared to the Emmaus disciples, they didn't recognize him either. And at any rate, Mary had been crying. She was preoccupied. Most certainly she did not expect the resurrection. Jesus asked the same question that the angels had asked.

"Woman, why are you weeping?" And then he added a question of his own. He said, "Who are you seeking?" Well, she answered him in courtesy, but she thought he was the gardener. And what she answers is probably one of the most poignant sentences in all of human literature. We're told supposing him to be the gardener she said to him, "Sir, if thou hast borne him from here"—you see she doesn't even explain who "him" is. She's supposing that everybody knows that it's Jesus who's missing.

She says, "Sir, if thou hast borne him from here, tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him away." What an offer. Do you understand what she was offering? She was a woman and she was offering to carry away the body of a man, dead weight. And in addition to that, the body had been wrapped in spices that had been provided by Joseph of Arimathea—a hundred pounds of spices we're told.

She was offering to do the impossible. She couldn't carry away the body. But you see, that's all she could think of, the body. And she wanted to do whatever she could. And if the body had been mistreated, well then she would treat it properly. And so not recognizing the Lord she said, "Sir, if you're the one who's taken him, let me know where he is and I'll dispose of the body. I'll take it, I'll take care of it for you."

Then you know at that point she must have turned away from Jesus again. It doesn't say so, but later it says she turned back and so if she turned back, she must have turned away. You see she wasn't interested in the angels, she wasn't interested in the tomb, she wasn't even interested in Jesus when she supposed him only to be the gardener. She didn't know which way to turn. And so first she was looking in the tomb, then she was looking at him, now she turns back to the tomb again, crying all the while.

And at that point, the Lord just speaks her name, "Mary." And she recognizes him and she turns to him now in belief and says, "Master, Rabboni." And what happens? Well, this was the resurrection of Mary because you see Mary no less than the others had experienced the death of her faith and the death of her hope. She had no faith in Jesus as the Savior, she had no hope that he would be the redeemer of Israel—all that was gone.

But when her love that did not die drew her to the tomb, and when the living Lord spoke her name and thereby revealed himself to her, faith which had died came vaulting from its tomb and hope which had dissipated gathered again around the person of the Lord. Well, let me apply this to you. If you have not yet come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you have no faith, if you have no hope, may I suggest that you begin with love?

And if you say, but how can I love him? I don't love him, I hardly understand him, then let me say that the place to begin is with his love for you at the cross. God himself tells us that it's on the basis of the cross that he recommends his love to us. Paul writes about it in Romans, "But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

What I recommend is that you focus on the stories of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on your behalf, seeing that he, the innocent one, died in your place. Because if you do, you will begin to love him. And as you love him, I am convinced that you will hear his voice calling your name—Betty or Mary or George, Susan, Charles, whatever it may be. Jesus said he knoweth his sheep and calleth them by name.

And as he calls, your heart will answer spiritually, "Rabboni, Master." And in that instant, faith will be born and hope will be born also. But maybe you're one who believes in Jesus and you love him, but nevertheless, you may be going through a period when your faith and your hope are severely tried. It may be because of death—maybe a loved one has been taken from you.

It may be because of sickness or suffering—suffering, especially acute physical suffering, may have caused you to doubt many things that before this you had always believed. It may simply be difficult circumstances when you find yourself asking whether you really have believed properly or whether you really can believe in the sense that you once believed. You say, "I have no hope, at least I have none now or I don't think I do."

Well, if that's the case, take confidence in the fact that love does not die or waver. I know you've found that to be true. Though faith is called in question, though hope seems to perish, love goes on and you do love him, you still love him. What you should do is draw near to the Lord Jesus Christ in that love, to the one who loves you, learning to love him even more through the trial and through the suffering, knowing that in his own time and by his grace, he will see that the faith and the hope are brought into line also.

That's the Christian experience. That's Christian growth. It's our great joy. And then it's our joy to take this message and proclaim it to those who have never heard. I'll leave you a verse in closing: Faith, hope, and love—these three, but the greatest of these is love.

And now, our Father, we thank you, first of all, for the love of the Lord Jesus Christ for us. We thank you for his ministry on our behalf. We thank you that he has taught us to love. And then that by his grace, he has taught us to believe and to have hope also. Grant that all these great characteristics of the Christian life might be present in all your people this day.

Encourage us through Jesus Christ—not the crucified Christ alone, but the Christ of the resurrection, who speaks our name and calls us constantly to greater faith in him. For we pray in his name with great thanksgiving. Amen.

Guest (Male): You're listening to the Bible Study Hour, featuring the teaching of Dr. James Boice. Many people fear death, but we needn't fear death because our death will never separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, and we can fortify our faith through the absolute security we have in him.

Find out more in our free CD offer entitled "The Love of God in Christ Jesus." It's also by Dr. Boice. This free offer is our way of saying thanks for listening. Just call us at 1-800-488-1888 and we will be glad to send you a copy of "The Love of God in Christ Jesus." That number again is 1-800-488-1888.

Faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love. And it's love that motivates us to carry out the Savior's work of proclaiming his coming Kingdom. Please consider supporting his work through the Bible Study Hour. You can make a one-time gift or become a monthly supporter by visiting our website at thebiblestudyhour.org. You could instead call us at 1-800-488-1888 and our mailing address is 600 Eden Road, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 17601.

The message you just heard, as well as other content from Dr. Boice and many Reformed teachers, authors, and speakers, is available at reformedresources.org. That's reformedresources.org.

Mark Daniels: I'm Mark Daniels. While Jesus' encounter with the men on the road to Emmaus may not be thought of as a sermon per se, Jesus did indeed preach them a comprehensive message expositing all that the Old Testament prophets said about his coming and his mission. Join Dr. James Boice next time as he reviews the abundance of Old Testament scripture pointing to Christ and that sermon he may well have preached that first Easter Sunday on the way to Emmaus. That's next time on the Bible Study Hour, preparing you to think and act biblically.