The Power of Remembrance
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Learning that remembering what God has already done is a powerful foundation for faith in any circumstance.
Text: Luke 24:6-12
Date: 04/12/2026, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 227
Description:
As we continue to make our way through Luke's Resurrection narrative, we return to the empty tomb and the conversation between the angels from heaven and the women who have come to anoint the body of Jesus. They are emphatically told to remember the words the Lord has told them during His ministry concerning His Resurrection. We will find in this command to "remember" one of the foundations of true faith and trust in God. And that is to remember the great and wondrous deeds God has done in the past as proof of His covenantal faithfulness, and therefore reason to trust in His goodness as we face the challenges of life. The glorious message of the angels is that by remembering the Word of Jesus, we will reap the power in remembrance, as our faith in His promises and goodness is strengthened and increased.
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I. Introduction, 1Chr. 16:12-15.
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 24:6-12.
A. Context
1. The Resurrection.
2. How we determine what is real.
3. Harmonizing the Gospels.
B. The report to the forgetful apostles.
1. The power of remembering, vs. 6b-8.
a. The command to remember, vs. 6b.
i. The focus on "remembering", Luke 18:34.
ii. The significance of remembering.
1) Old Testament remembering.
a) When God remembers, Jer. 31:34; Ex. 2:24; Gen. 8:1, 30:22; Neh. 13:14; Hos. 7:2.
b) The command to remember, Ex. 13:3; Num. 15:40; Ex. 20:8; Psa. 77:11; Deut. 8:2,18.
2) New Testament remembering, Matt. 16:8-11; John 1:17,22, 12:16, 20:29; Heb. 11:1; Rom. 8:24-25.
iii. Remembering the Lord's words, John 1:1, 5:24, 12:48, 14:23-24,26, 15:20; Luke 21:33, 9:26.
b. What to remember, vs. 7.
i. Oft-repeated but forgotten words, Luke 9:22,44,45.
ii. Luke's focus on Resurrection promises, Luke 17:25, 18:32,33, 24:7,27,44,46.
iii. The message of the early church, Acts 2:22-24; 1Cor. 1:22-24; 1John 4:9-10; Rev. 5:9; Rom. 6:3,4.
c. On remembering and faith, vs. 8.
i. An "expositional dilemma".
ii. When considering Matthew's Gospel, Matt. 28:8,9; Mark 16:8.
iii. When considering John's Gospel, John 20:2.
iv. Probing the meaning.
2. Telling the apostles, vs. 9-11.
a. The first Gospel evangelists, vs. 9.
i. The nature of the witness, Luke 24:36,37; John 20:19.
ii. The extraordinary source of the witness.
b. The named witnesses, vs. 10a, Luke 8:2,3.
c. The unbelieving apostles, vs. 10b-11.
3. Peter's trip to the tomb.
a. Harmonizing the Gospels, vs. 12a, John 20:3,4.
b. What Peter saw, vs. 12b.
c. Seeing is not believing, vs. 12c, John 20:9-10.
III. Application, 1Chr. 16:11-12.
IV. Conclusion, 2Tim. 2:8.
