Wolves At The Door
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Learning "Why" the total dependence on the authority of the Word of God is so strongly emphasized in Luke's Resurrection Narrative.
Text: Luke 24:44-46
Date: 05/31/2026, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 234
Description:
When the Resurrected Christ revealed Himself to the assembly of apostles and disciples, they first thought He was a ghost. Knowing where they "lived", Jesus engaged the eyes of their flesh to hear, see, and actually touch Him to prove that He was indeed "flesh and bone". But He did not leave His revelation there! Rather, for the third time in this Resurrection narrative Luke will emphasize the solid foundation of Jesus' Words and the Scriptures of the Old Testament in proving it was necessary for the Christ to suffer (the Crucifixion) and be raised on the third day (the Resurrection). We will recognize how essential these two elements of redemption are to Christianity, how it was the message of the early church, and how it found sometimes violent resistance from those clinging to the darkness. Having emphasized the connection between true faith and the careful interpretation of the Word, in this message we will ask, "Why was this so important that Luke spends so much of His Resurrection narrative pounding it into His readers?" We will find the answer in the spiritual darkness the early apostles and evangelist faced, and indeed what we continue to face today; as we learn the necessity of standing firmly on the Word of God as we anticipate the wolves at the door.
View:
Options:
I. Introduction, Matt. 7:15-16, 24:9-12,24,25; Luke 10:3.
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 24:44-46.
A. Context
B. The transition to trusting the Scriptures.
1. Anchored in the Word, vs. 44-45.
a. Words of Life, vs. 44.
i. Establishing the timeline, Luke 34:36; Matt. 28:10.
ii. The words of Jesus, 9:22,44,45, 18:31,34, Luke 24:6-8.
iii. The words of the Old Testament Scripture, Luke 24:26-27.
1) Emphasizing ALL of Old Testament Scripture, Psa. 16,22,69,188; Isa. 53.
2) The threefold reference to Scripture.
b. Opening minds, vs. 45, Luke 24:32.
i. Looking at the words.
1) Making understanding possible, Luke 24:31.
2) The rational mind.
3) The ability to understand, Luke 18:34.
ii. The significance of the Redeemed soul, 1Cor. 2:14.
iii. Why the delay?
2. The core of the Gospel, vs. 46.
a. Returning to the Old Testament Scriptures, Luke 24:27.
b. The inseparable elements of Redemption, 1Cor. 15:3-4.
C. Pondering "why" the emphasis on the Word of God.
1. The transition.
a. Life without Jesus.
b. A new set of authoritative teachers.
2. Emphasizing the Resurrection.
a. The importance of the Resurrection, Psa. 16:10.
b. The resistance to the Resurrection.
i. It was the message of the apostolic church, Luke 24:46; Acts 2:24,30,31,32, 4:33, 28:23.
ii. It would be a "sticking point" for both Jews and Gentiles, 1Cor. 1:23; Acts 4:1-3, 5:28-33, 17:18,32.
3. Anticipating the wolves at the door.
a. Wolves from without, Acts 4:18, 5:40, 16:16-24.
b. Wolves who try to infiltrate, Acts 8:18-20, 19:13-16.
c. Wolves from within, Rev. 2:14,15,20; 2Pet. 2:1-3,12-19.
III. Application, Luke 10:3; Acts 20:29-31; Isa. 40:6-8.
IV. Conclusion
