“And He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself…(Later after He had left them) They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures’” Luke 24:25-27 and 32
Of all of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances (see 1 Cor. 15:3-7), my favorite is the visit He gave to those forlorn brothers in Christ on the road to Emmaus. We have much in common with them (Luke 24:13-35), for we too can be “foolish and slow of heart.” especially when our hearts are heavy with fear and anxiety. But I am so thankful for the Lord’s steadfast love especially in the times of our weakness.
Today, I hope and pray that He will keep doing for all of us what He did for those Emmaus Road brothers in Christ…that is that He would help us to see Him everywhere in the Scriptures, for He is the central focus of the Bible… Him and His work. By seeing Him, we take our mind off the struggles around us and we are enabled to glorify Him and edify others.
My hope is that Moses’s words—especially the Law, will constantly drive us to Jesus. For He has fulfilled the demands of the law for us, and is now fulfilling the beauty of the law in us through the work of the Holy Spirit. It has been said, “We could sooner sneeze the sun into existence than we could earn our salvation by our works.” Let us look to Jesus and the salvation only He can give us today…salvation dearly paid for and freely given to all who are His. Focusing on this rather than the troubles of the day, that are always with us, we can experience God’s peace.
Because Jesus is Risen every promise God has made through the prophets—including the cross, and His coming again are “yes…and Amen to God…” (2 Cor. 1:20). The truth of God’s word is seen through this simple fact…He is Risen. And having risen from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father, He is now preparing to make all things new. He is sovereign and He rules over every molecule and moment, every person and place. Faith, not fear, is the order of this day and every day.
Today I am asking Jesus to give us all an incurable case of “redemptive heartburn,” “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures”, like that which He ignited in the hearts of our Emmaus brothers. Along with that, I am also asking that He keep showing us more of His glory and grace, that we might give Him the adoration and allegiance of which He alone is worthy… so we can continue to be the blessing to others He has commanded us to be. We can do these things all because He is Risen…He is Risen, Indeed!
The Resurrection matters!
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
“Christos Anesti…Alethos anesti!”
