During the rule of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest assigned service in the regiment of Abijah. His name was Zachariah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron. Her name was Elizabeth. Together they lived honorably before God, careful in keeping to the ways of the commandments and enjoying a clear conscience before God. But they were childless because Elizabeth could never conceive, and now they were quite old.

It so happened that as Zachariah was carrying out his priestly duties before God, working the shift assigned to his regiment, it came his one turn in life to enter the sanctuary of God and burn incense. The congregation was gathered and praying outside the Temple at the hour of the incense offering. Unannounced, an angel of God appeared just to the right of the altar of incense. Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.

But the angel reassured him, “Don’t fear, Zachariah. Your prayer has been heard. Elizabeth, your wife, will bear a son by you. You are to name him John. You’re going to leap like a gazelle for joy, and not only you—many will delight in his birth. He’ll achieve great stature with God.   “He’ll drink neither wine nor beer. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment he leaves his mother’s womb. He will turn many sons and daughters of Israel back to their God. He will herald God’s arrival in the style and strength of Elijah, soften the hearts of parents to children, and kindle devout understanding among hardened skeptics—he’ll get the people ready for God.”

Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.”

But the angel said, “I am Gabriel, the sentinel of God, sent especially to bring you this glad news. But because you won’t believe me, you’ll be unable to say a word until the day of your son’s birth. Every word I’ve spoken to you will come true on time—God’s time.”

Meanwhile, the congregation waiting for Zachariah was getting restless, wondering what was keeping him so long in the sanctuary. When he came out and couldn’t speak, they knew he had seen a vision. He continued speechless and had to use sign language with the people.

When the course of his priestly assignment was completed, he went back home. It wasn’t long before his wife, Elizabeth, conceived. She went off by herself for five months, relishing her pregnancy. “So, this is how God acts to remedy my unfortunate condition!” she said.

When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.

On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: “No. He is to be called John.”

“But,” they said, “no one in your family is named that.” They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.

Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, “His name is to be John.” That took everyone by surprise. Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah’s mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!

A deep, reverential fear settled over the neighborhood, and in all that Judean hill country people talked about nothing else. Everyone who heard about it took it to heart, wondering, “What will become of this child? Clearly, God has his hand in this.”

Then Zachariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,

   And you, my child, “Prophet of the Highest,”
      will go ahead of the Master to prepare his ways,
   Present the offer of salvation to his people,
      the forgiveness of their sins.
   Through the heartfelt mercies of our God,
      God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
   Shining on those in the darkness,
      those sitting in the shadow of death,
   Then showing us the way, one foot at a time,
      down the path of peace.

The child grew up, healthy and spirited. He lived out in the desert until the day he made his prophetic debut in Israel.

There are two things from this story that stand-out to me.  First is Zachariah’s response to the angel and the second is his response to the birth.

Zachariah was a priest.  He knows the history of the Jewish people.  He knows one story in particular – Abraham and Sarah. 

Angel appears. 

Says, “You’re going to be a pop.  Congratulations.”

Zachariah laughs.

Outloud.

Just like Sarah did.

Here is a priest.  A man who has taught hundreds of Jewish children their history laughs at a story he’s heard before.

This story shows hope.

Once again, we see God choosing the unlikely to become history.

An old man.

An old woman.

A baby.

The foreteller of the Messiah.

God removing people from their personal dramas to make them a part of His story.

The angel tells Zachariah that his lack of belief – belief of a story he’s known all his life – would result in his mouth being shut until the baby is born.  See, when we fail to belief the promises of God, He would prefer that we just keep our mouth shut. 

Contrast Elizabeth’s response.  She “relishes” in the fact that she is pregnant.  Fortunately for her, Zachariah couldn’t talk.  He couldn’t be the wet-blanket that he would have undoubtedly been if he had been able to speak.  He couldn’t derail the joy of God as we so often do when we hear a promise of God that will remove us from our own dramas.

Then the baby is born.

“Name him John”, Elizabeth says.

Counter-cultural.

No one in the family is named John.

No significance.

But, Zacariah, speaks.

“Name him John.”

See, God often works counter-culturally.

God often takes us from what’s comfortable when He uses us in His story.  It’s not just a taking us out of the drama and keeping us where we are, but rather it’s a matter of removing us from the drama to drop us into a new place.

Zachariah then prophesies.  He says that this boy, John, would foretell the coming of the Messiah.

Then he makes a profound statement: “Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God’s Sunrise will break in upon us, shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death, then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace.”

Because God has chosen to have mercy on us once again, He will break through our darkness with His beautiful sunrise.

The beauty of Immanuel is that Immanuel is right now.  God is with us in the right now. 

Immanuel doesn’t parachute in to rescue us; rather He is right here right now.  In the midst of our darkness, He breaks in with His sunrise.

When Job is in deepest despair, God speaks out of the storm.

When Elijah is hiding in a cave, God breaks in with a still, small voice.

When His people were in slavery, God burns a bush to get Moses’ attention.

When we are struggling with addictions, God’s sunrise brings us comfort and strength.

When we are experiencing death, God’s sunrise brings us hope of new life.

In the middle of our darkness – our personal drama – God’s sunrise, Immanuel, breaks in and moves us into His story.

 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.  For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Second, Luke 1:46-55:

And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

There’s an album by Nathan Chud called Moratorium.  Quite honestly, this is one of the most deeply spiritual albums which I have ever heard.  It is truly a must own for every Christ-follower.  On this album is a song called “Entering Rest”.  This song is one of the most beautiful prayer-filled songs which I’ve ever heard.  It ends with a prayer that his wife wrote in the midst of a struggle.  In this prayer, she says, “Lord, remove me once again from my personal drama and make me a part of your story.”

Personal drama turned into God’s story?  That sounds like Advent.

We find at the center of the Advent story a young girl – probably a teenager.  She’s engaged to a man who is likely considerably older.  When we hear the word engaged, we often think in modern terms of they dated, fell in love, and determined that they would marry.  However, it’s likely that this relationship is less romance than that would be contained in that image. 

I think we often stylize this story into one of Joseph being a knight in shining armor and Mary being a young maiden – almost a damsel in distress.  Yet, in doing so, we loose a key element to the story.  This story is about much more than a man, a girl, and a baby.

Mary is engaged to be married to Joseph.  We don’t know how long they’ve been engaged.  We don’t know how soon the wedding is.

What we do know is that an angel appears and upsets the apple cart.  The Angel tells Mary, “You’re going to have a baby!”  For us today, this is joyful news.  For Mary, this news is probably not as joyful.  In fact, it is likely down-right frightening.

See, there’s a lot of personal drama that comes with this revelation. 

Mary’s pregnant. 

She’s not married. 

Her fiancé is not the father. 

The punishment for adultery is death.

By stoning.

Her would-be husband tossing the first rock.

Personal drama abounds.

Here is where Joseph does indeed become a knight in shining armor rescuing a damsel in distress.  In the Matthew account, which we read yesterday, we find Joseph pondering what to do.  He determines to divorce her quietly, so as to not bring additional embarrassment to her.  Yet, once again, the angel intervenes.  Joseph determines then to follow to plan of God.

Joseph, who had every right to have Mary stoned, determines to allow God to remove him from the personal drama and make him a part of God’s story. 

Mary and Joseph would have likely endured months, if not years, of knowing glares from fellow villagers.  They likely would have been asked how that whole timeline works out.  Not a comfortable scenario, and one that was likely to have stayed with them for most of their lives.

Personal drama.

Yet, Mary, like Joseph, allows God to remove her from the personal drama to make her a part of God’s story.

She shows willingness: “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”  In other words, “Remove me Lord from my personal drama, so that I may be a part of Your story.”

As we work our way through the remainder of this Advent season, we are presented with this challenge: We can either choose to relish in our personal dramas, or can allow God to take those personal dramas and make them a part of His Story. 

Miraculously.

In the midst of the darkness of our lives – our personal dramas – we find God’s Sunrise breaking in creating within us the eager anticipation of Immanuel.

Immanuel – God is With Us

Our text for this session comes from Matthew 1:18-23 (ESV):

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.  When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.  And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.  But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

 God with us.

Joseph is – to me – one of the most fascinating characters in the story of the nativity.  He’s recognized by Matthew as “being a just man”.  Joseph chooses the hard path, and allows himself to become a part of the Messiah-story.  God chooses Joseph to be the father-figure for Jesus.  While that alone is a remarkable testament to Joseph, he also holds a significant element in the story.

The lineage of Joseph goes back to David. 

Matthew begins his Gospel with a genealogy.  Why?

The passage which Matthew quotes “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” is from Isaiah 7:14.  This passage is contained within a prophecy given through Isaiah to the King Ahaz.  Some Jewish (and otherwise) scholars believe that this passage was NOT Messianic, but rather related to a physical king of Israel.  As an almost purposely contradictory stance to this belief, Matthew takes a moment to show that if the Kingdom of Israel had been intact both Joseph, and ultimately Jesus, would have been in line to be that physical king. 

Yet, as we all know, there is more to this Baby born in a manager than just being an heir to an earthly throne. 

Immanuel.

While Advent is a period spent in anticipation of the coming Messiah, for the believer – the Christ-follower – this passage shows another element to Advent. 

Immanuel – God with us.

As the Christ-follower navigates through the days leading up to the celebration of Messiah’s birth, we also know that because Messiah has come God is with us.  Immanuel. 

Whether in the birth of a child or death of a saint, we know Immanuel. 

Whether in skies that are clear or heavy wind and rain, we know Immanuel.

Whether in snow-capped mountains or expansive brown plains, we know Immanuel.

God is with us.

Throughout this advent season there have been events that have made it again evident to me that God is with us.

On the beginning day of Advent, my nephew was born – evidence of Immanuel.  Even though he was born five weeks early, he was born healthy.  His mom was healthy. 

God is with us.

Throughout this Advent season, we have watched as the family of my sister-in-law has been on a path of saying a long goodbye to their mother and wife.  Yet, throughout that journey, as I have read the postings from her dad, Immanuel has been evident. 

God is with us.

Throughout Advent, my work had me each week in Colorado Springs.  As one travels along I-25, takes time to walk through the Garden of the Gods, or merely looks out an office window, the mountains rising to the sky, Immanuel is evident.

God is with us.

As we have journeyed through this Advent season, my meditations have been on Immanuel.  I have made a conscious effort to look for those moments that occur throughout each and every day that provide evidence that God is indeed with us. 

God is indeed with us.

Immanuel has indeed come.

In Advent’s eager anticipation of Messiah, we are able to see that Immanuel has come as a sunrise breaking into our personal drama making us a part of God’s own story.

Though it was an uncomfortable moment, two lessons were ingrained into my mind because of this event.  The greatest commandment Jesus gave us was to Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  I realized why the love of possessions is such an evil in the Kingdom of God.  When I place my possessions as idols, then I cannot love my neighbor as myself, because I’m loving my possessions as myself, resulting in people coming second to things.  When we ignorantly believe that all we have belongs to us, then we start to identify our value through the possessions we “own.”  And of course the logical step following that identification is to use our energy and time and money to protect those possessions, because if they lose their value, then we lose our value along with them!

But what’s so wonderful about the world that God created is that we are to put HIM first and love HIM with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind.  We give God the greatest value in our lives, because through Him all things were made and in Him is life!  And when we put God first in our life, then we begin to identify ourselves through HIS eyes, and we see that we are made in HIS image!  And we give God our energy and time and money because we love Him and we realize it all came from Him and is His anyway, but we don’t have to worry about protecting God for fear of risking depreciation, because God will never lose His value.  The only risk of loving God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind is that we surrender our will to His, and when he tells us to go, we go.  When he tells us to give, we give.  When he tells us to serve, we serve.  When he tells us to pray, we pray.  When he tells us to fast, we fast.  When he tells us to preach, we preach.  We give our ALL, and we say for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!

And this is where the second commandment comes in so easily.  When we love God and obey God, when we live with the fear of the Lord in our hearts, we tenderly and humbly see that our neighbor is also made in the image of God.  We see that those who have rejected God are like lost sheep who need to receive the mercy and love of their Shepherd.  We see that God loves His creation, and because we love Him, we have a deep respect and love toward those which he has created.  We see the likeness of God in our neighbor, and we recognize that we too are a humble creation, a pot in the Potter’s hands.

The second lesson I took away from this experience is that from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.  If my heart is full of bitterness and rage and idolatry and selfishness, then when my heart overflows, my mouth will speak these things.  If my heart is full of the grace and compassion and the fruit of a life living in step with the Holy Spirit and full of His fruit, then when my heart overflows, my mouth will speak His truth and His life.

Father God, You are worthy of all my praise and honor and thanksgiving and worship.  I’m reminded today of how deadly idols can be.  Please remove the idols in my life.  Reveal to me the things that I exalt over people and over You so that I may crush them in Jesus’ name!  Fill me with your Spirit.  I want my cup to run over with the power of the Holy Spirit.  I put You above all in my life.  Lord, bless the man who cussed me out today.  Reveal your truth and love and grace to him.  Turn his life around in such a way that when his heart overflows, his mouth speaks Your blessing and love to others.  Teach him what it is to be slow to speak and slow to become angry.  Thank you for being Emmanuel, God with me today and revealing truth to me in the midst of an unsettling encounter.  Lead me into Your path and Your way and correct me when I stray.  Deliver me from the desire to seek revenge.  I surrender all to You.  May Your name be exalted and glorified from the earth below to the heavens above!  You reign, Almighty God!  Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!  To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!  Amen!

Inside the front cover of mine, Mom wrote a note:

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” – 3 John 4 (KJV)

As a kid, I understood this to mean, “Live right and make Momma proud.”  Yet, now, as the father of two kids, while I still understand it that way, I also understand it quite differently.

As I watch my own kids, and pray that they grow up to walk in truth, I understand what else Mom was saying with that inscription.  There is something amazingly special about seeing your children walking in truth.

I watch my kids with their hearts turned to God, and, through the pride of a parent, learn the lesson that Jesus tried to teach His disciples – “a little child shall lead them.”

Yesterday morning, cesimants sat in my lap as I read Proverbs 24 and my daily Psalms readings (19, 91, 121 and 139).  As I read them out loud, cesimants would mimic the words.  So, together we memorized Psalm 121:2a (“My help comes from YHWH”).  It’s amazing to hear him say that, and know that he’s saying a prayer that millions have been saying for thousands of years.  It’s even more amazing to see him walking in truth.

Week-in and week-out, we get to watch eksimants worship, quote scripture, praise God, etc.  Last night after a 12 hour day of serving at church, we pulled back in the church parking lot to pick up our other vehicle.  I said, “we’re back at the church, let’s go worship again.”  eksimants quickly replied, “Ok!  We should!”

So, Mom, I didn’t fully understand 31 or so years ago when I first read that inscription what you were saying, but I do now.  Thank you for raising us up to walk in truth.

sksimants, thank you for raising our children to walk in truth!  While I hate to think of them growing up, I can’t wait to see how God uses them and the things you instill in them every day.

Below are two videos of my own kids.  First, is cesimants praising God, and second is eksimants quoting Philippians 4:4-13, 19-20.

That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.

He asked, “What’s this you’re discussing so intently as you walk along?”

They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?”

He said, “What has happened?”

They said, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn’t find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn’t see Jesus.”

Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.

They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.

Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”

Luke 24:13-32 (The Message)

————————-

They sit down to dinner.

Lesson 7: Communion is about dinner with friends

I love having dinner with friends.  It is such a wonderful time to find things in common.  It’s a great time to relax.  It takes our minds off of ourselves and we focus on relationship.

Dinner with friends can change the outlook.

The two men viewed this as a simple meal between friends.  Yet, during dinner, Jesus takes bread.  He breaks it.  They understand and realize who their new-Friend is.

Jesus takes bread.

He blesses it.

He breaks it.

How many dinners had these two men been at with Jesus?  How many times had they seen Him take bread, bless it, break it, and pass it out?  Yet, it wasn’t until this one time that they realized who Jesus really was.

These two men could have been in the room when Jesus did this same action a few days earlier – on that fateful, nay, miraculous night.  We don’t know.  It would be safe to bet that they would have at least known that story.

Jesus takes bread.  He blesses it.  He breaks it.  He gives it to them.

And they saw.

Never pass up a meal with a friend – it could be life-changing.

Jesus disappears.

The men then take off running back to Jerusalem to tell the rest of the disciples what has happened.

See, when Jesus becomes real – the Messiah – to us, we will get active.  The revelation of who we were contrasted with who we now are spurs us to run and tell.

These men ran seven miles back to Jerusalem.  They find the eleven and some others.  They tell their story.  These men now had a testimony.  And testimonies cannot be kept quiet.

When you have dinner with Jesus, His Spirit will change you.

That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.

He asked, “What’s this you’re discussing so intently as you walk along?”

They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?”

He said, “What has happened?”

They said, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn’t find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn’t see Jesus.”

Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.

They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.

Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”

Luke 24:13-32 (The Message)

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As they near the house, Jesus continues to walk.  These men beg Jesus to have dinner with them.  In a beautifully poetic line: “It’s nearly evening; the day is done.”

Lesson 6: Jesus won’t stay until He’s invited

Jesus was going to continue on the journey.  He was heading past the village.

The men “press” Him to stay with them.

When Jesus is invited to stay, He will stay.  Be forewarned – when Jesus stays things change.

Jesus agrees to stay with the men.

Jesus agrees to have dinner with them.

If the men hadn’t invited the Stranger to stay, then they would not have caught the revelation that was about to be given to them.  They would have missed Jesus.  They would have continued to think, “He’s dead.”  They would not have run seven miles back to Jerusalem to tell their story.

They invite the Stranger to stay.  When I was hungry, you gave Me food.  When I was homeless, you gave Me shelter.

The revelation of Who Jesus really is will not come until you invite Him to stay.

When Jesus stays, things change.  When things change, we take action.

Jesus won’t stay where He isn’t welcomed. 

That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.

He asked, “What’s this you’re discussing so intently as you walk along?”

They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?”

He said, “What has happened?”

They said, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn’t find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn’t see Jesus.”

Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.

They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.

Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”

Luke 24:13-32 (The Message)

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Jesus listens to their story, and then responds.  But notice that in His response He ignores the comments about the women’s story.  Instead, He goes straight to a lesson from 2,000 years of Jewish prophecy about Messiah.

Lesson 5: Sometimes we need Jesus to remind us of the past for us to understand the plan

Jesus takes the next several miles in their physical journey and gives them a theology lesson.  He gives them a lesson in prophecy.

Remember these men still thought that Jesus was going to be the One who would rise up an army and storm the ramparts of the Roman occupation.  This had to be something with which many of the disciples likely were struggling.  Jesus was the conquering hero, He can’t be dead.  Yet, they had watched Him die.

He takes them back to Moses and walks them forward through a couple thousand years of Messianic prophecy.

Basically, He’s telling them, “Look.  It’s all right here.  This was all by design.”

It was all by design.

God has a plan – for Messiah, for sin, for us.

Jesus reminds the two men of the past.  Here’s what the prophets told us the plan was.  All these things were part of the plan.  They were part of God’s plan for Messiah.  They were part of God’s plan for salvation.  They were part of God’s plan for taking us from less than nothing and making us into joint-heirs with Jesus the Christ.

God has a plan for us.

In Jeremiah 29:11, YHWH tells the people of Israel that He knows the plans.  He tells them that they are plans of goodness and prosperity.  This prophecy is in the midst of Babylonian exile. 

He has a plan that we sometimes can’t see because of the circumstances surrounding us.  He has a plan.

Psalm 37 gives us several steps of the plan: “Do not fret”, “Trust in YHWH”, “Delight in YHWH”, “Commit your way to YHWH”, and “Wait for YHWH.”

Psalm 139 tells us that YHWH knew us before we were formed in the womb and He had a plan for us even then.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to trust in YHWH with all our being.  Lean not on our understanding.  Follow Him, and He will show us the path.

Jesus tells Peter, James, and John: “Follow me, and I’ll make you Fishers of Men”.

There is a plan for your life.

You have to surrender to it.  You have to forsake your own highway, and step over onto the Road to Jerusalem.  You know, that road that looks like it might be a dead-end.

Sometimes we have to be reminded of our past to see our future.  Jesus takes some time and reminds them of the past.

Before we came to recognize grace moving on us showing us Jesus’ work on the cross, we were in bad shape.  Without grace we are pretty repugnant.  While God loves us, He can’t have relationship with us in that state.  We needed Jesus to die in order for the veil of the Temple to be torn.  We needed Jesus to die in order for the Holy of Holies to be open ground.  In short, we needed Messiah.

To assume that we’re “ok” on our own is to negate grace.  To negate grace is to cheapen the  gift of the cross.

Like these disciples from Emmaus, from time-to-time, we need to be reminded of our sorry state without grace in order to be spurred on to take the message of grace to the world. 

Unless our situation is dire and hopeless, then grace is just a buzzword.  Grace doesn’t say, “You’re ok as you are”.  Instead, grace says, “You’re a new creation.”  It says that the old things are passed away and all things are new.

Recognize grace and its impact, and you will see the Messiah plan.  See the Messiah plan, and you see Jesus.  See Jesus, and you will serve.

That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.

He asked, “What’s this you’re discussing so intently as you walk along?”

They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?”

He said, “What has happened?”

They said, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn’t find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn’t see Jesus.”

Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.

They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.

Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”

Luke 24:13-32 (The Message)

————————-

Jesus then asks the men what has happened in Jerusalem.  Dumbfounded, they take a minute and explain.

We thought….

We believed….

We saw him die.

Now, some of the women say He’s not dead.

We saw him die.

Lesson 4: We have to let experiences strengthen our faith

The two men believed that this man, Jesus, had to be the Messiah.  He had to.  That was the only explanation for the miracles.  That was the only explanation for the prophecies that had been fulfilled.  Prophecies that they had watched be fulfilled.

But, we saw Him die.

Oftentimes, we allow our faith to be overruled by our one bad experience, instead of strengthened by our many good experiences.

These men had the experience of seeing Jesus day-in and day-out.  After all, they looked like they had lost their best-friend.  They had likely traveled many miles with Jesus.

Maybe they were there when He healed blind Bartimaeus.

Maybe they were there when He fed the 5,000, the 4,000 or both.

Maybe they were there when He healed Jarius’ daughter.

Maybe they were there when He turned the water into wine.

Maybe they were there when the woman merely touches the hem of Jesus’ robe and is healed.

Maybe they were there when He raised Lazarus from the dead.

…Raised…from…dead…

Experiences.

All of those experiences – even raising the dead – were overridden by one other experience.

They had watched Him die.

He was dead.

Sometimes in our lives, we see God do miraculous things.  Yet, we write them off to “good fortune”, “luck”, “clean-living”, “chance”, “coincidence”, or “fate”.  When we write them off to something other than a miracle of God, then they cannot be used to strengthen our faith.

Think of all the times in the Gospels where we see Jesus do the miraculous only to find the followers (of which these men were two) in disbelief.  Look at the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000.  Jesus does it.  Big miracle.  Shortly thereafter Jesus tells them to beware of the “leaven” of the Pharisees.  And the disciples think He’s getting on to them for forgetting bread.

We have to let experiences build our faith.

These two men were ignoring all the experiences they had with Jesus except one.  They had watched Him die.

Maybe if they were focusing on Lazarus’ miraculous walk out of the tomb, then this conversation would have been different.  Maybe then they would have recognized Jesus.

Perhaps if we began to recognize the “mundane” as a miracle, then our outlook would be different, and we would recognize Jesus when He is in our midst?

Maybe it wasn’t just good fortune that the tax-rebate check showed up in the mail on the very day the house payment was due.

Maybe it wasn’t luck that you didn’t get sick when your kids were.

Maybe it wasn’t just clean-living that kept the person in the car behind you from hitting you when they slammed on the brakes in the rain.

Maybe it wasn’t just chance that the car stopped running within rolling distance of the gas pump.

Maybe it wasn’t just coincidence that the person parked in the closest spot was getting into their car just as you pulled up.

Maybe it wasn’t just fate that the pine tree fell onto the yard instead of the roof above your daughter’s room.

Maybe it’s time we started thanking God for the “mundane”.  Maybe it’s time we started treating the “mundane” like it was a miracle.

Perhaps that would make it a tad easier to recognize Jesus.

That same day two of them were walking to the village Emmaus, about seven miles out of Jerusalem. They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was.

He asked, “What’s this you’re discussing so intently as you walk along?”

They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few days?”

He said, “What has happened?”

They said, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene. He was a man of God, a prophet, dynamic in work and word, blessed by both God and all the people. Then our high priests and leaders betrayed him, got him sentenced to death, and crucified him. And we had our hopes up that he was the One, the One about to deliver Israel. And it is now the third day since it happened. But now some of our women have completely confused us. Early this morning they were at the tomb and couldn’t find his body. They came back with the story that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. Some of our friends went off to the tomb to check and found it empty just as the women said, but they didn’t see Jesus.”

Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Don’t you see that these things had to happen, that the Messiah had to suffer and only then enter into his glory?” Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.

They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.

Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”

Luke 24:13-32 (The Message)

————————-

So, Jesus joins them in their walk.  He joins their conversation.  He joins it with a question that had to have made them think, “where in the world have you been?”

I love the translation in The Message: “They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend.”

Lesson 3: Jesus sometimes shows up unexpectedly

Wow!  What a mental image.  They stood there looking like they had lost their best friend.

While we don’t know a lot about whom these two are from that statement we can deduce that they had spent some time with Jesus.  It’s likely they had spent time in one-on-one conversation with Him.  Yet, they didn’t recognize Him.

How could you not recognize your best friend?

They didn’t expect to see Jesus standing there.  As far as they know, He’s dead.

They had watched Him die.

Perhaps, they had even watched the stone be rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb.

He’s dead.

Dead men don’t start conversations on the Road to Emmaus.

Jesus had shown up unexpectedly.

This reminds me of a time that Jesus talked about showing up unexpectedly.

Remember Matthew 25:31-46?

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:34-39 (NIV)

When Jesus unexpectedly shows up, we might not recognize Him.  Consequently, we might even ignore Him.

Jesus rarely looks like the conquering hero that we – and our friends on the Emmaus Road – expect.  Our image of Jesus the Christ has become convoluted.  We no longer see Jesus as the Messiah.  Instead, we see Him as a “historical figure”.  We see Him as a “good person”.  We see Him as “the thing that makes us better than the good we already are”.

We fail to see Jesus as the Servant.  We fail to see Jesus as the Healer.  We fail to see Jesus as the Dead-Raiser.  We fail to see Jesus as the Friend of Sinners.  We fail to see Jesus as the Homeless Carpenter.  We fail to see Jesus as the One bruised for our transgressions.

Worse, we fail to see Jesus as the orphan.  We fail to see Jesus as the widow.  We fail to see Jesus as the homeless.  We fail to see Jesus as the downcast, or the outcast.

We expect Jesus the conquering hero, and we get Jesus the homeless orphan.

If Jesus showed up, would we recognize Him?