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“Were Not Our Hearts Burning Within Us?”

Luke 24:13-49

The Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle A

Easter Evening, Cycle C

Luke 24:13-49

[Lk 24:13] Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. [14] They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. [15] As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; [16] but they were kept from recognizing him.

[17] He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. [18] One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

[19] “What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. [20] The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; [21] but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. [22] In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning [23] but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. [24] Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

[25] He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” [27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

[28] As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. [29] But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

[30] When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. [31] Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. [32] They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

[33] They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together [34] and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” [35] Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

[36] While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

[37] They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. [38] He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? [39] Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

[40] When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. [41] And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” [42] They gave him a piece of broiled fish, [43] and he took it and ate it in their presence.

[44] He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

[45] Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. [46] He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, [47] and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. [48] You are witnesses of these things. [49] I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (NAS)

Luke 24:13-14 

[Lk 24:13] Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. [14] They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. (NAS)

Seven miles from Jerusalem 

Here is a perfect description of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.  What had begun as the longest walk in history would soon become the shortest seven miles ever walked.  What had been a conversation of pain and confusion would turn into a conversation that illuminated and excited, leaving the hearts of these disciples “burning within them.”

Do you have a long and lonely walk that seems filled with sorrow and doubt?  Do you have a hurt that is difficult to bear?  Invite Jesus!  He is hungry to attend.  Invite Jesus!  He can make the deepest loneliness and the longest journey full of purpose and hope.  Invite Jesus!

Luke 24:15-27

. [15] As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; [16] but they were kept from recognizing him.

[17] He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. [18] One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

[19] “What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. [20] The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; [21] but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. [22] In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning [23] but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. [24] Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

[25] He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” [27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Discussed these things with each other

The Greeks had a simple word for what the disciple, Cleopos, and his friend were doing in this story.  They were not just talking they were communing [GSN3656 homileo]; sharing with one heart.  The Latin root for commune means to be united as one.  These two disciples had hearts that were broken together.  Those hearts, in mending, would meld together.

This is how many people become life long friends.  Not through easy and unchallenging times, but by walking together through the difficult circumstances of shared trials.  Yet, Cleopos and his friend were not just sharing trials together, look at what they were sharing about… Jesus.

What happens when even just two people gather together to commune about our Lord?  Jesus draws near [GSN1448 eggizo].  Different translations would tell us that he literally comes to us, he draws nigh or he is at hand.  This was his promise and that promised was uniquely fulfilled on the road to Emmaus.

John 14:18

[18] “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

 Matt 18:20

[20] “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.”

Like these disciples, let’s not be afraid to let our faith “hit the bricks.”  Let’s take it out for a test ride.  Get it out of the garage (the upper room) and onto the highways of life.  That’s where community (even when it is just two people talking about Jesus) is blessed!

A faith that is tested is a faith that is rewarded not just personally, but communally as well.  We will not know the glory of our Lord as untested disciples or untested communities until we “walk the talk.”  It is when communities lift up our Lord during times of great trial that they will experience the in-burning fire (enthusiasm) of Jesus the Christ. 

Where is your faith discussed the most? Is it within the comfortable confines and safe surroundings of like-minded people or on the difficult roads to Emmaus?

They were kept from recognizing him

This is a most remarkable sentence and too easily overlooked.  First of all the words used for kept [GSN2902 krateo] from recognizing [GSN1921 epiginosko] might be more accurately used as; “They were not given the strength to get the point.”  Even better, one might say of a marksman; “Without glasses, he couldn’t even see the target, let alone hit it!”

One final interpretation that adds more understanding to this verse would be; “They did not have the strength to keep pointing towards the goal.”

In turn, our Lord could have revealed himself to them right away, so why didn’t He?

A study of POW’s who returned from the Korean War found that nothing makes one’s patriotism stronger than defending it.  This particular study found that soldiers who defended their country’s beliefs before being taken prisoner were much more able to withstand the rigors of torture and imprisonment.  It is called the Inoculation Effect.

Has your faith been inoculated?  A strong faith is always tested by trials, not cushioned by comfort.

When you read this story carefully, the disciples are pulled into a conversation with Jesus.  They are challenged and given an opportunity to tell their story.  If Jesus had revealed himself too early, they would not have been able to have a discussion with the Master, the two disciples would simply have been silenced in awe.

Our Lord’s timing is impeccable.  He does not reveal the mark to us until the appropriate time.  It seems that God allows us to experience periods of questioning and confusion—not too weaken our faith—but to strengthen it.  Nothing re-prioritizes our lives as much as losing something of great value.  It often takes a traumatic experience of loss before a person will stop and focus their lives on the true target.  That is half the story about the walk to Emmaus: The confusion of loss and grief that leads to the receptivity for Christ’s revelation.

There is an analogous story in the Old Testament that can shed light on the road to Emmaus that is very dramatic.  It has to do with the prophet Elisha and the city of Dothan.

The Arameans had encamped about Dothan and were preparing to lay siege to the city.  The King of Israel trembles at the sight of the enemy and knows that he is vastly outnumbered in sheer human numbers.  However, Elisha does not see the battle merely in human terms.  He is given the power by God to momentarily open the eyes of the King of Israel and close the eyes of the Arameans:

II Kings 6:16-19

[16] So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” [17] Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. [18] And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. [19] Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria.

My dear friends, when Christ opens our eyes, we no longer see in worldly terms.  A course that once might have frightened us as too overwhelming or too powerful is revealed as miniscule—even subservient—to the power of God.  The King of Israel saw only man’s power until Elisha touched his eyes and showed him God’s power.

Easter was the day when Jesus opened the eyes of these disciples.  They were utterly lost in sorrow until they were given strength to see the target and become awesomely found in the presence of Jesus.  The Son of God reveals himself to us at the most effective time.  He will give us the strength to find the mark as we continue to call him into our relationships—even when we think we are the most lost!

“He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures.”

Not only is Jesus willing to give us exactly what we need at exactly the right time, but also his revelation is never incomplete.  Jesus doesn’t give these two Disciples that he meets some of their needs. He doesn’t admonish them and send them on their way with a list of scriptures to memorize.  Jesus stays with them as long as it takes to give them full revelation; enough revelation to set their hearts on fire!

The term “explained to them” [GSN1329 diermeneuo] is in itself revelatory.  It comes from two root words.  The first word [GSN1223 dia], is a word that shows a causal relationship between two actions.  For example, “Because of you, I am happy.”

The second word [GSN2059 hermeneuo], means to translate or interpret, yet, the word has deeply spiritual connotations.  Hermes was the god of language, so a good translator was someone who had been given the “gift of language” from the gods.

Jesus doesn’t just tell these men about scripture.  He gives them the gift to reveal scripture.  They experience the revelation or receive the gift of understanding scripture through the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ!

God’s Word becomes revealed to us when we invite Jesus to study scripture with us.  It is when these two disciples focus on Christ in their most troubling moment that Christ reveals himself to them.

It is God’s desire that we know Him.  It is God’s desire to reveal himself to us:

Matthew 11:25-27

[25] At that time Jesus answered and said, “I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from {the} wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. [26] “Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight. [27] “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal {Him.}” (NAS)

Just remember, the Holy Spirit does not reveal God’s Word to us so that we might appear to be smart.  It was Nicodemus’ smartness that prevented him from seeing Jesus as the Christ; he had to become a baby again in knowledge (born again).  The Holy Spirit reveals the Word to us in order to bring us closer to Him and so that we can bring others closer to Him as well.  Knowledge is not to be used for gaining an advantage over others but for giving insights to them.

In addition, the more we seek God, the more He responds to us.  These two were seeking hope in the events surrounding Jesus’ death.  They truly sought to understand God in the most confusing circumstances in which a person could ever be found. They had gambled everything upon Jesus, their faith and their lives, and now he appeared to be dead, killed in the most repulsive way that Rome’s deviant minds could conceive.

Their devastating experience did not lead them away from God; it led them to seek God more intensely. It did not split their fellowship; instead they were drawn deeper into community as they grieved Christ’s apparent absence.  On that Easter morning, in grieving, searching and community, Christ heard their cry and revealed the complete fullness of His GREAT NEWS!

Luke 24:28-35

[28] As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. [29] But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

[30] When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. [31] Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. [32] They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

[33] They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together [34] and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” [35] Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Jesus acted as if he were going farther

This is such a beautiful little revelation.  Jesus had no real intention of going further on the road.  He was not going to abandon his dear followers on the road of doubt; but he acted [GSN4364 prospoieomai] as though he were.  The word means to pretend, Jesus pretended He was going to go on and leave these disciples behind.

Does it sound like a cruel trick or a practical joke?  Does it sound like Jesus is toying with the emotions of the two followers? 

Not at all!  Once again, Jesus is compelling them to take action.  Similarly, the Lord compels us to invite him into our hearts but he will not force himself onto our lives.  He created a hunger in these men and deepened that hunger by pretending to go on.  However, Jesus really had no intention of going any further than these two men.  He was acting.

We need to ask Jesus to stay with us.

The more we ask Jesus to reveal himself to us and the more we ask him to stay with us, the deeper he will reveal himself to us!  Do you want to know Jesus fully, completely and utterly?  Then get into a community that hungrily searches for him on the back roads of life!   Ask him to stay with you, to eat with you, to walk with you.  Ask him to reveal himself to you!  Ask Jesus to come into your dining room—into your most intimate life—and break bread with you.  Don’t do Jesus from a distance!  Be with Jesus in the most intimate setting of your family life.  Invite him home!

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him

When did they finally recognize Jesus?

1.        When they had sought solace in community;

2.        When they continued to seek the Christ in difficult times;

3.        When they told the story of Jesus to one they thought was an unbeliever (but it turned out to be the Lord);

4.        When they studied the Scriptures with Jesus;

5.        When they asked Jesus to stay and participate in their intimate life;

6.        When they broke bread together; the act of Christ’s remembrance.

You see it was not just breaking the bread, the act of Communion that revealed Jesus to his followers (and similarly to us).  It was the whole kit and caboodle.  It was community, study, prayer (walking with God) and service that empowered these two disciples to see Jesus and which will place us in a framework where the Sacramental makes sense.  For the disciples to receive this sacrament of broken bread without relationship, without community, or without study, then prayer and service would have been hollow.  It is Christ revealed that turns the breaking of the bread into a revelation of Easter: The resurrection of Jesus; the revelation of God’s almighty saving power.  Why would one choose stale bread and ritual when one could actually be dining in Christ’s presence? 

Those who think that faith is a service on Sunday morning miss the whole point.  Those who think that sacrament is no more than a “wafer and wine/grape juice” sell their faith short.  Church is what happens on the road to Emmaus, Damascus, Jericho, or the rest homes, jails, detention centers in our town.  Faith is being on the street, in communion, dealing with heavy issues, studying the word, talking with Jesus, participating in the lives of others… and yes, the Sacramental.

He disappeared from their sight

Jesus does not leave these two until “their hearts burned within” the and yet, neither does he physically remain once they “get it.”  Instead, the onus is on these disciples to race back to Jerusalem (where they could be tortured and killed) and spread the Great News of their experience.  Before they get it Jesus pretends he has to continue on so that they will take the responsibility and invite him to stay.  Yet, once they get it Jesus actually does leave so that they will take responsibility and spread the fire to others.  What could be more indicative of the Christian commission than this event with the lost sheep on the road to Emmaus?

Jesus is ever-seeking the lost who seek him, but he is also ever-challenging the found to take the initiative and carry forth the great commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [Matt 28:19a].”

Jesus raised shepherds, not sheep.  He commissioned disciples, not members who linger and consider risk to be eating a salad with day-old mayonnaise at the church potluck.  Once the light is burning in our hearts, it only grows as we share it on the road.  To the true follower of Christ, risk is not taking the fire of God to the freezing darkness of the lives of the hopeless.  True risk, to us, would be remaining comfortably with our Jesus in our little building while the world outside shivers in obscurity.  Jesus left these men to force them to go out and tell their story.  He will do the same thing with us.  They do not see him again until they run the seven miles back to Jerusalem that night and share their fire with the shattered and scared.

“Were not our hearts burning?”

How do we know that we’ve been visited by the Christ?  Our heart burns for his words.  We long to sing his praises and we can no longer hold his gift of love within our hearts.

Psalm 104:33-34

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.  Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; as for me, I shall be glad in the LORD.

Our conversation is filtered through the lens of hope.  We continually seek others to associate with who will help us learn more and more about his word:

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

He gives us the words that sustain and support those who are wearied by life’s trials:

Isaiah 50:4

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens {me} morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

The need for God grows like a continual hunger; it consumes us and burns away all the dross (the useless waste in our life):

Jeremiah 15:16

Thy words were found and I ate them, and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

We cannot hold his burning fire inside us:

Jeremiah 20:9

But if I say, “I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,” then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding {it} in, and I cannot endure {it.}

Jeremiah 23:29

“Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”

God becomes more and more living to us.  His Word becomes increasingly vibrant and purposeful in our hearts leading to a deeper understanding in both our own lives and anyone who is around us.  His presence gives us clarity and a power of discernment that was not available to us prior to his touch in our lives.  We see clearly—just as Elisha saw the fiery chariots on the hill—and we are not intimidated by the minutiae of this world.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Don’t you long for that type of relationship with Christ?  I know I do!  Imagine the power of God’s love flowing through your life:

1.        To see more and more clearly;

2.        To live more and more intensely;

3.        To grow closer and closer to Christ everyday;

4.        To be a living fountain of His love to each and every despairing person that we meet!

Let’s act like these disciples acted on that Easter Day so long ago.  Let’s invite Jesus to become part of our daily life.  Let’s walk with him; study his word; seek others who are hungry for him and then go serve him by taking the in-burning fire (enthusiasm) of his love to everyone who needs Great News.

Luke 24:36-49

[36] While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

[37] They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. [38] He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? [39] Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

[40] When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. [41] And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” [42] They gave him a piece of broiled fish, [43] and he took it and ate it in their presence.

[44] He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

[45] Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. [46] He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, [47] and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. [48] You are witnesses of these things. [49] I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (NAS)

“Peace be with you.”

We studied this incredible statement of Jesus in the text of John 20:19-31.  In essence, the Lord’s first words to the Church gathered for the first time under the New Covenant is: “Take courage in the purpose of God; be fortified and strong.  He will recover and restore you so behave valiantly.”

“Do you have anything here to eat?”

How did the disciples feel?  They felt dazed, confused and terrified.  What would we feel if Jesus physically appeared to us right at this moment?

The beauty of our Lord is that he reaches beyond the disciples (and our) doubts and though he reprimands them (and you can see in this reading that they all had doubts; not just Thomas) he still allows them to touch him so they know he is real.  Going further, he eats in their presence.  Why was it important that Jesus eat food in front of them?  Jesus wanted them to see that he was physically present not merely a manifestation.  The Jewish people believed in Ghosts but they didn’t believe that ghosts consumed food

There is more, look at what Jesus is physically able to do on this day:

1.        John tells us that Jesus appeared behind locked doors [John 20:19]. 

2.        Luke has told us that Jesus had appeared seven miles away in Emmaus and also appeared in Jerusalem to Mary Magdalene in the morning, and also to Peter and also to other women followers.

Jesus was indeed physically present and yet, he was not bound by the physics of this world.  He was physically present all over Palestine!  He was “multi-locating” (I can’t even multi-task).  Jesus is the embodiment of the theory of relativity and “relationaltivity!” He can be with us in all places and any time.  He does not exist within the boundaries of our senses or the borders of our dimensions.  He is present and transcendent at the same time! 

He was present in multiple places, he was present behind locked doors and (as we also covered in the studies of John 20) he chose which wounds to retain and which wounds to cast off.  He retained the wounds in his palms, feet and side; the wounds that would help others believe he was present while discarding the wounds that were irrelevant; the wounds of man’s evil and spite.

In the same way, Jesus did not even raise up the cruelty of man in his conversation.  He doesn’t say; “Remember how you abandoned me?”  He doesn’t say; “Let’s go get Caiaphas, Annas, and their cronies and see their faces now!”   To our knowledge Jesus doesn’t appear before Herod and Pontius (although I would love to hear that story; “Hey Pontius, remember me?”).   Jesus doesn’t see the scars and words inflicted by Rome and the High Priests as important.  Neither does he dote on Judas’ death.  Jesus leaves the needless wounds and scars behind and gets on with his teaching.  He carries with him only those things that are important to build up scared believers!

What was done in the past was irrelevant compared to what Christ was going to do with their future!

Have you doubts and fears that overwhelm you?  Does Jesus appear frightening to anyone that you know?  Then meet the Jesus that can be in all places and cast out all fear and do whatever he needs to do to help you believe. Let’s pray with the father of the demoniac child when he cried out, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief [Mk 9:24].”  This prayer goes to the very essence of the name (the character) of God: “I am who I need to be, whenever and wherever I need to be it in order to bring you to me!”

This God of ours does whatever he needs to do in order to heal our scars, cast out our fears and chase away our doubts.  All we need to do is respond to what he commands.  In this case it was easy; “Do you have anything to eat?”

“Everything must be fulfilled…”

Jesus’ statement about “the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” was the same as saying that “the entire Old Testament points to my life.”  In particular, you can find where the Old Covenant pointed towards Jesus in the following scriptures:

1.        The Law of Moses [Deuteronomy 18:15-20]; prophecy about the Messiah;

2.        The Psalms [Psalm 16:9-11]; prophecy about Christ’s resurrection;

3.        The Psalms [Psalm 22]; prophecy about Christ’s suffering;

4.        The Prophets [Isaiah 53:10-12]; also a prophecy about Christ’s resurrection.

All of time pointed to that one moment taking place in that one empty tomb on Easter morning.  Yet, even more, all of our lives also point to that very same moment.  It is the way that we respond to that “focal moment” that determines our salvation.  Will we invite Christ to eat with us?

It was God’s plan throughout history, first through Abraham, that he would break the cyclical repetition of human misery.  The repetitious rise and fall, the endless wheel that leaves us immobilized as described by the famed U.S. Defense attorney, Clarence Darrow; “History repeats itself, that’s one of the things that’s wrong with history.”

Yet, one of the most defining character attributes of God is that He breaks the repetitive history of humanity.  Through Abraham, God took a wandering people and turned them into a people with a purpose.  Through Moses, God took an enslaved people and turned them into a nation. 

Even the tired and cynical Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes that even the Old Covenant had become a story of humanity’s cyclical fall into the repetition of sin and death:

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun.  Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new?” Already it has existed for ages which were before us.

Then came Jesus, the Son of God and the sacrifice of the New Covenant.  Jesus is the focal point of God’s interaction with humanity.  The old covenant of sacrifice and sin led to the new covenant of direct relationship with God through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus.  Paul tells us that Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death to a new law; beyond ritual to relationship through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:2-4

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God {did:} sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and {as an offering} for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (NAS)

Through Jesus, God took a people doomed to sin and freed them to participate in intimate and eternal relationship.  Through Christ, God not only broke the repetitive history of humanity and sin but He can also break the repetitive history of habitual sin in each person’s life.

Through Christ, every person is created new!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if any man is in Christ, {he is} a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Look at the promises of newness that spring forth from the Old Testament and into the New Covenant of Jesus Christ:

Isaiah 42:9

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim {them} to you.”

Lamentations 3:21-25

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.  The LORD’S lovingkindnesss indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.  {They} are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”  The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.  “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27

“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

There is no mingling our old selves with new wineskin—the new self—that Christ creates within us through his resurrection.  The law has been fulfilled, the New Covenant established, we are no longer victims of the past but vessels of the future.  Throw out the old carcass and let Christ fill us with his new life:

Luke 5:37-38

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.  But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”

Jesus is the focal point that promises that I am not doomed to my past or hopeless in my sin.  He is the New Covenant, he is new life, new heart, he is faithful and new every morning!

Luke 22:20

And in the same way {He took} the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” (NAS)

Jesus is the fulfillment of scriptures and the fulfillment of our lives; let us do all we can to take off the flesh and take in our Lord.

“Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.”

Repentance and forgiveness; “Turn around and let go.”  These are the words our Lord would have us preach to all nations.

Turn around and let go of hatred.  Turn around and let go of greed.  Turn around and let go of fear.  Turn around and be freed from those burdens that only result in sorrow and blaming. In fact, Jesus’ description of hell, is the place of eternal “weeping and gnashing of teeth [Mt 8:12, Mt 13:42, Mt 13:50, Mt 22:13, Mt 24:51, Mt 25:30, Lk 13:28].”

Only pride can keep us on a consistent course that brings us no peace, a path where temporary pleasure is followed only be deeper pain, isolation, and hunger.  The path is indicative of hell—greater and greater hunger for less and less momentary pleasure—until we are finally left with no pleasure and only the incessant and gnawing hunger.  Hell is ultimately the burning, consuming fire of hunger with no satiation in sight.  No more chance to choose love, no more opportunity to seek hope, no more ability to “turn around and let go.”

Repentance and forgiveness; “Turn around and let go.” The joy of Jesus is fresh each morning.  He longs to be the delight of our life; he can offer peace beyond our circumstances.  Our hunger for Jesus can be filled with his body. Our insatiable thirst can be quenched by his living water.  We no longer need to be victimized by our sensual appetites, the fear of powerlessness, or the need for control.  We can be confident in the One who is our Creator, seeking only to give us delight in praise.

Psalm 37:4-6

Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it.  And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noonday.

Psalm 111:1-5

Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with all {my} heart, in the company of the upright and in the assembly.  Great are the works of the LORD; {they are} studied by all who delight in them.  Splendid and majestic is His work; and His righteousness endures forever.  He has made His wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.  He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever.

Repentance and forgiveness; “Turn around and let go.” That is the promise of Easter.  We are Restored, Reformed, and Renewed.  We are no longer named pain, sorrow, and death.  We are no longer claimed by sin or its horrific wage, our ransom is paid, our salvation is secure.  “Turn around and let go!”

“Stay in the city until….”

It will not do for us to go out in his name adorned in our old prejudices, clothed in bravado, pride, or even past sorrow. 

Matthew 22:11-14

“But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw there a man not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few {are} chosen.”

The tool box that we used before to solve our life’s problems is no longer applicable.  The toolbox of the past is the way we used to manage crisis or stress.  Most of us learned what tool we would use to deal with conflict and stress by the time we were two years old.  Essentially, we used whatever worked in order to get our way.  Most people have no more than one tool, which they use over and over in all their relationships.  For some people their tool might be anger, for others pouting, guilt or deception.  These tools are the clothes that are no longer appropriate for our Lord’s banquet hall.

Instead the Lord clothes us with a new robe, a new name:

Isaiah 62:2-4

And the nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; and you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD will designate.  You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.  It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; but you will be called, “My delight is in her,” and your land, “Married”; for the LORD delights in you, and {to Him} your land will be married.

Isaiah 58:12

“And those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up the age-old foundations; and you will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets in which to dwell.”

The Disciples are told to gather in community and wait for that “new name,” which is actually the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit.  Yet, there are two critical distinctions between their gathering in the upper room and many of our gatherings today.

1.        First of all, their waiting was temporary and active.

The verb used for waiting [GSN2523 kathizo] in this context it means to temporarily settle, sit, or even hover.  It is the word used for a mother perched above a child who is walking for the first time.  She hovers over that child until he or she begins to lean too far to one side or the other and then she swoops in to save him or her.  The term is also used for a sparrow hawk that hovers above its prey; waiting to see which direction the prey runs before committing to a dive.

We hover for one purpose as Christians, in order to understand our direction, but then we dive and commit all of our resources to God’s call.  We are merely waiting to be sent; but we are not waiting to be satiated!  The disciples were now like players on the field waiting to be sent into the game.  These men and women were not waiting in the Upper Room to be sent home, back to their old, tired lives of fishing or collecting taxes.  They were waiting for the appropriate moment and the appropriate tools to commit to action.  They were waiting for their name to be called and then, to race onto the field of play.

Is my church a community of people waiting to be sent or waiting to go home?

2.        They gathered to await a new power that would send them to all nations.

A healthy relationship (Christian or otherwise) does not seek to possess others, but to empower them; to help other people find their gifts and use those gifts to grow independently strong and confident.  An unhealthy relationship seeks to possess and increase the dependency of other people.  Which of these two types of relationships am I, or my church, seeking to create?

Are we seeking members or building disciples?  Are we “empowering and sending out” or “disabling and keeping hold?”

It is interesting that as soon as the early church starts to get comfortable the Lord disperses them throughout the world.  When did this happen?  Shortly after the leaders of the church say:

Acts 6:2-4

And the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.  But select from among you, brethren, seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.  But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.”

It is in the very next chapter (Chapter 7) that Stephen is murdered and in Chapter 8, we find Saul begins the persecution of the church.  I disagree with those who say that the decision in Acts 6 was a good one.  I believe the sequence of Chapters 6, 7 and 8 in Acts tell us that leaders of the church must never be distant from personal acts of compassion and mercy.  Sure, it would be great, as a leader, to devote myself to prayer and ministry of the word, but our Lord was always the first to minister to the disenfranchised and the last to leave them [see Matthew 14:22].  To be distant from the poor is to be distant from God.  The more distant we get from the vulnerable; the more theological and ritualistic we become.  Service to the least of these is viewed by Jesus as a prerequisite to entering into the Kingdom of God [see the entire chapter of Matthew 25].

A large membership is no more a sign of a healthy church than a large body is a sign of a healthy man.  Instead, we should be praising God for the percentage of disciples our church sends out for works of mercy, not how many members we keeps in our stalls.

“…you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus is ready to clothe you [GSN1746 enduo] or endow you with a new power, a power [GSN1411 dunamis] from on high [GSN5311 hupsos].  It literally means an explosive power—a dynamic power—and from on high means from the heights.  This phrase means; “God is ready to exalt you with new dignity and an explosive, heavenly power.”

Our God is most surely ready to send us out with a supernatural power that will give heavenly dignity to those who have only known earthly indignity.  The word for dignity [GSN4586 semnos] is a critical word for Paul and he uses it frequently in his writings:

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

1 Timothy 3:8-13

Deacons likewise {must be} men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain, {but} holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.  And let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.  Women {must} likewise {be} dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.  Let deacons be husbands of {only} one wife, {and} good managers of {their} children and their own households.  For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

Invite our Lord to stay for dinner.  He is ready to take our lives, on this very day, to wash us clean of any indignity, and to replace it with a character that is consistent and transparent.  He desires that we experience the joy of a character that flows from the powerful source of the Holy Spirit. He longs to give us character and consistency that is unattainable by human power or sheer will.

With his power, you can resist the indignities of the devil and the indignities of this world.  You will not succumb to the world’s ways but be known by all as one who loved God and loved His people.  What greater cloth could we ever expect to be clothed in?

Copyright Notice

Copyright © 2005 Jerry Goebel. All Rights Reserved.  This study may be freely distributed, as long as it bears the following attribution: Source: Jerry Goebel: 2005 © http://onefamilyoutreach.com.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988.  Used by permission. 

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