The Savior that is Always with Us

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Luke 24:13-27).

Two disciples were leaving Jerusalem for Emmaus in the evening of that tumultuous Sunday. The Spirit inspired Luke to let us in on their conversation. They were discussing the events of the day so loudly that their conversation could be heard by passersby. They were disappointed and frustrated because their hoped-for Redeemer of Israel had been crucified. The depth of their disappointment had disabled their ability to believe the report of the women that said Jesus was alive. Worse, overwhelming discouragement crippled and made them “slow of heart” and blinded them to the very presence of Christ Himself, with them there on the road. But the fact that Christ was the topic of their conversation revealed an unconquered longing that still lingered in their hearts. “Jesus himself drew near and went with them” and the Spirit of truth gives us a glimpse of the Savior that is Always with Us.

Christ is present in our brotherhood. The perfect plan for making everything right had gone terribly wrong at the crucifixion of Christ in Jerusalem. For at least two disciples, there was no reason to hang around. They left town, but they left together. Perhaps it was because misery loves company, or maybe because there was safety for nighttime travel in pairs. God has made us to need and be connected with each other, especially in the trials of this temporal life… “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).

Christ is present in our backsliding. They temporarily lost sight of Christ’s promises, but together, these two disciples shared their grief, focused their conversation, and Jesus showed up! Let’s follow their example and the Spirit’s exhortation to encourage one another… “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Christ is present in our Bible. His first action during this impromptu meeting with the two disciples was to redirect their focus to the sure promises of the Scriptures because they testify about Him... “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). When we obey this exhortation to fellowship together around God’s Word, we experience the fulfillment of one of Christ’s most precious promises… “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20).

As we grow up into Christ, in our fellowship together around His Word, we are encouraged by…

The Savior that is Always with Us.

The Resurrection that Inspires Us

And returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened (Luke 24:9-12).

The women that so humbly loved and served the Lord by seeking to care for His body returned from the tomb with an astonishing report. They shared the words of the angels that met them at the empty tomb… “He is not here, but has risen” (Luke 24:6). The Spirit inspired Luke to record three different reactions to the report of Christ’s resurrection, and each response is filled with encouraging truth for disciples in every age about the resurrection that inspires us.

To some, the resurrection is impossible. Even the apostles, who witnessed His miracles and heard His promise considered the report of Christ’s resurrection to be an idle tale. For most, death is the end of life, but God’s Word is very clear about the certainty of life after physical death… “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Jesus gave His disciples a clear prediction of His resurrection… “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Luke 9:22). The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to encourage us with the promise that true believers will follow Christ, and we all will die and be raised just like He was… “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:22-23). True disciples see life and death differently than others. We anticipate following our Lord and Savior through the door of death that opens to a glorious resurrection and eternal life with Him in heaven.

To some, the resurrection is inviting. While others stood still in unbelief, Peter was compelled by the report of the resurrection to get up and run to the tomb. There he saw the evidence that confirmed the women’s testimony. God’s grace was at work in Peter’s life, stirring up his interest and giving him eyes to see what others could not. The Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to prophesy about this eye-opening grace… “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see” (Isaiah 29:18). God’s grace has given all true disciples eyes to see Christ and His kingdom clearly, and this is encouraging evidence that we are truly born again…  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). As we share His gospel, we encounter those in whom God’s grace is at work, inviting them to see and know the resurrected Christ.

To some, the resurrection is impressive. Peter examined the evidence that confirmed the women’s’ report and he “went home marveling at what had happened”. The Greek word for marveling here means to admire or to hold in wonder. Have you ever beheld something that was beyond your understanding, yet compelled your admiration and wonder? That’s how we should behold the truth that God humbled Himself to death and rose again that we might live… “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). One day, every living creature will be overwhelmed with wonder and admiration, and all will be compelled to verbally marvel at Jesus Christ the risen and reigning Lord… “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). As our faith grows, the resurrection is more marvelous, and we become a stronger reflection of the resurrected Savior that we love and serve.

As we grow up into Christ, we are empowered and prepared for our transition to eternity by…

The Resurrection that Inspires Us.

The Resurrection We Remember

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words (Luke 24:1-8).

Life is not easy. Everyone experiences broken promises, dashed expectations, circumstances and people that defy reason and challenge our understanding. But there should be a difference in the reaction of maturing disciples of Jesus Christ to the challenges of this temporal life. We have a hope that empowers us to live above and beyond temporary trials because of the resurrection we remember.

We can remember the resurrection in morning’s first light. The precious servant-hearted women began the first day of the week seeking to serve Jesus. How do we start each day? Where is our focus? The weather, our agenda, a review of yesterday’s failures? There is a plaque in the center of our bedroom wall that invites my wife and I to begin each day by setting our focus on our resurrected Lord. It says in the morning when I rise, give me Jesus! Consider starting each day with a reminder that Jesus lives in you… “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Because He defeated death and rose above anything and everything that might come against us, each new day can be another day of victorious living for born again, growing disciples… “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5). Let’s remember the resurrection at the start of each victorious day!

We can remember the resurrection in moments of death. The ladies’ search for Jesus began in a tomb, a place of death. There are many places of death in this temporal world. Have you been there? The end of a relationship or friendship, death of a dream, failure of a business or ministry, termination of employment? Death comes in many forms, but our Good Shepherd, the risen Lord Jesus Christ promises to be present and walk with us through the valleys of death… “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Even more, because of the resurrection we have the assurance that in Christ, we shall overcome all the consequences and effects of the many deaths we face here, on our way to eternal life in heaven… “’Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Let’s remember the resurrection as we walk with Christ all the way through whatever temporal trial we are facing today!

We can remember the resurrection in matters of perplexity. Because their focus was on the physical facts that confronted them in the tomb, the women were perplexed. Unexpected events and surprising people tend to capture our attention and consume our hearts. The first evidence of Christ’s resurrection was the angels He dispatched to resolve the women’s perplexity with the announcement of His resurrection and exhortation to “remember” His words. Truth-seeking disciples have the Holy Spirit to remind us of the written and spoken words of Christ whenever we are distracted and perplexed… “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). Let’s remember the resurrection when we need help to understand and rise above life’s perplexing circumstances and people.

As we grow up into Christ, we live above and beyond life’s temporary trials because of…

The Resurrection We Remember.

The Grace that Gives us Rest

Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment (Luke 23:53-56).

Life can become very busy. There are too many seasons where it seems there are not enough hours in the day. We sometimes begin each day with a long to-do list and end the day feeling frustrated or defeated because of how much we did not accomplish. There are infrequent seasons of rest that are cut short by catching up activity. During His ministry here on earth, Jesus was not immune to the pressure of busy-ness, as there were times when He and the disciples were so busy they could not even stop to eat. But our Teacher made a point of providing rest for His disciples… “And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat” (Mark 6:31). At the climax of His ministry, the time between the cross and the resurrection, Jesus maintained the proper balance between busy-ness and obedience as He provided a vivid illustration of the grace that gives us rest.

Jesus left this world in the same way that He entered it. The body of Christ was wrapped in cloth just as He had been at His birth… “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). The body of Christ was laid in an unused tomb, just as the body of the Christ child was conceived and nurtured in a womb that had never been occupied… “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)” (Matthew 1:22-23). In between, Jesus lived a life of faith and trust in the sovereignty of His Father that is worthy of imitation by all true disciples… “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25). Jesus rested because He trusted God’s sovereign grace that never rests.

We leave this world in the same way that we enter it. We enter the world naked and emptyhanded, and we leave the same way… “As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand” (Ecclesiastes 5:15). God does not want His children consumed with worry and toil that produces no lasting fruit… “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:27). As we rest in God’s grace to work on temporal things, we are freed to invest in eternal, kingdom-centered things, like growing our faith, sharing His gospel, and fulfilling the great commission.

Through it all, we are to rest in the grace of God. Following Christ’s example, we increasingly rest in His grace working in and through us as we stay focused on His kingdom and pursue His righteousness… “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Because we are His children, we are blessed to enter and experience true rest in His grace today as we prepare to enter His eternal rest in the near future… “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:9-11). We get a taste of eternal rest as we trust His grace to work in and through us each day.

As we grow up into Christ, we live above and beyond whatever we face today when we trust…

The Grace that Gives Us Rest.