The last chapter of Luke is the journey from the empty tomb to the ascension hill. And, as I read it, I saw it was OUR journey, too, from idle curiosity about God to a faith that bears fruit. Follow along with these people and myself.
Step one: Remember
Luk 24:5 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?
Luk 24:6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
Luk 24:7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise."
Luk 24:8 And they remembered his words,
Luk 24:9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.
At this point, you are merely a muser about God, and at some point you remember something told you about Jesus, maybe even something you heard here. Something that perhaps tugs at you. What do you do with it?
Step two: Look into it
Luk 24:12 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.
Peter had to check out the story- that's how we go from remembering to something more. We look into it ourselves. But that alone is not enough. ANYONE can look into the empty tomb and just see an empty tomb. Some are even like the Sanhedrin, paying off the Roman guards to call it JUST an empty tomb. But to get to the next step, you have to ask yourself the MEANING of that empty tomb.
Step three: Going to the Word
Luk 24:25 And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
Luk 24:26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"
Luk 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
It takes Christ to truly show us how His story runs through the scriptures. The two disciples had the desire to understand what was going on, they had the resources available to them, but they needed teaching to understand how it tied all together.
Step four: Finding Jesus in the word
Luk 24:30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
Luk 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
Luk 24:32 They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?"
The realization that Jesus is not just a New Testament teacher- that he is the Man that wrestled with Jacob, the bush that burned for Moses, the pillar of fire by night in the desert, the vision David saw in Psalm 22, the name of the Son in Proverbs 30:4, the 'one like a Son of God' for Daniel's friends in the furnace- is the next step. You begin to see that not only He WAS to them, but WHAT He was to them. But what is he to you?
Step five: He is alive!
Luk 24:38 And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
Luk 24:39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
Luk 24:40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
Luk 24:41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
Luk 24:42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
Luk 24:43 and he took it and ate before them.
Now you've got to get past the part about Him being 'to them' in the past and realize that the empty tomb means He is alive now, for YOU, if you choose to follow.
Step six: Now the teaching comes alive
Luk 24:44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
Luk 24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
Luk 24:46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
Luk 24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
If you have gotten this far, and He has become truly real to you, not just a great teacher of the past, He begins your advanced training, opening you up to treasures that escaped you before. If I say that this is where I am, please don't think it from pride. This story at every stop has "I coulda had a V8" moments where the women, Peter, the disciples, HAD to be saying to themselves, "But I never saw that before!" That's me. When I share these studies with you, I'm learning right along. And a lot of what I have learned in these 'End Of All Things' posts is just what Clophas and his buddy were learning- how everything in this wonderful book, written over thousands of years by dozens of authors, TIES TOGETHER! If sometimes it seems like I bring up the same things over and over, it is because the Bible has one consistent message, over and over- and that message is Christ.
Step seven: It's not over yet
Luk 24:49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
One thing I know from the way Jesus is changing me in knowledge and action is that He has a plan for me. Whether it is just surviving and thriving in this mess we call 2020, or something even greater, that I don't know. But if you stay with me on these posts, I know we will find out together. So where are you on the road?
Some sensible steps and a damn good post
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