Apr. 14, 2012

Luke 24:25-27

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

There is a difference between believing something … and believing it.

Should have it been a complete surprise that Jesus would be betrayed, arrested, tried, condemned sentenced to death and then crucified? No, considering that Jesus had spoken on this several times. In Mark’s gospel alone, three different times Jesus speaks of what will happen to him.

But sometimes, even when we hear something, we don’t always believe it. We hear what we want to hear. We believe what we want to believe.

Just in case these two men weren’t present when Jesus talked about what would happen to him, once again, he explains how the events of the previous few days had been predicted and prophesized. But here’s the kicker. The men STILL don’t know the stranger is Jesus! He’s telling them once again the historical predictions. Yet the men are so blinded by their own grief they cannot see who is walking with him.

When I received a call into ministry, it was rather forceful and dramatic. Jesus didn’t want me to miss the signs and symbols. He orchestrated it in such a way that I would not fail to see the call. After this happened, I’ve often wondered how many times Jesus tried to call me into ministry before this and I was so caught up in myself and my life that I failed to see the call. I can see how this happened to these guys because I’m confident it has happened to me.

We cannot go back and undo the times we’ve missed Jesus speaking to us or guiding us or encouraging us in a particular way. What we can do is keep our radar a bit more elevated this day and going forward. When those thoughts of “I should do this …” come into our minds, we should pause, thing about where this thought might be coming from and follow through.

One more thought for today. Jesus really wanted the guys to see him as the Messiah. That’s why he took the additional step and explained the Scriptures that anticipated the coming Messiah. Sometimes, Christians find it difficult to read and understand the Old Testament Scriptures. There are significant parts of the Old Testament I find challenging. Yet, there are so many wonderful passages that point towards the Messiah and help us understand what Jesus said and did. They give credence that Jesus is the Son of God. As much as I enjoy reading and learning the New Testament, I have also discovered I understand the New Testament more when I am able to know the Scriptures that Jesus knew as a Jewish man. What Scriptures are those? The Christian Old Testament.

Let us pray: In our trouble, words come from him; burning fire within our hearts tells to us the scripture’s meaning. Jesus speaks to us, unknown.  Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne