More Than a Feeling
So you say you are a Christian. Who exactly is Jesus to you? You know you can go to church all your life, hear all the teachings and Bible stories about Him and still not truly know Him. I’ve heard people who claim to be Christians say that Jesus wasn’t really God incarnate but rather just a good moral teacher, a prophet at most. You can’t really know Jesus and think that about Him, and yet even some of His disciples didn’t really know Him as today’s reading demonstrates.
Two of Jesus’ disciples were walking down the road to Emmaus on the day of Jesus’ resurrection. As they walked along Jesus walked up beside them. They didn’t recognize Him. They were distraught and Jesus asked them what worried them.
Luke 24:18-19 ESV
“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’”
Notice that they didn’t refer to Jesus as the Messiah, or King of Kings, but rather as a prophet. Granted these were not one of the eleven but still they spent plenty of time with Jesus and saw His incredible miracles and heard Him claim to be the Son of Man (a euphemism for Messiah). Still, when Christ died on the cross they viewed Him as simply a prophet. In their mind He couldn’t have died if He were the Messiah. After all, why would God allow Himself to be crucified? How could God die on the cross?
Often times we miss who Jesus is because He doesn’t appear to us as we expect. Have you ever heard a person say “I can’t believe in a god who would allow XYZ to happen”? God is not made in man’s image; it is we who are made in His. He doesn’t conform to our expectations; if we want to know Him we are going to have to conform to His.
Now these fellows did not recognize Jesus. You know, it is dangerous for us to depend on our feelings for spiritual guidance. There is a spiritual realm and there is good and evil in that realm. A voice or a feeling can be good or evil. How do you know the difference? Brothers, that’s a tough one. Satan is tricky. He sells half-truths. Half-truths are lies that sound believable but they are still lies. Satan is an impersonator. That means that when we rely on our feelings, intuition, or experiences to guide us we can be misled.
Do you know how you know what is true? Read your Bible. If something is not consistent with God’s Word it is a lie and is not from God. Now, Jesus said that His sheep know His voice.
John 10:1-5 ESV
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
I don’t want to open another can of worms here, but Jesus knows who will respond to His call upon their life and who will not. He calls those who are destined to be His. He calls them by name. If you are truly a Christian, understand that Jesus called you by name to be saved, to be His. In the verses above we read that the “gatekeeper opens” to the Shepherd. Who is the gatekeeper? The gatekeeper is the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls His own through the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that makes it possible for the lost sheep to hear and respond to the truth of Jesus Christ.
Jesus taught in the synagogue and on the highways and byways of Israel. The Pharisees heard what He had to say but they did not respond to His call. They were not His sheep. They read the Law and the Prophets. They knew the prophecies concerning the Messiah. The Messiah stood before them, told them who He was, and still they did not understand.
Okay, Jesus isn’t with us physically today so how do we recognize His voice. First, understand that you hear His voice in Scripture and I don’t just mean the New Testament. You hear His voice throughout the whole Bible – at least you do if you are one of His sheep. I have heard Jesus speak to me in prayer but we must be very careful here. There have been people who claim to have been told to do things by God that could not possibly have come from God. How do I know? What these people did in the name of God was not consistent with God’s Word and I don’t just mean bits and pieces of His Word but His Word in full and in context.
I knew I was hearing Jesus speak to me in prayer because that voice was consistent with His voice in Scripture. In fact, one thing Jesus said to me in prayer was “deny yourself and follow Me”. Do you recognize that? That is a paraphrase of Luke 9:23. It is also consistent with Jesus’ teaching throughout the New Testament and if you think further you realize it is consistent with the entire Bible. I recognized His voice because I had heard it before in Scripture.
Have you ever been on the phone with someone who was trying to convince you that they were someone well known to you but were in reality someone else? They might have you confused for a few moments but ultimately you know there is just something not right about the voice or the tone or word choice or any number of things. If someone called you claiming to be your mother do you think they could fool you for long? No, they could not fool you for long because you know your mother.
This is the same with Christ. If you spend time with Him, if you read your Bible, you get to know Him pretty well. When someone comes along pretending to be Him you will know pretty quickly that he is not. Take a look at how our confused disciples in today’s reading finally came to recognize Jesus.
Luke 24:30-32 ESV
“When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 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?’”
Verse 32 tells us that as those disciples walked along with Jesus, their hearts burned within them, and yet at that time they still did not recognize Him. It wasn’t a feeling that caused these men to recognize Jesus. It was only after He opened the Scriptures to them and blessed and broke bread that they recognized Him.
Brothers, my heart has burned within me as well as I have prayed, as I have read Scripture, as I have sung songs of praise, and as I have spoken of Christ with others, but the voice of Jesus Christ is more than a burning in one’s heart. It is more than a feeling. It is truth revealed in God’s Word through the working of the Holy Spirit. Praise God!
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
He Is Risen!
He is risen! He is risen indeed! Yesterday I was in deep sadness over the suffering of my Lord and Savior on the cross. Today I am full of joy at His resurrection. Many think the most important part of the story of Christ is the crucifixion but I say it is the resurrection. Think about it. If Jesus died on the cross and didn’t rise again then he would be nothing more than a prophet, a good teacher, a nice guy. He would be no different than Buddha, or Mohammad, or any number of religion founders. Jesus is not a founder of a religion. Jesus is God.
You cannot go to the grave of Jesus the Christ because He is not in a grave. Every few years some headline hound, like James Cameron, claims they have found the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. It would be laughable if it weren’t so sad. It is almost always the same old ossuary that was found back in the 60’s and which every archeologist worth his scientific salt says is not that of Jesus the Christ. These charlatans get their headlines for a few days or weeks and then it fades away. Do you know why? They fade away because they are false. There is no ossuary or tomb that holds the remains of Jesus the Christ.
Upon the report of the women folk that Jesus’ tomb was empty, Peter ran to see for himself. It was indeed empty and he went home “marveling”. It is a marvel guys. Jesus is not dead – He is risen! He is risen indeed! And in Him, you will rise as well!
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Darkness Unlike Any Other
In today’s passage we read of the moment when Jesus breathed His last upon the cross. The darkness that spread across the land just prior to His death was more than just dramatic effect. The darkness that hung over all the world in that moment was darker than any the world has ever seen before or since. When Jesus came into the world His birth was announced by a shining star. This was symbolic of the fact that a great light had been brought in to the world. The darkness at His death was symbolic of that light being snuffed out.
Have you ever had a bright light shown in your face from out of the darkness? What happened when that light was suddenly turned off? There is no darkness greater than that immediately after a bright light has been switch off. That is what happened the moment Christ died. I am broken hearted when I read of Jesus on the cross, and my sadness reaches its peak the moment He dies on that cross for me. He was innocent. I am the one who deserves to die like that. He didn’t pardon my sin. He took the punishment my sin required.
Brothers, He did the same for you. Are you living your life in a way that honors Him and the sacrifice He made for you? If not, get to work.
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve
Where Are You Going
What happens when a Christian dies? Paul refers to Christians who have died as being asleep in the Lord. Some have taken Paul’s words as an indication that when Christians die they remain in some kind of sleep until the return of Christ. The implication in this is that we won’t get to Heaven until Christ returns. I don’t really see that – maybe I have forgotten some bit of Scripture here so remind me brothers if I’m off on this. Here is a sample of the kind of verse I am talking about.
1 Corinthians 15:6 ESV
“Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.”
I think when Paul says this kind of thing he is trying to help us understand that when a Christian dies they are not dead but that we will see them again. I think he is simply trying to avoid saying “died” because Christians don’t die in an eternal sense. The reason I think this, is because of what Christ said in the last verse of today’s reading.
Luke 23:43 ESV
“And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”
Jesus said this to the condemned man on the cross next to Him. There were two criminals being crucified with Jesus. One railed at Jesus, taunting Him to save Himself. The other rebuked the first and said that Jesus did not deserve to die but that the two of them did. He asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His Kingdom. Jesus didn’t say, “You will be with me in Paradise someday” or when He returns again. Jesus said that man would be with Him in Paradise today! This is why I say we all will have our own personal Armageddon. The end of the World occurs for each of us. Each of us will die physically and stand before God. Those that rejected Jesus in life will be rejected by Him in eternity. Those that submit their lives to Christ will be with Him in Heaven, not at some later date, but on the very day they die.
There is no celestial waiting room. The day of reckoning is simultaneous with your physical death. There is only one question a man really needs to answer in his life. “Where are you going?” When might be sooner than you think.
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve
Sharing Christ
Our passage today is supposed to take use through verse 17 of Luke 23. As I read along I was a little nonplussed. My ESV Bible went from verse 16 to verse 18 – there was no verse 17. I’ll admit I was a bit confused for a minute thinking there was an error in the printing of my Bible. It turns out the verse was deliberately left out. Verse 17 only appears in some of the extant texts of Luke. In other words some of the earliest copies of Luke that we have don’t have verse 17, while others do. The editors of the ESV decided to leave it out. Verse 17 is as follows:
Luke 23:17
“Now he was obliged to release one man to them at the festival”
Anyway, today’s reading reminded me of something that I ran in to a few years ago. I was going door to door sharing the Gospel. At one house, a man answered the door and after some conversation he made the statement that he didn’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God. He used as his evidence the fact that Jesus referred to Himself as the “Son of Man”. He felt this meant that Jesus was saying He wasn’t the Son of God but rather just a regular human like you and me. He felt Jesus was a great moral teacher but He wasn’t God.
It is not surprising that the phrase “Son of Man” could be so misconstrued. At its most basic construction it would seem that it meant Jesus was human. The truth, however, is that phrase was a reference to a prophecy given by Daniel concerning the coming Messiah. Daniel described how he saw the Messiah coming in the clouds looking like a son of man. He wasn’t saying the person that was coming on the clouds was a son of man but rather that he looked in appearance as a human being. An exchange between Jesus and the chief priests demonstrates that the phrase “Son of Man” means “Son of God”.
Luke 22:67-71 ESV
“If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
In this exchange Jesus calls Himself the “Son of Man”. His interrogators ask for confirmation as to if this means He is the “Son of God”. Jesus’ answer convinces them that He has blasphemed in that He has called Himself the Son of God. The phrase “Son of Man” is a euphemism for “Son of God”.
My conversation with that man did not change his opinion as far as I know. I hope the Holy Spirit was working on Him and eventually brought him to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ but I won’t know the answer to that question until I am finally home with my Savior. Here is the thing. Notice that those men asked Jesus if He was the Christ. He told them that they would not believe Him if He told them and they would not answer if He asked them. They didn’t want Jesus to be the Messiah. There was nothing He could say or do that would open their eyes because they did not want their eyes opened. Jesus knew He would have just wasted His breath.
Remember that these fellows were fully aware of His miracles and teaching. They had been hounding Him from almost the beginning. They had multiple opportunities to accept the truth and they had rejected Him. You and I don’t have that kind of spiritual discernment. We cannot know the hearts of men. Did I waste my time trying to share the Gospel with that man years ago? There is no way for me to know. All I can take away from the experience is that I can’t save people.
Only Jesus, through the work of the Holy Spirit, can save people. All I can do is be faithful to share the truth with those lost in darkness. If I think about this it take a big weight off of my shoulders. It is not my job to convince people of the truth. Even Jesus knew there were some who would reject Him. Jesus was not a failure because the chief priests rejected Him and you are not a failure when you share the Gospel and that person doesn’t immediately submit their life to Christ.
Brothers, you are not asked to save people. You are only asked to share your faith. That is all you are asked to do – no more. Are you doing it? I hope so.
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve
Victorious In Christ
Denying ourselves is contrary to our human nature – the nature we inherited from Adam and Eve. Our natural self is self-centered; that is our nature. Now we might try to use this as an excuse “I cannot be held responsible for my sin because I am a victim of my nature.” We might also say that we can’t be sinless like Jesus because He is God and we are not. There is some truth about that, but it is a half-truth. In and of ourselves we cannot be sinless but in Christ our sinful nature is crucified and in its place is born a nature that can resist sin through the power of the Holy Spirit which now resides within us.
While it is true that Jesus is fully God, He was also fully man. He was born of a woman. He was human flesh and as such was tempted by self-centeredness and sin. The difference is that He never lost His battle over sin and self-centeredness. This is not to say that He had no struggle. In fact, today’s reading gives us a sense of how much He struggled.
Luke 22:40-44 ESV
“And when he came to the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.’ And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Jesus was human and He had to struggle against temptation just like you and me. How did He deal with temptation? He went to His Father in prayer. He struggled with His temptation in prayer. Notice, however, His attitude. He didn’t want to suffer on the cross and He prayed that He not have to do so, but He also denied Himself for the sake of His Father’s will. He said “not my will, but yours, be done”. Notice also that He was sent an angel to strengthen Him but still He struggled with self-centeredness. He struggled unto the point of sweating blood. Scientific study has confirmed the truth of this story. A person under great stress can indeed come to a point of bleeding sweat.
Yes, I can hear you saying “But Bill, even though He was fully human He was also fully God and that made it possible for Him to do what I cannot”. I actually agree with you – to a point. Without the help of God no human being can do as Jesus did. That is why He had to come and do what He did. That is also why we receive the Holy Spirit once we have submitted our life to Christ. The old sinful nature is dead and a new nature with access to the assistance of God in the form of the Holy Spirit stands in its place.
You see, Jesus didn’t take the struggle against sin away; He gave you the same advantage He had in resisting and conquering sin. I see our struggle against sin not as a bad thing but as part of growing strong in our faith. Strength comes from resistance. As we resist sin we become stronger spiritually. It’s like weight training for our spirit. We don’t have to be afraid of our battle with sin. We will not face temptation beyond our ability to withstand it.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 ESV
“Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Brothers, our struggle with sin is real, and it is hard, but like Jesus you have access to a power that ensures your victory. When you are tempted drop to your knees in prayer and fight that temptation with the help of the Holy Spirit. You may have to struggle until you sweat blood but your victory is assured. Rejoice for you are victorious in Christ!
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Luke 24:13–35
