We Are Hope!
Our church family gathered on Sunday to connect, worship, and deepen our understanding of God's purpose. If you missed the service on Sunday, please watch it on Facebook or YouTube.
For the past three weeks, I have been preaching a series on hope and asking, "Why Did Jesus Die on the Cross?" Our hope is placed entirely on Jesus offering himself for us, for the forgiveness of our sins. So that leads me to a second question: "What does it mean that Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins?"
To help answer these questions, we have been looking at the "Walk to Emmaus" in Luke 24:13-49. After the resurrection, Jesus encountered two of his disciples, but they did not recognize him as he walked to Emmaus. The disciples were sad because of Jesus being crucified, because they thought Jesus was the Messiah who would bring freedom to Israel (21). This statement of hope being dashed explains their perspective of what the Messiah would do for Israel. However, Jesus was going to redefine this perspective.
Jesus replies by referencing the teachings of Moses and the prophets. Scripture does not specify the exact verses that Jesus shared; researchers estimate that there are 300-400 prophecies in the Old Testament about the Messiah, so He could have drawn from many. This past Sunday, we examined several critical scriptures that the disciples would have heard since childhood. I will reference these scriptures, but recommend looking them up for yourself.
First, in Jeremiah 31:31-34, Jeremiah gets direction from the Lord about the future of Israel. The Lord said he would establish a new covenant with Israel that would not be like the old covenant. This prophecy would give Israel the expectation that God would again deliver them from exile. Then, the prophet Daniel would read this prophecy while he was in captivity in Babylon. In Daniel 9, Daniel writes that he was reading Jeremiah when he prayed for Israel. Daniel would repent for the entire nation of Israel for the idolatry and sin they committed. As he prayed, the angel Gabriel appeared to share God's plans. Gabriel told him the Messiah was God's plan to bring forgiveness and restoration to Israel.
Jesus' words convinced and excited the disciples. They invited Jesus to stay with them, but were still unaware of who Jesus was. Once they sat down for dinner, Jesus broke bread, and God opened their eyes to recognize Jesus. Jesus instantly disappeared, later to appear before all the disciples. The revelation of Jesus' resurrection and that He set them free must have been an incredible moment. Jesus showed them a greater freedom than they had expected. Jesus restored them to their original purpose and us to ours, to be God's image bearers to the world.
The Apostle Paul later wrote that God has "rescued us from the Kingdom of Darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son." (Col. 1:13) Jesus took us from darkness to light. When Jesus was teaching in Matthew 5, He told the crowd that "THEY are the light of the world." (14) Jesus died on the cross so we can return to our vocation as His children. This is our purpose!
Jesus started a revolution on the day he was crucified; we, too, can join Him! The world is falling apart, people are being destroyed, but we have the answer. Be the light amid the darkness.