Luke 24

A Tree For Each Of The Three

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying, “If Thou be Christ, save Thyself and us.”  But the other answering rebuked him, saying, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this Man hath done nothing amiss.”  And he said unto Jesus, “Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.”  And Jesus said unto him, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.”
Luke 23:39-43

Each of these three were hanging on their own cross, and each cross was made from the wood of a tree.  The man on the right of Jesus was guilty. The on the left of Jesus was guilty, but Jesus the Man in the middle not only innocent of the charges brought against Him, He was innocent in all His living. He never sinned.

It is evident that the Man in the middle was an innocent Man. How?  You may ask. He never, while being nailed to the tree cursed those who had accused Him, neither did He speak vile words to those who nailed His hands and feet to that tree.  Instead He said, “Father forgive them they know not what they do” Luke 23:34.  Another example is in our text for the day. One of the condemned men, who had previously mocked Jesus on the cross, had realized that He [Jesus] was not a sinner, but the Savior.  Now, he is calling on Him to save Him; not from the cross but for the kingdom’s sake, he said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom,.” How do you suppose he expected Jesus to do this since He was hanging on a tree? He recognized Jesus as the Messiah.

The response of the Man on the middle cross was given, and it was one of forgiveness. You could call the mans salvation, “A death bed confession and faith” because that is what it is.  Was that guilty man saved? Will he be in glory with the Lord Jesus Christ?  Most definitely He will. How do I know that?  Because of the  words of Jesus, the Man on the middle cross said to him, “Truly I say unto you, Today, you will be with Me in paradise.” That very day Jesus and that man went to paradise together.

One guilty man wanted Jesus to deliver them from the cross, one asked to be remembered in the kingdom that is coming, and one Man gave salvation to the who asked. It should have been me dying on that old cross, not Jesus the innocent One, who knew no sin. It should have been you who was hanged there, but just as Jesus took murderer, and insurrection leader’s place He took my place and yours.

Two men hanging on a tree on opposite sides of Jesus; one died in peace, knowing his eternal destination, the other died with darkness, and empty expectations, and is in eternal darkness, and burning flames. What made the difference?  The One on the tree in the middle.  His name is Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God. Yes He died on that tree for our sins. He was buried. He rose again and He lives eternally in a new body of flesh and bone (Luke 24:39).

All Things Fulfilled

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

And He said unto them,
“These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me.”
Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them,
“Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
Luke 24:44-49

Flesh and Bone, Resurrected Lord and Savior

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them,
“Peace unto you.”
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them,
“Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.”
And when He had thus spoken, He shewed them His hands and His feet. Luke 24:36-40

Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters. Psalm 114:7-8

I, for one, am amazed at the nay sayers who try to argue against the fact  of the truth of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

Some try and tell us that He was only raised in spirit. I say to that “Why does a spirit need raised?” Are spirits not alive  and never die? Jesus appearing to those folks above, “for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see Me have.”  Then forty days later ascended to glory in that same flesh and bone body in the presence of all those who were with Him. He is alive, because He is risen.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the bedrock foundation of the Christian faith. Without the death of Christ on the cross, His burial, and the proof of who He is by the resurrection of Jesus Christ we are still gravely in need (1 Corinthians 15).

Believe on the name of Jesus, our resurrected Lord and Savior, call on His name and He will give you everlasting life (John 3:16).

That They Might Understand The Scriptures

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them,
‘Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And ye are witnesses of these things.  And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.’ ”  Luke 24:45-49

All Things Must Be Fulfilled

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“And He said unto them, ‘These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me.’ ” Luke 24:44

Jesus spoke the above words after walking with a couple of His followers to Emmaeus. He has at this point been seen by others who are His followers, and reminds them of the importance of His life, His ministry and His death, burial and resurrection.

When Jesus speaks of the “law of Moses”, “the Prophets”, and “the Psalms” He is speaking of the whole Old Testament, and every prophecy which was written.

There are many prophecies of Jesus that have not been fulfilled. We can rest assured that since the prophecies of the first coming of Messiah are fulfilled, and He died just as the prophets said (consider Isaiah 53), then we can know and be assured that those concerning His coming again will be fulfilled in every detail.

All things must be fulfilled just as it has been spoken.

Fear the LORD; Opened Eyes

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.”  Proverbs 3:7-8
“And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight.”  Luke 24:31

Let us pray that we fear God and nothing or no one else, because that is relying on His wisdom and not our own. Let us also ask Him to always keep our eyes opened to the truth of the identity of Jesus Christ who died on the cross, was buried, and He bodily arose and came out of the grave.

May we also pray for the eyes of the many who are hopeless, helpless, hurting and lost might be opened to see who Jesus is as well; that they might be delivered from sin and hell.

Words of Jesus; Son of God, God the Son – 091620

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“…And when they found not His body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that He was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but Him they saw not. Then He said unto them,
‘O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?’
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself…”  Luke 24:23-27  (KJB)

Why Are You Troubled?

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“And He said unto them, ‘Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have.’ ” Luke 24:38-39 (KJB)

Here we are on the Eve of Christmas and there are many of us who are troubled. Most of our trouble is dealing with material things; such as financial debt, did I get the right gift for some loved one; or could be even troubled because of inability financially to buy gifts for loved ones.

The trouble of which Jesus addresses above is concerning His appearance to His followers whom He has just appeared to in this room. The door was locked, and He came in. Keep in mind all of the life of Jesus was about fulfilling the word and will of His Father, purchase our salvation, our redemption by His death on the cross, be buried – not just to prove His death, but to fulfill the type of the scapegoat of Leviticus 16:20-28. When that portion of the Law was fulfilled He rose from the grave alive with “flesh and bone”.

The disciples, followers were troubled because they thought they were seeing a ghost, a spirit, but Jesus quells that by telling them to look at His hands and His feet. His hands still had the scars from the nails of the crucifixion; His feet as well. Then He confirmed His body by speaking of being flesh and bone. He even invites them to touch Him… “Handle Me”

Why are we troubled? We are not mindful enough of the presence of the Lord Jesus, the bodily resurrected Lord Jesus alive, and seated at the right hand of the Father; and that He has given us the earnest of His Holy Spirit abiding in all those who are His (Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5); awaiting that day when we shall be glorified with Him.

The One was born of a virgin, lay in the manger in Bethlehem, grew to be the Man that would give His life as the sacrifice for all our sin. He was buried, and He rose from the dead. He died for you and me. Why? Because He loves us so much He gave.

Child of God; if you are troubled about things in this world, your family situation, your finances, your health, or your eternal condition, then look to the One who has showed Himself alive forevermore.

Our Hearts Burn Within Us

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?’
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, ‘The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.’ And they told what things were done in the way, and how He was known of them in breaking of bread.” Luke 24:31-35  (KJB)

When we are first introduced to these two from Emmaus we are told, “But their eyes were holden that they should not know Him” (v. 16).  On the way the resurrected Lord spoke the Scriptures of Moses and the Prophets, and taught them of the Christ.  It was not until He broke bread with them in their home that their eyes were opened.

Jesus disappears from their sight.  They get up from their table, and return to Jerusalem to find the others, and share with them about their personal encounter with Jesus.

As I read this, this morning, it was fresh and new to me like I was reading it for the first time.  Though nothing new was revealed to me, but it was like the Lord Jesus was very very near to me, and He always is, but like a refresher filling of the Spirit. He is near.  He is always near.

He is risen just as He said.  Remember the Scriptures.  They tell us of Him.  That is when our hearts burn within us.  Our hearts burn, yearning, longing, desiring to see our Lord, and to hear Him speak to us.  Is your heart burning for Him?  The fuel for the fire is the Scriptures.