The Seven and the One

Acts 6:1-15

Welcome! Over the past two weeks, we took a bit of a detour from a series on the Book of Acts, focusing on the death and resurrection of Christ. Today we return to Acts.

Since it has been a few weeks, let us take time for a quick review. Acts begins by telling how, over a period of 40 days, the risen Jesus met repeatedly with the disciples, encouraging and instructing them, and also telling them to stay in Jerusalem because it is there they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He also told them that they would be His witnesses, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. He soon after rose up from them into the clouds, and while the disciples were looking up, two angels basically told them to stop looking up and go about the business Jesus instructed, and they told them that Jesus some day would return in a manner similar to how He had departed. They went back to Jerusalem, chose Matthias to replace Judas, and waited.   

And then, on the day of Pentecost, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind filled the house where they were staying, and what looked like tongues of fire came to rest on each of them. Then they were filled with the Spirit and began praising God in other languages. A crowd of Jews gathered after hearing the strange sound, and they were confronted with something even more unexplainable: these Galileans (obvious from their dress), were speaking of God in their own tongues! Peter addressed the crowd and explained that this was a fulfillment of prophecy, and that Jesus, whom they had had crucified, was fulfillment of even greater prophecy, and in fact was risen from the dead, and was Lord and Messiah. Over 3000 people repented and were baptized in the name of Jesus, and the church, the ekklesia, the called-out ones, was born.

The apostles continued to teach them, and they broke bread together and prayed together. They shared their possessions with those who had need. And the church continued to grow.

One day when Peter and John were going to the temple, a lame-from-birth beggar got their attention, and Peter, by the power of the Spirit, healed him. A crowd gathered, and Peter preached the gospel to them. But then they were arrested by the Jewish leaders, and the next day they were questioned by them. Peter boldly preached the gospel to them. The leaders then discussed the situation and then commanded them not to teach or speak about Jesus any longer. But Peter and John said that they could not follow that order, that they were compelled – by the Lord – to continue. They were released, went to the other believers, and prayed for boldness – and the place where they were praying was shaken.

I think we can argue that the arrest and commands not to preach were Satan’s first concerted effort to stop the church in its tracks, to derail the spread of the gospel. Of course, Satan also tried to stop the church before it began, to get Jesus to worship him, to get the leaders to be against Jesus, and ultimately to get the leaders to crucify Him. In each case it looked like Satan was winning, attaining his ends, but in each case, God converted his evil attacks into good things. Jesus’ death was the greatest thing of all – in that it was by His death that our sins have been atoned for – and God showed that Jesus’ death was accepted as payment for our sins by raising Him from the dead. As for Satan’s first post-resurrection attack on the church, this first persecution, God also converted it – in this case, into increased boldness in sharing the gospel, and increased fervor and devotion to God among the early believers.

They continued to share the gospel boldly, and many more people came to faith. And they continued to provide for one another, with some selling houses or land and giving the entire proceeds to the apostles to distribute based on need.

Then Satan began his second attack – this time, with an attempt to infiltrate or corrupt the church. Although not explicitly stated, we can assume that Ananias and his wife Sapphira saw that people who sold property and gave the proceeds to the church were celebrated and honored. Indeed, this behavior touches on established practices in honor-shame cultures that persist to this day – the practice is called patronage. Patronage has existed in all ancient cultures and is found in the Bible even in some of the earliest passages. The idea behind patronage is that someone becomes a “patron” (which is a word with roots in the word for “father”) by providing needs for a group of people, and in return, the people honor the patron by praising him and telling others of his greatness, causing his name and fame to spread. Ideally for the patron, the patron chooses people who are likely to have the greatest influence among those around them, that is, people already in decent standing in society. There is nothing inherently sinful in the patronage system, and in a very real sense, God the Father takes on the role of patron in the Old Testament to the Jews.  

But the Kingdom of God, as revealed by Jesus, kind of turns this practice upside down – Jesus says that those who want to be the greatest should become like lowly servants to the lowly. In other words, they should seek to serve those who cannot pay them back by raising their patron’s honor status because they don’t have the “clout” to do so.

Now we don’t know much about Ananias and Sapphira – they may not have even been believers at all – but we know what they did – they sold a piece of property and only put some of the money at the apostle’s feet, all the while pretending – or allowing the misconception to continue – that they had given them everything. We know that this is an attack of Satan because Peter, filled with the Spirit, says so; he says, to paraphrase, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have done this?” Upon hearing Peter’s words, Ananias fell down and died on the spot, causing those in the church to feel a holy fear – a realization that the holy God is not to be used, not to be viewed as a means of raising one’s honor through dishonest means – that the consequences could literally be deadly. And in conformation, his wife, unaware of what has happened, persisted in the lie, and she too fell down dead. This led to the church being even more filled with a holy fear, a fear of the Lord, which Proverbs says is the beginning of wisdom. And so we see that Satan’s second attack also backfired on him.

One thing that strikes me in this – and I apologize if this comparison seems impertinent, but I don’t think Satan deserves much respect, despite his power – but Satan strikes me a lot like Wile E Coyote in the old Road Runner cartoons. The Road Runner is the church, simply running the race, as we are told to do in Hebrews 12:2, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Wile E Coyote keeps trying to blow up the Road Runner, but each attempt backfires, only hurting himself. I am also reminded of Romans 8:31: If God is for us, who can be against us?

In any case, the church continued to grow, now with people from outside Jerusalem coming in to learn and to be healed. And so Satan returned to his first strategy. The Jewish leaders arrested the apostles – apparently all of them this time, not just Peter and John – but this time an angel opened the doors of the jail and brought them out in the night, telling them to go right into the temple courts and boldly continue to proclaim the gospel, “all about this new life.”

They did just that the next morning. The Jewish leaders were told of their miraculous escape and what they were now doing. They had them brought to them and reminded them that they had been told not to talk publicly about Jesus. The apostles in turn reminded them that they were going to obey God over human beings and proclaimed the gospel to them. The Jewish leaders were furious and wanted to put them to death, but Gamaliel persuaded them that it was better to do nothing, that if this was not from God, it would all die out on its own. But if by some chance it was from God, then they were fighting against God and would surely fail. They were persuaded by this speech and, rather than having the apostles killed, had them flogged. You could say that Ole’ Wile E Coyote finally got to harm his nemesis, the Road Runner! But did this apparent triumph of Satan deter the apostles? Quite the opposite! They actually rejoiced because they saw this as a sign that God had counted them worthy to suffer for His Name! They continued to teach in the temple courts and from house to house, more bold than ever.

This brings us at last to today’s passage, from Acts chapter 6, verse 1:

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” – Acts 6:1-4

As I began to dig deeper into this passage, I was surprised to discover that this passage is not as simple as it might appear. Let’s start with what we do know for sure.

The Hellenistic Jews were Greek-speaking Jews, people who likely had either lived in the past in regions outside Israel, or people who had come for Pentecost, become saved, and stayed. Although some Jews who lived in Israel spoke Greek, it was not their primary language; Hebrew was. In contrast, the Hebraic Jews were those who likely lived in Israel and nearby areas, and they spoke Hebrew as their primary language.

How did these two categories of Jews view each other? From other period writings, we can say “not very well.” The attitude of many Hebraic Jews was “Why wouldn’t you live in Israel? It is the promised land! Come here, learn Hebrew properly, and fulfill God’s promise to Abraham!” As for the Hellenistic Jews, their view of the Hebraic Jews was that their leaders were corrupt, fighting each other, and that they had a “holier-than-thou” attitude, all of which was largely correct. Both sides had valid points, and, like many political divides, neither side was likely to influence people on the other to change their views.

Satan saw this conflict as yet another opportunity. If he couldn’t scare the church into timidity, and if he couldn’t corrupt the church with people in it for their own honor, and if he couldn’t kill off their leaders, maybe he could divide and conquer. If he could get them to focus on their cultural identity and get each side to view the other side with increasing suspicion and even hostility, he could destroy the reputation of the church to outsiders and thereby destroy the church entirely.

Now the challenge of this passage is to understand exactly what was going on. Doesn’t the passage say that the Hellenistic widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food? Well, not exactly. What it says is that they were being overlooked in the daily “diakonia”. Elsewhere, this word is translated “ministry.” Indeed, the word for deacon has roots in this word. Now it is true that communal meals were part of community life in the early church, but it is a bit hard to believe that this passage means that the Greek widows weren’t getting any food at these functions. If this passage does refer to food, it more likely referring to some kind of provision for widows’ food outside of these community meals. But it is entirely possible that it doesn’t refer to food at all.

“Now, wait a minute,” you might say. “What about the part about waiting on tables?” Well, that is not exactly what the original Greek says either. The NIV says “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the Word of God in order to wait on tables.” In the Greek, that same root word “diakon” appears twice in this passage. A more literal translation is “It would not be right for us to not minister the Word of God in order to minister tables.” That is, “diakon” appears twice, once with regards to the Word and once with regards to the tables. The same word is used. This is a rhetorical device, a form of repetitio (repetition), called mesodiplosis, repetition of a middle word in multiple clauses. Another example from the Bible is used by Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 on the words “but not”: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”  My main point here, though, is that the idea of “waiting” on tables, like a, well, waiter, is not here in the text.

As for the word translated “tables,” it is “trapezai”, which simply means any kind of table. We get the mathematical shape “trapezoid” from this word, which is a four-sided shape. But more importantly, “trapezai” is often associated in ancient writings with the distribution of money. Think of banking tables instead of food tables. In fact, banks are still called “trapezai” in Greece today!

Personally, the idea that this passage is referring to the distribution of funds makes more sense to me than the idea that it is about serving actual food. We have had the repeated mention of people selling property and giving the funds to the apostle’s feet. That made it the apostle’s responsibility to use these funds. Administering a charity in this way is indeed a major job, a full-time job, indeed, multiple full-time jobs, especially as the church was continuing to grow exponentially.

I have unfortunately seen examples of sermons misusing this passage to argue that it somehow argues that pastors should not be involved in menial work. In my opinion this goes against major themes of Jesus’ teaching on servant leadership, perhaps most notably with His example of washing His disciples’ feet. Yes, His example had a higher interpretation, about the need for believers to keep coming repentantly to Jesus all their lives, but it also had a very direct interpretation about servant leadership.  

Regardless of how we understand today’s passage, there is no question that the key issue was that the rapidly growing church needed growing leadership. I am reminded of how Moses was burning himself out judging the many conflicts among the Israelites, and it took the good advice of Jethro to bring in others qualified to judge to rescue Moses from this burden.

I believe that what is happening here is similar. The apostles realize that this distribution of funds – or food – process demands more time than they have. It also has the potential to cause serious problems in the church, even division. And the apostles are not Hellenistic Jews. Apart from the possible issue of the optics of only having Hebraic Jews administer the funds, the far more serious problem is that this is a hard problem for only Hebraic Jews to solve, as the language and cultural barriers may make it difficult for them to even know who to talk to in order to figure out what is actually going on.  

It is for this reason, I believe, that the bar is set very high for these men who are to take over this distribution. They must be widely known and respected, both in terms of practical wisdom and in terms of the depth of their Christian walk. I am not sure why the number seven was chosen, although it is an obvious symbol of completion, going back even to the days of Creation. I have read that to be a Jewish business that had a banking component, a board of seven men was required. This is supposedly in the Jewish writings known as the Mishna, but I have not been able to verify this.  

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. – Acts 6:5-7

It is not known whether each of these men were Hellenistic or Hebraic Jews, but it is interesting that each of them is named by a Hellenistic name. If they were indeed all Hellenistic, it was a beautiful loving show of unity to do this in this way. It would have made sense, because they all would know Greek and could help solve the problems more easily. It certainly would have showed that the Hebraic apostles had no thoughts of themselves as a people being somehow superior to the Hellenistic Jews. This was an early example of what Paul would later write, that in Christ, there is no Jew nor Greek.

It is also interesting that one of the seven was a convert to Judaism. This may have meant that he was viewed as truly neutral to the longstanding divide between Hellenistic and Hebraic Jews. It is also interesting to me that this discussion about what to do was not held in a closed meeting of only the apostles. The meeting was in a larger group setting, since it “pleased the whole group.”

Note that the “whole group” did more than hear the plan – they implemented it! The apostles left it for them to find from among their thousands seven qualified men. And that is exactly what they did.

When it comes to leadership of a church today, I do think there are some topics whose discussion needs to be limited to a church leadership, particularly when it involves confidential information about other members of the church, but I also think that church leadership should discuss potential major changes in a church with the church body, such as what we see here. The change from “the twelve” to “the twelve plus the seven” was indeed a major change. And I also think it is important that the church body have a significant role in the appointment of leadership. When we at CCC have added to our leadership, we have done this. Any candidate for pastor is evaluated by the existing leadership with regards to the Biblical qualifications for leadership found in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. The candidate is then announced to the church, and then feedback is solicited from the church body. It is not the exact same process as we see in Acts 6, but Acts 6 takes place before the lists are developed in Timothy and Titus. What we read in Acts is descriptive, but not always prescriptive.

Now Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas are only mentioned in this passage. Philip is a different Philip than the apostle Philip. Later in Acts he is described as “Philip the Evangelist.” As for Stephen, he is described in the most honorable terms of the seven. And for good reason, as we will see.

And so, yet again, we see Satan, also now associated with Wile E, has his plans defeated/thwarted. And indeed, his interference has only led to a strengthening in the leadership of the church – it has expanded, as it had needed to expand. And it has demonstrated love and unity and humility in the process!

And so this passage tells us that the church continued to grow rapidly. And even, shockingly, a large number of priests became believers! We aren’t told exactly what this looked like. Were they permitted to continue their priestly duties? Did they believe in secret? We don’t know.

Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. – Acts 6:8-10

Notice that it was not only the apostles now who were performing signs and miracles – Stephen, one of the seven, was doing this as well. Stephen was previously described as full of faith and the Holy Spirit; now he is additionally described as full of grace and power. But his message, the message of Jesus Messiah, God, and Son of God, the message of His life, death, and resurrection, and the message that salvation is found in no one else, was rejected and offensive to many.  

What was the Synagogue of the Freedmen? They are only mentioned here in Scripture. Given the locations they come from, they are clearly Hellenistic Jews, as Stephen likely is. They are probably made up of, at least originally, Jews who were former slaves. There were many such people, as the Roman general Pompei had sent many Jews to Rome as slaves in 63 BC. But their name is very ironic, as it is the Jewish Christian believers who are the real freedmen; the Synagogue of the Freedmen is composed of people who remain slaves to sin; as Jesus says in John 8:34, anyone who sins is a slave to sin. And by resisting the gospel truth they were certainly still in their sins. Just two verses earlier, in John 8:32, Jesus says to His disciples that if they hold to His teaching, they will know the truth, and the truth will set them free. And in verse 36: “…if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” We who know Jesus know the truth, and Jesus the Son has set us free, so we are free indeed!

One of these locations deserves special mention: Cilicia. The main city of Cilicia you have heard of from a description of a pretty important person in the New Testament, one you are going to meet not today, but soon, as we continue through Acts. The city in Cilicia is Tarsus.

Now in the arena of ideas, in the court of public debate, these so-called Freedmen had no chance against Stephen, as he had the truth of God, the wisdom of God, and the Spirit of God on his side. These public debates were like honor-shame wrestling matches, and in this case, there was no contest. And having been publicly shamed and embarrassed, the Freedmen resorted to pure evil, just as the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem had done against Jesus.   

Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” – Acts 6:11-14

“We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” What were these words? We can conjecture. Perhaps it was the truth that nobody is able to completely follow the Law of Moses, so it is powerless to save. That could have been seen as blasphemous against Moses. Perhaps he was identifying Jesus as God, and that would have been seen as blasphemous against God. Perhaps this man of Tarsus was there, hearing these arguments of Stephen. Perhaps he was one of those arguing against them! These accusations were enough to get the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem to arrest Stephen and bring him before the Sanhedrin.

And just as false witnesses made similar claims against Jesus, they go to these same false arguments again, this time against Stephen. Jesus did say, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (John 2:19) He meant His body, and He was absolutely correct about that. But the false witnesses deliberately twisted His words and His intentions. They would not be called false witnesses if they only misunderstood what Jesus (or Stephen) had said.

The wording is interesting in the last verse. They don’t claim that Jesus will change the Law of Moses. They say He will change the customs of Moses. What does that even mean? They are conflating the non-Biblical add-ons of the Pharisees and others with the actual Law of Moses.

I think of Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:

“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. – Matthew 23:2-4

Indeed, much of Matthew 23 is relevant to this discussion of the add-ons of the Pharisees, but we are running out of time, so I want to talk about the final verse of today’s passage:

All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. – Acts 6:15

What a fascinating description! What does this mean exactly? I don’t think we know. But I reminded of the description of Moses after encountering God on the mountain.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. – Exodus 34:29-32

When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with Him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord. – Exodus 34:33-35

I don’t know if this was exactly what Stephen was like, but I do believe that God was speaking with Stephen, preparing him for his amazing response, which we will read next week. If I was one of those Sanhedrin seeing Stephen with the face like the face of an angel, I would question whether I wanted to continue with this charade. But their hearts were hardened. They were slaves to their sin and slaves to Satan. And it looked like Satan was finally going to get a victory. The charges against Stephen carried a death sentence. And surely the death of the church’s star speaker would set the church back and perhaps even destroy it, wouldn’t it? Find out next week!

The Best Day

Luke 24:1-53

Last week, the title of our message was “The Darkest Day.”  We started toward the end of Luke 22.  There we saw the familiar sequence of events.  Jesus and the disciples went to the Mount of Olives to pray.    Under great anguish and stress at what Jesus knew would happen, He went off to pray just a short way from the disciples.  While Jesus prayed, the disciples had fallen asleep.  Jesus returns, wakes them, and exhorts them to pray.  While they are still speaking, Judas arrives with a crowd.  They seize Jesus and lead Him away to the house of the high priest.

Peter follows, and while standing in the courtyard, Peter denies that he knows Jesus.  Jesus had foretold this, and when Peter remembers Jesus’ words and realizes he has disowned Jesus, he goes out and weeps bitterly.

Before the council of elders, Jesus acknowledges He is the Son of God.  With this confession, the assembly takes Jesus to Pilate the governor of Judea.

When they have stated their case, Pilate finds no basis with which to charge Jesus of a crime, certainly not one deserving of death.  Through the questioning, Pilate realizes Jesus is a resident of Galilee, so he sends Jesus to Herod since Galilee is under Herod’s jurisdiction.  Jesus gives no answer to Herod’s many questions and is sent back to Pilate.  Pilate offers the chief priest and rulers of the people to punish Jesus and release Him.  They refuse this offer and instead ask Pilate to release Barabbas, a murderer.

Pilate still tries to release Jesus, but the people are near rioting at this point, shouting “Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”  Luke 23:25 says an interesting thing.  It does not say that Pilate condemned Jesus to death, rather Luke says that Pilate surrendered Jesus to the will of the people.

Jesus is taken and crucified between two criminals.  Hanging there on the cross, many insult Him and taunt Him to save Himself if He is in fact the Son of God.  At midday, darkness comes over the whole land.  The darkness lasts until three.  Luke says that the sun stopped shining (23:45).  At the death of the creator of the universe, would it not be fitting that the sun itself would mark the severity of this event.  At three, Jesus cries out, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” And He died.

Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Council who had not consented to the decision of the others nor their actions, goes to Pilate and asks for Jesus’ body.  Maybe it is because I am an old(er) man, this scene touches me with grief more and more as the years go by.  Here is Jesus, a young man, just 33 years old, in the physical prime of his life, struck down, crucified, dead.  And here is Joseph, and Nicodemus with Him, both surely older men and perhaps quite old, taking Jesus’ body, wrapping it and placing it in a tomb.  All four Gospels speak of this significant event following Jesus’ death.

Likewise, the women who had followed Jesus, follow Joseph to the burial of Jesus at the tomb. Seeing how His body was laid in it, the women then went home and prepared spices and perfumes, but they rested Friday night and Saturday in honor of the Sabbath.

That brings us to Luke chapter 24.  We will follow the course of Luke 24 to the end which is also the end of the book of Luke.  Before we step into today’s passage and the best day, let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You that You were willing to sacrifice Yourself to deliver us.  Please grant us understanding as we look into the account of Your resurrection.  May Your Spirit fill each one listening and may we rejoice in the good news.

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered His words. – Luke 24:1-8

In Jerusalem, the tombs are most often in caves.  The tombs needed a stone over the entrance to keep critters or even thieves and vandals out.  In the case of Jesus’ burial, the tomb had been sealed and a guard placed.  And so, it was strange to find the tomb open.  Matthew explains that an angel had come and rolled away the stone.

Now, it was very early on Sunday, at first light.  Going inside, they find it empty which is even more surprising.  They are not left to wonder for long.  The angels’ opening question is filled with excitement and hope.  The One whom they are seeking is among the living.

Then, the angels remind the women of what Jesus had said.  In Luke 9, after Peter says that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus tells the disciples ...

The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. – Luke 9:22

In John 2, after chasing the money changers and those selling animals for sacrifice out of the temple courts, Jesus is questioned by the people, “What sign can He show them to prove His authority to do this?”  Jesus replies …

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and You are going to raise it in three days?”

But the temple he had spoken of was His body. – John 2:19-21

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.  Luke 24:9-12

We often mention that it was significant that Jesus’ resurrection was revealed to the women first, and how that was uncharacteristic of that time period, that a major announcement would come first to the women.  I think another aspect of that reality that Jesus’ resurrection was revealed first to the women is that the women were the ones who were still seeking after Jesus even at first light after the Sabbath.  Jesus reveals Himself to those who seek Him.  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7, Luke 11:9) 

The others including the Eleven could not understand, and they didn’t believe them.  Sometimes, we get frustrated if others don’t understand the good news.  But, it is not only a thing of explaining and reasoning, there has to be a movement of the Spirit of God to open hearts and minds to the truth.  We should not underestimate the need for prayer in evangelism.

Peter goes on a quick run to the tomb.  He sees the situation, empty and the strips of linen lying there empty, the body gone.  This also was not enough for Peter.  He is still wondering.  Obviously, something happened.  The body is gone, but he does not see the possibility of resurrection … yet.

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him. He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, "Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" "What things?" He asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him; but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find His body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus." 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. – Luke 24:13-27

This account is found only in the book of Luke.  It is such a blessing that we have it recorded.  You know the scene.  Two disciples, not of the original twelve, are walking along for a couple of hours, to a village near to Jerusalem.  They are walking and talking about what has happened.  As they are walking, Jesus overtakes them walking in the same direction.  I take it as an evidence of Jesus’ humility and sense of humor that He doesn’t reveal Himself directly.

Why does Jesus come to these two disciples?  We don’t have a definite reason.  However, they are actively trying to make sense out of the situation.  They are talking about what has happened to Jesus.  Is this not the point when Jesus reveals Himself to His people?

Jesus asks what they are discussing.  At first, they can’t even bring themselves to answer, or don’t know where to start.  Finally, Cleopas comes back with a question for Jesus.  Even if you just arrived in Jerusalem, how can you not know what has happened?

Jesus allows them to tell what has happened with a simple question of His own.  “What things?” He asks.  That’s a good reminder for us in conversation.  Sometimes we want to show what we know or feel like we have to answer every question that comes our way.  Often, there is wisdom in asking another question so that you can understand where the questioner is coming from.  In Jesus’ case, He knows where everyone is coming from.  Jesus allows the disciples to speak and to know for themselves where they are coming from.

What is it all about?  It’s all about Jesus, but they don’t confess Him as Messiah, but rather as a prophet.  Jesus’ death has taken their hope that He was the One who would redeem Israel.  But now, there is news that Jesus could be alive.  The tomb is empty, but the men who went to the tomb had not seen Jesus … yet.

Now Jesus speaks; He speaks boldly.  Didn’t things have to happen this way.  Why didn’t they believe what the prophets of the Old Testament had said?  Didn’t they explain that the Messiah had to suffer and then enter glory?  He doesn’t rebuke them and walk away.  Jesus proceeds to explain beginning at the beginning (the books of Moses) and go through all the prophets.  Luke says that Jesus explained what was said concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.  There is a lot to be said.  I expect Jesus is talking for an hour or more.

The Scriptures, Jesus explains, were written well before Jesus was born.  Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, and the last book written chronologically, was written more than 400 years before Jesus was born.  Genesis was written down more than a thousand years before that.  Isaiah 46:10 gives the very words of God, “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand.’ ”

How can we tackle what Jesus would have mentioned in that time?  Last week, Brian mentioned Genesis 3:15, where God Himself foretells that the seed or offspring of Eve will crush the serpent’s head, while the serpent will strike His heel.  From this verse just 9 verses from the fall and only a short time after they ate the fruit, we see that a deliverer would come, and that deliverer would be a human being.  As Genesis continues, God focuses what family line the Savior would come from.

God gives promises to Abraham saying that “through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.” (Genesis 22:18, 26:4)

Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, prophesies in Genesis 49 about his son Judah, that “the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” (v. 10)

King David is from the tribe of Judah.  God gives the promise to David that it would from his offspring that, “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne.” (Psalm 132:11)   The prophecy about David’s line is reinforced multiple places, including Isaiah 9:6-7, Jeremiah 23:5-6, 33:14-15, and Ezekiel 37:25

In Deuteronomy, Moses foretells one of the roles that would be fulfilled, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” (18:15)  Jesus confirmed these verses spoke about Him in John 5 when He chastised the Pharisees for thinking that by studying the Scriptures they would have eternal life.  Rather, the Scriptures, including the books written by Moses, testify about Jesus. Moses wrote about Jesus.

The later prophets continually talk about another role of this coming ruler.  In Isaiah, in chapter 40, it is written,

See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and He rules with a mighty arm. See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young. – Isaiah 40:10-11

Ezekiel, Micah 4:4, and Zechariah 13:7 contain prophecies about the shepherd.  In John 10, Jesus explains He is the Good Shepherd.

Then, there are the prophecies about Jesus’ birth that we know well from Christmas. Isaiah may hold the most prophecies about Jesus, beginning with the familiar words from chapter 7, ”Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.” (7:14) And Micah gives us the place of Jesus’ birth, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2-4)

Zechariah tells how this ruler will arrive, “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9) which is how Jesus arrived in Jerusalem the week before His crucifixion.

Even the way that Jesus suffered and died was foretold.  “I offered My back to those who beat Me, My cheeks to those who pulled out My beard; I did not hide My face from mocking and spitting.” (Isaiah 50:6) “See, My servant will act wisely; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at Him--His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and His form marred beyond human likeness.” (Isaiah 52:13-14)

Daniel wrote simply, “The Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.”  (9:26)

But what of the resurrection, what does the Old Testament say about that?

Well, in Psalm 16, David prophesied in the place of Jesus with the words, “You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay. (v. 9-10)  Jesus rested in the grave only one full day.  He was laid in the tomb on Friday and rose on Sunday.  We’ve talked before about how Hebrew counting includes the first partial day or year as being the first.  Jesus rose on the third day, but it had been part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday, the third day.  Peter referred to this in Acts chapter 2.

Jesus was asked for a sign by the Pharisees and teachers of the law in Matthew 12 (verses 39-42 and Luke 11:29-32).  He answered that the only sign that would be given to them was the sign of Jonah.  As Jonah was in the belly of the whale for 3 days, so would the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth.  Jonah is an Old Testament example of the coming Messiah.  Jonah’s prayer includes vivid imagery of death with similarities more like what happened to Jesus than to himself.  “From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. ... To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, LORD my God, brought my life up from the pit.” (Jonah 2:2, 6) Jesus also made clear speaking in Matthew 12 that He is greater than Jonah and greater in wisdom than Solomon.  That also helps us think about the many roles Jesus fills, His excellence, the supremacy of Christ.

There is another prophecy of the Old Testament that connects with the resurrection.  Hosea is quoted in Matthew after the visit of the wise men.  If you remember, an angel told Joseph to take Jesus and Mary and flee Herod’s wrath by going to Egypt.  Matthew 2:15 says, “And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called My son.’ ” which is Hosea 11:1.

In Hosea 6, there is another prophecy.  This prophecy, like others in the Old Testament, has a parallel meaning because it is included in a message to the people of Israel.  It applies to Israel, but it has its complete fulfillment in Jesus. “Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.  After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.”  (Hosea 6:1-2, Isaiah 49:3)

(Matthew 27:51 – Jesus was torn, and the temple curtain was torn.  Hebrews 10:20 – A new and living way was opened through the curtain, that is His body.  Isaiah 53:4, 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 – Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection.  1 Corinthians 12:27 – We are all part of the body of Christ.  Romans 6:5 – We are united with Him in His resurrection.)

Isaac, too, is a foreshadowing or figurative example of the resurrection.  The story is told in Genesis 22.  God speaks to Abraham to go to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac there.  Then, Abraham sets out on the journey, and there is even a reference to the third day in that story.  “On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.” (Genesis 22:4) It was on that day, the third day of the journey, that Isaac’s life was spared.

Hebrews 11 spells it out for us,

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. – Hebrews 11:17-19

In Isaac, we have both the picture of a man being offered as a sacrifice, and that same one being returned to life.  Jesus, God’s one and only Son, was offered as a sacrifice.  He gave His life, and He was raised from the dead.  Jesus is the perfect fulfillment.  Jesus is deliverer.  Jesus is Savior and Lord.

As the disciples walked along the Emmaus road, Jesus expounded far better than I can what had happened.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if He were going farther. But they urged Him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So He went in to stay with them. When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread. – Luke 24:28-35

With Jesus’ exposition of the prophecy from the Old Testament, Cleopas and his fellow disciple are not feeling as downcast as they had been before the met Jesus.  When Jesus breaks bread, they recognize Him.  It says that twice.  How many significant things happened when Jesus breaks bread: feeding of the 5000, the feeding of the 4000, the Last Supper. Jesus is the bread.  He said, “Take eat, this is My body.”  In John 6, Jesus told those of the 5000 He fed who followed Him back to Capernaum,

“The bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” The people replied, “Always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.”  -- John 6:33-35

The news that they have seen Jesus is too good to keep to themselves.  They must return to Jerusalem at once and share what they have seen.  I’m certain that the return trip to Jerusalem was a lot faster than their trip out to Emmaus.

While they were still talking about this, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, He asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what My Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." – Luke 24:36-49

Jesus gives them many proofs to confirm that He is not a ghost which some of them suspected despite all that they had heard and seen.  He shows His wounds from the cross.  He offers them to touch Him and feel His physical body.  He also eats with them which is not the kind of thing ghosts do.

He then reminds them all that he had told Cleopas and his friend.  Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me.  Then, we see another critical point.  Jesus opened their minds so that they could understand the Scriptures.  They needed it, and so do we.  Apart from the Spirit, we cannot understand the things of God.

Jesus sets the vision also foretold in the Old Testament (Isaiah 55:5) that the message will be preached in His Name to all the nations and that the disciples gathered in Jerusalem are the witnesses.  The implication is these witnesses will be the first to testify about Jesus to Jerusalem and beyond.

The closing verses of Luke 24 take us into a summary of the Acts chapter 1.

When He had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. – Luke 24:49-53

This was a different departure than Jesus’ prior disappearances following the resurrection.  He blesses them indicating a departure, a separation.  The disciples saw Him ascend.  It was clear that this was a different occurrence.

The reaction of the disciples indicates what they thought about Jesus at that moment.  They worshiped Him.  He is God, not merely man.  Yes, Jesus is a man, fully man.  And, He is fully God and worthy of worship.

I’m a little surprised at the emotion.  It was not sadness, but joy that the disciples felt.  Finally now, they see the big picture.  They are glad for what Jesus has done, and they are excited for what He is going to do still.

They only have to wait ten short days until the spirit of God arrives with power on Pentecost, and the disciples set out to proclaim Christ with all boldness.