August 28, 2005
Let’s turn to a passage in Luke again, now chapter 24; in v. 26, the Lord is speaking to the two going to Emmaus. “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. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 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.” It’s interesting that this is only two chapters after the one our brother read, but meanwhile something tremendous has taken place. The One Who instituted the bread and cup went to the cross, suffered, bled, and died; more than that he had risen again. But those two didn’t know that. He meets these two with their backs to Jerusalem, their hopes dashed, the One Who they thought was to be the redeemer had died. He expounds all the things concerning Himself till their hearts burned. But it wasn’t until he went into their house and broke bread that they knew Him; now not only burning hearts, but opened eyes. This is not the Lord’s Supper but we cannot help but see the similarity. Through the loaf, the Lord is showing his body, the Bread of life, being broken for them. Oh, how the Lord desires to show Himself to his own at a time of discouragement and turn it into the greatest joy. They then go back and share it all with the brethren. This morning we have had the privilege of remembering Him. We can praise Him that He has given us something to do. He has done it all for our Salvation; to do His dying request is a privilege. He has given it of Himself. It’s a memory, it’s a remembrance, it’s a hope till He come.
EG Hymn 196–The Lord of life is risen, Prayer Joshua 3:10–16 • Many people had to cross the Jordan River. Ch 10: 13 says that there were 40,000 men from only the two and a half tribes that stayed on the other side. Joshua 4:1–14 • The 12 stones were to be a memorial to the Children of Israel for ever of the way they got into the land. Joshua also set up 12 stones in the bottom of the Jordan River. The Israelites crossing the Jordan is a picture of us being crucified with Christ. The stones in the river are a type of our death with Christ. The stones on the bank are a continual reminder that we are risen with Christ.
Hebrews 6:1–20 • At the end of chapter 5, the writer gave the Hebrews a rebuke. In the first part of chapter 6, he gives them encouragement. He is trying to stir them up. You cannot stay still in your Christian life. You either progress or you regress; grow or shrink. These people have grasped the teachings of John the Baptist and the Lord, but they haven’t gone on to learn the things of His death. In the Kings James Version, it seems that the writer is saying we need to forget the things John the Baptist and Jesus taught. Darby doesn’t say that, he says to add the new things to them. But some things should be let go. For example, the doctrine of baptism (washings, Darby) and the laying on of hands were things that were part of the Old Testament law. God is making a new law. They were holding on to those old things. • For Jews, who knew they had the truth from God and the status of a chosen people, it was hard for them to become Christians and equal with the Gentiles. The Gentiles had their own “home-made” gods, so when they were confronted with the truth, they could easily see their error and were willing to change. Even the Apostles had a hard time changing completely. After Peter went to Cornelius, they called him to a court-like meeting and interrogated him. They found out that God really had called the Gentiles too. • Usually people say that the book of Hebrews was written to Hebrew Christians; more correctly it was written to Hebrew professors, not all of whom were saved. It is the unsaved people who are being referred to in the vv. 4–6. Some denominations take this to mean that you can be saved and lost and saved and lost and saved again. This is not what it means. It is speaking of people who had left the Jewish religion, come to be among Christians, but were not really saved. They would have seen the Holy Spirit working in peoples’ lives, seen the power of God, but finally rejected it and gone back to the Jewish ways. The rabbis would probably have had the curse Jesus, “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame”, before they were allowed to live as a Jew again. For these people, who have seen and tasted what it is like to be a Christian and rejected it totally, there is now no hope of Salvation. EG Hymn 10–Faith is a very simple thing Prayer