HOW IS IT WHAT BE--PART III: ONE MORE DAY AND MAN, OH MAN!

In the morning, as he [Jesus] was returning to the city [Jerusalem], he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” Matthew (21:18-19)

We began previous chapters by quoting how Jesus calmed the storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee with terrified disciples and how Jesus fed the 5,000 men plus women and children at the end of a day of preaching. The fig tree withered immediately.

When did the storm calm? Immediately.

How was the food provided to feed the multitude? Immediately.

Why do some, then, insist that it took thousands or millions of year for God to create the heavens and the Earth?

God creates immediately!

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (Genesis 2:1)

I didn’t always, but now I accept that heavens and earth were created in six 24-hour days [I’ll explain how I came to this conclusion in a future chapter.] They weren’t one thousand years each either, as some like to claim this length of time by quoting 2 Peter 8: “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

Peter was not addressing Creation. He was answering the scoffers making mock of Jesus’ Second Coming. He is showing how patient and merciful God is. 

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (2 Peter 9-10)

Now Jesus warns us about how rapidly the Lord will return and destroy the old Heavens and Earth. Instantly, like a thief in the night. This sudden coming of the Day of Lord and the end of the old creation was spoken of as he and His disciples pondered the withering of the fig tree.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers  of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:29-35)

Notice when the sun and moon no longer give light; and when the stars fall that all this happens right after the Great Tribulation — Immediately!  The end will come as swiftly as the beginning. It will not take millions of years.

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:1-3)

After six days of creating, God rested. He made the seventh day to be a day of rest for humans as well; in fact, for the entire earth. This would gradually be twisted by mankind, until the rulers and religious leaders made it not a day of rest, but a time of burden. Then Jesus came along reminding these people of the real purpose of the Sabbath that He was its master and  it was made for mankind. 

At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”

He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” Matthew 12:1-8) Also in Luke 6:1-5)

On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grain fields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?”

And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:1-5)

And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. (Mark 2:27-28)

God rested on the seventh day and commanded his people to do likewise.

But what day of the week was that?

God did not name the days; He didn’t say, “Oh, the weekend is here, it is Saturday time to rest.” In the Bible they spoke of the first day, the second day and so on.

Where did our names for the days of the week come from?

We have a calendar and we start the first day of each week on what we call Sunday, then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so Saturday is considered the last day of the week, the seventh day. So Sunday begins the week and Saturday ends it. But this is not the case according to the ISO (International Organization for Standardization), an organization backed by 163 countries to establish standards for everything. The ISO says Monday is the official first day of the week; however, the United States, Canada and Australia and a few others disagree and stick with Sunday as the first day of the week. I’m sure Israel is one that disagree as well. The Muslim countries disagree, too, but they have Saturday as the first day of the week and Friday as the seventh.

The names weren’t always the same either. On the Roman Calendar the days were named for celestial bodies, whom the Romans considered gods: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Our English calendar retained three of these named for Roman Gods: Saturday (Saturn), Sunday (obvious) and Monday (the Moon). The other days were renamed for Norse and Germanic gods.

We Christians then, still follow the lead of the Jews, and have come to consider Saturday as the seventh day of the week and the Sabbath, because we count from Sunday. 

If this is the case, why do Christians worship on Sunday and not Saturday?

Is it really because the early church fathers decided since Christ rose on Sunday that should be “The Lord’s Day” and this basically replaced the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday?  But this was not the full story.

The first Christians continued worshipping on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, trying to look like they were part of the Jewish faith because Rome allowed the Jews to worship as they always had. The Way (Christians) did this until Christianity became an illegal religion as did Judaism under Roman emperors after the sacking of Jerusalem. Now it became risky to be Christian or Jew, but Christians still tried to blend in by looking like Romans. They began observing a different day for the Sabbath, and since Sunday was a day of rest for the Romans, many Christians began using it as their day of worship hoping to pass.

This was the case until Emperor Constantine came to power in 313 A.D. He legalized Christianity again and on March 7, 321 issued the Sunday Enforcement Law.

“On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” 

This law was officially confirmed and adopted by the Pope at the Council of Laodicea in 364 A.D. and Christians have recognized Sunday as their day of worship ever since. Most Christian Churches thus celebrate Sunday as the day of worship because of a Pagan sun-worshipper and the Catholic Popes of Ancient Rome.

We now resume our Creation story and discover many critics claim we have two different accounts of Creation; the first being described in Genesis 1 and a different version in Chapter 2.

Balderdash!

Chapter 1 of Genesis is the overall view, while Chapter 2 gets more detailed as to what happened. One is the macro view and the other is the micro view, but they are the same story.

The opening verse of Genesis 2 makes an interesting statement.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (Genesis 2:1)

This, of course, leads to the question, “When did God create the angels?”

Why? Because of the term, “all the host of them”. Who is them? The word host in scripture usually refers to the Heavenly Creatures, especially Angels, so when God created the heavens and the earth he apparently created the Angels, which at the time included one named Lucifer.

It says when “the heavens and earth were finished, and all the host of them”. Does that imply God created the Heavenly Host last?

Not really.

In Exodus 20:11 it says this: “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

It certainly sounds as if God did create all and everything during those six days, which included the Angels and any other Celestial beings. Look at what Paul said in Colossians 1:16:

For by him [Meaning Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

So it would be just that, all things created in those six days. We know Angels and such were there very early on because Satan was there to temp Eve and the cherubim were there to guard the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life after the fall (Genesis 3:24).

We also know that God had meetings with his Angels and that Satan sometimes came to those gatherings from Job 1:6: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.”

But just when during the six days did he create them? We may have a clue in Job that tells us they were created on the first day just before he formed the Earth. In Job 38: 4-7 God is speaking to Job:

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Certainly sounds like God created the Angels first.

These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the  land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground, then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Some critics claim because here God created man and then God planted the Garden that he did this before the other parts of Creation spoke of in Genesis 1. It doesn’t say that at all. God planted the garden on the already existing land and man as well. Plants as food already existed in the world, but now God made special food for Man, the fruit trees and the Tree of Life.

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God  made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.( Genesis 2:4-9)

Let’s consider the location of the Garden of Eden. Genesis 2:10-14 talks plainly about where it is located and people have arguing where this was ever since. 

A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (Genesis 2:10-14)

There have been three popular spots speculated for the Garden. One is in upper Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea. I think that is

unlikely. The next most popular site is at the upper end of the Persian Gulf, mainly because the Tigris and Euphrates  Rivers empty into the gulf. But I go along with what is generally the popular choice of many and that is to the Eastern side of Turkey along the Armenia border. If you look at the map to the right, you will see an area between Hurrian and Assyria that might be the likely area. Mt. Ararat is near here and that is where Noah landed, and why wouldn’t the Ark have been directed back near the original place of mankind. Nimrod was a grand son of Noah. His father was Cush. Nimrod was considered a mighty warrior and a city builder. He built the city of Nimrod along the Tigris. This was in Assyria. (Genesis  10:8-10)

Nimrod continued south along the Tigris building cities where he entered what is modern day Iraq. There he stopped at what would become Babylon. Here he oversaw the building of the Tower of Babel. Archeologists have uncovered an ancient site full of ziggurats. (Ziggurats were pyramid-shaped  towers, usually a type of temple, with a flat top.)  It the midst of several small towers was the base and lower half of a large one known as the Great Ziggurat of Babylon (right). It

was never finished. This city sat on the Euprates and if we follow this river further south we will come to Ur. (Genesis 11:1-9)

Now Ur was a city of the Chaldees, a nation in lower Iraq which  had been  unable to conquer Babylon and was eventually assimilated into Babylonia.

A man named Terah, son of Nahor, lived in Ur. They were descendants of Noah’s son Shem. They began a journey toward the land of Canaan, led by Terah, which included his grandson Lot, his own son Abram and Abram’s wife Sarai. For some reason they traveled up the Euphrates going north. They got as far as Haran and settle there. (Genesis 11:28-32)

But God told Abram, whose name he would eventually change to Abraham, to get out of his father’s house with his kindred and go where God would show him (which would be Canaan).(Genesis 12:1)

See, so far for the most part every thing has flowed south with the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. But there were four rivers mentioned:

A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it

divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the  whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon.(Genesis 2:10-13)

People keep looking for one place with four rivers in it, but that is not what Scripture says. It says a river flowed from Eden and out of the Garden it divided and became four rivers. We can see on maps that a river flows from the area of Turkey where we speculate the Garden was and then it splits into the Tigris and Euphrates, but no one really knows today where the Pishon and Gihon were. I tend to agree with those who believe the Piston flowed from the top of the Persian Gulf across Arabia into the Red Sea. They also believe the Gihon began above the Red Sea, flowed south and then traveled down into Africa, maybe clear into Ethiopia. 

As a side note, after God expelled Adam and Eve, the Mormons believe he moved the Garden of Eden to Jackson County, Missouri. (Right) Personally, I have never been to Jackson County, MO, so I can’t don’t know what a paradise it may be.

It is likely the Garden of Eden will return when God creates the new heaven and earth and is the place described in Revelation 22:1-2. (I want to speak of those verses later.)

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (Genesis 2:15)

Right from the beginning man was given a job. I don’t know how hard this task was, but I am sure it was enough to keep Adam busy so he wouldn’t get bored. Work is good, although we sometimes grumble about it.

God probably wasn’t a difficult boss to please. After all, Adam had all the fruit he could eat, a great climate, friendly animals. God only demanded one rule.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)

Come on, how hard can that be. He was surrounded by all kinds of delicious fruit, surely he could resist that one.

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a help meet fit for him. (Help meet also means succor, which is someone who gives assistance and support in times of hardship and distress. Well, hardship and distress hadn’t hit Adam yet, but it would.) So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

Famous last words:

“This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:18-23)

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:24-25)

Now if my “Famous last words” remark wasn’t enough to get me in trouble, God made a Man and a Woman. They were supposed to become one flesh, because that is how God made them. The word translated generally as “helpmate” could have been translated “component, which is defined as a constituent that forms composes or makes up a unit or whole. We can see how that is the case. A man and a woman make up a whole, they are built to fit together.

Jesus said: But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Mark 10:6-9)

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. (Ephesians 5:33-34)

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:27-28)

A WEEK TO REMEMBER, PART 11 -- BLESSED BEGINNING

Sunday 16 Nisan

Rolling Away of the Stone and Fear by the Guard

Before Dawn.

Matthew 28:2-4

And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.

Sometime in those pre-dawn hours, when the night is the darkest, as soldiers, tough guys, stood guard, there was an earthquake. It was an unearthly earthquake. It wasn’t just some shifting of plates beneath the ground. It was a supernatural quaking caused by an Angel descending and rolling back that big, heavy stone over the grave. If the shaking didn’t totally get these guards attention, then the frightening appearance of the angel, now sitting casually upon the stone, probably with legs crossed, certainly did. These boys trembled and then became like dead men, and though it doesn’t say, found their feet working again and got out of Dodge. 

They left just before the women came.

Women Come to the Tomb

Matthew 28:1, John 20:1-2

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.

And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

And looking up, while it was still dark, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large; had been taken away from the tomb.

And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to see the tomb.

These women now brought the spices they had bought and prepared to anoint the body. It is quite early and still dark as they travel to the burial site. It is the first day of the week, which is Sunday. They don’t seem to be aware that the Jewish Authorities had sealed and posted a guard. There is no reason to think they would have known. The question on their minds is who could roll away the heavy stone over the tomb entrance.

Imagine their surprise when they discover the stone already moved. That must have been a scary moment for them, wondering who could have done this and why. It is well to note that this stone, unlike the one on Lazarus’ grave, was not removed so Jesus could get out. It was removed so others could get in. You can see from other verses that the physics of Jesus’ resurrected body were quite different from the unregenerate human body. He can move from place to place rapidly, he can disappear and appear at will and he can walk through walls, and if need be, large stones.

They wait until the sun has risen to provide light before going over to see the tomb.

Guard’s Report to te Sanhedrin

Matthew 28:11-15

While they [The Women] were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”

So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

This story is still being spread by some. Remember, even today there are those who deny the resurrection.

When the guards fled the tomb after the Angel appeared, some went to the Chief Priests and explained what happened. Others probably just fled as far as they could to avoid punishment for dereliction of duty.

I am not certain if these men were Roman Soldiers or Temple Guards. I say this because Pilate simply told the Jews to go make the tomb as secure as they could, he didn’t specifically assign a Roman Unit to the duty. Deserting guard duty came with a pretty harsh result for a Roman Soldier — death. Perhaps these guys just faced being hit with a stick, stripped and made to walk home naked.

Matthew 28:5-15, Mark16:2-11, Luke 24:1-12 John 20:3-18

5 And [some women] enter{ed} the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. (This may be the same one who moved the stone.)

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be alarmed. for I know that you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here

But Mary [Magdalene] stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where  the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.

They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do

not know where they have laid him.”

Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Jesus has changed enough during his resurrection that many do not recognize him at first, just as Mary didn’t. He tells her he hasn’t ascended to his Father and not to cling to him. Yet, he tells the Disciples to touch his wounds. Before that seems problematic, remember there is a difference between touching and clinging. To cling to someone goes beyond merely touching.  Clinging is to hold on tightly and firmly and resist being parted from the object held.

While they (the women inside the tomb) were perplexed about this (what  the Angel said), behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground,

The men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 

And they remembered his words.

“Come, see the place where they laid him. But then go, quickly, tell his disciples and Peter that he has risen from the dead, and behold, that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you. See, I have told you.”

And they departed quickly out and fled from the tomb, with fear and great joy for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

And behold, Jesus met them [the Women] and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

[Meanwhile,] Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

And returning from the tomb they [the other women] told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

So she [Mary Magdalene] ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”

But Peter rose and ran with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.

Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. Peter went home marveling at what had happened.

It is difficult to follow the movements of the women. They seem to have traveled to the tomb together, but then Mary Magdalene got separated from the others. I am thinking she hesitated when the others entered the tomb, having seen it was empty, she was overcome with grief and hung back, standing just outside the entrance crying. Peeking through the entrance, she sees the two men sitting where Jesus’ body had lain. They see her and address her. She turns and has her encounter with the risen Christ.

While Jesus talks to Mary, the two men in white stand up and speak to the other women. 

Mary Magdalene begins her trip back to the city to tell the men. The other women begin their own journey back shortly thereafter and then Jesus appears to them.

Mary Magdalene beats the others to where the Disciples are, which apparently is the Upper Room where the Last Supper was instituted, and gushes out that she saw the Lord. About then the other women arrived and they all began telling what they had experienced, probably all at once as excited people tend to do. 

The Disciples brush this off as just a bunch of hysterical women, but Mary Magdalene then runs to Peter and John saying “they have taken the Lord out of the tomb.” This at last gets their attention and Peter and John decide they better go investigate.

Jesus Appearance to Two Men on the Way to Emmaus

Mark 16:12; Luke 24_13-32

That very day, after these things, he [Jesus] appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.  While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?”

And they stood still, looking sad. 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, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.”

So he went in to stay with them. 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?”

I know it gets confusing, but recall that one of Jesus apostles was James the Lessor, sometimes describes as the son of Alphaeus and sometimes as the son of Mary, wife of Cleopas. We have noted previously that Cleopas and Alphaeus were one and the same person. He has also been called Clopas and Cleophas. Spellings are elusive things in ancient times. 

Anyway, Cleopas and an unnamed companion are traveling to a village called Emmaus, its location lost in history, but not far from Jerusalem, about 7 miles or so. It is getting late in the day, toward evening. Their business in Emmaus is not stated, but it seems possible they live there since they ask the man they meet to stay with them.

They had been talking about the recent events as they walked and they knew women had visited the tomb and found it empty. It is also obvious that Cleopas was with the disciples when the women returned with their story, because he says some of them went to the tomb, but these did not see Jesus. 

So Cleopas was a disciple, and is also believed to be a brother of Joseph, the assumed father of Jesus. His wife, Mary, was one of those women who visited the tomb and his son James was also present. His companion is never named, but it would not be far-fetched to assume it was Mary, his wife and they were returning home. We can rule out his son James as the companion because we soon find out he is with the other Apostles.

The man they met tells them scriptures of Moses and the prophets and how these regarded Christ. As it is late, even though the man refuses to stay with them for the night, he does agree to sup with them. There the man breaks the bread at table and as he does so these two suddenly realize this man is Jesus. Jesus then disappears before their eyes.

Cleopas and Friend Report to the Disciples

Mark 16:13; Luke 24:33-35

And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, and they went back and told the rest, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread, but they did not believe them.

Now, a question arises here when Cleopas says, ““The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Simon who? This certainly wasn’t Simon Peter. 

I think the best explanation is a translation error. It seems the Greek for “Simon” is very close to the Greek word for “us”. This sentence makes far more sense if it is, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to us!”

Jesus Appears to all the Disciples, Except Thomas

Mark 16:14, Luke 24:36-43, John 20:19-25

Afterward he [Jesus] appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table. On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came. As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 

But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit and he  rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen.

And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”

They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Notice how slowly these guys were to grasp things. That is hope to me, because it means as thick-headed as I can be, there is still the chance I’ll get it. 

But there was one thick-headed Apostle that still had to be convinced.

Now Thomas, one of the twelve called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.”

But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Thomas wasn’t quite so easy to come to belief as Nathaniel, was he?  

Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”

Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.”  (John 1: 49-50)

Jesus Appears to all His Disciples a Week Later

John 20:26-29

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with  them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

This statement applies to us.

Miraculous Catch of Fish and Peter Tested

John 21:1-23

After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”

They said to him, “We will go with you.”

They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?”

They answered him, “No.”

He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”

So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

It is deja vu all over again. What memories should have flooded back. When Jesus began his ministry he had walked along this same sea, for the Sea of Tiberius is also called both the Sea of Galilee and Lake Gennesaret. He looked over that day about three years ago and saw a couple boats and some fishermen washing their nets.  He got into a boat belonging to Simon peter and from there taught a crowd of people. Now after he spoke this time he said:

“Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:4b-11)

John certainly remembered, for he said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his

outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from  the land, but about a hundred yards off.

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”

So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 

Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.”

Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Just like Peter, impetuous, impatient, just jumping right in and plowing ahead. 

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”

He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”

He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Peter is getting retribution for the three times he denied Christ.

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”

Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

Whatever is to be is in the will of God. It is not our place to always know; it is just our pace to be obedient.

Giving of the Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-18, Luke 24:44-49

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name. They will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension

Mark:16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11

So when they had come together and he led them out as far as Bethany, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.  While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven and a cloud took him out of their sight. 

And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” 

And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.

The Commission goes to us and each generation of Christians until Jesus returns. The day and hour are not known. It doesn’t matter, we must work as if it is the next hour. 

Now I mentioned before we were not done with Judas. Remember on the night Jesus was arrested and then condemned by the Authorities, Judas attempted to return the money they had given him, but they refused to take it back and he flung it into the Temple.

The Priests gathered up the coins and true to form tried to act pious by declaring it was blood money and they couldn’t take it. It says they bought a Potter’s Field with the thirty pieces of silver.

It was not too late for Judas to repent and ask Christ’s forgiveness, but he did not. Instead he escaped from his guilt still in sin and committed suicide by hanging. He wandered off to a grove of trees and did the deed.

End of Judas

Matthew 27:3-10

Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.”

And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.”

So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

But does this passage in Acts, as some claim, contradict Judas death. 

ACTS 1:12-20

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.”

(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 

“For it is written in the Book of Psalms,

“‘May his camp become desolate,

and let there be no one to dwell in it’;

and

“‘Let another take his office.’

After the Ascension, the Apostles and disciples returned to Jerusalem There was about 120 0f them and it was decided a  replacement for Judas should be chosen. This would be Matthias. At this point it has been 40 days since Jesus had risen. Judas’ body still swung to the breeze in the tree. It had hung there for over a month now in the sun and whatever dampness there may have been. 40 Days, so the body and the rope were pretty well rotted, should think, so it isn’t surprising that he would finally fall and burst open upon striking the ground.

Upon discovery, perhaps, is when the Priests took his returned money and, perhaps, bought this very plot for the Potter’s Field, with Judas becoming its first tenant. 

And with that we come to the end of a week to remember, plus several additions days.