EMMAUS REVELATION

Time with Jesus - Saturday, 23 March 2013

Jim & Phyllida at home in Johannesburg

Hi all,

For our meditation today I’ve focused on the Emmaus walk. The dialogue is imaginary. I’ve tried to stick to what we know from Scripture. I’ve also tried to weave some of the other evening Scriptures into the meditation.

Emmaus was an ancient town located approximately 7 miles northwest of present day Jerusalem. The New Testament reports that Jesus appeared before two of his followers in Emmaus after his resurrection. One of the most commonly debated topics in Christianity concerning this walk is the identity of the two men who walked there with Jesus. We look into this in the introduction.

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland 

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Saturday, 23 March 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	Emmaus Revelation
Have you ever wanted to be a “fly on the wall”? Most of us do at one time or another. For me there is one Bible Study I would love to have heard. The Bible study when Jesus taught the two believers on the Emmaus Road. Later, when He appeared to the Apostles the following is recorded: 44 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." Luke 24:44 ESV It must have been an extraordinary teaching. Direct from the lips of the “Author” through the various Scripture writers. WOW! The Jewish Bible is different from ours. The books were the same but they were classified differently. The Law (Genesis to Deuteronomy) is the Pentateuch. (The same as ours) Their next classification was “the Prophets”; the former Prophets and the latter Prophets. The final classification was what they called “the Writings”. The Writings included the Psalms and similar books. There are reasons why the Christian Old Testament and the Jewish Scriptures are not classified the same way. Whether or not the reasons are valid is something about which I’m not sufficiently qualified to comment. Strangely enough, they include the Book of Daniel among the Writings. Whether this makes any difference as far as interpretation is concerned is not clear to me. I suppose it should do. But in Christianity, we find that Daniel and Revelation are so “intertwined”, it’s almost impossible not to see Daniel as a Prophetic Book. Who were these two disciples of Jesus? One of them was thought to be Cleophas or Alpheus. (Some think that Clophas, Cleophas and Alpheus are all the same name.) It has been suggested that Cleophas was wealthy and was one of the people who supported Jesus’ ministry financially. The name of the other is thought to be Luke the Gospel writer or possibly Nathaniel. Note: Bartholomew and Nathaniel is the same person. If the identities of the two are indeed Alpheus and Nathaniel, it is difficult to understand why at least one of them did not recognise Jesus, before He revealed Himself to them. If Luke was the second person, it would be interesting to note that Jesus actually walked with a Gentile after His resurrection! Luke, a native of Antioch, was a physician by profession. It is thought he became a disciple of the apostle Paul and later followed Paul until his [Paul's] martyrdom. Having served the Lord continuously, unmarried and without children; filled with the Holy Spirit, Luke died at the age of 84 years. So was Luke one of them? You tell me! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			29 But they begged Him, "Stay the night with us, since it is getting late." So He went home with them. Luke 24:29 NLT 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Rev 3:20 ESV 7 Please tell me, you whom I love, where do you graze your flock? Where does your flock lie down at noon? Tell me, or I will be considered a prostitute wandering among the flocks of your companions. SoS 1:7 GW 4 I had just left them when I found the one I love. I held on to him and would not let him go until I had brought him into my mother's house, into the bedroom of the one who conceived me. SoS 3:4 GW 16 Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, let its spices flow. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits. SoS 4:16 ESV 1 I came to my garden, my sister, my bride, I gathered my myrrh with my spice, I ate my honeycomb with my honey, I drank my wine with my milk. Eat, friends, drink, and be drunk with love! SoS 5:1 ESV 19 I have not spoken in secret. I have not spoken from a dark place. I have not said to Jacob's people, "It is useless to look for me.' I am the LORD. I always speak the truth. I always say what is right. Isaiah 45:19 NIrV 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Mat 28:19-20 ESV 5 Don't love money. Be happy with what you have because God has said, "I will never abandon you or leave you." Heb. 13:5 GW 20 And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there." Mat 18:20 MSG 18 "I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back. 19 In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you're going to see me because I am alive and you're about to come alive. John 14:18-19 MSG	“What a mess!” he stated, “And after these three years! “I thought He would deliver us. But finally, the jeers, And mocking words they hurled at Him. Had we got it wrong? The wondrous things He did for us. I thought he had a strong, Claim as the Messiah. How could it end that way? To friends who said “I told you so”. To them what will we say?” “I wish I had an answer” the other man replied. “How could this man of miracles be flogged and crucified? I cannot understand it. It makes so little sense. He seemed to walk so close to God; Was that His recompense?” And then a voice behind them said, “What is it that you speak?” “We’re talking of the person. A young man at His peak. We thought He was Messiah. But all our hopes were dashed. The Romans flogged & murdered Him, all our trust was smashed.” “Perhaps I can explain it!” the voice behind them said. And then He started talking of things deep in their head. The prophets had predicted it. The Law showed it was true. The writings showed exactly what the people would all do. It wasn’t by an accident this man they loved had died. He showed them that their Scriptures said He would be crucified. What a Scripture study! I wish I had been there. To hear the Lord expounding and speaking of the care, That God had for all sinners; a love so deep and true. He’d come and He’d be crucified for folk like me and you. He’d come into His garden; the world forged by His hands. He’d come to reassure them He’d smashed the devil’s bands. He said He hadn’t spoken in secret, locked away. His words were very simple. They said to Him “Please stay”. But He had other purposes and when He broke the bread, He vanished from their vision before they all had fed. For forty days He stayed with them and He played “peek-a-boo”. “Now you see Me. Now you don’t. But I am still with you”. He said He’d never leave them, forsaken and alone. He’d send His Holy Spirit the way that He had shown. And so when they were gathered in groups of two or more, His presence would be with them to be worshiped and adored. And to this very moment, for some two thousand years, We know that when we gather, our words are in His ears. Jim Strickland  Written 23rd March 2012