Monday: A Prophetic Foundation
Daily Lesson for Monday 6th of November 2023
Read Luke 24:36-49. What happened here, and why was this such a pivotal experience for the apostles?
It is interesting that at first the disciples did not believe out of fear. Then, after seeing Jesus and being assured that He was indeed alive, they did not believe for joy (Luke 24:41). Have you ever felt that something was too good to be true? This was the experience of the disciples and the others in the upper room.
If Jesus had left them only with this experience, however, then when He departed, their faith might not have lasted. Over time the power of the experience could have faded; they would forget, or start, perhaps, even to question it. So, Jesus didn’t stop with showing them His scars and eating fish in front of them. Instead, He then took them into the Word and showed them the prophetic foundation for His work and ministry. That is, no matter how great the experience that they had with Him, Jesus still wanted their faith grounded in the Word of God.
“ ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’ ” (Luke 24:44, NKJV).
Here, too, we find a powerful motivation for witness, for mission: the Word of God. Jesus knew that to solidify the disciples’ experience, they needed to understand why He had to die and what His resurrection signified. They needed their worldview to be shifted from a political and earthly kingdom to the great solution to sin and the victory of Christ over death. The gospel was so much more than achieving political sovereignty for Israel. It revealed Christ’s victory over Satan and guaranteed that one day all wickedness in the world would be destroyed, that the earth would be created anew, and that God would be among His people. He “opened their understanding” (Luke 24:45, NKJV) so they could comprehend these truths, which they were to share with the world.
Our experiences with Jesus cannot be sustained without the foundation of His Word, including the prophecies that point to the history and events leading up to, and including, the first and second advents of Christ. With these truths firmly understood, we can be ready and motivated for mission.
How well grounded are you in the prophecies that point to Christ, both His first and second comings? Especially in the last days, why must we be grounded in the Word of God, including the prophecies, and why is understanding them so crucial, especially for mission?
(26)
The messianic prophecies have been the bread and butter of Seventh-day Adventist theology right from the very beginning. And although we have a set of fundamental beliefs and consensus statements, there are still differences of opinion that tend to divide us. I am old enough to have lived through some of those disputes, and while I remain a Seventh-day Adventist and have retained my faith, I also remember a large number of my colleagues and friends who have given up not only their church membership but their faith in Jesus. That is very hard to live with.
We justify the situation by saying that there has to be a shaking time and the Bible has prophecied that there will be a "falling away" but that gives little comfort. The problem that I have is that so often, the reason that these folk have left the church is not because they had a different interpretation of prophecy, but they felt the loss of love that comes with it.
Paul says:
I have seen prophecies fail, not because they were wrong but because they were used to divide and control without love.
Our world is full of secular people and we have been commissioned to preach the Gospel to them. The messianic prophecies are meaningless gibberish to them. Does it make sense to try and convince them that we have the right interpretation of prophecy? The greatest argument ever is that Christians practice the love that Jesus taught. It is only then that the messianic prophecies make sense.
Jesus prayed for us:
"the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." That is what is going to convince the secular mind that we are not playing "make believe".
You are right we need to teach the love of Christ first and foremost and live what we teach. When it comes to evangelistic meetings we give a foundation of prophecy, and then individually we are prepared to give our account of our belief and understanding of prophecy. The problem I see with people who fall out is they are using our diagrement, as an excuse to fall away from our church. Yes, absolutely it is ultimate, to live the love of Christ, even if we disagree. That being said, I appreciate your points. Let me add, which you have hinted at, when we have a disagreement in Sabbath School, the best is to shake hands at the fellowship dinner and talk about something else, thus showing our love. Now there will be those that will be cold to us since we disagree, we just keep expressing our friendship. Send up a prayer for the Holy Sprit to give us the courage to remain with a Christlike composure.
Years ago I was in a Sabbath School class where the substitute teacher would have 7 of us talk about each day of the lesson. Then as we set down he would say that is your opinion to each of us, which at 1st was a little insulting. However it soon melted because he was a warm, friendly, and loving guy.
Most people wait for Him, but I have chosen to wait on Him. King Jesus' words in Matthew 24:45-47 KJV clarifies our role.
To look at Jesus's response to any of our doubts, we can go back to Cleopas and his friend walking on the road to Emmaus. Jesus says to them something like, "Why don't you believe the Bible? You've got so many answers to your questions there....enough to make you understand. Everything in Scripture points to a suffering and dying Messiah who afterward will be glorified. Here friends, if you have time and don't mind me walking with you, let's review the prophecies together and I'll show you." (Luke 24:25-27). These disciples rejoin the others in the upper room, and then Jesus appears to all of them and says essentially the same thing to the whole group (Luke 24:44-46)....."go back to Scripture".
Jesus has no doubts about the reliability of the Bible. So we can start there. And then we need to draw near to Jesus through what we are hearing/reading (James 4:8, Matt. 5:8). The disciples heading to Emmaus didn't recognize Jesus until they let HIM interpret the Scriptures for them. Same for me and us bookish analytical types....we need more than mere intellectual awareness, we need to trust what we read. I need to go the extra step to let Jesus apply for me personally what I am learning (John 5:39-40).
The Emmaus disciples had a culminating revelation of truth when Jesus broke bread and blessed it for them in a Communion-like, worshipful setting .... they wanted to receive from Him...He gave them first spiritual bread and then physical bread...and then excitement grew in their hearts that this was Jesus and what He was offering was better than any meal they'd ever had! (Luke 24:31-32; John 6:68). At that point, they ran out to tell others. And while they were sharing their personal testimony, they got to see Jesus again! (Luke 24:36). Such encouragement for us. God is eager to give "strong support" to those who choose to trust Him (2 Chronicles 16:9; John 14:21; Heb. 11:6).
Monday: A Prophetic Foundation (Luke 24:36-49)
When the resurrected Jesus appeared before the disciples, they went from fear to joy and, finally, believed, though they have knew Jesus for long and His teaching but the forgot everything until they saw him in person, so provided Jesus did not appear to them the second time, all their experiences would have been waste. Jesus again showed them the prophecy about Him I scripture again before they fully believed all that he said. “ ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’ ” (Luke 24:44).
God want us to complement our personal experience we have with him with deep understanding of the bible so we can have faith to continue his mission. Our Christian experience will grow cold, sometimes we will loose faith or forget all the good times we had with God, but if we still keep his promises, words of encouragement, direction and prophecy stated in His world that needs to be fulfilled, Our faith will be strengthened. With this knowledge we will be able to share with others these prophecies and others that have yet to be fulfilled, especially those related to the Second Coming of Jesus and eternal life.
Some things can seem indeed "too good to be true!" Can this belief inhibit us from firmly being assured that God is Love and all He intends for us is good? God is good all the time, but this world has its challenges. On the contrary, how can we deal with pain, suffering, frustration, and even death, even while thinking we are clang to the hand of our Maker? There is a meaning from His Word for every occasion! His Word is the truth, and we can find answers for any situation we are going through.
Amen to this. For every specific problem in life, there is a specific Promise of God in His Word, The Bible, to solve it. And thank you again for the "Editing tool."
Jesus here mentions, Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms. Why does Jesus not mention here specifically, Daniel, or that John would have a book of prophecy for the "End Times?" For even in Jesus' own prophetic words in Matthew 24:15 He only mentions "The Abomination of desolation," from the Prophet Daniel and that is all. But where in the writings of Moses, the Psalms, or other Prophets, does Jesus' rising on the third day is found?
But where in the writings of Moses, the Psalms, or other Prophets, does Jesus' rising on the third day is found ?
The book of Jonah.
Thank you for this question, Pete. It’s an interesting study. In addition to Jonah, that Brother Brendan referenced, I also found these…..
Psalm 16:10, Isaiah 53:10-12 and Hosea 6:1-2 all indicate the Messiah’s resurrection.
Peter quotes Psalm 16:10 in Acts 2:27, and Paul quotes it in Acts 13:35 as prophecies of Jesus’ resurrection.
Although the Hosea verses discuss Israel, the complete fulfillment is in Jesus. He is the ideal Israel according to several texts like Isaiah 49:3: “And He said to me, “You are My Servant, O Israel, in Whom I will be glorified.”
1 Peter 1:10–11 loosely says, “all the prophets testified of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.”
One more…. Abraham and Isaac foreshadow Christ’s death and resurrection, with a confirmation in the New Testament: Heb. 11:17-19.
“The words “raise him up, even from the dead,” create the imagery that Isaac was resurrected. When Abraham received the command to sacrifice Isaac, he was so committed to obeying; it was as though Isaac died to him. This was the first day. Abraham reached Mount Moriah “on the third day.” (Gen. 22:4) He ascended the mountain to sacrifice his son, and when the Angel of the Lord stopped him, it was as though he “received [Isaac]” back from the dead. This occurred “in a figurative sense,” because Isaac did not physically die.”
I like the way the NLT puts Hebrews 11:19
"Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead." Hebrews 11:19 NLT
Lazarus was raised from the dead by the same Power who raised Jesus's body from His death. It appears that the apostles did not have much to say about Lazarus' resurrection, so why would they marvel and question Jesus Christ’s coming back to life? If they accepted Lazarus as having been raised from death, why not Jesus? What was at the heart of their doubt?
Luke 24:44-49 sheds the needed light on why they were reluctant to believe that it was truely their beloved Teacher; v.45 - ”And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” Though they witnessed miracles and special occurances throughout Jesus' ministry, it was still needful for their heart and mind to become aware of the full spiritual Truth of His mission through receiving the Holy Spirit - Luke 24:49.
I agree with Maurice - without the Holy Spirit revealing the spiritual meaning/aspect of the words of Scripture to our heart and mind, their spiritual value and meaning regarding prophecy, admonitions, and guidance for living remain “meaningless gibberish”.
Therefore, what foundational request needs to accompany our ministry to reach those who are inclined to consider them in such a way? I consider prayer to ask our heavenly Father to open their heart and mind to instill a hunger for understanding His Truth/Word leading to righteousness, as well as consistency in service to them as the 'only' contribution we can make.
For someone to accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came to save the lost, and to accept our heavenly Father to be his Creator requires a miracle just as the resurrection of the physical body – it is the resurrection of the living soul to be born again and so reunite with the Spirit of its Maker.
Dear Brigitte 🤗
"The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened.", King Jesus in Matthew 13:33 KJV.
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.", King Jesus in Matthew 22:37 KJV.
The 3 measures of meal which King Jesus' refers to are:
1. Our hearts
2. Our souls
3. Our minds
Full Spiritual Truth is when the whole 3 measures of meal have been leavened in His love.
Revelation 19:9-10
The Spirit (motivation) of prophesy is a witness to Christ Jesus and his work.
We don't worship the messenger, we look for Christ and his work for us, and in us, and pass it along !
9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”
10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the #Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.#"
Shalom 🙏
Gods people must atleast repent and do what God requires