Luke
24: 36-49
36While they were
talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be
with you.” 37They were startled and terrified, and thought that they
were seeing a ghost. 38He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and
why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39Look at my hands and my feet;
see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and
bones as you see that I have.” 40And when he had said this, he
showed them his hands and his feet.
41While in their
joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you
anything here to eat?” 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and
he took it and ate in their presence.
44Then 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, the prophets, and the psalms
must be fulfilled.” 45Then he opened their minds to understand the
scriptures, 46and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the
Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47and
that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all
nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48You are witnesses of these
things. 49And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so
stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
1
Timothy 4:6-16
6If you put
these instructions before the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant
of Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching
that you have followed. 7Have nothing to do with profane myths and
old wives’ tales. Train yourself in godliness, 8for, while physical
training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise
for both the present life and the life to come.
9The saying is
sure and worthy of full acceptance. 10For to this end we toil and
struggle, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of
all people, especially of those who believe. 11These are the things
you must insist on and teach.
12Let no one
despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in
love, in faith, in purity. 13Until I arrive, give attention to the
public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching. 14Do not neglect
the gift that is in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the
laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15Put these things into
practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. 16Pay
close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for
in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.
----------------------------------------------
This
time of year, the time between Christ’s resurrection and his return to heaven,
I think about how Jesus spent his time. Jesus had a limited amount of time to
get his disciples ready to continue his mission when he was gone. The way Jesus
prepared his disciples in that short period of time is a great hint for how we
should prepare for our mission now.
Last week you read the story of Jesus meeting
two of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. The focus last week was on how the
disciples didn’t recognize Jesus until he broke the bread. We still meet Jesus
when we break bread in his name today.
The other part of that passage that really
stands out for me is that Jesus teaches his disciples about the scriptures.
They were sad because they thought Jesus was the Messiah, the promised king who
would rescue Israel from Roman domination. They understood enough about the
scriptures to have seen Jesus as God’s promised king, but they couldn’t
understand how that fit with his death.
In fairness, most people wouldn’t have
either. None of Jesus’ disciples put it all together before Jesus’
resurrection, even though he gave them hints along the way. To understand what
the Bible says about the Messiah, you have to put a bunch of pieces together.
It’s not like there’s a big section of the Old Testament that talks about what
to expect. Instead there are bits of Isaiah that talk about a suffering
servant. There are bits of the Psalms that talk about a rejected stone becoming
the capstone. There are references to a prophet like Moses and a king like
David, but it doesn’t all come together.
Looking for the Messiah in the Old Testament
is like watching a mystery movie. There are a bunch of pieces that fit
together, but it’s not clear how they fit together until you know the ending. That’s
what Jesus does on the road to Emmaus. He puts the pieces of scripture together
so the disciples can understand how Jesus is the Messiah and how he had to die
to fulfill God’s plan.
After Jesus disappears the disciples say to
each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning inside us as he walked with us and
opened the scriptures to us?” There are two things going on in that. First, the
scriptures are a big part of how we see Jesus. We meet Jesus in the Bible. That
can be a powerful encounter, so not only are the disciples’ minds engaged as
they start to understand what Jesus is telling them, their hearts are touched
as well. We meet Jesus emotionally as well as intellectually.
Our passage for today picks up right after
that story. Those disciples speed back to Jerusalem where their companions are
gathered. The other disciples share the exciting news that the risen Jesus
appeared to Peter. Then the two disciples from the road tell their story of
meeting Jesus.
No sooner have they finished than Jesus
himself appears in the room. First, he convinces the disciples that he has
really risen from the dead, that he is not a ghost or a figment of their
imagination. Then he repeats the lesson he shared with the two disciples on the
road. He helps them understand how the scriptures have been pointing to him in
his life, death and resurrection.
His instruction to them is important. He
needs to open their minds to understand the Bible. But the point isn’t just so
they understand; the point is so they can share the story and the good news of
forgiveness with others. He tells them that they’re not quite ready for the
mission he’s giving them. They need more than just a Bible lesson; they also
need the Holy Spirit to strengthen them for the mission that lies ahead of
them. Jesus tells them to wait for that power before they get started, so they
wait until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fills them with courage and ability.
Even before the Holy Spirit arrives on
Pentecost to empower the disciples for their mission, they are already
different from the scared group of men and women they were before Jesus’ death.
Christ’s resurrection has shown them that Jesus is the Messiah and that God is
in charge. Once the Spirit comes, the puzzle is complete and the disciples are
ready to be the church.
When the disciples start teaching, one of the
things we notice right away is that they have a clear sense of who Jesus is and
how that fits the scriptures. That has to do with four things: Jesus helping
the original disciples to understand the Bible, the resurrection of Jesus
showing them that Jesus is the Messiah and is stronger than death, the Holy
Spirit’s teaching and power in their ministry, and the continuing focus on
scripture in the church. Act tells us that the disciples were in the temple
often to worship God. I bet they were also there to study scripture and talk
about God with other believers.
We also see the importance of the Bible in
letters like Paul’s letter to Timothy. Paul writes to Timothy about how to lead
the church. Two things about his advice seem particularly important today. He
tells Timothy to give attention in his leadership to public reading of
scripture, exhortation and teaching. We don’t know exactly how the early church
did its teaching. Probably some of it was sort of like this: a leader reading
scripture and helping the congregation to understand it. Some of it was
probably in small groups like Supper and Scripture or other kinds of Bible
study. A lot of it was probably less formal than that, maybe believers getting
together in their homes to read scripture together.
