1717AFC042817 – Converting History
Read it online here, please. And please, when you visit there, use one of the social media links at the bottom of the page to share this post. Thank you!
E pili mau na pomaika‘i ia ‘oe a me ke akua ho’omaika‘i ‘oe, ʻŌmea! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Beloved!) I’m going to try to keep this brief because I am a bit unwell. We’ll see how that works out. At the outset there are two things I would like to mention: [1] Happy birthday to our son, Timothy. God has blessed you in so many ways, and – in turn – you have blessed us and many others with the Gifts he has given you. [2] Thank you to my Facebook friend, RB (not the RB whose wife recently died) for a remarkable list of Old Testament passages and their matching New Testament evidences of fulfillment. So, let us begin our study for today which centers on the story of the two Disciples on the road to Emmaus. (ee-MAY-us)
This story is found only in the Gospel of Luke chapter 24, verses 13-35. There is one particular verse with which I wish to begin.
Luke 24:27 – 27 Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.
I think we usually just gloss over that when we read it. I mean, if one says he interpreted to them the things about himself, we get the idea that he did a bit of a teaching along the way. But then we read in all the scriptures. Whew, that must have been a long talk! As I thought about it I began to wonder at what time they started and where, and in which direction were they going. The reading implies that they were going from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Emmaus was about 7 miles from Jerusalem, we are told, and Jesus caught up with these two somewhere along the road. We recognize the name of one of the men – the other’s name is not given – as Cleopas (referred to by some as “Clophas”). When Jesus asks them what they are discussing, they reply with a chronology of the events of the past three days – the Passion, Crucifixion, and the news of the Resurrection that very morning. I wonder if they stopped along the way once in a while to sit and listen, to get out of the sun, to drink some water. It must have been afternoon, because as they reach their destination, they ask Jesus to have dinner with them. He agrees, goes in to eat with them, and – as he breaks the bread for the meal – they suddenly recognize him. Then, he miraculously disappears. Can you imagine what a lesson like the one he spoke to them on the way would contain? Here’s where the list from RB comes in.
In that list, there are nearly 400 Old Testament references cited and each has 1-3 New Testament citations to go along with it. It’s a pretty remarkable list! I don’t know where RB got it, but it does represent a lot of work! I’ve chosen one Old Testament passage – a favorite – and put it in the entries from the list (edited slightly) in a table. Here it is.
Isaiah 53:10-12 – 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. 11 Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
| Isaiah. 53:10a | God’s will that He die for mankind | John 18:11 |
| Isaiah. 53:10b | An offering for sin for many | Matthew 20:28 |
| Isaiah. 53:10c | Resurrected and live forever | 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 |
| Isaiah. 53:10d | He would prosper | John 17:1-5 |
| Isaiah. 53:11a | God fully satisfied with His suffering | John 12:27-32 |
| Isaiah. 53:11b | God’s servant makes others righteous | Romans 5:18-19 |
| Isaiah. 53:11c | He would justify man before God | Romans 5:8-9 |
| Isaiah. 53:11d | The sin-bearer for the many | Hebrews 9:28 |
| Isaiah. 53:12a | Exalted by God because of his sacrifice | Philippians 2:5-11 |
| Isaiah. 53:12b | His sacrifice brings reward to believers | Romans 8:35-39 |
| Isaiah. 53:12c | Grouped with criminals | Luke 23:32 |
| Isaiah. 53:12d | Sin-bearer for salvation | 2 Corinthians 5:21 |
| Isaiah. 53:12e | Intercede to God in behalf of mankind | Romans 8:31-34 |
Now, although I really do hope you will take the time to click on the links someday, I realize you might not want to do that today. It took about an hour for me to find all the New Testament citings and verify that they correspond to the concept in the verses from Isaiah. The letters after the number 10, 11, and 12, refer to consecutive parts or phrases of each verse. Today, though, try at least a few of them. That way you can acknowledge the work that someone did in putting together a list with over 400 entries, and you can also better understand what Cleopas and his friend learned that afternoon. The history they learned led to their conversion; they became believers when everything they had heard from Jesus along the way lined up with what they knew from experience and what they saw at the meal. It was a history that facilitated conversion. They heard the scriptures explained and understood what they meant. Can you imagine how mind-blowing that must have been for those two guys, and later on, the other Disciples whom they taught?
We can help others learn this “Converting History” as well. There are so many studies that look at the prophesies about the Messiah and how Jesus fulfilled them all. Now, some folks call this “proof-texting,” and that has a sort of negative connotation. Nonetheless, it is important that we learn – and share our learning – with others. Why? Someone has to tell them! You probably remember this one from the Apostle Paul: Romans 10:17 – 17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. Christ IS The Word! Let the Word be heard! And who will speak the word? Those who believe, of course. Knowing and believing in Jesus is no just a Sunday School lesson; it is the way to eternal life which is only available through and in Jesus. I’ll bet you know what’s coming next!
John 3:16-21 – 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
Belovéd, come to the Light and share in the Feast. Come to the Table of Plenty. God will provide for all that you need. Do not let that old liar and thief break in and steal your Joy! Come to the Table and live The Abundant Life.
Isaiah 55:1-3 – The Abundant Life
1 Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
John 10:10 – 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
Well, so much for keeping it short! Have a great weekend! Aloha nui loa!
PRAY FOR OUR LIST-GIVER, RB, WHO IS DEALING WITH
SEVERAL CHRONIC ILLNESSES AND YET
MAKES TIME TO SHARE THE WORD.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
