Saturday
Carpenter Diem (Because Jesus Was a Carpenter and Is Now Preparing a Home for His People)
The resurrection of God the Son, Jesus Christ, is crucial to the Christian faith. In Luke 24:13-35, we read of the resurrected Savior walking the road to Emmaus. This specific geographical reference reminds us of the absolute accuracy of God’s Word in all areas. In verse 27, Jesus begins to teach from the Old Testament; He not only walked the talk but also talked the walk! This passage does not reveal the exact Scriptures Jesus employed to teach these journeying believers, but we do know that He fulfilled the entire Old Testament (Matthew 5:17,18). Fulfilled prophecy is one of the major reasons that we can be certain that our faith in Jesus is not misplaced. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
In Joshua 5:13-15, we read of an appearance of God to Joshua. This theophany (or, more precisely, this Christophany) reveals that God the Son is the “captain of the host of the Lord.” Jesus is a warrior, a victorious warrior. The imagery is powerful. For example, Colossians 2:13-14 evocatively states that Jesus took our sin “out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” Death itself (the second death, which is separation from God forever) has been put to death by the Lord of Life (I Corinthians 20-28). Our enemy Satan has a certain and complete judgment awaiting him at the hands of our Warrior King (Revelation 20:10). Our still persistent sin nature will be destroyed in a momentous moment (I Corinthians 15:51-57). These things which we most fear – sin and Satan, death and hell, spiritual failure and separation – fall before our captain of conquest. The road before us has been secured by Jesus Christ.