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.)
Most of us are familiar with Micah 5:2, which prophesies the birth of the Messiah in the small village of Bethlehem. Matthew 2 tells us of the birth of Jesus, a birth that would have taken place in Nazareth instead of Bethlehem if not for the despotic decree of a distant dictator in Rome. God is sovereign and fulfills His Word to the smallest and most specific details; the fulfillment of prophecy is a strong support for our faith. Note also that Micah 5:2 says of the Messiah that His “goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Only God is “from everlasting”; thus, the Messiah is God Himself. Jesus’ full deity is predicted elsewhere in the Old Testament (for example, Isaiah 9:6), but when He stated this truth about Himself, the Jewish leaders were enraged and endeavored (unsuccessfully, at that time) to kill Jesus (John 8:52-59). Our Savior is fully God; thus, our salvation is fully assured.