Friday
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.)
Perhaps surprisingly to us, God is not specifically mentioned in the book of Esther. Of course, anyone reading this book would quickly see His sovereign providence. Of specific interest to us as we think of Jesus is Esther 9:26-32, which establishes Purim to celebrate the rescue of the Jewish people from the nefarious plot of wicked Haman. During this remembrance, certain passages of Scripture were read every year. As a devout Jew in a God-fearing family, Jesus would have participated in this festival yearly throughout His life. One of the verses read annually is Isaiah 56:8: “The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, ‘Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.’” The placement of this promise into the Purim commemoration is remarkable given that it was non-Jewish people who planned (unsuccessfully) to destroy the Jews. The grace of God is powerfully evident and finds full expression in the words of Jesus in John 10:16: “Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” Our Savior read Isaiah 56:8 at Purim; He fulfilled it at the Cross, when He died for all mankind. Is He your Savior?