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.)
Much of the book of Deuteronomy reviews the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. Repetition is necessary and valuable. (I still remember my outstanding French teacher Mr. Gosselin saying, “Écoutez et répètez.”) Of course, there is entirely new material in this book. One such verse is Deuteronomy 18:15, which predicts the coming of “a Prophet from the midst of thee.” Acts 3:22 explicitly ties this prophecy to the ministry of Jesus. A prophet has two functions: forthtelling (preaching) and foretelling (predicting). No one ever spoke as powerfully as did Jesus; for example, Matthew 7:28 says, “The people were astonished at His doctrine,” and the Emmaus disciples in Luke 24:32 said, “Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?” Jesus repeatedly made bold and unexpected predictions, including concerning His own crucifixion and resurrection (see, for example, Matthew 16:21, 17:22, and 20:18-19). At the time of Jesus’ resurrection, Luke 24:8 says of the disciples that finally “they remembered His words”; their lives were then transformed for the good. Do you have a favorite Bible passage? Think about it today; meditate upon it; remember “His words.” There can be no greater help along our way than the mighty words of the One Who is called the Word (John 1:1, 14; Revelation 19:13).