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.)
The book of Jonah is frequently attacked by skeptics, who reject the miracle of “a great fish” (1:17) and Jonah’s “three days and three nights” therein. First, one who cannot sovereignly work in a multitude of ways, including the miraculous, simply is not God. Second, God the Son, Jesus Christ, has no problems with the accuracy and historicity of the book of Jonah. In Matthew 12:40, Jesus specifically references the Jonah account and applies it to His atoning death and resurrection. While the people around Jesus were interested in a sign (as are many folks today), He told them that the one sign that they would receive – the only sign that they needed – was His resurrection, demonstrating His eternal victory over sin, death, hell, and Satan. God cared about the people of Nineveh, sent them an exceptionally reluctant prophet, and brought about their repentance. This same, unchanging God cares about all people, came Himself as a willing Prophet and Priest and King, and draws us to salvation (John 6:44). Through all of this, the saving heart of God is revealed. He holds nothing back in His efforts to save each one of us for eternity.