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Luke 24:36-49
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
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Some say that Easter is a pagan celebration. Is the word of God not for pagans and other disbelievers? Did Jesus only seek out those that already believed so that he could validate their faith? Did Jesus not chastise those who were learned and taught the law of Moses, calling them self-serving and hypocrites?
Did Jesus die for our sins? Yes, but we have to understand what that means.
Jesus was given to us as fulfillment of God's plan on earth. He was given to us so that we could better understand and better OBEY the Word. Jesus was given to us so that he could fulfill the law of God, not to create a new law. The word of God was being taught as if it were sufficient that God spoke and man obeyed. Mere adherence to the Law was deemed to be enough to show that one honored and respected God. That, however, caused a problem. If the "faithful" only accepted the faithful and abandoned the sinner, the disbeliever, then they were effectively cutting off the Word from those people. There could be no hope, no salvation, for those so abandoned. Jesus, through preaching forgiveness, presented an opportunity for those that had been abandoned to also have a path to salvation. God spoke to man through Jesus. In His life Jesus taught the message of God. In his death and resurrection Jesus passes that purpose on to us. The beauty of the Resurrection is that it changes the dynamic from one where God speaks to us to one where God speaks through us.
In our times of struggle, our times of uncertainty, our times of anger and frustration we often seek God's comfort. We often ask why God has put these obstacles before us, why he has burdened us. We sometimes seek God's guidance or God's blessing for the things we are about to do. Sometimes we don't get the answer we want or even any answer at all. It is those times that we might remember the lesson of the Resurrection and understand that God has already spoken TO us and that now is the time to allow him to speak THROUGH us.
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Some say that Easter is a pagan celebration. Is the word of God not for pagans and other disbelievers? Did Jesus only seek out those that already believed so that he could validate their faith? Did Jesus not chastise those who were learned and taught the law of Moses, calling them self-serving and hypocrites?
Did Jesus die for our sins? Yes, but we have to understand what that means.
Jesus was given to us as fulfillment of God's plan on earth. He was given to us so that we could better understand and better OBEY the Word. Jesus was given to us so that he could fulfill the law of God, not to create a new law. The word of God was being taught as if it were sufficient that God spoke and man obeyed. Mere adherence to the Law was deemed to be enough to show that one honored and respected God. That, however, caused a problem. If the "faithful" only accepted the faithful and abandoned the sinner, the disbeliever, then they were effectively cutting off the Word from those people. There could be no hope, no salvation, for those so abandoned. Jesus, through preaching forgiveness, presented an opportunity for those that had been abandoned to also have a path to salvation. God spoke to man through Jesus. In His life Jesus taught the message of God. In his death and resurrection Jesus passes that purpose on to us. The beauty of the Resurrection is that it changes the dynamic from one where God speaks to us to one where God speaks through us.
In our times of struggle, our times of uncertainty, our times of anger and frustration we often seek God's comfort. We often ask why God has put these obstacles before us, why he has burdened us. We sometimes seek God's guidance or God's blessing for the things we are about to do. Sometimes we don't get the answer we want or even any answer at all. It is those times that we might remember the lesson of the Resurrection and understand that God has already spoken TO us and that now is the time to allow him to speak THROUGH us.