Jesus is Our Savior

     In Luke 24, women had gathered their spices and gone to Jesus’ tomb to prepare the body, but upon arrival the stone was rolled away and they did not find Jesus’ body. Now confused, the Women were suddenly in the presence of two men in shining garments and the women bowed their faces as the two Angels told them Jesus has risen. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary mother of James and the other women communicated what they saw and heard to the eleven Apostles, as well as Jesus’ followers. But they did not believe the women and Peter had to rush to the tomb to see for himself and when he did, he could not understand what had happen.

     Starting in verse 13, we find two believers traveling to a nearby village who are engaged in a conversation of all the recent events including what they just learned from the women. Then the two travelers are joined by Jesus Christ, but they could not recognize Him. Jesus asks the men, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?” Surprised, one of the believers asked Jesus if he was the only stranger in Jerusalem that did not know what has happened. Jesus wasn’t just asking about their conversation, but why were they sad after learning that Jesus had risen. Now of course Jesus had lived the entire sequence of events over the previous week, but Jesus asked “What things?” in verse 19.  

     It is how the travelers answered Jesus that struck me in this chapter. The believers were having anxiety over how they thought Jesus was going to “redeem Israel” and now He is gone. They described Jesus as a Prophet (“a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God”). To the believers, Jesus would appear to be a great Prophet and yet they called Him Messiah (“the promised deliverer of the Jewish nation prophesied in the Old Testament”) and now Jesus has been crucified without saving Israel from its enemies.

     Jesus was certainly a great Teacher and He proclaimed the Will of GOD in every word, but Jesus was more than a Prophet. Today’s Muslims believe Jesus was a Prophet, but today’s Jews (Judaism) believe Jesus was a “false” or “failed” Messiah. Although the Men were proclaiming Jesus a “Prophet mighty in deed and Word before GOD,” their disappointment is evident and their focus is microscopic. Even after the women reported what the Angels had told them and what Peter had observed, you can read how the believers are still perplexed by the news of Jesus’ body disappearing. The only thing perplexing is how these two followers of Jesus Christ cannot remember Him telling them that He would be rejected by the Elders, killed and would rise in three days (Reference Mark 8:31, Matt,16:21-28, Luke 9:22-27, etc.).  Although these men could have joined Jesus recently, these men were focused on the here and now, and did not listen to Jesus’ teachings on Everlasting Life. Are we just as guilty today?

     With these men confused and disappointed, Jesus answers “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter His glory?” Further reading tell us Jesus expounded by citing scripture from GOD’S Word. Such scriptures could have been from Genesis 3, Psalms 22, 69, 110, Isaiah 53, Zechariah 12, and Malachi 3. Jesus is teaching (once again) us where we should go to find guidance in our times of confusion and disappointment. Instead of focusing on what did or did not happen based on our assumptions, we should focus on the WORD and allow the message to show us the real reason for our circumstances.

     The Bible, GOD’S WORD, should be the sole reference of our continuous education and the better topic of communications with our fellow believers. Although these two men were commiserating the loss of their Teacher and what could have been, they were attempting to understand with their worldly thinking cap on and not with their spiritual cap. Yet are we any different, when things get tough do we not attempt to escape of our own accord and when that fails, do we not seek others to whom to express our misfortune? Why not seek the Truth first and if we cannot understand the message, then seek believers to help us understand what message they have received.

     But I find myself going back to verses 19-24, where the two men described Jesus as a Prophet and how they “thought” He was going to “redeem Israel” as their Messiah. These men witnessed Jesus first hand and listened to His teachings, to include His foretelling of His death and rising in three days. However, when everything transpired just as Jesus said it would, the two are completely trapped in their own confusion and their disappointment due to their “expectations” of who Jesus is. How is that any different than how we handle challenges today? Are we not guilty of looking at our trials and tribulations from our perspective and do we not feel sorrow when things are not going per our expectations?  In verse 26, Jesus said “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” To me this verse is questioning man’s priorities.  Are we expecting Jesus to save us from our troubles or are we thankful for His sacrifice on that cross for all mankind’s sins? The answer to Jesus’ question is an absolute YES. His sacrifice for all our sins had to transpire, for mankind was destined to eternal damnation from that first sin in the Garden of Eden.

     How do you describe Jesus to a stranger? Do we say he was a Prophet or do we describe Him as our Lord and Savior? How we answer should reflect what we feel in our heart. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you should describe Him as your source of Hope and how you have Faith in Him through your toughest times. If Jesus has saved you from an everlasting life of damnation in hell, then express to everyone in your presence how grateful you are to the One and Only Savior. Let everyone see how your faith lies with the One True GOD through Jesus Christ.