Luke 24:13-31

 (Luke 24:13-31)

And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?  And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.  Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;  And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:  Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

 

When the resurrected Jesus broke the bread and celebrated, the disciples recognized Jesus because their eyes were brightened. But at that moment, Jesus disappeared. Jesus appeared to the disciples going to Emmaus, but the disciples, as in verse 32, were talking to each other, but they did not recognize Jesus at all. Jesus disappeared at one point when the disciples recognized the resurrection. The Apostle Paul also met Jesus ascended from Damascus. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to human disciples, suddenly seen and disappeared.

 

Jesus was the Creator God in the kingdom of God before he was born into this world. In John 6:62, "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before" The one who can't die came to the body and died, resurrected, ascended, and sat at the right hand of the throne of God. Why was Jesus born and died in the flesh? The Apostle Paul was unable to see or eat for three days after meeting the Ascended Jesus. However, in his heart was why Jesus died and was resurrected. He realized that it was because of his sins. Likewise, those who realize that all humans are due to their sins are associated with Jesus' death.

 

The Apostle Paul thought that he had no fault with the law. However, he was involved in killing the long-awaited Messiah. He realized that his sinfulness was related to Jesus' death. Why is his sinfulness related to Jesus' death? If you don't realize this, you don't know why Jesus died. Humans think that if they believe that Jesus died on behalf of their sins, they are forgiven. So, everyone in the church believes that. And they think they are saved. But salvation is not that easy. Salvation comes when we are released from sinful nature.

 

Salvation is not a matter of sin, but a problem of evil that causes sin. In the book of Acts, if the magic field baptized by Deacon Philip is not repenting like Simon, then Peter is said to be full of evil. Simon the Magician was a serenity in the Samaria region. Speaking of Samaritans, they were all ridiculed people. Today, even though we believe in Jesus and are baptized, we cannot be saved unless we repent. Before repenting of sin, unless we turn away from evil, we cannot be saved. Today, we see how we continue to be forgiven of sin without turning away from evil. Repentance is not forgiveness, it is turning away from evil.

 

Jesus appeared to two disciples on his way to Emmaus and had a conversation, then suddenly disappeared and appeared again in Jerusalem. In Luke 24:45-48, 『Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day : And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. 』

 

In order to gain forgiveness of sins, we must repent. It is not to confess to sin, but to escape from sin. Even if you confess your sin, if you remain in sin, you are not repenting. The way out of sin is nothing but the way to unite with Jesus who died on the cross. The evil that causes sin must die. The old man dies. This is faith. So, God blesses those who cry. Are we crying out to God for pain that cannot escape from evil because of sin? Are we projecting the image of Jesus hanging from the cross in his own image? When we repent, the Lord regenerates us with fire and the Holy Spirit. When this happens, we live by faith in the conviction of salvation. We are not born again because of faith, but we live in faith through regeneration. Faith from God cannot happen to corrupt humans.

 

Aaron's two sons died while offering another fire at the sacrifice. The people watched it all. Then, one year later, in front of the land of Canaan, Moses sent twelve spies for 40 days. However, only two spies believed in God's promise. None of the people believed the words of the two spies. This is the same as today's reality. Even with the promised word of God, the flesh thinks first of what it has experienced. The old man (sin: evil) is supposed to die, but in reality, the mind of the body is to believe that "never die". Ten spies said that Anakjason, who lives in the land, swallows the inhabitants. Without repentance, they distort the word of the Bible, just like Aaron's two sons, who, with the word of God's promise, give different fires.

 

Those who do not repent believe that "Jesus died on behalf of his sins, while he did not die with Jesus." It's not about people who don't go to church, it's about people sitting in church. They believe that Jesus died for their sins instead, but they do not live a life that denies them. Those who deny self are those who discover their sinfulness. And they try to get out of it and cry out to God.

 

So, they want to enter the death of Jesus on the cross. They have a desire to be crucified because of the sins in them. If we accept the death of sin, we are fighting the evil with the power of the Holy Spirit through the words of the Bible every day. The Bible tells us to fight evil until we bleed.

 

When we are crucified with Jesus, the meaning of "Jesus died for me" comes into our hearts. Without Jesus on the cross, we cannot be nailed to ourselves. Today, when we listen to the evangelist, they say, "Jesus died for you." Those who hear it look at the person who preached it. If the evangelist is living in a wicked way, who can believe? When a person who repents and turns from evil preaches the word of God, will he not believe it? If we do not repent, we cannot be saved.