Just WHO was that man?
Luke 24:12 “But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
v13 “And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. v14 And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. 15 While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. 16 But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.”
Most have their own self-image of Jesus and self perception of how He must act. How could they recognize Him? FUTHERMORE, I am pretty sure most self-described Christians in the year 2020 would not like Jesus once they encountered Him.
Most have failed to read about Jesus in the right context of the Bible, so naturally they would have a twisted and misconstrued view of Him.
Jesus was plain spoken, except when He wasn’t.
Jesus always told it “like is was”, which was not always pretty. The modern and postmodern scribes and theologians have sanitized and scrubbed Bible language to be palatable to a modern and postmodern audience.
When He did not speak plainly it was because it was in a parable in order to hide the Truth from those who do not believe. Jesus was clear that non-believers do not have the right to possess the power which comes from the Truth! So, He leaves them in the dark. None-the-less, even His parables, once understood, were profoundly simple and powerfully true!
Jesus was kind and gentle, except when He wasn’t.
I have met some men who have a unique balance between justice and mercy. They are a very rare breed. They are so confident in what they know and believe as right, that they rarely lose their composure or temper. They are slow to make a judgment, but once it is made, they are even slower to undo what they have decided or decreed. They extend mercy to the merciful and to those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. But, their judgment to one who has shown no mercy will be merciless. But always, their mercy is just and it triumphs over judgment. (James 2:12-13; Matthew 5:7)
Did He say that ‘religious people’ do not understand the power of God? Only if it were true.
Did He hit people with whips of cords? Yes, He did!
Did He call Peter “Satan” and A Stumbling Block!? Yes, He did!
Did He Refer to an entire generation as perverted? Only if it were true.
Did He say not to call a priest “Father”? Yes, He did!
Did He say not to call teachers, “Rabbi”? Yes He did!
Did He say not to call those who serve in your church, your “Leaders”? Yes, He did!
Jesus is always dependable
Once you understand Jesus, you will understand true justice, and you will understand real mercy, and you will understand that every response of Jesus is according to His Purpose and His Plan:
John12:44 “And Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45“He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. 46“I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. 47“If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48“He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
This is important
This is important because we are called to be His Ambassadors to the world around us. We are to have His views, His attitudes and the very mind of Christ and to allow Him to do His Works through us.
WE ARE TO BE men and women who have a unique balance between justice and mercy. We are to be a very rare breed. We are to be so confident in what we know and believe as right, that we rarely lose our composure or temper. We are to be slow to make a judgment, but once it is made, We are to be even slower undoing what we have decided or decreed. We are to extend mercy to the merciful and to those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. But, our judgment to one who has shown no mercy will be merciless. But always, our mercy is just and it triumphs over judgment. (James 2:12-13; Matthew 5:7)
May God grant us the wisdom, courage and ability and show us mercy and to KNOW HIM!
Mike Young