Fri.’s Devo - On the Road to Emmaus

Read Luke 24:13-32 While the disciples were contemplating the news that Jesus’ tomb was empty, two other men were on their way to Emmaus. Emmaus means “an earnest longing” which is what these two men had. They were having a conversation about what had happened in Jerusalem while they were there for the feast. Jesus appeared and walked with them. The Holy Spirit had closed their eyes to the truth that Jesus was the man walking with them. Jesus asked them what they were talking about. They asked him if he didn’t know what had happened in Jerusalem. He acted dumb and asked them “what things?” The they told him how Jesus of Nazareth, the great prophet was crucified by the chief priest and rulers. They had thought he would be the one to redeem Israel. It was now the third day and when the women went to his grave they didn’t find his body, but an angel who told them that he was alive. Then Jesus began to teach these two men starting at the beginning with Moses and all through the prophets, all the prophecies about Jesus’ first coming. As they approached their village, Jesus acted like he was going on, so they asked him to come in for the night. He did and as he was sitting down to eat with them, he took the bread, blessed it and broke it, then gave it to them and their eyes were opened and they knew who he was. He then vanished into thin air. They said, “Didn’t our heart burn within us, while he talked with us and opened the scriptures?” There earnest longing was satisfied in Jesus. It was not until Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them that the two men could “see”. That is what Jesus does for us. He is the living bread and when he takes the Word of God, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to us, we can see the mysteries in it. Lord, we pray that you would take your Word and bless, break, and give it to us that our eyes would be open to You.

Thur.’s Devo - The Empty Tomb

Read Luke 24:1-12 The women who followed Jesus had prepared spices to anoint his body. They had to wait until the sabbath was complete before they could leave their houses and come to the tomb. It was the first day of the week, which was also the feast of First Fruits. On this day all the men would bring their first fruits from their crops to the temple to give to God. When the women arrived at the tomb they found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. While they were trying to figure out what had happened, they saw two men appear next to them in shining garments. They were afraid and bowed to the ground. The angels asked them why they were seeking the living among the dead. Then he reminded them of how Jesus told them he would die and on the third day, rise again. Then they remembered this and understood. They went back to the disciples and told them what they had seen and heard. This was too unbelievable for the disciples but Peter decided to go see. He ran to the tomb and when he got there he found the linen clothes and no body. He left amazed. When God set up the feasts they were to be memorials and rehearsals of a set time when God would come down and fulfill them. Jesus died on Passover as our passover lamb. He was buried on Unleavened Bread as the bread of life that had not “risen” yet. Yeast also stands for false doctrine or sin and Jesus had no sin in him. He rose on First fruits to be the first fruit to rise from the dead. If you read the crucifixion story in Matthew it says that when the veil of the temple was torn in two that the earth quaked and the rocks split and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (Matt. 27:52-53) Jesus was the first fruit to rise from the dead and enter heaven and with him he took all the believers that had died through the ages. Lord, your plan is amazing to us. Help us to understand your promises and not be surprised at your timing.

Wed.’s Devo - God’s Divine Plan

Read Luke 23:48-56 The people who saw these signs: the darkness in the middle of the day, the lightnings, and the thunderings were overcome with grief. One man who was there was Joseph of Arimathaea. He went to Pilate and begged to have Jesus body. When he received permission he took his body, wrapped it in linen and laid it in a sepulcher that was cut out of rock. No one had ever used this sepulcher before. Why was this significant? In Genesis 50:24 Joseph made his sons Ephraim and Manasseh promise to not leave his bones in Egypt but to take them with them when they left to go to the promised land. Just as Joseph’s tomb was emptied to take his bones to the promised land, Joseph of Arimathaea’s tomb would be emptied to take Jesus’ bones to the promised land of heaven. It was also important that Jesus be in a tomb that none else had been in because Jesus was about to do what had happened in no other tomb, and he needed a new tomb to do a new thing in. It had to be hewn out of rock because Jesus was the rock and he just went back to lie in the center of who he was. He is the Rock of all Ages. He needed to be wrapped in linen because linen is the symbol of righteousness that the priests wore. Jesus was a king and a priest and he was righteousness personified. As it was closing in on the sabbath, so they had to finish the preparation. The women that were followers made a mental note of which tomb his was laid in so they could return after the sabbath. On the sabbath they would be at home inside staying clean. Everything about Jesus death was calculated by God. Lord, you do all things well and in order. I know it didn’t seem that way to those living at the time but we can see it looking back. Help us to realize that that is what you are doing in our lives and one day we will look back and see your divine plan. We are so grateful!

Tues.’s Devo - From Sixth to Ninth

Read Luke 23:39-47 One of the men hanging beside Jesus mocked him by saying if he was the Christ, then he would be able to save them and himself. The man on the other cross rebuked him and stood up for Jesus saying they deserved their crucifixion but Jesus had done nothing to deserve death. Then he asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom. Jesus assured him he would be there too because he recognized and believed who Jesus was. It was the 6th hour and it turned totally dark for 3 hours. On Mt. Sinai where God gave the people the law, there was thick darkness for 3 days (Ex. 10:21-22). In Duet 4:12; 5:22 it says that God spoke to all the people out of thick darkness. But the scripture I like the best concerning this is 2 Sam 22 which is word-for-word Psalms 18 - all 50 verses! If God puts that many verses twice it must be important. I believe it is a play-by-play of what happened during those 3 hours. It says that God bent the heavens and came down. Scientists talk about learning how to bend space so we can travel through time. Well God did just that. He rode on the darkness and came clothed in this thick darkness. He was accompanied by lightnings and thunderings. He took Jesus and drew him out of the enemies hands and he strengthened Jesus for the battle and the victory. That is where the spiritual battle was fought and won. The veil that separated man from God was rent. On the earth, they only saw the darkness, the lightnings and heard the thunderings. Mark 15:34 says that at the 9th hour which would have been when the darkness ended, Jesus cried out, O God, why have you forsaken me. The lights had come on and God’s presence was not visible to Jesus. God NEVER left Jesus and he will NEVER leave us. It was that tangible presence that lifted. This is when Jesus gave his body to death and put his spirit in God’s hands. Lord, enlarge our hearts to receive more of you. Thank you for your presence that never leaves us or forsakes us. Thank you for the power of the cross.

Mon.’s Devo - The Crucifixion

Read Luke 23:16-38 Pilate’s plan was to have Jesus disciplined then set free but the crowds had different plans. It was tradition to set free a prisoner at passover so he chose Jesus since his crimes seemed so petty. But the crowds cried out for Barabbus who was a trouble maker and a murderer. Pilate still wanted to release Jesus but the crowd turned to a mob as they shouted to crucify Jesus and release Barabbus. Three times Pilate tries to release Jesus and they cry out for him to be crucified. So Pilate ordered Jesus crucified and released Barabbus. As they led Jesus to be crucified, the grabbed a man called Simon, a Cyrenian who was coming home from being in the count. They made him carry the cross. Many of his disciples mourned and lamented what was happening. Jesus saw a group of his women followers crying and he spoke to them. He told them not to weep for him but for themselves because one day the conditions in the world will be so bad, they will wish they never brought life into it. They will want to end their lives and run for cover anywhere they can find. If they do this when the son of God is here, what will they do when he is gone? Two other men were scheduled to hang that day. They were led away with Jesus and nailed on either side of Jesus at Calvary. Jesus prayed out loud for God to forgive them for they didn’t know what they did. The soldiers ripped up his robe and gambled over who would get it. Some of the Roman rulers teased Jesus saying, “He saved others, let him save himself , if he be Christ, the chosen of God.” Little did they know he was saving others by not saving himself. They wrote a sign over him that said “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS” in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Lord, there are no words to express our sorrow for what you did for us. We are so grateful that your death on the cross was not in vain, but it accomplished what it was suppose to - eternal life for all who believe!

Fri.’s Devo - Examining the Lamb

Read Luke 23:1-14 In the passover tradition, a family is to pick the best lamb from their flock and bring it into their house for 10 days to examine it and make sure it has no defects. When they have determined it is spotless, it becomes their passover lamb that is slain for their family. The priests at the temple do the same thing for the Passover Lamb that will stand for the sins of all the people. Jesus was the passover lamb to be slain for all the people and the for 10 days Jesus was examined to see if he was guilty. First, he is brought before Pilate to be examined. He was accused of perverting the nation and forbidding the people to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that he was the Christ and a king. None of these were true. Pilate asked him if he was the King of the Jews and Jesus reply was, “Thou sayest it.” After that one question and that one answer, Pilate found him innocent. He said he found no fault in him. So the lamb passed his inspection. Now he will be sent to Herod. Of course, the people are not happy with Pilate’s assumption so when they mentioned Galilee, he sent Jesus to Herod who was over Galilee. Herod just happened to be in Jerusalem at the time so he came immediately because he had always wanted to meet Jesus. He wanted to see him perform a miracle. He questioned Jesus but got no reply. Jesus was the lamb who was dumb before his shearers. He spoke not a word. (Is. 53:7) This made the chief priests and scribes even more mad and vicious. Herod and his men made fun of Jesus by putting a robe on him and mocking him. He sent him back to Pilate and they became friends for the first time. They both agreed and Pilate proclaimed Jesus again to be innocent and spotless. So, by two witnesses he is proclaimed spotless and innocent. Lord, you are the spotless lamb who took away our sins. Thank you!

Thur.’s Devo - Jesus is Taken

Read Luke 22:63-71 Jesus was taken away by the “religious” people of the day and they treated Jesus with such hatred. They put a blindfold on him then hit him and asked him to prophecy who hit him. He could have done just that but he chose not to. They took him into their inner council and questioned him. “Are you the Christ?” In Jesus ministry he never came right out and said he was the Christ. He once asked his disciples who they thought he was. When Peter said, “You are the Christ,” Jesus blessed him and said that flesh and blood couldn’t reveal this to him, only God. So when these men asked him if he was the Christ he refused to tell them. Instead he told them that they wouldn’t believe him if he said he was. Jesus knew that what he told them wouldn’t make a difference, they had made up their minds already to crucify him. Then he told them that one day they will see the Son of man sitting on the right side of God. This had to irritate them. Jesus always spoke of himself as being the “son of man” so they asked him if he was the “Son of God”. Jesus was reply was “You say that I am”. Jesus kept turning it back to them and their confession. They twisted it to mean that Jesus said he was the son of God and condemned him. He was the son of God and the son of man, and the Christ - all of those. Lord, we know that you are God’s Son, our Messiah, and the Christ! We live to worship you for all you have done.