Aug. 07, 2024

The Eternal Adventure Chapter 1

The Death, Resurrection and Gospel of Jesus Christ

Adventure: A risky undertaking; A remarkable experience

We are created with a sense to want to experience all this life has to offer, and do something that will be bigger than our own lives. For many, this quest focuses on athletic excellence, or financial success, or even accumulation of political or societal power. "Power, Possession and Prestige" are the summation of what this world has to offer those seeking the most out of this life.

God offers us something far more pervasive, far more significant, and far more satisfying- an remarkable life experience with Him, and one that doesn't end with our last breath on Earth.

It is The Eternal Adventure.

It began with God creating mankind, and placing them in a perfect environment, and giving them the task to 'tend the garden." It went awry when satan entered the garden and deceived mankind into thinking that they could not trust the goodness of God and had to look after themselves. Mankind suffered the affects of this rebellion against God until He Himself took on human form and arrived on the planet in a obscure corner of the Roman Empire. There He accomplished the improbable- restoring the relationship between God and mankind through his own sacrifice on the cross. Now the Resurrected Messiah invites us all to participate in a bold campaign to win all to the Kingdom of God, inviting many to become children of God Himself. It will be risky, but with Him, it will be a remarkable experience, and one that lasts for Eternity.

The First Century Greek Physician Luke chronicles the beginning of this adventure in his historically accurate Book of Acts, with the details of the death and resurrection of Jesus in his biography of Jesus, the Book of Luke.

We begin in Luke Chapter 24:

¹³ That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. ¹⁶ But God kept them from recognizing him.

¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”
They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. ¹⁸ Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”
¹⁹ “What things?” Jesus asked.
“The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. ²⁰ But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. ²¹ We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

Cleopas along with many of Jesus’ followers had the expectation that the Messiah would be the one to throw off the Roman yoke and reestablish the Jewish kingdom to Israel. Even though Jesus often told his disciples that he would be taken by the authorities, punished and killed, but would resurrect, they did not acknowledge nor believe that this would happen. As Luke records,

Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. ³² He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. ³³ They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.”
³⁴ But they didn’t understand any of this. The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about. Luke 18:31-34

Like us, the 12 disciples were hard-headed, believing their own expectations and desires of who Jesus should be. We humans naturally think this way. Their hope was for a military figure to defeat the Roman legions and rule a Jewish kingdom. Thus they were confounded by an ‘amazing report.”

²² “Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. ²³ They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! ²⁴ Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.”

²⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. ²⁶ Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” ²⁷ Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

There are over 300 prophecies in the Hebrew scriptures concerning the Messiah, and one from the prophet Isaiah specifically points to the event which Cleopas and his fellow disciples had just witnessed.

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face.

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. ¹¹ As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53: 3-6, 10-11

Isaiah saw how the Messiah would be the perfect sacrificial lamb, who dies on the cross on Passover, as the perfect offering for mankind’s sins. Now all those who receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord are declared “Not Guilty!” Now mankind’s relationship with their Heavenly Father is restored.

Stain glass window, Church of the Flaggellation , Via Dolorosa Jerusalem

²⁸ By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, ²⁹ but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. ³⁰ As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
³² They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

The resurrected Jesus is now in a new supernatural body that is able to slip from one dimension into another. As they walked, Jesus gave them an explanation of things the Hebrew prophets had said about the coming Messiah, and how they all pointed to Jesus. Can you imagine their wonder and surprise to hear these things from their fellow traveler? When Jesus broke the bread and blessed it, something he has done often with his disciples, they suddenly recognized Him! Abruptly he stepped out of our dimension into another. Now they had to return to Jerusalem to tell the others.

³³ And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, ³⁴ who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.”

³⁵ Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread. ³⁶ And just as they were telling about it, Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. ³⁷ But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

The Resurrected Jesus now has the all-encompassing, completely astonished attention of the disciples!

³⁸ “Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? ³⁹ Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” ⁴⁰ As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.
⁴¹ Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he ate it as they watched.

Were they seeing a ghost when Jesus appeared in the room? Luke tells us that no, it is a man in a physical body, with wounds on his hands and feet. Still there was unbelief, and Jesus gave a more convincing demonstration of his resurrection- he ate a piece of fish. Ghosts and spirits don’t consume food.

There have been many throughout the past three millennia who have claimed to be the Messiah, the Christ, God’s Anointed Savior of Israel. We only remember one: Jesus of Nazareth.

Often the question is asked: How did a group of religious Jews who worship the One True God come to believe that this Jesus was God in a human body? Thousands were convinced that He was indeed who he claimed to be: “I Am” (Exodus 3:14) and “The Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14). These are preposterous claims for a man to make! What caused these worshippers of Yahweh to believe that they had been with Yahweh in a human body?

Another question often asked is how did a small group of people in a remote corner of the Roman Empire begin a movement that eventually spread throughout the Empire, and eventually to every continent of Earth?

The answer to both is the most fantastic event in human history: The Resurrection.

Jesus was publicly executed by the Romans on Passover Friday through a most horrible method- crucifixion. After he died a Roman soldier speared him through the chest, hitting the lungs and heart, ensuring that he was indeed dead. Yet on Sunday his tomb was empty and he was seen by his disciples- even eating with them! There is no other man in human history who died in such a manner after making claims of divinity who resurrected and was publicly seem by hundreds after.

No other!

Why is this the most awesome event in all recorded history? Here is what just a few scholars and historians say:

The foundation of our religion is a basis of fact - the fact of the birth, ministry, miracles, death, resurrection by the Evangelists as having actually occurred, within their own personal knowledge.

Simon Greenleaf, Professor of Law, Harvard University.

The truth of the resurrection gives life to every other area of gospel truth. The resurrection is the pivot on which all of Christianity turns and without which none of the other truths would much matter. Without the resurrection, Christianity would be so much wishful thinking, taking its place alongside all other human philosophy and religious speculation. John MacArthur

If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead. Timothy Keller

No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the Resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good. Josh McDowell

The Resurrection is the Hinge of Christianity.

⁴⁴ Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.

⁴⁷ It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of all these things.
⁴⁹ “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” Luke 24:13-49

It is interesting to note what exactly Jesus directed His followers to proclaim. Was it:

A list of the 612 Laws of Moses?
The teachings of the Jesus and other rabbis on personal holiness?
A message that God is mad at mankind, and we better get it together?

No, it is the good news that God is offering a complete forgiveness of sins for all!

‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’

This is a historical declaration known as “The Gospel” which in the Greco-Roman world referred to declarations and reports from the top of the government regarding any political, military, or societal victories. These were proclamations that stated something that had been accomplished and was going to change the direction of society. Government leaders from Alexander the Great to Caesar Augustus issued gospels announcing military victories and new government orders.

The “Gospel of Jesus Christ” was a proclamation that Jesus declared the sin issue between God and man as resolved through His death on the cross, and now there was forgiveness from God and peace to all mankind who accept and repent of their former ways.

Repentance literally means to be walking in one direction, to stop, turn around and walk the opposite direction. For us in our spiritual lives, means to recognize the wrong in something you have done, be sorry for it, and change your ways or habits. When this happens, Jesus says that God will freely forgive our sins, and we can now have a personal relationship with Him. Now it will be God guiding our lives and helping us lead a life that is “others centered”. A God-led and God-empowered life will be a life that will please our Heavenly Father.

There is nothing for us to do with this finished work except to acknowledge that we have in fact violated His standards of behavior and need forgiveness and accept God’s mercy.

We don’t have to become perfect for God to accept us. All that is required is to turn to God and acknowledge Him as our Lord and begin to walk with Him.

We receive Jesus as our Savior and we are saved. What naturally follows is a desire to allow Him to be the Lord of our lives, to be obedient to what He tells us we should be doing.

Jesus is proclaiming an invitation for all into a personal relationship with Him that transcends “religion”. The key to restoring this relationship was the resolving of the sin issue, which God did Himself by sending Jesus into this world to be the perfect “Lamb of God” sacrifice on the cross on Passover.

The altar in the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was crucified

This thing we call “sin” is what separates mankind from God. We must realize that we often offend God through our actions that are contrary to His character. We often turn our back on God and do what we want or think is best for us. Sin is a heart condition, denying God his rightful place in our lives. It is us making ourselves to be God, maintaining our own control over our lives.

There are practical expressions of this heart condition of turning away from God, not trusting His goodness, and denying that He has your best interest at the center of His heart. If you look at the Greek words used in the Bible that are translated sin or describe sinful behavior, then the symptoms of this sinful heart condition become more precise and more personal.

Sin is defined in the Bible as:

parabasis: not lining up
harmartia: missing the mark
parakoe: disobedient to a voice
anomia: ignoring the law that you do know
agnoemz: ignorance of what you should know
paraptoma: falling when one should have stood
hethema: not giving a full measure when a full measure is required

Because of what Jesus did for me on the Cross, and that now He has made me a member of his family, I have a strong desire to please him in all aspects of my life, since I realize that now my life is His. It is important for me now to know where His line is, what is His mark that I am aiming for, what things of His character I should emulate, how much is a full measure; how far should we resist; and what does that voice of the Holy Spirit sound like. If I have a relationship with Him, then these things are important to know, because God wants it to go well with me in this life. He wants me to avoid the adverse consequences of my self-centered sinful behavior. He wants me to be others centered and care for those around me, not just serve myself. And I want to please my Heavenly Father.

Because of the Cross, we are free from the judgement of sin on our lives, but we still have to deal with the consequences of sin.

“We are saved from the guilt and power of sin, but not from its presence while in this body and the world. Therefore, he that is in Christ has no sin upon him, in the sense of condemnation, though he still has sin in him in the form of the sin-nature in the mortal body. The believer is unconditionally saved from sin and conditionally saved from the power of sin. Victory is conditioned in proportion to the believers unequivocal obedience to Christ and His command.” Dr Spiros Zodhiates, Key Word Study Bible

Tombs on Mt Scopus with Moselle, Arielle & Lukas, 2006

Luke continues from his biography in the first chapter of Acts, providing many details confirming the fact that Jesus is alive.

During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time and proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. On these occasions he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

In one of these meetings as he was eating a meal with them, he told them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. Remember, I have told you about this before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

When the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, are you going to free Israel now and restore our kingdom?”

“The Father sets those dates,” he replied, “and they are not for you to know. But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

It was not long after he said this that he was taken up into the sky while they were watching, and he disappeared into a cloud. As they were straining their eyes to see him, two white-robed men suddenly stood there among them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he will return!” Acts 1:3-9

The Greek word used in “come upon you” is the word epérchomai, which has the meaning of the Holy Spirit resting upon and operating in a person.

Here is what Jesus instructed His disciples (and us) to do:

1) Wait until the Holy Spirit comes upon you and begins operating in you;

2) Then we are to tell people about Jesus everywhere;

3) First in the local community, then in the adjoining region), and then throughout the entire world.