[Aaron Dean] Would you have believed? Everyone was looking for the Messiah. They knew He was coming. It had long been prophesied. They had read the scriptures. They knew He would heal the sick. The lame would walk. The blind would see. The animals would be tame. But most of all, this Messiah, this King of kings, was going to exalt His chosen people. Now, if you were there then, you knew that you were His chosen people. You were going to be exalted. He would deliver you from the subjugation you were under. He would put down all the tyrants that had done damage and dealt harshly with you. All the chosen people wanted it. This is going to be special. He would be magnificent. He would be overpowering and He would be their hero. They waited for Him. Why would He be their hero? Because you are the center of your universe. And that's what they were. They were the center of their own universe and this Messiah was going to exalt them. Going to make them special. I ask, “Is that how we see our Messiah at times – someone who is special in a different way – in a self-serving way – that this Messiah is going to exalt you? We know that's going to happen. We know that – when He returns on Trumpets and other Feast days. I love all the Feast days. All too often, we think of the Fall Feasts – when we're made spirit beings – more special than the Feast coming up in three weeks. Is it from a selfish point of view that we see these things?

Having grown up in the church and been taught at Imperial, I was pretty well indoctrinated about what the Bible said, since we read it straight from scripture always, and I knew exactly what was going to happen. I knew that the beast power was going to rise up, and Christ was going to return. And all my neighbors knew all these things. And I was sure they were going to happen a little sooner than they have happened, and they will happen. But I knew. It was a selfish point of view. I wanted it come. I wanted them to know that, even though we did these strange things – they kept different days – they would see I was right. I would show them. And that was a selfish point of view. And sometimes we do that. We want a king that is going to deliver us – kind of like the man that broke into the house. It was dark, and as he broke in, he heard a voice yell out, “Jesus is going to get you!” And he stopped, didn't know what to do, moved a couple more steps. And again he heard this, “Jesus is going to get you!” And he didn't know what to do, so he pulled his flashlight and looked around, and there was this parrot there on this perch, saying, “Jesus is going to get you!” Then he heard this growl down low. And he shined the light down, and there was this big Doberman, and the bird says, “Get him, Jesus!” Is that the Jesus you want? Someone to get someone else – someone to solve your problem?
 
For centuries the Jews had kept the Passover. They knew what it was about in the sense that there was a Passover lamb that was a sin offering. They knew that had happened. God had said, “On the tenth day of the first month, you are to go out and pick this unblemished lamb. On the fourteenth, you're to kill it. And then you're to take that blood and put it on the doorposts.” And that night when death came around it wouldn't happen to your family. The firstborn in your house wouldn't die. But all the firstborn in Egypt – man and beast – would die on that night.  They knew that they would be protected because of that blood, and that God would pass over their house. Hence the name Passover. And he made that day a memorial that they should keep it forever in their generations. It says that in Exodus 12:14 – a memorial to you, an everlasting ordinance. And the people of God kept that day, although during the time of the kings of Israel, they had forgotten it during that time. Many of them were taken captive. The Jews had forgotten a lot, as well, and they were taken captive for their sins. But when they returned from Persia, they made it a point…they lined up the Sabbath, the holy days. They made sure no one violated any of these things. Because they weren’t going to go into captivity. They were going to prepare for the Messiah. They knew He was coming. They knew roughly when He was going to come. And so, every year, the chosen people kept that Feast.

They were waiting for their Messiah, because they always wanted their Messiah to come. And when they kept that Feast and killed that lamb, they didn't know that was actually their Messiah that was going to die for them. They saw it as a lamb that they took with the blood offering – tthe shedding of blood forgives sins – their sins would be forgiven. But they didn't see it the way they wanted it to be. The expectations were not realized through the Messiah that actually came. They knew when He was supposed to come, and they knew it was roughly the time that he was going to come. Herod built the temple, so they had a temple for Him to come to, but they didn't see Him as a lamb – someone who would die, or be slaughtered. But they wanted to see the Messiah come as the conquering King. And you and I probably would have, too, had we been there at that time. It was not what they wanted to believe – not the scriptures they dwelt on when they thought about the coming King and what God is going to do. They expected a king. They expected a deliverer. And they had some, in Acts 5 – we read about Gamaliel…. And Gamaliel's advice – when they're going to meet Peter and John and try to stop them – Gamaliel says, “Leave them alone.” And he talks, in Acts 5:36, about Judas boasting to be somebody. And they took 400 men and they followed him. And they're going to deliver Israel. They thought he was special. And all those who joined were slain. They were killed. He tells them in verse 37 about Judas of Galilee, who rose up in the days of taxing to deliver them, and he also had a large following – a deliverer. And he was slain, and all those with him were slain as well. They all perished. Anybody obeyed him, they did what he did. That was what they were looking for. And they kept hoping one of these men would be their deliverer.

But Jesus was not the Messiah they wanted. He was about serving others. Kings are served. They don't serve. Kings don't wash feet. He didn't fight the Romans. Kings are supposed to deliver you from oppression. It wasn't the way they wanted it to be.

Now, for those who believed on Him, they saw some of the signs. Certainly, the disciples should have understood. He did heal the sick. The lame did walk and the blind did see. The miracles were there, and even they thought that somehow He would turn into this Messianic King that would deliver them from the Romans. They saw part of the picture, but it wasn't the way they wanted to see it. And then He died, which is certainly not what a deliverer does. It was over.

Would you have thought it was over? Would you have seen any differently than they did with the tools that they had? Was He just another wannabe? Would you see Him that way?  A good man? A prophet – someone who did a lot of good things – but not the deliverer? Certainly, what did He deliver you from? He didn't deliver you from oppression. The Romans were still there. That was the oppressor they saw and what they wanted. And oftentimes our expectations may not be where they should be.

How many times have people left the church because of expectations that didn't materialize? Because of things that they wanted done or to happen that didn't happen? Often abandoning the very principles that they taught because it wasn't what they wanted. It's sad. Certainly. the disciples should have known. They were with them. And they did. Even Christ said to Peter, “Well, God revealed this to you – by the Messiah. But it still wasn't the Messiah Peter wanted. Because he wanted Him to rule. He wanted Him to be king. He sliced off the soldier's ear to try to protect Him. It wasn't the Messiah he wanted, as such, even though he recognized the miracles and saw them as the others did as well. And they were told, by Jesus Himself, who He was. And had a lot of counsel on the way of what was going to happen. But that wasn't their expectation. They were not fulfilled.

I'd like to turn to Luke 24. And you can put your little ribbon in your Bible in that chapter. We're going to go to that one, and skip around, and come back to it a few times, so you can find it quicker that way.

Because, certainly, the disciples thought differently after He died, and they were confused. Let's start in Luke 24:1.

Luke 24:1 – On the first day of the week, early in the morning – and we know it was before dawn, from John 20:1, that Mary and the others came to the tomb – so there was no sunrise service – it was already still dark. So they came to the sepulcher bringing the spices which they had prepared and certain others with them. Now why did they bring all these spices? Because they were going to prepare the body. I happened to go see The Passion when it came out. Didn't necessarily want to, but I thought I'd better see what everybody else is seeing. I love the part where it Mary says, “Now, it's done.” No, they were going to prepare the body. They expected a body to be there. If they knew anything – if you really believed and knew He was resurrected the third day – you wouldn't be bringing 100 pounds of spices with you to try and prepare a body that wouldn't be there. But that's what it was. Verse 2: They found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher, and they entered in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. They expected to. They were going to take care of it – embalm it. It was special to them. And it came to pass – it says – they were very perplexed there. They were perplexed with this whole thing. Then two men stood by them in shining garments. Then they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth. Then the angel said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” They came for a dead body. But He wasn't dead. He was alive. “He is not here,” they said, “He is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was yet in Galilee?” They had to remind them. Remember what He said to you? He told you this. What are you doing here? Saying: “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” The angels quoted Him.

Keep your place here. We'll go over to Matthew 28. You know in Matthew 12:39, He told them there would be no sign except for three days and three nights in the grave. Matthew 28 – reading what happened at His death:

Matthew 28:1 – Now after the Sabbath – Matthew 28:1 – began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the grave, and behold there was a great earthquake – so they had an earthquake – for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and rolled the stone from the door – a little more graphic than it was in Luke – his countenance was like lightning. His raiment white as snow, and for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men. The Romans were there guarding it, and it certainly would shake you up – the earthquake and the stone rolling. And the angel said the same thing: Fear not, for I know you seek Jesus which was crucified. He's not here. He's risen. Come and see the place, look. Take a look right where He was. He's not there. And he said: Go, tell the disciples. He's risen from the dead. He's gone before you to Galilee. And there you will see him. I told you so. And then it says the women departed.

Go back to Luke 24, if you would. Again, what did they think? What did they think of this? Drop to verse 8.

Luke 24:8 – The women – the angel said – remembered His words. They remembered Christ saying that. And they returned from the sepulcher and told all these things to the eleven and to the rest – the other people there. They told them exactly what happened. And they said, “Oh yeah, that's right. That's what He said.” No. Not quite. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the disciples – and they said, “Oh, that's great! He was right. He rose from the dead. Oh, our Messiah, yes!” No, that's not what it says. It says: their words seemed to be as idle tales. “Oh, you're kidding. We saw Him on the cross. He was dead. He was buried.” And it goes on. It says: they believed him not. How quickly do we give up on things?

A lot of people expected Mr. Armstrong to be alive until the end. They also expected the apostle John to be there when Christ returned. It says they thought that – book of John. We can have expectations of things and our timing is almost always off on prophecy. I always tell people, “When Christ returns, I got all the prophecies right. I just count backwards and I know exactly how it counts – just need a point to start from that's accurate.

V-12 – Peter arose and ran to the sepulcher – he's going to look at this and check it out for himself – stoops down and behold, the linen clothes laying by themselves, he departed, wondering within himself what had come to pass. “Can this be? Is it true? Yeah, I was told that,” but he's still questioning, because the body is not there. Maybe somebody took it. At least that's what they tried to pass that story around.

Now we go to the men on the road to Emmaus – verse 13:

V-13 – So behold two of them – two of the people who were in that room, some of the others – went that same day to a village called Emmaus which from Jerusalem was about three furlongs long – about eight or nine miles there – so a good little distance. And they talked together of the things which had happened. I mean, this was the talk of the town, obviously. You had an earthquake at His death, an earthquake at His resurrection. And it came to pass while the communed together and reasoned, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were held back that they should not know who He was. Verse 17: And He said to them, “What manner of communication are these that you have one to another? That you're walking, and why are you sad?” And, of course, to them…well, of course, they knew what had happened. Everybody knew what had happened. I mean, this was like three days. It was like when the towers went down in New York City. Three days later was there anybody in the world that didn't know that? One of them – verse 18 – whose name was Cleopas, answered and said, “Are you only a stranger in Jerusalem, and have not known the things that have come to pass in these days?” I mean, this is big news here. Everybody knows what's going on. And He said, “What things?” – to see what their take was on this. And they said to Him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And now the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and they crucified Him.” It was something special, I'm sure they told Him.

Keep your place there, we'll go to Matthew 27 for a minute here. What happened at His death? Verse 51:

Matthew 27:51 – The veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks ripped. I'm sure they told Jesus, “You didn't hear about that?” And the graves opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose and came walking around. “You didn't hear about dead people coming back?” And now, when the centurion saw what happened with Jesus and the earth quaked, he feared greatly saying, “Truly this was the Son of God.” “Something happened special that day.”

Even the Romans – of course, the gods of the Romans and Greeks fought all the time and tried to kill each other – but they knew with all these things, this was incredible! The stories all over the place! Everybody knew about this. “And you didn't know this?”

What did they think? Go back to Luke 24, verse 21 – continuing the stories. I tell stories all the time about some of the things I saw traveling with Mr. Armstrong, but nothing like this. I mean, there were no angels and stones rolled back and earthquakes. Well, there was an earthquake in Romania three weeks after we were there – knocked the hotel down that we stayed in so, I was glad that it was three weeks later. But nothing like this. Verse 21 – what did these men think?

Luke 24:21-23 – But we trusted that it should have been he that redeemed Israel. “This was that prophet. This is the one that was the Messiah, we thought. We thought that. But He's dead!” Besides all this, today is the third day since these were done. Verse 22: Yes, certain women of our company made us astonished. They were early at the grave – they came down there – and when they found not His body, they came saying they had seen a vision of angels which said He was alive. Of course, they must have been suffering PTSD – trauma. They were just seeing things, obviously. Kind of what they thought. It was all the stress of that week. What…three days, the death, things they did not expect. They had a deliverer. He was going to be that one who redeemed Israel. They didn't believe the women. And then Christ says to them – in verse 25: 

V-25 – Oh fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. “Haven't you read all the scriptures – not just the ones about the conquering king – the rest of them? Don't you get it?” Ought not Christ to have suffered these things and then entered into His glory? “Haven't you kept the Passover all these years? You've slain a lamb every year. You've eaten it, but you didn't see this coming. You didn't see how it was going to happen.” Verse 27:

V-27 – And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them all the scriptures concerning Himself. They knew who He was, but He's telling them all the scriptures of what was happening – the ones they had read over, but didn't properly understand. He began to make believers out of them – by scripture, not by tradition – not by Ishtar, not by Ash Wednesday, or Lent, or Palm Sunday, or the other traditions of men – but by scripture – the source – God's Word. Moses had written it, starting at the beginning. They read the introductions. When Moses wrote in Genesis 3:15:

Genesis 3:15 – I'll put enmity between you – that is, the serpent – and the seed – that came from a woman – between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel. That bruising was the death of Jesus Christ. Had they just read the introduction, they would have known. They did not expect Him to die. He's telling them, “I know you didn't expect it. I was prophesied to be bruised. I was prophesied – temporary death – to be resurrected.

I'm sure He read to them Deuteronomy 18, because that's what they thought. Deuteronomy 18, and verse 18 – it says:

Deuteronomy 18:18-19 – I will raise up from among them a prophet. From among their brethren, like unto you and I will put My words in His mouth. He shall speak unto them all that I should command Him. And Christ did speak all that He was commanded. Verse 19: And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken to My words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it of him. And eventually all mankind will be required to know who Christ was. But that verse comes a little later.

They didn't separate those prophecies with a time frame – kind of like Genesis 1, verses 1 and 2 and verse 3. Between 2 and 3, there could have been a billion years, because there was a beginning, and the earth did become without form and void, but then God renewed the face of the earth. Same thing with the prophecies of Christ. They only wanted the second half. They loved the fall Feasts. They didn't understand the spring Feasts so well. They expected all to hear Christ's words to pay the price. They didn't expect people to reject Him – that He'd be killed and crucified. They expected Isaiah 45 – Isaiah 45, verse23 – where it says:

Isaiah 45:23 – I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone out of My mouth, and in righteousness it shall not return, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Oh yeah! That’s the Messiah that they wanted! Make those Romans bow down. We're the chosen people. That's what they wanted.

But Jesus went on to explain to them, I'm sure, that was going to be the second coming. They saw glory, in the physical sense, in these prophecies. They wanted that prophet – that would make them over the nations now. And they thought Christ was that prophet. Remember when John was asked, was he that prophet in John 1:21? He said, “No, I'm not that prophet.”

John 6:13 – we'll turn over there for a minute. Again, they thought John was it. He said, “No,” and they thought that Christ would be.

John 6:13 – They gathered together – in John 6:13 – filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves – this is one of the situations where He fed thousands – which remained over and above all those who had eaten. Again they take back all these extra…these twelve baskets – then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said this is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world. “It's time! We knew it was time! He's here! He's healed the blind. He's done that. Now all he has to do is put down the Romans and He's got it! When Jesus perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone. How many normal humans would say, “Oh yeah!” Theudus and Judas, and the other guys Gamaliel talked about, they’d love that – all the people crowning Him a king and doing that. But Christ was filled with God's Spirit and knew it wasn't time for that. He would do it God's way. His expectations were what His Father meant for Him, not what others wanted. He knew what power was, how to yield it, and when to yield it.

It wasn't time for Jesus to be the king to deliver all the prophecies. What Christ had to explain to those men were the prophecies of His first coming – when He went through and fulfilled those prophecies, setting the stage for the final prophecies and for salvation for all mankind. People want it their way. They still do. People want to go to heaven. They still quote the thief on the cross, when Christ said, “Today, you'll be with Me in paradise.” Of course, I always challenge people, because Christ was in the grave three days. He lied because he couldn't be with him in paradise, because he was in the grave three days. So, it can't be today. But they twist those scriptures to make them fit. And people still want it to be their way and what they believe.

But I'm sure he read to them Psalm 16 – Psalms 16, and verse 8 – which is quoted in Acts, as well. It says:

Psalms 16:8 – I've set the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Christ wouldn't be moved, except God let Him. He told Peter – when he tried to protect Him – “Peter, I could call down legions of angels and God would hear me. It's not the way.” Therefore, my heart is glad – verse 9 – and my glory rejoices; my flesh also shall rest in hope. For you will not leave my soul in the grave, neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption. He said…He was telling them – and they didn't see Him yet – they would soon know who He was, and they would realize His body wasn't there. It didn't decay. I'm sure he read that to them.

I'm sure He read Psalms 110 – a psalm of David.

Psalms 110:1 – When the Lord said unto my lord, “Sit Thou at my right hand until I make your enemies my footstool.” But that that would come later. He qualified then. Of course, they read the rest of the verses in Psalms 110, like in verse 3, where it says:

V-3 – The people shall be willing in that day of Thy power in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth. The Lord has sworn and they will not repent. But you are a priest forever by the order of Melchizedek. The Lord, by thy right had, shall strike through the kings in the day of His wrath, judge among the heathen. That's what they wanted – judge those heathen! – those Romans! But they didn't realize He was coming for a different thing.

I'm sure he read the prophecies in Psalms 22 to them – Psalms 22, verse 13 – where it says:

Psalms 22:13-15 – They gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It has melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue cleaves to my jaw. You have brought me into the dust of death. Goes down to verse 18:

V-18 – They part my garments among them, cast lots upon my vesture. “All those things,” he said, “didn't that happen? Didn't you see Me up there?”

Psalms 34 – another one I'm sure He quoted to them – verse 19 of Psalms 34:

Psalms 34:19 – Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivered him out of them all. He keeps all his bones. Not one of them is broken. They knew Christ's bones weren’t broken on the cross, like the other two thieves were, to make sure they died.

I'm sure he talked to them, because it says He did. He showed them the scriptures and the prophecies from Moses through the prophets. He had already told them some of these things before, but they didn't get it. They didn't understand it. I'm sure he went to Isaiah 53, which we read at Passover and we'll read again here – Isaiah 53. They liked the early chapters of Isaiah, where He's King of Kings, Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty One, and all those scriptures that talk about the millennium and Christ's rule on earth in peace. But Isaiah 53 wasn't one that they wanted to believe. Isaiah 53, verse 1:

Isaiah 53:1-12. Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Well, He was revealing it to those men walking to Emmaus. The disciples didn't believe at first. But later He revealed it to them as well. Verse 2: For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness that we shall see Him – that there is no beauty that we should desire Him. Yeah, He was able to walk through a crowd and get lost really easily – wasn't super tall or super short, wasn't super beautiful. He was just normal – nothing was special in the sense of the physical – because God doesn't need that. He wants our heart and our minds and our attitudes. Verse 3: He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. As we read in Hebrews, where He learned obedience through the things He suffered. And He suffered a lot. He was called names as a child, and then, of course, at the end beaten and crucified – the most hideous death. Acquainted with grief and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him. He was despised ad we esteemed Him not. Certainly Peter and the disciples all ran away from Him and hid. Verse 4: He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed. I'm sure He told Peter that. And Peter quoted it in 1 Peter 2:24. These scriptures Christ had to bring to them and say, “This is what I came the first time for. This is what it was about.” All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned, every one, to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. All your sins, my sins – He's telling those men from Emmaus, “Your sins” – the disciples who became apostles – all of us. Verse 7:  He was oppressed and very afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth. That was the record they saw – Peter standing outside the courtyard. He didn't say anything. He was taken from prison, from judgment, who shall declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgression of My people, He was stricken. Yeah – a young man – middle age – didn't get to finish His days. And made His grave with the wicked – we know He was buried in a garden tomb of a rich man. But with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth. There was no one there that could find anything wrong with Jesus. Even the men who tried to lie about Him couldn't agree. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. That's what was said in Genesis 3:15. He has put Him to grief. When thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed. He shall prolong His days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. Those scriptures, I'm sure Christ read to the men, or quoted. He didn't read them, just quoted them. Those prophecies were about that Jesus that died. He hadn't revealed who He was yet and told them. Verse 11: He shall see the travail of His souls and shall be satisfied. By His knowledge shall my righteous Servant justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. And I will divide Him a portion with the great and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death. He was numbered with the transgressors. He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the sinners. That's why He was there. That's why Jesus did it – for you. The apostles used those very scriptures later. In Acts we read those quotes. We read them when the Ethiopian eunuch – in Acts, chapter 8 – he was a wealthy man – treasurer for the queen of Ethiopia. He's reading in Isaiah. Philip is there. He asked him who is this, and Philip tells him, “This is Jesus. That's what he did,” and he quotes from scriptures.

Let's go back to Luke 24 again, if you would – Luke 24, verse 28:

Luke 24:28 – They drew neigh to the village where they went, and he made as though he would have gone further, but they restrained him – he was going to go on, but they restrained Him – saying, “Stay with us. It’s about evening. The day is spent. He tarried with them. Verse 30: And it came to pass as He had meat with them, and He ate, and took bread, and blessed it, and He broke it, and He gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they knew Him and then He vanished out of their sight. So now they were going to get told that they were PTSD, too. They saw it. But He was there. They talked to Him. He explained the scriptures. “That's right. That's what the Messiah was supposed to do.” And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the way and read us the scriptures – “He opened and showed us exactly what He did! That's what's supposed to happen.” They rose up the same hour – they were excited – they returned to Jerusalem. They found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them. And they were saying, “The Lord Jesus has risen indeed! He appeared to Simon!” And they told what things were done on the way, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread. And they're thinking, “Yeah, another one – another crazy. But what happened as they spoke this? Verse 36:

V-36-49 – Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, “Peace be unto you.” But they were terrified and frightened and supposed they had seen a spirit. “No, this is not happening. It's not the Messiah we expected – the way it was supposed to happen.” And He says, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look! My hands, My feet. You know the scriptures said they pierced Me. Here they are, they did, I was crucified, you see them.” And while they yet believed not for joy and wondered, He said to them “Have you have any meat?” They gave Him a piece of fish and honeycomb and He took it and ate. And He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all these things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” That's what it's about. And He opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures. That's God's calling. But the Holy Spirit – He helped them to see it, just like He has you and me – you have to have that to see it. And He said to them, “Thus it is written and behooved thus for Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins would be preached in His name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. What was Peter's comment? “Repent and be baptized every one of you.” The same message. And you were witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you. But stay in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with the power on high – the Holy Spirit – again endorsing Pentecost, picturing the firstfruits in the church. If He did away with the Feast, why didn't He just give it to them then? They needed it. “Stay here, you need this badly.” But it has to come in its time. Christ said He fulfilled the prophecies of His first coming before the other prophecies would be fulfilled. It wasn't a vision. The women weren't seeing things at all. It was very, very real. The Messiah had risen after fulfilling every prophecy concerning His first coming, just as He did – the suffering Servant coming to qualify. As you take the Passover in three weeks, this should be as vivid and real as what happened on that day He was crucified. Even though we don't have visions and see things, we have the witness of what happened. It should be as real as it was to those men on the road to Emmaus when they heard His words.

Verse 50 of Luke 24:

V-50-52 – And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and He blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them and carried up to heaven. Verse 52: And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

It finally became real to them. Their eyes were opened to those scriptures. They now understood Christ's message to John the Baptist in Luke 7. Remember when they came and theyaskedJesus, “Are You the One that should come?” That was John 7, verse 19. They asked Jesus. John had sent them to ask Him, “Are You the One that should come or do we go look for another?” What did Christ say to them? He didn't do anything at first. It says in verse 21 of chapter 7 of Luke:

Luke 7:21 – The same hour He cured many of their infirmities and plagues and evil spirits and gave sight to the blind. And then He answered this to John, “Go your way and tell John what things you have seen and heard – how the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he who shall not offended in Me.” He knew John would understand that part of the prophecies – the ones in Isaiah that said those things would happen. Now whether John knew when Christ would return again later, or thought that – he didn't know – but he knew that was the Messiah by those signs.

The disciples then understood Christ's compassion on the world. He understood as He came to heal the heart and the mind – not to deliver them from the oppression of the Romans at that point in time. That's why He fed them – the loaves, the fishes, the miracles. That's why He told them the things He told them. They didn't understand those things, but He told them at the Passover, “This is My blood. This is My body. Eat this bread. Take this cup. Be part of Me. You're supposed to be as I am.”
John 20, verse 30 – it says:

John 20:30 – Many signs did Jesus do in the presence of His disciples. And John says they're not even written in this book. Some are. Verse 31 of John 20 says: They are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that in believing you might have life through His name. They weren't delivered from the Romans, but they could have life.

Would you have believed? The disciples who walked with Him and saw the miracles, day in and day out, didn't. Neither would have you. Neither would have I. They, at that point, still wanted their selfish Messiah. They loved the miracles He did but they wanted to stay alive to finish the job. And He will finish the job. They wanted a Messiah that would exalt them, just like the other people the Jews wanted – to make them the chosen people, special. Oftentimes, we look to the millennium and to latter Feast and appreciate them. I know as a child I appreciated those Feasts a lot more than I did Unleavened Bread – certainly more than Atonement. But it was interesting because these first Feasts – Passover and Unleavened Bread – is what puts us on the road to the latter Feasts.

None of this could have happened without the suffering Servant who died for us. And this would have been a vision and an enigma to you, as it was to them. We have their testimony and we do believe because of their words. We need to make sure this Passover is very, very real to us and everyone. By accepting the sacrifice for the remission of our sins we renew that covenant. We take each year and renew it. Just as the covenant was made in blood in the Old Testament, it's made in the blood of the wine at Passover. And that covenant helps us do what it says in Isaiah, where it says He will write His laws in our heart and our minds – that we will be like Christ was at His first coming – humble, esteeming others. It's a special thing. Be filled with humility and you will be part of the story that all the chosen people wanted and expected. Don't lose out because things don't happen your way in whatever the trials and temptations you go through.

Jesus had to be sent by God the Father to be that suffering Servant. But those expectations – the power, the glory, the rulership – they will happen to His chosen people. You are His chosen people – all those baptized, converted, and those yet to be – to be part of the family of God, which is spiritual Israel. Everyone is part of spiritual Israel. Christ brought a different lesson the first time here – a lesson we couldn't learn through power and authority, because humans misuse that. We learn the attitude of Jesus Christ at His first coming – that of humility, that of caring for one another – concern for your brethren and for all of mankind – the godly agape love that He and the Father share in wanting to bring many sons to glory. That's what puts you in His Kingdom. That is why His last reminder to the disciples was not some act of healing or making the blind see. It was the act of foot washing. Certainly kings don't wash feet. He had already told them not to rule as the Gentiles. They didn't get that. He explained it to them. But He washed their feet, and said, “I have given you an example that you should do as I have done.”

In three weeks we'll do that, as He did. But that's just an act. We should be doing that every day of our lives in helping others. It should be your thought pattern. How do I help? How do I give? How do I serve? It's only with that love that we can know how to properly use the power that comes from God through His Holy Spirit – to be a spirit being in His family. If you learn the lesson now, when you get the power later, you will know how to use it.

You know, they wanted a king that would stop the oppressor – the Romans. They didn't realize the oppressor was death. And He did conquer that the first time He came. He conquered death. I love the Feasts – all the Feasts – but that suffering Servant – the Passover – that gets us to the other Feasts – that is what we have to do. God has to be the center of your universe. Remember it was about them – “We're going to be exalted and raised.” No, that's not what it is about.

I still want my neighbors to not see me as strange or weird. I still want my neighbors to realize that I was right – but not for the selfish reasons I had as a little kid – because I want them to also be part of God's family and His Kingdom. It's not about selfishness. It's not about being right, because we're only right because God gave us His Spirit, and God – just like He did on the road to Emmaus – opened their minds, and said, “These are the scriptures I fulfilled.” And that's what we see. But we also see the ones He's yet to fulfill.

If you do your part in humility, in kindness, in love, and service and sacrifice, as you observe the Feast – not just in three weeks, but all year long – you will be there to see the fulfillment of the rest of those prophecies. God has promised it. He will deliver it. May God hasten the day, so we can all see it.