Hope Rising

…we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel…
(Luke 24:21 – ESV)

We were hoping: these disciples had a hope that they felt was disappointed. Their hope was really not disappointed; but in some ways their hope was misguided (that it was He who was going to redeem Israel as a political revolutionary, right then). Really, their hope was fulfilled in a greater way than they could have ever dreamed of. How often do we want a Jesus who simply blesses us without our commitment to knowing who He truly is, and why we really need Him?

The only thing these disciples had to go on was the testimony of others, and they were slow to believe. The report of the women meant little to them, and the report of Peter and John who had seen the grave clothes meant little, because Him they did not see. The resurrection of Jesus happened as a one-time event; the power of His resurrection is an ongoing reality that will culminate in our own bodies being resurrected. Jesus wants to know from them what He wants to know from us: can we believe without seeing with our own eyes?

Jesus says they were foolish, and slow of heart to believe; we often think the main obstacles to belief are in the head, but they are actually in the heart. No matter how many intellectual arguments you may bring to the table, however, you cannot argue the fact that you are not perfect. You must be more than innocent; you must be perfect to get into heaven (Matthew 5:48). Innocence is not perfection, which is why Jesus sinless life is as important as His death and resurrection, because it is His life that He gives to us (Romans 5:10). He is Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord Our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6). It isn’t how sincere you are, or how good you are compared to the other guy, it is whether you measure up to the standard, and that standard is Jesus. You may be as good as me, but are you as good as Jesus?

Jesus acts as if He might continue on farther, but does not want to force His company on these disciples; even though they don't know this is Jesus in their midst, they know they want to spend as much time as they can with this guy! Jesus won’t always force Himself on you, but if you are interested, He will stick around and you will get to know Him better, and it is often in that process that He reveals Himself to people. We spend our lives either doing or trying to do what we are interested in. It’s the great principle of most people’s lives. If you are becoming interested in the kingdom of God, in things greater than yourself, than you are indeed closer to the kingdom than you might think. Life isn’t about just you, is it?

Sometimes we are with Jesus and we don’t even know it, until He reveals to us the condition of our hearts. Jesus can be right in front of you, walking with you and sitting down with you at every meal – and yet your eyes can be restrained from seeing Him. Pray that God would open your eyes to see Jesus as He is, with you all the time.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©