Back to Jerusalem

The amazing irony is that the word "Jerusalem," pronounced jeru-shalom, means city of peace. You know, the Bible teaches that God's people are on a pilgrimage following Jesus to the new Jerusalem. You can read in Hebrews 11:16, "but now they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, because he has prepared for them a city." Today, we're going to do something special. We're going to join some friends in old Jerusalem and hear a message about walking with Jesus to the new Jerusalem.

Doug: I'm very thankful to be here with you. And I appreciate so much all the work and preparation our friends from the tbn studios have done here in Jerusalem. And we praise God for this beautiful location, where we can just absorb the blessings of being here in the promised land. How many of you have never been in Jerusalem until this trip? Quite a few, isn't this exciting? One of my favorite stories is in this message we call "back to Jerusalem." I thought that would be appropriate. And you only find it in one Gospel.

It's in the Gospel of Luke chapter 24, last chapter. And it begins in verse 13. Now, just to give you the background, it takes place after that very dreadful and sad afternoon where Jesus is crucified. Now, it's good news for you and i, but for the disciples, it was absolute devastation because they had a whole different picture of what the Messiah was going to do. And when they saw Jesus crucified and dead, and witness him being laid in a tomb, all their hopes were completely dashed.

And after spending the Sabbath together in Jerusalem, some of the disciples began to migrate back to their hometowns. And that's where we pick up our story. Luke chapter 24, verse 13, "now, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called emmaus, which is about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of these things that had happened. And it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

But their eyes were restrained, that they did not know him." Now, as they're walking down the road, they're suddenly joined by a stranger that comes alongside of them. And that wasn't uncommon, they used to like to travel together for safety back then. So, they're commiserating with each other about the terrible thing that had happened. And as they're going, he just kind of walks alongside. And he listens for a while, he doesn't reveal who he is.

And then finally, he can't hold himself back anymore, and he says-- they don't know who he is, they don't recognize him. It says they should not know him, their eyes were restrained. And he said, "what kind of conversation is this you have one with another as you walk and are sad?" Now, what does that tell us right away? Does Jesus want us to have a sad walk? What does the word "Gospel" mean? Good news. And what does the word "good news" mean? Something that's happy, something that's joyful. Christians ought to be the happiest people in the world, right? And so, he basically chastises them and says, "what kind of conversation is this as you walk and are sad?" Now, don't miss this important point.

There's a connection between their not knowing him and their being sad. It says they did not know him and they were sad. So, at the end of the story, you're going to see that all changes, and you'll figure out what it is that changes it. So, they're walking along and he says, "what is this?" And one of them, whose name was cleopas, he's mentioned also in the book of acts, "he answered and he said to him, 'are you only a stranger in Jerusalem?'" What a thing to say to Jesus. "'And have you not known the things that are happened there in these days?' And he said, 'what things?'" Now, does God ask questions because he doesn't know, or does he ask questions 'cause he wants us to think? And sometimes he draws us out with our own--his own questions.

He said to adam, "where are you?" Well, he knew where adam was. He said to the disciples, "what were you arguing about on your way to the upper room?" He knew what they were arguing about, which of them was greatest. And so, cleopas says, "are you only a stranger in Jerusalem?" You know, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, not far away. And he was dedicated in Jerusalem. He came 12 years old and taught and asked questions in the temple.

He had been teaching and preaching for 3 1/2 years in Jerusalem. And so, it was a strange thing to ask him. And he says, "what things?" They said, "concerning Jesus of nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. And how the chief priests and all of our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one that would deliver Israel.

" Now, what does that mean when they say, "we were hoping"? That's past tense, isn't it? What had happened to their hope? It had been destroyed. "And finally Jesus said to them, 'o fools and slow of heart to believe that all the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and entered into his glory?'" And notice this, "beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." Now, how much of the Bible was written at that point? Just the old testament. And so, what does he do? He expounds in all the Scriptures, speaking of the old testament Scriptures, things concerning himself. What are the Scriptures talking about? The old testament is principally pointing us to Jesus. When you read in the Bible about adam, on the sixth day he goes to sleep, his side is opened up, and a wife is born.

Jesus on the sixth day of the week, hung on the cross, he said, "it is finished," he went to sleep, his side was opened up, and the church was born. When you read in the Bible about Abraham going up the mountain with Isaac, and Isaac has the wood on his back, and Isaac says, "father, we've got the--we've got the wood and we've got what it takes to make the fire, but where is the lamb?" And Abraham says, "my son, God will provide himself a lamb." Isaac is The Son of Abraham, and he's a willing sacrifice when they get to the top of the mountain. And just before the knife comes down, the angel stops Abraham and directs him to a ram who's caught in the-- in a thicket by a crown of thorns. It's a ram with a crown of thorns in a thorn bush. He's a type of Christ.

When you read in the Bible about Samson, who is standing, and the last act of his life, he says, "let me die." He stretches out his hands and he brings down the temple of dagon. He lays down his life to save God's people from their enemies. That is a type of Christ. Matter of fact, you can go from cover to cover in the Bible, and if you read about gideon, if you read about any of the prophets, if you read about Esther, they're all telling us something about Jesus. And so, the Bible is an amazing book.

It says he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Now, I'm going to do something I don't often do. You name an old testament story. You can call it out. Name an old testament character.

Noah. All right, the Bible tells us that Noah found grace, we find grace through Jesus, that there was only one way to be saved in the days of Noah. You had to go through the door. Jesus said, "I am the door." And it was through going in the side of that ark that they found life. And the whole world was repopulated or recreated through Noah.

It is through Christ the whole world is repopulated. Jesus is in the story of Noah. The Gospel of salvation is in the story of Noah. They are saved through grace. Noah found grace.

I want to give you a chance for more stories, name another one. Solomon. Solomon is The Son of David. Jesus is The Son of David. Solomon is the King of peace.

Jesus is The Son of peace. Solomon is the wisest of those who had ever lived. Jesus is the wisest. Solomon is the richest, Jesus is the richest. Solomon was the King of Jerusalem in its highest glory.

Jesus is the King of the new Jerusalem in the ultimate glory. And you can go on and on and find, you know, the examples of Jesus in the story of Solomon. There was a battle before Solomon was king. Someone tried to take the throne from him. And yeah, in the same way there's a battle trying to take the throne from Jesus.

Someone else. Daniel, all right, let's say-- I heard Daniel, young man over here. Daniel was never married. I won't go into the details, but trust me, he was never married. And the Bible tells us that spies followed Daniel around to find something wrong with him because the King thought to set him over the whole realm.

And they tried to find some occasion. Did spies follow Jesus around? The Bible tells us that finally they made a law, they brought an accusation against Daniel, saying that he was breaking the law of the King. It was a false accusation. Daniel was willing to die rather than deny his relationship with God. Jesus, more than anything he said, "not my will, thy will be done.

" God was first. Daniel prayed, and then he went to the lion's den. Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, which you can see not too far away over there on the mount of olives. Jesus prayed there, and then he went to the cross. They took Jesus from the cross, and they put him in a tomb, and they sealed it with a government seal.

But the devil couldn't keep him there. Daniel was placed in a tomb, in a hole in the ground full of lions, a stone was placed over the mouth, a government seal. But Jesus came out alive. And the lions, the devil is like a roaring lion, going around seeking whom he might devour. The lion could not keep Daniel.

The devil could not keep Jesus, amen? I heard some other Bible stories. Oh, you're getting excited now. Joseph I heard, okay. Now I get to pick the ones I like. Joseph, oh.

It's like Paul says, "what shall I more say?" For time would fail me to tell you of Joseph. Here you have the beloved son of an ancient patriarch. God is called the ancient of days. And he gives him a special robe. The brothers, he comes seeking their welfare.

The brothers are missing, he comes to seek his lost brothers sent by The Father. Jesus is sent by The Father to come and seek and save the lost. They take him, they throw him in a pit. Jesus is put in a tomb. They sell him as a slave for silver.

Now, it's true Joseph was sold for 20 pieces of silver and Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And you might be thinking, "Pastor Doug, that doesn't fit." But you got to keep in mind over 1,000 years go by and there's inflation in the price of a slave between the time of Joseph and the time of Judas. And he goes down to Egypt. Did Jesus also go down, spend some time in Egypt? And he's betrayed by one of the 12. They think it was simeon that was the ringleader and the one that wanted to kill Joseph.

His brothers finally come seeking bread from him, but he doesn't reveal himself to them. He speaks through a translator even though he understands everything they're saying 'cause he speaks perfect Hebrew, aramaic. They don't know that he's hearing everything. They don't recognize him. The Bible says, "Jesus came unto his own, and his own received him not.

" So often we don't recognize him. In the story of emmaus, he's walking right with his disciples, and they don't know him. Doug: don't go anywhere, friends. We'll be back in just a moment with the rest of today's presentation. No, the Bible never says that eve ate an apple, nor does it say that three wise men came to see Jesus in the manger.

Neither does the Bible say that God made a devil. So, how well do you know your Bible? And what does it really say about heaven and hell, the origin of the devil, and the second coming of Jesus?" There are so many common misunderstandings about the Word of God. That's why Amazing Facts wants to send you a special free resource called "the hidden truth magazine." It'll expose some of the most common misconceptions about the Bible. It's packed with colorful graphics, fascinating facts, and compelling Bible truths that present seven of the most misunderstood Bible subjects in a direct and captivating way. I guarantee it'll become one of your favorite witnessing tools.

To get your free copy, call the phone number on the screen and ask for offer number 832, or visit the web address. And after you read this incredible resource, be sure and share it with a friend. Let's return now to today's presentation and learn some more Amazing Facts from the Word of God. Doug: here he was, he came unto them as-- he was their brother, seeking them. They thought he was just a shepherd.

At the end of the story of Joseph, he is the King. He's second only to the King. They didn't know who he was. Jesus is second to The Father. They didn't know who he was.

He indeed is one with God as you know, but I mean, he makes himself subjected to The Father. Joseph reveals himself to his brothers at a feast. He sits down with 12. He puts them all out. There's a cup in the story that is a test.

And Jesus says, "take this cup." And it talks about bread at that dinner. Jesus says, "there's a cup and there's bread." And you know, the first thing that Joseph says when he finally--he tests them and he puts his cup in Benjamin's sack, and then he has his soldiers arrest him and say, "oh, Benjamin's got to be my slave." And he wants to know, have you really learned anything? Are you still the jealous, conniving brothers I knew, you know, 25, 30 years ago? Oh, by the way, when did Jesus begin his ministry? He was baptized at 30 years of age. When did Joseph go out to rule over Egypt? At 30. How old was David when he began to reign over hebron and then later Jerusalem? Thirty. They're types of Christ.

And so, Joseph says, "I'm going to arrest Benjamin. You guys can go home." And judah says, "no, I've offered to lay myself down for my brother." He comes to Joseph and he pours out his heart. He said, "our father will be brokenhearted if we don't come back with his son. He loves his son so much. And I've told my father that I will be a substitute.

" Now, judah's from what tribe? That's a trick question. Who's in grant's tomb? So, judah of course is the tribe of judah. What tribe does Jesus come from? Tribe of judah. Judah intercedes, he offers himself. He says to Joseph, "take me.

How can I go home and see my father brought down to the grave, his grey hairs brought down to the grave with sorrow?" Joseph can't take it anymore, he says, "these men have changed. They've spent years regretting what they did to me." And instead of getting even-- he has the power to get even. He has--and they are guilty. They were going to kill him, and then they sold him as a slave, where he suffered. He suffered in prison.

Was Jesus in prison? He forgives them. What does Jesus do for us? He not only forgives him, he feeds them with bread. And he reveals himself to his brothers. And I want to get to heaven, I want to see this dvd when I get there. I want to see the look on their faces when finally he says to them--he begins to sob and weep after Joseph reveals himself.

And they're wondering what's happened to this ruler of Egypt that's just having a meltdown. And then he sobs out in their language for the first time, "I am Joseph." Doesn't Jesus say, "I am"? And God says, "I am that I am." Jesus says, "before Abraham was, I am." And the look on the brother's face when he says, "I am Joseph," they must have thought, "oh, it's curtains now." But he says, "is my father yet alive?" More than anything, he was brokenhearted because of the separation with The Father. And I love the way the book Genesis ends, when you see The Father and The Son finally meeting, and you hear the news of Jacob when he gets the news Joseph lives. And his heart stops, and he sees the wagon train full of gifts coming from Egypt, then he believes. When he saw the gifts, then he believed.

At pentecost, people saw the gifts, and then they believe. And so, you see the Gospel story in Joseph? So, Jesus himself, he's walking down the road. And as they're going down the road and he's opening the Scriptures for them, they are just overwhelmed. They're thinking, "'wow, we've never heard anything like this. You mean to tell us that everything that happened was part of God's will?' And they drew near the village where they were going, and he indicated that he would have gone further.

But they constrained him, they begged him, 'please abide with us.'" Have you heard that song, "Abide with me, for fast falls the eventide"? It's based on this verse. It's toward evening and the day is far spent. He would have kept going, but they asked him in. Do you know we need to ask Jesus, don't we? Every day, we need to ask him in. He'll come, and he will not force himself into your life.

"And as they come and sit at the table, he took the bread, and he blessed it." He said that prayer that malcolm shared with us last night, "b'ruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha-olam hamotzi lechem min ha-aretz." That's I'm sure a corrupt english or American version, but he broke the bread, he blessed it. And it says when he broke the bread, their eyes were opened, and they knew him. He was known in the breaking of bread. How are we going to know that Jesus is who he says he is? It's in the breaking of bread. And after he revealed himself, then he disappears 'cause he wants them to know him from the bread, not because they see.

He says, "blessed are those who believe without seeing." They are so excited, they cannot constrain themself. They've just walked seven miles downhill to--by the way, notice they're going--they're back to Jerusalem down to emmaus, which means hot water. They're going from the city of peace to hot water, and Jesus saves them from hot water, and they go back to the city of peace. And it's night now, and they're going uphill. But they are happier going uphill now in the dark with Jesus, knowing he's alive, than they were going downhill in the daytime, thinking they were alone.

And when they get to the upper room and they say, "Jesus is alive, and he's appeared to Simon." They can't wait to share these news with them, they said, "he was known to us in the breaking of bread." As they are talking about Jesus, he stood in their midst. Christ said, "where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." Do you know as you talk to others about Jesus, he draws near? When did he draw near to them in the story of emmaus? As they were walking down the road talking about Jesus, he drew near. Now, they're in the upper room talking about Jesus, and he draws near. You notice Jesus will be with you when you're gathered together with the other believers. And he will be with you on the way as you're walking down the road.

He wants you to be witness not only in the upper room, he wants you to be a witness--they were sad walking down the road. They weren't converting anybody walking down the road. Jesus said, "what's this deal, you're so sad?" Spurgeon used to teach preachers. And he said to the preachers, he said, "when you preach, your face ought to reflect the subject you're talking about." Said, "if you're talking about heaven, your eyes ought to sparkle as you talk about the golden streets, and your face should shine as you talk about the pearly gates." And he said, "if you happen to be preaching about hell, just use your everyday, normal expression." Unfortunately, sometimes Christians don't look like the Gospel is good news. And we'd do a lot more to reach people if we were happier about what we believe.

And then they couldn't believe it. While they're talking about Jesus, he appears. And they were terrified and frightened, and thought they saw a ghost. Now, I want you to think about this. When they went down the road, he was with them, they saw him.

When he went up the road, he was still with them. You can read in the book "Desire of Ages," it says he was with them going up. When they entered the upper room, he entered invisible with them. He didn't break through the door, he didn't go through the walls like a ghost. He went with them, they just didn't know he was with them the whole time.

How often do we forget that Christ is with us wherever we go? And then sometimes we're afraid. They were terrified, thought he was a spirit. And he says, "no, look, I'm not--I'm not a ghost. I'm a real and a living God." He said, "peace to you." He doesn't want us sad, he wants us to have peace. "And they were terrified and frightened.

He said, 'why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your heart? Behold my hands and feet. It is I myself. Handle me and see, for the Spirit doesn't have flesh and bone as you see that I have.' When he said these things, he showed them his hands and his feet, while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled. He said to them, 'do you have any food to eat?' They gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb. He took and ate in their presence.

" Said, "look, I'm not a ghost. I'm still the same Jesus." In the resurrection, we get glorified bodies, but we're still real. God made adam and eve with a purpose. He put them in a garden to eat, and says we're going to plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them in heaven. We're going to build houses and inhabit them.

And it tells us it's very real. We're not on clouds floating around as, like, chubby cherubs shooting arrows to make people fall in love. You know, we're doing real things in the new earth. And then when he got done eating, he shared a meal with them again. He said, "these are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled that are written in the law of Moses," all the way from Moses.

You know, Moses says in Deuteronomy 18, "the Lord your God will raise up a prophet unto you like me. Him you shall hear." Jesus is that prophet like Moses that was raised up. He is the great lawgiver. "All things written in the law of Moses and the prophets." And you know, you go all the way from Moses to Malachi, where it says, "behold, I send you Elijah the prophet. Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant.

" It's all talking about Jesus all along the way. Jesus is in every line. Jesus is in Genesis, he's in Exodus, he's in Leviticus, he's in Numbers, he's in Deuteronomy, in Joshua. You know the story of Jericho. I shared that in Jerusalem last week.

Joshua is the way you say Jesus in Hebrew, yeshua. He comes, he blows the trumpets, they shout, the city walls fall, and only rahab and her family are saved. That's the story of salvation. Jesus says, "I'm coming. the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, the trump of God.

The dead in Christ will rise." There's a great earthquake, and only those who are in the house of rahab with that red rope, it's a symbol of salvation, are saved. All these stories you read about in the old testament are talking about Christ. "All things that are written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms." What did Jesus say in psalm 22? Hanging on the cross. Everyone wonders, why did Jesus say, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He was quoting from a messianic psalm. And you read later in that very psalm, what does it say? "They pierced my hands and my feet.

They gambled for my clothing," the very things that were happening right there around the cross. He's directing their attention. He didn't get discouraged. He's quoting like the priest from one of the Psalms. That was supposed to strengthen their faith.

It could be the reason the thief on the cross realized it was Jesus. "All things written in the prophets and the Psalms concerning me." And this is my last verse, "and he opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scripture." Every time Jesus met with them, it says he opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scripture. You know, they went from Jerusalem and they were sad. They came back to Jerusalem knowing that Jesus was alive, and they were happy. We're here on earth.

Our object is to get to the new Jerusalem. We need to know he's real, he's alive. How did these disciples know Jesus? He was known in the breaking of bread. Jesus said, "this is eternal life," John chapter 17, "that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ who you have sent." Announcer: don't forget to request today's life-changing free resource. Not only can you receive this free gift in the mail, you can download a digital copy straight to your computer or mobile device.

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Doug: hello, friends, Pastor Doug Batchelor here with Amazing Facts. When susan and Michael's whirlwind relationship led to a wedding, they had no idea how hard married life could be. Before they knew it, they were on the stormy path towards divorce. But that's when God led them to an Amazing Facts broadcast, and there they saw the biblical view of marriage as presented in knowing Jesus. Finally, they understood what it meant to love sacrificially like Christ.

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