Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Behold the compassion of the resurrected Jesus! One might think that in the enthusiasm of His newly resurrected life He is eager to be off on His new assignment in the heavenly sanctuary, but His heart is with His disappointed, discouraged ones here. His name is still "Immanuel, which is translated, 'God with us'" (Matt. 1:23).
Two men who believed He was the true Messiah are on their walk to Emmaus that afternoon of the "first day of the week" of the resurrection. Never have they known such crushing heart pain. It goes deeper than any human can fathom, for it is the pain of defeat in the great controversy with Satan; the death of Christ means the ultimate victory for Satan.
These two men feel they must conclude this: they are not mourning the loss of their own personal salvation so much as they mourn the grand defeat of God. The world (yes, the universe) is now to be plunged into hopeless despair! "We were hoping that [Jesus of Nazareth] was going to redeem Israel" (Luke 24:21)--and to them "Israel" was the only hope of the world.
The heart of the resurrected Jesus is with them as they trudge disconsolately toward Emmaus. He now teaches us that His heart is with all disappointed people all over the world, in all time. He joins these two men incognito and gently encourages them with Bible truth: "Beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (vs. 27). He is already doing His work as our High Priest! And so He ministers to you today--if you will allow Him to join you in your "walk."
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 22, 2005.
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