An English preacher went to US to preach. He said everyone has a but. It’s very easy to see other people’s buts. It’s very hard for us to see our own buts.
A 12-year old boy was walking along with a bird cage, whistling. A man saw him and asked him what he had. The boy said he had birds, a sparrows. He said he was going to tease the two birds. After that if they survived, he’d give them to his cat. If they survived even that, he’d cook them. The man offered to purchased them for USD100. The boy said it was too much. The man paid anyway because he was concerned for the birds. He got the birds along with the cage and let them go.
The text is Lk 24:13-35.
The disciples of Jesus was like birds in a cage. Their master was captured and crucified. The terrible death of Jesus was something hard for the disciples to accept. They took his body down and put it in the tomb. They expected their master to liberate them from the oppressors.
One Sunday morning, they were huddled together in a room wondering what the Jews would do. Two of the went to the village in attempt to experience something different, seeking peace and rest.
They encountered a stranger.
Lk 24;25-27 And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! (26) Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" (27) And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
The stranger wanted them to understand.
Three pastors got a windfall. They decided to give back to God. The Baptist made a small circle and threw up the cash. Whatever is outside the circle is Gods. The Presbyterian pastor said all that is inside the circle is God’s. The last pastor (I didn’t get the denomination, put in your own) said God could keep whatever God kept in the air.
A pastor saw a dead donkey in front of his house. He called the police. The police said pastors normally take care of the dead. The pastor said they normally call the relatives first.
The disciples could not recognize who the stranger was. Sometimes we are prevented from seeing by spiritual blindness. Jesus Christ came on a mission of redemption. We are like birds caged within.
Captain Eddie Rickenbacker went on a mission with 7 others to seek General Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines. The plane malfunctioned and crashed. They were adrift on the sea for 24 days. He encouraged them with Psalm 46. One crew died. They caught a seagull and divided it as fish bait.
He was interviewed by Dr. Billy Graham.
We are all trapped in our sins. Jesus Christ has come to break the bonds and the chains and bring us out of darkness. Easter is to remember that Jesus Christ has broken the power of death. Jesus has beaten death. He has conquered death.
He has come to give us a hope and a future. He has brought about a tremendous change in the lives of the disciples.
He opened the eyes of the disciples.
Lk 24: 30-31 (30) When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. (31) And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
Here’s a description of Jesus Christ, One Solitary Life, adapted from a sermon by Dr James Allan Francis in “The Real Jesus and Other Sermons” © 1926.
“Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself...
While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen (Learner: 21 now) long centuries have come and gone, and today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.
I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built; all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.”
Questions for discussion:
- Share your personal encounter with Jesus. How has that transformed you and the present joy you have?
- Why is the element of hope so important in life? What is the basis for hope in Christ (cf 1 Pet 1:3-5)? What future hope and dreams do you share in?
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