Passover to Pentecost – Other Contacts

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Passover to Pentecost – Other Contacts         Week 3 Day 7

The 500

Paul in 1 Corinthians 15: 6 is the only writer to mention this meeting.  Matthew may refer to it in his Gospel, but there were probably many unrecorded meetings.  Who could these five hundred have been?  How many had been part of the seventy-two missionaries Jesus had sent out?  Had they been part of the 9000 men who had been fed on those two special days by the Sea of Galilee?  Had they followed Him through Nain when He raised the dead son?  This list could go on for a while but several Gospels make the point that people still doubted when they saw Jesus during these forty days of the Resurrection.  Even in this doubt Jesus met with them, fed them, and taught on His Kingdom.

How many of these people joined the Apostles in the Upper Room for prayer and so were counted in the 120 on the day of Pentecost no one records that.  Were the other 380 in the crowd when Peter preached the first post-Jesus sermon?  We do know that people professed to having been there because Paul says most of them were still alive when he wrote to the Corinthians.  So His presence must have healed the doubt and strengthened their lives.  I cannot prove this but I like to think that this meeting took place on Mount Tabor and that it would have been after the second month Passover but before the Ascension. (A post on this will be available on May 10th, the next full moon.)

James

This should be Jesus’ half-brother James, the author of the epistle and the head of the Jerusalem Church.  Jesus knew he had a job to do, but the only mention of Jesus’ brothers was of them mocking Him about Passover or being with Mary trying to retrieve her “crazy” son.  Imagine having Jesus as an older brother!  What must the family thought when He turned water into wine and started having crowds of people following after Him to be healed.  This private conversation did the work because in those ten days from the Ascension to Pentecost Mary His mother and His brothers are listed as those present in the upper room constantly praying.  So for those living in the shadows of family members Jesus wants to meet you in the Resurrection and give you your job.

Most of this was posted in my blog called  Restorations With The Resurrection

Passover to Pentecost – Thomas

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Passover to Pentecost – Thomas         Week 3 Day 6

We have seen the Lord. John 20:25 (NIV)

Thomas the future apostle to India was not at Jesus’ first visitation at the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  His story is set at the end of the Feast and would be the eighth day (the number of new beginnings).  In the first Passover the Israelites were out of Egypt on the other side of the Red Sea partying.   He, in true form of the other disciples refused to believe words that sounded like nonsense.  I hope he was with his family for the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread but the fact is that he had left the group during a time when you might have expected everyone to be together.  So Jesus shows Himself again (during the meal closing the Feast that celebrates His sinless life) proclaims “Peace” and sets about to restore a prodigal son and chosen leader.  His doubts and those of the other disciples could be linked with all of the complaining and testing the Israelites did in the first fifty days.   It must be noted here that they still have not left for Galilee.

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Passover to Pentecost – Reflections

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Passover to Pentecost – Reflections

Writing Passover to Pentecost has been a challenge; to choose topics, study, and write fifty-six posts in approximately seventy days.  These are things that just stood out as I went through the process of doing this series.

  1. After reading the account of the first Passover and its requirements for participation, I see no problem with a local church having events that the general public is not invited too. In fact, I would encourage “family only” meetings.
  2. The biblical day and calendar is a completely different mindset. It is nice to think of starting your day with rest.
  3. Procedures and rules will take over when the power of the Holy Spirit is absent from church meetings.
  4. There should be days and times of the year that should be remembered and made special. The feast are celebration times that God ordained to have people stop and think of Him and what He has done us.
  5. Resting one day a week and like on feast days literally have two or more days in a row where you do no work, expect to reflect on the mercies of God.
  6. Pray and forgiveness
  7. Complaining, especially about miracles, is not a good thing. If it has anything to do with food (what the Lord has provided) it is really a good idea to just keep quiet.

Passover to Pentecost – Easter Morning Meetings

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Passover to Pentecost – Easter Morning Meetings         Week 3 Day 5

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning. Luke 24:1 (NIV)

Four different Gospel writings, four different writers giving their perspectives should give you four slightly different stories.  That is one reason the Easter story is believable.  These are the meetings that people had that are included in the “whole” story.

Women – The Women of the Resurrection add the human element to the story of Easter Sunday morning.  Having watched Joseph bury Jesus they realized that more could/should have been done.  They had appointments with the angels, possibly more than once.  The angel’s physical appearance should have left little doubt or added to the reality of their message that Jesus was alive, they had to tell the others, and they all needed to go to Galilee.  The meeting they had with Jesus makes perfect sense because I am sure the women were in shock from the angels, and Jesus wanted them clear in their resolve when they met with the “others.” I can imagine the meeting with the Eleven and the other people with them did not go well and they were labeled as hysterical.

Peter – This reference is one line from the disciples who ran back from Emmaus.  It is Luke 24: 34.  Apparently, after Peter and John ran to the empty tomb and left with a lot of questions, they separated and Peter was by himself.  Jesus must have shown Himself to Peter and talked with him.  This was not Peter’s re-installment as an Apostle.  My guess was it was a show of positive ministry, why?  Peter did not go out and hang himself like Judas did.  It would seem from the verse in Luke that he was not taken seriously either.

Guards – Their two appointments are important to the total story and are found in Matthew 28.  I did actually read a form of verse 15 several years ago in a Jewish publication (the body was stolen). (I do not have a reference for that last statement, I will add it if I find it again.)  Their first appointment started with a rolling stone because of an earthquake.  They took their meeting with the angel as deathly serious.  That leads to the second meeting they had that day and it was with the chief priest and elders, who were probably not too happy about having their Passover celebration interrupted.  It is interesting that they believed the eyewitnesses and acted accordingly.  It is a shame that their hard hearts would not allow them to change.

http://clipart.christiansunite.com/Easter_Clipart/The_Resurrection_Clipart/index3.shtml

Passover to Pentecost – Emmaus

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Passover to Pentecost – Emmaus         Week 3 Day 4

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus. Luke 24: 13 (NIV)

How many times have we read this story and been captivated by the miraculous events. A crucified Jesus appears to two disciples as they leave Jerusalem.  He teaches them the truth about Him, and then disappears as He breaks bread.  This story in Luke has twenty-three verses, that is the most of any single Easter Sunday story.  I added this story to the list of things to write about because it happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  I had it planned out and it was going to be cut and dry.

I have heard several times from different teachers that these men were simple going the wrong direction.  Emmaus is not on the way to Galilee and Jesus was just redirecting them.  That would have worked with the Cloud leading the people during the Exodus and I was happy:D  BUT!

I let my “teacher” nature kick in, then I thought about it as a writer, and suddenly I was not as happy as I had been.  The more I studied the deeper the questions got, and the less I liked MY answers.  Here are most of the questions:

  1. Where was Emmaus? (No, one knows. There are several possible sites.)
  2. Who was Cleopas? Who was the other disciple, could it have been Barsabbas or Matthias (Acts 1: 23)?  (In Scripture Cleopas is only mentioned once.)
  3. Why had they left? Family obligations or were they fearful or disillusioned?
  4. Had they been in the Upper Room and the Garden?
  5. Were they the only ones who had left the group?
  6. Why had only Peter and John gone to the tomb?
  7. Have I, in the last three weeks, covered any of the things He explained to them?
  8. Could this story be covered in any of the typology of the first or second Passover?
  9. Was He “going on” because He had others to reach?
  10. Who were the “others” when they got to the Eleven?
  11. Why did they finally recognize Him as He broke bread?
  12. Why did the Holy Spirit include this story in the Gospels?

I will try #11 and give an attempt at #12.  After several miles of walking and all the teaching they had gotten, they finally “got” they meaning of the manna or “Bread of Heaven.”  My hope is the Holy Spirit knew Theophilus (1:3) needed the encouragement that Jesus could work with doubt!

http://www.freebibleimages.org