The Jesus sense of humor.
Well this past Sunday, the visiting preacher at my church talked about “The Seven Steps to Salvation”. This sermon was a bit different because I was taught that there were about 5 steps to salvation which I must have outlined in previous blog posts. Also, this sermon in itself made me realize the lack of preaching’s on salvation in churches in Ghana, and how much more prosperity and healing dominated the “market” so to speak. However this blog post is not about that and for those who followed my 5 steps to salvation post previously, I’ll sum up the extra two steps at the end of this post. So now legooo!!…
This #shipwrecked post is taken from the book of Luke, chapter 20,
verse… well the whole chapter. It’s not that long (pinkie swear; the bible
tends to do that nowadays).
In the early mornings of the resurrection on the first day of the
week, the women (most names withheld) found an empty tomb where Jesus had laid.
The angels (or holy bouncers at that time) told the women that Jesus had risen
from the dead. This was so shocking that they ran back to where the disciples
had gathered and told them what they had seen. The disciples did not believe
them, naturally (I wouldn’t too and would have thought it a bad joke). However,
in those times women weren’t really given as much attention as they are given
now and in my opinion, the women didn’t really mind and were somewhat content
with it - #AMAZING! Peter, the “chief disciple”, freaked out so much that he
ran to the tomb to confirm what he had heard and it was true. Jesus had risen
and had “roshed” the linen cloth used to wrap him. Who wouldn’t after rising
from the dead and affording so much power that you could be dressed in light?
Ok back to the story.
A few ways ahead, two of Jesus’ disciples, Cleopas and (name
withheld) were on their way to a ‘hood called Emmaus. Now these guys were
frustrated. The guy they thought was going to save Israel had probably burst
his bubble and they were heading back home. Here’s where the fun begins for me.
Jesus decided to do a little check up on his employees. So as the guys were on
their way, He joined them, walked beside them and asked them what they were
talking about. According to the book of John, “… they were kept from
recognizing him” by Christ’s divine omnipotence. Kinda like that TV
show… Hidden Bosses, I think. Cleopas and pal narrated everything that had
happened to Jesus back to him (story of my life indeed) and they added that “…
but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel” that
pissed Jesus off. So much that he replied “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that
the prophets have spoken!” As a result, ‘from kren-kren to kran-kran’ , which means
from beginning to end in Ghanaian English, Jesus “explained to
them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” i.e. from
the Old Testament to not so long ago, till Cleopas and his friend got to their
home. That’s when Jesus pretended to go further but according to Jewish
customs, when one presents you with insights into the Scriptures, you invite
him into your home and feed him or give him a place to stay for the night.
That’s exactly what they did. At dinner, Jesus took the bread, gave thanks,
broke it and gave it to them just like the last supper. That’s when their eyes
were open to recognize him and right then ZAP! Jesus disappeared and at once
they returned to Jerusalem over seven kilometers away to report what had
happened.
Now at Jerusalem that same evening, the disciples had gathered (probably
thinking of what the women had told them earlier and Peter’s account) when
Cleopas and co found them and began to give their account. “While they
were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’” WHAAAAT!!! I’d totally freak out and like jump out a window or
something or I’d be so scared, I’d break down and cry out of shock!
Of course, the bible said “they were startled and
frightened thinking they saw a ghost” but I think that’s an
understatement. With more than 11 people in the room the first 15 seconds would
be comedy gold.
To prove He was really alive, Jesus asked for some food and ate it
in front of them. He then opened their minds by explaining all that had
happened just as he did with Cleopas. He then led them to the outskirts of
Bethany, raised his hands to bless them and ascended into heaven in the
process. Beautiful innit?
Lessons learned from this:
- Cleopas
really had a tough time on Ascension Day as well as his friend.
- Having
faith does not come naturally. (What??? that wasn’t in the story. It still
a lesson though smh)
- Jesus
Christ our Lord and savior who died for our sins was also human,
understood (and still understands) our shortcomings and has a sense of
humor.
That concludes our shipwrecked post for today. I'm still waiting
for help off this island on the Christian seas.
PS: I mentioned earlier about the 2 steps to salvation. I’m sorry
I’ll have to talk about them later. But what I can say about them is that they
are sort of enhancers to the already known steps to salvation.
#Christianboy out.
Comments