The Wedding Feast (~19.49) - Moriel Ministries

Special Interest
Jacob Prasch
“ The Road to Emmaus”
At this time we are, by the Jewish
calendar, sandwiched in between “Hag
Mazot” and “Hag Shavu’ot” – Passover
and the Feast of Weeks, which in Christian
terms corresponds to the resurrection of
Jesus up until the day of Pentecost. It was
during this particular period of time when
Jesus, having risen from the dead, began
appearing to His disciples, beginning, of
course, in the garden with the resurrection.
He would then come and walk through
walls in Jerusalem; He would show up
on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Then
there was His famous encounter on the
road to Emmaus, which is what we will
look at here.
What Happens to Jesus
Happens to Us
Let us begin with the Hebrew prophet
Hosea – “Howshea Ha’Nabiy.”
“Come, let us return to the LORD. For
He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but He will bandage
us. He will revive us after two
days; He will raise us up on the third
day, That we may live before Him. So
let us know, let us press on to know
the LORD. His going forth is as certain
as the dawn; And He will come to
us like the rain, Like the spring rain
watering the earth.” (Hosea 6:1-3)
We have here three verses, each with a
prophecy about Jesus, but somehow Hosea
says they equally apply to us in some sense.
“Let us return to the LORD.” “Return”
is “tesuba,” the Hebrew word for “repent”
meaning to turn back to God. We think of
repentance as when we are born again, but
Jesus tells the assembly at Ephesus, an assembly
with correct doctrine and good
work, to return to their first love. (Rev 2:4,5)
But then we read…
“…He has torn us, but He will heal
us; He has wounded us, but He will
bandage us.”
What happened to Jesus? He was
wounded. The same term is used in Isaiah
– literally, “He was cut into” (Is. 53:5)
– “paga” means “cut into.” This word
“paga” – “wounded,” “cut into” – is the
source of the Hebrew word “to intercede”
which means to be wounded on behalf of
another. And although there is a wounding,
the Lord brings a healing. On the cross
Jesus was wounded on our behalf, but of
course in the resurrection, as it were, He
was healed. And when the Lord wounds
us, He likewise bandages us.
He will revive us after two days; He
will raise us up on the third day, That
we may live before Him.
What happens to Jesus happens to us.
It is not just saying Jesus rises on the third
day, but it says we rise up on the third day.
His death is our death; therefore His resurrection
is our resurrection. Think of the
resurrection as prolific.
We are not waiting for the Rapture or
the resurrection; the Rapture and the resurrection
are already underway. We are
waiting for our role in it. The resurrection
began with the First Fruit – Jesus was
the First Fruit of the resurrection (1 Cor.
15:20). Because His death is our death,
His resurrection is our resurrection. The
resurrection has already begun and we are
simply waiting for our role in it. Likewise
with the ascension; the Rapture has already
begun. We are not waiting for the Rapture;
we are waiting for our role in it. This is
why Hebrews 1 provides the context, “in
these last days” (Heb. 1:2), because we are
already in the Last Days. The Rapture and
resurrection have already begun.
The best way I explain this is the example
of the Normandy Invasion, so-called
“D-Day,” in June of 1944. Officially, D-Day
was June 6, 1944, but it actually began on
June 5, when American and British commandos
were being dropped behind German
lines by parachute and were cutting
communications lines. But it was a secret.
It was not known what actually happened.
Even though the invasion of Normandy began
on June 5 th , only certain people knew it
was the invasion. It was not until the next
day, D-Day, that everybody knew what
was happening when the amphibious landings
took place on the beaches.
It is the same thing with the Last Days.
The Last Days have already begun, but
only the initiated know it. Only we know
it. It began with the resurrection and the ascension
of Jesus – the world does not know
it yet. We are like the British and American
commandos who were parachuted behind
the German lines to prepare the way for
the big invasion. We are simply here to
usher in the coming age, the return of the
Lord. Jesus will return and the invasion is,
indeed, coming. The invasion is already
underway. We are simply waiting for it to
become obvious to everybody else, but we
know it is happening already.
His death is our death, his resurrection
is our resurrection. But then it continues…
So let us know; let us press on to know
the LORD. His going forth is as certain
as the dawn;
Again, all four Gospels say He rose
on “Hag Ha’Mazot,” the Hebrew Feast
of First Fruits, the first day of the week,
at dawn when it was still dark. But then it
says as a prophecy of Pentecost…
And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain watering the
earth.” (Hosea 6:3)
The outpouring of rain forming in the
water table, “maim hayim” – “living water”
– is a metaphor for the Holy Spirit.
12 Moriel Quarterly • December 2009