Passion Week: Easter Monday

Activity: Gather up paper and the art supplies you love the best 

to secretly make a card for someone you love. 

Now find a place to leave it that will surprise them like their pillow, lunchbox, or work bag. 

Now wait for them to discover it 
(you've already learned waiting isn't so bad).
 Wasn't it fun to give someone a smile 

and tell them how much you love them 

without even being in the room?

On this last day of Holy Week, Easter Monday, 
let's take time to remember our journey over the past several days.

 In fact, some of Jesus' disciples did the same thing, except instead of just reviewing them among themselves, they had Jesus to talk it over with them. 

But the fun twist to this story is that they didn't recognize Jesus. They had heard Jesus had risen from the dead, but they weren't expecting Him. They didn't know what to believe. So Jesus helped them understand.

Jesus used the books of Law and the Prophets in the Old Testament 
to once again explain all that had happened.

 It foretold that the Messiah would come, be born as a baby in Bethlehem, 

that He would suffer and die for our sins, 

and that He would come to life again on the third day. 

As this mysterious Traveler continued on the road to Emmaus, 

things began to make more sense to these disciples. 

Maybe Jesus was the Messiah. 

They offered the Traveler the hospitality 

of staying at their house and having dinner. 

It was almost sunset, and the Traveler agreed.

 

Then at dinner, as the Traveler took the bread, gave thanks, and broke it---everything suddenly all made sense. 

The Traveler with them was Jesus! HE WAS ALIVE! 

Then Jesus just disappeared right in front of them! They finally understood who this was that had been teaching them and why Scriptures all made sense now: it was because of Jesus. Jesus wanted his disciples to know that God had left a “love note” for them all throughout the Bible that told of His plan and how much He loved mankind---so much in fact that He sent His Son to die for our sins. 

This love note was in plain sight all along, but the disciples had missed it! But now, they left their dinner and ran back to Jerusalem to tell Eleven Disciples gathered there that they, too, had seen the Risen Lord. That He had explained all these events that had happened. But they were honest, they said they did not recognize Him. We often don't recognize either because, like the disciples, we're not looking for Him. But how did they finally recognize Him? It was in the breaking of the bread. Jesus said “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) 

How do we recognize Him today? 

In His Word! 

He has left it as His love note 

to us as we can't see Him right now. 

We need to read it and live it out in our lives. 

And why do we need to do this? 

Like the Nard that started this Holy Week, 

when we have been in His presence 

by worship,

 prayer,

 and His word, 

we will have that “scent” 

of being with Him 

that people are drawn to. 

That scent will make others 

want to know what makes your life so different...

and then, you can tell them. 😊