Luke 24, Emmaus road — Daniel Rudge

The Road to Emmaus in Luke 24

Now tonight we're going to read in Luke's Gospel please, Luke's Gospel, and I want you to turn to the very last chapter in the Gospel, Luke chapter 24. Luke's Gospel chapter 24. Now I suppose as I've had the privilege to take various meetings over the past week in this part of the US, I've just been seeking to direct the attention of the Saints to the person of the Lord Jesus, and we've been looking at a good few types in the Old Testament, but tonight the Lord just laid it upon my heart to share something with you about this road to Emmaus, and of course in this account here in Luke 24 we're going to see something of the person of the Lord Jesus.

So let's read the account together, very very well-known words, I understand that, but Luke 24 and verse number 13. Now if you're dividing up the section, the story, you might just write over verses 13 to 20, the highway, and behold, says Luke, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about three score furlongs, and they talked together of all these things which had happened.

Now of course this is Resurrection Day, so they are talking about all that happened to the one that they supposed had been the Messiah, had been the Christ, he's been crucified at Jerusalem, and this pair are talking together of all these things.

And it came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them, but their eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, what manner of communications are these that you have one to another as you walk and are sad?

And the one of them whose name was Cleopas answering said unto him, art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, what things?

And they said unto him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty indeed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and have crucified him.

The Hope They Had Placed in Christ

But we trusted, we hoped. Now that brings you on to the next section. So if verses 13 to 20 is the highway, I know verse 21 you're still on the highway, but look, we trusted, we hoped. So in verses 21 to 27, not so much the highway, but the great hope that this pair, these people, had in Christ.

We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished which were early at the sepulchre, and when they found not his body they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels which said that he was alive.

And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre and found it even so as the women had said, but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

Ought not, must not, Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

The highway and the hope. Now verses 28 to 31, the home, and they drew nigh unto the village whither they went, and he made as though he would have gone further, but they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.

And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass as he sat at meat with them, he took bread and blessed it, and break, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight.

And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us? Now that's the final section, and you know what that is. Not the highway, the hope, the home, it's the heart. And we won't make it just to these verses tonight, but they said one to another, Did not our heart, now that's singular, burn within us?

While he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures. You know that Luke chapter 24 is a section, is a chapter that's full of open things. And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them saying, Now this is what the eleven and them that were with them were saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

And they, that's the two on the road to Emmaus, they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of bread. Now that's all I want to read, and God of course he adds a blessing to the reading of his word.

Luke's Gospel: Pairs, Contrasts, and Hospitality

Now just before I speak to you on those three sections, the opening sections that we read, I want to speak about the highway, the hope, the home. Just before I do that I want to say a word of introduction really to this account of the two on the road to Emmaus.

I was asked recently, good question, I was asked recently why is it that Luke closes his gospel with a reference to these two on the road to Emmaus. There is of course one of the other gospel records that makes a very very short reference to this, but Luke expands it for us.

So why is Luke so interested in these two that are on the road to Emmaus? Well let me suggest this to you, that in fact the whole of this account, it really summarizes a huge number of the themes that have been running through Luke's gospel.

Now if you are taking notes, I'm not chiding you if you're not taking notes, if you are taking notes, pen at ready, here comes some gospel gold. Well I enjoy this sort of thing anyway. You see Luke has a huge amount of themes that are running through his gospel and one of the themes that Luke has is the theme of pairs.

Very often when Luke brings individuals before you, it's actually a pair of individuals and very often because Luke has the peace offering in view, you'll have to follow all these things for yourself, I'm sorry I just don't have the time, but very often these pairs are male and female.

So that Luke will present right at the outset Zacharias and Elizabeth and he'll present to you Mary and Joseph and he'll present to you Simeon and Anna and he'll present to you other pairs like the rich man and Lazarus, like the publican and the Pharisee and then you come to the end of Luke's gospel and lo and behold, verse 13, two of them.

So that's one of Luke's themes, it's pairs of individuals. Another of Luke's themes seems to be contrasts. Have you noticed? So Luke speaks about rich and poor. He speaks in chapter 15 about lost and found.

You say, where's the contrast in this story? Oh that's easy. Look at the end of verse 17. What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another as ye walk and are sad? You say, where's the contrast that by the end of the story their heart is burning within them?

They're rejoicing aren't they? As they're making their way back to Jerusalem. So you have pairs, you have contrasts. Luke is a gospel of houses. It's a gospel of hospitality. What are some of the houses?

You read about Levi's house. You read about Simon the Pharisee's house. You read about the house of Zacharias. You read about the house of Martha. And in many of these houses the Lord Jesus was the guest.

And you come to the end of Luke's gospel and there's another house. And this time it's Cleopas and dare I suggest this, his wife. Well maybe his wife. I like to think his wife. Cleopas and his wife inviting the Lord Jesus into their home and there to share hospitality with him.

Priesthood and Journeys in Luke's Gospel

So you have pairs, you have contrasts, you have houses and hospitality. Just two more. Luke's gospel is a gospel of priesthood isn't it? It begins with a priest. That priest is Zacharias and there he is in the holiest and he's offering up incense.

When you come to the end of the gospel, the very end of the gospel, you'll find that the disciples are worshipping him. They're continually in the temple praising and blessing God. So it begins with priesthood, it ends with priesthood and the road to Emmaus is about priesthood.

You say I didn't notice that. Yes you did. What is the Lord Jesus doing with these two? He's teaching them. That was the responsibility of the priest. It was to teach and he teaches them from the Scriptures.

Oh but not just that. Did you notice that when he came into the house he was the one that took bread? Isn't that strange? That's the responsibility of the head of the house. But wherever Christ is he is head and he takes the bread and he breaks the bread and that again is an action really of priesthood.

Why? Well do you remember Melchizedek? Priest of the Most High God. He brought forth, didn't he, bread to strengthen, wine to cheer, the heart of Abraham. So there's just a little hint in this story I would suggest of priesthood and of course the last thing to say is this.

Luke's gospel is full of journeys. It is full of journeys. You say what about that Good Samaritan? Do you remember the Good Samaritan? A certain Samaritan as he journeyed, came to where he was. That reminds us of the journey of the Lord Jesus doesn't it?

From heaven to earth. In fact Luke says this in chapter 13 he says of the Lord Jesus, he went through the cities and villages teaching and journeying towards Jerusalem and if the Lord Jesus spent his life journeying towards Jerusalem now you have two individuals who are journeying away from Jerusalem, from Jerusalem to Emmaus.

Now Luke I suppose wouldn't like that because Jerusalem, Luke mentions Jerusalem more than any of the other Gospels almost put together. Jerusalem was where things happened. They speak of his decease which he would accomplish at Jerusalem and now you've got two individuals that are walking away from Jerusalem.

Thank God after a meeting with the Lord I'll soon be heading back to rejoice with the disciples. So that's why Luke has this account at the end of his gospel. Something else. Now listen carefully please because all of the practical teaching that will come forth from this tonight stems from the statement I'm about to make.

Disappointment and the Sufficiency of Christ

Think about these two. They were initially, they were full of doubt, they were full of disappointment, they were full of despondency, they were full of despair, they were full of disillusionment, they were full of distraction because they did not have a proper appreciation of the person of Christ.

Now we can make that very practical tonight. Do you know it just might be possible that we are in fact Emmaus Christian and if you take this journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus as an image, as a picture of the Christian life and here we are making our journey through the wilderness towards that place called Emmaus where we're on our way home to heaven.

Do you know it's just possible that as we walk the Christian life we can become disappointed. I might be speaking to some disappointed Christians here tonight. You might be saying to me Dan it's not so much disappointment maybe it's despondency.

Something's happened. I'm experiencing this. It's caused me some kind of despair or maybe it is that I'm distracted. I'm affected as I'm seeking to live my Christian life. Listen I want to say this very lovingly and compassionately.

If that is the way that we are as Christians tonight it is because we have a deficient appreciation of the person of Christ. You understand what I'm saying? These two said we hoped. We thought it was him.

We thought this was the Christ. We thought he was going to deliver and yes he is and he's all of those things. But they hadn't quite latched on to his words. They hadn't quite understood all that the prophets had to teach.

They were interested in the glory but they'd missed the suffering. So they didn't have a full appreciation of Christ and as a result they were disappointed and they were disappointed. Thank God he changed all of that didn't he?

But if you say to me tonight you know Dan Christian life isn't just what I expected and it's just not going as swimmingly and this is happening and that's happening and then I just really want to direct you back to him because when we have a full appreciation of him then everything else, I'm not saying it's easy, oh no no, everything else just takes its proper and right place because we see him for who he is.

Satisfaction in life is Christ isn't it? That's really what I'm trying to say. You know even as Christians sometimes we think that satisfaction in life is getting a really good job and we think that satisfaction in life is being well having lots of money in the bank and we think that satisfaction in life is about having lots of children or well no actually it's Christ.

That's what satisfies the believer. I was reading Psalm 17 recently. What does it say? It says I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. You can read it like this I shall be satisfied with thy presence.

That's it. Just to be in the presence of the Lord it brings satisfaction in life. Now let me just summarise the Emmaus road like this. Right from the outset I take it that Christ was the subject of their conversation.

That was what they were talking about even before he appeared and he talked with them and that's a good thing. I wonder if Christ is the subject of our conversation. It seems to me, now it won't be the case here I know that, but it seems to me that saints are only too happy to talk to you about anything except for Christ.

I know some believers back home you know they will keep you at the hall at the door of the Gospel Hall for two hours talking about formula one. I don't know anything about formula one. But if you turn the conversation to the scriptures they're away with you as fast as you can.

Nothing to say. Now listen, I'm summarising. Christ was, here's the answer to Christ being the absolute satisfaction in life. Christ was the subject of their conversation, one. He became the substance of their Bible study, didn't he?

Because he showed them in all of the scriptures the things concerning himself. So the subject of their conversation, the substance of the Bible study, the centre of their home. He became the centre of their home and he was the song of their witness.

I tell you that's the answer to satisfaction in Christian life. To make Christ the subject of our conversation. To make Christ the substance of our Bible study. To make Christ the centre of our homes.

We say oh we'll have him in the Gospel Hall but we don't want him at home. Oh no. He's to be the centre of our homes and when all of those things are in place do you know he'll be the song of our lips?

He'll be the song of our witness. Well that's enough by way of introduction. Let me lead you through some of the statements here. Verses 13 to 20. I want to speak to you about the highway. Now I can't tell you whether this is the third or the fourth resurrection appearance.

The Highway: Christ Draws Near in Our Need

I think probably it is the fourth but it's the first resurrection appearance you have in Luke's Gospel. You remember that the Lord Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene. We could spend the rest of the meeting talking about that.

Remarkable that he should appear first on resurrection ground to a woman. To Mary Magdalene. That was the first resurrection appearance. The second resurrection appearance you read about that in John 20.

The second resurrection appearance to the other women. You read about that in Matthew 28. And then as this pair get back to Jerusalem they say he's appeared to Simon. So I take it that the Lord appeared thirdly to Simon Peter.

And that means that this appearance on resurrection day to these two on the road to Emmaus was the fourth resurrection appearance of the Lord Jesus. Now they're traveling to a village called Emmaus. We don't know today where Emmaus was.

But there are two or three locations, likely locations, and all of them are out to the west of Jerusalem. But we do know because the Scriptures tell us, verse 13, it was about three score furlongs distance.

Now I don't understand furlongs but as I understand it that is about seven miles in distance. How long would it take you to walk seven miles? Well apparently about two hours 15 minutes at a decent pace.

So two hours 15 minutes to walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus. And I know they might have paused, in fact they did pause, but isn't it amazing? In two hours 15 minutes and maybe just a little longer the Lord expounds to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Now verse 13 says, and behold two of them. Now you say two of who? Two of them? Well if you look back at verse number nine it says that they returned from the sepulcher and told, now this is the women, and told all these things unto the eleven and to all the rest.

And then Luke says, verse 13, behold two of them. So you say who are the them? Either two of the eleven or two of the rest. Well this is the way you have to do your Bible study. Because of course when you get to the latter verses, once they come back to Jerusalem they told the eleven what they'd seen.

So what's the point I'm trying to make? Two of them are not two of the eleven, they're two of the rest. Make it practical. Christ appeared on the Emmaus road. Are you listening? The two of the rest. I like that.

Now he did appear to the Apostles and he did appear to Peter. But you say now on this Emmaus road he's just drawing near to ordinary people. Just ordinary people. They're just two of the rest. And he's going to meet them in their need.

Here's a pair who have long faces. They're very sad. But Christ cares for them and he draws near to them. You say Dan I'm not a somebody, I'm a nobody. So am I. You say I'm not like the great Apostles, I'm just two of the rest or one of the rest.

So am I. But thank God Christ is interested in us isn't he? Whatever the difficulty, whatever the trouble, remember this, he draws near to us in our need. We might think we're insignificant, we are. But Christ thinks we're significant.

We are important to him. Love the fact that he drew near to two of them. Now I want you to notice something about their conversation. It's very important. Luke makes a great deal of it. You'll notice that in verse 14 it says and they talked together.

Now I'm going to paint you a little picture so you get the idea. These two who are walking the road, first of all they are talking together. Now that's in the imperfect tense which means they were talking and talking and talking over and over and over again.

You see why I think it was husband and wife? Okay I don't want to offend anybody but they're talking over and over. That's the thought. Now something else. Not just that they were talking together but look at verse 15.

They communed together and reasoned. Now that word reason means to try and search out an explanation. It really is the thought of debating. So they're talking, talking, talking, talking. They're reasoning.

They're trying to search out an explanation. They are debating. And there's something else because when you come to verse 17 the Lord says, what manner of communications are these that ye have one to another?

And that little phrase there, have one to another, is a very special word in the Greek antibalo which means to throw back and forth. It's almost as if they were having a verbal game of volleyball. They were throwing words one to another.

They were batting it back and forth. So these individuals, they are full of words. There's a very practical point to be made here and it's this. They were so full of words they failed to recognize that the answer to all their problems had just drawn alongside.

Verse 15 says, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. So absorbed in their despair they were unconscious of the presence of the devil. I can prove that to you. Verse 17, just the end of the statement, the Lord Jesus appears, doesn't he?

He's walking with them. He speaks to them. He says, what manner of communications are these that you have one to another? Look at the last phrase, as ye walk and are sad. The revised version puts it like this, and they stood still looking sad.

It's almost as if they were so absorbed in their conversation that the Lord Jesus appears alongside and he goes with them. And they haven't even realized. He's walking along in their presence. They don't know he's there until all of a sudden he speaks and then they stop.

Somebody's here. And they're looking sad. Interesting, you know, sometimes we are so full of self-pity. We can be so full of despair that we fail to see the divine answer has been with us all along. You say, what's the divine answer?

He is. Peter says, casting all your care upon him for he careth for you. That does not mean cast it upon him just before you go to bed and in the morning grab it back off him again. Peter doesn't mean that.

Doesn't mean to say you don't care. Doesn't mean to say we aren't affected by these things and experience sorrow. But he says cast that care upon him. The divine answer is with us all along. Just so that he might bear something of that burden.

And do you know what I think is just beautiful? They say, isn't it ironic in verse 18, they say, are you a stranger in Jerusalem? Don't you know what's come to pass in these days? Don't you know? Does he know?

Does he know about it? He was the very center of it all. And they're saying to him, don't you know? You know, the Lord Jesus, in a sense, he could have stopped and he could have said, well, what do you want me to tell you about?

I'll tell you what you don't know. I'll tell you everything from beginning to end. I'll tell you what was my experience. He doesn't say that. He said, look at the beauty of this. He says, what things?

Essentially, he's saying to this pair, tell me. Tell me. He knows it all from beginning to end far better than them. But isn't this just the ministry of the great high priest? He says, what thing? So he desires his people to unburden themselves upon him.

He knows the problem. He knows it better than they do. But he loves, he loves for his people to unburden upon him. It's no different with us, please. That's our responsibility. That's his privilege, for us to unburden ourselves upon him.

He knows it anyway. But he desires us just to let it all out in his presence that he might bear the burden. And I tell you, did they let it all out? You just see the verses that follow. You can't stop them.

Off they go. They're telling everything that there is to be told. Listen to Psalm 62. Trust in him at all times, ye people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us. Isn't it beautiful? And didn't they just pour out their heart?

Now one more thing and we'll move to the hope. Verse 16 says this. What do you make of this? But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. Why's that? You see, if this pair were so distressed, and they were, they were so distressed because the one they thought that was the Christ has been crucified and slain, why did he not just appear in all his resurrection glory and say, here I am, it's me.

Show them the nail prints, make it clear. They would have been turned from sorrow to rejoicing in an instant. But the Word of God says, their eyes were holden. That's actually in the passive so that I suggest to you it is God who is controlling, who is restraining their eyes, that they might not recognize who he is.

Faith Rooted in Scripture Rather Than Experience

Why? Now this is fundamental. It is critical, please. All of the resurrection appearances of the Lord Jesus depend really upon the statement I'm about to make. Christ is going away, isn't he? He's going to glory.

They have been dependent upon him for three and a half years. He's been crucified, he's been raised from the dead, now in a matter of days he is ascending to the Father and with the Father he will remain until he comes again.

So in all of these resurrection appearances he is seeking to wean them off his personal physical presence with them. He's preparing them for the time of his absence. Now if he had appeared in some kind of sensationalist appearance then they would have put their faith and placed their faith in an experience.

But he doesn't do that. What he does is he roots their faith in what? He roots their faith in the Word of God. Did you notice that? He opens the scriptures to them and he says now listen, must not Christ.

This was written and this was written. So he's rooting their faith in the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Faith must be anchored, firmly rooted in scripture. You see come two years down the line and they were going through some sort of persecution for the name of Christ, they would have remembered back and had it just been an appearance they might have said to themselves, well was it really him?

Did we really see him? Was it just a ghost? Was it our imagination? But now two years down the line when they're suffering persecution they can pick up the Word of God and they can say there it is. It was to be expected.

This is what Christ said all along. We're on our way to glory but first comes suffering. So he roots their faith in the Word of God, not in sight and not in sensation. It's sad to say there are many Christians today who have their faith rooted in experience, in some kind of ecstatic sensation.

My brother, my sister, not us to know. Our faith must be, it is, firmly rooted in the Word of God. That's where we place all of our confidence and thank God for it. So you have the highway. Now let's explain a little more of the hope, verses 21 to 27.

The Hope of Suffering Before Glory

These sections are not evenly balanced in my notes, okay? Don't fear, do not fret. The latter two sections are very brief because I've got 16 minutes. So the hope 21 to 27. These pair, of course, they're pouring out their heart.

They say we, verse 21, trusted. We hoped that it had been he. They were looking for a redeemer of the nation of Israel. Let me explain. Their hope, quite frankly, was self-centred. You say self-centred?

They hoped that Christ had been the one who would redeem the nation of Israel, meaning he would deliver Israel from Roman oppression. He would deliver them from the Roman yoke of political bondage and that's what they wanted.

That's what they expected and quite frankly, that was a self-centred hope. So they were looking for some sort of national redemption by power and they failed to recognise that first there needed to be a personal redemption and that would come through the precious shed blood of the Lamb.

You say, does the Lord Jesus take it easy with them? Well, verse 25, he says, you're fools. You say that sounds a little harsh. Well, really, the word fool there is the thought of lacking in understanding.

He says, you just don't understand what God has revealed. Look again at what he says in verse 25. Oh, unwise ones and slow of heart, this is important, to believe all that the prophets have spoken. So they were lacking in understanding.

Why? Because they did not believe all that the prophets had spoken. Did you know that the Jews were the same today? They're just the same today. You see, the Old Testament scriptures speak of a glorious Messiah, a victorious Messiah, but they also speak of a suffering Messiah.

You say, how could you miss Psalm 22? How could you miss Isaiah 53? And what these individuals had done was this. They had a selective hearing problem. Now, all males have a selective hearing problem, but this pair, they had chosen the scriptures that they desired and wanted to believe and they left the others concerning a suffering Messiah and chosen not to heed.

So they did not have a full understanding of all of God's purposes in relation to the Lord Jesus. Now, that's what the Jews do today. You say, how can they miss Isaiah 53? Well, they don't miss it, but they don't apply it to the Messiah.

They apply Isaiah 53 to a suffering servant, a righteous servant, sure, but not the Messiah. He's glorious. He will not suffer. They've missed the whole counsel of the Word of God. So you see, the Lord Jesus is going to have to teach them.

Isn't it gracious? He is going to have to teach them the whole picture. He's going to teach them the full picture. So verse 26, ought not, must not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory.

Here's the full picture. God's great plan. God's great purpose. It involves suffering before the glory. Let's not forget it. And beginning at the prophecy of Malachi. No, no. And beginning at Psalm 22, because that's the obvious place to start, isn't it?

To teach them about the suffering. And then you remember what the Lord said in Psalm 22, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? I am a worm and no man. Psalm 22. Take them there. Teach them about the suffering.

Psalm 24. Do you know the one who is a worm and no man in Psalm 22, in Psalm 24, he's the Lord of glory. He's the King of glory. That would be the way to teach them, wouldn't it? Suffering, glory. Where does he begin?

Well, it's not rocket science. He starts at the beginning. He starts at the beginning of the Bible. Beginning at Moses, from Moses and all of the prophets, he expounded unto them in all of the scripture, the things concerning himself.

Why did he begin at the beginning? Because revelation in the Word of God is progressive, and it builds statement upon statement, and precept upon precept. So he starts at the beginning, and he engages them in a systematic Bible study, from beginning to end, that they might just see the truth.

By the way, there's a great deal to be said for systematic Bible study. You understand that? Oh, it's nice to dib and dab, but there is absolutely nothing that can take the place of systematic Bible readings in the local assembly, systematic Bible teaching in the local assembly, and your own personal systematic Bible study.

That's what the Lord did. That's his example. And he expounded. Now, here's one for the teachers. He's expounding. What does it mean? To explain clearly and thoroughly. That's what a Bible teacher does.

He explains clearly, okay, and thoroughly. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes diligence. It requires gift. And the word expound is actually a word that's used in the original native Greek to translate something into one's native language.

So it's almost as if he's taking all of the Old Testament and translating it into a language that they can understand and assimilate. He's expounding onto that. Now, I want to move on to the home, and I'm going to finish with the home, but don't just miss this bit.

He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning the church. Not the church. I'm just checking if you're still with me. But that would have made sense, wouldn't it? Well, the church is about to be established.

Acts chapter 2 is 50 days down the road. Lord, I know the church isn't in the Old Testament, but pictures are. Expound unto them the things concerning the church. They'll need that. Doesn't say that. He expounded unto them all the things concerning Israel.

It doesn't say that either. Now, Israel is precious to God. He's not forgotten about them. He's going to take them up again. The church is very, very precious to the Lord Jesus. Very precious to him. He loves her.

But the center of all of God's purposes from eternity to eternity is not Israel, not the church. It's Christ. And so he expounds unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Please, the center of God's purposes is Christ.

That is God's master plan. And he has ordered every detail for the glory of Christ and for the honor of his name. Do you remember what Paul says in Colossians 1? He prays that the saints at Colossae might be filled with the knowledge of the will of God.

And that does not mean God's will for my life today. What should I be doing? Should I go shopping or not? What kind of scriptures should I be teaching the saints this evening? It doesn't mean that. It has to do with God's great purpose and plan in Christ.