SLOW OF HEART TO BELIEVE

Luke 24:25-26

Morning Meditation 7/2/16

Verses 25-26 say, “Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?”

These two disciples of our Lord are in conversation discussing the events that have taken place over the last three days. Their hoped for Messiah had been crucified. To them the death of Christ had ended their hopes that he was the Messiah. But they are also discussing the most recent reports that Jesus is risen from the dead. They are intensely interested but thoroughly confused by all this. Jesus joins them in their journey to Emmaus. He asks them for an explanation of their conversation (Lk 24:19). He let them talk until they had told him of the things that had happened. “Then he said unto them, O fools . . .”

The word “fools” (anoetos) is the translation of a word that means “not understood, unintelligible.” This is a completely different word than that found in Matthew 5:22 where Jesus said, “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” Jesus is rebuking them for an unjustified ignorance.. They are foolish and unwise and should not be. I wonder how often we find ourselves in this category. We wonder over things that we were told in advance would happen. As Christians we want peer acceptance and are upset because the world does not like us. Jesus said in Matthew 24:9 “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.” He stated the same truth in Mark and Luke. It was important that we get this point. Jesus knew the power of peer pressure. So we get under pressure from the world and start whining about it and Jesus says to us, “O fools and slow of heart to believe. . .”

Notice next what they were guilty of. Jesus said, O fools, and slow of heart to believe. . .” The word “slow” (bradus) means “stupid, slow to apprehend or believe, without sense.” Did Jesus actually call them stupid? Does he call us stupid? Yes. That may be hard for us to accept from our wonderful Lord and Saviour but it is true. When God says something, it should not have to be repeated. How many times has the Lord said things to us and we put out all kinds of fleeces? Jesus said this is a “heart” problem. We try to blame our failure on everything but ourselves. We do things and say we just didn’t know better, then we can absolve ourselves from the blame. But if it is a heart problem, it is serious. There is responsibility there. We like to think, “I may fail, but my heart is in the right place.” Jesus said their slowness to believe was of the heart.. How could this be? We are the Lord’s disciples. We have received salvation by grace absolutely and totally undeserved. And after all this, we refuse to believe what we know God has said. We want to search and make sure he actually said it. For instance Jesus said in Luke 13:3, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” I think there are a very few people on the earth that do not know what the word repent means. And professed disciples say, “What does repent mean?” When you explain it to them they say, “Oh, I didn’t know that!” I think that is a lie most of the time. When we do that we have a heart problem. I am speaking to myself first of all. We just don’t want to confess that we are “slow of heart to believe.” We need to bow before his throne and submit to his Lordship. He is Sovereign. He should never have to say anything to us the second time.

God says to believers in Hebrews 3:7-12: “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”

Where does this passage say they (Israel) “alway err.” It is in the heart. Then the Holy Spirit applies it to us when he says, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.” The neglect of acting in faith on what God says is a matter of the heart.

Then next we see what Jesus held them responsible to believe: “all that the prophets have spoken” Then he went over what the Old Testament had said of him “beginning at Moses (Pentateuch) and all the prophets” and explained to them the Scriptures that had been prophetically written of him. He expects us to believe all the Scripture. There are sixty-six books in our Bible and we are to believe it all. It is God’s Word. It is inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is infallible, inerrant, and the verbally inspired Word of God. When we are slow to believe it, we are questioning God. But you say, “What if I don’t understand?” Only God and you know if that is true. If you truly do not understand, then bow before his throne in advanced submission. Ask for illumination. He has sent a helper: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13). This does not mean that he will explain everything to you. He addresses himself to faith not reason. And reason is what makes us slow of heart to believe. He will reveal what He wants you to know about what you are praying.

There is something else that is important. While he said, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe . . .” he went to the trouble to go over AGAIN (they had studied this before or else they would not have been responsible for their unbelief) what they failed to believe the first go round. God is very patient with us. Let us remember this: he is not pleased with the “slow of heart to believe.”

Then he asks the final question: “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?” The words “Ought not” is an imperfect indicative from a word (dei) that means “right and proper.” The imperfect tense refers to incompleted action in the past without any reference to its completion. This means that these Messianic passages in the past continually sought fulfillment in the person of Christ. They could not be fulfilled by another. It took him to do it. There was no other way. He says this was necessary. The words “enter into his glory?” identifies his present session. It is impossible to imagine the scene in heaven when Jesus, the Lamb of God, returned with his own blood as the payment for sin, leading captivity captive and took his seat and the Father’s right hand.” I cannot conceive an unemotional scene. If heaven rejoices over one sinner that repents, then there was awesome joy over the return of the God-man to his rightful place beside the Father (John 17:5). There is now an unmistakable image of God sitting on the throne visible to all whom God allows to see. And he is worthy to take the seven sealed book from the invisible God, Who has now become visible, that will allow an innumerable host of believers from all nations, peoples and tongues to settle eternally in His presence and serve him. He says, “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?” Jesus said it is necessary to suffer “these things” to reclaim not only the glory for himself but for every believer of Adam’s fallen race.

May the Lord bless these words to your heart.

In Christ

Bro. White