ICEL The Gospel in a nutshell ?! 1) Introduction 1) Introduction *Can we summarize the essence of the Christian belief? *‘Jesus is the answer’. But what is the question? *The negative and the positive aspects of a summary. *Different reactions on the statement that Jesus is our Redeemer.

ICEL 2. The time between Easter and Ascension. *Jesus appearance to the disciples: He is risen from the death. (Acts. 1: 3) *The two disciples from Emmaus: Their picture of a crucified Jesus was the end of their story. *The problem by understanding the implication of a Risen Lord. (Luke 24:17-21). *His sacrifice at the cross is based on the Torah and the Prophets. (Luke 24: 25 – 27). *He opened their eyes and He disappeared. (Luke 24: 31)

ICEL 3. The nutshell of the Gospel (good tidings for the people) is the Lord’s Supper *We see two important messages in the 40 days between Easter and Ascension. 1. The prove that Jesus was crucified, died and rose from the grave. *Jesus showed his hands, his feet (Luke 24:38,39) *Jesus showed his hands, his feet (Luke 24:38,39) 2. That this was the fulfillment of the books of Moses and the Prophets (O.T.) *Easter is not just the Sunday (Jesus his resurrection) but also the Friday (Jesus died at the cross).

ICEL *The two men from Emmaus recognized Him while Jesus broke the bread and they saw His hands. *Braking the bread and pouring the wine: the symbols of the Lords Supper. *But at the Lord’s last Passover he also said: Do this in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19). *This is not a ‘stand alone’ but taken from the story in Exodus (Ex. 12:12-14) *The people of Israel were liberated from their bondage of Slavery.

ICEL 4. To read the ‘Lord’s Supper’ in the context of the Bible * The story of Willem Barnhard (in ‘Stille Omgang’) about Easter. *The painting ‘Laatste Avondmaal’ of Dirk Bouts at the St. Peter Church in Leuven. *A painting from 1468, more than a generation before Martin Luther the Reformator. (Reformer) *In the Middle Ages they knew how to read the Gospel according to the Torah and the Prophets. *The reading of the painting ‘Last Supper’ as a reading of the Bible.

ICEL The triptych ‘The Last Supper’ Dirk Bouts, Leuven, 1468

ICEL The painting in the center *Leuven in the 15 th century. *The focus on the middle line: Jesus blessing. *The middle line connecting the head, blessing fingers, bread and the plate. *5 wine glasses.

ICEL The Last Supper in the middle of the stories in the Old Testament

ICEL The importance of the symbol of the Lord’s Supper for our daily life *The sign of bread and wine as the sign of the human daily needs in the Middle East. *Daily bread for daily life. *The Lamb as the sign in the Jewish Passover (Exodus) and Easter Friday. *Easter Sunday (the risen Lord): The lamb is worthy to take the scroll and open the seals. (Revelation 5:9)

ICEL ‘Jesus is the answer’ *Our live is in the hand of Jesus our Savior. *Jesus is the centre of the ‘Good Tidings’. *Jesus is the Savior of the World (John 3:16). *Partake at the Lord’s Supper is to put our self depending on Jesus. *But Jesus also gives us new directions in our life *The Bible stories teach us how we can respond in our weakness and be accepted by the love of Christ Jesus like the two disciples from Emmaus