1. 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.

2. 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)

3. 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).

4. 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.

5. 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.

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

7. 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.

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

9. 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)

10. 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