How to Live a Life of Victory
Introduction
Years ago, a young member of our congregation at HTB had a job working in the library of a major national newspaper. This newspaper kept files of old cuttings about every well-known person. The files were kept in rows of long shelves and were separated into ‘living people’ and ‘dead people’.
One day, the young man was looking through the files of dead people and came across a large file marked ‘Jesus Christ’. He glanced over his shoulder to check that no one was looking and quickly moved the file from the ‘dead people’ section to the ‘living people’ section.
Jesus Christ is alive. He is risen from the dead. To anyone looking for him among files of dead people, the angels would say, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!’ (Luke 24:5–6).
Victory is not a dirty word. Jesus is the great victor. As Bishop Lesslie Newbigin often said, ‘The resurrection is not the reversal of a defeat but the manifestation of a victory.’ The cross was not a defeat. On the cross, Jesus won a great victory for us over sin, death and the powers of evil.
Psalm 51:10–18
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Commentary
Receive the benefits of his victory
I love this prayer of David and have often prayed it myself. David, like us all, had messed up. He had cried out for forgiveness and now he cries out for victory. When we sin we do not lose our salvation but we may lose the joy of our salvation (v.12a). David does not want to be defeated by sin again.
All this starts with ‘a broken and contrite heart’ (v.17b). You can be absolutely certain that if you come to God in this way you will not be rejected: ‘A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise’ (v.17b).
David prays that he might live a life of victory. It is worth noting that David’s prayer is not purely personal. He prays that he might also have an impact on the city (v.18).
Prayer
Lord, I pray for a pure heart (v.10a), a persevering spirit (v.10b), the presence of God (v.11a), the power of the Spirit (v.11b) and the pleasure of salvation to be restored to me (v.12a). I pray for a trusting spirit (v.12b) and that I would be able to teach your ways (v.13a), turning people back to you (v.13b). I pray for a tongue that worships you. ‘O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise’ (vv.14b–15). I pray for the transformation of our society (v.18).
Luke 24:1–32
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee…
12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going further. 29 But they urged him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’
Commentary
Recognise Jesus and his victory
How can you and I encounter Jesus today?
The resurrection of Jesus is a historical event. It actually happened. But it is not just a historical event. As people experienced the risen Jesus at the time, you too can experience his presence today. This passage tells you how.
This was the day the world changed for ever. Jesus was raised on ‘the first day of the week’ (v.1). Thereafter, the first day of the week (Sunday) was to become the day of rest and worship.
In this passage we see two key pieces of evidence of Jesus’ victory over death:
1. Jesus’ body was absent
‘They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus’ (vv.2–3).
The angels said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!’ (vv.5–6). Indeed, as he predicted, on the third day he would be ‘raised again’ (v.7). (Sometimes the New Testament states that Jesus ‘rose’ from the dead. More often it is in the passive; ‘he was raised’.)
When the disciples are told by the women ‘they did not believe’ (v.11). However, we can picture Peter’s excitement – he ‘got up and ran to the tomb’ (v.12). He too saw that the body of Jesus was gone. He ‘saw the strips of linen lying by themselves’ (v.12b) – the tomb itself was not empty but the body of Jesus was absent.
Peter must have begun to realise at that moment that Jesus had won a great victory. Jesus had died, but death was not the end. Death is not cancelled but it is definitively conquered.
2. Jesus himself was present
Jesus himself was seen. This was not just a ‘spiritual’ presence. His physical, resurrected, transformed body was present with his disciples. The first appearance we read of in Luke’s Gospel is on the road to Emmaus. Jesus reveals himself to the two disciples in two ways.
First, he reveals himself through the Scriptures: ‘And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself’ (v.27). This must have been the most amazing Bible study in the history of the world. Jesus went through the Bible explaining that it was all about him.
Have you ever had a sense of your heart ‘burning within’ (v.32) as you have been listening to the Bible being explained, or as you have been reading it yourself? Sometimes, when I am reading the Bible or listening to a talk explaining the Bible, the words suddenly seem so relevant to me and to my life that it feels as if God is speaking directly to me. At that moment it seems like my heart is ‘burning within’ me. A young woman who was in our Alpha small group recently had just started reading the Bible for the first time in her life. She said it is as if the words were jumping off the page towards her.
The disciples said, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ (v.32). We get a taste of this every time we hear the Bible explained in such a way as to reveal Jesus.
Second, he reveals himself through the bread: ‘When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognised him’ (vv.30–31). Later on they explained ‘how Jesus was recognised by them when he broke the bread’ (v.35).
Luke’s description of this encounter is probably deliberately told in a way that echoes the account of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. It is supposed to encourage us that we too can encounter Jesus in the ‘breaking of bread’ when we celebrate Communion together.
The Scriptures and the sacraments are two of the ways in which we can encounter Jesus today. Jesus will continue to reveal himself to us as we study the Scriptures and as we break bread together. If you want to experience the presence of Jesus – make sure that you do these things on a regular basis.
Prayer
Father, thank you that Jesus is alive right now. As I study the Scriptures, may my heart burn within me as I encounter Jesus through them. As I receive the bread and the wine, may my eyes be opened to recognise Jesus.
Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
Commentary
Reflect the victory of Jesus
I would love to know what Jesus said about this passage when he was going through all the Scriptures and explaining what they said ‘concerning himself’ (Luke 24:27).
This passage continues the theme of Joshua’s victories (‘great victory’, Joshua 10:10). Here we read of how the kings joined forces to fight against Israel (11:5). But the Lord said, ‘Do not be afraid of them’ (v.6). The Lord ‘gave them into the hand of Israel’ (v.8). God gives them victory wherever they go: ‘So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel’ (v.23).
I imagine that Jesus would have explained that Joshua’s military tactics are not the model for anyone today. Nevertheless, one aspect, the victory itself, prefigured and foreshadowed the great and very different type of victory that God was to bring about through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Joshua was a ‘type’ of Christ; indeed, Jesus is actually the Greek form of the name Joshua, meaning ‘the Lord saves’.
As we will read tomorrow, the victory of Joshua was never complete. The Lord said to him, ‘You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over’ (13:1). It is Jesus alone who brings a complete victory. He is the one to whom all the Scriptures point. He is the great victor and the source of every possible victory in our own lives.
Prayer
Lord, thank you for your great victory over sin and death and all the powers of evil. May my life today reflect this great victory. May I see it more, not only in my own personal life but also in our community, city and nation.
Pippa adds
Luke 24:1-12
I love the combination of the bravery and practicality of these women. The moment the Sabbath is over they are on their way to the tomb. Where were the men? They seem to be in disarray! We mustn’t stay away from Jesus, even if things aren’t going well.
Thought for the Day
‘The resurrection is not the reversal of a defeat but the manifestation of a victory.’
– Bishop Lesslie Newbigin
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References
Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret (Eerdmans B Publishing, 1995), p.36.
The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel (commentary formerly known as Bible in One Year) ©Alpha International 2009. All Rights Reserved.
Compilation of daily Bible readings © Hodder & Stoughton Limited 1988. Published by Hodder & Stoughton Limited as the Bible in One Year.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
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