On a dusty road to Emmaus, just about 8 miles east of Jerusalem, Jesus walked with two disciples and shared a message of hope to them. They were despondent after seeing Jesus crucified and Jesus tried to correct their misunderstanding as they walked. So engrossed were they in their own feelings that they didn’t recognise who they were talking to until Jesus blessed the food at the table and they saw the scars in His hands. These two people that Jesus picked to walk and talk with represent those of us who on the journey of life have questions as life doesn’t not always turn out as we planned.

The one thing that separates Jesus from any other god or claim to divinity is the fact that the tomb is empty and there is no body in any grave anywhere. Jesus rose from the dead in a miraculous act - death could not hold him and the stone was rolled back. Today it’s remarkable to visit the tomb where He lay temporarily and cast our minds back to this event that brought such confusion to others in the moment, but which we now look back on with such joy, hope and encouragement.

On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame. But I love that old cross, where the dearest and blest for a world of lost sinners was slain. The old hymn still as applicable today as before and sums up perfectly how a form of capital punishment designed to bring shame and disgrace was turned around and has become a symbol of hope, healing and new life. Calvary was the lowest moment at the time for Jesus, but has turned out to be the highest moment in the history of the universe, providing hope to all.

Before Jesus crucifixion He has to go through a farce of a trial and was taken from the religious leaders to Pilate to Herod to Pilate. Back and forth, trying to find a legal loophole to kill him or a reason to let Him go. Jesus was exhausted and was afforded no comfort or respite as He was relentlessly questioned and physically beaten and abused. Given a crown of thorns and finally cowardly condemned by Pilate, Jesus suffered more than anyone before or after in these final hours of His life.

In Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives, Jesus agonised with the immense physical, emotional and spiritual battle before Him - whether to go through with Calvary or not. Should He suffer eternal separation from His father due to the sins of humanity or leave mankind to their own peril and return to heaven. It was in Gethsemane that He said, not my will but thine be done and the decision was made to go through with with the plan of salvation, as painful as it would be for Jesus. Today we can have eternal life because of the decision made in this humble garden.

Whether the story is true or not does not matter - the lessons of it transcend religious beliefs, cultural differences and geographical boundaries. The story of the Good Samaritan raises the important question as to who is our neighbor? Who should we help? Who should we look out for?Jesus shared this story where the person who was the most despised helped the most and the religious leaders who society looked up to did not. As we live in a world full of inequities, division and turmoil we need to ask ourselves, who is our neighbor?

Lazarus is one of the few people to have the privilege of dying twice! Jesus performed perhaps his greatest and most controversial miracle towards the end of His ministry - the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead. Having been dead for four days, Jesus showed up in Bethany and called him from the grave bringing joy to his family and friends but deep hatred from the religious leaders for now Jesus’ divinity could not be denied.

The feeding of the 5000 is a miracle so famous it has seeped into reference in society where those using the term wouldn’t even class themselves as Christian. Faced with the seemingly impossible task of feeding such a huge number of people with such little supplies, Jesus performed a miracle of duplication to the extent that there was even leftovers at the end. When we are in a tough spot, Jesus has a way out that we may never have even thought of.