There are some who believe that God probably created the world and put everything into motion and then he checked out. I don’t know if they think he got old and died, if they think he got killed on the cross, or if they think someone else killed him. At any rate, they are not tuned in to a living God who cares deeply about the people he created.
I have been waiting, sometimes not so patiently, for this portion of Scripture. I can hardly bear to walk with Jesus on the journey to Jerusalem and then to the cross. But today, I can celebrate. He is alive!
“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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, to be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ Then they remembered his words.” Luke 24:1-8
What a shock! Still mourning and grieving their loss, the women approached the tomb thinking they would need to find help to get the stone rolled away. What luck! The tomb is open. Someone else must have had the same idea. But then they see the angels. The angels must have been giddy with delight to tell the women that Jesus has risen. Could it be? After three days he has risen? The women go to the Apostles and tell them everything that happened. “But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 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.” Luke 24:11-12
Peter… I wonder why it was so important to him to check this out. Like many other situations with Christ, Peter is the one who jumps in with both feet and then wonders how deep the water might be. He left his hiding place and ran to the tomb to see for himself. Indeed the body is gone. Now what?
Jesus didn’t leave them wondering too long. “That same day two of them [followers of Jesus] were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they walked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.” Luke 24:13-15
Jesus walked and talked with them about the events that had occurred over the last several days. “He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24:25-27
How awesome it would have been to have walked with Jesus and have him explain the prophecies and Scripture to me. Yet, with his Holy Spirit, he does that every day for me. As I read and study Scripture, he continues to open my mind and teach me wonderful and awesome things.
They convinced him to stay with them that evening. “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” Luke 24:30-31 It is in the giving of his life that our eyes are opened to recognize him. Until we reach out and accept the bread and wine he is offering us acknowledging what he did for us, we cannot see who he really is. If we do not understand that he took the punishment we deserve for our sins, we cannot understand that he is more than a good man who said a lot of good stuff. He is the Christ. He is our Savior.
“They asked each other, ‘Where not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ Then they got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.” Luke 24:32-35
Oh the excitement that must have been there! Who will see him next? What will he say? Something has changed. He doesn’t seem as tied to his sandals and paths to get places. He is alive and one the move!
No comments:
Post a Comment