Easter is a time of great significance for Christians around the world. It’s a time to remember and celebrate the core events of our faith: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As we will see in today’s passage, Luke 24, lives are always changed when their is an encounter with the risen Christ.
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Easter is a time of great significance for Christians around the world. It’s a time to remember and celebrate the core events of our faith: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
However, what are we to do if and when questions arise in our own faith journey? Let’s take a look at the experiences of those who were present at the time of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, as found in Luke 24.
The Empty Tomb—1-12
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 over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 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.
On the Road to Emmaus—13-35
Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
“What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
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He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah 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.
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 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.
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 recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 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?”
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.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples—36-49
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The Ascension of Jesus—50-53
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
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A few truths we can glean from this chapter in regards to our own faith journey include…
1. Acknowledge and Process Doubt
In the section where the women went to the tomb but found it empty, we read that the women were wondering why Jesus was not there. However, after receiving word from the angels that Jesus arose, they quickly went to share the news with the disciples.
When the message reached the disciples, they did not believe the witness from the women. To the disciples, the women’s experience seemed like total nonsense, which is understandable from their perspective.
Peter was intrigued and went to check things out for himself. After seeing the empty tomb, he also walked away wondering what all this was about.
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Then there is the story of the two walking on the road to Emmaus. Even though they knew the message that Jesus taught, and experienced all that transpired with Jesus going to the cross, we are told that they were downcast.
Even tough they had hoped that Jesus was the Messiah, and even though they had some understanding about the “third day,” they still had their doubts. Once they encountered Jesus, they, too, went to the disciples to report their experience.
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As the women and the two from the Emmaus Road were there with the disciples, Jesus appears before them all. They were startled and frightened by Jesus’ presence thinking that He was a ghost. Jesus gave them proof of His resurrection, but the truth of the matter is that even these disciples who had spent so much time with Jesus had their own doubts following His resurrection.
If and when doubts arise in our own faith journey, what can we do? To process doubt, we will need to seek a deeper relationship with Jesus. To do this we must…
2. Allow Scripture to Shape our Understanding
When the angels spoke to the women at the tomb, they said, “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 over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”
After being reminded of the words of Jesus, they remembered and believed. Their faith was emboldened through the Word.
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A similar thing happened when Jesus met the two on the road to Emmaus. In their encounter, Jesus said, “Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” Then we are told that Jesus began “with Moses and all the Prophets, (and) explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” It was when He broke bread with them that their eyes were opened to all He was saying. Immediately, Jesus was no longer with them, but His presence and His words gave them understanding and hope. Their encounter brought about the response, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
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Then, when Jesus appeared to the disciples, and they were frightened and had their doubts, Jesus again reminds them of His own words. The passage states, “He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
Once He reveals the word to them, we are told that “he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.” This points to the truth that we should look for how the scriptures point to Jesus knowing that He will open our minds so that we might understand what we read and hear.
As we gain understanding through the Word and by His Spirit, we are to…
3. Live in Light of the Resurrection
When the women at the tomb remembered His words, their lives were changed. They quickly went to the disciples and told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others.
For the two on the road to Emmaus, 0nce they realized that it was Jesus among them, “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.”
Then, when Jesus appeared to the disciples, He “led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.”
Again, once they encountered Jesus, they all were changed in heart and mind. This is the same response we can have when we encounter Jesus for ourselves.
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When we have an encounter with the risen Christ,
We can all begin living a resurrection life,
We can begin growing in our understanding of Jesus and His Word,
And we can receive the help we need to overcome our doubts.
When this all comes together, it will help us all to become the witnesses of the greatness of our God!
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Have a Great Day!