Full Reading: Luke 24:1-49
Selective Reading: Luke 24:13-35
Christ has risen! (Luke 24:6) He has risen indeed! (Luke 24:34)
When the women arrived at the empty tomb on that Resurrection Sunday, the angel confronted them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise” (Luke 24:6-8).
This statement summarizes the confusion as the followers of Jesus tried to process the preceding events of Holy Week. Jesus would often question the understanding of the disciples by saying something to the effect of, “Let these words sink into your ears” (Luke 9:44), and “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8 & 14:35). But the disciples were slow to understand.
Luke records a unique account of two disciples, who, on that very day, were leaving Jerusalem and on their way to Emmaus. As they were talking about the preceding events, Jesus joined them on their journey, but He had concealed Himself from their eyes.
Jesus asked them what they were talking about and the men were astounded that He hadn’t heard about the events that had just taken place. So they recounted how Jesus had been delivered up by the chief priests, condemned to death and crucified. They expressed sadness over the fact that they had placed their hopes in Jesus as the Messiah. Finally, they were perplexed by the report the women had given after visiting the empty tomb.
Jesus’ response captures the consensus of everyone who has ever read this story. He said, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26).
Then Jesus did what He had always done throughout His ministry. He took them through the Scriptures and showed them how the Old Testament pointed to Him, including His death on the cross.
Yet, these two disciples wouldn’t make the connection until Jesus took the bread as He had done on the night he was betrayed, and passed it to them. Then their eyes were opened and immediately they recognized Jesus, but then Jesus just disappeared right before their eyes. The sudden realization reminded them that their hearts had been burning as Jesus recounted the Scriptures to them.
All of this serves as a backdrop and a challenge for us to search the Scriptures to understand the magnitude of the ministry of Jesus. We can read it from every book in the Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament. We are invited to search the Scriptures and discover anew the wonders and work of our Savior. Each time we open our Bibles, we are encountering God. If we want to be a follower of Jesus, we need to be a people of the Book. We need to be in God’s Word daily. We need to linger a little bit longer at the foot of the cross. As we spend time with Jesus we will become more like Him, not only in our sanctification, but also in our witness toward others. May those that we love see in us that we belong to Jesus and are marked by His grace.
Adam Miller is the President and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church.
You can hear his teaching on our daily broadcast on the radio or online, watch his preaching live on Facebook, and read his articles on our website.
