EMMAUS
First
of three in Ascension Series
Luke
24:1-35
Luke
24:30-31: “When He was at the table with them, He took the 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.”
Jesus’ resurrection was too weird
for people to believe. But at least His
disciples should have believed what Jesus told them was
going to happen. (Matthew 16:21). This three devotional series comes after the parallel
Bible studies we finished through Lent to Easter. The last five devotional series was to teach
why wholesome speech is so important.
Spoken words are so powerful that
they create blessings or bring harm.
Either believers affirm God’s life-giving positive, or drain life force
with negativity. In the beginning of
Luke 24, three women went to Jesus’ tomb only to discover that He had
risen. But when they gave this good news
to the apostles, they refused to believe it was true (Luke 24:11). We see both life-giving and life-stealing
words here with their encounter:
“Nonsense!” The disciples refused to believe...except
Peter. Verse twelve says that Peter
checked it out for himself—then went away wondering about the empty tomb. So he went with Cleopas to Emmaus, about
seven miles from Jerusalem. Along the
walk, they discussed everything that had happened recently. Jesus joined them.
But they didn’t recognize
Jesus. Jesus innocently asked what they
were talking about. They wondered if
Jesus came from another planet.
Everybody knew what had happened!
So they told Jesus the story (Luke 24:19-24).
“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?” Jesus scolded them. Then He began with Moses, through the
prophets, explaining what all the Scriptures had said about Him.
When they came to Emmaus, Jesus
acted as though He was going farther. Saddened,
they urged Jesus to stay with them.
That’s when the opening scripture happened, and they realized it was
Jesus all along. They hurried back to Jerusalem
to assure the disciples, “It’s true! The
Lord has risen and appeared to Simon.”
(Luke 24:34).
Some things are too awesome for
humans to accept. After one person tells
what can’t possibly be true, then another confirms that it is true, people cave
into believing. Yes, we are that slow!
Take
Home Nugget
Aren’t you glad that
Jesus knows this, and leads us to understanding when we’re too slow to “get it”
immediately? Can you remember when you
finally “got” Jesus’ point?
Holy
Father, thank You for patiently leading us where we’re often too slow, or
stubborn, to accept truth from You.
J.D.
Griffith
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