NO GHOST
Second
of three in Ascension Series
Luke
24:36-48
Luke
24:39: “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.”
Sometimes people say, “Pinch me,” when
something awes them—just to make sure that they’re not dreaming. That’s pretty much what Jesus’ disciples said
when they saw Him after His death. But
we can’t be too hard on them. After all,
Luke 24:36 says, “While they were still talking about this [Emmaus story],
Jesus Himself stood among them and said, “Peace be with
you.” The doors were locked.
Naturally,
the disciples were frightened. When
people think they see a dead person, the first way they explain it is to call
it a ghost. So the first thing Jesus
wanted for them was peace. Then He
patiently proved that He was really the same man who was crucified by showing
them His hands and feet.
While the disciples were trying to
believe their eyes, shrieking joy and amazement, Jesus abruptly changed the
subject. “Do you
have anything here to eat?” He
asked in Luke 24:41. Notice what
happened next.
“We have a broiled fish, Jesus,” one
probably said, and handed it to Him.
They watched Jesus eat the fish. Then,
Jesus got down to business. He wanted to
make sure His disciples understood everything that had just happened. “This is what I told
you when I was still with you:
Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
Emmaus devotion
probably troubled some people to learn that yeah, we—even very smart people—can
be slow to understand. Notice that it
takes divine intervention for people to believe what doesn’t make human sense. Jesus had to “open their minds” so they could
understand Scriptures in verse 45. “The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third
day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all
nations, beginning in Jerusalem.”
Take Home Nugget
Luke’s
Gospel tells that Jesus first “appeared” to two men walking to Emmaus, after His
resurrection from the dead in Emmaus devotion.
Next, He “appeared” to His disciples in
a room behind locked doors. Freaky,
huh? The two men had just returned from
Emmaus to tell the rest of the disciples their tale when Jesus simply stood
among them. There are things we can’t
explain about glorious risen bodies.
Will ours be like Jesus’ when we go to heaven? See the lesson linked below for fascinating
Scripture passages before making up your mind.
Believers’ bodies will be resurrected
like Jesus’ body. How will our glorified
bodies surprise us?
J.D.
Griffith
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