Luke 24:36-49

Today’s Scripture Focus: Luke 24:36-49

In our scripture focus last week, Jesus had been placed in a tomb. No work was allowed on Saturday as it was the Sabbath, so the female disciples of Jesus had to wait until Sunday to prepare His body with spices and perfumes, as was the custom. They arrived at the tomb at sunrise, and surprisingly found the entrance stone rolled away. When they entered the tomb, more surprises were in store. Jesus’ body was gone! Suddenly the women see two “men” in dazzling white garments who remind the women that everything is happening exactly the Jesus had said it would way back in Galilee, before they even headed out to Jerusalem. Amazed, the women run and tell the men what has happened.

At first, the men think this is just crazy “women’s talk”, but Peter runs and finds the tomb empty, just as the women had described it. This leaves him totally perplexed. Suddenly, the scene changes as two followers of Jesus are traveling from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles away. Cleopas and his companion are sadly discussing all that has happened in the last three days when Jesus begins travelling along with them, though He keeps them from recognizing who He is. As they are walking and talking, Jesus opens up the scriptures to them, proving that the Christ would have to suffer, die, then be glorified. When they reach their destination, they invite Jesus to stay the night in their home.

As Jesus entered the home He took bread, blessed it, and broke it their eyes were opened and they realized the One who had been trying to convince them that Jesus was alive was, in fact, Jesus! As they recognize Him, Jesus vanishes. Even though it was now late at night, the men jumped up and ran back to Jerusalem, where they testified to the rest of the disciples that it really was true—Jesus was alive! As if to confirm the men’s testimony, Jesus suddenly appeared in the room with them! As one could imagine, this startled everyone present. Jesus does two things to prove it really is Him and He really is alive. He shows the disciples His wounds, and He eats in front of them.

Luke is the Gospel of meals. Just four nights before, Jesus had said He would not eat with the disciples again until He had come into His kingdom. His first act upon revealing Himself to them was to eat with them. Then, He preached to them. This time, their minds were completely open and they understood what He meant all those times He predicted His death and resurrection. They now had living proof! Next, Jesus gives His followers some instructions. They are to proclaim the forgiveness of sins, but first they are to wait for heavenly power from God to do so. Finally, Jesus takes the disciples to Bethany. It is here for the very first time that they worship Him. He is no longer just a prophet or teacher. He is Lord!

As we worship the Lord today in scripture and table, how can we make sure we are allowing Jesus to open our eyes?

Is there anything in today’s scripture that especially speaks to you?

What questions would you like to ask about today’s scripture?

Today’s Sermon

Something new I learned today:

Something that challenged me today:

Something that blessed me today:

Something I will do differently this week: