By Scott Brown
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Waverly
Focal Passage: Luke 24:36-49
After amazing the two men on the Emmaus walk, He appears among the disciples once more. Even while the two men are telling about their amazing encounter with the risen Savior, Jesus Himself stands among them. This brings to my mind Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am in the midst of them.”
Jesus stands in the midst of the disciples as they celebrate together the story of the Emmaus encounter. He exclaims, “Peace to you!” Quite the opposite happens, they are terrified.
They are too frightened to believe the truth they had all already seen, Jesus is risen! They are convinced this must be some spirit. Jesus proves to them His physical resurrection by showing them the marks on His hands and feet.
Still, they can hardly believe it. “They disbelieved for joy.” Now it wasn’t fear but joy that kept them from believing. It was too good to possibly be true. Nobody dared move or speak. No one knew what to do next.
Scott Brown
Jesus, still wanting to set them at ease and prove His physical resurrection, breaks the tension by asking for some food.
Jesus ate a meal in front of them and began to assure them this was real, and it was exactly as the Father planned. He is everything Scripture points toward and everything Scripture promised was fulfilled in Him. Luke says something amazing here. Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. Until this point, they knew what the Scriptures said but they were blind to what they truly meant.
The Lord Jesus Christ still opens the minds of His people to see Himself all throughout Scripture and understand His Word rightly. Luke then repeats a commission Jesus gives to His disciples.
These are specific instructions to stay in Jerusalem together until He sends His promised Holy Spirit to empower them. They would go forth teaching and proclaiming all He had taught them, was now showing them, and would continue to teach them.
The gospel would flow to them and through them, starting in Jerusalem and into all peoples throughout the world. They would be witnesses, only telling what they knew and testifying to what they have seen. There is a very important application from this text — we know God and then we make Him known. The disciples had all spent significant time with Jesus, experiencing His power and hearing His voice.
Even now, He was with them encouraging and empowering them. This was not the end of His goal, but the beginning. They were to go in His Spirit and under His command, to all peoples.
As they go and wherever they go, they are making Him more known by sharing their Jesus stories. As they knew Him more, they were equipped to make Him more known.
Today, it is my prayer that you would know God more. I pray you would experience His power, provision, protection, and presence in your life. I pray you hear His voice and be filled with His Spirit.
Then, I pray He would spill out everywhere you go. As you go, may you make Him more known. This is our commission together, and it is our privilege as God’s people. B&R
