Key Verse: "Look
at My hands and feet. It is I
Myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does
not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
Luke 24:39
While two
disciples were walking along the road to Emmaus, there were eight apostles who
had been spending an anxious day, locked up with fear of what would happen
next. We learn later that Thomas was
also not in the group and there is no explanation for his absence. John and Peter had gone out and had
discovered that, sure enough, Jesus' body was gone. The tomb was empty. No wonder they were afraid of the Jews. They probably knew that they were the obvious
suspects. Just as fear had kept the rest
of the apostle’s in the boat when Peter stepped out to walk on water with Jesus,
now, fear kept these remaining men huddled together, hearing reports, but they
did not comprehend what those reports meant.
When the two
from Emmaus arrived and knocked, the door was opened for them and they burst in. The others were talking with Simon about his claim that the
Lord has appeared to him. Wouldn't it be
wonderful to know what Jesus and Peter talked about in their private
conversation? It reminds one of Aslan's
private conversation with the traitor Edmund, in the Chronicles of Narnia. As in the story, so in the history, the
privacy of the personal conversations is maintained when so much else has been
opened to us. As with Edmund, however,
it is obvious that Peter was restored and forgiven and renewed.
Unfortunately,
just as Peter couldn't convince any of the others to step out of the boat, he
isn't able to convince the others to believe that Jesus has risen. While we know that John believed immediately
when he saw the empty tomb, he too was not able to make a dent in the remaining
disciples’ doubt and fear.
Then, with the
doors relocked, after the travelers were allowed in, Jesus stood among
them. There was no denying it now. They needed tangible proof, so Jesus
complied. "Examine Me. Feed Me. Handle Me. Am I real or
not?" There was no denying it any more. Christ indeed had risen. They had seen it with their own eyes and
touched Him with their own hands. Now,
they could be counted upon to be solid witnesses of the truth that Jesus is
alive.
Then, Jesus
empowers them. "Receive the Holy
Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins,
they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not
forgiven." (John 20:22-23) When He said this, He breathed on them His
own breath, His own life, so that they could become like Him. It wasn't a man's breath that breathed on the
disciples, it was Jesus’ resurrected breath, His imperishable breath, from incorruptible
seed with the power to cleanse and make holy as He is Holy.
After this
moment, we have no more accounts of the disciples acting fearful. There is no more hiding or huddling. Jesus had said when He entered the room,
"Peace be with you!" (John 20:19) When He left them that evening, His peace
remained. "Peace I leave with you;
My peace I give you. I do not give to
you as the world gives. Do not let your
hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
(John
14:27) And they obeyed.
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