Luke Chapter 24
I’m not quite sure if I am responsible enough to cover such a meaningful chapter out of the Bible. The Resurrection?!?!?! The day the women went to the tomb, and the body of Jesus wasn’t there? The walk to Emmaus with a ‘stranger’? Everyone gathered together and Jesus is suddenly just standing there in the flesh? This is some heavy reading, let’s dive in!
The Empty Tomb:
Early Sunday morning a group of women go to the tomb. The stone had been rolled away. They go in to find the absence of His body. Two angels appear and ask the one of the infamous questions widely known, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here. He is risen”. I don’t know about you but my goodness this is some meaningful and gut punch text. The angels reminded them that Jesus said all of this was going to happen!! Then it clicked. They remembered, but who is going to believe them?
The Walk to Emmaus:
Two disciples are walking to Emmaus, about 7 miles from Jerusalem, hashing out everything that had happened over the last few days. Jesus joins them but is cloaked as a stranger. He walks them through the scriptures explaining how this was all supposed to happen as it did. They finally get to Emmaus. Once they sit down for a bite, Jesus blesses and breaks the bread and they SEE him. And in an instant, he vanishes. Back to Jerusalem they go.
Jesus Appears to the Group:
While everyone has gotten back together to compare notes on the day, Jesus shows himself. They all think it’s a ghost. Not only does he say, ‘Look at me’, he eats a piece of grilled fish in front of them to drive the point home. He goes on to repeat scripture again about how this was all meant to go this way and instructs them to wait for Him to send the Holy Spirit, which will fill them with power from Heaven to go forward.
Like I said earlier…. a powerful and meaningful chapter beyond any of our recognition. None of us were there, we have never experienced anything like that in our lives. Maybe we have had some powerful and prominent moments, but nothing like this. He said this was the plan all along.
From grief and confusion to gradual recognition and finally full-on joy and mission. Luke describes in this chapter the idea that the resurrected Jesus isn’t always immediately recognizable but reveals himself through scripture and shared meals. This really makes me think ahead about the next time I participate in communion at church. Usually during communion, I think about everyone at the Last Supper. This time is going to be a little different. When I take the bread, I am going to be thinking about how he revealed himself AFTER he had risen. It was always there in the scripture for everyone to follow along just like it is still in the scripture today for you and I.
To Recap: Luke 24 doesn’t end with a body in a tomb. It ends with hands lifted in blessing and disciples running back to Jerusalem full of joy instead of despair. The empty tomb wasn’t a mystery to be solved. It was the announcement that everything Jesus said would happen, happened. He wasn’t a memory to mourn or a teacher to look back on. He was walking beside them on the road, eating fish in front of them, reiterating scripture like it was always about him. And that is still true today. Jesus is alive and well, not a historical figure we study from a distance, but someone present, active, and worth building our lives around.