At Church on Easter Sunday, you learned that the stone was rolled away, that Jesus rose from the dead, and that Mary had seen Him. Then you heard: “He Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed!”
THE REST OF THE STORY
Other stunning things happened on Resurrection Day!
SO JEALOUS!
I would give anything to be one of these guys!
“And that very day, two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.
And they were talking among themselves about all the things that had happened. And while they were conversing and discussing together, Jesus Himself caught up with them and was already accompanying them.
But their eyes were held, so that they did not recognize Him.
And He said to them, ‘What is this discussion that you are having between yourselves as you walk along? And they stood still, looking sad and downcast.
Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, Do you alone dwell as a stranger in Jerusalem and not know the things that have occurred in these days?
‘What things?’ Jesus asked.“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that He was the One who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.
In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find His body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive.
Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?“ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Jesus told them about the four hundred prophecies about the Messiah and the forty prophecies specific to His life, which were fulfilled the instant He evacuated His Earth Suit.
As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them.
When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him, and He vanished. They asked each other, ‘Weren’t our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’
They got up and returned to Jerusalem at once. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
“Now, while they were talking about this, Jesus Himself appeared to them, and said, ‘Peace be to you!’
But they were so scared that they thought He was a Spirit.
Get that picture. Jesus vanished from the men while they were with Him on the road to Emmaus. Next, He appeared to the disciples out of nowhere. He just appeared to them in the house where they were hiding behind locked doors for fear of the Pharisees.
Meditate on that for a while. While you are considering these two stunning events, remember what happened on the sea of Galilee when He walked four miles across the water to where they were rowing towards the shore eight miles away, and caused the boat with twelve men to “immediately” be on the shore they were rowing towards, which was also eight miles away!
You would think that knowing these miracles, the disciples would believe and obey Him. They would witness something forty days later that was even more astonishing: Jesus would ascend into heaven right before their eyes. Yet, their unbelief was so strong that they refused to obey His final command to go into all the world and teach the Gospel. So God the Father, God Jesus, and God Holy Spirit had to appoint the world’s greatest sinner, Saul of Tarsus, to teach the Gentiles.
And He said to them, ‘Why are you so afraid and troubled, and why do such doubts and questions arise in your hearts?
See My hands and My feet, that it is Me! Feel and handle Me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.’
And when He had said this, He showed them His wrists and ankles. And while they still could not believe it for sheer joy, and marveled, He said to them ‘Have you anything to eat? ‘They gave Him a piece of fish, and He ate it before them.
Then He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you; everything which is written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets, and the Psalms, must be fulfilled.’
Then He opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written that I should suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.’
Jesus then commanded them to teach the Gospel, blessed them, told them to stay in Jerusalem until they received power from Holy Spirit and vanished again.
(Luke 24:13-49)
This, REST OF THE STORY, is rarely taught, which is a mystery to me. It is the exclamation point to the Resurrection report. I believe it is skipped for brevity.
NOW YOU KNOW
The people who walked with Jesus throughout His three-year term as “The Christ” still doubted Him. We shake our heads at their unbelief, but aren’t we challenged with the same problem? When scary events come upon us, do we not accept fear, anxiety, worry, and doubt, and then have to fight them off by choosing to believe the One Who has overcome all of them? (John 16:33)
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