The Disciples

While they were still talking about this,

Jesus Himself stood among them…

Luke 24:36

Jesus appeared to the disciples while they were still talking about Jesus appearing to Cleopas.  Even after digesting the vivid story relayed by the Emmaus men, these men are frightened by their Master’s presence among them and think “they saw a ghost.”  Jesus invites them to look at His hands and His feet, and touch him, for a ghost “does not have flesh and bones, and you see I have.”

Jesus asked for something to eat, and then sat these men down for a history lesson, similar to the one He had with Cleopas and his friend.  The Bible says He opened their minds to the Law of Moses (the Pentateuch), the prophets, and the Psalms.  The disciples were to be sent out to the rest of the known world, carrying the message of a risen Savior to any who would listen,  It was imperative that they know the Scriptures upon which their message was built.  Then Jesus admonished them to stay in Jerusalem until they received the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle John  tells the story of Thomas, who apparently was not present at this first visit by Jesus after the resurrection.  When told of this wonderful miracle, Thomas dug his heels in and refused to believe their story.  He demanded personal proof, and Jesus graciously provided it.  There is no length that Jesus will not go to strengthen the faith of His children.

The Men from Emmaus

They asked each other,

“Were not our hears burning within us

while He talked with us on the road

and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Luke 24:32

I have always loved this post-resurrection story as told in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 24:13-35).  It warms my heart in several different ways: 

1) Jesus appeared to the everyday man – not to the disciples or those who would eventually lead the fledgling church.  Cleopas and his unnamed friend were believers like you and me.

2) Jesus spent quality time with these two men, teaching them the Old Testament prophecies that spoke of the Messiah and His sacrifice. It was just as important to Him that they understand His mission as it was for the multitudes to understand.

3) He hid His identity from them, but not His heart.  To the men of Emmaus, He was a wise, fascinating stranger.  To Jesus, these were His children.

4) When their eyes were “opened” and they recognized their Master, there was nothing on earth that would keep Cleopas and his buddy from returning to Jerusalem at once!  They had just completed that 7-mile journey and it was now evening, but they gladly hit the road again, determined to share their joy with the disciples.

 

 

The Roman Guard & Pilate

 

Some of the guards went into the city and reported

to the chief priests everything that had happened.

When the chief priests had met with the elders and

devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money,

telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came

during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’

If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him

and keep you out of trouble.”

So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed.

And this story has been widely circulated among

the Jews to this very day.

Matthew 28:11-15

Money for silence.  That has to be one of the oldest political tricks in the book.  The resurrection was a disaster for the Roman guards, the religious leaders, and for Pilate himself.  On Friday, the chief priests and the Pharisees had requested that soldiers guard the tomb. Pilate had given the order to seal the tomb and post a guard (Matthew 27:62-63).

After the resurrection, some of the guard hurried into the city – not to their boss, Pilate, but to the corrupt leadership of the synagogue.  The soldiers wisely understood that the priests had just as much to lose as they did if the truth were to reach Pilate’s ears.  So a lie was concocted, money changed hands, and a false report was spread.  I doubt that Pilate believed a word of it.

But he understood the game well enough to turn a blind eye, a deaf ear and a closed mouth. 

 

Easter Sunday

 

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning,

the women took the spices they had prepared

and went to the tomb.  They found the stone

rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered,

they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men

with clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground,

but the men said to them,

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?

He is not here, He has risen!”

Luke 24:1-6

 

Early morning,

                                                thick with darkness,

                                                            damp with dew

Anxious soldiers

                                                faint dead away before the

                                                            brilliance of archangels.

Son of God!

                                                Your Father calls You!

                                                            Come forth!

The trembling earth

                                                unfolds her captive Creator

                                                            from the grave - leaving

Emptiness, as angels proclaim:

                                                Why seek the living among the dead?

                                                            He is not here!  He is

Risen!

                                                Christ is risen indeed!

                                                                        Alleluia!  Alleluia!

T

The Hallelujah Chorus 

G. F. Handel

Lent - Day 40: The Sabbath

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee

followed Joseph and saw the tomb,

and how His body was laid in it.

Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes.

But they rested on the Sabbath

in obedience to the commandment.

-Luke 23:55-56

With Pilate’s permission, Nicodemus placed Jesus’ body in the tomb before 6:00pm on Friday evening, when the Sabbath began.  There He lay during the Sabbath hours,, guarded by soldiers and angels, awaiting the call of His Father.

The Old Rugged Cross Made the Difference 

Guy Penrod / Gaither Vocal Band 

There will be an Easter Sunday blog tomorrow morning,

Including the Hallelujah Chorus (with lyrics) for you to sing along.

 

Lent - Day 39: Good Friday

When they came to the place called The Skull,

there they crucified Him, along with the criminals –

one on His right, the other on His left.

Jesus said,

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Luke 23:33-34 

During the dark hours of Thursday night/Friday morning, Jesus was confronted by the mob, betrayed, arrested, deserted by His closest friends, appeared before the Sanhedrin, was denied by Peter, condemned by Pilate, beaten and mocked.  His ears were ringing with the shouts of the vast multitude:  Crucify him!  Crucify him!  Forced to carry His own cross, He was taken to Calvary – The Place of the Skull - and crucified between two common criminals. 

During the hours before He died, He gave responsibility for His mother to one of His disciples, gave assurance of salvation to one of the men hanging next to Him, and forgave those who had placed Him on that cross.  When He cried out, It is finished! and died, nature rebelled against the death of her Creator, as thick darkness enveloped the entire scene. In the city, the curtain that shielded the Most Holy place from human view was ripped in two from top to bottom, signifying the end of the ancient sacrificial system. The true Lamb of God had given the supreme sacrifice.

Good Friday

Matthew 27:1-66

Mark 15:1-47

Luke 22:63 - 23:56

John 18:28 – 19:37

 

Via Dolorosa  Sandy Patti 

There will be an Easter Sunday blog, including

The Hallelujah Chorus (with lyrics) for you to sing along. 

Lent - Day 38: Maundy Thursday

 

I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you

before I suffer.  For I tell you, I will not eat it again

until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.

Luke 22:15-16

Thursday of Holy Week is called Maundy Thursday, or the Day of Unleaven Bread, or Passover.  It started with Jesus sending disciples to meet a man with a water jar, follow him home, and speak to the owner of the house about celebrating Passover there.

When the hour came, Jesus began by washing the feet of the disciples, acting as a servant for those closest and dearest to Him.  At the table, He unmasked Judas as His betrayer, spoke a warning to Peter, and gave new meaning to the bread and the cup.  In John’s Gospel, there is woven throughout chapters 13-16 the wonderful counsel that Jesus shared with His men that night, and by extension, with us.  Those chapters contain the promise of the Holy Spirit and His work for us and within us.

At the end of the evening, the Scriptures record that they sang a hymn together.  How I would love to have heard Jesus sing!  After that, they left the upper room for the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus faced His future alone, in prayer, surrounded only by His Father.

Maundy Thursday

Matthew 26:17-30

Mark 14:12-26

Luke 22:7-23

John 13-16