Jesus Appears To His Disciples

I am grateful for:

The beautiful PNW weather, it’s 8:30AM and it is sunny and warm out!

I’m grateful for my overall health, as snot drips down my face from allergies I have to remind myself that

I am a fairly heathy person and I thank God for that.

I am grateful that my job only came to temporary end, but that I will be returning in May. J

I am convicted about:

I am feeling guilty that I haven’t spent as much quality time with the Lord over the last few days. I can feel it. I feel more anxious, more irritable, and lost!

Today I am Praying for:

In my prayers today is the United States of America, and Bethel School of Super Natural Ministry who is in LA currently as a part of their mission for Azusa Now.

Today’s Reading:

Luke 24:36-49

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Luke 24:36-49 (KJV/NIV)

³⁶And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and saith unto them, Peace be with you.

³⁷But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed they had seen a spirit (ghost)

³⁸And He said unto them “Why are ye troubled and why do thoughts (doubts) arise in your hearts

³⁹Behold (look) my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me (feel me) and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bone, as ye see me have.

⁴⁰And when he had thus spoken he showed them his hands and feet

⁴¹And while they yet believed not for joy, and wonder, he said unto them Have ye here any meat?

⁴²And they gave him a piece of broiled fish and of an honey comb

⁴³And he took it and did eat before them

⁴⁴And said unto them, These are the words which I spake to you, while I was yet with you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the psalms concerning me.

⁴⁵then opened he their understanding (minds) that they might understand the scriptures

⁴⁶And he said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day:

⁴⁷ And repentance and remission (forgiveness) should be preached in his name among all the nations beginning at Jerusalem.

⁴⁸And ye are witnesses of these things.

⁴⁹And behold I send the promise of my father upon you: but tarry ye (stay) in the city of Jerusalem, until ye endued (clothed) with power from high.

Digging Deeper:

KJV	NIV
36And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.	While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
àThis is after the resurrection (24:1-9) and after Jesus revealed himself to Simon over bread
37  But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.	They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.
àI wonder why His followers are doubting Him being there? Do they not believe that he was resurrected?
38And he said unto them “Why are ye troubled and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?”	He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?
àThe people who followed Jesus are now doubting his return. àI wonder if when Jesus returns again if it will be the same way? I wonder if when Jesus returns if there will also be doubt in the hearts of his followers?
39Behold my hearts and my feet, that it is I myself handle me and see for a spirit hat not flesh and bone, as ye see me have.	39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
à Jesus is trying to get his followers to see it really is Him! He’s basically saying “Hey Guys! It’s me! Feel me! Pinch me! See that? FLESH!”
40And when he had thus spoken, he showed them His hands and feet 41And while they yet believed not for joy and wondered, he said unto them Have ye here any meat?	40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.  41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
à New plan. They didn’t seem to believe He was Jesus when he said to pinch him and he is probably getting kind of hungry. After all he just spent 3 days dead, and then came back to life. I can imagine that stirs up quite an appetite.
42And they gave him a piece of broiled fish and of an honey comb	42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
àFinally seems like they are starting to see that He is who He says He is. àSide note where did the honey comb go from KJV to NIV? Hmm.
43And he took it and did eat before them. 44And he said unto them These are the words which I spake to you, while I was yet with you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the psalms concerning me.”	43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. 44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
àThis is what Jesus was talking about when they broke bread. Jesus had come back to fulfil the prophesies! He was who Moses and the other prophets had spoken about and he was fulfilling His duty.
45then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures	45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
àI find this interesting. I think when we sit down to read the word we should ask God to show us what it is we need to read, but also to ask for understanding. The Bible is a spiritual text and without the Spirit guiding us we can often grow confused and discouraged. God wants us to seek Him so he can lead us through our quite time
46And said unto them “Thus it is written, and this it behooved Christ to suffer and rise from the dead the third day.”	46He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,
àBehooved is a fancy verb meaning a duty or responsibility (Webster dictionary). Christ HAD to suffer and die so that we had a chance to live.
47And repent and remission should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem”	47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
àThis is the basis of ministry. To teach the love of God, and through his love He died so that we could live and to teach repent for our sins and to seek forgiveness to ALL the nations
48And ye are witness of these things. 49Andbehold I send the promise of my father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high”	48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
àJesus has made true the prophesies and He is going to do what His father had promised!

What happens next?

Jesus led them out of Bethany (outside of Jerusalem), were he blessed and then headed back to Heaven. His disciples then worshiped Him and headed back to Jerusalem where they continued to praise Him in the temple (Luke 24:50-53)

Commentary from BibleHub:

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

24:36-49 Jesus appeared in a miraculous manner, assuring the disciples of his peace, though they had so lately forsaken him, and promising spiritual peace with every blessing. Many troublesome thoughts which disquiet our minds, rise from mistakes concerning Christ. All the troublesome thoughts which rise in our hearts at any time, are known to the Lord Jesus, and are displeasing to him. He spake with them on their unreasonable unbelief. Nothing had passed but what was foretold by the prophets, and necessary for the salvation of sinners. And now all men should be taught the nature and necessity of repentance, in order to the forgiveness of their sins. And these blessings were to be sought for, by faith in the name of Jesus. Christ by his Spirit works on the minds of men. Even good men need to have their understandings opened. But that we may have right thoughts of Christ, there needs no more than to be made to understand the Scriptures.

Reflection:

This section f Luke to me spells out the Christian faith in a way. The reserection has already taken place, but when Jesus comes back to His disciples they are alarmed. They are not sure it is Him, they almost seem to be in doubt. Do they not believe He came back? Jesus took many steps to prove it was Him.

Once he proves it is Him Jesus is able to fulfill the prophecy and opens their minds to see the scripture and to find understanding in what it is Jesus was teaching. HE promised through repentance that they will be forigived and told them to spread the word He blessed them an d left.

Oh how this sounds like when someone first come to Christ. God reveals himself and nudges at a person, but often He is denied or pushed aside too unsure until he proves himself to us. Once we realize Him and accept Him we find forgiveness and we are blessed.

The part that speaks to me the most is spreading His word to all nations. As someone who has a relationship with God I love spreading His word and sharing my relationship with others. But, sometimes I get nervous and don’t speak up. Luke 24 reminds me to speak up! To spread the word of God to all the nations so everyone can be blessed and saved.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

               How great your love is that You came down as a man to save us from our sins. As Jesus addresses His followers after the reserection it really gets me thinking about sharing the Gospel and the love of Christ. Lord, I pray as I go about my week and the rest of my day Lord that if there is someone who hasn’t heard the gospel or who doesn’t know Jesus I pray you would nudge my heart Lord. I want to spread the love of God to all the nations, so when Jesus comes again there is no doubt that it is Him.

               In Jesus name I pray,

               Amen.