Luke 24:28-35 - Strangely Warmed

As the Risen Christ expounded the Scriptures to the two companions on Emmaus Road, they began to see the reason for the empty tomb. However, they still didn't recognize Him. The reason is simple. So that whatever they would soon to experience would be based solely on the Word of God. If not based on the Word of God, any experience could lead to all sorts of weird and bizarre claims. But this was avoided because their belief in Christ's resurrection was based squarely on the Word. From their encounter let's take a cue. Any purported experience not based on the Word of God should be carefully examined. We must be wary of people with all kinds of unbiblical and bizarre claims.

The two Emmaus companions now arrived at the inn and strongly urged the Lord, whom they still had not recognized, to join them. They in fact insisted that He should join them. We can understand why. At their insistence, Christ joined them to lodge for the night. As they were reclining at the table, He took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them. In that moment, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him. Yes, it's the Risen Christ! They recognized Him. And then He vanished from their sight. That special moment was forever etched in their minds. A personal encounter with the Resurrected Lord! Their confusion and despair were lifted. So they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?”

How could anyone contain such a magical moment? So picking themselves up, they hurried to Jerusalem to broadcast their encounter. On arriving at Jerusalem, they found the Eleven and some of the followers still with them. Excitedly, they exclaimed. Here's a paraphrase of their exclamation, "It's true, the Lord has risen! He has risen, and He has indeed appeared to Simon." And they narrated every bit of their experience, from the journey to the inn, the exposition of the Scriptures and to the breaking of the bread. Yes indeed He has risen!

Just as He knew the two companions on Emmaus Road, the Risen Christ still knows where each one of us is today. He knows the degree of our spiritual fervor. He can sense the temperature. He knows whether we are icy cold or fiery hot. From the passion to the resurrection, Christ's whole act was to make us know the extent of both the love of the Father and His. The purpose is to elicit our love for God. Beloved, it's not just illumination that we need, we also need more heat from His presence that will warm our hearts. The Risen Lord is still beckoning us to draw near and experience the heat. How can our hearts be strangely warmed unless we do so?

Luke 24:13-27 –Resolving confusion

Although Christ's body was no longer in the tomb, none of His followers connected it to His resurrection. Even after the angels had announced that He had risen, apparently none of them believed. Peter, from the Lord's inner circle, dashed to the tomb, peered in and only came away marveling. The atmosphere was one of confusion. There were bit and pieces of news of the empty tomb floating around. Most of His followers were in despair. And Luke tells us that two of them were walking to Emmaus that Easter afternoon. One of them was named Cleopas.

Who is this Cleopas? He could be the same Cleopas that the Gospel of John mentioned (John 19:25). If he was, then he is the Lord's earthly uncle, for he was the husband of the sister of the Lord's mother. He and his wife were present at the scene of the crucifixion. Now uncle Cleopas and a companion were traveling towards their lodging in Emmaus, a town a short distance away from Jerusalem. And they were walking towards the town discussing the recent happenings in Jerusalem.

They obviously had accepted Jesus, whom they had believed, was the long awaited Messiah. Everyone's hope was that this Jesus would deliver them from their oppression. But now the Romans had Him crucified. And it was now the third day, and they heard what to them were bad news: His body was missing from the grave. They needed an answer to their confusion. So engrossed were they in their confusion and despair that they didn't notice the Resurrected Lord Himself had approached them. We are told that they were prevented from recognizing Him. And as He traveled with them, the Lord asked them about the topic that they were discussing. They then stood still and looked downcast.

Then Cleopas' response to Jesus initial question was, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” It was an accusation. Imagine someone accusing the Resurrected Lord of not knowing what was happening. What irony! Isn't this so like us? Sometimes thick into our confusion and depression, haven't we wondered if the Lord really cares. Does He know? Of course He does! He knows when we sit down and when we rise up; He understands our thought from afar. He scrutinizes our path and our lying down, and He is intimately acquainted with all our ways (Psalms 139:2-3).

The Lord was not put off by Cleopas' accusation. Wanting them to express their confusion, He asked, "What thing?" So from verses 19b to 24, they let out all that had happened. From what they had said, we can detect that they were confused, depressed, disillusioned and angry. The question, "What thing," was the Lord's invitation to them to be open with Him. Although He already knew the facts, He wanted them to tell Him anyway. So they did. 

After they had expressed their heart, Luke in verse 25 tells us that He gently rebuked them. They were slow to believe everything the prophets had said. They could accept that the Messiah would come to deliver them but they failed to recognize that He would also have to suffer for them prior to returning to His glory. Graciously, the Lord explained to them the things concerning Himself. He took them through Moses' writings to all the prophetical books, and revealed all they needed to know concerning His Messianic role. 

From this account we learn much about what can happen when people are depressed and confused. They somehow would not be comforted by anything said to them. Like He did to them, the Lord is also inviting us to honestly tell Him the "What thing" that had happened to our lives. And He wants us to be open with Him. Be it our confusion, our doubt, our disillusion and even our anger. He wants us to be honest with Him. It will definitely be the start of having them resolved. Let’s pour our heart out to Him. For He our best Comforter. 

Luke 24:10-12 - Be attentive to what God is saying

In verse 10, Luke specially mentions Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James, as the key women who reported the resurrection of Christ. Although we are not told how much of what they said made sense to themselves, we know that to the apostles, they were nonsense. To the disciples, they were silly women's talk. It won't be a surprise if they had thought that those women were hallucinating and were just experiencing a mass hysteria. The disciples just simply didn't believe a single word that they said. These were the men that Christ specially picked after a night of prayer. Besides, they personally heard Christ said that He would rise again, yet why were they such dumb-wicks? Your guess is as good as mine. But before we get too critical, let's turn the searchlight inward. Haven't we ever refused to accept the truth of Christ, when they were revealed to us personally? And how many times when the Holy Spirit revealed the word to us, we had not acted straightaway with great trust? These questions, and more, are just some that each of us must face and answer honestly.

The disciples' passive response to the news of Christ's resurrection serves as a reminder to us, to listen carefully and attentively to Christ's Words to us. Although it may not always take place immediately, at the right time they always will. And we also need to be reminded that Christ will always say what He means, and means what He says. We need to take the Word of Christ at face value. But to Peter's credit again, he didn't just sit by debating why it couldn't be and ended up giving all sorts of excuse. He decided to check things out for himself. He probably raced to the tomb, and bending over he saw the stripped linen laid by itself.  For once, Peter didn't say something impulsively. Luke tells us that He went away from the empty tomb musing and marveling at what had happened.

Like Peter, we must carefully ponder the Word of God. We mustn't dismiss something that we don't understand. God always brings enlightenment when we mull and ruminate His Word. Let us take time to reflect on God's word and be attentive to what the Holy Spirit maybe saying to us. Let us believe and act on what Christ will reveal to us because our progression towards spiritual maturity depends much on it. 

Luke 24:4-9 - He is risen

There, staring at the garden tomb, those devout women stood dumbfounded. For they came expecting to see a dead and lifeless Jesus, but the place where His body was laid was totally empty. Then suddenly two men, wearing dazzling raiment radiating with great splendour, stood before them. So terrified were those women that they bowed down till their faces were kissing the ground.

It could also be that the brilliance radiating from the dazzling raiment was too bright for their eyes. However, we all know that the best posture to adopt when exposed to the splendour of heaven is to be on one's knees. So they went on their knees. Then came a gentle rebuke. “Why do you seek the living One among the dead?" That startling words prepared them for the joyous news. “He is not here, but He has risen." They should have known better. Didn't the Lord tell them earlier while they were at Galilee?

Long before this took place, Jesus already told them. He told them that He would have to suffer and be crucified, and on the third day He would rise again. Those words found in Luke 9:22 told to them immediately after Peter had made his great confession, were totally forgotten. Suddenly, as if the switch to the bulbs in their minds were flipped on, they remembered His words. Leaving the empty tomb hurriedly, they went to the apostles, the eleven of them and the rest of the followers, and reported all that they had encountered.

This account reminds us of how dull our memory can become at times. There is a tendency to be forgetful in the most critical moment of life. When we are too caught up in the mundane things of life, we can unwittingly allow the promises of the Lord to gloss over our minds. It is no wonder that Paul urges us to have a heavenly mind-set. He urges us to set our minds and affections on things above, where Christ is seated, and not on things on earth. Hebrews 2:1 puts it this way,"...pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it." Pay attention to how we dress our mind every morning, to be ready for the whole day.

Luke 24:1-3 - The Empty Tomb

Remember the three devout women from Galilee, who followed Jesus all the way to Golgotha? They saw the torture. They saw the crucifixion, and the moment the Lord yielded His Spirit to the Father. It's not too far-fetched to say that they would be in shock and totally grief stricken. They loved their Master but now He had succumbed to death, and they had to accept the inevitable.

Because of the then fast approaching Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathae could only hastily wrap Him with spice and lay Him in his own new tomb. These women didn't get a chance to give Him a decent embalmment. So they went home to prepare the spices and perfumes waiting for Sabbath to be over to give Him one. This particular Sabbath rest for them must have been unusually long. They couldn't wait for it to be over soon. All this time, their minds must have gone into overdrive. They must be replaying over and over in their minds, the hastily prepared body without a proper last rite. Other thoughts must have also filled their minds. The gaping wounds, the disfigured features, the mangled body, and the lifeless Jesus. Sad as they might be, they were certain that they would love to give the Master a decent embalmment.

So very early at dawn, they hurried to the tomb where Jesus's body was laid. They came with their prepared spices, fully expecting to see His lifeless body there. But they were confronted by two amazements: first the heavy stone that covered the entrance was rolled aside. Who rolled the stone away? As they hurriedly entered the tomb, they were confronted by the second amazement: the body of the Lord Jesus was not there. These women were looking for a dead Christ instead of a living one. Their minds were fixed to the past and not the future. As much as we are thankful to our Savior who was crucified for us, we must rejoice that He is alive today. Neither the cross nor the grave could hold Him.

The stone rolled away and He rose from the dead, what sort of a King could He be? He arose! He arose! Alleluia, Christ arose! We serve a Risen Saviour!

Hear the words that Michael Bleeker wrote:
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him
The grave could not keep Him
From rising again

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He's coming
O, glorious day!

Luke 23:50-56 - Jesus' Burial

We can feel the grace of God as we read the records of Christ's suffering and death. There is a sense of joy and privilege to have the Son of God paid the penalty of our sin. But for the followers of Christ immediately after the event, it was not as hopeful. They had totally missed the point. Jesus died at three o'clock in the afternoon on the Friday before the Sabbath of the Passover week. He must be buried before sunset, before the start of the Sabbath. 

In verse 50, Luke tells us that Jesus had a follower in high office. A good and righteous man, waiting for the Kingdom of God, by the name of Joseph. This man came from the Jewish town of Arithmathea. He was also a rich man. Although Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, he did not agree with their plan to put Jesus away. It could well be that the Sanhedrin executed their plan while he was absent.

But on hearing of the death of Jesus, He decided to be open about his discipleship. He went to ask for Jesus' body from Pilate. In going to Pilate to ask for Jesus' body, he had openly made known his position as Christ's follower. Because Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, Pilate would release the body of Jesus to him. He had only a short two to three hours to get the whole burial done. So together with Nicodemus (John 19:39), he hastily wrapped Jesus' lifeless body with spice, and placed Him in his own new tomb.

The devout women who had followed Jesus all the way from Galilee, came to see where His body was laid. They also could not do much for the body as Sabbath was about to start. They then left for home to prepare spices and perfume to embalm Him later. And being Jewish, they diligently rested on the Sabbath. It was in a garden that Adam and Eve brought sin on humanity. Now in another garden, the garden tomb of Jesus, God's Son was buried to remove the guilt of sin. What matchless grace!     

None of the disciples of Jesus expected Him to rise from the dead. All that He had constantly hinted to them was lost on them. That's why they went back to prepare the spices and perfumes for His embalmment. That's also why they were caught by surprise at His resurrection. The burial of Jesus was a routine thing done to a dead. Like the disciples, it's possible for us to miss the point even though God is actively working in our midst. We could be so caught up in our routines that we miss out on the precise plan and purpose God has for our lives. Let's be alert and attentive to what God may be speaking to us, through the everyday events of life. Don't be caught by surprise. Be attentive!

Luke 23:44-49 - Reconciled through Christ

At the birth of Jesus, the dark and black night sky was brightened by a unique star. And thirty three years later, at His death, the bright noon sky of Jerusalem was engulfed by darkness caused by a thick dark cloud. Luke tells us that for three hours the whole land was covered by darkness. At a time when the sun was shining at its strongest, its bright radiance was prevented from coming through. From 12 noon till three in the afternoon, a dark cloud like a thick curtain obscured the sun. And in that three hours of darkness, the sin of humanity was poured out upon the Son of God on the cross. 

While the cloud like a curtain covered the light, the thick curtain of the temple that darkened the Holy of Holies and prevented access into it, was rendered asunder. Light shone through the Holy of Holies that afternoon, but Judgment on Jerusalem had begun. But the torn curtain that covered the Holy of Holies was a joyous spiritual sign. It signaled that entrance into God's presence was made accessible to all through Christ. That which was only accessible to the high priest once a year, could now be entered by all, and accessible at any time, through Christ. 

Pertaining to the prayers that Christ made whilst on the cross, the other Gospels recorded several. But only Luke recorded the one where He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” It was with this prayer that Christ yielded His Spirit, and drew His last breath and died. This last prayer was intentionally put in by Luke. It's because most who went on the cross just slipped feebly into death in an unconscious state. But Christ with a fully conscious and lucid mind, shouted victoriously in His dying moment. Had He chosen to stay longer, death could not prevent Him. He was in control. He chose the time to give up His Spirit.

No wonder even a centurion, who had the experience of seeing many being crucified, and could heartlessly put countless criminals to death on the cross, couldn't help but marveled at Christ. Luke said he began to praise God. Never had any of his victims ever faced death unjustly. And never had one ever faced this sort of cruel punishments and death without flinching. Christ was and would be the only one. Hence, in praising God, he also duly exclaimed, “Certainly this man was innocent.” Christ's death brought hope. And that ray of hope began to shine through that afternoon with the crowd. They observed the whole proceedings and went away lamenting and dramatically beating their breasts. This signaled the start of their conviction. Many would come to faith later (in the book of Acts).

Meanwhile, some of Jesus' devastated followers came with Him all the way from Galilee and stood at a distance to witness the whole episode. These would soon be receiving reports of His resurrection as He told them it would happen.

It is so true that:
We owe a debt we could not pay
He (Jesus) paid a debt that He did not owe

Therefore, it is only right that we must live  wholeheartedly according to the words of the chorus of a hymn that say:
Where He leads me I will follow,
Where He leads me I will follow,
Where He leads me I will follow.
I'll go with Him, with Him,
All the way.