The Lord Has Risen Indeed

It was Sunday evening, the day of the resurrection of Christ. The weekend had been full of tears, depression, arguing, and controversy. During this dark and confusing time, some unusual things began to happen. It had started that Sunday morning with Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary, the mother of James, claiming that they had gone to Jesus’ tomb and reporting to them that Christ was alive and risen from the grave (Luke 24:4-10). When the testimony of the women came to the disciples, the news was met with skepticism, and some even thought it was nonsense (Luke 24:11), for who had ever conquered death? John and Peter ran to the tomb, but they did not see Jesus; however, they found the burial strips of linen lying in such a way as to convince John that something supernatural had occurred. When they returned to the room where they were hiding from the Romans, and Jewish leaders, the eleven disciples, and others with them were in a state of confusion. How could it be possible for Jesus to be alive when they had so clearly seen Him die?

We call this state of mind cognitive dissonance, i.e., a frame of mind so overwhelming that everything they believed was being challenged. As the day wore on, the doubts had started to creep in again. They began to question the things they had seen and experienced. They were suffering from the trauma of recent events. Discouragement and hope battled for position in their minds as they continued to recall events and conversations, remembering things Jesus had told them in the past. Could something so unusual be true: could Jesus be alive?  

Two of the disciples, Cleopas, and his friend left Jerusalem discouraged and begun their walk to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). They concluded that what the women had seen was just a vision or, perhaps, wishful thinking. It was at that point that the disguised Jesus joined them on their walk and began to explain the prophecies about Himself. The Lord did not rebuke them for their unbelief; instead, He just continued to walk along with them, listening to their conversation. When the Lord revealed Himself to the two disciples at the breaking of bread, they could not remain in Emmaus even one night. Their faith now rested on the plan of God as the Lord unfolded truth from the Old Testament Scriptures. When they recognized Him, He disappeared.

³³And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

It was already dark when they determined to get back to Jerusalem and tell the eleven disciples of their encounter with Christ. They could not keep the good news to themselves. This is often a good indication of conversion, i.e. when one cannot keep the Good News to himself! Maturity in Christ is recognized by what people do with what has changed their lives.

We can only imagine what their joy must have been like as they hastened back to Jerusalem to share about their encounter with the Lord Jesus. It must have been late in the evening when they finally covered the seven miles uphill to the room where the disciples were gathered. They had to knock and whisper to the eleven for the door was, “locked for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19). When they burst into the room testifying to the fact of Jesus’ walking and talking with them, they found out that Peter had received a personal appearance of the Lord (Luke 24:34). How beautiful of the Lord to confront Peter while he is on his own, although we know nothing of that conversation, and that is how it should be when a man is faced with his failure. We can only imagine the wide eyes in the room as the two Emmaus believers shared their experience of talking with and seeing the risen Christ.
Mark adds the fact that they were eating at the time (Mark 16:14). The news from Cleopas and his friend caused a stir in the room, and they were still discussing these things when Jesus Himself appeared before them in the room. Let’s talk about that tomorrow. Keith