 |
| FINAL GLIMPSES OF JESUS |
| page 2 |
| they had seen die on Friday was walking around on Sunday. It seemed like hysterical nonsense at first - until he did appear, and they could deny it no longer. Ordinary People, an Extraordinary Discovery Luke adds one scene that captures the terrible confusion of those final days. Two of Jesus' disciples were walking away from Jerusalem, downhearted. Their dream was over: all the mounting hopes of the last few years had died with Jesus on the cross. A strange man appeared beside the two forlorn disciples. Bizzarely he seemed the only man alive who hadn't heard about the incredible week in Jerusalem. He talked to them, tracing the whole story of the gospel, beginning with Moses and the prophets. The stranger intrigued them, and they asked him to stay longer. At meal time the last link snapped into place. It was Jesus! No one else. Without a doubt, he was alive. Ordinary people, with more than a touch of cowardice, had followed Jesus, listened to him, and watched him die (from a distance, to keep themselves safe.) But seeing Jesus alive changed all that. Luke's story began with joy, and it ends that way: "They then worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy" (24:52). Before long they were out telling the world about it. Life Questions: Suppose you had been in the room to hear the first news of Jesus' resurrection. Would you have believed it? What makes you believe it now? |