Luke 24:17-24

Luke 24:17-24

And He said to them, “What are these words that you are throwing around with one another while walking around?”  And they stood fast, dejected.  And the one named Cleopas answered, saying, “You alone are a stranger to Jerusalem and you did not know the things that became in there on this day?”  And He said to them, “What sort of things?”  And they said to Him, “These things regarding Jesus of Nazareth, who became a powerful man and prophet in work and word in the estimation of God and all the people, how the high priests and our officials handed Him over into a judgment of death, and how they crucified Him. And we were hoping that He was the one who was about to release Israel for a ransom.  But indeed even with all this it is this third day from when this became.  But even some women out of us astonished us after coming at daybreak upon the tomb.  And after not finding his body they came while also saying to have seen a vision of angels, who were saying for Him to live.  And some of the ones with us went out upon the tomb and found similarly just as even the women said.  And they did not see Him.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus plays a little coy here.  Jesus asks the disciples what they are talking about.  When they respond, Jesus asks them specifically what they are talking about.  Of course Jesus knows what they are talking about.  He is God, He knows everything.  He was also there, living it out.  So if Jesus knows what they are talking about, then what is He up to in this passage?  Jesus is giving the disciples some time to express themselves and process.  He’s giving them some time to show their character to themselves.  He’s giving them time to get comfortable in who they are in the events of what has happened.  Jesus is willing to play a humbler role and allow the gifts of the disciples to rise to the surface.

What can we learn in this passage about how God works?  What does this say about how much God understands humanity and what makes us work?

Second Thought:

Look at the confession of the disciples.  They call Jesus a powerful man who is a prophet.  They confess that the religious authorities didn’t like Him, had Him arrested, and then had Him killed.  They confess that they were hoping that He would be the Messiah.  Think about the context.  From their perspective, this is a complete stranger in their midst.  They don’t have to so much in favor of Jesus, especially with this stranger.  However, they are.  Even though Jesus was crucified, they still speak about Jesus with affirming words.  They aren’t embarrassed that Jesus was arrested and crucified.  They declare what happened with confidence.

What can we learn hear about these disciples?  If you were three days following the crucifixion of Jesus, would you be so willing to speak so highly of Him knowing that He had just been crucified?

Third Thought:

Finally, these disciples confess that Jesus was unable to be found.  In fact, they confess that women went to the tomb, met some angels, and they were told that Jesus was alive.  Talk about quite a story to tell a stranger!  This actually takes guts to confess, because on the surface this story seems absolutely absurd.  However, this really shows the courage and faith of these disciples.  They aren’t ashamed of the story.  They aren’t ashamed of how people will hear their story.  They speak what they believe to be true, allowing this stranger in their midst to reach his own conclusion about what they say.

Do you think you could talk about the resurrection of someone you knew was dead to a complete stranger?  What does this part of the story reveal to us about the character of these disciples?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 24:25-27