35 The two then explained to them what had happened on the road, and how they had recognized the Lord when he broke the bread.
36 While the two were telling them this, suddenly the Lord himself stood among them and said to them,
Peace be with you.
37 They were terrified, thinking that they were seeing a ghost. 38 But he said to them,
Why are you alarmed? Why are these doubts coming up in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet, and see that it is I myself. Feel me, and you will know, for a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you can see I have.
40 He said this and showed them his hands and his feet. 41 They still could not believe, they were so full of joy and wonder; so he asked them,
Do you have anything here to eat? 42 They gave him a piece of cooked fish, 43 which he took and ate in their presence.
Read Luke 24:35-43 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
In today’s journal entry, we will be looking at one of the few passages in the gospels that happened after Jesus resurrection and before He ascended into Heaven. During this time, rumors of Jesus appearing to individuals was running wild, and in this passage, the first time Jesus appears to all of His disciples, we find one big theme that stood out to me.
The disciples had just heard of another report of Jesus appearing, and then suddenly, without any warning, He appears to the disciples. The disciples are terrified, and they think that Jesus is a ghost, while Jesus’ first words are, “Peace be with you.”
Jesus wants to bring peace, but the disciples experience fear.
I cannot blame them. If Jesus were to appear behind me right now as I write this, I would be filled with fear too, but I must remember that Jesus doesn’t bring fear. Instead, He brings peace, hope, and love.
This leads me to the big thought for this passage: Jesus wants to bring peace into our lives, but He cannot do that while we are scared of Him. The disciples had to overcome their fear before they would thoroughly be convinced that He had risen from the dead – and before they could receive the peace, hope, and love that Jesus brings.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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