While they [the disciples] were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood
among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
They were startled and frightened, thinking they
saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you
troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my
feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and
bones, as you see I have.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands
and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and
amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything
here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he
took it and ate it in their presence.
He said to them, “This
is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be
fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the
Prophets and the Psalms.”
Then he opened their minds so they could
understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This
is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the
third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in
his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ”
Easter—the
day we remember Jesus' resurrection from the dead.
Prophets spoke of the Messiah, how he would die
and on the third day break the chains of death. The Lord himself taught the
disciples about his purpose on earth. They traveled with him and witnessed
miracles. They heard the Pharisees mock him. Every one of them knew Jesus'
story inside and out. But here they were humming and hawing about the very
truth he showed them.
They thought they saw a ghost.
They'd witnessed Jesus being drug through the
streets and beaten. Yet, the man they loved and missed, the one they'd seen
nailed to a cross, and placed in a tomb, dead as could be—stood in front of
them in full flesh and blood and declared victory over the grave.
Peter's guilty conscious plucked at him because he had cowered and denied he ever knew him.
Thomas shook his head in disbelief. The other disciples stood with their mouths
hanging open. Yet, Jesus didn't give up. He opened their minds to the truth.
In this time of pandemic, stop doubting and open your minds to the
truth and hope of Jesus. The world is a mess. Not just from COVID-19, but from evil and
sin. That's the bad news. The good news is, Jesus opened the doors to hope and
heaven.
Jesus stands with outstretched hands in hopes everyone will trust in him.
I thank God for the opportunity to worship my
Savior this Easter. Let's sing praises to him from our couches. Lift up prayers
from our living rooms. Search our hearts and accept Jesus as Savior. He
died so we can live, here on earth with purpose and one day with Him in heaven.
Celebrate Easter with Him!