LEARNING DAILY

 

John 20:19, Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

 

The same day that Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty and the risen Lord, the disciples were huddled together in fear of the Jews in the Upper Room.  Luke’s Gospel adds that they were discussing Jesus appearing to two disciples who were on their way home to a village called Emmaus.  Imagine the excitement and the confusion over what they were hearing.  Jesus had risen from the dead.  He had told them He would; but it had not really caught on with them.  Had they not seen Jesus bring Lazarus out of the grave?  Had they not seen Him bring others back from death?  Yet, Jesus being seen, at this time, brought a lot of discussion; maybe it was due to the events that had happened in the last three or four days.

 

 Then, He was in their midst.  Luke writes, “But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.”  That is understandable; they were already were in fear of the Jews coming for them.  Real or imagined fear can be a terrible thing.  Would it have been better to just knock on the door and come in that way?  DJSB gives insight into the fear they had. “In Jewish folklore, the spirits of the dead appear to mortals to engage in evil activities.  When Jesus suddenly appeared to this small group of confused disciples, it was a frightening supernatural event.”  Luke writes that He had them look at His hands and feet and check out His flesh (because a spirit does not have flesh).  Then, He asked if they had any food.

 

The DJSB goes on the say, “they felt great joy, but truth had not created faith in their hearts.”  Let’s place ourselves in their place for a moment.  We have all the Bible for us to read.  We have plenty of gifted writers with wonderful expository writings on what the Bible means. There are commentaries, Bible dictionaries – everything we need to understand what the Bible is saying.  If that is not enough, there are plenty of blogs to read.  Yet, we often do not grasp the significance of this event; there has to be more.  Luke writes, “And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.”  If you read the Bible without understanding, ask Him to open your understanding when you read.  As Believers, we have the author of the Bible as our disposal to help us to understand what is written.

 

Jesus told this group, As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  And He did!  He sent them to all areas of the known world to preach the “Good News of Jesus Christ”.  That is as important today as it was then.  You might think the world is no longer open to the Christian message.  But I believe with the events happening so quickly now that indicate the end times are upon us and the rapture of the Church is so close to happening that we need to be diligent about sharing our faith with those who have not placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Let your life so shine before men that they see Jesus in you.  Be ready to give the verbal testimony to the hope you have by walking the narrow way that leads to eternal life in God’s kingdom.  We need to focus our thoughts back on what Jesus did for us while on the cross and live the power we see in His resurrection.  This world, our country, our neighbors need to see the power of His life within each of us.  WE need to be ready to share how He has changed your life and how He can change any life given to Him.

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.