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| And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. |
36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood
in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 37 But they were
terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38 And
he said unto them, Why
are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for
a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 40 And when
he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while
they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43 And
he took it, and did eat before them. 44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I
spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled,
which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me. 45 Then opened he
their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And
said unto them, Thus it
is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day: 47 And
that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all
nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things. 49 And, behold, I send the promise
of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be
endued with power from on high. 50 And he led them out as far as to
Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to
pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into
heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great
joy: 53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.
Amen. (Luke 24:36-53)
How comforting to note that the concluding word of each of the Gospels is ‘AMEN’
– “so be it!” It is a certainty that all who come to Christ in Gospel truth
shall be saved by Grace and not by the impossibility of good works. If our
biblical narrative ended with the Book of the Law in the Old Testament, where
would we stand with God? Remember, the last word of that book is Curse for the
law is a curse to us (Malachi 4:6), but salvation comes by grace, through
faith, in our Lord Jesus Christ!
The two disciples on the Road to Emmaus have traveled that Road at least twice
on the First Day of the Week. They went from Jerusalem in great sorrow and despondency,
but returned from Emmaus in exhilarated spirits. “And they rose up the
same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together,
and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath
appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how
he was known of them in breaking of bread.” (Luke
24:33-35) Amazing
how a confirmed faith in Christ results in immediate service. Not only did they
arise in the self-same hour, but they shared every shred of the glorious news
they had learned. They have come to understand a truth that has escaped their
understanding for three years – the Lord Jesus Christ would die for our sins
and now is RISEN! They hurry back to tell the others cowering in the shadows of
a room in Jerusalem! They came to an intimate knowledge of Him in the “breaking
of bread!”
The eleven gathered in the room were actually hiding out from a presumed threat
from the authorities. They cup of sorrows was brimming over – and for no reason
if they had only believed what Jesus had told them before the crucifixion –
that He would rise again. We may know much Scripture, but if we do not believe
it, it will benefit us little. There are too many preachers in pulpits today
who know a lot of Scripture, but fail to believe it. When our fears mount
and shadows lengthen, our Lord may be nearer than ever – even in our midst! “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in
the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be
unto you.” Are we shocked when we pray for God’s help, and
Jesus suddenly comes to us? Do we know enough of the Word (Jesus Christ) to
recognize Him even when He stands right before us? Are we terrified or dismayed
when the Lord comes to us? If so, we are not much different from those devils
referred to by James: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou
doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” (James
2:19) “But they were terrified and affrighted, and
supposed that they had seen a spirit.” They had seen no
spirit, but the true, living Savior. He came into this world in a body, and He
departed from this world in a glorified body.
Jesus, if we are sincere in our faith, will always set our hearts at ease: “And
he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do
thoughts arise in your hearts?” Why they were shocked may seem
puzzling to us, but they had no access to the complete Gospels that we have.
They had never heard of a man dying, and then reappearing. This was a first
time experience for their eyes and their minds. Their imaginations ran wild for
a moment. “Behold my hands and my feet,
that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones,
as ye see me have.” A spirit cannot be felt with human
hands. Jesus has a glorified body. We know not if He had blood in His veins
because blood is not mentioned. Some speculate that His glorified body had no
need for the blood that He had already shed on Calvary. If we have a tiny spark
of faith, He will lead us into greater: “And when he had thus spoken, he
shewed them his hands and his feet.”
Have you ever seen anything that was so beautiful, so glorious that it seemed
too good to be true? This is the sensation that the disciples were experiencing
at this moment. “And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered,
he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?
Jesus brings the matter of any doubt to a close by His nonchalant inquiry
regarding food. A spirit cannot eat physical food as He would do. This leads me
to believe that we may enjoy eating in Heaven; else there would be no benefit
in the twelve fruits of the Tree of Life. There may, perchance, even be a bit
of chocolate in Heaven if I may dream a bit. “And they gave him a
piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat
before them.” This was quite common fare, and enough to convince
the disciples of the reality of His physical presence.
We may know the technical provisions
of scripture very well, yet, if we love not the Words, our understanding will
always fall short. “And he said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things
must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the psalms, concerning me.” They had known of these
prophecies, and the Lord had even opened them before His crucifixion for better
understanding. They may have previously understood in their heads, but now they
would understand in their hearts. When LOVE is joined to truth, then a glorious
understanding is born. “Then opened he their understanding, that they
might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus
it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead
the third day: And that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these
things. And, behold, I send the promise
of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be
endued with power from on high.” You may pay token
attention to the stewardess as she presents to the passengers the crash
position and the use of flotation devices. But when the event actually occurs,
your interest will be far keener, and you will understand more fully the need
to keep this information close at hand. From the primitive past, since Eden,
the prophecies of a Savior had been echoed from one generation to the next. But
in the past, these had always been prophecies only. Now the realization of
those prophecies has materialized. The glorious truth is revealed in full. How
wonderful to these men, and to us. We should never delay (as the men of Emmaus
did not do in rushing to Jerusalem to share their news) nor hastened to act
before the Lord has given clear signal. Jesus told the disciples to tarry in
Jerusalem until they had been endued with Power from on High (the Holy Ghost).
And so they did!
The last act of the Lord in His physical presence on
earth was to bless His people: “And he led them out as far as to Bethany,
and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he
blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.”
Clouds are beautiful and glorious manifestations to us. They are promises of
water for life, and that Water of Heaven. We are told in Acts that after Jesus
spoke these words: “….when
he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud
received him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:9) A CLOUD received our Lord. He
had been manifested before by a cloud when He was transfigured on the Mount. “While
he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out
of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;
hear ye him.” (Matt 17:5) Our Lord left in a cloud of glory, and He
shall return likewise: “And then shall they
see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27)
During our morning walk at sunrise today, my wife and I commented on what a
beautiful cloudless Spring sky we saw. There was not a cloud anywhere to be
seen. Perhaps we should have hoped for a single cloud of glory from behind
which the Sun of Righteousness might emerge. “But unto you that fear my
name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye
shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” (Mal
4:2) It is not
likely that we can appreciate the wondrous beauty of the Sun without the shadow
of a cloud.
