Luke 24:13-48
IT was early in the morning when the women went to look for Jesus. In the evening two good men were walking together into the country. As they walked, they talked about Jesus. They had not seen Him since He was alive again. They did not even know that He was alive. They talked about Him dying on the cross. It made them very sad to speak about it.
At last a man came and spoke to them. They thought He was a stranger; yet He seemed to be a kind man.
He said, ‘Why do you cry? I see you are talking about something very sad.’
‘Yes,’ said these good men, ‘we are talking of something sad. Did you never hear of Jesus? Did you never hear what wonderful things He did: how He cured blind and dumb and sick people, and how He taught people about God? And all the people loved Him; but at last He was crucified. We thought He was the Son of God, but now we are afraid He was not, because He is dead. And we are afraid that we shall never see Him again.’
The kind stranger was sorry to see these good men cry He began to talk to them, and to tell them that Jesus was the Son of God, and that He had been crucified to save people from their sins. So He must rise again and go back to His Father.
This kind stranger said a great deal more. He knew all the verses in the Bible, and told these men many things they did not know. They liked listening to the stranger; they did not feel so sad while He was talking.
At last these men came to their own house. It was in the country. The stranger seemed as if He was going on farther; but the two good men said to Him, ‘Stay at our house; it is getting dark. Come and eat with us, and sleep here. Do come in.’
Then the stranger said that He would come in.
The men went into a room, and there they had supper. They all three sat down together round the table. The stranger took some bread and broke it and began to pray to God. Then the two men found out who the stranger was.
‘It is the Lord!’ they cried. And so it was. They looked towards Him, but they could see Him no more. He did not open the door, but yet He had gone.
Then the men thought of all that Jesus had said. ‘How sweetly He talked to us!’ they said. ‘Did we not feel our hearts quite warm while He was speaking to us about the Bible, and telling us its meaning?’
Do you think these men went to bed that night?
O no! They could not sleep. ‘Let us go,’ they said, ‘and tell the disciples that we have seen Jesus.’ So they left their supper and set out in the night to walk back to Jerusalem. They walked quickly and soon came to the city.
The disciples were all shut up together in a room. They had locked the doors to prevent the wicked people getting in, but they let these good men come in. The disciples were at supper.
‘We have seen Jesus,’ said these good men, ‘He walked with us and talked with us, but we did not know Him till He sat down with us at supper and broke some bread and gave thanks to His Father.’ The disciples said, ‘Some women have seen Him, and Peter has seen Him.’
But, while they were eating their supper and talking about Jesus, they looked and saw Jesus standing in the middle of the room. Though the door was locked, He had come in. How do you think the disciples felt?
They were frightened: they could not believe that it was indeed Jesus Himself.
Jesus spoke kindly to them. ‘Why are you afraid?’ He asked. Then He said, ‘Look at My hands and feet. It is I Myself.’ Then Jesus showed His disciples the marks that the nails had made in His hands and feet, and the hole that the spear had made in His side.
Then the disciples saw that it was their own dear Master. They were glad, very glad to see Him. They had been crying ever since they had lost Him. They saw that He had forgiven them for having run away. He said nothing to them about it. He had even forgiven Peter. He knew that Peter loved Him, and that he was very sorry.
The disciples were so surprised to see Jesus that they could hardly believe He was alive. Jesus knew that they did not quite believe, so He said, ‘Have you anything to eat?’ Then the disciples gave Him a piece of fish and some honey from their supper. Jesus took the food and began to eat, so that the disciples might see that He really was alive.
Then afterward He talked to them and told them why He had died, and that He was going back to His father to pray for them.
That was a pleasant night for the poor disciples. It was not like that sad night when Jesus was so sorrowful in the garden. His sorrows were over, and He would never feel pain again anymore.
There are but three around that table met.
It’s their last meal, for now the sun has set.
One breaks the bread. I know that lovely face,
That voice, but lo, He’s vanished from the place!
‘Was it an angel? No, it was the Lord;
He lives again. He is to us restored.’
What joy now fills these hearts that once were filled
With fears! Ah, now forever, ever stilled!
‘Well might our hearts burn in us by the way
While Jesus spake,’ the fond disciples say;
‘How sweet was His discourse! We little thought
That it was He. How strange we knew Him not.
But stranger far that we did not believe
That He would rise again! Could He deceive?
O no; He is the faithful and the true,
And what He says He evermore will do.’
Questions
On what day did Jesus come out of His grave?
What were two good men doing that evening?
What were they talking about?
Who came and walked with them?
Did they know that Jesus was with them?
What did Jesus talk to them about?
Did Jesus come into the house of the two good men?
When did they find out who He was?
Did Jesus stay in the room?
Did the good men stay in their own house that night?
Where did they go?
Who came into the room although the door was locked?
What did Jesus show to all His disciples?
Were the disciples sure that Jesus was the same Jesus?
What did Jesus eat?
How Jesus made His disciples know Him again after He rose again:
A verse from the Bible for you to learn:
He showed unto them His hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. John 20:20.