More Eye Surgery
While they 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. Luke 24:36-43, NIV.
Talk about confusion!
The words that catch my attention are "They still did not believe it because of joy and amazement" (verse 41). The Revised Standard Version translates the passage as "they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered," and Moffatt renders it as "they could not believe it, for sheer joy; they were lost in wonder."
Whatever it was that they were experiencing, one fact stands out above all others: what happened in the past 24 hours had totally overwhelmed Jesus' disciples. Their entire worldview had turned upside down as they oscillated between total despair and unbelievable joy. Now they were just plainly confused, as well as being frightened.
Jesus' task is to open their eyes a bit further by clarifying their vision, something that He does in three steps. First, He had to straighten out the disciples' misconceptions. They had swallowed some of the contemporary mythology about ghosts. He didn't explicitly correct them about the superstition, but He did demonstrate beyond a shadow of the doubt that His resurrected body was genuine flesh and blood. Seeing His pierced hands and feet and touching them helped. But the ultimate proof was His eating a piece of fish.
The second thing Jesus did at that point, John tells us, is that "he breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' " (John 20:22, RSV). The gift of the Spirit would continually lead them into further truth and a correcting of their eyesight.
Last, Luke tells us that Jesus took the roomful of disciples through the same Bible study regarding the Old Testament's presentation of His mission that He had earlier given to the two on the road to Emmaus. Thus "He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45, NKJV).
Father, even today the Resurrection event seems too good to be true. Guide us as You did the disciples of old into an ever clearer and firmer faith is our prayer. Amen.
While they 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. Luke 24:36-43, NIV.
Talk about confusion!
The words that catch my attention are "They still did not believe it because of joy and amazement" (verse 41). The Revised Standard Version translates the passage as "they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered," and Moffatt renders it as "they could not believe it, for sheer joy; they were lost in wonder."
Whatever it was that they were experiencing, one fact stands out above all others: what happened in the past 24 hours had totally overwhelmed Jesus' disciples. Their entire worldview had turned upside down as they oscillated between total despair and unbelievable joy. Now they were just plainly confused, as well as being frightened.
Jesus' task is to open their eyes a bit further by clarifying their vision, something that He does in three steps. First, He had to straighten out the disciples' misconceptions. They had swallowed some of the contemporary mythology about ghosts. He didn't explicitly correct them about the superstition, but He did demonstrate beyond a shadow of the doubt that His resurrected body was genuine flesh and blood. Seeing His pierced hands and feet and touching them helped. But the ultimate proof was His eating a piece of fish.
The second thing Jesus did at that point, John tells us, is that "he breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' " (John 20:22, RSV). The gift of the Spirit would continually lead them into further truth and a correcting of their eyesight.
Last, Luke tells us that Jesus took the roomful of disciples through the same Bible study regarding the Old Testament's presentation of His mission that He had earlier given to the two on the road to Emmaus. Thus "He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45, NKJV).
Father, even today the Resurrection event seems too good to be true. Guide us as You did the disciples of old into an ever clearer and firmer faith is our prayer. Amen.
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