While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you – that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

—Luke 24:35-49

The volume of news freely available is too much to consume and way too much to process. Reports are available on each company’s stock, explaining why the price rose or fell. The volume of reports relating to oil pricing exploded earlier this week as, for the first time ever, oil futures fell into negative pricing for a while – people with oil needed to pay people to take it. The reports, along with most others these days, relate in one way or another to a single topic – the virus.  

Because the flood of information is so great, I selectively choose what news to read and as a result I risk missing critical data necessary to properly interpret and apply the information. I should see the path clearly, but I mistake false information for truth, I miss critical pieces of the puzzle, I miscalculate, and I fail in many other ways. 

This is perhaps the only way that I resemble the disciples on that first Easter. A mere three days earlier they dispersed and fled from the guards who were arresting Jesus, each alone fending for himself. One even denied knowing Jesus when asked by people who posed no physical threat to him. With no place else to go, they each returned to the familiar place where they previously met together with Jesus. They were understandably afraid and confused. They grieved the loss of their friend and leader and their shattered worldview.

This was the group upon whom Jesus would build His church. They knew Scripture and they knew all the events that had occurred, but they did not understand. How could Jesus possibly turn this around? He faced, by human standards, the monumental task of getting them to comprehend the meaning and purpose of the events, to appreciate the significance of their witness, and to propel them out into the dangerous world proclaiming what they had experienced.  

On the evening of the first Easter, a group of people who had followed Jesus gathered discussing the events of the past few days, trying to make sense of it all, and Jesus came to them. They were “startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.” Jesus assured them that He was not a ghost. He showed His wounds and encouraged them to touch Him to see that He was flesh and bone, and then He ate broiled fish, further demonstrating His embodiment. Resurrected Jesus was not just a spiritual being, He was body, soul and spirit.

After demonstrating this significant truth, Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures…”  

Earlier in His ministry, just after Jesus sent out seventy messengers to cure the sick and to preach, “the kingdom of God has come near to you” (Luke 10:9), and they returned rejoicing that even demons submitted to them (see Luke 10:17), Jesus rejoiced. He rejoiced that God the Father had revealed things previously hidden to the group of people who followed Jesus. And He turned to the disciples and said,

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” Luke 10:23-24

They had already seen and heard and experienced so much, but now Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” Referring to Scriptural prophecies, He explained that He had to suffer and die and rise again on the third day, and then He explained how they needed to respond. In response to everything they had experienced during Jesus’ earthly ministry, in response to the events of the previous few days, in response to Jesus’ resurrection in the body, in response to their newly enlightened minds, in response to it all Jesus tasked them with proclaiming it all, along with a message of repentance and forgiveness of sins, to “all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.”

He explained why they were the ones who had to do it – because they were “witnesses of these things.” They were present. They saw and heard it all. They experienced it all. He explained that they needed to appreciate the value of their testimony.

And then He promised that they would soon be “clothed with power from on high.” They would soon be filled with the Holy Spirit who would empower them and teach them and give them the words to say.  

They had all the information but they failed to comprehend. They knew Scripture and they knew all the facts of the events that had occurred, but they were unable to connect the dots, failed to understand what the events meant, missed the larger picture and were incapable of appreciating what they needed to be doing. Do you see parallels in your life?  

How did Jesus turn it around? He appeared to them, assured them, opened their minds to Scripture, filled them with the Holy Spirit, and gave them a job to accomplish. And His church continues today because Christ Jesus has repeated this with each generation of believers. Consider your experiences with Christ Jesus. Consider the assurances He has provided. Think about how He has opened your mind as you read Scripture and filled you with His Holy Spirit and tasked you with missions.  

You might be asking, “What does any of this have to do with the virus and the turmoil of the world surrounding us?” If Scripture is the lens through which we view everything and if our objectives each day conform to the mission Jesus gives us, the events surrounding us will seem far less chaotic.

You are witnesses to these things and you have been clothed with power from on high. You have received the gift of His holy grace and, just as amazing as all that, God almighty, the Creator of all things, the holy, pure and divine One, the Alpha and Omega calls you into His holy service. He can do anything and everything; yet, He calls us into His glorious service! How amazing is that?

Please pause for a moment and pray. Ask God to enlighten the eyes of your spirit in a new and refreshed way. Ask Him to open your mind to the Scripture you read today, ask Him to transform your spirit more fully than ever before, and ask Him to use you in His service today. Amen.