Devotional Day 30 for Tuesday 3/30

Reading: Luke 24:36-52

Jesus appeared to two disciples on the Road to Emmaus and Simon Peter.  Paul records that Jesus appeared to more than 500 hundred people after he rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:6).  In fact, I have heard numerous stories from friends of mine overseas who have met people who have been visited by a radiant Jesus in dreams and visions.  In this passage, Jesus appears to all 11 of the disciples.

It was the unified witness of the early church that Jesus indeed rose from the dead.  The startling growth of the early church which spread this message of the risen Son of God throughout the Roman Empire in just a couple hundred years despite intense persecution from both the government and other religious movements is incredible.  Especially if you consider that their "claim to fame" was that a dead man had risen from the dead and was now seated with God in heaven.  A claim they willingly died for.  At any moment if Jesus' body had been found, the Christian movement would have been completely discredited.  Incredibly, his body has never been found.

Jesus is alive.  He showed his disciples his resurrected body and explained to them how the Old Testament Scriptures predicted his death and resurrection. Without the resurrection, the church has no mission and no real purpose - it is just a museum that reminds us of a wonderful man. With the resurrection, the church has purpose and mission.  We see that Jesus speaks directly to his disciples about this mission at the end of Luke.

He then gave them two clear instructions.

1. Go and call all people to change their thinking, turn to Jesus, and receive forgiveness of sins in his name.
2. Wait to go to all people group's until they had received the promised Holy Spirit, power from on high.

I propose the call of every disciple could simply be defined as this.  Pray, go, tell.

We will explore this call more fully over the next few days.

"Repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations... But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."  (Luke 24:47,49)