Luke 24 v 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning….
At this point the disciples had still been kept from recognizing him. The question now was, how would Jesus reveal himself to them? Could not some imposter dress up like Jesus and simply claim to be the Messiah? So Jesus did something no imposter would do. It was something very characteristic of Jesus and would reveal who he was completely.
Seated at the table, he took bread, said the blessing and broke it and gave it to them. At this moment their eyes were opened. This simple action was all that was needed. “Their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” (verse 31) They would have remembered when he broke bread and fed 5000 people. They would also remember the breaking of bread in the upper room the evening before the crucifixion, although Cleopas was not there at the time. (verse 17). It was God who opened their eyes, just as he does today. Nobody can see, or understand, or value Jesus, even today, unless God in His great and Sovereign grace opens their eyes to see and their minds to understand.
In the upper room Jesus had pointedly spoken of the bread as the giving of his flesh and blood for the life of the world (John 6 verse 32 – 59). No one else in the entire realm of human history offered up his body for our personal redemption.
The two disciples whose eyes had been opened now became aware of a redemption that was far bigger than a mere political deliverance. Jesus miraculously disappeared and the two friends headed back to Jerusalem where the other 11 disciples were assembled together. There they were told that the Lord had appeared to Simon. They in turn told how they had recognized the Lord when he broke bread with them.
What an amazing, confusing, joyful, exciting time this must have been for the disciples. There is no experience in the world to compare with that moment when our eyes are suddenly opened, our minds released to believe the Gospel as the truth, and we are set free.
We should always pray for God to give back to us that original joy we had when we first saw the Lord.
It is so easy to for me to become bogged down with life’s pressures as I suppose for many of us. This is again a very good reminder to just encompass myself with that Joy with the help of the Holy Spirit and focus also on being free to serve Him and show that “joy” to the unsaved. May Jesus use me to be a witness to my unsaved family and friends. Thank you Frank .