Luke 24:36b-48 (NRSV)
Read Luke 24:36b-48 on biblegateway.com
Verse 36While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." Verse 37They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Verse 38He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Verse 39Look 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." Verse 40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. Verse 41While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" Verse 42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, Verse 43and he took it and ate in their presence. Verse 44Then 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." Verse 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, Verse 46and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, Verse 47and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Verse 48You are witnesses of these things.
Devotion
When I was a student, I gave high marks to teachers who, at the end of a lecture, would take time to go over the material again to make sure the students understood the main points.
Jesus is such a teacher. At the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, in the Nazareth synagogue, he proclaims the good news of his mission: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives.”
As the resurrected Jesus prepares the disciples to be “witnesses of these things,” he again teaches them about the fulfillment of the prophets and the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness. He goes over the main points of his mission, now theirs. It’s a mission by which to live and die and live anew—a mission that is now yours and mine.
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Prayer
Holy God, holy and merciful, draw near to us as we pray. Make your presence known to us. Teach us. Equip us. Fulfill your mission through us. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.