Life!
Luke 24:36-40
3/25/20
Pastor John C. Berg
Luke 24:36-40 (EHV)
36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among
them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 But they were terrified and frightened and thought they were
looking at a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in
your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see,
because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
This is your daily devotion for March 25th. Sometimes, when fear overtakes us we don’t
notice the good around us. That might be
happening to some of us right now because what we’re really afraid during a
pandemic is the ultimate fear. It’s the
fear of death. When we’re mourning a
loved one’s death we have a hard time even noticing anything else. When we feel that death is stalking us it
tends to crowd out everything else. Just
the prospect of death can lead us to ignore all the life around us. Our rhubarb is coming up. Yesterday one of you shared a picture of your
tulips doing the same. Life is
returning.
The disciples in
Luke 24 are a perfect example of death crowding out everything else. The risen Jesus came to them and they were
terrified. 36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among
them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 But they were terrified and frightened and thought they were
looking at a ghost. Jesus’ death had hit them so hard and their
fear of possibly meeting the same end resulted in them fearing the one thing
they most needed-Jesus living and with them.
Jesus’ reaction is one of
grace: 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in
your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself. Touch me and see,
because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. The ultimate response to fear,
the antidote to the fear of death is always the risen Christ. He went through
it. And he lives. Death has been conquered. Your Jesus is alive and you will live with
him for eternity. Step back and get a
little perspective. Yes, disease and death are scary and powerful. But the risen Christ is alive and all
powerful.
Let’s pray: Jesus,
let the new signs of life in spring remind us of that you defeated death and so
we have life eternal. Amen.
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