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ON'T you just love reading about the reactions of the disciples to the resurrection of Christ? Talk about a final chapter that reconciles a whole book & makes the story good, nothing compares to the triumphant resurrection of the hero of the Book of Luke. At first Jesus' followers were puzzled. They were perplexed, confused & frustrated (vs. 4 & 22). In fact, the disciples had already been rather bumfuzzled by the death of Christ. They had thought He was the Messiah; the Redeemer of Israel (vs. 21). Even though He had told them about His coming death & resurrection, they just didn't see it coming. How could He rescue His people if He was dead? So, when Christ's tomb ended up empty, wild thoughts began to fill their heads & hearts (vs. 38).
When these same disciples began to "see things" that they had never seen before, inexplicable things, they were downright scared. Angels in Jesus' empty sepulcher, Christ's disappearance from the supper table in Emmaus & His reappearance to the 11 apostles in Jerusalem – these were strange & unexpected occurrences (vs. 4, 31 & 36). Jesus had no desire to frighten His children, but their own doubts & sinfulness stood in the way of spiritual wisdom. But, when the disciples began to realize what had happened, naturally they were astonished & thrilled. The return of their leader after His death was a tremendous surprise & relief. Add to that the message that He bore, & the obvious spiritual power that He possessed, & we can see how the joy of the disciples became understandably boundless (vs. 32-35, 39-41, 45 & 52-53). They worshipped Him with gladness & wonder!
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