Easter Devotion: Resurrection Sunday

By Chad Meeks

Pastor

Read Luke 24.

For those who have eyes to see, we can see God in a Texas sunset, a snow capped mountain, a white sandy beach, and a newborn baby. It is not that these phenomena are God, but we can see God through them. God reveals Himself in many different ways throughout the cosmos. But, has God given us a means by which we can see the sacrifice of our Lord? By that, I do not mean actually see it. I mean, is there an act we can participate in that allows us to experience and recognize what it is Jesus did for us on the cross? I believe there is. 

In Luke 24, the resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. You may recall, at first, the disciples did not recognize Jesus, but Luke tells us eventually their “eyes were opened” to see the glorified Jesus literally walking and talking with them (v. 31). By what means, though, did God open their eyes? According to our passage, their eyes were opened by God through three different modes of grace. 

First, Jesus “interpreted” the Scriptures to them (v. 27). This act of interpreting is a tricky thing. Anytime someone interprets a biblical passage, or a piece of literature, or even something as trivial as a recipe, one must use reason. In other words, any interpretation of any text requires some intellectual ability. Thus, one way God opened the eyes of the disciples is through the intellect. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying knowing God is simply an intellectual exercise, but it certainly isn’t less than that. 

Second, if Jesus interpreted the Scriptures, that means He used the Scriptures to reveal Himself to the disciples. So, another way God opens the eyes of the disciples is through His word. This likely doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone walking with the Lord. It is quite common for God to use His word to speak to our hearts and minds. In fact, that is one of the main ways God communicates to His people today – through His word. 

Last, we see that Jesus “took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them” (v. 30). Perhaps this is something you have overlooked within Luke’s resurrection account. Notice what Jesus does after He explains Scripture to the disciples of Emmaus, but before their eyes are open. He partook in communion. The disciples even testify to the power of the Lord’s Supper. In verse 35, when telling other followers of Christ about their encounter, Luke writes that they “told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread” (v. 35, italics added for emphasis). Did you get that? Their eyes were opened through the act of communion. 

The Lord’s Supper is not a pointless, empty symbolic act: it is a means of grace given to us by our Lord. It is a way God reveals the Son to us. It is a way we can experience the resurrected Lord. It is a way we can know God. As followers of Christ, when we partake of the Lord’s ordinance, we are participating in a special grace God has given us so that we may know the impact of our Lord’s sacrifice, and we may see the glory of our risen Savior.