Recognizing Jesus
Scripture Reading — Luke 24:28-35
Their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
—Luke 24:31
The disciples had been with Jesus for three years. They had sat at his feet and seen him as their Teacher. They had followed his instructions as their Lord and Master. Jesus was also their Friend, and they loved sharing their hearts with him. But, as Henri Nouwen puts it, “His body and blood and their body and blood had not yet become one.”
Now, after his resurrection, Jesus broke bread with two of his followers, and this brought their relationship to a whole new level. Jesus showed them the way by going before them and opening up a whole new realm as he explained his mission, God’s redemption plan for sinners, as told throughout the Scriptures.
As Jesus gave them the bread, they recognized him. They realized that their Lord, Master, Teacher, and Friend was with them again. He was alive! The Lord Jesus had risen from the dead!
This revelation brought them to their feet. They returned to Jerusalem to tell their story, and they found the other disciples saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen …”
The reality of Christ’s resurrection brings the community of faith together to celebrate the one who walks with us and now lives within us.
Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see you. Break through any barriers that are keeping us from you, we pray. Use us in this world for your kingdom’s sake. Amen.
About the author — John Kuperus
Since he was young, John Kuperus has had a passion that everyone would know Jesus. Spreading the good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) is very important to him. To be better equipped for missions, John attended Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He applied these skills with marketplace evangelism in a business he started in Sussex, New Jersey. This calling continued to follow him, so John attended seminary and became a minister in the Christian Reformed Church, serving a church in Ontario for eight years. Currently he serves as a missionary for Youth with a Mission (YWAM). He witnesses Jesus changing lives as people walk out of the darkness into the light. John is married to Helen, and they have seven children.
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