Seeing and Sharing Christ
Good news needs to be shared.
Sometimes, when we have guests in our home whom we know very well, and especially if they are brothers or sisters in the family of faith, we may ask them to pray before we share a meal. It is a request meant to honor the visitor to our table. Luke’s Gospel gives us a similar scene, though here the visitor appears to have taken the lead in deciding that He would pray. After Jesus’ encounter with two disciples on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, He “went in to stay with them” (Luke 24:29), and “when he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them” (v 30).
Previously, on their long walk from Jerusalem, when this pair encountered Jesus, “their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:16). But now, as Jesus blessed the meal, they were made to see Him. God chose this moment to reveal that they were in the presence of the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Just as God through His Spirit opened these disciples’ eyes to behold the truth of the risen Christ, so He used His word to ignite within their hearts a passion for who Jesus was and is. As soon as they recognized Jesus, and even after He disappeared, “they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’” (Luke 24:32).
The hour was late, they had walked a long way, and they had just sat down to eat, and yet they could do nothing other than rise and return to Jerusalem to share the amazing news with the eleven disciples. What a night that must have been!
Their enthusiasm is a reminder to us that the news that Jesus is alive wasn’t simply their news, or the Eleven’s news for that matter. It is news that needs to be shared and that is most enjoyed in company with others who understand its glorious implications. It belongs to all who are the Lord’s. And no matter what language we speak, what country we visit, or what journey we take, we are not far from other believers with whom we can rejoice together in a living hope given to us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3-5). You can share this joy right where you are, though, with those you live with and worship with by looking them in the eye and, with a smile, saying, “Jesus has risen.”
This news needs to be shared. Do you long to see Christ for who He really is and show others the same? Do you desire to see and to help others see Jesus in the humdrum affairs of life? If so, then ask God to do what He did for these disciples, that you may discover afresh and share who Jesus is and what He is to you.
How is God calling me to think differently?
How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
35The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, ithe Lamb of God!” 37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, j“What are you seeking?” And they said to him, k“Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.10 40lOne of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus11 was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found mthe Messiah” (which means Christ). 42He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of nJohn. You shall be called oCephas” (which means pPeter12).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43qThe next day Jesus decided rto go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now sPhilip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found tNathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom uMoses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus vof Nazareth, wthe son of Joseph.” 46Nathanael said to him, x“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, yan Israelite indeed, zin whom there is no deceit!” 48Nathanael said to him, “How ado you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49Nathanael answered him, b“Rabbi, cyou are the Son of God! You are the dKing of Israel!” 50Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you,13 you will see eheaven opened, and fthe angels of God ascending and descending on gthe Son of Man.”
Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, 2022, The Good Book Company.
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