One of my favorite events that takes place in the New Testament is an experience that the disciples have after the resurrection of Yeshua. In Luke 24, after Yeshua had revealed Himself to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the disciples gathered together in Jerusalem as the two shared about their interaction with Yeshua and how He had revealed Himself to them.
Then, we read in Luke 24:36-38:
36 While they were speaking of these things, Yeshua Himself stood in the midst of them and said, “Shalom Aleichem!” 37 But they were startled and terrified, thinking they were seeing a ghost. 38 Then He said to them, “Why are you so shaken? And why do doubts arise in your heart?
I find it very revealing that it was while the disciples were sharing about how Yeshua revealed Himself to them that Yeshua revealed Himself to those they were sharing with. I also find it interesting that the two disciples who were walking on the road when they encountered Yeshua were in Jerusalem sharing about their encounter with a group of disciples that knew Yeshua personally, and yet, even though they each personally knew and had travelled with Yeshua for 3 and a half years, they were startled and terrified at His appearance.
Think about this for a moment. When Yeshua greeted them, He said, “Shalom Aleichem,” which means: “Peace be unto you.” Their response to His greeting was not peace, but terror. Yeshua even questions them, “Why are you shaken and why do doubts arise in your heart?”
Now, remember this takes place directly after the testimony of the two men to whom Yeshua revealed Himself after they met on the road to Damascus. His appearance happened at a moment when the faith of the disciples should have been at a super high level. They had just heard about a supernatural experience when Yeshua, whom they saw die on the cross and get buried in the tomb, physically walked and ate with two of His disciples. Yet, even after that when Yeshua appeared to them, they responded in fear instead of faith.
In Luke 24:44-46, Yeshua reminded them:
44 Then He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you—everything written concerning Me in the Torah of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, “So it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,
Yeshua’s words here are so empowering to me and should be to every believer who reads this narrative. Yeshua reminds His disciples that nothing that was happening was outside of what He had told them to prepare for. “Everything written concerning Me in the Torah of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Those words straight from the mouth of Yeshua are just as valid for you and I today.
Right after saying the above, Yeshua commissions them to go to Jerusalem and preach the Good News, as we read in Luke 24:47:
47 and that repentance for the removal of sins is to be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
That commission is still our commission today. Just as the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Yeshua has revealed Himself to us. Our job is to spread that Good News of repentance and removal of sins through the power of the Spirit of G-D to all creation (non-believers and believers). As we share how Yeshua revealed Himself to us, Yeshua will reveal Himself to others. Some of those believers will respond as the disciples did that day. They will respond in shock. Why? Because their faith has been shaken by their circumstances. They, like the disciples that day, temporarily forgot what Yeshua told them would be coming and needed to be reminded, just as some today have become overwhelmed by the sickness, tragedy, catastrophes, etc. that we are experiencing in this world. It is our role to remind them just as Yeshua reminded His disciples 2,000 years ago. We must say, “Everything written concerning Me in the Torah of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
So, in short, Yeshua revealed Himself to His disciples so they would tell others, and as they told others, He revealed Himself to those who were being told. This pattern holds true no matter what is happening around us because a part of revealing our revelation of Yeshua is the truth that all prophecies concerning Him will be fulfilled.
You may be a disciple like those found in Luke 24:37. If you are, take a moment to let Yeshua once again do for you what He did for His disciples that day when He, as we read in Luke 24:45,
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
Once He does, you will once again hear the words “Shalom Aleichem” and remember the commission given to you. Then go and share how Yeshua revealed Himself to you because He wants to reveal Himself to all those you share with.