“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?”
Luke 24:38
The disciples had just witnessed Jesus being taken by the Roman guards. They watched as he had been beaten beyond recognition. As Jesus drug the cross through Jerusalem they followed Him helplessly. They stood and waited as Jesus bled out and life left His body on the cross. They saw the guards guarding his tomb. It had been 3 days.
As the disciples were gathering, Jesus appeared to them and asked, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?”
How would you respond in this situation? Did they have reason to doubt? I do admit that I probably would have questioned and doubted how Jesus, who I saw hang on that cross till life left His body, could now be standing in front of me.
But Jesus, sits with the disciples and breaks bread. He lets them touch Him. He opens their mind so they could understand the Scripture and what it says.
He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luke 24:46-47
Because Jesus has not yet returned, we must walk by faith. We have His Word as a lamp for our feet and a light on our path (Psalm 119:105). We are not like the disciples in the fact that they got to dine with Jesus and touch Him, but we know that Jesus can be trusted. We just experienced Easter and celebrated the fact that He indeed rose from the dead. When doubts arise, we need only to continue to pour over His Word and renew our minds. Ask the Lord to open your mind so that you can understand the scripture. You might be amazed and what you then read.
For we live by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7