Everything about Jesus seemed to come together during his last few days on earth, and surely those days offer a key to understanding Him. People’s reactions to him plunged from heady exhilaration to murderous rejection overnight. These last days included one scene of triumph, a grand entry into Jerusalem. Pilgrims were filling the streets in holiday celebration. In a gallant gesture for Jesus, they laid their coats before Him, and they roared their approval as He approached. But against the tumultuous background, Jesus sat weeping, painfully aware that their praise was hollow. Even as Jesus’ popularity with the masses was soaring, spies joined the ranks of onlookers, assailing him with questions and verbal traps. Jesus knew He wasn’t safe anywhere, even in an intimate gathering with His disciples. During His and His disciples’ last meal together, one of the Twelve rose and left the room to bargain for Jesus’ life.

The Darkest Day and the Brightest

In Jesus’ arrest, the religious and political power brokers had a look at him at last. They had heard many intriguing rumors, and hoped he would perform for them like a magician. Jesus declined. He had never sought their kind of power, and would not then, even with his life at stake. Outside, the crowd that previously had shouted, “Blessed is the king!” took up a very different chant: “Crucify him!” Jesus’ life was doomed. The one who had come to save the world was about to be destroyed by it. The closing chapters record the darkest days in history…and the brightest. No one was more surprised than Jesus’ disciples to hear reports that the man they had seen die on Friday was walking around on Sunday. It seemed like hysterical nonsense at first – until he did appear, and they could deny it no longer.

Ordinary People, an Extraordinary Discovery

The Gospel of Luke adds one scene that captures the terrible confusion of those final days. Two of Jesus’ disciples were walking away from Jerusalem, downhearted. Their dream was over: all the mounting hopes of the last few years had died with Jesus on the cross. A strange man appeared beside the two forlorn disciples. Bizarrely, he seemed the only man alive who hadn’t heard about the incredible week in Jerusalem. He talked with them, tracing the whole story of the gospel, beginning with Moses and the prophets. The stranger intrigued them, and they asked him to stay longer. At meal time the last link snapped into place. It was Jesus! No one else. Without a doubt, He was alive. Ordinary people, with more than a touch of cowardice, had followed Jesus, listened to Him, and watched Him die (from a distance, to keep themselves safe). But seeing Jesus alive changed all that. Luke’s story began with joy, and it ends that way. “Then they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy”. Before long, they were out telling the world about it.  Suppose you had been in the room to hear the first news of Jesus’ resurrection. Would you have believed it? What makes you believe it now?