Christians Are Made to Travel in Groups
32 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?”
33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,
34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”
37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. ”
Luke 24:32–40 ESV Read More
Now remember, these guys walked as far as from downtown Evansville to the Henderson strip as they had a Bible discussion with Jesus. When they found out it was Him and He vanished, they ran all of the way back to tell the others.
I think it’s funny that they went back. Did they think that Jesus was back there and they wanted to be where He was? Wouldn’t the people at the edge of Jerusalem want to hear about it too?
Remember that the disciples were all puzzled with the news from the Marys? They were all so puzzled. So disturbed. Peter was with the disciples, but then after he saw the empty grave, “he went home.”
I have a friend that was in the stands for a traveling US soccer team while they played in a foreign country. The US team would score and dozens of local fans all around him would laugh at him. It was comical and endearing that he would even cheer for the US while surrounded by the home team fans.
He felt awkward and really wanted to change seats so that he could sit with people that would also cheer for the USA, but there were none. In the whole stadium, he was the only spectator cheering for the visiting team.
The disciples wanted to be around other people that missed Jesus, but also were wondering if He had raised from the dead. They needed each other.
What happened to them literally, happens today, even if only spiritually (but a boy can hope, can’t he!?). When we get together and we talk about Jesus, the Holy Spirit works inside of us to change us and to mold us from the inside out. I work through my bitterness as I talk it out and expose it and my brothers pray for me. Our fears and losses are reduced, or at least the impact of them is reduced, when we share them with other believers around us and we all carry the weight together.
As these travelers explained what happened to them, Jesus showed up to prove what they said was true. As much as it’s necessary for us to be around people who have never heard, Jesus shows up, also, when we encourage one another in our belief. When we tell the stories to one another of how we saw Jesus, He is there.
P.S. So my friend Mike, cheering like a fool in a stadium full of locals (He was the foreigner.) kept on cheering. Louder and louder, until the fans around him started also cheering, in mockery, for the USA team. The thing was, in their mockery, other people heard it and didn’t know they were mocking, so they joined in. By the time the game ended, Mike had turned his section into the USA cheering section. He had other successes similar to this that cannot be published online.