Jesus Appears in the Upper Room: A Meditation on Doubt, Faith, and the Risen Lord

In our daily meditations, we focus on the resurrection of Jesus, when He appeared to the disciples while they were eating in the upper room. Here's the passage again:

³⁶While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." ³⁷They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." ⁴⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate it in their presence (Luke 24:36-42).

Why would the disciples still doubt that Jesus rose from the dead after John and Peter's testimony, Mary Magdalene's account, and the other women's (Matthew 28:9), as well as the two disciples on the Emmaus Road? Was it a lack of evidence? Was it a lack of faith? What causes people today to doubt the resurrection of Christ?

Many people do not seek answers to their questions about the resurrection of Jesus. For some, it is not doubt but unbelief. This distrust of the evidence is more rooted in the will than in the mind. They make a conscious decision not to believe. Unbelief is a sin when it is a choice of the heart. The enemy, Satan, is quick to sow doubtful thoughts and suggestions into our minds, and we must choose whether to believe God's Word or Satan's doubts. If you have doubts, do not hesitate to examine and seek out the facts about the Gospel. There is evidence at every step for the Christian faith, but at some point, one must cast oneself into the hands of God and decide to believe or reject the Gospel. Martin Luther said, "The art of doubting is easy, for it is an ability that is born with us."

God isn't upset by your doubts, but He does oppose willful unbelief that rejects the truth and refuses to accept evidence. Henry Drummond once said: "Christ distinguished between doubt and unbelief. Doubt says, 'I can't believe.' Unbelief says, 'I won't believe.' Doubt is honest. Unbelief is obstinate." If you lack evidence for faith in Christ, rest assured that the Lord is near and wants you to understand the truth about Him if you are open to hearing it. If you have a genuine openness to the truth deep within your heart, the evidence will come if you seek Him with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13).

Jesus revealed Himself among them and showed His hands and feet (Luke 24:39-40). I wish I could have seen their faces as He made them look at His wounds. One day, we will be able to see those marks of love when we finally reach home. Luke describes the joy and amazement on the disciples' faces as they observed all the evidence of Christ's visible, bodily presence (v. 41). They must have wondered whether what they were seeing was too good to be true. They felt the nail prints as He held out His hands to them, moving around the room.

Have you ever wondered why the scars remain on Jesus' hands even though His body was completely healed and resurrected? The marks of love endure for everyone to see. How wonderful it is that the God we serve bears the scars of love on His body. "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Keith Thomas.

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Taken from the series on the Gospel of Luke, study 66. Jesus Appears to the Disciples.

You may also enjoy watching the YouTube video, "Why Did Jesus Have to Die?"