CHAYYEI YESHUA

A Devotional Commentary on the Weekly Besora Reading

Sean Emslie

Luke 24:33-49 - Encountering Yeshua - Actions and Words

In our passage this week, we read the report that two disciples make about their encounter with Yeshua on the road to the town of Emmaus. Yeshua demonstrated to them that he was the risen Messiah by physical demonstration as we read:

Yeshua said, "See; my hands and my feet: it is I myself; put your hands on me and make certain; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." And when he had said this, he let them see his hands and his feet. And because, for joy and wonder, they were still in doubt, he said to them, "Have you any food here?" And they gave him a bit of cooked fish. And before their eyes he took a meal.

Luke 24:39-43 BBE

After the physical demonstrations, Yeshua turned to the Hebrew Scriptures and opened up to them what they said about him:

And Yeshua said to them, "These are the words which I said to you when I was still with you, how it was necessary for all the things which are in the writings of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms about me, to be put into effect." Then he made the holy Writings clear to their minds. And he said to them, "So it is in the Writings that the Messiah would undergo death, and come back to life again on the third day"

Luke 24:44-46 BBE

Yeshua made his resurrection known to these disciples by physical acts of showing the marks of his death on the cross and also by his opening up the meaning of the words of the Torah, Prophets and Writings about his life, death and resurrection. He made himself known as the risen Messiah by both actions and the words of Scripture.

For us who are his disciples, those who are followers of the risen Messiah, what can we learn from our Messiah in this passage? First, like Yeshua, we can make him know through our physical presence in the wider Jewish world as individuals and as communities as we begin to live Torah honoring lives. In so doing we will obey the God that gave us Torah and we can also reveal the living Messiah in our midst to the larger Jewish world by building Torah honoring Messianic synagogues, living communities of Torah faithful Jews that are followers of Yeshua.

Second, we can make him known through our knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. In this passage we learn the importance of studying the Scriptures. Yeshua made himself known to the disciples on the way to Emmaus by opening their eyes to the Scriptures of which they were familiar. It is significant that their encounter with Yeshua was made of greater significance because of their knowledge of the Scripture. It is one thing to talk about living Torah, but along with observing Torah commands, it is also vitally important for us to study Torah. Yeshua made himself known to the disciples by words of Torah, may we come to encounter Yeshua more each day as we delve into the Scriptures and be emboldened to make the reality of our Messiah known in our communities.