In his article, Pastor Treglown pulled out the very first newsletter he wrote for the Voice, and he told me that he wasn’t sure what he was thinking when he chose that opening verse from Luke 24:13–16 and what that verse had to do with the rest of the article, which was about God’s deep, personal love for each one of us. So in my article, I want to hazard a guess—to try to figure out what Pastor Treglown was thinking of when he chose that verse for his article 25 years ago. Because I think he (as we’ve come to expect from him over these 25 years!) was onto something.

Because when we think about God’s personal love for each of us, the resurrection accounts—that is, the stories of when Jesus meets people after his resurrection—are all so deeply intimate:

When Mary (in John 20:11–18) finds the risen Jesus at the tomb, she at first thinks He’s the gardener. But He reveals himself to her by calling her name—and the name He calls her is not Maria, the Greek form of her name that most people would have probably called her by—he calls her Mariam, the Aramaic form of her name—the name her parents would have called her by as a little girl. For He is not only her Lord, but also her very dear friend.

On the Emmaus road (in Luke 24:13–31), we see Jesus appear with two of his disciples, but when he does so he meets them incognito, so to speak—so that instead of having them just marvel at his glory, he can also have a friendly conversation with them, hear what they think, walk with them, eat with them.

And Thomas—who once doubted Jesus’ resurrection, despite the testimony of all the other disciples, saying he wouldn’t believe it was really Jesus unless he touched the holes in his hands and side—Jesus has no rebuke for Thomas when he appears to him (in John 20:26–29). Rather, all He says to him is: “Put your fingers here in my hand; put your hand in my side—and believe!” Words of deep compassion, of intimate care.

And in the same way, in His resurrection, our Lord comes to us and cares for us. Just as He called Mary by name in the garden, so too He called you by name in your baptism. Just as He broke bread and shared a meal with his disciples after the Emmaus road, so too He shares a meal with you when we celebrate Holy Communion. And just as Thomas heard not a rebuke but words of compassion, so too when we confess our sins in worship, we hear God’s words of compassion, that our sins are forgiven.

So this Easter season, let’s rejoice that we do indeed have a Lord who is highly exalted, whose name is blessed above every name, a Lord at whose name every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord (Philippians 2:9–11). But let us rejoice also that we have a Lord who condescends to us—who comes to us in intimate, compassionate love, and bids us walk alongside Him, like sheep following their shepherd.

Happy Easter!

-Pastor Duncan