(Luk)‬ ‭24‬:‭6‬-‭8‬, ‭11‬, ‭25‬, ‭27‬ ‭CJB‬‬ “He is not here; he has been raised. Remember how he told you while he was still in the Galil, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be executed on a stake as a criminal, but on the third day be raised again’?” Then they remembered his words; But the emissaries didn’t believe them; in fact, they thought that what they said was utter nonsense! He said to them, “Foolish people! So unwilling to put your trust in everything the prophets spoke! Then, starting with Moshe and all the prophets, he explained to them the things that can be found throughout the Tanakh concerning himself.”

If anyone should have understood the resurrection, it was Jesus’ disciples. Yet Luke 24 reminds us why we must know God through Scripture rather than depend merely upon experiences, emotions, or even proximity to spiritual things.

These men had walked with Jesus for three years.

They heard Him teach.

They watched Him heal the sick.

They saw Him raise the dead.

Most importantly, Jesus repeatedly told them that He would be killed and rise again (Luke 9:22; 18:31–33).

Yet when the women returned from the empty tomb announcing what the angels had told them, the apostles thought their testimony was “utter nonsense” (Luke 24:11 CJB).

Three years with Jesus had not produced the understanding we might expect.

To Know God Through Scripture, We Must Believe What He Says

Later, Jesus encounters two disciples traveling toward Emmaus. His first words of correction are striking:

“Foolish people! So unwilling to put your trust in everything the prophets spoke!”
— Luke 24:25 CJB

Notice what Jesus identifies as their problem.

They hadn’t believed the Scriptures.

Then Jesus does something remarkable:

“Starting with Moshe and all the prophets, he explained to them the things that can be found throughout the Tanakh concerning himself.”
— Luke 24:27 CJB

The resurrected Jesus gives them a Bible lesson!

He could have simply said, “Look at Me. I’m alive!”

Instead, He takes them through Moses and the Prophets and demonstrates that His suffering, death, and resurrection were God’s plan all along.

Jesus wanted their faith anchored not merely in an experience, but in God’s revealed Word.

Even a Resurrection Isn’t Enough

Jesus had already taught this principle.

In His account of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers.

Abraham responds:

“If they won’t listen to Moshe and the Prophets, they won’t be convinced even if someone rises from the dead!”
— Luke 16:31 CJB

Then Luke 24 practically demonstrates it.

Someone did rise from the dead—and His own disciples initially struggled to believe it.

Men, spectacular experiences don’t produce mature disciples. God’s truth must penetrate our minds and hearts.

God has revealed Himself supremely in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1–3), and the Scriptures faithfully reveal Christ and God’s truth to us (John 5:39; 2 Timothy 3:15–17).

If we want to know God, understand His ways, recognize truth, and live lives pleasing to Him, we must become men of the Word.

Jesus said:

“If you obey what I say, then you are really my talmidim.”
— John 8:31 CJB

Run Today’s Play

Don’t build your relationship with God primarily on feelings, experiences, sermons, podcasts, or what somebody else tells you about Him.

Open the Bible.

Read it diligently. Study it carefully. Believe what God says. Obey what you learn.

The disciples walked physically beside Jesus and still needed Him to open the Scriptures and correct their thinking.

We need the same Word.

You cannot faithfully follow a God whose Word you refuse to learn.

Know His Word. Know His truth. Know God through Scripture.