Youth Group Devotionals

In chapter 24 of Luke we read that Jesus appeared to two of His disciples while they were walking on the road to Emmaus.To add some context to this scripture, we’ve all learned about the 12 disciples, some of you may know all their names, but these were not all the followers of Jesus. On Monday and Tuesday we read about a group of women that were following Jesus. In total there were approximately 100 people following Jesus as he traveled around in His ministry. This is how they were able to replace Judas with Matthias (Acts 1:12-26).In this passage, we see that despite all these people following Jesus and hearing His teachings, they still did not fully understand His mission as the Messiah, a misunderstanding that often frustrated Him throughout His ministry. (I would say the two who understood the most were Mary, His mother, and Mary Magdalene.)As the two disciples walk along discussing recent events, Jesus joins them but prevents them from recognizing Him. He then explains the scriptures, showing how He fulfills them. Finally, at dinner, He reveals His identity, and everything suddenly clicks for them in another biblical light bulb moment!

Jesus appeared to the rest of the group of women who went to the tomb after they saw that it was empty and were visited by angels. Mark tells us two of the women, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, the mother of John and the other James whom Jesus called the "Sons of Thunder".

Jesus’ time on earth didn’t end with his resurrection; he remained for another 40 days. We're going look at what the Bible says about that period. One of His first appearances was to Mary Magdalene at the tomb.

This week we’ve been talking about how every person is made in the image of God, Imago Dei. But we know that not long after Adam and Eve were created, sin entered the world and everything changed. They were separated from God, and that brokenness has affected all of us ever since.Throughout the devotionals this week, I’ve been using the idea of a mirror, but I left the reflection blank on purpose until today. Think about it this way: if we perfectly reflected God, the mirror would be whole and clear. But when we sin, it’s like the mirror starts to crack. The reflection is still there, but it’s distorted and broken, it doesn’t look the way it’s supposed to. That’s what sin does in our lives. We were created to reflect God’s love, goodness, and truth, but sin damages that reflection, and we can’t fix it on our own, no matter how hard we try.But Jesus can. He is the perfect image of God, no cracks, no distortion. And instead of leaving us in our brokenness, He chose to take our place. This is what Easter did for Eden: Jesus took the punishment for our sin so we wouldn’t have to. On the cross, He carried all the sins we’ve committed and will commit and paid for it completely. Because of Him, God no longer sees us as cracked and distorted; through Jesus, we are forgiven and being restored, slowly made new so that our lives can once again reflect Him more clearly.I’ll be taking next week off because of spring break, but it’s also Holy Week, which makes it a great time to spend time in Scripture. I’d encourage you to read Matthew 21 (which we celebrate this Sunday as Palm Sunday), and then Matthew 26–28 over Easter weekend as we remember what Jesus has done for us.

Since every person is created in God’s image, we are called to approach others with compassion and empathy. In the Old Testament, we see this reflected in God’s repeated restoration of the Israelites, His chosen people, even after they turn away and break their covenant with Him.In the life and ministry of Jesus, this compassion becomes even more tangible. He heals the sick, disabled, and demon possessed. Through parables like the Good Samaritan, He teaches what it means to truly love others. He even weeps at the tomb of Lazarus before raising him, revealing a deep, personal empathy. All of this models how we are meant to live out the command to love our neighbors as ourselves.To me, all of this is encapsulated in James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”. We are to be the hands and feet of God and care for all His image bearers, especially the most vulnerable.P.S. If you want to read a lived illustration of God’s behavior towards His people check out the book of Hosea. God tells Hosea to marry a woman that continually cheats on him and then God instructs Hosea to go find her and bring her home demonstrating the depth of God’s love for His people.