I Understand, Finally Luke 24:36-49
Today we’re finishing up our examination of Luke’s Gospel by looking into his account of when Jesus appeared to the disciples after his resurrection.
Verse 36, “While they were still talking about this…” Talking about what? For that we need to go back to Luke 24:12, “Peter…ran to the tomb. Bending over he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away wondering to himself what had happened.”
Even now Peter and the other disciples didn’t get it, didn’t understand. They saw Jesus as a teacher, as a friend and a brother. They saw the crowds get bigger and bigger culminating when they entered Jerusalem that last time. And then everything went bad and it ended with Jesus dying on a cross. After three years not one of them fully understood what had happened and why it had happened. Bartholomew didn’t say, “This is all according to God’s plan.” Thaddeus didn’t remind them that Jesus said he was going to rise from the dead. James didn’t say, “Remember Jesus said this would happen.” No after everything they still didn’t understand. To them in that room everything they believed, all their hopes and dreams for the future died with Jesus on the cross.
And now Jesus tomb is empty. I’m sure these men thought that when things quieted down they would be able to go to Jesus grave and get a sense of closure, a sense of comfort from knowing where their loved one rested; and now even this has been taken from them.
I’m sure they felt what else can happen? So now together in this room they are together discussing all of this. Why did we listen to this man? These men had their faith tested and they failed. Were they defeated? Yeah. Were they overwhelmed? You bet. Did they feel adrift? Big time.
Then into this gathering steps the last person any of them ever expected to see; Verse 36, “Jesus himself stood among them…” These men knew Jesus died on the cross, was buried behind the stone. They believed someone stole his body and hid it and here he is with them. Jesus didn’t knock on the door; one moment he was not there, the next moment he was. In a time and culture where angels and ghosts and demons were known, a culture where ghosts appeared to the living to cause trouble, Jesus appearing like that must have terrified them.
We talk of Jesus coming back, we wait for that glorious day; but what would any of do if he just suddenly was standing in the center aisle of the church? I admit I would be startled and more than a little scared at first.
Jesus knew the eleven remaining disciples would be scared, afraid they were seeing a ghost, so the first thing he does is to try and alleviate that fear, he tells them, “Peace be with you.” (Luke 24:36)
Now honestly, this may not have removed my fear. If we look at the original language of Greek here it says, “E-ray-nay” which does mean peace to you but it has the connotation of “don’t be afraid.” Verse 37, “They were startled and frightened…” Can you imagine this, I can. I don’t think even “don’t be afraid” would have made me not afraid.
Have you ever seen something so incredulous you just can’t believe it’s true? Even though they were told Jesus would come back from the dead, everything in their human experience told them this was impossible.
Jesus knows what they are experiencing, and he does two things to continue to help them to come to terms with this. Verse 39, “Look at my hands and feet…Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones…” (Luke 24:39) He’s saying to them “I don’t just look like your teacher, I didn’t somehow fake my death on the cross, I have truly gone through the events of the cross, died, and am alive here in front of you.” And after he shows them the wounds in his hands and feet he gives them the final case for him being alive, verse 41, “Do you have something to eat?” This convinced the disciples that he was really alive again; ghosts are not warm, and ghosts do not eat. And in that moment of realization Jesus took the focus off the disciples and placed it on himself and they were at peace.
In our lives we face this same dilemma; we can focus on our problems and our circumstance, we can look around us and say “I’ll never get out of this problem, things are never going to work out, my life is never going to get better.” By focusing on that we will never find peace, we will never stop living in fear. Or we can see Christ as our savior, our comforter. We can see Jesus alive and present in our lives, and then by focusing on him and not ourselves we can come to peace in our hearts and minds no matter what we may be going through.
Is this always easy, no; but see what Jesus does for the disciples in verse 45, “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”
In today’s world there seem to be more and more that think the Bible and Jesus are just good stories. We’ve heard the Christian faith told to us perhaps as a child, maybe as an adult; either way somewhere along the way the Holy Spirit opened your minds and hearts to the truth and in this way you have come to believe the scriptures to be true. For each of us God did what he did in that room, he opened our minds so we can understand. Two thousand years ago Jesus turned the disciple’s confusion into clarity and he’ll do it for anyone who desires him too.
In our reading, by this point the disciples are feeling comfortable and safe and then comes the next scary part for them. Verses 47-48, “and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations…You are my witnesses of these things.”
For a second I’m sure their hearts sunk. You’re back, everything is ok now, everything is going back the way it was; what, wait, you want us to go out and preach, go out and talk to others about the Kingdom of God?” “No, no, no, you’re the one who does the talking. You’re the one who has all the answers.”
How would you really feel if I told you each one of you had to preach a sermon or each of you had to go engage someone for Christ and I wanted you to come give me a report on how it went? Anyone feeling a little apprehensive? The disciples were going through this. Their problem was they thought too much. Are we thinking too much when the idea of ministering to others comes up? What if I get asked a question? What if someone says go away? The disciples had become inwardly focused, worried about themselves; how they would look, how they would feel?
Jesus tells us to love our neighbors and part of this is for us to worry about their eternity. Our earthly lives end in one of two ways; with eternity spent in only one of two places.
Sharing Christ doesn’t mean you have to be a great orator or a theology scholar, you just have to let people know that God is a part of your life and that you get a great peace from it and you are confident in your place in eternity.
I know the idea of this makes people nervous. It made me nervous. But I’ve found that if someone does ask you a question 99% of the time it is not going to be a deep theological one. Like the disciples we need to look to Christ and not look at ourselves.
In our reading Christ is giving this responsibility to the eleven but through them Jesus is giving us this responsibility of witnessing to all his followers. And because this is so important it is repeated in the Book of Acts, Acts 1:8, “…you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
I think today’s reading is a great way to end our study of Luke’s Gospel. I love reading through scripture because I see so much in it, I hope you do too. Today’s reading has Jesus going to see his disciples after his resurrection.
I think perhaps the most important thing we can take from these scriptures is that Jesus is alive. Our Lord and Savior has a beating heart in his chest and air in his lungs. Why is this important? Because it shows us our future in eternity. It shows us our God is like us, he can understand us; he did all this out of love for us. Our Lord Jesus, by becoming one of us can now be our savior for eternity as he understands us intimately.
It shows us that our Lord is not a wispy cloud or an unproven concept, he is real and solid and at hand. By coming into that room after his resurrection Jesus shows us that he is ever present and when we say he is in this room with us, he is in this room with us.
Jesus coming to the disciples when they are at their lowest shows us that when things in our life go bad or when our faith is tested Jesus did not go to some far off galaxy, he is right there with you.
I knew a couple in their nineties. When the husband died the wife told me she was having a problem with her faith, why did God let him die? After awhile she came to see this, that Christ wasn’t somewhere else, he was in that hospital room giving comfort to her husband. She came to have great comfort from knowing even as a widow God was right next to her giving her comfort, love and strength.
The disciple’s world was in a freefall. Sometimes as I watch the news I think our world is in a freefall too. Jesus coming into that room and calming the eleven shows us that no matter what is going on around us Jesus is where our steadiness comes from. His word as recorded in scripture is our path to peace. As he showed the disciples peace and calm comes when we take the focus off ourselves and our circumstances and place our focus on Christ.
And finally as we live in the calmness of Christ, let’s be his witnesses to the world. Remember what Jesus tells us in today’s verse 49, “…you have been clothed with power from on high.”
God bless you
Amen.