Luke 24:1-12, 36-49 He is not here, He is risen

Luke 24:1-12, 36-49

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” 8 And they remembered His words, 9 and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. 11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened… 36 While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “ Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate it before them.

44 Now He said to them, “ These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, “ Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

Background

The resurrection of Christ comes as a complete surprise to His disciples as evident by their lack of recollection of Jesus’ words. They needed to see and touch for themselves His wounds. Jesus went as far as to demonstrate his human capacity to eat in order to convince them. Today’s passage shows us man’s deplorable lack of faith concerning the promises of God. God’s promises, impossible it may sound will bring us blessings beyond our wildest imagination if only we believe.

Observation

Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee – The women who have been faithful to Jesus come to the tomb on Sunday morning bringing more spices for His burial. When they find the stone that sealed the tomb being rolled away, they enter the tomb but find it empty. Two angels appear to them and remind them of what Jesus previous told them concerning His resurrection.

But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them – The women return to the disciples telling them what they have seen and heard from the angels. However, the disciples did not believe the women, only Peter decides to check out the tomb for himself.

See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see – While the disciples are discussing the latest happenings, Jesus stands in the their midst and greets them, “Peace be to you”. Jesus immediately addresses their faith: “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” He encourages them to touch, see and examine His hands and feet. He proves to them that He is not a spirit but possesses a resurrection body. He further proves His point by demonstrating His capacity to eat. Having done that, Jesus further substantiates what has happened by opening their minds to the scriptures. Examples of these scriptures are Deuteronomy 18:15; Psalm 2:7, 16:10, 22:14-18; Isaiah 53, 61:1.

And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you – After substantiating His resurrection from the scriptures, He commands them to stay in the city until they receive the promise of power from heaven. The Spirit that clothes them is the very same Spirit that resurrects Jesus from death.

Truth

1. Sometimes we hear God speaking but did not take His words seriously because it’s too good to be true. Many people desire God to work great miracles in and through their lives but could not bring themselves to believe and act on the promises of the bible. They hear that God will provide for their physical needs, yet they continue to worry about their finances. Hence, they were entrapped by the cares of life and could not launch out into the calling that God has prepared for them. Jesus spoke to His disciples at length concerning His death and resurrection, but they could not believe His words and needed the angel to remind them: “Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” God’s promises can benefit us only when we begin to act on His promises through faith.
2. We must learn to believe God’s word and promises without asking for evidences or testimonies. The disciples could not believe the words of God unless they see for themselves the evidences of that promise. However, if evidences are already present, then what need is there for promises. God’s promises belong in the spirit realm but its realization belongs to the physical realm through faith. When a person believes and acts on a promise, he starts to bear fruit in the physical world. Therefore, believers must learn to believe God’s word apart from evidences. God’s word is the beginning of all things: In the beginning was the word (John 1:1) and it is the word of God that created the world. Before creation comes about and before anything is made, there exist the word of God.

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. Hebrews 11:3

Faith in God’s word and promises is demonstrated by our obedience to His instructions and active participation in His work. By persevering in God’s instructions daily, we realize God’s promises in our world.

3. The resurrection of Jesus is a sure sign of complete acquittal of our sins. God by raising Jesus from the dead, insured our justification, which means we are once and for all time atoned of our sins. That also means that our curses of sickness and poverty are forever broken. The apostle Paul says,

He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. Romans 4:25

With our sins completely atoned, the devil has no right to dwell within us even though he could still tempt us. Christ’s resurrection gives the believer the authority to reject the devil’s advances. When he allows the Holy Spirit to indwell him continually, he begins to display the resurrection power of Christ through his daily endeavors.

Application

1. Do you let untrustworthy people affect your trust in God? God is perfect, whereas man is basically self-centered and unreliable. The more we trust Him, the more we prove His faithfulness in our lives.
2. Do you often belittle yourself and find it hard to feel the love of others and God in your life? Christ’s resurrection is God’s way of telling us that all is forgiven, and He is raining the heavenly blessings upon us.

Dear Lord, I thank you for every promise you made. I believe every promise that is written in the bible will be fulfilled in my life because you are faithful and righteous in all your ways. I will act in obedience to your instructions and obtain the promise in due time. Let the Spirit who raises you from death dwell in me and strengthen me for every endeavor. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.