Luke 24 SCC 3/27/16
What do you believe this chapter is about? He is risen v 6;
He was alive v 23; The lord has really risen v 34; rise again from the dead v
46. Luke is closing his argument to Theophilus
verifying the truth of Jesus bodily resurrection from the dead. Here are
several post resurrection appearances to verify that.
TRUST THE
EVIDENCE OF JESUS RESURRECTION AS THE BASIS OF YOUR FAITH 1-12
Here are the
most likely sequences of events on resurrection Sunday.
1. There was an earthquake, an angel rolled away the stone
and the guards were terrified (Matt 28:2).
2 The women came with prepared spices and found the tomb
empty (Mark 16:1-4; Luke 24:1-3).
3. Mary Magdalene returned to tell Peter and John (John
20:1-2).
4. Meanwhile, the other women remained and saw two angels
(Luke 24: 4-8).
5. Peter/John ran to the tomb, John arriving first but Peter
went inside first (Luke 24:12: John 20:3-9).
6. Mary Magdelene returned and saw
Jesus (the first resurrection appearance, Mark 16:9; John 20:11ff.
7. The other women of #2 saw Jesus on their way back to the
city (second res appearance Matt 28:9).
8. The women who went to the tomb with spices in #2 gave a report
to the 11 (Luke 24:9-11).
First, notice all
that happened at the tomb on Sunday morning before Mary Magdelene
was the first one to see Jesus. The group of women (Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other
women) were the first inside the tomb and the first to receive a revelation
from God after Christ’s death v 1-3. It came through two angel’s v 4-7. The
point of the angels is one should take Jesus words of prophesy literally and
actually describing what will really happen in the real world. Don’t doubt or
paraphrase the word of God.
Second, the women with them were telling these things to
the apostles. But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not
believe them v 10-11. What a huge
difference between the apostles here and any time after Acts 2 when they (a)
witnessed the resurrected Christ and could trust the evidence as a basis for
their faith [notice in verse 12 how they marvel at what they see, their faith
began with the evidence.] and (b) their faith and courage changed when they
were filled with the Holy Spirit.
NB: A literal
resurrection is the basis of Christianity. Without a resurrection there is no
Christianity. The OT and NT validate the necessity of the resurrection in order
to have an eternal hope.
THE
RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD LITERALLY 13-35
Jesus appeared to two of His disciples. One is named Cleopas
(verse 18), the other may have been his wife (since Mary the wife of Cleopas is among the women at the cross – John
19:25). Jesus approached them but their
eyes were prevented from recognizing Him v 16. Cleopas revealed 3 things about the trial and crucifixion:
1. Everyone in Jerusalem knew about Jesus and His
crucifixion, that is it was a public objectively verifiable event v 18-20.
2. Jesus’s followers were
hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. That is, they saw Him
as starting the kingdom, they had no expectation of the church age v 21.
3. They had researched and confirmed that the tomb was empty
v 22-23. There are also three miracles here. (1) When their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him v 16; (2) When then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him v 31 and (3) When He vanished from their sight v 31.
NB: So Christianity
is based both in the historically observable as well as the supernatural which
was also historically verifiable. Christianity has a supernatural basis that is
grounded in historically observable evidence. So we can expect Jesus
supernatural return to earth to reign 1000 years.
The only instruction Jesus gives the two on the road is in v
25-26. The statement is a reprimand for not believing the Old Testament
scripture and taking their fulfillment literally (such as Isaiah 53 and Psalm
22). After Jesus disappeared they got up
that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the
eleven and those who were with them, saying, “The Lord has really risen and has
appeared to Simon.” v 33-35. This
is the only place this is mentioned in the gospels but Paul refers to it in 1
Corinthians 15:5. It seems that after Jesus appeared to Mary Magdelene and some other women, he also appeared to Peter.
THE
RESURRECTION IS BASED IN OBJECTIVELY VERIFIABLE EVIDENCE 36-49
This happened in the same place as the two from Emmaus were
giving their report v 36. This time they recognized Jesus but thought He was a
ghost v 37. Jesus then demonstrated four
things about His glorified body: 1. He could appear and disappear
instantly. 2. He was like our flesh and bones (He could be touched; your hand
would not just pass through Him like a holograph). 3. He could eat regular
food. 4. He had the scars of the crucifixion, but apparently none of the other
scars (say, from the crown of thorns or the scourging). Then Jesus taught about three subjects: First, all the prophesy
about Him must be fulfilled including His death and resurrection v 44. Second, repentance for forgiveness of sins would be
proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem v 46-47
and third, they would be clothed with
power from on high while still in Jerusalem v 48-49.
NB: Notice once
again the connection between evidence and faith. Faith is trusting objective
verifiable evidence v 38-39. Jesus’ solution to their doubts was objectively
verifiable evidence. Then Jesus tells them it would have been better if they
had believed in the sense of trusting the evidence from the Old Testament v 44.
So the OT is a source of verifiable historical evidence that can be trusted to
be the truth.
Next Jesus gives what is essentially the great commission v
47. This was no longer a message to the Jews about Him being their Messiah.
This was a message of 1. repentance for
forgiveness of sins not keeping the Mosaic Law, and 2. that the gospel would be proclaimed in His name to all the
nations, beginning from Jerusalem not just to the Jews in the land of
Israel. Also 3. You are witnesses of
these things sending forth the promise of My Father upon you to take the
gospel into the world v 48-49; but 4. you
are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high that
witness requires the HS. Then v 50-53 becomes Luke’s transition to his volume
two, the book of Acts v 50-53 (Acts 1:3-5, 12).
So What?
1. Short-term pretense is not lying when the objective is to
reveal the truth. Jesus pretended to be someone who did not know what had
happened concerning His trial and death. He also pretended to go further down
the road so they would invite Him in. This is the opposite of a lie, which is a
deception that is intended to hide the truth.
2. Don’t try to
understand what God has not said. Luke told us that on the road to Emmaus
Jesus explained to them the things
concerning Himself in all the Scriptures, but Luke does not tell us what
those things were. So apparently we don’t need to know. Therefore, we should
not guess. Types of Christ are only certain when identified as such.
3. The resurrection is
not a myth but an historical observable evidential reality. The Word of God
is to be understood from an historical grammatical view of reality. Our faith
is rooted in observable evidence not mythical figures of fictitious nature.
These are real people experiencing real situations grounded in real history
conveyed in grammatical nature.