Our scripture reading this morning is from the 24th chapter of Luke, where we’ll be reading verses 33 through 48. Let us stand for the reading of God’s holy word from the Gospel of Luke chapter 24, verse 33 and following.
So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the 11 and those who were with them gathered together, saying, The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon! And they told about the things that had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread.
Now as they said these things, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, Peace be to you! But they were terrified and frightened and supposed they had seen a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. But while they still did not believe for joy and marveled, he said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb. And he took it and ate in their presence.
Then he said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me.” And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
Then he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, Beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.
Thus the reading of the word of the Lord our God. May he bless it richly and abundantly to all his holy purposes. And the people of God agree in prayer together, saying— Amen. Amen.
Please be seated. This is the blessed day, the blessed day that the Christian church throughout the world commemorates and celebrates the resurrection from the dead of our exalted and glorified Savior King Jesus Christ.
And we praise God that the tomb is empty, for he is risen. He is risen and lives forevermore. And because he lives, all who follow him with saving faith and repentance unto life will also enjoy eternal life with Him.
The Resurrection of Our Lord
The Bible records for us a number of events surrounding the resurrection of our Lord. We learn from Scripture the historical account of the death of our Savior upon the cross. We learn of His burial in the tomb at Jerusalem. And of course, we learn about
His coming forth from that tomb. Now, among the many events pertinent to our subject, we read of faithful women, followers of our Lord, who after Christ was placed in the tomb prepared spices and fragrant oils for the purpose of anointing his body.
Having rested on the Sabbath day, which of course was then Saturday, the women went early Sunday morning after the Sabbath was over to Jesus’ tomb. But when they arrived to anoint the body of the Lord, there was no body there. The stone that had covered the entrance to the tomb had been rolled away.
And when the tomb, when the women entered the tomb where the body of Jesus had been laid, they found two angels of God in shining radiant garments who asked the women, ‘Why are you seeking the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen. Do you not remember how he told you he was going to rise again?’
And so the women, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, left the empty tomb, ran back to the remaining disciples, and shared the glorious news which had been told them by the angels, declaring in so many words, “He is not dead, he is risen from the tomb, he lives!”
Well, when the disciples of Jesus heard that stunning fantastical news, they wouldn’t believe it at first. They were convinced that those women must be circulating idle tales and nonsense. But Peter, who of course is always the impetuous one, arose and ran to the tomb to investigate.
Scripture tells us that he stooped down and peering into the empty tomb, he saw the linen burial clothes there by themselves, but no body. And he left marveling and wondering to himself what had happened. Where was the body of the Lord? That had been lain to rest in that tomb.
Moving Ahead in the Historical Account
Well, moving ahead in the historical account of the resurrection of Jesus, I’d like us to consider this morning an event that occurred after the resurrection of the Lord, yet on the same day. And it’s essential for us to understand that all the events recorded by Luke in chapter 24 didn’t occur on the same day.
I mean, obviously the account of our Lord’s ascending back to heaven occurred 40 days later. But the events that we’re going to discuss this morning all occurred on that very first Easter Sunday, the day of Jesus’ victorious resurrection from the tomb.
And our present passage begins in verse 33 where we find some disciples to whom the risen Jesus had already appeared and revealed himself as they had been walking on the road to Emmaus. Jesus, they didn’t recognize him, but some stranger they thought joined them and started walking along with them and asked them what they were all talking about.
And they were set back because here was somebody who hadn’t heard about the crucifixion of the Messiah in Jerusalem.
Lord opened their understanding. And taught them from the scriptures how that the scriptures testified of him. And while they were eating, he revealed himself to them. They recognized him and they knew it was the Savior. And verse 33 picks up there, so they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the 11 and those who were with them gathered together.
Saying, “The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.” And they told about the things that had happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of bread. Now the time of the event is Easter Sunday. By now it’s probably on up into the evening. Judas Iscariot is dead, having hanged himself. Peter has denied the Lord. And all the other 10 apostles, well, when trouble came, they left Jesus. They fled when he was arrested. They deserted him.
And Jesus had been tried in a mock trial, executed by crucifixion, was clearly dead, and was buried in a new tomb. But rumors were circulating that His body is gone from the tomb and that he might even be alive somewhere. All kinds of fantastic things were being told. And the apostles, of course, they had already fled from fear. Now here’s all this attention being focused on Jesus and his followers and they’re paralyzed themselves with fear at all these strange events and they’re gathered in a room in Jerusalem. Probably thinking, “Who knows, the authorities may come for us next.”
They’re huddled together there hiding for fear. And the two disciples to whom Jesus appeared on the way to Emmaus, at least two, having arrived now, telling them even more disturbing news. John tells us in his gospel that because of their fear of what might happen next, they sat there alone. A little cowering group with the doors locked, trembling in fear.
The Appearance of Jesus
But notice verse 36, “Now as they said these things, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, ‘Peace be to you.'” But wait a minute. The disciples had locked the doors so that no one could come in. But Jesus just suddenly appears right there in the midst of them. How did that happen?
Well, we know that Jesus died and was buried in the same body. It was a body like ours. He rose in the same body with which he was buried. We know that because the tomb was found empty. But once risen to life, Jesus was in a glorified body, a transformed body, And we don’t understand it. Someday we will. But it’s this kind of body we’re going to have in glory when we all rise from the, from the dead on the day of resurrection and we’re all transformed and we’re going to have a glorified body, a transformed body.
The kind of body we’re going to have when like our Lord we rise from the grave at the
On the final day, it will happen when Jesus returns to the earth and our souls are reunited with our deceased bodies to live forever in Him. What are they going to be like? I don’t know, other than they’ll be like Jesus. They’ll be glorified bodies. He appeared after His resurrection in different form. People didn’t recognize Him always. He could appear anywhere He wished, even behind locked doors, then disappear and go somewhere else. I’m not saying that we’re going to be like that. But in the new bodies that will awaken at His return, there will be no sickness, no pain, no tiredness, no discomforts.
Our glorified bodies, the bodies we’ll enjoy after the resurrection, are going to be wonderful. They’re going to be spectacular, like the completely restored world in which we’re going to live. The Bible calls it the new heaven and earth. And so in that room at Jerusalem where Jesus appeared, He spoke to the disciples with words that were intended to calm their fears. He proclaims, “Peace to you.” Despite Jesus’ blessing, despite His telling them, “You have nothing to fear, I come in peace,” they don’t feel very peaceful inside.
Verse 37 tells us, “But they were terrified and frightened and supposed they had seen a spirit.” Well, we can certainly understand why the disciples were so terrified. Even while they were discussing Jesus’ death, He Himself suddenly and with no notice in a room that was locked from the inside appears right there amongst them. And this man whom they themselves had seen die now materializes, as it were, out of thin air and stands there speaking to them. So what was their immediate conclusion? Well, probably the same thing we would conclude: It’s a spirit. It’s a ghost.
But Jesus proceeds to calm their fears, Verses 38 through 40. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And so when Jesus notices that these men are filled with fear and doubt, He directs their attention to His hands and feet. They knew about Him being nailed to the cross in His hands and His feet, and John mentions His side also.
And Jesus offered to those bewildered and unsettled people proof that the one standing before them is no imposter. Yes, it really was Jesus risen from the dead. And the marks of His crucifixion, the prints of the nails in His hands and in His feet, and the gash where the sword had pierced His side, they were all there. And again, interestingly, this is in His glorified body after He had resurrected. Did those prints stay there? I don’t know. But at least for that time they were.
There werent they. Maybe, I dont know. But its impossible for us, of course, having never experienced the kind of glorified resurrected body were going to have, to understand how it was possible for the body of Jesus to be on the one hand so unlike our present bodies, that he was able to appear and disappear at will, yet at the same time so similar to our present bodies that the scars of his crucifixion were still showing.
Its a profound thing. And these are mysteries, really. Were meant to comprehend them. Were meant to meditate upon them, but well never fully understand them in this life. But that— theres certainly nothing that should trouble us. Because we see the resurrected Christ. We see Jesus being sympathetic and loving to His disciples. He speaks peace to them. He calms their fear. He shows them His might. He shows them the proof of His power.
He ensures His followers and us that both those disciples and we are in the arms, safe in the arms of a mighty God who loves us, cares for us, assures us we have nothing to fear as were under His watchful eye. As we were sharing in Sunday School this morning, sometimes you hear evangelists, and Im sure they mean well, Im not saying that they dont mean well, and I praise the Lord for any soul thats won to glory, but you hear them kind of giving this thing about the Christian life, how you come to Jesus and Hes going to solve all your problems.
Come to Jesus and Hes going to fix everything and everythings going to be alright. But we know thats not true. We turn right around and pray for people who are suffering persecution because they bear the name of Jesus. Theyre in chains. Theyre in torture. Theyre in prisons. Theyve lost family members and theyre grieving and theyre mourning. Obviously, coming to be a Christian doesnt mean youre going to be comfortable the rest of your life.
But it does mean that whatever we endure, whatever we go through, its Gods will for us. And even though we dont understand it, His purposes are in some way doing something. Something good.
Jesus Offers Proof to His Disciples
Now Jesus offers still more proof to His disciples that He is risen. Verses 41 and 43, but while they still did not believe for joy and marveled, He said to them, Have you any food here? So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb, and He took it and ate it in their presence.
At that point, the disciples have gone from being so terrified that they couldnt believe what they were seeing, thinking they were seeing a ghost, a spirit, now to being so happy they thought it was too good to be true. Jesus, as patient and understanding as ever, allays their uncertainties and calms their doubt by eating food in their presence. Material food, fish and honeycomb.
Why did He do that? Well, remember, they thought they were seeing a spirit. And a spirit is not material. There’s no substance there. There’s no matter. There’s no space. There’s no weight. There’s no measurement. It’s all immaterial. An immaterial spirit can’t consume material food. Food. And so at least one reason was to demonstrate to them that he wasn’t a spirit alone, but he also had a material body. Only a real person with a material body could eat solid material food. The spirit, being immaterial, could never do such a thing.
Another thing I personally find interesting about this passage, and I’ll just share with you a fellow I had some conversation with, a good guy, a Christian guy, a musician. He was vegan, which is fine if people want to be vegan, I’m not knocking that. But I think he kind of thought it gave him a little moral high ground, you know, not to be eating meat. And I explained to him about the creation, how when God created the world, people didn’t eat animals because there was no death in the world. Romans chapter 5 tells us death came to the world through sin, and that through one man, Adam.
So up until that time, there was no death. He was real happy about that. And then, of course, I told him about the flood of Noah, and when, after Noah got off the ark in Genesis chapter 9, we find God telling Noah, “Now you may eat from the beasts of the earth.” Well, he wasn’t so thrilled with that. Then I told him about Jesus, who rose from the grave in his resurrected, glorified, perfect body, the body he took to heaven with him, and he ate meat. He ate fish and bread. And he was really kind of taken aback by that.
But it’s true. And so, at least, the main thing of course is pointing out that when we rise from the grave, when we die and when we’re raised from the grave, the dead, we’re going to have material bodies. And in this glorified, perfected new world, I’m convinced we just think we have good food now. Wait till then. Oh my! Isn’t it going to be great?
Jesus Continues Speaking
Jesus continues speaking, now instructing the disciples that what they’re seeing is the actual fulfillment of the very Scriptures which Jesus prophesied about Jesus’ resurrection. He tells them in verses 44 through 48, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me.” And he opened their
Understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures. That part’s great. Then he said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.”
Jesus wanted his followers to know and understand plainly, clearly, and certainly that all the things that had happened in His death by crucifixion, His sad burial, His victorious and conquering resurrection, and even the joy of His glorious appearance to His disciples after His resurrection, and then 40 days later He was going to ascend up to heaven, all those things were necessary in carrying out God’s plan and had been recorded prophetically hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament scriptures.
In fact, Jesus had told the disciples himself, “I’m going to be delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. I’m going to be beaten and tortured and killed, but on the third day I’m going to rise from the dead.” They didn’t understand all that, and apparently they had forgotten it. And then He tells them, “It’s nothing new. It’s in the Bible. Didn’t you expect it? I told you myself.”
But in speaking, Jesus did for those disciples what He still does for His people today, and we praise the Lord for that. Verse 45, “Then He opened their understanding that they might comprehend,” or understand, “the scriptures.” Jesus explained to the disciples that the reason he had to suffer and to rise on the third day was so that they and all who believe may have eternal life, true repentance, genuine forgiveness of sin, and that they would have something to proclaim to others.
The gospel message that began in Jerusalem and is even now, as Jesus instructed, being carried to the nations of the world. And it’s the same message that we preach today. It hasn’t changed. It never will change. The gospel message is all throughout Scripture, both in Old Testament and New Testament.
Scriptural References
Just consider Isaiah 53, “We all like sheep have gone astray, We have turned each one to his own way. Ephesians 2, we were dead in trespasses and sins. Romans 3, there is none righteous, no, not one. They have altogether turned aside. There is none who seeks after God. Psalm 53, God looks down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek God, Every one of them has turned aside. They have together become corrupt. There is none who does good, no, not one.
Isaiah 59, your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you so that He will not hear. What a terrible condition for humanity. But our kind, merciful, and gracious God loves the world
So much that He gave His only begotten Son so that our guilt and our condemnation can be taken away and we can be saved from this terrible condition.
The Bible tells us about that too, in both the Old Testament and New. People who say the gospel wasn’t in the Old Testament must not be reading it very closely.
Isaiah 53 says, “Surely, speaking of the Messiah, Christ, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all. By his stripes, by his wounds, we’re healed.
In 2 Corinthians 5, it is written, “For God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” 1 John 1 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But, praise the Lord, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Romans 5 states, “For scarcely a righteous man will one die, or scarcely for a righteous man will one die, But God demonstrates his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 6 says, “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him. Likewise, you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Revelation 2:16 warns, “Repent, or else I will come to you quickly, and will fight against you with the sword of my mouth.” Revelation 20 says, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
But praise the Lord for Hebrews chapters 2 and 3, which ask, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Folks, from Genesis to Revelation, the gospel is there. It’s clear. It hasn’t changed. And that’s the message straight from the Bible, the one that never changes, the good news of the kingdom of God that we believe, that we live and we proclaim.
The message which the resurrection of Jesus from the dead proved to be true before the eyes of the disciples and the eyes of the world. It’s the message Jesus told his disciples, verses 47 and 48, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, and you are witnesses of these things.
The good news of Christ’s kingdom is that
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, that by repenting of sin and believing in His name you can have life and have it more abundantly, and that because He is risen from the dead and lives, we who believe live. We live now. And we shall live with Jesus forever.
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the authenticating seal of God’s approval. The sacrifice of Jesus for our sins was accepted in God’s sight, approved by God, and is now applied to us who repent of our sins and trust in the blood and righteousness of Jesus to cover our sins and to make us accepted as righteous in the eyes of God.
And like the disciples in verse 48, we are witnesses of these things. Having made our way through the passage, I want to leave you with some things to think about drawn from these same verses.
Consider the Mercies of Jesus
First, consider the mercies of Jesus toward his people. Seen in the tender words which He spoke to His disciples after His resurrection. In the midst of their fears and doubts, He spoke reassuringly to them, “Peace be to you.” That’s a wonderful saying when we consider the people to whom it was addressed.
Peace be to you. What kind of people were they? Well, people like us who hadn’t been as faithful to Jesus as they should have been. Those words of peace from the Lord were spoken to a group of people who only 3 days before had shamefully forsaken their Master and had fled, deserting Him, leaving Him all alone, Handed over to his enemies, they fled, leaving him to be crucified.
Can we not see ourselves when we see them? They had broken their promise to be faithful to Christ. Haven’t we? They had forgotten their profession of faith and had shown themselves to be people of weak faith. Well, Aren’t we? And one of them especially fearful, as we all can be when we forget the power of God, had even denied Jesus 3 times.
Well, maybe none of us have denied Him in our words, but we deny Him in our deeds when we sin against Him, don’t we? And those disciples had proven themselves backsliders, spiritual cowards. Couldn’t be trusted. Forsook the Lord.
But notice the manner in which Jesus addresses them. Not a word of rebuke. Not a sharp, stinging scolding. Not a hostile word falls from His lips. He doesn’t even bring it up. Proverbs says, “The glory of a man is to pass over a transgression,” and that’s what He does. Passes over it.
Calmly and quietly He appears in their midst, calms their fears, and speaks peace to them. J.C. Ryle comments, “It is Jesus’ glory to pass over a transgression. He delights in mercy.” This is interesting but true. He is far more willing to forgive than people are to be forgiven.
You know, sometimes we just don’t want to forgive ourselves. But Jesus forgives us.
We should forgive ourselves too. If God forgives us, who are we to not forgive ourselves? We keep these things in our mind. We even say it: Oh, I just can’t forgive myself. Why would we say that? God has forgiven us. Jesus forgives us.
He is far more ready to pardon, far more willing to forgive than people are to be forgiven, far more ready to pardon than people are to be pardoned. And though our sins have been as scarlet, he is ever ready to make them white as snow, to blot them out and to cast them behind his back.
What a gracious and merciful Savior we have. A Savior who, like a good shepherd, goes and seeks his lost and wandering sheep and rejoices when he finds that lost one. In fact, he tells us that the angels of heaven rejoice at another sinner come to repentance.
Makes you wonder why people are so slow to repent, doesn’t it? Well, you don’t want the angels to be happy? You don’t want Jesus to be happy? We need to repent. Jesus tells us heaven rejoices at repentance of people, the loss of sinners.
And He’s not talking about lost people, although it’s included, but He’s talking about people who have left the flock, like wandered from the church, and He goes out and brings them back. And the angels rejoice at that. Another soul anchored safely and securely in calm seas of healing and salvation and blessing.
The Gift of the Holy Spirit
Let’s also take special note of that wonderful saying in verse 45, “And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures.” The gift of the Holy Spirit was given us for this very thing, and Jesus gave it. It’s a— the gift of the Spirit is a wonderful blessing. Which God has bestowed upon His children.
We should not suppose, of course, that the disciples knew nothing about the Old Testament scriptures up till that time. Luke obviously isn’t saying that. These were men who had been raised in the Jewish synagogue and also walked with Jesus Himself for 3.5 years, the best seminary that’s ever been in the world. These men knew the scriptures.
But Jesus imparted to them the wisdom which we all can enjoy through the work of the Holy Spirit and really cannot enjoy apart from the work of the Holy Spirit. He enlightened their understanding so that the passages of Scripture which had been hidden from their eyes suddenly became clear.
We hear people saying that a lot talking about their experiences. You know, I never read the Bible in that way. It just came alive to me. Well, that’s what the work, that’s what the Holy Spirit does for us. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit for that reason.
He opened the understanding of those disciples on that day and He’s still doing it today. And so we need, and He imparts enlightenment that comes from God so that we can understand those
Spiritual truths are held in the passages of Scripture, and we should strive to have them living in our understanding. Quoting Ryle, “He that desires to read his Bible with profit must first ask the Lord Jesus to open the eyes of his understanding by the Holy Spirit.”
We pray for the Lord to open our understanding, open our hearts, and give us understanding by His Spirit before we read Scripture. This is a practice we should adopt before our daily Scripture reading, whenever that may be. Ryle emphasizes that “He that desires to read his Bible with profit” must first ask the Lord Jesus to open the eyes of his understanding by the Holy Spirit.
Ryle continues, “Human commentaries are useful in their way,” and he acknowledges the help of good and learned men. However, “there is no commentary to be compared with the teaching of Christ.” A humble and prayerful spirit will find many things in the Bible that a proud, self-conceited student will utterly fail to discern.
Let us thank God that He has given us the gift of His Holy Spirit, enabling us to understand the Scriptures, accept the truth of the Bible, and embrace by faith Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save sinners.
The Manner of Jesus’ Death on the Cross
Jesus spoke of His death on the cross as a necessity, not a mere misfortune or something that didn’t work out as He had hoped. He said, “thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day” (Verse 46). The death of Christ was necessary for our salvation; His flesh and blood offered in sacrifice on the cross were for our salvation.
The cross of Christ was the instrument of the greatest pain, suffering, and anguish, as well as the greatest shame, misery, sorrow, and mourning that has ever been on earth. No man has ever suffered like our Savior suffered when He hung on that cross.
We can’t even imagine what it must have been like, but I would say that what was even worse was the sinless Son of God bearing the guilt of the sin of the world on Himself. We can’t even begin to imagine what that must have been like.
It was on that cruel piece of wood that God’s own Son bowed his head in pain and gave up the spirit, crying, “It is finished. Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” But it was that same cruel instrument of death and suffering that brought peace into the world.
Peace between God and human beings. Who, like the disciples deserting Jesus, humanity as a whole had deserted God, rebelled against Him, wanted nothing to do with His law or with Him. But through the gospel, through Jesus’ death and burial and resurrection and ascension to heaven, peace is restored upon the earth.
Peace between God and human beings. Peace between the divine lawgiver and the fallen guilty lawbreakers, peace between the holy God and the corrupt sinner, peace between an offended God and sinners who had caused His offense. That’s all of us.
But by the sacrificial death of Christ our Lord, the Lamb without blemish, the perfect sacrifice, because of Him we can now draw near to God. Because of him, we now have access to God. Because of him and his Spirit that he’s given us, we can walk daily with God, enjoying the sweet fellowship of heaven here on the earth as we await that day in which we’ll enjoy the grand bliss of heaven on earth forever in the presence of the one who died for us.
And through whom God Almighty now says, as he did 2,000 years ago, but still says today, peace, peace, peace be to you. Let us pray.