The Miracle of Jesus | Luke 24:36-49
Read Luke 24:36-49
Have you ever thought about death? Have you taken the time to sit down and give though on the idea of dying?
We are all going to die one day. None of us in this room will live forever on this side of heaven—everything on earth has a birth, a life and eventually a death.
Death has haunted humanity ever since Adam and Eve brought sin into the world. We have written myths, stories and told legends about certain gods and heroes finding immortal life—we call this immortality.
The Greek legend of Achilles who was a warrior, the son of the Greek god Thetis and the mortal warrior Peleus. Thetis dips Achilles into the River Styx to keep him from dying in the Trojan war—His death was prophesied or foretold. Achilles is killed by an arrow to his heel—Achilles’ heel. This is just one legend of immortality y told to ancient humanity.
“Death has us by the scruff of the neck at every moment…until finally it strangles us. But what if we knew how to escape death’s chokehold? What if we could avoid death and live forever?”
--Montaigne (Renaissance Philosopher)
“Immortality might seem like the stuff of science fiction, yet it’s increasingly becoming the focus of real science. In 2013, google launched Calico, a biotech firm whose objective is to “solve” death. PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel pledged to “Fight” death. Last year, it was reported Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos had invested in Altos Labs, a company that plans to rejuvenate cells in order to reverse disease.”
--Washington Post Article (owned by Jeff Bezos)
There is a startup drug to help dogs live longer and generate longer life spans. Ancient Egyptian mythology tells a resurrection story of Osiris and Isis are married and Osiris is killed by his brother. Isis reassembles his body, embalms him with anointing oil and perfumed rites to resurrect him. He is resurrected by Isis to be with Isis, to rule the underworld, and to bring fertility to the Nile.
Humanity has always grappled with death and has tried to defeat death—but there is only one person who has truly defeated truth and has given an answer to sin and death.
- God resurrected Jesus from the dead. This is a physical resurrection.
Luke 24:36-41
Jesus appears before the disciples. He stands among them, in their midst. This is the same word and idea when Jesus claims the kingdom of God is among His disciples, or in their midst.
“Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.’”
--Luke 17:20-21
The kingdom of God is standing in their midst, it is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Now, Jesus is standing in their midst revealing His physical power, the fact that He is physically resurrected. Luke spends time in this resurrection portion including the fact that Jesus shows His wounds to the disciples and He eats a fish.
“And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 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.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.”
--Luke 24:38-43
Jesus is revealing Himself to the disciples. Jesus wanted to assure them that He was a real, physical body, though of a different order than our own bodies. The resurrected Jesus was not a ghost or phantom.
“He distinctly denied that His resurrection was of His Spirit only, for He invited them to touch His hands and His feet. The evidences of a material body are abundant.”
--G. Campbell Morgan
“So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”
--Ezekiel 37:7-10
“This is not about the literal resurrection of dead people, but of the restoration of the nation of Israel to their land and to their God when they felt all hope was dead. God identified the Jewish people, while in unbelief, as My people, whom He will bring … into the land of Israel. When Israel is returned to their land and rescued from their enemies at their most desperate hour (cf. Is 63:1–6; Zch 12:1–3; 13:8–9; 14:2–11; Jl 3:9–14), then they will turn to the Messiah Jesus (cf. Zch 12:10) and Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
--The Moody Bible Commentary
- The Resurrected Jesus Brings Hope.
Merriam Webster Definition of Hope: to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true
We must remember that the disciples looking at the resurrected Jesus is a work that only God Himself is capable of. We learned about another resurrection story that doesn’t save humanity rather it saves the agriculture of the Nile; and Osiris was resurrected by Isis—two different people, two different ‘gods’. God resurrected Himself.
“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.’”
--John 10:17-18
“The Bible indicates that all three Persons of the Trinity were involved in Jesus’ resurrection. Galatians 1:1 says that the Father raised Jesus from the dead. First Peter 3:18 says that the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead (see also Romans 1:4, and note that Romans 8:11 clearly says that God will resurrect believers “through His Spirit”). And in John 2:19 Jesus predicts that He will raise Himself from the dead (see also John 10:18). So, when we answer the question of who resurrected Jesus, we can say God did. And by that we can mean it was the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
--GotQuestions.org
Why is the resurrection so important? Why is it the bedrock of the Christian faith?
Because it brings hope into this life; into this world. It brings new life, new understanding, it literally saves sinful people from death, from Hell and give us new life, new glory in heaven with Jesus forever. Imagine living your life knowing that you will have immortal life. Imagine living your life understanding that what you are currently going through right now is not the way your entire existence is going to continue going. Jesus is life. Jesus is hope. This is good news for humanity!
“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.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
--Luke 24:44-47
Jesus continues to preach, He continues to teach who He is. He “Opens their minds to understand the scriptures.” It is interesting to note here that Jesus is the one doing the opening, He is the one bringing understanding as the disciples are listening to Him expand on the scriptures. Jesus points to himself in the Old Testament—Jesus uses the word of God to bring the understanding of Jesus’ truth—the truth of the Messiah arriving in the flesh to save humanity.
διανοίγω dianoígō, to open by dividing or drawing asunder, to open thoroughly (what had been closed) a male opening the womb (the closed matrix), i.e. the first-born
Their minds are being opened for the first time; there is something that is being opened that was closed—this isn’t enlightenment rather it is a new birth—a conversion of faith in Jesus Christ as The Messiah.
It is remarkable to consider that the resurrection body of Jesus retains the wounds He received in His sufferings and crucifixion. There are many possible reasons for this.
- To exhibit the wounds to the disciples, that they would know that it was the very same Jesus.
- To be the object of eternal amazement to the angels.
- To be His ornaments, trophies of His great work for us.
- To memorialize the weapons with which He defeated death.
- To serve as advocates in His perpetual intercession for us.
- To preserve the evidence of humanity’s crime against Him.
Jesus outlines the very reason why the disciples have witnessed the resurrected Christ: ““Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
“You are witnesses of these things…”
“When someone dies as a believer and we say we wills see them again, we really mean it. The departures on earth for Christians are never permanent. We never really say goodbye. WE only say, ‘See you soon.’”
--Erwin W. Lutzer