Sometimes good news is just as hard to hear as bad news. When someone comes to your door and says "You’ve just won the Publishers Clearinghouse Giveaway" what is your first thought? "Nah". But if someone came to our door and said "I’m from the IRS and you are being audited" then we just might believe it. We have a built in predilection against good news and towards the bad. It’s a survival mechanism.
In order to steel yourself against something awful you have to put some sort of blinders on in order to survive. Some call it shock, some Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The numbness insulates your brain from falling apart, but also makes it much harder to deal with reality.
That’s the situation the disciples found themselves in on the Sunday after Jesus’ crucifixion. Think about it: they had pledged their lives to this man; had seen Him perform countless miracles and do and say things no one else had ever done. They believed that He was the one and only Savior of Israel. Then just days after coming to Jerusalem this man was yanked from their midst, betrayed by one of their own number and taken away. Finally, instead of rallying to His side they all fled like cowards.
Then on Friday they watched in horror as their Jesus was executed like a common criminal and laid in a tomb.
What must they have felt? Betrayal, despair, fear, depression, shock, confusion, doubt, and perhaps even anger at themselves or even at Jesus: "how dare he abandon us like that. Doesn’t He know how much we counted on Him?"
Not in any of this did one of them say "you know-we ought to check to see if what Jesus told us was real-that He would rise from the dead three days later." It was beyond their comprehension.
The story of the resurrection is the story of Jesus’ gentle revelation of what He had really accomplished. Had He told them to gather at the tomb and watch the show it would have blown them away. Besides, the risen Messiah comes very intimately and personally, for each one must decide whether to take Jesus at His word and believe that He died and rose again. Jesus is a gentleman. He stands at the door of our heart and knocks, he doesn’t bust it down with a battering ram!
We see this in three stages the way Luke records the resurrection. First there is simply the absence of a body and the annunciation by men in bright clothes that what Jesus said would happen had happened. That news travels to the disciples. The second stage is Jesus Himself appearing to two relatively obscure disciples who were leaving town with no answers to the dilemma, despite hearing the first report. Jesus explains the Scriptures to them. The third stage is Jesus appearance to the disciples themselves. Even then He has to prove that He really is Himself. They then must choose-and they choose wisely to finally accept the wonderful news that Jesus alive.
I like this because in many ways Jesus comes to each of us in the same way. I’ll explain that later.
Verses 1 - 12
This would have been Sunday morning. Remember that the Jews considered any part of the day to be a full day, so Jesus was in the grave for three days, part of Friday, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday.
The stone used the seal a tomb was rolled in a trough downhill. It was generally a one way deal because not only would they have to roll it uphill, but it weighed 1 = to 2 tons. Plus there was a Roman seal on the stone that would be a death sentence to anyone who broke it. Besides that there was a squad of soldiers guarding the thing.
Mark’s gospel tells us that the women wondered how they were going to roll the stone away. Their purpose was to anoint the body with perfumes (to hide the stink of decay) and adorn the grave with the spices like flowers.
Matthew tells us that an angel came down and there was a great earthquake and he simply rolled the stone back up in its trough and sat on it. Here the women see the open tomb and go in. Most likely they wondered if grave robbers had come to disturb the body.
Luke describes two angels as men (Mark and Matthew say 1 angel, John and Luke 2 - it may be that the former concentrated on the one speaking). They were understandably frightened. Matthew records the angel as saying "don’t be afraid." Here the angel’s message about the Messiah is recorded-that Jesus is alive and that things went according the plan. That’s when the light bulbs went off. Jesus told them at least three times-delivered, crucified, raised.
"Why seek the living among the dead?" All other religious leaders and figures are dead. Only one was resurrected, not resuscitated-and that is Jesus.
So they run back to tell the disciples who thought they were mad. The word "idle tales" was a medical term used to describe delirium. They thought the women were so grieved that they were seeing things that weren’t there. The group of women included Mary Magdalene, who is the first human to see the risen Lord, also Joanna who is mentioned in chapter 8, Mary the mother of James mentioned in Mark 15, and others.
So the guys did not believe, but Peter gets up (we know John also ran with him) and runs to the tomb to see for himself. There must have been something that stirred in him to check it out. What they saw inside were the grave clothes lying as if Jesus had passed right through them - no grave robber could have left them that way, and the face cloth all folded up neatly. It’s called the Sudarium. Jewish custom may have included this as a way to cover the face of someone who died violently so the family wouldn’t see the face going into rigor mortis.
John records that Mary Magdalene apparently went back to the tomb and that’s when she met Jesus.
Verses 13 - 35 The Road to Emmaus
:17 They were unable to make sense of the Resurrection. Sometimes people hear that Jesus died and rose, but can’t seem to make it make sense for themselves until it is explained. Why didn’t the two guys say that Jesus was the Messiah? (vs 19). (Verse 21) They still seemed stuck on the political Messiah idea Verse 22: They didn’t believe the women either. Wouldn’t you have wanted to be a part of that Bible study? (vs 27).. Verse 31 - this is the first place where we see just how different Jesus is-he just vanished. It seems likely that the breaking of bread was to remind them of communion and of how Jesus broke the bread to feed the thousands.
They go back and are there to corroborate Peter’s story.
Verses 36 - 49 The Appearance
The guys from Emmaus were there to corroborate the story. Verse 37-again it seems as if Jesus is not quite the same as before. Verse 45 is very significant. This is what we all need, and especially to teach and preach the gospel. These guys especially needed to understand the Scriptures as they would become the main spokesmen and women for Jesus when He ascended.
Jesus tells them "I was supposed to die for the forgiveness of sins, a message you are now going to give-but wait for the power to do it."
Verses 50 - 53 The Ascension
We know from Acts (also written by Luke) that the guys just stood there staring into the sky and angels had to come along and tell them that Jesus would come back the same way.
Conclusions
What is the importance of the Resurrection?
1. It shows the sacrifice took so sin is gone
2. It shows that death has been defeated, so despair is gone
3. It shows us what we will be like-we can never die.
1 Corinthians 15:55-58
Jesus comes to us often times in stages just like He did to the disciples. First there is the announcement-Jesus has risen from the dead. We hear someone share the gospel message with us, but we’re really not sure about it. Then we begin to ponder and think about Him and perhaps begin to study His Word or someone brings us verses about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Then finally we must face Jesus, see the wounds, consider the fact that He is alive, and choose whether we accept Him as an alive Savior, our Savior.
For those of us who already know Jesus it is sometimes hard for us to accept that the struggle is over. Jesus died for all our weaknesses and sins and failures. When we accept Christ we become "clothed" with Him. When the Father looks at us He sees His Son. We, like the disciples in verse 41 are so joyous yet it’s the kind of "its too good to be true" kind of joy. It isn’t too good to be true. Accept Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf. Accept that in Him you can do all things and that God is pleased with you and loves and accepts you because of Jesus. Stop trying to earn God’s favor and just enjoy it, fellowshipping with Him, worshiping Him, praying to Him, letting His Spirit fill you to overflowing.
For more Bible studies, visit our website at: www.CalvaryChapelNewberg.org
