“The Too Good to be True Syndrome”
Luke 24:36-49
TRANSITION FROM VIDEO (“What is God Like?”) And no doubt the disciples were getting a first-hand look at God as they looked at Jesus, not only during his three years of earthly ministry, but also in his post-resurrection appearances.
In fact, as they looked at Jesus on Easter evening, one of their responses was, “No Way! This is too good to be true!” Okay, maybe they didn’t use those words, but the Bible does record for us this story, and actually shows us that the some of the disciples, for the third time, were having trouble believing. Doubts were crowding in, and they were experiencing the same feelings they felt in John 14 – they were “troubled” (literally, ‘stressed’). Look with me at Luke 24, would you?
Luke 24:36-44 says, While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
(Make these comments as you read)
• 24:36 – Christ’s sudden appearance indicates he was not restricted by space, time, or structure.
• 24:36, 37 – “Peace” was necessary because of what they thought: that he was a ghost!
• 24:38 – “Troubled” is the same as in John 14, where they were ‘stressed and fearful’ because he was going away.
• 24:39-43 – His visibility was proof of his reality. He ate, talked, and showed scars. He was real!
• 24:44 – His visibility was proof of Scripture’s reliability. When he showed up, it provided fulfillment for what the prophets had said.
The concept they couldn’t put their hands around was the bodily reality of Jesus. It’s almost as if they were asking, “Is it really him in the flesh? Is he really back? This is too good to be true!” This may be hard to understand, but their joy and amazement – their wonder – made them doubt! You can hear them whispering, “There’s just no way…is there?”
As difficult as this may be to comprehend, the text is clear and says they were struggling with doubt that stemmed from amazement. I like to say they were stuck in the “Too-Good-to-be-True Syndrome.” They found themselves saying, “Something this radical can’t be real.” And that’s exactly what those in the “Too-Good-to-be-True Syndrome” say, isn’t it? Things like, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t” were running through their minds. They are like a lot of the people we know. For that matter, they are like a lot of us! Often the good news just sounds too good to be true, and many people find the Gospel hard to believe because it seems so incredibly wonderful. There’s just no way it could all be real, right?
I was talking with a couple a few weeks ago who had that very reaction. They couldn’t believe that simply believing in Jesus was all it took to go to heaven. They were sure you had to wander in doubt and work very hard to prove yourself worthy. And then hope for the best! “After all,” they asked, “how can you know it’s real and true?”
As I verified the historical reality of Jesus and the timeline of his death and resurrection, and as I clarified the good news and attested to its veracity, they just smiled and began to realize, “Wow, it’s really true. It’s real! You can know you’re going to heaven!” The light began coming on! Sure enough, they bowed their heads and prayed right there, expressing their need for and belief in Jesus, That night they took their stand on the Gospel and settled their eternal destiny once and for all!
In the same manner, a young man from another city had this very same reaction as well a few months ago when I told him everything he had ever done was under the blood. You see, he told me some of what he had done throughout his life, and was asking if those things were going to send him to hell. As I began to explain forgiveness based in Jesus and the cross, he just couldn’t believe it. “Those things are forgivable? Surely I have to do something!” he would comment. But as I simply read the Scriptures and pointed him to the sufficiency of the historical God-man, Jesus Christ, his heart began to break and the good news broke through. When he understood the reality of Jesus, he finally gave in to the love of God! And driving from Ames to Ankeny, this young man gave his heart to Jesus Christ.
You see, sometimes we just can’t believe it’s really true because it almost sounds too good to be true. Just like the disciples, sometimes we get stuck in the “Too-Good-to-be-True Syndrome.” Fortunately, we don’t have to stay there.
So how did Jesus move the disciples from “too-good-to-be-true doubt” to “it’s-really-true belief”? He shows them the visible signs of life – his scars, his ability to eat, his voice, and other visible things people in a body do. His visibility was proof of his reality, and it affirmed their belief!
Many of us know what this feels like, don’t we? You hear some great news and can hardly believe it. You want to believe, and you’re ready to believe. But it almost seems too good to be true. You feel like the disciples – like you doubt out of amazement! But then you see the visible “signs of life” so to speak, and you’re no longer doubting in amazement. You believe!
For instance, I remember when Julie and got engaged. We were at an Atlanta Braves game, and I had arranged for my “Will you marry me?” announcement to be placed on the matrix board. Stadium personnel indicated it would be in the first or second inning, so it was set and I could hardly wait. Well, traffic was bad, and we were running late. You know me – I started getting worried. What if we miss it? What if she says ‘no?’ So I’m running through the parking lot, dragging Julie, who doesn’t know what’s up, and she’s saying, “Slow down! What’s the hurry?” I’m like, “If you only knew!” I’m throwing our tickets to the people at the turn styles, jumping over seats, and then starring holes through the scoreboard. Of course, Julie is looking at me like I’m insane. As she tries to ask me what’s up, I’m saying things like, “Don’t bother me right now” and “Can you just give me a minute.” Then it happened! And there it was – the announcement! So I start pulling her hand, asking her to look at the scoreboard. Guess what? She can’t locate t eh right matrix board. I’ve only got a few seconds, and she can’t even find the crazy thing. So I’m trying to point her in the right direction, give her some visual clues. Finally, she locates it – “Attention Julie Smith in section 22, row 8, seat 2 – Will you marry me? Todd.” And while she’s reading it, I reach into my pocket and pull out a ring. Suddenly, she looks back at me, dropped-mouth and wide-eyed, and says, “Are you serious?” Then she looks down – the ring! Ah, proof positive that I’m serious and that the matrix board is true! She takes it and knows this ain’t a joke. He really wants to marry me! All the while I’m waiting for an answer, and so are the people around us. They leaning over asking her, “What’s your answer?” Good for me, she says yes, and then I’m in shock…she really said yes!? Suddenly, we embrace one another, she lays a big one on me, and I’m realizing this ain’t no dream! It’s real! She’s really going to marry me! Whooppee!
This syndrome also reminds me of when we had our first child. We’re in the delivery room in Northside Hospital in Atlanta, while my parents and her parents are in the waiting room getting minute-by-minute updates form me! In fact, I recall running out there telling everyone it was a girl because as the head started showing, there was hair. And men in my family just don’t have hair. I no sooner came back to the delivery room and watched Brett unfold into life and had to go back and correct the newswires – it was a boy. A real, live son!
Just as I could hardly believe I actually had a son (when I saw him it affirmed what I knew I had believed all along), and just as we could hardly believe that we were really getting married to one another (the ring sure helped affirm Julie’s belief that I wasn’t kidding), so the disciples were filled with such joy and amazement that it took a physical, visible sign to show them that what they thought was too good to be true was exactly that – really true! That’s what visible signs do – they confirm that what we’re seeing is really accurate and true.
Such was the case for the disciples – Jesus’ visible, physical actions were proof positive they weren’t seeing a ghost or dreaming a dream. It was real, and really amazing. And it was these visible proofs that led them out of doubt towards belief.
It is important that you not misunderstand visibility as a replacement for faith. Not at all! This is different than what Thomas was dealing with, okay? Thomas was skeptical and wouldn’t believe until he saw first-hand. He had to see in order to believe.
But this type of visibility complements our faith. It’s not that we have to see in order to believe; instead, when we see, we verify what we already believe. Our “sight” confirms that what we have believed is true! Sure, it almost seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? At these times we rely on the visible to reaffirm, not replace!
This is exactly what Jesus did in his many post-resurrection appearances. Yes, Jesus proved his post-resurrection reality by visible appearances on multiple occasions to more than 500 people. Now that’s some visible proof, isn’t it? Let me show you.
1. Appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene (Mk. 16:9-11; John 20:11-18)
2. Appearance of Jesus to the other women (Matt. 28:9-10)
3. Appearance to two on road to Emmaus (Mk. 16:12, 13; Luke 24:13-32)
4. Appearance to Simon Peter (Luke 24:33-35; I Cor. 15:5)
5. Appearance to disciples without Thomas (Mk. 16:14; Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25 )
6. Appearance to Thomas and the disciples (John 20:26-31; I Cor. 15:5)
7. Appearance to the seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee (John 21)
8. Appearance to over 500 in Galilee (Mk. 16:15-18; Matt. 28:16-20; I Cor. 15:6)
9. Appearance to James, the brother of Jesus (I Cor. 15:7)
10. Appearance to disciples with another commission (Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8)
11. Last appearance and the Ascension (Luke 24:50-53)
Do you see that? 11 visible, physical appearances! In fact, John uses these very appearances later in his writings to affirm to the believers to whom he was writing the reality of Jesus. Look at 1 John 1:1-4, would you?
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete."
Do you see all the sensory-related verbs? “Heard, seen, touched, looked at, appeared! “ WOW! And many of them mentioned multiple times. Why? John is confirming and affirming that what they believed is true. Real! He saw it, touched it, handled it, and heard it – it’s true! There is no need to doubt or wonder if this is all a myth, a too-good-to-be-true fable. On the contrary! Jesus was real, the story is true, and we can believe!
It is quite interesting how John connects his visible proofs of Jesus to the completion of their joy. Knowing Jesus is real means I can live in complete joy, not in incomplete joy. And that’s what the disciples had – incomplete joy. Why? Because they didn’t fully believe. That’s incomplete joy. They were still fretting, stressing, doubting. But when his physical visibility affirmed the spiritual reality he taught, they had compete joy. Likewise, his visible appearances leave no room for doubt, and so joy can fill every nook and cranny of our heart. We can be completely joy-filled as we confidently believe in the spiritual truth of God confirmed by written, physical, and visible evidences.
So what does this mean to you in 2007? In light of the truth of this passage, how should FFC operate and how should you live? Allow me to give you a simple sentence that you can put your arms around and use to apply this text throughout the week:
"I know God is real today because Jesus was real yesterday!"
This simple statement is one way to help people get out of the “Too-Good-to-be-True Syndrome.” You see, sometimes people ask, “How do you know God is real?” The best answer is, “Because Jesus was real!” His physical actions to the disciples and visible appearances to others prove to me that what they thought was too good to be true was actual reality and verifiable truth. The historicity of the Son – Jehovah in the flesh – proves the currency of the Father! The person of Jesus is one of the most potent reasons to believe in the power of God. It’s because of Jesus that we can say with certainty, “There is a God, and you can know him!” Instead of living with a mental or intellectual disconnect to Bible times, try the opposite: believe what was real “then” and you’ll find an increase of confidence in the “now.” Truly, First Family, the visibility of Jesus may have ceased, but it proves that the reality of God continues.
And the reality of God changes everything. Because God is real today, people can be healed! Prayers can be answered! Sins can be forgiven! Marriages can be restored! Relationships can be mended! Your past can be a stepping stone, not a stumbling block. Your life can be different because God is alive and real today! How do I know? Because the visible expression of him – Jesus Christ – was alive and real back then! He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death, and rose from the dead, appearing to over 500 people afterwards before he ascended into heaven where he now resides with his Father. Yes, First Family, it may sound too good to be true. But the visibility of Jesus affirms to me it’s real. Hallelujah, I know it’s real!
As I mulled over this passage for the last few weeks, a song kept coming to mind the last few days that I heard as a boy. In fact, I doubt if any of you have heard it. But I found myself singing it, unable to stop the flow of praise coming form my heart and out my lips. I first heard it when Ray Hart, and old-fashioned revival singer came to our church when I was in Jr. High. He’d bellow out songs each year at our annual Bible conference, and I’d buy the tapes and sing ‘em at home (and anywhere else I felt like singing). Sometimes in our youth group my youth pastor, Richard Jones, would humorously challenge me to a Ray Hart impersonation, and, being the attention-seeking, stage-loving kid I was, I’d oblige without question. “It’s reeeaaal” I’d croon. He’d laugh, and I would drone on some more. But that song that was somehow tucked away in my memory cane back this week as I thought about the historical reality of Jesus and what it means for me in 2007. Yes, Ray Hart was right when he’d sing, “It’s real, it’s real, ooohhhh, I know it’s real. Praise God the doubts are settled. For I know, I know it’s real!”
Don’t worry, church. I’ve since then fallen in love with guitars and drums, but I have wonderfully fond memories of what was instilled in me as a kid, not just musically, but theologically. Yes, we know it’s real because we know he was real. And a real God who brings real change to real people is really amazing, isn’t it? That’s where you want to end up – totally amazed now by the reality of Jesus then.
So as we close, I ask you this week to do exactly that – let the reality of Jesus then amaze you now! Do exactly the opposite of the disciples. Instead of letting amazement lead you to doubt Jesus’ reality, let Jesus’ reality lead you to amazement. For its true, First Family, it’s really true! Jesus is real, God is real, and he really changes people.
As you contemplate on this passage and this truth, watch this video, asking God to bring you to a place of amazement with his reality.
Video: “Amazed”
