In today’s Gospel reading,
the resurrected Jesus appears to his disciples
but they do not recognise Him.
They have trouble believing what they see.
Reading from verse 36 we heard
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 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.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement.
If Jesus was to walk through this door today what would you expect Him to look like?
Gleaming white.
Neatly dressed, without a crease or blemish.
Or perhaps looking straight out of 33ad…in his rags and sandals.
We develop images of Jesus and of God.
We expect Him to look and act in a certain way.
And it was the same for the disciples.
Things hadn’t turned out for them as they expected.
Their leader was killed,
they had heard reports of his resurrection but they had not seen Him.
Throughout His ministry Jesus had attempted to reveal to His disciples that He first needed to die
for His mission to be successful.
Yet that didn’t make sense to them.
Listen to what happened as Jesus was being arrested..
From Luke 22:49
49 When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
And that was not the first time…
On numerous occasions throughout His ministry Jesus attempted to tell His disciples that He must suffer and die and that he will rise again.
In Matthew 16 there is an encounter between Him and Peter,
With Peter telling Him off for even suggesting such a thing.
And now he arrives as the resurrected one
With scars
So what about you?
Does Jesus live up to your expectations?
Does God act and appear how you expect?
Many people have expectations of Jesus…
More comfortable, richer, perfect unity
But is that what Scripture says Jesus is like and will do.
But if we really want to see and understand Jesus we need to first look at scripture
This is what he told the disciples reading from Luke 24 verse 44
44 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.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
When he said that everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law, Prophets and Psalms
He is referring to the Jewish Bible, what we know as the Old Testament.
Jesus is emphasising that in order to understand how God operates and His purposes we need to look at scripture.
And that scriptures most important purpose is to emphasise Jesus and what He will do.
In other words scripture acts as a letter to us as to how we can identify Jesus.
And so what does scripture say about Jesus.
First of all He comes in peace.
Peace be with you
This is a typical Jewish Greeting
But also a greeting used frequently by God.
At times God uses when people experiencing God are likely to be afraid
In Judges 6 verse 23 the Lord says to Gideon, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”
And in Luke 2 when the angels appeared to Jesus they said so not be afraid, he brings peace to whom His favour rests
One of the identifying marks of Jesus is that He brings peace
This doesn’t mean at times we will feel uncomfortable with Jesus
Remember he also told us he was giving us peace that was different to what this world offers.
When Jesus speaks to us, at times it is not comfortable.
He will confront us where our lives are not consistent with God and His ways.
He will highlight where we are out of alignment with God.
When I drive my car and the steering is a lit rough I know the wheels need realignment.
Likewise when I open scripture and Jesus speaks to me
and I feel uncomfortable I know my life needs some adjustment.
Helping us identify where we are out of alignment with God is the start of Jesus bringing peace into our lives.
And he also does two things for us to rectify the problem.
To give us peace.
One he fixes up the damage being out of aligned with God has caused.
And secondly he gives us guidance and help to change, to remain in alignment with God.
The second identifying mark of Jesus that is highlighted through the scriptures is that through suffering and rising.
Jesus fulfilled the scriptures.
God had revealed this is how the Messiah would achieve victory over Satan even in the Old Testament.
In numerous places in the Old Testament God reveals that the one who will save His people will suffer, take for instance Isaiah 53.
Yet it wasn’t until it occurred that this became clear to others.
People couldn’t comprehend that this is how God works.
How could dieing bring victory?
But that is exactly the plan of God.
Jesus suffering, dieing and rising was God’s plan to defeat Satan and bring salvation to the entire world.
And this identifies the third identifying mark about Jesus.
that His main purpose is to bring repentance and forgiveness.
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
The reason for his suffering, death and resurrection was that repentance and forgiveness was possible for you and me.
We should never lose sight of this.
That for every Christian the number one thing they should be focused on is repentance and forgiveness.
Are you?
Are you eager to expose your life to God’s word
and allow Him to redirect you where you are out of alignment?
And are you willing to accept that you can’t rectify the problems between you and God without Jesus’ forgiveness?
Both repentance and forgiveness are essential.
Repentance is recognizing you are out of alignment with God and being realigned to His ways.
Forgiveness is dealing with the damage this realignment has caused.
Both require God to be active.
They should not be separated.
A life without repentance is simply thumbing your nose at God.
And a life without forgiveness is living in hell.
Jesus died so repentance and forgiveness is possible for you.
And the forth identifying mark of Jesus
Is that we are His witnesses.
He uses us to bring his message of peace, repentance and forgiveness
Reading from verse 48
48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
For some peculiar reason God has chosen you and me to be His witnesses…
To represent Him to your family, workmates and friends.
This is not an option.
Now we can be good or bad witnesses.
A good witness relies on God’s power, that’s what Jesus asked the disciples to do.
And God’s power for us comes through His scriptures and the Holy Spirit.
This is why it is so important to be constantly attending worship services and to be frequently reading the bible.
These are two foundational practices in your life to being in touch with God.
And a good witness reflects who Jesus truly is.
That Jesus is concerned both about repentance and forgiveness.
And this is our challenge…
Of how to be witnesses to both in the various situations we are experiencing.
The starting point needs to be ourselves.
Are you exposing your life to the bible?
If not begin.
Do you recognise which areas of your life are not in alignment with God?
Are you seeking help in these areas?
And do you also recognise that God forgives you!
Do you understand what it means to be forgiven!!
Being a witness does not mean you need to be perfect, with no flaws.
Being a witness means reflecting what Jesus is doing in your life.
Highlighting what he has done, what he is doing and will do.
That Jesus is on about both repentance and forgiveness.
This is how the scriptures portray who Jesus is.
Both these bring change to our lives now and in the future.
My story….recognising that forgiveness is more than sorry!!!
This week
Look for opportunities to reveal to people that Jesus is on about both repentance and forgiveness..Amen
