Last Sunday was Easter Morning, people all over the world gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Christ and all that means to us. Today I want to talk about what happened next. Because usually in church we go from talking about Jesus resurrection, Easter, to Jesus Ascension into Heaven, which we use to talk about evangelism, mostly. But there was a lot that Jesus did during this time period. He didn’t just make one appearance but several. Not all of them are mentioned in scripture, but each of the ones that are has a purpose to it.
So today, we’re going to look at some of those appearances and look at the lessons that we can learn from them. But before we do that I want us to look at something interesting. As I’ve looked at the story of the resurrection, there’s something that I noticed we don’t see. We don’t see Jesus appearing to the disciples. He appeared to Mary Magdalene later but the report that Peter and John first received in John 20:2 was, “So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So the ladies didn’t understand it exactly. This was a thing that simply couldn’t happen. Now when Peter gets to the tomb John describes it like this, “He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.”
Now some would say that this means that they believed the resurrection had happened but it may just mean that they believed that the tomb was now empty. Note the next verse, verse 9 which the author put into parentheses. “They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.” John puts this in parentheses as a note. I believe that he is telling us that at this point their understanding was limited as to what had really happened. After this note that is when he goes on to write that Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and told her He was alive. When that happened then they began to understand all that had happened. So your notes should read that, “the disciples didn’t know exactly what an empty tomb meant.” It’s not just John who leads us to think that way, look at Luke 12, “Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” They knew something had happened, but they weren’t sure what.
There are so many lessons that we can take from that. First of all it’s why we need to be not only in church but in a Bible study. It can be Sunday School, it can be Wednesday Nights, Saturday morning, one of the small groups that we offer occasionally, but you need to be in a Bible Study to talk about the things of God with other people of God. If even Peter and John weren’t sure what Jesus did, when He had personally shown them in the scriptures what He was going to do before He did it, if they didn’t know what He was going to do and didn’t immediately understand what He had done, then we’re going to miss stuff to if we are on our own. Fortunately the disciples had other people to explain it to them. Jesus told Mary, the angels told the ladies, then they told the disciples and they knew in part.
But then Jesus did was Jesus does, He continued to preach. He wasn’t with them like He was before, that part of His mission was over, but He continued to appear to them, to not only teach them but to show them, as we look at these passages we see our Lord on a mission, to do three things. The first is that He proved it.
The resurrection is one of the single greatest things about Christianity. It sets us apart from every other religion. The grave of our founder is empty. Because it is so important the reality of it has been attacked since it happened. Matthew tells us that when the guards went are reported what happened that rather then being executed the priests gave them a large sum of money and then gave them these instructions, Matthew 28:13, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”
That was the plan, that is theory that some people still say today. The problem with it is that we have from the gospel writers the truth that even the apostles were not fully aware of what was going on until Jesus explained it to them. The reality of the resurrection has been under attack since the very first Easter, the good news is though that it did happen, I can say that, we can say that because Jesus knew that people would question it, He knew that people would doubt it. We tend to believe the ordinary, but this was the extraordinary, the supernatural. God literally reaching into history and changing it’s course. So when He has risen from the grave, He sets out on a mission, and one of the first things He does is to prove it.
He not only appeared to Mary, but Jesus also appeared to two men on the road to Emmaus. Luke 24:13 says, “Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.” They did recognize him later and we’ll get to that in just a minute, but Jesus comes to His disciples, two men who followed Him. Some may wonder why these two men, but notice they are on their way back from Jerusalem, they are from someplace else, the lived someplace else. By appearing to them, there would now be people outside the disciples in Jerusalem who claimed that Jesus was alive.
That makes this appearance strategic but also see the ministry of Jesus, they are upset, when Jesus asked them what they were discussing, Luke says, “They stood still, their faces downcast.” It’s interesting because they had heard about the resurrection, but they didn’t really know what to do with it or what to make of it. Look at how they describe their morning to Jesus starting in verse 19, “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
Do we ever feel or act like these guys? God is doing something and we just can’t figure out what it is. I’ll tell you two things about that really quickly and they’re not in your notes, the first is when God is moving it will always be for our good in the long term. The second thing is that when God is doing something He will show us in His time what it was. Sometimes it is through the study of the scriptures, sometimes it is through other people, for these guys it was Jesus. You see, Jesus wasn’t satisfied with simply appearing, He taught the men about Him. Notice how he did it. Sometimes we want God to just speak to us audibly so we can get it, but God speaks through His Word. Look at verse 27, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.” Jesus not only explained to them what happened, He showed them why it had to happen and what it meant that it did happen. He showed them from the scriptures because with the resurrection God called His shot. He told us what would happen, told us what did happen, and now He was telling them and us, what did happen, God in control all the time and not only telling us but proving it. He appeared to them, he taught them and after He did that He let them see who He was. They invited into their home for dinner and then we read, verse 30, “When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.” Mission accomplished.
These aren’t the only two people that Jesus appeared to. We know that He appeared to the disciples a few times, we’re going to look at two of those next, but He appeared to lots of people. That is the crux of the passage that I had Adam read for you, 1 Corinthians 15. In answer to those who would question the resurrection of Christ Paul writes, “That he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” Paul is presenting his argument to the church as an answer to anyone who would say that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. He lists the appearances to the apostles, these we know about, but then we have this extra step, that Jesus appeared “to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time.” To Paul this was basically irrefutable evidence, this may have been an entire village it is probable that there were women and children present so the number of people would have been far greater. What Paul is saying is that if someone doubts that Jesus rose from the dead, then there is a place they can go and ask and multiple people will tell them they saw it. Now they may not have found 500 men because some of them had died, but if you want go and ask and so many people will tell you that they saw Him, alive, after the crucifixion that it is irrefutable. Then He gives the example of James, who was a leader in the church, then all of the apostles, again. Paul is listing them this way pointing out that Jesus didn’t just appear once, to one group of people, but that Jesus appeared many times, to many people, and made repeated visits to His apostles. Paul is saying if you doubt the reality of the resurrection there are people go and ask them, it was not his opinion, it was not a probability or a Scriptural promise of what would happen one day Paul was saying it happened, people saw it, Jesus proved it.
But then we get this last verse and it’s funny because I think that we overlook it, or we focus on the wording and what it means, and we miss the really beautiful thing for us personally. Paul wrote, “And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” So many people wonder and speculate about the meaning of the term abnormally born, does it refer to the fact that the rest were already followers of Jesus before He appeared and Paul was not? I think that is likely. Some people think that Paul says this because not only wasn’t he following Christ, but he was persecuting the church. There could be merit in that. But that’s not what I see in this verse. This is what I see. All of those other appearances were before Jesus Ascension into Heaven and the giving of the Great Commission, Jesus appeared to Paul after that. Why do I think that this is so beautiful, because if you want to place history into segments, before Christ/after Christ, before or after death, I think one of the clearest things for us in terms of how God deals with us is this, Jesus ascended into Heaven, then the Holy Spirit came down and the nature of how we deal with God changed. The Holy Spirit is now a part of our lives, all of our lives if we accept Him, every day. But after that happened, Jesus appeared to Paul. Jesus is not just locked into being a New Testament expression of God waiting for His return, He can still step into our lives, just as He did with Paul. If that every happens for you, you won’t forget it. You will be able to say with Paul from that day forward, I know that Jesus is risen, not just because of the testimony of others, but because I have seen Him and experienced Him for myself. Jesus is alive today, and forevermore.
Which leads us to this simple sounding question, “why does it matter?” The answer is just as simple, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:13-14, “If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” Wow those are some pretty clear stakes. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, if we won’t rise from the dead, then there’s no point in having faith in Him. This comes from Paul. Think about some of the implications of this. For those people who say that Jesus was a good teacher, even if they don’t understand that good teachers teach the truth and Jesus taught that He was the resurrection and the life. But even if you don’t want to look at that being a great teacher isn’t enough, Paul who called us to faith said that our faith was in vain if Jesus wasn’t raised from the dead.
When I was a boy I remember that we were taught that we should love God so much that it didn’t matter if we went to Heaven or not. Some people today say that we should just focus on preaching about how God wants to be a part of our lives now and not focus on the reality of Heaven and Hell. But the apostle Paul said that the resurrection is key, that is part of what he put his faith in. As he was beaten, stoned, ship wreaked, arrested and ultimately imprisoned, it was all worth it not because Jesus was a good teacher, but because He rose from the dead with the promise that one day, when we die there will be a resurrection and we will go to be with Him. Jesus not only said it, He proved it.
Then He forgave it. Think about how amazing the forgiveness of Jesus was before and during the crucifixion. He told people their sins were forgiven, demonstrating that He was God. He said, “Father forgive them” from the cross. But that was before the resurrection what about after? We find that He was still in the forgiving business. He demonstrated to us what forgiveness should look liked. We’re going to look quickly at Jesus appearance to Peter, John and other disciples at the end of John’s gospel. There was a motivation behind this appearance of Jesus. He wasn’t just out to prove that He was raised. He had already done that verse 14 records that, “This was now the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.” His motivation here was beyond proving that He was raised from the dead, he was out to show forgiveness, in this case specifically to Peter. You’ll remember that Peter swore to follow Christ, even if it meant death. Jesus told him that he would deny Jesus three times before the night was over, but Peter didn’t believe Him, until he did it. Then we Jesus looked at him, when he realized what he had done, and that Jesus knew it, that Peter wept, bitterly.
Even after the resurrection I believed that weighed on Peter. So Jesus comes to them one morning when they have been out fishing. Jesus helps them to catch a large number of fish and had cooked breakfast for them, they ate together and then we read these words, John 21:15, “When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than there?’” It was an opportunity for Peter, he denied Jesus three times, so three times Jesus gave him the opportunity to say that he loved Him. It was a beautiful moment. It was Jesus showing us how to forgive. Why should forgiveness rule our relationships? Because it did for Jesus, and in the short period of time between the resurrection and the ascension, forgiveness was one of the things that Jesus wanted to show us.
What’s beautiful for us is that The forgiveness that Jesus gave to Peter is the same forgiveness that He gives to us. We’ve all sinned, I know this because we are all human. We’ve all done things that we shouldn’t have, things that we know are not only against what God has said, but things that our society even would label as just wrong. But Jesus forgives us, and it matters. Some people may say why does that matter, why do I need the forgiveness of God? It real simple, because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, we have hope, we have hope that one day we can go to live to be with God. That destination though not only requires the love of God it requires the forgiveness of God. Isn’t it good to know that for us the cost is the same as for Peter, we must love Him, and then follow that last command that Jesus cave to Peter, it’s in verse 20, “follow me.” When we commit to follow Him we get His forgiveness just like Peter did, isn’t that good to know.
There’s one final lesson to see about Jesus forgiveness. Jesus restored Peter to where He had been before. See I think that the reason that the trial for Peter was so bitter, the reason it was so difficult was that his position was so great. You’ll remember where he got his name from. Matthew 16:18, “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Can you imagine being given both this task and this honor, Jesus looks at you and says, that you are the rock, that’s what Peter means, and that He’s going to build His church on you. Now contrast the pride of that moment, to the feeling of denying Him three times. I wonder how many times in the dark of night Peter thought to himself, “some rock I am I couldn’t even stand for him to a servant girl.”
But here comes Jesus verse 16, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, ‘Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” Simon failed, he repented, here comes Jesus with forgiveness and then He doesn’t sideline Peter, He put’s him back into his position, in this case that of the shepherd, taking care of God’s people. When God forgives us, He forgives us completely. He doesn’t hold grudges, there may be consequences, Peter, had his heart broken, but when it is time, Jesus restores Peter, that is what He wants to do for you and me. God doesn’t cast us aside, because He loves us and has a mission of us.
Defining that mission is the final thing that He did, before he left, He passed the baton. That’s the story in the beginning of the book of Acts, verse 6-9 describe it like this, “So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?” He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. (quick side note to the church that placed the billboard down the street saying that we can know and that the date is May 21st, we’re still planning on having church on the 22nd and it’s not because we’re not planning on going with Him when He comes.) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”
Let’s look at this in reverse order a bit. Since we’ve focused on the resurrection let’s note where Jesus went, when His full mission was accomplished, He went home. It’s another prove it moment. We know that Jesus is in heaven reigning with the Father, not because He said He was, but because His disciples watched Him leave, they watched Him go to Heaven. Then look at this beautiful confirmation and promise from God given by the angels. Verse 10, “they were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven,” We don’t think Jesus went to Heaven when this was all done, we know it because the disciples saw it and angels confirmed it.
But then don’t miss the rest of the verse, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” What a great promise, He went to heaven and He will come back, when He comes back He’s coming back for us. What this moment means though is even greater then that, it’s not just that Heaven is our destination one day, it’s not just a place we will go, it’s our home. Do we realize that when we give our lives to Him that Heaven becomes our home? We worry about so much that happens here. The paper is filled everyday lately with things that remind me of my grandmother. She used to sit in her rocking chair with her Bible open and teach her family and especially this grandson what the end of the world would be like, what signs to watch for. The first Bible Study I ever wrote she helped me to write, and I think of the things that she said would happen, and lately the headlines out of the middle east are looking really similar, and I wonder are we coming closer to the end, I’m tempted to worry about what will happen, and where this world is going. But then I remember that this world is not my home, heaven is, and the perspective changes. Because of what He did Heaven is our home, and after He proved He was resurrected, after he taught us what it meant and showed us forgiveness, He showed us the way home and passed the baton.
The last thing He did before that happened., was to give them and mission for the entire church. He put it like this in verse 8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That’s what we are supposed to be about, making disciples, where? Well first, here in our Jerusalem, that’s our community where we live, We do that with the people that we see everyday, that’s the word that we call “Oikos” our extended household. The 8 to 15 people that God supernaturally has placed in our lives to share His grace with them. We are to pray for them and then seek ways to share Him with them. Not force Him down their throats, but when God gives us the opportunity we are looking for it and we share. We’re not responsible for saving the whole world, but God wants to use us to reach our world. Then we go to Judea and Samaria, that’s the world by us, the world that we reach with mission trips and the like. Somewhere in those two area’s ministries like one to the school across the street comes in. We don’t know all of these people personally, but I believe that God has given us an opportunity to reach some of them with His love.
I had the great opportunity to go across the street a few weeks ago and sit with the principle and simply ask him what we could do to help minister to the families in his school, he gave me what I think are some great ideas and I’ll be working with the missions committee to develop a few of them so we can do them. That’s part of our mission, reaching people for Christ. When we do that then we have a duty to the ends of the earth, right now we do that through our missions giving, but who knows what God has for us in the future. The important thing is that we do it and we do it together. Because reaching people with the love of Christ is the mission of the church all of us. One final passage for the day, in Ephesians 4, Paul quotes Psalms 68:18 saying, When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” What kind of gifts, spiritual ones, what are they for? Ephesians 4:12, “To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” The mission of the church is a mission for all of us. To lead people to know Christ, to help them grow in Christ, and then to go serve Christ.
If you’ve never accepted Him as your savior that is the process we want to help you with today. The one who step out of the grave, the one who is alive today, wants to share His love and grace with you, to erase the guilt of your past, give you a purpose for your future and ultimately bring you to the greatest home of all. Will you accept his gift today?
