2024-12-31A
A. THE IMPORTANCE OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION
Christ’s resurrection is of paramount importance. This event, perhaps more than any other, confirms that He was the Son of God, sent from heaven by the Father. It also confirms that everything He did and said, was given to Him by the Father and, most important of all, that His sacrifice of Himself for our sins was accepted by His Father. These truths God the Father confirmed by raising Jesus from the dead.
The apostle Paul emphasizes this importance of His resurrection as follows in 1 Corinthians 15:17:
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
Christ’s resurrection therefore demonstrates the awesome power of God and is our guarantee:
- That He can revive man’s spirit from the death of sin and give him a new, holy life.
- That He, on the last day, when Jesus returns to earth, will be able to resurrect our mortal bodies to resemble Jesus’ risen body.
B. WITNESSES TO JESUS’ RESURRECTION AND APPEARANCES.
(Please spend some extra time by also reading through the following Scriptures to gain a more comprehensive picture of what happened during and after Jesus’ resurrection: Matt 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-20; John 20 and 21).
Earlier on in the study guide it was pointed out that the four Gospels were each written for a specific group of readers and that it is impossible to incorporate all four accounts into one comprehensive Gospel, reflecting everything Jesus and other role players did and said in precise chronological order. Each writer, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, recorded those incidents and words of which he had personal knowledge and/or considered most important; those he thought would speak most strongly to his readers.
This of course also applies to the closing chapters of these Books where the post burial appearances and ascension of Jesus are described. Even after having studied all four Gospels carefully, we realize that not all was said and that it is impossible to arrange the incidents precisely in the order they occurred.
We will once again concentrate on Luke’s account but also look at incidents recorded in the other Gospels to gain a fuller picture of all the thrilling events.
~~~ a. The SECURITY GUARDS become the first witnesses (Please read Matt 28:1-4, 11-15).
In the previous study guide we noted that the Jewish leaders went to seal Jesus’ tomb on the day after the crucifixion. They also assigned guards, made available by Pilate at their request, to guard the tomb, lest, as they feared, Jesus’ disciples might remove His body and claim that He had risen as He had said He would. How ironic that these very guards would be the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection. Once they recovered from shock, they fled the tomb and hastened to report to the chief priests what had happened.
God’s way of doing is to uncover concealed secrets; to reveal hidden truths. The devil’s strategy is to cover up the truth under a multitude of lies. This is what he tried to do here too. He could not prevent Jesus from rising from the tomb; therefore he tried to cover up this fact by means of bribery and lies. In this, however, he would not succeed because the guards themselves, though bribed to silence, were so moved by what they had experienced there at the tomb, that they would certainly have shared it “confidentially” with at least their families and close friends. From there it would have spread for, as is the case with such “confidential” communications, it would have been whispered from ear to ear until even the deaf would have heard it.
~~~ b. MARY MAGDALENE (Please read Joh 20:11-18).
Mary Magdalene was from the region of Galilee, between 175 and 200 km north of Jerusalem. During an earlier period she must have lived an evil life so that she became possessed by the devil and, like the demoniac of Gadara, suffered greatly. In this state, Jesus crossed her path and cast out seven demons from her (Mark 16:9).
…………… Motivated by love.
The Lord once said, the greater a person’s sin is for which the Lord forgave him, the more he loved the Lord (Luke 7:47). Mary was only too aware that she had sinned terribly against heaven by giving herself over to the devil in this way and that the grace the Lord showed by forgiving her all of this in one moment, was indescribably great. This beneficence she had received from Jesus, together with the glory of being freed from satanic torture, created in her heart a burning love for her Saviour.
She became a passionate disciple of Jesus, following Him and His male disciples, together with a number of other women, everywhere throughout the country and serving Him by providing in his material needs. She probably was a wealthy woman. She was also one of those who stood right in front of the cross, not caring what people would think of, or do to her. When He was later laid in the tomb, she too was present.
…………… She was at his tomb first and had something to give.
His tomb drew her like a magnet. She had no expectation that He would rise from the dead, but it was enough for her to be with His broken body again. She wished to show Him just one more deed of honour and love by caring for his body with ointments and spices, according to the custom of that time. The day had not even properly broken, when she arrived there. Shocked, she realized that the tomb was empty, except for the burial cloths lying on the stone where his body had been laid to rest. Immediately she spun around and rushed back to tell Peter, hoping that he would be able to do something about it, then followed him and John back to the tomb.
…………… “I am looking for my Lord…”.
Peter entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths for himself. John followed. The two disciples then returned home, but Mary remained, rooted, grieving, staring into the empty tomb with only one burning desire: to be able to touch Him again, even if it was just His dead body. Through her tears she dimly saw two angels in white sitting inside where Jesus had been lying; one where His head and one where His feet had been. She was so overcome with grief that she did not even recognize them to be angels. Nor did the fact that angels appeared and spoke to her, comfort her. All that would comfort her was that Jesus’ body be returned. “I seek my Lord whom they took away and I know not where they laid Him,” she sobbed.
Becoming aware of someone behind her, she turned backward and saw a man standing there. He also wanted to know: “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Thinking it was the gardener, she answered respectfully, weeping: “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him away.”
…………… Her tears were her bouquet of love.
Imagining this scene you may smile with tears welling up in your eyes, thinking: “A fragile weeping woman wants to take the body of the almighty Creator of the universe in her arms and carry it to a safe place where she could take care of it.” But that is not how Jesus saw her. He looked at her subjectively, He looked deep into her heart and what He saw there was a fire of pure burning love wanting Him and Him alone: a love that would be comforted by nothing and no one else. He did not reproach her for her lack of faith and spiritual insight, but saw her love and it was, so, so precious to Him. Surely it was the greatest gift, the greatest bouquet any person could give Him. “He who has been forgiven much, loves much!”
…………… She sought a lifeless body but found a living Messiah.
Then Jesus’ grace broke through to her in one single word: “Mary!” She recognized that voice and her heart leaped for joy. She spun around and there He was standing, alive, right in front of her. “Rabboni, (Master) she cried out!” Her sorrows were over, her Lord had been retutned to her; her life and joy restored. He did not reproach her for her unbelief in His promises that He would rise, as He reproached some of His other disciples. Her love was such a precious jewel to Him that He rewarded it by appearing to her first; even before appearing to His eleven disciples.
Then she wanted to grab and never let him go again, but that could not not be. The period of his physical presence had passed. From then on He would rarely be visibly present with her and she had to get used to it. A wonderful new dispensation had however dawned in which He would, after the pouring out of his Spirit, be with her continually, uninterruptedly.
…………… May our faith and love go hand in hand.
Oh, may the Holy Spirit enable you and me, not only to believe in Him, but also to love Him so fervently and not be concerned for what others think of us.
…………… An empty tomb is not the tragic end of everything, but the door to a more glorious future.
A final thought: All of us, at some point, come to a dead end where we are bewildered by an empty tomb, where everything in our lives is falling apart. Then just listen through your tears to hear His voice. He is standing right there with you. He has a new revelation for you too, a new dispensation, new horizons.
~~~ c. The WOMEN who had previously followed Jesus everywhere (Please read Luke 24:1-9).
These women, who were close followers of the Lord Jesus, also did not believe that He would rise from the dead. They expected to find a body in the tomb. That is why they took spices with them to treat it. About this, the angels addressed them, namely about their unbelief, with the words: “Why do you seek the Living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen, as He had promised you when He was still with you in Galilee.”
And while they stayed in Galilee, Jesus said to them, The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men. And they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised again. And they grieved exceedingly. (Matt 17:22,23).
…………… Grave go-ers instead of festival go-ers.
If they had only believed Jesus’ promise, they would have hurried to the tomb with joyful hearts, expecting it to be empty, but because of their lack of faith, they were weighed down by depression. Instead of spending their money on spices to treat a dead body and dispel the smell of death, they would have expected him to visit them at any moment and have spent it on ingredients to prepare a delicious meal for him to celebrate his victory and resurrection.
~~~ d. PETER, their leader, sees no further than the rest.
But what about Peter, the leader of the apostles? He too was one of the unbelieving believers; he too did not believe the promise of the Lord Jesus, nor the testimonies of the women he knew so well, but at least he set off at a jog to the tomb just to make quite sure.
…………… What is the colour of your cloak: gray and black or red, yellow, blue and green?
How do we appear to the people we meet on the street: as people off to the graveyard or as those off to a grand festival? Today we serve a living Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father, not a mummy preserved in some tomb. What is our expectation of Him? How seriously do we take His promises? Perhaps we need to write down some and believe them explicitly so there can be a spring in our step as we go about our business down below.
~~~ e. The two EMMAUS TRAVELLERS (Please read Luke 24:13-35).
To comment on this incident in detail would only add to the length of this long study guide, but one cannot study the resurrection of Jesus without reading and reflecting on this precious story: two people who went to Jerusalem together, seeking to quench their spiritual thirst, but not finding a drop of living water from the dry dogmatic taps of the Jewish leaders.
However, they were well-versed in Jesus’ ministry and crucifixion and considered themselves one of His broader group of disciples. They had also had contact with Jesus’ inner circle of disciples during their recent visit and had heard rumours of His resurrection. Now they were on their way home with more questions than they had left with.
……………. The Stranger.
Suddenly a third Person joins them. He too has questions, but His questions are not about what happened in Jerusalem, no, they are about the two of them; about why they appear to be so downhearted. Somewhat sarcastically, the one remarks that he apparently was the only sleepwalker (stranger) in Jerusalem who did not know what had happened there that weekend. The Stranger pretends not to understand and asks: “What things?” Probably with a sigh of despair, the one named Cleopas begins to tell Him about the prophet Jesus who had performed powerful deeds and spoken glorious words, raising their expectation that He would redeem Israel, but was crucified by the Jewish leaders. On top of that, the rumour (from fairly reliable sources) now circulated that He had risen from the grave. How disturbing all this was and what was one now to believe?
…………… The Eternal Word explains the Word to them – the Scriptures lead to the Word.
Then the Stranger begins to speak. Living words flow from His lips. He is not in a hurry or impatient with them, but explains step by step. Starting off with the writings of Moses, He takes them through the prophets, showing how all of these Scriptures, the whole Word apply to this Jesus. The further He goes, the more their hearts burn with new hope.
……………. Blind eyes opened.
On reaching the turnoff to their home, they refused to let Him continue on his way and insisted on His coming to dine with them. They wished to bless Him for the blessing they had received from Him. And then, just as He broke the bread, the Holy Spirit opened their eyes. At once they recognized Him as the One He had spoken of all along the way, the One they had probably personally seen before, the One who was crucified some days before. With their own eyes they witness that He had truly risen again and … the next moment He disappeared from their sight!
…………… A glowing heart.
Oh the glory of a burning heart when the risen Jesus speaks to us! These two people’s hearts were now so ardent that, even though night had fallen, they set off on the long journey back to Jerusalem, to tell Jesus’ other disciples that He had truly risen, appeared to them and answered all their questions.
…………… Ask Jesus.
Are you on your way with many questions in your heart? He is the same, yesterday, today and forever and wants to join you at the right time, answer them all and send you back to become one with the other children of the Lord and share with them, the light you received.
~~~ f. DISCIPLES: Jesus’ first appearance to his assembled group of disciples (Please read Luke 24:36-49)
This incident occurred after dark on the first day of the week (Sunday). (Remember that the Jewish day lasted from about 6 a.m. [our time] to 6 a.m.) The apostles were probably gathered in the upper room where they had enjoyed the last meal with Jesus, and the women disciples were with them. The doors were locked for fear of the Jews (John 20:19). They were either eating, or had just finished doing so.
…………… Confusing evidence.
But they were confused. Mary Magdalene had come, all in ecstasy, to tell them that the risen Jesus had appeared and spoken to her. Some of the other women who had also been following Jesus all over before His crucifixion, had also been there to tell them about the angel they had seen and how Jesus had appeared to them on their way back to the upper room. He had spoken to them, they said, and commanded them to tell this to His other disciples and that they were to go to Galilee, where He would meet with them.
Peter and John also testified to his apparant resurrection, saying that although they did not see Jesus himself at the tomb, they did see that the tomb was empty and the cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was left rolled up aside.
Furthermore, it seems that Jesus, after Peter had been to the tomb, also appeared to him separately because Paul says that Jesus appeared to him before He appeared to the “Twelve” (1 Cor 15:5). Peter must, then also have returned there to testify of this to the other disciples (Luke 24:34).
To top it all off, two persons who had previously heard the rumors of Jesus’ resurrection, but not known what to make of it, returned home, to Emmaus. Later they rushed back to witness of their experience of meeting with Him on their way home; how He meticulously explained the Scriptures relating to his crucifixion and later revealed himself to them while dining.
…………… “Yes, but…”
Despite all this evidence, those who had not yet seen Him were reluctant to believe that He had really risen from the dead. Perhaps His disciples, in particular, felt that since they had been chosen to travel and minister with Him before His crucifixion, why would He now appear only to the women, Peter, and others like the people of Emmaus, and not to them too?
…………… And then He was there.
And then, suddenly, Jesus stood in their midst. They had not heard or seen Him coming; He was just there, suddenly, greeted them saying: “Peace be with you.” His words did not soften the impact of His appearance. Their immediate reaction was one of shock and fear, under the impression that they were seeing a spirit (a “ghost”). So strong was their unbelief that all the testimonies they had heard from reliable witnesses, could not create within them an expectation that He would appear to them too.
…………… Not a spirit, but Him!
Jesus realized this and immediately set about allaying their fears. He did this by asking them why they were so terrified. Then He showed them His hands and feet bearing the nail marks of his crucifixion and invited them to step up, touch Him and feel that He truly was flesh and blood, just like them. The light was now dawning. He could see this by the expression of joy on their faces. To further lift their faith, He asked for something to eat. When they gave Him a piece of broiled fish and of honeycomb, a dead silence must have fallen. All eyes were fixed on Him. He took the piece of fried fish and honeycomb and enjoyed it as calmly as when He had been with them before. That was the decisive factor: everyone probably spoke simultaneously, expressing their joy to see Him again.
…………… Their minds opened.
Now they were open to His teaching about His resurrection. He reminded them that, before his crucifixion, He had shown them from the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms all that would happen to him. He had covered the prophecies about His crucifixion and resurrection which, in time, had to be fulfilled and were now fulfilled. He had then also said that forgiveness of sins would henceforth be preached to all nations. Then He opened their minds to understand this, because without the illumination of the Holy Spirit, man’s understanding regarding spiritual matters, is dark and muddled.
…………… Much more was yet to come.
After this, He again promised to send them the “Promise of the Father” adding that they were to wait in Jerusalem until that promise was fulfilled. They were to be equipped with divine power to be effective witnesses of all they had experienced.
…………… Jesus appears again to His DISCIPLES AND TO THOMAS (Please read John 20:24-29)
At the first appearance of Jesus to “The Twelve/Eleven,” Thomas was not present. The other disciples then brought him the good news that Jesus had risen and appeared to them, but his reaction was typical of Thomas. His reply was something like: “Forget it. Say whatever you want, I will not believe it; not until I see with my own eyes the nail marks in His hands and put my hand into the wound in His side. Seeing is believing.” The Lord, though not physically present, of course heard his words and read his thoughts.
…………… Jesus has room for pessimists.
Thomas was not an optimistic person by nature. When Jesus told His disciples that they had to go up to Jerusalem because Lazarus had died, the other disciples tried to prevent it in a nice way by reminding him that the Jews had wanted to kill Him there shortly before, but Thomas just mumbled: “Let us also go, that we may die with Him,” (John 11:16). Later, when Jesus explained to His disciples on the eve of His suffering that He was going to prepare a place for them and that they knew where He was going and knew the way, he replied curtly: “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Typically, even now, when all the others had gathered in the upper room, he was not there. He was a little different from the other ten. He would not let himself be taken for a ride, but once he was convinced, he was willing to pay the price. Jesus is willing to pick us up where we are stuck and help us over the obstacle. He has endless patience with each of us.
…………… “Doubting Thomas” also finds peace.
Thomas at least got to the point of rejoining and remaining with the group, and just as well, because eight days later Jesus suddenly again appeared in their midst, greeting them with a hearty: “Peace be with you.” Then He turned to Thomas, called him closer and instructed him: “Come now, bring your finger and see the nail marks in My hands and put your finger there if you want, and put your hand into My side as you said you wanted and … do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas was stunned. There was no further thought of doing what he had said before. He could only call out: “My Lord and my God.” A concise but heartfelt confession of faith. Jesus reassured him right away, declaring him blessed (fortunate) because his shaken faith had been restored, though it took a special revelation to bring it about.
…………… You and I believe with the heart without seeing with the eyes.
Then Jesus added that others would come to faith simply by hearing the message and without having seen Him in His resurrected body.
God reveals the truths about Himself and His Kingdom to man by His Word and His Spirit, and we must learn to receive from these two Witnesses and trust Them more than we do the reasonings of our minds.
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