Wednesday, July 15
Read: Luke 24
Can you think of a time when you had to trust someone completely? Maybe it was when you played a part in one of those ridiculous trust-fall exercises. You know, the ones where you fall backwards, hopefully into the arms of your partner and not onto the solid ground? So many times when that game is played, people are so hesitant to trust their partner completely, assuming that they’re going to bust their head on the ground for sure.
When people think about doubt and the resurrection, most quickly remember Thomas. However, when you read Luke 24, it’s obvious that Thomas wasn’t the only one that doubted Jesus’ resurrection. Quite the contrary, it seems like he was in good company.
The chapter starts with “the women” going to the tomb with “the spices they had prepared” so that they could preserve Jesus’ body. If they were going with spices for the body, that means that they weren’t expecting the body to not be there. They were expecting Jesus to still be laying lifeless in his burial cloths. Needless to say, they were pretty afraid to not only find that Jesus wasn’t there, but to be greeted by two angels. The interesting thing is that the angels themselves point out to the women that they should have expected to find no body!
The angels said, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you In Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered in to the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”
The women rushed back to tell the apostles what they had seen, but then the apostles don’t believe them. In fact, they thought their story was “nonsense”. The Greek word for “nonsense”, leros, was the same word used to refer to the crazy stories very sick people told or to the tall tales told by those who had trouble perceiving and grasping reality. Verse 12 is the one dim glimmer of hope in this passage of doubt, as Luke describes how Peter ran off to the tomb based on the women’s testimony. However, even though he finds the tomb empty, Scripture records that he went away wondering what had really happened.
Then there are the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus enters in on the scene, but his identity is “kept” from them. Darrell L. Bock suggests that Jesus did this intentionally, but not out of cruelty. His purpose was to slowly reveal himself to them so that they could learn about trusting God’s promises. Nevertheless, as the disciples tell their new friend on the road what had happened over the last few days, they are also told that they shouldn’t have been surprised. Jesus sets them straight, telling them that everything that happened was written in the prophets long ago.
Jesus finally makes an appearance to the Eleven, who seem to be finally getting it now. That is, until Jesus shows up in the flesh. As everyone gathered together, reports kept coming in about how Jesus was indeed alive, and that he had even revealed himself to Simon. Everyone probably started to get extremely excited, when, out of nowhere, Jesus appears, saying, “Peace be with you.”
Almost immediately, thinking they were looking at a ghost (or spirit), and quite obviously frightened, Jesus reassures them that he is indeed the real deal. As he eats some fish to prove to them that he was a real man, he again reminds them how he told them that he was going to be tried, crucified, and then risen from the dead. Jesus opens their minds so they could understand the Scriptures, and they finally, finally, get it.
Process:
– The consistent theme in this passage is definitely how the disciples were surprised about Jesus’ rising from the dead, even though Jesus and Scripture had foretold them it was going to happen anyway. What are some promises in your life that God has made to you? Why is it so easy to doubt what we know to be true?
-Even though this is the last chapter of Luke, Luke is not done with his story for Theophilus. Verses 47-48 are really a brief synopsis of the first few chapters of Acts, one of the key ideas being how the disciples will preach forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name. Take the time to pray for the people you know that need to be saved.
-Read Ephesians 1:18-23. That same power that God used to raise Christ is available to us daily. In what areas of your life do you need to live out the victorious resurrection of God? Take time to pray over each other, asking God to allow you to live in his power.