Will You Say He Has Truly Risen? – (Luke 24:33-49)

Luke 24:33-34

33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”

It was already the third day since their Teacher had been crucified on a charge of blasphemy. He had said that he was the Messiah, and they had believed him. They took him to be the Son of God because of his words — and all the more because of the miracles he performed. There were the brothers Peter and Andrew, James and John the sons of Zebedee, and also Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Thaddaeus. These were Jesus’ chief disciples, the ones called apostles. They had thought they would be first in the kingdom of heaven. But what had happened… Their Teacher had been betrayed by one of them, Judas. Then he had been unjustly accused and condemned to death under the pressure of the crowd. They sat in silence, staring at the wall, brooding over what had actually taken place and what they would do from here on. And on top of it all, they were afraid for their own lives (Mark 16:10).

THE TESTIMONY OF THE WOMEN

Suddenly the silence was broken by hurried knocking at the door. Thaddaeus opened it. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, returning from the tomb. But were they not coming back far too quickly? They looked changed. Their faces shone with joy and wonder. “Peter, James, John, listen, listen! Christ has risen!” The disciples looked at them in disbelief, but the women pressed on excitedly: “When we reached the tomb, we saw that the stone had been rolled away from the door. We looked inside and saw that the body was gone. While we were wondering what had happened, two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood before us and said to us: ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!’ And they told us further: ‘Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: the Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ Remember — did he not tell us that he would be crucified, but also that he would rise?” (Luke 24:1-8)

“Angels… risen… The poor things, they have lost their minds from too much grief! Sadly, no one has ever come back from there!”

“And why should he not have risen? Did he not raise the daughter of Jairus, did he not raise the son of the widow of Nain, did he not raise Lazarus!”

“Lazarus he raised, but himself he could hardly raise! Not after that thrust of the spear into his heart!” (Luke 24:9,11)

THE EMPTY GRAVE-CLOTHS

While they were trading their guesses and speculations about what might have happened, Peter and John said: “We are going to check.” And they ran off to the tomb. After a little while they came back. In his hands Peter carried the grave-cloths. “The tomb really is empty. They have taken the body, and we do not know where it is.” (John 20:3-10) “It may be true,” said John, “but if someone were going to take the body, would he first bother to unwrap it and leave the grave-cloths behind in the tomb? I am going to look for him.” “I am coming too,” said Mary Magdalene, and the two of them went out. Cleopas said: “I must go to Emmaus. Will anyone come with me?” One of the disciples said: “I will come.” And the two of them set off for the nearby village.

THE TESTIMONY OF MARY

After about an hour Mary Magdalene returned. She was radiant with joy. “I have seen him!” she said excitedly. “While I was weeping for him and walking about the garden… At first I could not recognize him. I thought he was the gardener. He said to me: ‘Woman, why are you crying?’ I asked him: ‘Sir, have you seen anything? If you have moved him somewhere, tell me, so that I may go and take him. Do you know where they have laid him?’ And he called me by name: ‘Mary!’ Then I knew his voice! I wiped away my tears and saw him! It was Jesus! He was alive! He told me to come and tell you that he has risen!” (John 20:11-18) But when they heard that he was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe her (Mark 16:11).

THE TESTIMONY OF PETER

A little later Peter too returned (Luke 24:34). He said: “He really is alive. He appeared to me as well. He told me to believe the Scriptures. He reminded me of the words of King David from the Psalms (Psalm 16:10):”

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. (Psalm 16:10)

“Truly, he is the Son of God! Death has no power over him.”

THE TESTIMONY OF CLEOPAS

After about an hour Cleopas arrived too. He was out of breath and weary from the long road and the quick pace. But his face was glowing. “Christ has risen!” he said, and began to tell how Jesus had appeared to them on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-33). “At first we did not recognize him. We were talking together, my companion and I, when a stranger drew near and joined us. He asked us what we were discussing. I said to him: ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days? Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet of God. He spoke God’s truth, and miracles and signs accompanied his ministry. But the chief priests and the scribes envied him, and three days ago they handed him over to the Romans to be condemned to death and crucified. He died on the cross and was buried. And we had hoped that he was the One who would redeem Israel. This morning, however, some women among us astonished us. They told us that when they went to the tomb early, they found that the stone had been rolled away from the door, and he was not there. They also saw a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of our own went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see.’ While I was telling him all this, Jesus — whom we had taken for an unknown traveler — turned to us and interpreted for us that place in the book of the prophet Isaiah where it says (Isaiah 53:10):”

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10)

“As he spoke, our hearts were burning within us. His words were nothing but truth. After that, as we drew near to Emmaus, he made as if to go on, but we urged him to stay with us. When we sat down at the table, he took the bread, blessed it, and began to hand it to us. Then we recognized him — and he vanished from our sight.” Yet in spite of this third testimony, the greater part of the disciples still refused to believe (Mark 16:12-13).

JESUS APPEARS TO HIS DISCIPLES

Seeing their unbelief, at last the risen Jesus appeared to the disciples themselves (Luke 24:36-42). He stood among them and said: “Peace be with you!” They were startled and terrified, thinking they were seeing a ghost. But he said to them: “Why are you troubled? And why do such thoughts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; touch me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. But because they still did not believe it for joy, and stood amazed, he said: “Do you have anything here to eat?” And they gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb. And he took it and ate before them.