Jesus’ first appearance to the disciples

Hello and welcome to Series 14 and Episode 4 and in this episode, 'Jesus appears for the first time to his disciples'. We are taking up the story as described in Luke 24: 36 - 49. and also John 20: 19 - 23.

Introduction and Recap

Series 14 is taken up entirely with the accounts of the resurrection in the Gospels, and some material from elsewhere in the New Testament. We are just looking at the resurrection stories. It has been a wonderful story so far in the first three episodes, after the complicated, tragic and intense activities and events that took place on Thursday evening and Friday when Jesus was arrested, tried by the Sanhedrin, handed over to Pontius Pilate, tried by the Romans, judicially executed on the Friday, then put into the tomb at the end of the day, just before the Sabbath. After a quiet day on the Sabbath day, when nothing significant happened in this story and Jesus' body was in the tomb, we have had a burst of activity on Easter Sunday, with the accounts of the resurrection. We are still talking about the events of Easter Sunday here in the fourth episode. We are still on the same day.

Let us go back in our minds and go through the events of this day. It all started very early in the morning, when the women, the female disciples, who ha come with Jesus from Galilee, and were at the site of the scene when Jesus was crucified, watching the crucifixion, and also watching the place where Jesus was buried. The Gospels tell us this specifically - those very women, decided on that Friday evening, that after the Sabbath day, the Saturday, when they were not allowed to travel around or do anything, they would go to the tomb early on Sunday morning, when the Sabbath came to an end. At the very earliest moment, as we have seen in earlier episodes, these women went to the tomb to see what the situation was, hoping they might get access to the body of Jesus in order to provide full ceremonial burial rites, which had been hastily conducted by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus on Good Friday evening, as they had buried the body. As the women went to the tomb, they first of all encountered the stone rolled away and angels there - unusual events and circumstances. Then there were two resurrection appearances. John describes to us how Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, one of these women, on her own, while she was temporarily separated from the other women. Then the other Gospel writers tell us that Jesus appeared to the other women as well, and these women told the Apostles, in the city. They heard a rumour that there was a resurrection appearance. Peter and John rushed to the tomb, and found the tomb empty. We have seen these dramatic events unfold in Episodes 1 and 2.

In the third episode, the last one, we switched to Luke's narrative, and Luke tells us, uniquely, of the story of two of the wider group of disciples, one named Cleopas and the other unnamed, who were walking down from the city of Jerusalem to a nearby village called Emmaus, presumably going to their lodgings, and reflecting on the events that had happened in the city, and their perplexity, confusion and sadness. They were disciples and followers of Jesus, and they didn't really know what to make of the tragic events that had happened. As they were talking together, Jesus came up alongside them, and gradually spoke to them about the events, explained what had happened and then eventually, as they gathered together to have a meal, when they stopped along the way, suddenly they realised it was Jesus, and he immediately left them, ‘he disappeared from their sight’, according to the words of Luke.

The Two Disciples Returned to Jerusalem

This is the immediate introduction to what happens next, because these two disciples, Cleopas and his friend, immediately decided that they were going to go back. They had come out to Emmaus, and now they were going to go back into the city. We take up our story at the end of the last passage that we looked at in the last episode, just to remind ourselves of exactly what they did and said as they went back to find the disciples and the eleven remaining Apostles particularly.  Luke 24: 33 - 35

‘³³They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” ³⁵Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.’

Luke 24:33-35, NIV

It's interesting here that they have identified the place where the Eleven are, bearing in mind that Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve Apostles, has deserted them and committed suicide after he had betrayed Jesus. We told that story very fully in Series 13. They are called ‘the Eleven’ at this particular point, the eleven Apostles. They gather together and they have got other people with them. As they talk, we find out that, from the point of view of the Eleven, they have heard that Jesus has risen from the dead. They obviously heard from the women, though that is not stated here, but they also heard from Simon Peter, who has had his own appearance of Jesus - his own resurrection appearance and experience. We don't have any details of that. It is also referred to in 1 Corinthians 15 by Paul. That is a key appearance. Then, of course, the two tell the Eleven what had happened on the road to Emmaus.

Here we have a gradual awareness amongst the inner circle of Jesus' followers, towards the end of the day, that something dramatic was unfolding. Some of them were beginning to experience remarkable resurrection events. Jesus appeared to them: first of all the women; then the two travelling to Emmaus; Simon Peter as an individual; and this is the introduction to the events that unfold as they gathered together in this particular episode.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

Let us read our text first of all. We are going to read Luke 24: 36 - 49:

‘³⁶While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ³⁷They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹Look 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.” ⁴⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹And while they still did not believe it but because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate it in their presence. ⁴⁴He 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.” ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹I 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.”’

Luke 24:36-49, NIV

This is an amazing passage and a famous resurrection event.

Who Was Present?

First of all, let us think about who is actually present in this situation? We have the Eleven, but John tells us in John 20, that Thomas was absent. We will hear more about that from John's account, because Jesus comes again and appears to Thomas, as we will find out. So, in fact, ten out of the twelve Apostles are there. We also have Cleopas and his friend and, according to Luke 24: 33, ‘those with them’. We have got the inner circle of the Apostles and a wider group of disciples who are gathered together. They are in a house in Jerusalem and John tells us that the door of the room that they were in - presumably a large room that they were gathering in - was locked. They were meeting in private; they were still in a mood of anxiety. We must remember that the fear of arrest was very real. The Roman authorities could easily have decided that they wanted to round up all the followers of Jesus, and his key disciples, in the aftermath of his death, in order to suppress the Jesus movement. It is also possible that the Jewish ruling council - the Sanhedrin - could have initiated a search for the disciples, could have arrested them, and punished them under Jewish law, or handed them over to the Romans for execution. So, they were anxious. They didn't know what was going to happen next. Their future was uncertain and, according to John, the door was locked.

Peace Be With You

It is in this context that suddenly, we see at the beginning of this passage it says that

‘Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”’

Luke 24:36, NIV

This is a miraculous event. He didn't walk through the door. The door was locked. He appeared miraculously in their midst. Jesus had the power in all his life to perform miracles, and in his resurrection life he could also perform miracles and do miraculous things. He suddenly appears to them and he greets them. The very first thing he says is, “Peace be with you.” He knows their troubled emotions. He knows the difficulty they are in, the intense uncertainty and confusion and fear that they have; this sense of anticipation; not knowing whether these resurrection appearance stories are real; not knowing what that reality really was and what it meant; and how was it going to change things? A thousand questions were going through their minds, as Jesus said to them “Peace be with you.” He wanted to calm their troubled emotions.

The Physicality of His Body

He then wanted to reassure them that what they saw before their eyes wasn't a ghost - wasn't a hallucination. Jesus was as real physically as they were. Jesus gave them the invitation to look at him, to touch him - his hands, his feet and his side - according to John 20: 20. The side that had been pierced by the Roman sword, the hands and the feet that had been nailed to the cross. These were the parts of his body that indicated specifically the death by crucifixion that he had endured. There were marks and scars from those terrible moments of suffering that Jesus experienced in his hands, his feet, and his side. The physicality of Jesus' body was established. It was affirmed even more when he asked them whether they had anything he could eat. They brought some broiled fish. They watched as Jesus ate the fish. This is a very physical activity. Jesus is demonstrating the physicality of his resurrection body. The author, Luke, and all the Gospel writers, underline this point time and time again. We are not talking here about hallucinations, about hypnosis, about some mass hysteria. We are not talking about the appearance of a ghost, the sort of thing that some humans report as their experience of the supernatural or the afterlife. No, this is a body; this is the body of Jesus; this is recognisably Jesus. The very marks on his body indicate the experiences that he has gone through that they know about. The disciples are overjoyed, according to John 20. Filled with joy and amazement according to Luke 24. Even as they are trying to calibrate what has happened, trying to work out what it is that is actually taking place before their eyes, there is a sense of excitement. These stories of the resurrection are looking as though they really are true.

Jesus Teaches Them from the Old Testament

Then Jesus gives them a message. He starts speaking to them. He tells them about the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy. We have noticed this already in the story of the road to Emmaus; the two disciples there were given a similar explanation as they were travelling along the road,

‘The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.’

Luke 24:46, NIV

He was speaking to them from the Scriptures, from the prophecies, emphasising again that the Old Testament predicted everything that happened to Jesus. This is a very important theme. Jesus has been explaining these things to his disciples for most of his ministry, as far as we can tell, but his message has fallen, to some extent, on deaf ears, because they found it terribly hard to believe that the Messiah would suffer and rise again on the third day. The suffering and the resurrection were the two things that they found very hard to accept. Now, as stated in the last episode, Jesus would probably have referred to a whole variety of different Scriptures from the Old Testament here, and I gave some examples in the last episode, Episode 3, of some of the Scriptures that Jesus might have been mentioning at this point. We haven't got the detail given to us in the text, but I think it is certain that in this context when Jesus speaks about the Messiah suffering and rising again from the dead, he will have referred to at least three key prophecies and Scriptures. One is the prophecy of the suffering servant, as I mentioned in the last episode, Isaiah 52: 13 - 53: 12 - a very long and significant prophecy that speaks very clearly about the servant of God being a suffering servant, who will die, verse 5:

‘He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.’

Isaiah 53:5, NIV

for example; a central verse. And again, to repeat what I have said before, verse 11:

‘After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.’

Isaiah 53:11, NIV

These are just two verses from this very rich and powerful passage that tells us about the suffering and also the resurrection of the Messiah. We know from Peter's sermon, on the Day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2, that he quoted Psalm 16, a Psalm of David about the afterlife, very decisively, in order to indicate that the Son of David, the Messiah, would rise again from the dead. I am going to read this passage to you from the Day of Pentecost and the sermon of Peter, just to indicate the significance of this Scripture. This was probably one of the other Scriptures that Jesus mentioned in this meeting with the disciples that we are discussing right now. Let me read what Peter says just a few weeks later, on the Day of Pentecost. It was fresh in his mind from what Jesus had taught. So, Acts 2: 25, speaking about Jesus, Peter says,

‘David said about him:’ (quoting Psalm 16) “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. ²⁶Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in h ope,²⁷because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your holy one see decay. ²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”’And, explaining this passage very significantly, Peter goes on to say, ‘²⁹“Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.”’(that means in Jerusalem, where his tomb was)’ ³⁰“But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. ³²God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are witnesses of it.”’

Acts 2:25-32, NIV

This, almost certainly, was one of the passages that Jesus mentioned when he said ‘The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.’ Peter took it up in his very first sermon. There would have been a number of other Old Testament prophecies that Jesus would have discussed.

Jesus Commissions His Disciples

This statement here, tells us that the disciples are witnesses of the resurrection, and they are going to be preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jerusalem, and to all nations. There is a commissioning of the disciples going on even at this moment. They are going to experience the resurrection and then they are going to start preaching the good news. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is going to come.

“Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

Luke 24:49, NIV

The Holy Spirit's power is going to come upon them. In John's account of the same event, in John chapter 20: 22 it says,

‘²²And with that he breathed on them and said, ”Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”’

John 20:22-23, NIV

This is almost certainly a prophetic statement. Jesus in this meeting with his disciples is prophesying the coming of the Holy Spirit in power, which will give them authority to preach the Gospel, which includes, centrally, the authority to proclaim the forgiveness of sins through the death of Jesus.

What a remarkable passage. What a remarkable encounter. This is a turnaround. So, we come to the end of Easter Sunday, the dramatic day where we have seen a number of different resurrection appearances take place. Five. Five different appearances: to Mary Magdalene; to the women; to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus; to Simon Peter; and then to a wider group of disciples, including the Apostles with the exception of Thomas, who was absent on that day.

Reflections

As I make some concluding reflections on this remarkable account, I think I would say that the interesting thing here is, that this is all based on eyewitness testimony. We know how important eyewitness testimony was to the Gospel writers and Luke speaks of this explicitly at the very beginning of his account, but there are many people who could have given their eyewitness testimony to Luke and of course, in John's account, John was an eyewitness to those events anyway. This is an eyewitness account of some of the most remarkable things that happened in the whole of the life of Jesus.

We get here quite a few insights into resurrection life. We see physical touch, and the physicality of the body, we see the eating of food, we see Jesus communicating exactly as he did before, recalling the past, even though he's been through death and come through resurrection he can recall the past accurately. He can relate in a fully human way. This is a very human Jesus that we are dealing with. But his resurrection body has an extra dimension of permanence and glory and incorruptibility and miraculous power. He can move from place to place; he can come in through the locked doors.

In this passage, we also have an emphasis on the great commission of the disciples to go and preach the Gospel, to not only the Jews but to all the nations of the world. We are going to see this emphasised further on other occasions, and most particularly in Matthew's account. Matthew 28: 16 - 20, gives us the greatest and clearest definition of the great commission.

But the power to preach is also promised. They are to wait in Jerusalem until they experience the coming of the Holy Spirit in power. This is a turning point. This whole day is the turning point in the story. The resurrection has truly happened and by the end of this day virtually every one of Jesus' inner circle is fully aware that Jesus has risen from the dead. As Jesus came to them, he came bringing this wonderful message, “Peace be with you.” Don't be agitated, don't be worried, don't be anxious, don't be confused. Gradually he explains what is happening.

Some people think that the resurrection of Jesus took place on Easter Sunday and that is more or less the end of the story. This is not how the Gospels present it. Although there was a lot of activity on Easter Sunday as we have seen, we are going to follow, in the next few episodes, further resurrection appearances that took place over a six-week period between Easter Sunday and the ascension of Jesus to heaven, which took place just before the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came. For a number of weeks and many days, Jesus is going to appear to his disciples in different ways, in different contexts, in different places, in order to underline the significance of his resurrection, and in order to communicate important things to them, to teach them and to prepare them for the great mission and huge responsibilities that are going to lie ahead of them. We are going to continue this story in the next episode and we are going to see what happens in the days that follow Easter Sunday, and I hope you will join us as we do that.