FREEDOM - by Revd Gilbert Wong

Scripture: Luke 24: 36b - 48

Third Sunday of Easter

30 April 2006

SERMON IN A SENTENCE:   Christ calls us to bear witness to him -- to become saints whose lives will draw men and women to him.

CHAPTER 24:  RESURRECTION APPEARANCES

Jesus' appearance to the "eleven and their companions" takes place in Jerusalem where the two men who encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus find "the eleven and their companions gathered together (v. 33).   Luke has told us that the encounter with the two men on the Emmaus road took place "on that same day" (v. 13) -- meaning the day of Christ's resurrection.  He then tells us that, after recognizing Jesus as he broke bread with them, "that same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem (v. 33), where they met with "the eleven and their companions gathered together" (v. 33).  This encounter, then, almost certainly takes place on Easter evening.  The place is almost certainly the room where the disciples gathered behind locked doors as related in the Gospel of John (John 20:19-23) -- although Luke doesn't specify the place.

This is Jesus' third resurrection appearance in Luke's Gospel.  The women find the empty tomb, but do not see Jesus (vv. 1-12).  Jesus' first resurrection appearance is to Peter, but Luke only mentions that encounter, giving no details (v. 34).  Jesus' second resurrection appearance is to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, an incident that Luke records in considerable detail (vv. 13-35). 

The Emmaus Road appearance (vv. 13-35) lays the foundation for Jesus' appearance to his gathered disciples (vv. 36-49).  There are a number of parallels between the two appearances:

-- Jesus appears to disciples who do not recognize him (v. 16) or who believe that they are seeing a ghost (v. 37).

-- Jesus rebukes the disciples for their failure to believe (vv. 25, 38).

-- Jesus breaks bread for the disciples (v. 30) or eats in their presence (v. 43).

-- Jesus interprets scripture for the edification of the disciples (vv. 27, 44-47).

-- The disciples hearts burn with them as Jesus teaches them (v. 32) or they respond with joy (v. 41).

"The only element that is added, which was not present in the Emmaus episode, is the commission that Christ gives to his disciples" (see vv. 46-49 for the commission) (Fitzmyer, 1573). 

VERSES 36-43:  A GHOST DOES NOT HAVE FLESH AND BONES

"While they were talking about this" (v. 36).  Who are "they"?  They include the two disciples from the Emmaus road encounter, the eleven, and companions of the eleven (v. 32-35).  The topic of discussion just prior to this appearance of Jesus was his earlier appearance on the Emmaus road.  The two disciples who saw Jesus on that occasion were telling "how (Jesus) had been made known to them in the breaking of bread" (v. 35).  It was "while they were talking about this" that Jesus suddenly stood among them, saying "Peace be with you" (v. 36).  Given the presence and testimony of the Emmaus road disciples, we would think that the gathered disciples would be well prepared for Jesus to appear in their midst but, rather than gladdening them, Jesus' sudden appearance startles and terrifies them.  They assume that they are seeing a pneuma -- a disembodied spirit or ghost (v. 37).

Jesus presents two forms of evidence that he is not a ghost but, instead, has a resurrected body.  First, he shows them his hands and feet and invites them to touch him.  Second, he asks for food and eats it in their presence.  Neither would be possible if Jesus were a disembodied spirit.

In relating this story, Luke has an apologetic purpose -- to establish that Jesus has been raised from the dead with a physical body, a fact to which this rather large group of disciples can bear eyewitness testimony.  Jesus will call these disciples to be "witnesses of these things" (v. 48), and the effectiveness of their witness will depend on their personal experience of the risen Lord. 

This emphasis on Jesus' physical body counters two popular Greek beliefs -- dualism and immortality.  Dualism divides the world into the physical and the spiritual, saying that the physical world is bad but the spiritual world is good.  The concept of immortality, growing out of this dualistic understanding, says that, at death, the good spirit or soul separates from the bad body and continues to live independently of the body. 

We should note that many Christians today have a very fuzzy understanding of the Christian doctrine of resurrection, and often say things that betray a belief in immortality rather than resurrection.  At a funeral, it isn't uncommon to hear Christians say, "That isn't Joe.  Joe is somewhere else" -- acting as if the body were like a skin shed at death -- something no longer important to the deceased person.  Jesus counters this idea of immortality by presenting himself to the disciples after the resurrection, not as a disembodied spirit, but as a person in bodily form -- a body recognizable by sight and touch -- a body capable of eating food.  The scriptures teach us that we too shall be resurrected from the dead in bodily form.  The body is not some sort of useless debris that we leave behind, but is an integral part of our identity. 

There are sensitive pastoral issues here: 

-- For one thing, we need to be careful about correcting grieving people.  It is good to preach resurrection, but not so good to take a grieving person to task for saying, "That isn't Joe." 

-- Also, the doctrine of resurrection raises questions about people whose bodies were destroyed in an explosion, fire, or other disaster.  What becomes of them?  The answer is that the God who gave them life (and bodies) originally is quite capable of restoring life (and bodies) in the resurrection. 

-- And then there is the issue of cremation -- is cremation an obstacle to resurrection?  It is hard to imagine that the God who can resurrect bodies lost at sea or burned accidentally cannot also resurrect cremated bodies.  There are other issues to consider, such as the respect with which we treat the dead body.  In my opinion, cremation seems at least as respectful as embalming. 

Understanding that Luke has an apologetic agenda here, we might be inclined to doubt the truth of this story.  Perhaps Luke has just fabricated the story to make Jesus' resurrection believable.  However, the story is credible because of the changed lives of these disciples.  Before this appearance, they were defeated and afraid.  After this appearance, they will find courage to preach publicly on a street corner in Jerusalem at Pentecost -- to bring thousands of Jews into the Christian faith in a very public baptism (Acts 2).  They will go on to change the world. 

We should also note that, while Jesus' resurrected body is a physical body, it is apparently different from his pre-resurrection body.  He makes surprising appearances from out of nowhere (v. 36).  In John's Gospel, he enters a room without regard for a locked door (John 20:19).  The Emmaus disciples did not recognize him for the longest time, and the gathered disciples require reassurance that he is not a ghost. 

Paul talks about the resurrected body in 1 Corinthians 15:35-57, contrasting the physical body and the spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44).  However, Paul "sought to emphasize the difference between Jesus of Nazareth before the resurrection and the Lord Jesus after the resurrection, (but) Luke sought here to emphasize the similarity" (Stein, 618). 

The disciples respond to Jesus with joy, disbelief, and wonderment (v. 41).  Jesus' sudden appearance overloads their ability to process what is happening.  A lifetime's experience tells them that death is the end, but Jesus' sudden presence tells them otherwise.  We should not be surprised that they are befuddled.  Just imagine how you would respond if you were to bury a loved one only to find that person standing in your midst again, fully alive, a few days later.  Joy, disbelief, wonder!  Yes!  Confusion!  Absolutely!

VERSES 44-48:  HE OPENED THEIR MINDS

Jesus first demonstrated the physical reality of his resurrected by body by inviting the disciples to look at him and to touch him and also by eating food in their presence.  We have the sense that they watch in stunned silence.  Now Jesus takes the next step in the revelatory process, first reminding the disciples of what he said to them earlier -- and then helping them to understand the scriptures -- scriptures that speak of the Messiah suffering and rising from the dead on the third day (v. 46) -- scriptures that speak of "repentance and forgiveness of sins to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (v. 47). 

Luke does not specify which of the earlier words of Jesus he now brings to the disciples attention, but they must surely include his passion predictions (9:22; 18:31-33).  Both of these predict his suffering and death at the hands of the Jewish leaders as well as his resurrection on the third day.  18:31 specifies that this will happen in Jerusalem and that it is in accord with the writings of the prophets.

Neither does Luke specify which scriptures Jesus opens their minds to understand.  There is no single Old Testament scripture that incorporates all the three major themes of vv. 46-47 -- three themes that will form the core of the church's kerygma:  (1) the suffering and death of the Messiah, (2) his resurrection on the third day, and (3) the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness to all nations.  There are, however, a number of Old Testament scriptures that address particular elements.  Luke alludes to or quotes a number of these in Luke-Acts (see Bock, 387-389 and Evans, 358-360):

-- Isaiah 53:7-8 says, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future?  For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people."  Luke tells us that it was these verses that the Ethiopian eunuch was reading.  Philip will use these verses to proclaim the good news about Jesus to him (Acts 8:32-35).

-- Psalm 16:10 says, "For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit."  Peter will allude to this verse in Acts 2:27 and Paul will allude to it in Acts 13:35 (in both cases recorded by Luke).

-- Hosea 6:2 says, "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him." This may be the verse to which Jesus refers in Luke 24:46.

-- In Luke 11:29-32, Jesus referred to the sign of Jonah.  In Matthew's version Jesus said, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).

-- Isaiah 49:6 says "I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."  Luke alludes to this verse in Luke 2:32; Acts 1:8; 13:47.

-- Joel 2:32 says, "Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved,"
which Peter (recorded by Luke) quotes in Acts 2:21.

-- Other Old Testament scriptures that Jesus might have used to open the disciples' minds include Psalms 22; 31:5; 69; 110:1; 118:22-26 and Isaiah 11:10.

Also, Green notes the unusual reference to the psalms in v. 44 (the usual phrase would be "the law and the prophets," but Jesus adds the psalms).  Green calls this "a consequence of the important role of the psalms in Luke's interpretation of Jesus' passion" and concludes, "Not only Isaiah…, then, but all of the Scriptures speak of Jesus and have their consummation in him" (Green, 856).  As one of my professors used to say, all of the Old Testament points forward to Jesus and all of the New Testament points back to Jesus.  Jesus is the focal point of all scripture.

"repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in (the Messiah's) name" (v. 47a).  While this is not in the imperative mood (Jesus does not say, "You shall proclaim") it nevertheless constitutes Jesus' mission statement for the disciples.  They are to proclaim two things -- repentance and forgiveness of sins.  They are to do so in the name of the Messiah, who is the one who makes forgiveness possible. 

"to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (v. 47b).  The disciples are to proclaim repentance and forgiveness "to all nations" (eis panta ta ethne).   The word ethne can mean nations or Gentiles, and these words suggest an opening of the door to Gentile Christians.  Luke will spell out in the Acts of the Apostles how the disciples come to grips with understanding the Jewish Messiah to be everyone's Messiah (see especially Acts 10).

This proclamation is to begin from Jerusalem (v. 47), but it will not be limited to Jerusalem.  The disciples are to be Jesus' witnesses "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).  Prior to Jesus, the Jews had assumed a centripetal model, with the world being drawn toward a central point, Jerusalem.  After Jesus, the model reverses, spinning outward from Jerusalem. 

In Mark and Matthew Jesus issues even more explicit commissioning statements -- "in each case (tailored) to suit a major theme of each Gospel" (Fitzmyer, 1578).  Whereas Luke emphasizes repentance and forgiveness of sins (v. 47), Mark emphasizes preaching the Gospel (Mark 16:15) and Matthew emphasizes making disciples and teaching (Matthew 28:19-20a). 

The initial proclamation will take place on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem with Peter's sermon (Acts 2), which will emphasize the three great themes of vv. 46-47:

-- The suffering and death of the Messiah (Acts 2:23, 36)

-- His resurrection on the third day (Acts 2:24, 31-36)

-- The proclamation of repentance and forgiveness to all nations (Acts 2:17, 21, 38-39).

"You are witnesses (Greek:  martures -- from marturia -- a witness, one who bears testimony) of these things" (v. 48).  "The concept of 'witness' develops in the course of the NT writings from the role of an eyewitness, to one who can testify to the gospel, to one who dies for the sake of the gospel (a martyr)" (Culpepper, 488). 

These disciples to whom Jesus speaks in our Gospel lesson, opening their minds to understand the scriptures (v. 45), are witnesses of the risen Christ.  They have seen him with their eyes and experienced him with their lives.  Now they will testify to what they have seen, and some will be killed as a consequence.  They were "to tell the story.  To tell it not as hearsay, but as of their own knowledge (I John 1:1).  And to tell it at cost.  There was no other plan" (Scherer, 433). 

There still is no other plan.  We have not seen the risen Christ with our own eyes, but we have experienced him in our lives.  Our responsibility is "to tell the story.  To tell it not as hearsay, but as (our) own knowledge…. And to tell it at cost.  There (is) no other plan."

VERSES 49-53:  THE ASCENSION

These verses are not included in the Revised Common Lectionary reading, presumably because the RCL deals with vv. 44-53 for Ascension, Years ABC.  However, Fitzmyer rightly notes that vv. 36-53 form "a literary unit, for they recount but one appearance of the risen Christ" (Fitzmyer, 1572, cf. 1578). 

The failure of the lectionary to include v. 49 in this reading seems particularly puzzling.  In that verse, Jesus is still with the disciples in Jerusalem and gives them their orders.  They are to remain in Jerusalem until they have received "what my Father promised" -- until they "have been clothed with power from on high" -- until they have received the Holy Spirit.  They "are not to proceed on their own; Christ's commission to them clearly involves a grace, but it is also an authorized commission, one invested with dynamis (power), which they will need to carry it out" (Fitzmyer, 1580).