Jesus Is Risen Indeed!

Luke 24:1-12
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, March 30, 1997
Copyright © 1997, P. G. Mathew

In this study we will discuss the resurrection from the dead of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Without faith in the resurrection, we will be confused, bewildered, depressed, and unfit to die and face judgment. The truth is, we will all die, and as we read in Amos 4:12, we must prepare to meet God. Therefore, as we study this great doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, may we be born again, repent, and put our faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved.

Authentic Existence

The resurrection of the physical body of Jesus Christ is at the heart of Christianity. In the Greek text Luke 24:34 declares, “Ontos egerthe ho kurios,” meaning, “Indeed the Lord is risen; truly the Lord is risen; without any doubt the Lord is risen.”

We recently heard the terrible news that twenty-one women and eighteen men, members of a cult in California, left their “containers,” meaning their bodies, by committing suicide. Why did they do this? They were attempting to enter into “authentic life” in accordance with the demonic delusions of the leader of their cult. These cult members held the ancient Greek view that the physical body is really a hindrance to authentic life. No doubt this view is the reason the Athenians sneered at Paul when he preached about the resurrection from the dead of Jesus Christ (Acts 17:32).

The leader of this cult had been raised as a Presbyterian, but had left the faith, as we read about in 1 Timothy 4:1-2: “The Spirit clearly says in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” In their quest to achieve authentic existence, the cult members first tried castration, but that was not enough. They finally decided to leave their physical bodies altogether to experience real life and killed themselves.

But God places importance on our physical bodies, and the resurrection of the physical body is an essential doctrine of Christianity. The Bible teaches that the resurrection of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was accompanied by many infallible proofs.

Many Convincing Proofs

The historian Luke gives us an eyewitness account of the life of Christ, writing it down so that we may have certainty of the gospel. And in the book of Acts, Luke wrote, “After his suffering, Jesus showed himself to these men”–that is, to his disciples– “and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive” (Acts 1:3). The Greek word for convincing proof is tekmerion , which means that which causes something to be known as verified or confirmed. Professor J. Munck translated it as infallible evidence. If you check the lexicon by H. G. Liddell and Robert Scott, you will find this word means demonstrative proof as opposed to fallible proof. In Aristotelian logic we find tekmerion used for compelling proof–positive, convincing, decisive proof.

When Luke speaks of convincing proofs of Jesus’ resurrection, he is referring to the twenty-fourth chapter of his own gospel. Of course, if you a priori deny miracles, I cannot convince you of the resurrection. But you need to consider who is credited with performing this miracle. Isn’t the first thing you read in the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”? The whole universe was created out of nothing by the infinite, personal, almighty, all-wise God by his power and by his wisdom. This same God also maintains the universe by his power and wisdom. The Bible continually speaks about the miracles performed by this God, and, let me tell you, the resurrection is a miracle. If, then, you do not want to believe in miracles, I feel sorry for you.

The Empty Tomb

What are the infallible, positive, convincing proofs that Luke wrote about in Luke 24? First, there was the empty tomb. Now we must realize that the empty tomb by itself does not cause one to be convinced of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but together with other proofs that Luke gives us in this chapter, the empty tomb has weight.

In Luke 23:56 we read how some women prepared spices to anoint Jesus’ body. They loved Jesus and wanted to do this one last loving act to prevent his body from decomposing quickly. And early on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath, they went to buy more spices before going to the tomb. They did not know that the Romans had sealed the tomb and posted guards at the request of the Jewish leaders.

As Mary Magdalene and the others arrived at the tomb, they discovered that Jesus was not there. He had already risen very early that morning. In Matthew 28 we read that there was an earthquake, and two angels descended and rolled the stone away. They did so not to help Jesus come out–he had come out already—but to show those coming later, like these women, that Jesus’ physical body was not there.

The angels mildly rebuked the women: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” The women had not believed Jesus when he said he would rise from the dead. Isn’t their lack of belief in the resurrection of Christ the same as we see among all unbelieving churches and theologians? Study the great theologian Rudolph Bultmann or any similar theologian. Such people are always maintaining that Jesus did not actually rise from the dead.

The women were frightened and confused, and they began to weep. Why? The singular reason was that they failed to believe in the prophetic words of Christ himself. Like the rest of Christ’s disciples, they had not believed the scriptures. Had they believed the word of Christ, these women would not have wasted their time, their money and their energy in preparing the spices and doing all the other things to anoint Jesus’ body.

What is the reason for our own fear, fright, confusion and frustration? We are not understanding and believing the Scriptures. If a believer is depressed, we must conclude that person is ignorant of Scriptures and his mind is dull.

The Angelic Witness

What other proofs of Christ’s resurrection were given? After telling of the empty tomb, Luke gives the proof of two witnesses–the two angels. These angels are not unlike the angels we see all the time in the life of Jesus. There were angels at the annunciation, angels at Jesus’ birth, angels after the temptation in the desert, angels in the garden of Gethsemane and, now, angels at the resurrection.

Unlike the women, these angels remembered the words of Jesus. So they told the women, “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 into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'” The words of these angels was the second convincing proof of Christ’s resurrection.

The Word of Christ

The third proof was the proof of Christ’s own words. The angel reminded the women of what Jesus had said: “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again” (Luke 24:7). In the Greek the word dei –must be–is used. This indicates divine purpose, divine necessity. The Son of Man must be delivered, must be crucified, and must rise on the third day.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Prophet, and he prophesied several times what would happen to him. In Luke 18 we find one such prophecy, beginning with verse 31: “Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.'” But read on: “The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about” (Luke 18:31-34).

That is the problem. It is the problem of the disciples and it is our problem as well. We will listen to hypocritical liars, to cult leaders and to everyone else, but we do not want to listen to and believe the very word of God. The followers of Jesus failed to grasp the meaning of Jesus’ words because the idea of a suffering Messiah was as foreign to them as it is to us. None of us likes the idea of suffering, and we want a gospel without suffering.

The disciples were looking for a Messiah of might and glory, one who would deliver them from all their enemies and usher in a golden age of material prosperity for Israel. They forgot all about the idea of deliverance from sin by the death of the suffering Servant as revealed by all the prophets. In fact, when Jesus predicted his death, Peter himself took Jesus aside and rebuked him. Like these disciples, we do not like the concept of suffering and pain. We want to enjoy a glorious life in this temporal world and we want a Messiah who will help us achieve such a life of grandeur and material success.

Hear the words of one disciple named Cleopas. In Luke 24:21 Cleopas said, “But we had hoped that [Jesus Christ] was the one who was going to redeem Israel,” meaning without suffering and death. This was the hope of all the Jewish people at that time. Cleopas was saying that their hope was dashed when they saw the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus Christ. These disciples had no place in their thinking for the significance of Christ’s sufferings. But in 1 Corinthians 15:3 Paul tells us why Christ had to suffer and die: “Christ died for our sins.”

The Testimony of the Scriptures

The fourth convincing proof was the witness of the Old Testament scriptures. The entire Old Testament points to Christ’s death and resurrection.

In Luke 24 we see Jesus talking to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. In verse 18 we read how one of them, Cleopas, almost rebuked Jesus, saying, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened here in these days?” In other words, Cleopas was saying, “Man, don’t you understand anything? How stupid are you?” But in verse 25 Jesus speaks to Cleopas and the other disciple: “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”

Jesus’ words apply not only to Cleopas, but to us also. Why? Modern Christians are always looking for an emotional lift, but are not interested in listening to the Scriptures. In his recent book, Counterfeit Revival, Hank Hanegraaff tells how members of evangelical churches are not interested in listening to ministers who are preaching the word. Rather, they will eagerly listen to people who will lift them emotionally, deceive them, and pick their pockets. This is tragic. What did Jesus say? “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer. . .” There we see the Greek word dei– -have to–again, indicating divine purpose, divine intention, divine necessity, divine ordination. That was the message of the entire Old Testament: “Did not the Christ have to suffer?”

Allergic to Suffering

In their thinking Jesus’ disciples, including these two on the road to Emmaus, had eliminated suffering. What they wanted was glory and a good time, not suffering. In fact, they could not understand the concept and eliminated it from their minds. So Cleopas and his companion did not know what Jesus was talking about when he said, “‘Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” But Jesus continued to teach them: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” That is the key to understanding the Scriptures. The Scriptures are speaking about Jesus Christ, his death, and his resurrection. That is called the gospel, which is the basis for our salvation.

Jesus said the disciples were ignorant and dull in heart. Why? They failed to believe all the things the prophets spoke. But don’t we do the same thing? We want to pick and choose, rather than look at the whole Bible. That is why some people hate expository preaching–preaching of the Bible from the beginning to the end. They would rather pick from one part and then another than consider the whole.

“Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and enter his glory?” Jesus asked. The entire Old Testament was speaking about the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. In Luke 24:44-45 we see the same idea. “[Jesus] 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.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem,'” and so on. The Scriptures spoke about this glorious message that the Messiah will die and rise from the dead. His work would become the basis for the salvation of all those who would trust in him. Didn’t the Philippian jailer cry out, “What must I do to be saved?” What was the answer? “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:30-31). This is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, very God and very man, the one who died, was buried and was raised from the dead, and who is Lord of all.

Depression Dispelled through the Scriptures

Even today there are people who refuse to believe in a Messiah who was crucified. Even today people want a powerful and glorious Messiah who will bring people to great material and temporal glory. So when we refuse to believe the words of Jesus, when we refuse to believe the words of the Old Testament, when we refuse to believe in the words of the entire Holy Scriptures, do you know what happens? We become hopeless, depressed, and frightened. And then we will believe the delusions of cult leaders who are hypocritical liars.

But listen to what the psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:103: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Can you say that about the Bible? If that is true of you, then I assure you that you will be a happy person. Why? It is in the Scriptures that we find the basis for our hope and our salvation.

It was by preaching the entire Old Testament and explaining its meaning, not by performing a new miracle, that the resurrected Jesus brought the depressed disciples to a state of faith. When we read Luke 24, we see such tremendous emphasis on the written word of God. (PGM) And in verse 32 we read the statement of Cleopas and his friend: “They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?'” When the Scriptures are opened, God’s people are fed, nourished and brought out from depression into great, inexpressible joy.

So we must notice that Jesus did not perform a new miracle to convince his disciples that he was risen. By opening the Scriptures to them, he delivered these disciples from their depression and gloom. Depression is directly proportionate to the ignorance of the gospel. We cannot remain depressed and miserable if we understand the gospel and believe in it. Why? The gospel means good news to the lost, to the dying, to the miserable, to sinners, and even to enemies of the gospel.

The Breaking of Bread

The fifth proof came when Jesus broke bread with the two disciples. Jesus entered into a house in Emmaus with Cleopas and his companion, and all of a sudden he assumed the position of the host as he had done many times before. Just as he did in the upper room on the day when he instituted the Holy Communion, Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to Cleopas and his friend. And in Luke 24:31 we read, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” It may be that they recognized him as he prayed, or that they saw the nail prints in his hands as he took the bread, broke it and gave it out. But these disciples were now convinced: Jesus had risen from the dead and was alive. The one who was crucified, dead, and buried had risen.

These disciples not only heard the report of the empty tomb, they not only heard the report of the angels, but they saw Jesus himself and ate with him. That is infallible, positive, convincing proof. If you want greater proof you shall not find it.

The Appearance to Simon

In Luke 24:33 we read that Cleopas and his companion “got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them assembled together.” Around nine o’clock at night Cleopas and his friend knocked on the door of the place where the apostles were staying. When the apostles opened the door, before Cleopas and his friend could say a word, the apostles greeted them with these words: “Ontos egerthe ho kurios! Truly the Lord is risen!”

Let me assure you, when we believe in the gospel and understand that Jesus Christ destroyed death and rose from the grave, we will talk about it to everyone we meet. Why are we not evangelizing? It is because we do not believe in the reality of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When we understand this truth, believe it and rest our hope and life upon it, then we also shall say, “Ontos egerthe ho kurios –Indeed, the Lord is risen! There is no doubt about it.” This was the testimony of the ten apostles.

Why were the apostles saying that? Because Jesus had appeared to Simon. “It is true!” the apostles were saying. “The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon” meaning Simon Peter, the chief apostle who denied Jesus three times. He received a private visit from the risen Christ.

Remember how Peter had gone to the tomb and had seen that it was empty? Luke 24:12 tells us he went away wondering–not believing, but wondering. But wondering is not enough. Wondering will not help a person. Being amazed will not help anyone. What Peter needed, and the only thing that will help anyone, is faith in the gospel.

Peter was not convinced of the resurrection of Christ by the evidence of the empty tomb. He was not convinced by the angel’s report relayed through the mouths of the women. In fact, he mocked that report and characterized it as leros, as we read in Luke 24:11. According to the ancient Greek medical dictionary, leros means the babbling of a fevered person who is hallucinating. That is what Peter and the others said to Mary Magdalene and the other women when they told him the news that Christ had risen: Women, you are hallucinating.

But then Peter received a private visit from the risen Jesus and he believed. This was proof positive to Peter. He reported it to the others who believed also, and that is why they said, “It is true! The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.” Simon saw and heard Jesus, and was convinced. And as a result, the other disciples no longer wondered. They believed.

The Appearance to the Ten

What was the seventh proof? Jesus himself appeared in the midst of his disciples, as we read in Luke 24:36. On Easter evening around nine o’clock the apostles were gathered together. They had locked the door, as we read in John 20:19, out of fear of the Jews. Suddenly Jesus appeared in a glorious body in the midst of the assembled apostles and others.

What did Jesus say to these disciples? “Peace be with you.” That itself was a proof. The disciples heard it. They saw the risen Christ and heard him speak to them. And this was not a superficial greeting. It meant that God was propitious toward them on the basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in behalf of their sins. The cross had procured peace for them as it has for us.

Then Jesus gave his disciples further proof. In verse 39 he told them, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself!” In other words, Jesus was saying, “Look at the nail prints in my hands and feet. See them!” This was proof positive–infallible, convincing proof.

Next, Jesus invited the disciples to touch him. “Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” As I said before, Christians believe in the physical resurrection of the body. Here Jesus invited his disciples to touch and feel him. Why? To prove that he had flesh and the bones. Ghosts do not have physical bodies. This again was proof positive.

What if some of the disciples were still not convinced? Jesus gave another proof. He asked the disciples, “Do you have anything here to eat?” Now, Jesus did not ask that because he was hungry but because he wanted to bring them into faith that he truly was there with them. The disciples gave Jesus a piece of broiled fish, and the text says he took it and ate it in their presence. Why did he do this? To prove to them that Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, dead and buried, was risen indeed.

The Basis of Apostolic Preaching

What was the essential ingredient of the apostolic preaching? The resurrection of Jesus Christ based on the eyewitness accounts of the apostles. In Luke 24:48 Jesus told the disciples, “You are witnesses of these things.” And in Luke 1:2 Luke says that his information for his gospel account came from “those who were first eyewitnesses and servants of the word.” The disciples were eyewitnesses of the life of Jesus Christ, including his death and burial. But, above all, they were eyewitnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is essential to the preaching of the gospel.

When we study the preaching of the apostles in the book of Acts, we notice how they emphasized the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And we must also notice that the Sanhedrin had nothing to say in rebuttal to the preaching of the resurrection. They were completely silent. Why? They knew the apostles were eyewitnesses of these things.

In Acts 1:3 we read, “After his suffering, [Jesus] showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion while he was eating with them. . .” Jesus ate and drank with his disciples during the forty days after his resurrection. Peter mentions this in Acts 10:41 in his speech to the household of Cornelius, “He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen–by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” Such events were convincing proofs, in other words.

What does John say? In 1 John 1:1 he writes, “That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands touched–this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” John saw, looked at and touched Jesus. This was more convincing, infallible proof.

What about Thomas? He was not with the other apostles on the first Easter Sunday. When they told him, “Jesus is risen indeed,” I am sure he said something like this: “No deal. I will not believe unless I touch him.” But one week later he was given an opportunity to touch Jesus. What did he say then? “My Lord and my God!” And Jesus told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29).

In his high priestly prayer Jesus said: “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message” (John 17:20). The apostles were eyewitnesses who wrote down what they saw so that we can also believe without seeing. I assure you, Jesus is not going to come and perform a miracle for you so that you will believe. You must look into the Scripture, study it and rest your whole life upon the gospel message as found in the Bible. But when you do that, your depression, fear, and confusion will go; your heart will be filled with the glory of God; and you will rejoice with inexpressible joy.

Why Is the Resurrection Necessary?

In Luke 24:46 we read of the final purpose of the resurrection: “[Jesus] told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day'”–that is the gospel message– “‘and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.'”

Do you understand this? The historical death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is for our benefit. Why? Forgiveness of sins shall never come to us through hypocritical leaders of cults. Our salvation depends upon the work of Jesus Christ. Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations.

How can we be saved? Should we castrate ourselves? Members of cult groups might say that is part of the answer. The leader of this cult was castrated, apparently, and there were others also in the group who were castrated. What else could we do? Should we discard our containers, meaning our bodies, by committing suicide in the hope of boarding a UFO which might be behind the Hale-Bopp comet? That is what these people did. Should we believe the gospel of delusion preached by various cults that deny the historic Christian faith? It is a tragedy in this country that people will believe every delusion but will refuse to believe in the gospel which alone guarantees forgiveness of sins.

No. We should do none of these things. Nothing outside of the gospel of Christ will save us. When we study the Athanasian creed, a creed from the fourth and fifth century, we read this statement at the end: “This is the catholic faith which, except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.”

How to Be Saved

There is only one way to be saved, meaning there is only one way to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. What is that way? We must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and was buried; who rose again on the third day; who was seen one time by five hundred people; who ascended into heaven and is seated on the right hand of God; who is sovereign Lord; and who is coming again to judge the living and the dead.

We must believe the Scriptures. Why were the women, the apostles, and the disciples confused? They refused to believe in the Scriptures. May we never make that mistake! Are you confused, afraid, depressed, miserable? If so, the reason is that you do not want to look into the book and see the basis for our hope–the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We must believe the Scriptures. We must believe the apostolic eyewitness testimony–infallible proof. We must receive forgiveness and eternal life, which, as Peter says, is our living hope through the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Question of Death

You may ask me, “What about death? Death is the most depressing thing in the world. And we know that the wages of sin is death, so all will die. What about death?” It is true that next year at this time some of you may not be here. You will have died and entered into your own eternity. What about death and dying?

The believer challenges death. For us Christ defeated death by his death. In 1 Corinthians 15, beginning with 54 Paul says, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” If you are a believer, you will challenge death. And in verse 55 he wrote, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” In other words, there is no victory or sting in death as far as the people of God are concerned. Why? Christ defeated and destroyed death once for all for us. Paul continues, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:56-57). What victory is Paul speaking of? The victory over death, sting, sin, law, hell, and Satan.

Jesus Christ gives us the victory! If that doesn’t excite you and drive away your depression, I do not know what will. Certainly castration or committing suicide will not do it. My question to you is, “Can you challenge death by this scripture?” You will be able to do so if you trust in the gospel which is recorded for us with infallible proofs.

Authentic Existence

In 2 Corinthians 4:14 Paul says, “We know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.” Christ died for our sins and he was raised for our justification and resurrection. Christ’s resurrection is linked to the resurrection of his people, so we can be assured that we, like him, will also be raised up. We read about it in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: One day “the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

That is authentic life. That is eternal life. That is happiness. That is eternal bliss. That is inexpressible and glorious joy.

Have You Believed ?

If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ, I implore and beseech you to repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone. The purpose of preaching the gospel is that repentance and forgiveness of sins might be proclaimed to all the nations, and that those hearing may be saved.

Let me assure you, if you do not believe in the gospel, you will believe the words of hypocritical liars from the cults in this country and around the world. You will welcome castration, suicide, and everything else. You will welcome the doctrines of the devil. Tragically, you will abandon light and welcome deep darkness.

The cult we spoke of was known as Heaven’s Gate, but that is a lie. It was hell’s gate, and they all entered into it. And unless you believe in the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you also will enter into it.

May God have mercy upon us and forgive our dullheadedness, our ignorance, and our antipathy toward the gospel. May he open our minds and open the Scriptures to us that we may put our trust in his Son, Jesus Christ. May he enable every one of us to be received by him, that we may all be with him forever and ever. Amen.