The Resurrection of Jesus

Christ’s resurrection changes everything. The resurrection was firmly attested and leads us to see Jesus as the Son of God who reigns victorious over sin and death. 

Today we review the resurrection story as we look at Luke 24:1-8,38-43 as we focus on the point that Jesus rose again to give us victory over death (meaning the total cessation of life, and life meaning animated corporeal and spiritual existence).

First, let’s look at resurrection Sunday. 

Luke 24:1-6a

1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. 
2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 
3 They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. 
5 So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. 
6a “He is not here, but he has risen!

All four Gospels use similar phrasing: on the first day of the week, very early in the morning. According to Jewish time, the week began on what we call Sunday. Sunday is the FIRST day of the week, Saturday is the seventh, or sabbath, day of the week (hence, week end). So how early is early? The Jewish daytime hours began at 6 AM. Likely the women were anxious to complete the task of anointing Jesus’s body for burial, so very early in the morning would have been on Sunday morning sometime near dawn. 

The names and exact number of women are uncertain, but Mary Magdalene is listed by all four Gospel writers.  Others included Mary the mother of James (“the other Mary”) is listed by three writers. Only Mark mentions Salome. Only Luke includes Joanna. Luke lists an unknown number of “other women”.  The tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, who had prepared Jesus’s body for a proper burial, then placed it in a new tomb he had prepared for himself and his family. 

Just before daybreak, when darkness still covered the landscape, Mary made her way to the garden so they could visit the tomb. They brought spices along with them that would be placed on Jesus’s body in kind of an “external embalming method” that would absorb the bodily fluids and mitigate the odor of a decaying body over time.

Mary Magdalen was one of Jesus’s most loyal followers. Why was Mary referred to as Magdalen? Migdalah is the Hebrew feminine form of migdal meaning tower, elevated stage, or a raised platform.  She may have been from a town or region called Magdala. It may be because she was associated with a business at that time which dried fish likely referring to a “fish tower,” a structure used to air dry fish before they were transported to distant marketplaces. 

This is the same name used by the Jerusalem Talmud: Magdala Nunaya. Because there was no refrigeration in the ancient world, fresh fish was very seldom eaten. Dried and salted fish was a staple of the Roman diet, and the Land of Israel was one of its major sources. Josephus refers to this town’s reputation for fish-curing, calling it Magdala Taricheae (“Magdala of the fish salters”). In Hebrew, it would have been called Migdal haDagim. 

Mary’s encounter with Jesus early in his ministry had changed her life. He liberated her from the grip of demons or disease processes that had tormented her. She became an ardent follower of Jesus and stood near His cross along with Jesus’s mother and other women. Also, she observed as Joseph took Jesus’s body from the cross, prepared it for burial, and placed it in his personal tomb. 

Now Mary appeared at the garden tomb once again. She must have been stunned by what she saw. The stone that covered the entrance to the tomb had been removed. Mary’s first thoughts were that the disciples needed to know what had happened, and she set out to tell them in a run. As soon as she arrived, she talked to Simon Peter. Mary’s report contained two distressing apparent facts. First, someone had stolen the body, and second, nobody knew what had happened to it.

So Peter, John and Mary went back to the tomb.  The boys went in and checked it out and then went on their way leaving the women behind. Mary kept her distance outside the tomb, watching the disciples as they went inside to investigate. She could not control her tears exhibiting the depth of her anguished sorrow over the mystery of what had happened to Jesus’s body. 

This was a terrifying situation  the horror and shame of seeing Jesus naked, bloody and suffering unimaginable pain, all the while being completely helpless to do anything about it. 

When she finally made her way into the tomb, two angels met her sitting on the slab where Jesus’s body had been placed. As soon as she saw them, they began to talk with her. Mary didn’t question their presence with fear, bewilderment, or shock. In fact, she gave the impression she barely noticed they were angels. Her concern about Jesus’s body had consumed her to the point their presence did not disturb her. Without hesitation, she answered their question by reporting that the body of her Lord had been “taken away.” Then she registered her heartfelt concern over where His body had been taken. She continued to worry that Jesus’s body had been stolen and perhaps desecrated by grave robbers or by His enemies. The presence of angels had not distracted from her grief, and their conversation with her did not diminish her resolve to find out what had happened to Jesus’s body.

Next Jesus revealed Himself as alive to Mary first. Her heart and mind had been focused exclusively on finding Jesus’s body. Consequently, she didn’t seem disturbed by the person who stood in front of her when she turned around. Even though she had followed Jesus as a loyal disciple, she did not recognize Him in that moment. Even the sound of Jesus’s voice had not registered with her, at least not yet. After all, nobody except the gardener would have shown up at the tomb so early in the morning. Her reply to Jesus revealed she had locked her mind on the search for His corpse. Mary never considered the slightest possibility He would be alive. And after such a bloody, brutal, and torturous death who could blame her for believing that he was permanently dead. But as Jesus began to talk with her, speaking her name, her tears vanished, her heart lurched, and her mind jolted. Up to this point, she may have considered herself to be in the company of strangers as she stood in the presence of the two angels and a nameless gardener. But now, she knew for certain she stood before Jesus—He had called her by her name! She replied by referring to Him with a title familiar to her—“Rabboni.” 

Jesus had been resurrected!  Then Jesus “appoints” Mary to be the “first apostle” as he directs her to go and bear witness of his resurrection to the other disciples. Mary could see for herself that Jesus had conquered death. They needed to know His ministry would not end with death, but would continue on after his resurrection. 

He underscored as he taught the disciples, what His ascension would mean to them. By ascending, He would be returning to His Father. Jesus had already told them He would be leaving them. Now Jesus referred to His Father as their Father too. He added that His God was their God as well. Up until now, the disciples saw Jesus as their Lord and their friend. With His resurrection, they could see Him as their brother, and they could see themselves as God’s children who enjoyed eternal life in Him. 

When they saw Jesus for themselves. He promised them that the Holy Spirit would be at work in them as they talked about Him everywhere they went. On the heels of His ascension came the Jewish festival of Pentecost. At Pentecost, the arrival of the Holy Spirit prompted Peter to declare that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Ever since that day, believers have been led to share the good news about the living Lord who offers the gift of eternal life. 

In the next passage the angels explained what Jesus had previously told them. 

Luke 24:6b-8

6b Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, 
7 saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” 
8 And they remembered his words.

This verse is a continuation of the angels’ address to the women that Luke began in verse 5. The angels reminded the women of three statements Jesus had made. First, Jesus said He would be betrayed into the hands of sinful (selfish, harmful) men [He had been]. Second he would be crucified [he was]. And thirdly that he would rise on the third day [as they could now see, he was!]. As the angels explained Jesus’ teachings they began to comprehend.

Son of Man was Jesus’s favorite title for Himself and was used over eighty times in the Gospels. This title reflects Jesus as being fully God and fully man (Immanuel) as well as His messianic mission. It reveals His identification with us as human beings. Only Jesus used this title except for a few passages that are quoting Jesus using the title. It was not a commonly used descriptor and is rare outside of the Gospels. 

In the Old Testament it merely referred to human being. Daniel 7 is a very important chapter of the Old Testament, one that had a big impact on Jewish messianism and the Christology of the New Testament. Daniel describes the climax of his vision where a mysterious figure, “one like a son of man,” receives power and authority from the Ancient of Days: 

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man [in Aramaic, kebar enash], coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14)

Jesus was given many titles, like teacher, rabbi, and was sometimes even called Messiah. However, Jesus’ preferred form of self-reference was Son of Man, a phrase that occurs 66 times in the Synoptic Gospels and 12 times in the Gospel of John.

Next we see Jesus consoling and convincing the disciples.

Luke 24:38-43

38 “Why are you troubled?” he asked them. “And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 
39 Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself! Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” 
40 Having said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 
41 But while they still were amazed and in disbelief because of their joy, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?”
42 So they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, 
43 and he took it and ate in their presence.

Here we see Jesus seeking to convince the disciples that he is real and not a ghost or a demon. Judaism teaches that death does not end a soul’s journey. The soul, which was joined to a body in life, continues into an afterlife, a purely spiritualexperience of souls receiving reward and punishment for the good and bad things they did during their lives.  The Torah in Deut. 18:11 forbids inquiring of the dead, conducting seances and otherwise attempting to communicate with those who have passed on from this world. This seems to imply acknowledgment that the living can communicate with the dead but forbids Jews from engaging in that activity. Other than just fear, this explains why the disciples were reluctant to engage with what might have been a ghost.

In his Gospel, Luke reported Jesus’s appearance to Cleopas and another unnamed disciple who were walking to Emmaus, a town about seven miles (about a days’ walk) from Jerusalem. Although they failed to recognize Him, Jesus walked and talked with them, and taught them for perhaps several hours. When they stopped for the night, they invited Jesus to eat with them. When He blessed the bread, they recognized who He was, immediately returned to Jerusalem, and found the Eleven and others who were gathered. Cleopas and the other disciple reported their encounter with Jesus to the group. As they were speaking, Jesus appeared to the group and said, “Peace to you!” The typical Jewish greeting.

Jesus appeared and not only spoke to them with comforting words, but also addressed their concerns about His being a ghost. On Friday afternoon they had seen Him die. Now, they knew His body was no longer in the tomb. Although Jesus had spoken to them several times about His death and resurrection, they certainly didn’t understand what He had meant. The disciples were going back and forth in their minds, not knowing what to think. 

Jesus assured them that he was not just the appearance of a spirit, but had a “new kind of body.” Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself! Having addressed them with words, Jesus then asked them to look more closely at His resurrected body. The disciples likely had seen His wounds at the crucifixion; now they could see the results of those wounds. Rather than merely a spiritual presence, the resurrected Jesus had a recognizable physical body, although different in some ways since He could suddenly appear in their midst even thought they were behind locked doors.

Jesus issued two commands: (1) touch me and (2) see my body. Then Jesus provided His rationale for issuing these commands: a ghost does not have flesh and bones. The disciples’ physical senses of touching and seeing would confirm that Jesus was not a ghost; He really was a living person! 

While they still were amazed and in disbelief because of their joy. The disciples still were amazed and in disbelief; they could not believe their eyes. Luke provided an additional reason: because of joy. Seeing their Lord was “just too good to be true.” They were so happy they could hardly believe their eyes. As a reinforcing touch Jesus asked “Do you have anything here to eat?” to convince His disciples He really was flesh and blood, so He asked them for something to eat. Ghost’s DON’T usually eat food.

This would give them additional proof that he had a physical body, a resurrected body, that he would use to continue to carry out his mission from God. We also are a part of that body as members of the church as we use our bodies and selves to continue the mission of Jesus to reconcile humanity with God.