April 18, 2021
36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate in their presence.
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
Every Easter we start the service with the responsive declaration, “He is risen, He is risen Indeed!” Have you ever wondered where that tradition came from? The passage right before the one we read is the Road to Emmaus where Jesus meets two travelers and opens their hearts to the meaning of God’s words and their eyes to Jesus’ presence with them in the breaking of the bread. When they go and tell the disciples about their experience with the risen Lord, they say, “The Lord has risen indeed…” (v.34).
Our passage starts as they are making that powerful declaration!!! “The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.” Jesus appears, standing right in front of them, as they are telling the disciples their account. They say Jesus in risen indeed and then Jesus appears! This is not a magical statement. This is not them calling Jesus, summoning him to them. Rather this moment holds the fullness of our risen Lord. The telling of God’s victory over death, Jesus having been liberated from the tomb is made real in this moment, this declaration of faith.
Luke tells the story of the women at the tomb, but their account is viewed as an “idle tale” (v. 11). It is only when Cleopas and his companion who meet Jesus on the road to Emmaus tell of their experience is the magnitude of the resurrection made known to the disciples. This is when the light bulb shines and the reality of God’s power is glimpsed. He is risen. He is risen indeed!
This is the climax of the gospel because there are only 5 more verses, telling of Jesus ascension. Our passage is the moment Jesus’ resurrection becomes real. This is the moment when we see their emotional response. This is the moment Jesus shows them his hands and feet. This is the moment when the disciples are commissioned to teach repentance and forgiveness as they become witnesses to the risen Lord. “The Lord has risen indeed…”
There are three things we glean from this resurrection moment. The moment when the disciples get Jesus is risen. Jesus brings peace. Jesus is not a ghost. And Jesus is known in the breaking of the bread.
The risen Lord brings Peace! The first thing Jesus offers is peace. Imagine seeing Jesus standing in front of you only days after you watched him die. That would be scary, unsettling, confusing. Jesus knows this and offers calm during this new revelation, he is alive! He is risen indeed! Jesus calms their fears and then clarifies their minds as he interprets scriptures with him as the Messiah the long awaited one. Jesus brought peace to the disciples and Jesus brings peace to us.
Jesus only taught for three years yet brought peace. Brett Blair writes, “Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40. Yet the influence of Christ’s 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men.
Jesus painted no pictures yet some of the finest paintings of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci received their inspiration from him. Jesus wrote no poetry but Dante, Milton, and scores of the world’s greatest poets were inspired by him. Jesus composed no music still Haydn, Handel, Beethoven, Bach, and Mendelssohn reached their highest perfection of melody in the hymns and symphonies they composed in his praise. Every sphere of human greatness has been enriched by this humble Carpenter of Nazareth.
His unique contribution to humanity is the salvation of the soul! (The ultimate source of peace.) Philosophy could not accomplish that. Nor art. Nor literature. Nor music. Only Jesus Christ can break the enslaving chains of sin. He alone can speak peace to the human heart, strengthen the weak, and give life to those who are spiritually dead” (Sermons.com).
Secondly, the risen Lord is not a ghost. The disciples touching Jesus hands and feet is a way of establishing that Jesus is real, is risen indeed. One commentator wrote, “Among the ghost tests in antiquity, one could check extremities where bones were evident (namely, hands and feet), make sure that a person’s feet were touching the ground, and show one’s teeth and eat food. (See also Epistula Apostolorum 11-2 and Tertullian, Against Marcion 4.43.) (Luke 24:39).” (WP Mark G. Vitalis Hoffman). Touching and seeing Jesus’ wounds in his hands and feet demonstrates the resurrection reality is touchable, God is reachable. Jesus showed his wounded hands and feet, he ate fish to help dissuade their doubts, to prove he is real, to open the eyes of the disciples to their risen Lord. How do our eyes need to be opened to perceive Jesus? Where do we touch the hands and feet of Jesus? How can we provide food for the world that makes Jesus’ reality experienced?
Finally, Jesus is known in the breaking of the bread. Jesus was made known in the breaking of the bread on the road, he was made known to be real, to be risen, when he ate fish. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” (Luke 24:41). And now he has made this moment, this sacramental moment back into a meal. Eating the fish helps prove he is real. Eating the fish reminds them and us of the sacrament of the Last supper. Eating the fish happened while the risen Lord was in their presence. Every time we come to Christ’s table we come to be in the presence of the risen Lord, we come to celebrate God’s victory over death, we come to taste the mercy of forgiveness, we come to proclaim he is risen indeed.
Keith Grogg writes, “That is so Luke. The Physician. Mr. Everything-is-flesh-and-blood; you’re either poor or you’re not poor; you’re either hungry or you’re not hungry; you’re either sick or you’re not sick; none of the in-between “Well, maybe we’re poor in a spiritual sense.” For Luke it’s always a question of people’s physical well-being. And physically, Jesus, who on Good Friday was completely dead, is now so completely alive that he wants something to eat. He is not a ghost….
We are not ghosts. We can do things, build things, make things, share things. And occasionally, when we have done our daily work for the physical well-being of this absolutely real world, we will have the privilege of sitting at table together, in the presence of the one who opens our eyes and makes our breaking bread together a sacrament.” (Sermon.com)
He is risen, He is risen Indeed. Our risen Lord brings peace. Our risen Lord is not a ghost. And He is known in the breaking of the bread. We are about to break bread with Jesus. Invite his holy presence to be with you today, to share this sacramental moment with you. Allow your spirit to be filled with the presence of the risen Lord. Welcome and see as Jesus said, “It is I myself,” harkening back to the name of God “I Am, who I Am” (Ex. 3:14). Embrace the fullness of the divine presence. For when we say Jesus is risen indeed, we are joining with the first disciples, we are declaring our faith in the risen Lord, we are testifying to the one who conquered death and grants eternal life! As we break bread let us declare in our hearts He is risen, He is risen Indeed!
Amen.
