You are witnesses of these things (Luke 24b) *

Luke 24:36-53

Key Verse 48 "You are witnesses of these things."

Introduction: Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection mark the central part of God’s message to the world. To know, accept, and believe in Jesus’ resurrection brings a radical change in people's lives. This change comes in two aspects. It changes one’s view of the world and also brings radical changes in one’s attitude towards living. The sum of these two changes gives birth to becoming a witness of Jesus’ suffering and resurrection and leads one out of a self-centered life.

How can that change come about? Luke, unlike other Gospels, describes most vividly how and in what way this change came about in the resurrection narrative.

The risen Jesus said to his disciples, “you are witnesses.” By knowing the risen Jesus, the believer’s life must change from a self-oriented life to a life as a witness. I hope and pray that through this passage we all will become witnesses to the messages that God imparted in Jesus’ resurrection.  

A.   Life undone by the power of death

All the disciples saw all that happened on the cross, including Jesus' death and burial. It was truly painful to look at him suffering so much on the cross. Death speaks to men most powerfully, whatever message it may convey. All kinds of human emotions, such as pride, anger, bitterness, one's ambitions, hopes, and dreams, must give in to a desire to fill life with meaning and value – what is right, just, and good. Something of eternal value. For those who believe God, out of all these emotional upheavals, death speaks of sin and judgement from God.

Soon after the time of Sabbath was over, a few women went to see Jesus in the tomb. But there they saw only an empty tomb and were told by two angels that Jesus had risen - as Jesus had said. On receiving this message, Peter personally went into the tomb and confirmed what those women said. He saw an empty tomb. He could not unlock the riddle of the “absence of Jesus’ body” and wondered what happened to him (v12).

On the same day as two of Jesus’ disciples were on their way to Emmaus, the risen Jesus accompanied them in disguise and rebuked them "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory" (vv25-26)? When they were unsure of what this meant, Jesus explained what it meant according to the OT and their hearts were hot inside as they came to have a full grip of the meaning of this word.

This section ends with the all that had some experience with Jesus’ resurrection coming together in Jerusalem to share and discuss each of their stories. They were the eleven disciples and those who were with them and the two. The conclusion comes in verse 34 – “and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’" The resurrection of Jesus was confirmed and this was further solidified by the testimony of the two. In this way, it became evident to his disciples that Jesus was raised from the dead. In other word, the disciples became aware of the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. In this situation, Jesus appeared to this group of disciples.

36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."

The first word from him was ‘peace be with you’. Jesus knew their fear and anxiety and the first thing Jesus wanted to give them was ‘peace’. But in them was anything but peace;

³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?

Instead of giving them peace and joy, his appearance compounded their fear. There was no anticipation or hope to see the risen Jesus even though they knew that Jesus was raised from the dead. Further, they failed to recognize Jesus! Jesus’ sudden appearance was a shock. To[JC1]  them, he was not the Jesus that they knew and were well acquainted with. He was like a ghost. What was the source of this fear? It was because the death of Jesus that they saw caused them to have great fear, uncertainty and anxiety. This was a stark contrast to the peace and hope that they had with Jesus. That peace was totally shattered and robbed away when Jesus was crucified to death. Actually, at the death of Jesus, they were caught with extreme fear for their lives and uncertainty of what would become of their lives.

In between now and then, when they had last fellowship with Jesus, so many things happened. Jesus was condemned and crucified as a blasphemer and for rebellion against Rome. The impact of Jesus’ suffering and death by crucifixion was too painful for them to endure. There came many questions. Why did Jesus give in to those who were evil and ungodly? What was God doing in this? In addition to these, their quiet inner voices raised questions to themselves. Why did or could they not do anything for Jesus? They loved Jesus more than their parents or family members. They trusted him as the Lord, the Messiah, without any trace of doubts. And yet, they could not stand up for Jesus at all though they all confessed to follow Jesus. Even the most courageous and the best among them, Peter, failed to love and to follow Jesus. Weakness in sin and fear of death came to the surface as they saw Jesus being crucified by the savage hands of Roman soldiers. It was brutal. Anger, pain, sorrow, and then frustration and a great sense of futility and vanity overwhelmed their hearts. All their great hopes evaporated like a morning mist. There was no meaning, no purpose, and no value for life. Simply, there was nothing left for them to count on in their lives. Even to the best of their understanding, they could not reason nor understand all the things regarding the death of Jesus by crucifixion. Even with the best of their efforts, they could not untangle the riddle of Jesus’ crucifixion. The power of death remained as the overwhelming power over their minds and spirits.

What were they to make of this? It was all about sin - the sins of the so-righteous religious leaders, the sins of so many ‘good-minded looking’ people who shouted ‘crucify him, crucify him’. The problem was that the disciples could not exempt themselves from that judgment because they could not do anything for their righteous and good Lord. Like this, Jesus’ death took away from them everything. Literally they all died with Jesus as Jesus died on the cross and when they saw Jesus’ body they saw a lifeless corpus with so many marks of wounds and blood stains. Breathless, motionless, and flaccid, there was no life at all - like a stone. This was the final scene and picture that they remembered about Jesus.

Like this, the disciples were the ones who felt the entirety of the truth of the crucifixion of Jesus. That truth is the truth God wanted to speak about; it was about God’s judgment on the sins of men, speaking of his righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:3). Literally as Jesus died, everything of them also died. The effects of sin came upon the lives of Jesus’ disciples so hard, harder on them than on any other, because Jesus’ life was their lives for they bet everything of their lives on Jesus. So as Jesus died, everything of them died in themselves as well.

How could it be possible for them to recognize and welcome the risen Jesus while all the aftermath of such a tragic death was still so real and fresh? Under the overwhelming power of death, the risen Jesus looked just like a ghost. These disciples’ experiences speak loudly that knowing the fact of Jesus’ resurrection could not bring changes in one’s mind, view and perspective. Unless the overwhelming power of death is undone, the news of Jesus’ resurrection was meaningless. This is well revealed in Peter’s responses to the resurrection news. As we know Peter went to the tomb to confirm what the women said. After seeing the empty tomb, he came back still wondering (v12). What he saw was exactly what the women told him. Yet his mind was fixated on finding Jesus body and could not entertain Jesus’ resurrection. So, he was wondering to himself what had happened! When the two disciples returned to Jerusalem, they were told that Jesus appeared to Simon. It is interesting that Luke recorded his name “Simon”. This name seems to point to the fact that Peter became like Simon, the life before he came to follow Jesus, indicating the severed relationship between Jesus and Peter. Literally the relationship in love and warmness of trust was not there. The last encounter with Jesus was when he was lying as a corpus, a breathless, powerless, and flaccid body. This image, the power in this image, still loomed large in their spirit. Most of all, they did not overcome the guilt and condemnation of themselves. This is far more serious for Peter because he denied Jesus three times. This was the effect of the power of death and, along with it, the unveiling of his weaknesses in sin. What does this tell us about Jesus’ resurrection? Simply knowing the fact that Jesus rose from the dead did not do much good for these disciples! Simply seeing risen Jesus could not undo the power of death that came upon them so hard! What is the distinctive mark of such deadness in spirit? It is fear, and anxiety for life. God spoke most powerfully the word of judgment on sin through the cross. What can any man of sin do about the power of death?

B.   The Power of death must be undone by Jesus’ resurrection

Though they heard, saw, and knew that Jesus was risen, this was the first direct encounter and interaction with him in the Gospel by Luke. In this encounter, the judgment must be undone and all effects and power of death should be removed. This is how it happened.

³⁹ Look 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." ⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

Under the power of death, they thought Jesus was a ghost. A ghost is bodiless. The Jesus that they remembered was breathless and powerless, a motionless corpus! They could not imagine that corpus came back to life! Under the power of sin and death, they could not fathom resurrection of the body, with such a vitality. So Jesus said, “It is I! Jesus identified himself with the one they knew and trusted. He commanded them to touch and see if Jesus was real or not! Jesus had flesh and bones. Literally he came back to the Jesus that they had been with. In other word, the risen Jesus was the same as they knew and with whom they could associate with in all social affairs. Jesus had been with them three years. During this time, they never thought of Jesus as anything but a man with flesh and bones, exactly as they were, with whom they could easily befriend. ‘That Jesus has come back and is this Jesus!’

Jesus moved on further. He showed them his hands and feet. Not only did he use his hands like them but also he moved around like them. Also, on both hands and feet were the parts of his body pierced by nails, the direct culprit of Jesus’ death on the cross. For the disciples, they were marks of ‘death’. As they looked again at Jesus’ hands and feet, to touch his body, skin and bones to see if they are real, they recalled all the things that happened on the cross; Jesus was beaten in so many places on his back and legs and arms. There were so many wounds. On his head was a thorny crown where skin was punctured and blood flowing. In addition, on both of his hands and feet, four nails penetrated through, tearing apart his flesh. As they looked at Jesus, what would they feel? So many marks of punishment, all torn and denuded skins, flesh, and punctured wound were healed. There were no blood, and no wounds. There left only were the marks of the nails! All the punishment laid upon Jesus was healed or undone! Seeing and examining Jesus body also undid all the power of sin and death that came upon him and on his disciples. The resurrection of Jesus undid everything done by the power of death! At the same time the sorrow, pain and all power of judgment were being dissipated like a morning mist! His resurrection is real! What came upon them was noted in this way;

⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement,

Since the beginning of the story of Jesus’ resurrection, for the first time, the word ‘joy’ appears though this joy was mixed with lingering doubt and amazement. In order to remove all power and ill- effects of sin and death, Jesus did this;

^41b he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.

Numerous times Jesus shared meals with his disciples in the past. The most memorable one was the last meal that they shared on the night of the Passover Feast. These were the moments of life-sharing, in which they felt they were Jesus’ family. There was no distance or barrier or anything that stood between them and Jesus for they loved Jesus and Jesus loved for them. This is the full restoration of the relationship. Jesus is again their Lord and the disciples are again Jesus’ beloved disciples.

C.   Resurrection is reasoned and empowered by God’s perfect will

Their relationship was being restored in trust. But how could they understand all that happened since his arrest until this time, i.e Jesus’ coming back from the dead in resurrection? Jesus said this;

 44 He 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.”

All these must be understood as the fulfillment of the promise of God that God elaborated on and planned in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Jesus summed up the whole scripture in this way:

46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

But it is not the first time Jesus was saying this to his disciples. Immediately after his disciples accepted Jesus as the Messiah, he said this to his disciples;

22 And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."

He repeated this word three times and alluded this truth three times (Luke 4:21; 9:31; 18:31).  On each time, he said ‘he must’ to indicate this as the will of God as God planned in the OT. So unless they come to have a full grip on God’s covenant blessing, curse, and promises and accept it as God’s mandate, they could not comprehend Jesus’ suffering fully for it was all about God’s will. But without accepting God’s justice for sin, the disciples kept their hope in the Messiah, Jesus. But as he died on the cross, all hopes were dashed to pieces and they gained a keen sense of sin and judgment of God for the first time. Simply seeing the risen Jesus undoing all the power of death could not bring the disciples to understand the full significance in power and authority. They remained in this blindness even after they confirmed Jesus’ resurrection. So the women were rebuked by the angels (v5) and the disciples by Jesus (vv25, 38).

In other words, if they had accepted and believed the teachings of the Law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms, then they would have accepted Jesus’ death and resurrection as God’s perfect will. Then what is the essence of the teachings of the Law of Moses, the prophets and the Psalms? These three represent the OT. But for the purpose of easy understanding, I divide this in three;

The Law of Moses is the binding covenant between God and His people, Israel. The covenant imposed on them one truth; blessing for obedience and curse for disobedience. After setting up all that was necessary to keep this covenant, God let them rule over themselves to see if they would be blessed by keeping the Law or would be cursed by disobedience.

The Prophets and the Psalms are what God spoke through his servants. In these, God spoke his judgment on Israel for the violation of the covenant. When it became obvious that they could not keep the law and must face God’s judgment, according to his promise, God decided to bring that judgment on the Messiah so that His people might not suffer from the covenant curse. So the entire OT speaks on one thing, sin against God must be judged and God planned that judgment on the Messiah so that His people could escape God’s judgment.

Jesus died for God’s judgment and was resurrected for God’s blessing. If they had believed God’s righteous judgment for sin, then they could have believed Jesus’ resurrection as well! For the entirety of Jesus’ life including his crucifixion and resurrection is redemption for his people. The understanding of the redemptive grace begins when one accept God’s absolute injunction; sin must be paid by life. Because of this, the Messiah must die and then enter into His glory. So accepting God’s righteous judgment on sin leads one’s heart to unlock Jesus’ resurrection.

So, God’s judgment for men’s sin is the Achilles tendon for all sinners for we sinners want to be accepted as we are without paying for the full cost of sin. God has one mandate. Sin must be paid for before He would accept any as His children. Accepting and believing this mandate is the beginning of the understanding of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross. As difficult as it was for the disciples is also difficult for us and all the people of this age as well. Then, how could they understand and accept this?

45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

In order to understand what it means that Jesus opened their minds, I like to look at what Jesus did for the two disciples during their journey to Emmaus (vv13-32). At that time the two did not know who he was at all. As a stranger, Jesus explained the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. While they came to have a grip of the truth, they said their hearts were burning within them (v32). Jesus did not breathe in them some kind of spirit but gave them the understanding of the scriptures that penetrates through the entire OT. It was reasoning by upholding the absoluteness of the words of God that made their hearts to burn. God works, appeals, and reasons with men through His word! It is the place whereby we must respond with faith and then the perfect will of God in justice, grace, and hope will set into our hearts.

D.   You are witnesses of these things

If Jesus’ death and resurrection was the fulfillment of what God promised to His people, then what should follow next?

⁴⁶ He told them, "This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things.

Since God’s righteousness was fully met in Christ, that message of salvation is offered to all, even to the worst sinners, even to all nations of the world. How can this come about?

48 You are witnesses of these things.

First, they were to be witnesses of ‘these things”. These things refer to what God said in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and Psalms, and its fulfillment by Jesus’ death and resurrection. They were to be witnesses for not just the fact of Jesus’ death and resurrection but also all the things about Jesus’ death and resurrection along with God’s promise in the OT, which supplies reason and purpose. The disciples were to serve God’s purpose in planning, and fulfilling his will in Christ.

Second, you are witnesses for these things. This is not saying that they are to witness these things. It is saying that they are witnesses. We may extend this further by saying that their life itself must be a witness. The life itself must testify all that God had done in Christ. The life itself must serve as a living witness for the truth and the power of God contained in the message. Simply, the changed life is an essential part of being a witness and this is inherently tied to faith and the power of God in that faith for out of the said-message comes the power of God (1 Cor. 1:24). Because of this, at the outset of the resurrection narrative, even before seeing the risen Jesus, the disciples were to believe his resurrection based on the promises of God and Jesus. And at the same time they were repeatedly rebuked when they failed to believe Jesus’ resurrection based on the facts of the empty tomb and on the teaching of the Law of Moses, the prophet and the Psalms as well as what Jesus had prodded them with many times about his suffering, death, and resurrection. They must believe all these.

Third, after all, the witness is for God, his power, his holiness, his grace, and his hope to save the world for it was God who orchestrated such a great plan for the salvation of men in His grace, mercy, and justice and embedded all these messages in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Fourth, they need the power from God. Since the ultimate understanding of Jesus’ death and suffering depends on knowing and believing the will and power of God, the witnesses must know not only the facts but also experience that power within themselves. So Jesus said this to his disciples, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me" (John 13:8 NIV). This power is from God and the power that washes away sins. Jesus will impart ‘washing’ of his or her sins to his believers. In this way, the ultimate significance lies not in man’s will, or effort, or cognition, but in the power that God brings into the person’s life through the Spirit;

48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I 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."

They were to stay put until they would receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; 2:4, 33).

50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

This is the description of the last scene of the meeting between Jesus and his disciples. They went out to the vicinity of Bethany and there Jesus blessed the disciples. One thing we must not fail to notice is that while he was blessing them, Jesus left them and was taken up into heaven. Jesus’ blessing did not stop or finish. His act of blessing for his disciples continued and even now is continuing while he is with God, the Father. This continuum of blessing was made clear when Jesus said to his disciples: 7b “Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ...13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you" (Joh 16:7b-15 NIV).

This last scene would be the lasting memory for the disciples, speaking about Jesus’ whereabouts and their relationship with him. Here they felt their relationship being fully restored and that relationship would be lasting as they were looking up at Jesus disappearing to heaven.

I described three scenes that capture the power of God’s salvation works. First one is the scene of Jesus’ death on the cross and his corpus in a tomb. This scene embodies the redeeming sacrifice. The second one is the appearance of the risen Jesus, in whom they could feel, touch and identify the marks of nailing on both of hands and feet. This scene reveals the power of resurrection, by undoing all ill-effects and power of death. The last one is the scene of Jesus’ ascension as he was giving his blessing. This scene embodies the continuum of relationship between Jesus and his disciples as well as Jesus and his Father God.

These three scenes are speaking of God’s works in history. Through these historical marks, God empowers those who believe with the power of salvation. By believing, I pray that we all may be witnesses of all these things.