Remember what He told you! (Luke 24:1-12)
Luke 24:1-12
A girl in my youth group wished she had lived in Jesus’ time and could have met Him in the flesh. I suspect we can all relate to that desire. How much better it would be if we could hear Him speak words of forgiveness or encouragement in person and have Him explain what we don’t understand! We may also think that it would be easier to believe when we have the reality of His presence in front of our eyes. The gospels, however, suggest otherwise. Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, the disciples (no less than we) questioned, doubted, fell into despair at times and failed to understand Him. Somewhat counter-intuitively, they only became bold and full of faith after Jesus was no longer with them physically.[1] It seems that God’s way of equipping us to know and live by the truth comes in a different way than we might expect.
The women
As Israel’s Sabbath turns into Sunday, three women go out to Jesus’ tomb to anoint His body with spices (Luke 24:1). Jesus’ burial on the Friday, before the time of rest when no work was allowed, was so rushed that there was no time for these extra gestures. Presented with the evidence of the empty tomb and the testimony of angels, the women are perplexed (Luke 24:4-5). Of course, there could have been other explanations. After all, if we visited the cemetery and the tomb of our loved ones were disturbed, we would not immediately assume a supernatural cause. Yet, as the women are reminded and remember what Jesus have said their perspective changes (Luke 24:6-8).
The disciples
For Jesus’ closest disciples, the women’s testimony seems unbelievable, the nonsensical chatter of some excitable creatures (Luke 24:11). So often, hearing others speak of the truth in Christ is not quite enough. Peter, however, is unsettled enough to run out to the tomb and check on the story. There are always those who seek with enough earnestness that they want to know the facts for themselves. Nevertheless, he can only marvel at the absence of the body with only the cloth wrappings remaining (Luke 24:12). If Jesus’ body had been stolen, why would the grave robbers leave the linen behind? Peter investigates, he is curious, puzzled and perhaps some hope rises in his heart. Yet, at this point it is only the women who believe that He is alive as it is made explicit in a later conversation (Luke 24:22-23).
Various means of coming to know the truth
While Luke expands on this theme in the two episodes that follow in his gospel (the disciples on the road to Emmaus and Jesus appearing to the eleven), his key points are evident from this first incident already. Faith in and understanding of God’s truth is a process and for some it takes longer than for others. There are various means whereby we come to hear and comprehend it. For some, the first promptings may be through angelic revelation or dreams (this seems particularly common among Muslims), for most, it is through the testimony of ordinary people who tell of what they witnessed and of the truth they came to believe. Some, like Peter, want to check things out before they can commit.
God’s Word remembered
At the heart of faith and transformation, however, is the Word of God explained and remembered (Luke 24:6-8). This is emphasised in the next incident as well, where the disciples have Jesus walking with them and yet cannot recognise Him for who He is, their blindness symbolic of their incomprehension (Luke 24:15-16). Neither does He reveal Himself as if that were enough but explains the Scriptures about Himself instead and He does the same to the eleven later, opening their minds in the process (Luke 24:27, 44-47).
As we re-read and remember the resurrection during this Easter time, we are challenged to hear it afresh like the Jews needed to hear the Old Testament scriptures in new ways. We do not have a dead leader, a praiseworthy individual and a great teacher of the past who needs to be embalmed for future generations. Rather, we have a living God whose power to give life, to start anew with us despite our failures and sins, is limitless.
[1] The point, of course, is that the Holy Spirit indwells us and enables and guides us inwardly in ways that was not possible before Jesus’ death and resurrection.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it with others.