Passage:
Luke 24:36-53
KEY
VERSE: LUKE 24:48
Jesus
Appears to the Disciples
36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus
himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
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? 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. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement,
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.
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.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand
the Scriptures. 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. 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.”
The
Ascension of Jesus
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.
Hey guys, my name is Jessica Mun. I am a Senior at Lincoln
Park High School. I will be giving a message on Luke 24:36-53. My key verse is
verse 48 “You are witnesses of these things.”
I have a
question for you. Have you ever been a witness to anything? Like if you found
out something awesome that you really want to share. Maybe it could be the free
chips and guac at Chipotle, or a sale on that dress you really wanted from
Forever 21. Whatever it was, naturally, you became a witness on that one piece
of information that was beneficial to everyone. Just as the disciples became
witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection, I want all of us to understand and believe
that we are also living witnesses from the events that our living God has given
us.
I.
PEACE
be with US (36-43)
Right from
the beginning, we start off with the disciples conversing with one another
about what they had just seen. What did they see? Jesus appeared to two of the
disciples and they inform the rest of the disciples. This all seemed
unrealistic. Jesus? Resurrected from the dead? Are you crazy? While discussing,
Jesus suddenly appears in their presence out of nowhere and says “Peace be with
you”. Okay, hold up. Lets think about this from the perspective of the
disciples. A man, whom they followed and respected was wrongfully accused and
killed. Now, 3 days after his death, he appears among them without even opening
the door or coming through the window. Of course they would all be shocked and
frightened at the sight of this. But more importantly, let's think about his words.
“Peace be with you.” So why peace? Peace means tranquility and quietness. This
situation arises a lot of confusion and doubt in the disciples hearts so peace
was essential to all of them at this moment. They were so startled that they
became frightened at the sight of Jesus, thinking that they had seen a ghost.
Lets think about what a ghost is… Most of the time people think of ghosts as an
evil spirit, mostly a representation of someone who has died. Why is it scary
towards us? A ghost is unknown, related to darkness. Darkness brings fear and
fear is not from God, it’s from Satan.
Once Jesus sees that they are startled he says, in verse 38:
Why are you troubled and why do doubts rise in your minds? Doubt is a feeling of uncertainty, lack of
conviction, hesitation. Based on this definition, think about a time when you
are unpeaceful. This quarter I had a really difficult time with one teacher in
my school. She REALLY doesn’t like me. I didn’t know why she was tormenting me
and calling me out for every little thing I did wrong. It came to the point
where I had reached the lowest part of my high school career when she gave me
an F on a project which brought my overall grade down to an F. I was shaken and
broken emotionally and everyday I would come home and cry. I tried to handle
this situation by myself and the entire time I felt so lonely. My mother told
me “pray every time you go into her class”, but even after I was praying
sincerely, I would still be yelled at constantly for the smallest mistakes.
Emotionally I was wrecked. I doubted and ignored God’s existence and thought
that he could not help me with this situation. After praying with my mom and
some several email exchanges, my teacher agreed that she would review my
project grade. That’s where I was proven wrong. God helped me to realize that I
can do nothing by myself and that made me feel ashamed for what I had
previously believed. Another time I was in doubt was when thinking I would go
to college. I legit gave up all hope. I was so stressed at the sound of
“college” and I was anxious upon where I would go if I got rejected from all
the universities I applied to. So upon praying to God I said “Lord, where ever
you believe I can spread your glory the most, send me and I will go”. After a
few days, I had given up hope and was doubtful if God had actually heard my
prayer. But a week later, after coming back home from school, I took a look in
my mailbox. In the corner, was a package that said “You’re in!” I was
immediately confused and realized that it was from IIT. I was overwhelmed by my
emotions and ashamed at the same time because I doubted Jesus.] The feelings of
anxiety and stress is a representation of how the disciples felt without
Jesus. As you show distress or anxiety
during those moments, can you think clearly? Probably not. Just in the same
way, the disciple could not think clearly. They probably had the thought: “is
it really Jesus? Are you sure this isn’t a ghost? I wonder if I can touch him,
hold up let me test it...” The emotions that they felt was stress and doubt.
But Jesus knew them inside and out. Even though they were blinded and anxious,
Jesus had patience with them.
So, just in this way, Jesus says that we should not have
fear. Why should we not be fearful? Jesus as the Prince of Peace, gives us
peace just through his presence. We have the holy spirit residing among us so
no ghost can scare us. So from the disciple's’ perspective, they all feared
that Jesus had left them. But he appears to give them comfort and assurance as
his first words to them after 3 days had passed was “Peace be with you”.
He goes on to say, “Look at my hands and my feet. It is I
myself, touch me and see.” From this verse we can see that Jesus had resulted
to the action of letting the disciples touch him to prove his point that he was
with them in the physical form. This must’ve been heartbreaking for Jesus
because he had to offer them the option of touching his wounds so that they
could believe him. From this, we are able to experience a representation how
our resurrection bodies will form. Jesus can appear out of nowhere because his
body and spirit is still together after his resurrection. They began to doubt
that Jesus had a physical body and that it was all a dream because he didn’t
walk through the door or anything but he appeared out of thin air. But Jesus clearly shows them that he has
physical flesh and bones and you can touch unlike a ghost. He proves it towards
his disciples, physically but they could not believe it because of joy and
amazement. It’s strange, if they were joyful and amazed they should’ve believed
it. So why are they still in doubt? It’s because it all seemed too good to be
true so they are unable to accept reality. For supporting evidence, he asks
them for food. How can we interpret this? Maybe he wasn’t genuinely hungry, I
mean he was gone for 3 days so maybe he was... But we can see that Jesus just
wanted to physically show them that he wasn’t a ghost. But he shows patience
with the disciples again as they still did not believe him even after he wanted
to show them pure evidence that he had risen.
II. We are LABELED AS WITNESSES (44-48)
In Verse 44&45 “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.” Then he opened their minds
so that they could understand the scripture.”
In these verses, Jesus goes back and connects it to the past.
He states that he is the fulfillment of the law, reminding them. “I told you”.
However, the disciples didn’t remember because they are still struck in awe.
Have you ever had any time where you were so surprised that you couldn’t
believe what was happening? The disciples felt that way. They couldn’t
differentiate their imagination from reality because they were in shock from
seeing Jesus coming back from the dead. Once Jesus saw that they didn’t
remember what he told them, “he opened their minds so that they could
understand the scripture”. Lets think about this. Jesus “opened their minds”.
How do you open your mind? Jesus had previously “opened their eyes and they
were able to recognize him” from Olivia’s message on verse 31 so that the
disciples could see. This is a representation of how we are spiritually.
Everyone is blinded by the general materialistic things in the world that we
begin to doubt the reality of these words. However, from the opening of their
minds, they were able to instantly remember the resurrection promise. This is
the power of Jesus Christ. He alone has the ability to help us remember the
things that we have forgotten. In the same way, just because you go to church
doesn’t mean that you understand Jesus fully. Actually, we can never understand
the full extent of Jesus Christ. But you have to open your minds so that Jesus
can talk to you and so you can have that one to one love relationship with him.
Jesus went through the process of Suffering on the cross,
death, resurrection on the third day, and last of all, the repentance for the
forgiveness of sins will be preached in Jesus’ name to all nations. As stated
in the Bible, it is the law.
So, what does Jesus’ death mean to me? What image do I get in
my head? : I see a lonely sacrificial lamb, rejected from society. But pure and
innocent because he has done nothing wrong. This sacrificial lamb is walking
down a path voluntarily, with sinful people surrounding him. He could stop, he
could run away at any time. But he stays and walks this path alone. Now what
image comes to your mind when you hear about his resurrection? For me, it’s
completely the opposite from his death. I see a pure white morning, with No
more sorrow, no more sadness, no death. There is always a spiritual awakening
and a new beginning with him. Through his cleansing blood, we have received a
new life through Christ.
Verse 48 states, “You are witnesses of these things” We are
all witnesses, can attest to his glory. But first, what is a Witnesses? From TV
shows like Law and Order, we can see that a witness has: voluntary, true
testimonial evidence, written or verbal. Why do we need witnesses: people need
evidence because they are constantly in doubt. Personally, while I was writing
this message, I was looking through my life and trying to think about myself as
a witness. At first I didn’t think I had the authority to label myself as a
witness and I couldn’t think of any major events that really stuck out to me.
But once thinking about it, I realized that even in the small events of my
past, God was always there. Actually, funny story, recently I was almost hit by
an ambulance. Crazy, right? I wasn’t looking and if it wasn’t for my quick
reflexes and Emily who pulled me back on the last second, I would’ve been hit
by an ambulance going 40mph. This miracle opened my eyes to the grace of God
and gave me revelation that God has a genuine plan and a purpose for my life.
So, WHAT IS YOUR TESTIMONY ABOUT JESUS IN YOUR LIFE?
Personally accepted Jesus in my life from a few events… Not
only was I baptized with the holy spirit, but I have been labeled as his
daughter and servant. I’m going to tell you all a little story, going back to
the beginning, (my testimony) Upon
asking my mother, she told me that when I was young, my personality was: humble
and obedient, quiet and gentle. My birth was a miracle. Korean name Jung Hee
meant new life and hope from dead tree. When I asked my mother why my
grandfather gave me this name, she told me that when Christine was 4 and when
Peter was 6, they got into a car accident. My mother was paralyzed and no one
thought she could have a child anymore. It was medically impossible. She told
me that I AM A MIRACLE BABY and that GOD HAS A PLAN FOR MY LIFE. By
experiencing this supernatural miracle, she is also a resurrection
witness. Moving on through my life, I
first experienced God’s love at a conference at IHOP in Kansas City. I had been
learning about Jesus Christ from CBF but I had never personally experienced it
and felt as if my faith was just based on knowledge of what I learned from
bible studies and full of empty words. Upon doing praise and singing for Jesus
at this conference, I experienced a whole different atmosphere and I admit, I
cried a few times. More recently, This winter, my grandmother passed away. Many
times I wondered, why did God take her? Why couldn’t she stay a while longer? I
had many regrets and wished that I could’ve improved my Korean just a little
bit so that I talk to her one last time and she could understand what I was
saying. But after she peacefully left, I realized that she is with Jesus Christ
in heaven. The night she passed, Jesus showed me a vision in a dream, my grandmother
was walking in a field of flowers and upon looking at me, she told me in
English that she loved me. I was moved and started crying, I asked her if she
could understand me, and she nodded her head. I believe that God gave me this
vision to comfort me, and to give me peace. My grandma accepted Jesus Christ as
her lord and savior when I was young and she believed the promise that there
will be everlasting life with Jesus after death. I had no fear, and no sadness
because I knew that I would be seeing her again in the eternal kingdom with
Jesus Christ. Now, I am praising God through my voice and from everything that
I can give. I believe that God has blessed my life because he has given me
these abilities, these gifts to use for his glory. He has given me a purpose
and I firmly believe that I am a witness of Jesus’ resurrection.
In the same way, Act 1:8 says “But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” From this verse,
God labels us as his living witnesses and is constantly active in our lives.
III. HOPE AND BELIEVE
THE PROMISE (49-53)
Verse 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.” in
correlation with Act 1: 4-5 says “Do not
leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard
me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be
baptized with the Holy Spirit.” From this, He gives us power with the Holy
Spirit and a promise. I believe that he has given all of us gifts that we can
use for his glory. It may be, through your artwork, singing, and even with your
words. I hope we can all realize what our gifts are and receive the promise,
the power that we have been clothed with from God.
Verse 50-53
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he
lifted up his hands and blessed them. Once they had full resurrection, they
received the promise that Jesus promised them and instantly they had no more
fear. Now let's go back to the beginning where the disciples were locked in the
room (voluntarily) shivering and shaking with fear and doubt. But right after
they saw the risen Jesus, they were joyful and confident in their faith. Let’s
take a look at this contrast. Can you imagine this? This image is a true
representation of the peace Jesus gives us.
Verse 51: While he was blessing them, he left them and was
taken up into heaven.
The blessing that Jesus gave them was God’s favor and
protection. Since the disciples were surrounded by people who didn’t believe in
Jesus’ resurrection, he protected them. He will come back just as it says in
Acts 1:11b, “This same Jesus, who had been taken from you into heaven, will
come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” So, in the same
way, I HOPE and BELIEVE THE PROMISE, I pray that all of you can too.
After he left them, the disciples worshiped him and returned
to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple,
praising God. They were able to have “great joy” because they have received the
promise from Jesus of an eternity with him. In the beginning without Jesus,
they were living in fear because they were lost without him. Like a shepherd,
he came back to comfort us and to give us hope. After seeing and believing,
they can trust his words and have hope for the future while praising God
continuously. Their continuous praising brings revelation to us now, how we
should be like them, spreading the news that Jesus has been resurrected and
that he is waiting for us to accept the promise that he has given us. I pray
that we can believe in Jesus and not be troubled.
So, how can you be a witness? Ask yourself this question: Did
you go through Jesus death and resurrection? if you have personally experienced
Jesus’ forgiveness of your sins, YOU ARE AUTOMATICALLY LABELED AS A WITNESS OF
JESUS’ RESURRECTION. If you are still confused, don’t be afraid. When
reflecting through my life, and reviewing the events that have happened to me,
I realized that God is active in my life. This revelation made me firm in my
decision that I am a living witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He
gives us all a purpose and is living and active in all of our lives right now.
I believe that his plans are to make us, his children as living witnesses of
his resurrection and His power. Whatever your mission may be, I believe and
pray that whenever we get lost or led astray, God is actively working in your
life to help you understand that you are his living witnesses.
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