The Resurrection Witnesses (Luke 24:1-12; 36-49)
INTRODUCTION:
HE IS RISEN! (HE IS RISEN INDEED!) The reason we are here this morning is because of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Dr. John Stott says, “Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion. The concept of resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed.”[1] The Apostle Paul said the same thing in our Scripture reading this morning from 1 Corinthians 15:16-17, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:16–17, NASB95)[2] The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest event in history. It is the main event in God’s plan of redemption. It is the foundation and cornerstone of the Gospel. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 10:9, “…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” (Romans 10:9, NASB95)[3] Here Paul says you must believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ to be saved. From the beginning of history and the creation of Adam and Eve, the message that God has delivered to sinners through the Scriptures is that death does not end our existence. Scripture teaches from the beginning to the end that death is merely a doorway into eternity, and everyone goes through that doorway and everyone lives forever, some to the resurrection of life, and some to the resurrection of damnation. Every person ever born will live forever, fully conscious either of everlasting joy and peace or everlasting loneliness and suffering. The resurrection of Jesus Christ made the resurrection unto life available to us. The Lord Jesus Christ is the first-fruits of the resurrection unto life eternal. John MacArthur writes, “Now we remember…that the death of Christ is the result of God’s wrath falling on Him instead of us. His resurrection was the result of God’s reward falling on us because of Him. And so, we benefit in His death because He bears our sin. We benefit in His resurrection because we bear then His life.”[4] So, with this in mind we come to the book of Luke this morning to look at the Resurrection witnesses. Before turning to our passage let’s pray and ask God that He might impress the truth of the resurrection upon our hearts this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Luke 24. This whole chapter deals with the resurrection, we are just going to look at the beginning and the end of it. First, we will read verses 1-12 and then skip over the middle section and read verses 36-49. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Luke 24:1-12; 36-49,
“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ And they remembered His words, and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.” (Luke 24:1–12, NASB95)[5]
“While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be to you.’ But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them. Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.’” (Luke 24:36–49, NASB95)[6]
FIRST WITNESS – THE EMPTY TOMB (Luke 24:1-3)
All four Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us from their perspective about the resurrection. All four of them tell these specific things to us: 1. They all say that Jesus was truly dead; 2. On the third day after Jesus was placed in the grave, the tomb was empty; 3. They tell us that angels explained what happened; 4. Women were the first eyewitnesses of the risen Lord Jesus Christ; 5. The disciples did not believe the testimony of the women. Luke along with the other three Gospel writers omits one thing. All four of them omit the actual resurrection. It is not there, there is no description of it. No one was there to witness it. That it happened was obvious. How it happened is incomprehensible and known only to God.
Luke begins his account of the resurrection at early dawn on the first day of the week. He says “they” were coming to the tomb with the spices they had prepared. To understand who “they” are you must look back at chapter 23 and there we find that the “they” are the women who had followed Jesus out of Galilee. These women were followers of Jesus and we learn from Matthew that they ministered to Jesus and the twelve as they traveled from place to place. They had prepared spices as was the custom of the Jews to wrap the body of the deceased with spices. They prepared these for the body of Jesus as one last act of service to Him, out of their love and devotion for Him. If you remember from the accounts Nicodemus had already used 100 pounds of spices in Jesus burial, but these women had went and prepared more before the Sabbath began at sundown on Friday, they had rest during the Sabbath and then coming at dawn on the first day of the week (Sunday) they were going to add these additional spices to the body of Jesus.
Arriving at the tomb they find the huge stone that covers the opening into the tomb rolled away and the tomb open and entering they find the tomb empty. This should have been the first indication to them that Jesus had risen from the dead. This is the first witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He had told His disciples repeatedly when they were together that He would die and rise from the dead. John’s Gospel tells us that Mary Magdalene was the first of the women to arrive at the tomb and when she saw the stone rolled away she did not even go inside, she did not for one instant consider the resurrection, her immediate reaction was that someone had stolen the body of Jesus and she takes off to tell Peter and John before the other women even arrive at the tomb. Luke tells us that the other women were perplexed and there is no indication that they considered the resurrection either. The empty tomb was the first witness, the stone was not rolled away to let the Lord Jesus out, but to let others in to see that the Lord Jesus was not there but had risen. John MacArthur says it is unique that Luke says that they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus instead of just saying the body of Jesus. He says the title Lord Jesus “…is not a title used in the description of the death and burial of Jesus. But it is a title of His by way of resurrection. God raised Him from the dead and declared Him Lord. In fact, that is exactly what Peter said on Pentecost, ‘Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ.’ He is now the Lord. ‘He has been given the name which is above every name, the name Lord, that at that name every knee should bow.’”[7] They did not find the body of the Lord Jesus, the empty tomb was the first witness of the resurrection.
SECOND WITNESS – ANGEL MESSENGERS (Luke 24:4-8)
Luke tells us that while the women were still puzzling over the empty tomb and what had happened to the body of the Lord Jesus that suddenly two men in dazzling clothes were standing near them. These men were angels, as indicated by their dazzling clothing. As is often the case throughout Scripture when God’s messengers appear in this form it causes terror and these women were terrified and bowed before them, not in worship, but in respect to who they were and because they knew from that history of their people that these two had come from the presence of God. The angels said to the women, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” (Luke 24:5b–7, NASB95)[8] The first witness or evidence of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus was the empty tomb. The second witness or evidence for the resurrection is the divine revelation delivered by angels. These two angels came from the presence of God with a message from God for these women. When God speaks, we know that it is truth. The angels ask why they are seeking the Living One among the dead. Notice they did not say the Risen One, but the Living One. Because He is the Living One the implication is that even death could not hold Him. As I mentioned on Friday night Jesus had said, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” (John 10:17–18, NASB95)[9] Jesus is declaring here that He is forever the Living One, on the cross He decided when to breath His last, He laid down His life on His own initiative, and He took it up again because He is the Living One. Because he is forever the Living One you should not look for Him or seek Him among the dead, but among the living. Then they reminded the women of what the Lord Jesus had told them while they were still with Him in Galilee. He had repeatedly told them that He would be delivered over to sinful men, crucified and on the third day rise from the dead. God’s divine revelation through His angelic messengers opens the eyes of these women and they remember these words of the Lord Jesus. What greater evidence is needed then the words from God’s throne announcing what the tomb had proclaimed, that the Living One is not here among the dead, but He has risen!
THIRD WITNESS – THE WOMEN (Luke 24:9-12)
Luke finishes the first twelve verses by telling us the women returned and reported all they had seen and heard from the angels, they reported it to the eleven disciples and the others that were with them. Luke lists for us some of the women that were in the group telling the disciples these things that had happened to them. These women were the third witness of the resurrection as the reminded the disciples what Jesus had said about His death and resurrection. Luke records for us that the words of the women appeared to the disciples as nonsense and they would not believe them. Luke does say that Peter got up and went to the tomb and looking in and seeing the grave clothes only went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
FOURTH WITNESS – THE UNDENIBLE WITNESS (Luke 24:36-49)
Jumping down to verse 36 we find our fourth witness to the resurrection, this witness is undeniable because it is the Living One, the Lord Jesus. Luke tells us that while two disciples were telling that they had seen Jesus on the way home to Emmaus, the Lord Jesus Himself stood in their midst and said, “Peace be to you.” Even seeing Him with their own eyes they still could not believe and thought they were seeing a spirit. The Lord Jesus reassured them that it was truly Him, that He was not a spirit, but flesh and bone and He showed them the scars in His hands and His feet from the nails that held Him to the cross and then He eat a piece of fish in their presence proving beyond a doubt that He was who He said He was, the Living One, the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Then He opened their minds to the Scriptures and the prophecies concerning Himself and said all this had to occur so that salvation would be available to all. Repentance and the forgiveness of sins was made available to all by faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then Jesus promised the Holy Spirit who would cloth them with power to carry the Gospel to all the world. The Lord Jesus, the Living One was the ultimate proof of the resurrection. HE IS RISEN! (HE IS RISEN INDEED!)
CONCLUSION:
What does the resurrection mean for us? The proof that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ actually happened is indisputable. There have been theories put forth to try and explain the resurrection away, but the majority of them are more unbelievable then the resurrection itself. There have been people who have set out to disprove the resurrection and have finished their research convinced that the resurrection did happen. With the fact of the resurrection established, what does it mean for us? There are at least seven important reasons for the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 1. Jesus Christ rose from the dead because of who He is, and death could not hold Him in its power. 2. Jesus Christ rose to fulfill the Davidic covenant that there would be an heir to sit on David’s throne forever. 3. Jesus Christ rose to be the giver of resurrection life through the offer of salvation. If we acknowledge that we are sinners and believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, we have the hope of the resurrection unto life because Jesus rose from the dead. 4. Jesus Christ rose from the dead that He might become the source of resurrection power. It is through His resurrection that He was exalted and given all authority. 5. Jesus Christ rose from the dead to be head over the church. 6. Jesus Christ rose from the dead because our justification had been accomplished on the cross. God’s wrath was satisfied, our penalty was paid in full and through faith in Jesus Christ we are justified before God and have peace with God. 7. The Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead to be the first-fruits of resurrection, to be the evidence that we too will share in the resurrection unto life eternal.
In closing I would like to share a quote by Lewis Sperry Chafer on the significance of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. He writes, “The resurrection of Christ because of its historical character constitutes the most important proof of the deity of Jesus Christ. Because it was a great victory over sin and death, it also is the present standard of divine power as stated in Ephesians 1:19-21. Because the resurrection is such an outstanding doctrine, the first day of the week in this dispensation has been set apart for commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and, accordingly, supersedes the law of the Sabbath which had set aside the seventh day for Israel. The resurrection is, therefore, the cornerstone of our Christian faith, and as Paul expressed it in 1 Corinthians 15:17, ‘…and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless, you are still in your sins.’ (1 Corinthians 15:17, NASB95) Because Christ is raised, our Christian faith is sure, the ultimate victory of Christ is certain, and our Christian faith is completely justified.”[10]
[1]Wiersbe, W. W., The Bible Exposition Commentary (Luke 23:50-24:36). Wheaton, IL : Victor Books, 1996
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]MacArthur, John, An Empty Tomb with an Angelic Explanation. Grace to You : Code #42-291, 2013
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]MacArthur, John, An Empty Tomb with an Angelic Explanation. Grace to You : Code #42-291, 2013
[8]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[9]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[10]Chafer, Lewis Sperry, Major Bible Themes. Grand Rapids, MI : Zondervan Publishing House, 1974