Jesus’ Post-Resurrection Appearances

Scriptures: Luke 24:25-27, 2 Timothy 4:6-8

SEEING ALL OF CHRIST 

“He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” LUKE 24:25-27 (ESV) 

What are you expecting a life of following Jesus to be like? 

Luke does not introduce to us a great variety of post-resurrection appearances by Jesus. He instead chooses to focus our attention on the interaction between the risen Christ and two individuals walking along the Emmaus road—individuals who were wavering between faith and fear as they tried to make sense of life in light of the crucifixion. 

Jesus’ death had confronted these early believers with a problem—namely, that their hope in Jesus as the Messiah had died with Him. Indeed, Luke records for us that they “had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21, emphasis added). These individuals had expected that when the Messiah came, He would bring victory, peace, and justice that would roll down like a vast and overwhelming river (Amos 5:24). But this hope had come to a crashing halt at the cross, where injustice seemed to have triumphed. 

Yet something even better was about to happen: “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them” (Luke 24:15). Aware of their perplexity and hopelessness, Jesus, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets … interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” 

It wasn’t that these people were unbelievers. It wasn’t that they didn’t know certain things the prophets had said. But in their reading of the Old Testament and in their thinking about messiahship, they had failed to grasp the big picture. They had not been paying attention toall that the prophets had spoken. They had focused on only one side of the story. They had warmed to the idea of victory—but they had failed to see that glory and victory lay at the end of a path of suffering, even death. 

We cannot embrace Jesus as Messiah apart from the cross. Jesus was very clear: victory surely awaits, but only for those who take His words in Luke 9:23 to heart: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” 

Are you willing to follow the path of suffering in order to enjoy a life with Christ in His glory? Are you at risk of turning away from God because He has not given you a victory in this life that He never promised? Be sure to see the whole story, so that setbacks and suffering do not defeat your faith or destroy the joy that comes from knowing that at the end of a hard path following a crucified King awaits the victory of seeing His face and living in His eternal kingdom. However hard or good the days of this life are, something better is always lying ahead. 

• How is God calling me to think differently?
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Scripture: Luke 24:25-35

STAY WITH US 

“They drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.’ So he went in to stay with them.” LUKE 24:28-29 (ESV) 

Jesus’ encounter with the individuals on the Emmaus road started strangely, to say the least. He appeared suddenly. He kept His identity from them. He asked questions. He told them that they were “foolish … and slow of heart” (Luke 24:25)! Yet, as He’d gone through the Old Testament “interpret[ing] to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (v 27), their hearts had been stirred and set on fire (v 32). 

It’s quite possible that the reason Jesus stopped this impromptu Bible study was that His fellow travelers had arrived at their destination. Darkness was coming, but He made as if to continue His journey. But these two disciples did not want to part from Him; they longed for this man to stay with them. 

And so they gave Jesus an invitation. Indeed, they “urged him strongly” to remain with them. Without this invitation, Jesus would have kept going. And if Jesus had kept going, then these disciples would have missed the wonderful privilege of realizing that their teacher on the road, who to this point they had not recognized, was none other than the risen Lord Himself (Luke 24:31). 

How often do we encounter Jesus along life’s journey and neglect to invite Him in? How often do we seek to do day-to-day life on our own, relying on our own efforts and ingenuity and sleepless anxiety to get us through? When was the last time you extended an invitation to Jesus, who knows all about your troubles, your pains, and your difficulties—the things that other people can’t know and can’t fix? The risen Christ comes and stands at the door and knocks (Revelation 3:20). Will you invite Him to come in and stay? Will you say, “Jesus, stay with me. I can’t do this on my own”? Doing so may well be the way that you get a fresh, heart-stirring glimpse of Jesus and His love for you. 

• How is God calling me to think differently?
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Scriptures: Luke 24:31, Luke 24:33, John 1:35-51

SEEING AND SHARING CHRIST 

“Their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight … They rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven.” LUKE 24:31, 33 (ESV) 

Good news needs to be shared. 

Sometimes, when we have guests in our home whom we know very well, and especially if they are brothers or sisters in the family of faith, we may ask them to pray before we share a meal. It is a request meant to honor the visitor to our table. Luke’s Gospel gives us a similar scene, though here the visitor appears to have taken the lead in deciding that He would pray. After Jesus’ encounter with two disciples on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, He “went in to stay with them” (Luke 24:29), and “when he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them” (v 30). 

Previously, on their long walk from Jerusalem, when this pair encountered Jesus, “their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:16). But now, as Jesus blessed the meal, they were made to see Him. God chose this moment to reveal that they were in the presence of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. 

Just as God through His Spirit opened these disciples’ eyes to behold the truth of the risen Christ, so He used His word to ignite within their hearts a passion for who Jesus was and is. As soon as they recognized Jesus, and even after He disappeared, “they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’” (Luke 24:32). 

The hour was late, they had walked a long way, and they had just sat down to eat, and yet they could do nothing other than rise and return to Jerusalem to share the amazing news with the eleven disciples. What a night that must have been! 

Their enthusiasm is a reminder to us that the news that Jesus is alive wasn’t simply their news, or the Eleven’s news for that matter. It is news that needs to be shared and that is most enjoyed in company with others who understand its glorious implications. It belongs to all who are the Lord’s. And no matter what language we speak, what country we visit, or what journey we take, we are not far from other believers with whom we can rejoice together in a living hope given to us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3-5). You can share this joy right where you are, though, with those you live with and worship with by looking them in the eye and, with a smile, saying, “Jesus has risen.” 

This news needs to be shared. Do you long to see Christ for who He really is and show others the same? Do you desire to see and to help others see Jesus in the humdrum affairs of life? If so, then ask God to do what He did for these disciples, that you may discover afresh and share who Jesus is and what He is to you. 

• How is God calling me to think differently?
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Scriptures: Luke 24:33-35, John 21:15-24

GRACE FOR EVERY FAILURE 

“They found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.” LUKE 24:33-35 (ESV) 

The New Testament mentions twice that the risen Christ appeared to Peter: once in this passage and again in 1 Corinthians 15:5. Why would Peter, of all people, receive such special treatment? 

After all, not long before this event, Peter had failed his Master in His darkest hour. Just before Jesus was arrested, He told Peter that a trial lay ahead: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” Peter responded, rather audaciously, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” But Jesus knew Peter’s heart: “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me” (Luke 22:31-34). 

As it turned out, Peter wasn’t as ready to face prison and death as he had imagined. We all know now, as did Jesus that very day, that Peter did indeed go on to deny his Lord three times. And afterward, when Peter recalled what Jesus had predicted and realized what he had done, he was reduced to tears (Matthew 26:75; Luke 22:62). 

So why does the New Testament emphasize that the risen Lord Jesus appeared to Peter? Certainly not because Peter deserved it more than anybody else. But it’s fair to wonder if Jesus appeared to Peter because he needed it more than anybody else. Peter knew that he had blown it completely—and yet while Peter had denied Jesus, Jesus didn’t deny Peter. What mercy, what goodness, what kindness, what grace, what compassion, that Jesus still chose to go to the cross for His flawed disciple and then chose to make a special appearance to him! 

We have stumbled. We have been deniers, deserters, staggerers. We know that we do not deserve for God to come to us. And yet as we go to God’s word and as we open our lives to its truth, it’s almost as though Jesus comes, sits right down beside us, and says, I’m here. I want to speak to you. I want to assure you. I want to forgive you. I want to send you out in My power.

Peter didn’t deserve the compassion he received from Jesus—and honestly, neither do we. Our failures show us time and time again that we are far from being worthy of God’s grace. But in His mercy, He is pleased to give it anyway—and then give some more. He’s just that kind of God. And you, like Peter, get to be His beloved disciple. 

• How is God calling me to think differently?
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Scriptures: Luke 24:36, 1 Corinthians 15:35-49

OUR RESURRECTED BODIES 

“As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’” LUKE 24:36 (ESV) 

The resurrection of Jesus shows us not only that we have an eternal future but what kind of eternal future it is. 

Jesus’ death left His disciples in a state of shock and defeat. Death had won. Then, when conflicting reports arose concerning His post-resurrection appearances, confusion reigned, and it became obvious that only one thing would settle the matter: if Jesus would appear and reveal Himself. And that is exactly what took place! 

It was while the disciples “were talking about these things”—about Jesus’ death and resurrection—that “Jesus himself stood among them.” You can imagine the disciples in full flow, debating with one another as to the whereabouts of their Master. Then, in the middle of their discussion, suddenly Jesus was part of the discussion! His appearance was so dramatic, in fact, that the disciples “were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit” (Luke 24:37). 

Jesus’ appearance provided His disciples with more than just the physical proof of His bodily resurrection. It also testified to what awaits all believers in eternity—namely, a glorified body. He rose from the dead with a transformed body that would never die again—indeed, which cannot die again. Over His body, death is now impotent—and as Paul later wrote, “So is it with the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:42). When we die in Christ, we will never die again, “for as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (v 22-23). Our bodies, which are perishable now, will be raised imperishable (v 42). No longer will we be subject to disease, decay, and death. Furthermore, our present physical bodies, which are “sown in dishonor” and “weakness,” will be “raised in glory” and “power” (v 43). We will be free from every selfish, passionate desire of the flesh and will no longer be subject to its weaknesses and limitations. 

The resurrected Lord Jesus didn’t only conquer sin and death in His own body; He conquered the power of sin and death in our bodies too. One day we shall look in the mirror and see nothing to make us feel sad, or sorry, or scared. So today, no matter how frail your body or sinful your flesh, press on, fixing your eyes on what lies ahead, for “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Philippians 3:20-21). What a hope! What an inheritance! 

• How is God calling me to think differently?
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Scriptures: Luke 24:39-41, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

BETWEEN FAITH AND FEAR 

“’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. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’” LUKE 24:39-41 (ESV) 

The disciples were real people—and they found believing in the resurrection difficult. 

News of Jesus’ resurrection produced a roller coaster of emotions within His disciples. One minute they seemed to be up on the crest, and the next minute they were hurtling toward the ground. Reports of an empty tomb were met with mixed emotions of awe and unbelief. Indeed, they thought the words of the women who had discovered it were “an idle tale, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11). 

Even when Jesus appeared suddenly and stood among His disciples, their sorrows were not soothed and their fears were not calmed. Instead, we discover that they were still in panic mode. Face-to-face with the resurrected Christ, they “were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit” (Luke 24:37). Even after Jesus showed them His hands and feet, they still battled disbelief as it jostled against the dawning joy. 

This is a wonderfully honest picture, isn’t it? Here we find the group of people who were to be the pillars of the church, all essentially hiding behind couches and coming out of closets, saying, We thought we saw a ghost!

The disciples’ battle against fear and disbelief is a great encouragement for those who flip between hope and despair. It’s one thing to affirm our belief in the resurrection on a fine Sunday morning, surrounded by a crowd of fellow Christians. It is quite another to affirm it on a difficult Tuesday afternoon, surrounded by people who are convinced it is an idle tale, or when we are waiting on test results in the doctor’s office or fending off loneliness. 

A real Christian is not someone who does not doubt; it is someone who brings their doubts to the fact of the empty tomb and reminds themselves that our faith rests on historical events and that those historical events are ones which cause us to feel joy and marvel at God. If you find yourself today in a battle against fear and unbelief, cry out to God, praying the prayer of the man in Mark 9: “I believe, help my unbelief!” (v 24). The disciples’ doubts and fears did not exclude them from the kingdom; neither did they preclude them from kingdom work. So today, ask God to guard your faith, and walk forward remembering that Jesus really has risen and really does have work for you to do. 

• How is God calling me to think differently?
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Scripture: Luke 24:44-52

MAKE THE BOOK LIVE TO ME 

“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 and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” LUKE 24:44-45 (ESV) 

Over the years, several films have sought to portray the sheer brutality surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion—the unrelenting, unmitigated torture that transformed Christ into little more than a barely conscious mass of blood and flesh by the time He reached Golgotha. After viewing such a horrific scene, we may respond with tears and feelings of pity and remorse, or with confusion, wondering, Why did this have to take place? What actually happened here?

But however moved we may be, witnessing Jesus’ crucifixion—whether in person, as the disciples did, or through an artist’s rendering—is not enough in and of itself to bring an individual to saving faith. Rather, we meet Jesus savingly and definitively primarily through God’s word. The apostle Paul exhorted fellow believers along these lines: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15). The great need of every age is the proclamation of God’s word. 

This was the purpose of Jesus’ interaction with the disciples in Jerusalem on the first Easter Sunday. They were confused and despairing following Jesus’ crucifixion. Then, as they cowered in a locked room, their Savior appeared, frightening them (Luke 24:37). And how did He still their souls? He assured them of His physical resurrection; but He also pointed them back to God’s word, which He’d spoken to them before His resurrection and which they would still have after He had ascended back to heaven. He gave them information and then He gifted them with illumination: He “opened their minds to understand.” 

What these disciples needed is what we need: to meet Jesus in the pages of Scripture. We may not be able to see Jesus physically, but we can read all that they read: all that is written about Him in the Old Testament and in the apostolic teaching of the New. We can see Him there as He opens our minds to do so. We need more than intellectual ability (though that is necessary); we need His supernatural activity. We need to ask the Spirit of God to show us the Lord Jesus, our Savior, as we read. May this humble prayer therefore be the cry of your heart today: “Lord, make the book live to me.” [1] 

• How is God calling me to think differently?
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Scriptures: Luke 24:48-49, Matthew 28:16-20

A TASK UNFINISHED 

“You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” LUKE 24:48-49 (ESV) 

We are called to a task that we cannot accomplish alone: to be witnesses to Christ. 

Following His death and resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples, dispelling their fear and doubt by revealing the nail marks in His hands and His feet (Luke 24:39), reminding them of all that had been written concerning Him (v 44), and opening their minds to the truth of Scripture (v 45). And before He returned to His heavenly throne He gave them a task: to witness to what they had seen Him do and heard Him teach. The truth about Him needed to be proclaimed “to all nations” (v 47). 

Since that task is as yet unfinished, God’s people today are called to witness no less than God’s people that day were. We may not be able to go out and say with the apostle John, “That which … we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life … we proclaim also to you” (1 John 1:1, 3). But in the Bible, we have God’s very word, which we are called not only to believe but also to proclaim. 

Yet we are so limited! One minute we’re believing; the next minute our minds are filled with uncertainty. We often step back in fear rather than forward in faith. We find ourselves not quite knowing what we should say about the gospel to those around us. 

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, knows this. He knows His sheep—He knows our propensity for fear and timidity—and He assures us that we do not have to speak or act merely by our own power. No, we have received what Jesus told those first disciples to wait for: “the promise of the Father,” His Holy Spirit so that we are “clothed with power from on high.” 

Jesus gives us His Spirit in order that we might be involved in kingdom business—in order that we might take the good news to the nations and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Don’t give in to fear and timidity. What you cannot accomplish alone you can do in the power He has given you. So, go out in dependence on the Spirit of God, and prayerfully commit to playing your part in the great, unfinished task of proclaiming the name and glory of Jesus Christ to the nations near and far: 

Facing a task unfinished that drives us to our knees,
A need that, undiminished, rebukes our slothful ease,
We who rejoice to know Thee renew before Thy throne
The solemn pledge we owe Thee to go and make Thee known.[1] 

• How is God calling me to think differently?
• How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
• What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?