Back to Basics
The Passion Narratives – The Resurrection of Jesus 31/03/2021
Derrick Harrison 31/03/2021
The Passion Narratives No 5 – The Resurrection of Jesus
Introduction This is the 5th in a series of talks which have taken us from the beginning of Jesus’ journey to the cross, which began at Caesarea Philippi with Peter’s confession of Jesus’ divine Sonship and Messiahship to His entry into Jerusalem which began “Holy Week” and concluded with the cross and the death of Jesus. It is helpful to consider the events leading up to the cross because they have a momentum which is lost if each event is dealt with in isolation. Another helpful approach has been to not only to enter Calvary through Gethsemane, but also to enter the Cross via Isaiah 53. Gethsemane and Calvary demand that we consider them as part of one event and in a similar way it is true of Isa.53 and the crucifixion of Jesus, viewed through the seven sayings He spoke from the cross. I am sure also that we will benefit from considering the resurrection as following on from the crucifixion, rather than dealing with it in isolation, the Gospel narrative deals with these events as an unbroken series of happenings. Therefore, I will look at the 50 days from Jesus’ resurrection to His ascension as one whole unit. Paul adopts the same method which I have outlined above, and he gets it from the earliest days of the church when the details of Jesus life and the stories about His healings naturally began to emerge as a narrative which is given to us in the Gospels. See how Paul wites to the Corinthians, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remains
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unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles” (1Cor.15:4-7). 1) the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus are viewed together in sequence. I think there is a lesson for pastors who plan their preaching programme! 2) Now notice that included in that sequence of events are the resurrection appearances of Jesus to various people (Paul actually includes himself in those appearances – affirming his apostolic credentials). 3) Notice that Paul does not base the authenticity of the resurrection on the testimony of the apostles alone, but firstly, on the testimony of Scripture, “according to the Scriptures.” (v3) Of course, their testimony as “eye-witnesses” of the resurrection of Jesus was an important part of their preaching.). At the time of Paul’s writing there are many disciples who are still alive who can testify to the truth of Jesus’ physical resurrection – and that is very powerful indeed! (see also Paul’s reference to the resurrection in v20) but note also that Paul brings alongside these events the future return of Christ which is equally authenticated by Scripture! Scripture deals with Jesus’ resurrection – ascension/exaltation – Pentecost as one whole unit which covers a period of 50 days. This specific timescale of events in built into the sacrificial system of Leviticus as described by Moses. I suggest that you read Lev.ch.23; then give further attention to vv9-21 and finally focus on vv15-16. In 1Cor.15, Paul refers to Christ as the first fruits in His resurrection (v23), thus pointing to the full harvest at Christ’s second coming when we all shall likewise be raised from the dead. Looking specifically at Moses’ New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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reference to the Feast of Weeks, which is often called, “Feast of fifty days:” in Greek, πεντηκοςτη, Pentecost. “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath you shall number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the Lord” (Lev.23:15, 16). In our examination of these events, we will follow on directly from the death of Jesus, except that we will deal with the event of Pentecost later to fit in with the church calendar, - (Pentecost Sunday will be celebrated on 23rd. May 2021 in the UK). Peter, in his Pentecost message is very aware of the sequence of events which he outlines to the crowd, see Acts 2:22-36. In these verses Peter begins with the death of Jesus (v22), - (we began our talk last week with this verse) and he proceeds to Jesus’ resurrection (v24, 31, 32), the entombment of His body (v27), His enthronement/exaltation (v30b, 33, 34), concluding with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (v33), thus he gives a complete picture of these events, rather than dealing with each event in isolation. We are dealing here with two things here, - the resurrection of Jesus and His post-resurrection appearances which covers a period of 40 days and concludes with His ascension, then follows 10 days of 24/7 prayer which concludes with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, 50 days in total. There is an impressive agreement between the four accounts, at the same time they contribute their unique details to the total picture. One cannot over-estimate this tumultuous time in the life of the apostles, can you begin to imagine the impact of Jesus’ death, their overwhelming grief, the undermining of their faith, their emotional New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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trauma, and confused minds? This begins to explain their refusal to believe the sight of their eyes and the proofs which accompanied Jesus’ sudden appearance among them, resulting in the sharp rebuke of Jesus.
The Events of Easter Morning •
Mary Magdalene saw Jesus first and spoke to Him (Mat.28:1; Mk.16:9; Jn.20:1, 16)
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Other women also saw Him and touched Him (Mat.28:1, 9; Mk.16:1, Lk.24:1, 10)
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Jesus appeared to Peter and the other apostles (Mk.16:14; Lk.24:34, 36; 1 Cor.15:5)
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Jesus appeared to Thomas (John 20:26-28)
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Later, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people at one time (1 Cor.15:6)
Jesus' resurrection refers to His physical rising from the dead, it was Father’s vindication of all that He had accomplished through His death. His ascension to the right hand of the Father refers specifically to His bodily ascension from the earth to heaven, “ascension” refers to the viewpoint of the disciples as they saw Him rise. His “exaltation” by Father to the highest place of honour at His right-hand is seeing things from God’s viewpoint. Sometimes in the New Testament these are combined together as being glorified, exalted, or entering into His glory. Jesus' ascension/exaltation is the final act of God following His resurrection from the dead and Father gives to Jesus the promised Holy Spirit as the crowning gift of His work of salvation. New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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The reaction of Jesus’ disciples to His death had a profound impact on how they reacted to meeting the risen Christ. The disciples had experienced the harrowing experience of Jesus’ crucifixion. Their deep grief prevented them from embracing the truth of Jesus’ real presence among them. Even the absence of Jesus’ body in the tomb did not register the truth to them, all they could think of was, where have they removed His body. Their troubled and confused state of mind and heart reaches us from this troubled time when they huddled together for fear of the authorities. Also notice that in this brief corridor of 40 days that in this interim period Jesus does not abide among them as formerly but during this time He visits them - arriving suddenly amongst them and then suddenly disappearing. Perhaps Jesus is preparing them for His departure and absence from them. The post-resurrection narrative accounts begin and ends with Mary Magdalene who dominates the story. This is one occasion when we can follow the sequence of the four Gospels.
The Resurrection of Jesus (Mat.28:1-15; Mk.16:1-13; Lk.24:1-12; Jn.20:1-18)
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Scriptures which Describe Jesus’ Resurrection Matthew 28: 1-10 1After
the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down and from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightening, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." 8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet, and worshipped him. 10Then Jesus said to
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them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." This is the day after the Sabbath (also Mark), named by Luke and John as the Lord’s Day, the day which replaced the seventh day in the calendar of the early church due to Christ’s resurrection on the day after the Sabbath. The women, probably staying overnight around Bethany rose before light to walk to the tomb, they would have seen the sun rising by the time they arrived with their spices to embalm the corpse. The impossibility of their task had dawned upon them at some point in their planning, the tomb was sealed and guarded, therefore why embark on the journey? These women were ruled by their hearts and not their heads! – they were drawn to the tomb because they had watched as His body had been placed there and they were also familiar the rites of preparing the body for its rest and entombment, even the Roman authorities would validate their entry to the tomb for this purpose. The descending angel broke open the door of the cave and rolled away the huge stone blocking the entrance to reveal the empty tomb to them. Jesus had already gone from the tomb at the first light of day. Jesus rising triumphantly from out of death heralded the dawning of a new day for the world. Jesus rising out of death was the answer to His travailing/prevailing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane as it was so powerfully described by the Hebrews writer, “He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him out of (Greek, εκ) death, and He was heard in that He feared” (KJV). The raising of Jesus out of death is the direct answer to His prayer in the Garden. New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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The women in wonder and utter amazement saw the shining angel sitting on the stone which he had rolled from the door of the tomb. His luminous clothes, radiating the light of God’s glory are reminiscent of Jesus’ transfiguration when His clothes shone just the same. It was what the angel said which gripped the attention of these women, “He is not here, He has risen just as He said!” (see Mat.16:21; 17:23) and he is going before you into Galilee where He will regather His scattered flock (Jn.10:4). The angel invites them to look into the empty tomb. He then urges them to go and tell His disciples the good news of Jesus’ resurrection and as they quickly exit the tomb and set off to inform the disciples, suddenly Jesus meets them! He says, “Greetings” (Gk. Χαιρετε), the word appears 4x in Matthew, 2x in Mk, 11x in Lk and 9x in John. The word can be used as a normal greeting as here, or it can be an expression of rejoicing (favoured by Luke). Here Jesus greets the women and tells them not to fear, so it is clear that Jesus is seeking to calm their minds and hearts and then He gives them a task to fulfil in order to divert their attention from Himself, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee where I will meet them,” - did Jesus mean all His disciples? That would have meant a vast crowd, or perhaps the 500 mentioned by Paul (1Cor.15:6). Galilee was home territory to Jesus and His disciples, they had all grown up there and it was where they had first lived with Jesus. The angel in Mark’s account called Jesus a Nazarene. Vv11-15, the Jewish authorities bribe the guards to give a false account of the resurrection Vv16-20, the appearance of the Lord on a mountain in Galilee. Other appearances had also taken place which may well include the 500 hundred mentioned by Paul (1Cor.15:6).
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“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (vv16-20). Mark 16: 1-8 1When
the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" 4But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you'." 8Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. There is so much common ground here with Matthew that it is not necessary to comment, except for the strong reactions of the women to the words of the angel followed by their hasty exit from the tomb New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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and their running away. Due to their fear, they tell no one. Perhaps it was then that Jesus met, greeted them, and told them not to fear. Luke 24: 1-10 1On
the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening stood beside them. 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of the sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again'." 8Then they remembered his words. 9When they came back from the tomb they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. The preparation of the dead body for entombment was a ministry of the women in the community, it was something familiar to them. The problem for them was that the body was not there. Their minds told them the obvious fact that someone had removed the body, the absence of the body did not suggest to them that Jesus’ body might be raised, - had they not with their own eyes watched Him die, seen Him taken down from the cross and then laid in this tomb? How could they think otherwise, the resurrection of Jesus shook them to the core and contradicted their reason, their experience of seeing Him die and the New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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deep sorrow which resulted from Jesus’ crucifixion. How does one switch from deep and overwhelming sorrow to the joyful elation of seeing the risen Christ? Can you begin to see the trauma and turmoil of it all? They knew that they had seen Jesus die so how could this person be Jesus? The resurrection was a violation of the law of death which is inevitable for all humans. It is the common experience of every man and woman that each of us will inevitably die. Even Jesus inevitably died like all humankind. Now the disciples are faced with Jesus alive! A contradiction to all they have known and a contradiction to their present emotions of grief due to the man who is standing before them and demanding that they believe Him! Luke’s account has more information for us than either Matthew or Mark. John 20: 1-18 The Discovery of the Empty Tomb, vv1-10 “Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we (plural, “we” - as we know from the 3 Synoptics she was not alone) do not know where they have laid Him. 3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloth lying there, 7 and the [ New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. John focuses on key personalities and describes how they come to faith in the risen Christ. As with the Synoptics, Mary Magdalene is to the fore, actually in John’s Gospel she is the predominant personality. We list Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John and lastly, Thomas. The narrative of Jesus’ resurrection begins with Mary Magdalene who arrives earliest to the tomb and observes that the stone is rolled away, - there is no reference to the other women who also came early to the tomb, nor the presence of the angels. All these people are omitted from the narrative because our entire focus is to be fixed on Mary who runs from the tomb to Peter and John to tell them that it is empty. Interestingly, she does not say that the corpse has been removed, she says, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him” (20:2). The body of Jesus in her thinking is still “the Lord” in her thinking. The following incident concerning John and Peter is unique to John’s Gospel and recounts their response to the grave clothes left in the vacated tomb of Jesus and is characterised by details which can only be sourced through an eyewitness. The story highlights not only their response to the vacant tomb and its contents but reveals their unique personalities. John outruns Peter to the tomb, but he is reticent to enter the tomb and holds back, whereas Peter enters without hesitation to look inside and then John enters the tomb and quietly surveys the evidence before his eyes, reflecting on their significance, New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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“and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself” (vv6-7). Following his emphasising of faith in his Gospel, John said of himself that, “he saw and believed” (the implication of this statement is that Peter did see but did not believe). This faith of John is quite unique because he believes in the evidences before his eyes despite the fact that He had not yet met the risen Christ. What did they actually see? They saw the cloths which Jesus had cast off from Him when He rose. The linen wrappings which were around the body of Jesus were lying in one place and the napkin was rolled up separate from them. Some believe that the wrappings round the body would have retained their shape due to the aromatic oils and spices mixed with them so retaining the shape of the body and the napkin about His head also retaining its shape. Perhaps it was something about the way the garments were placed and folded that John knew intuitively that it had been done by Jesus. What John saw in front of his eyes resulted in his immediate belief that Jesus was risen from the dead! At this point they were not basing their faith on the testimony of the Scriptures, “For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead” (v9 cf. Lk.24:2527), but rather the sight of their eyes. The Appearance of Jesus to Mary, (vv11-18) “But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14 Now
when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus
said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). 17 Jesus
said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.” 18 Mary
Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her” (vv11-18). Mary is at the tomb again, she is weeping outside the tomb and then she looks inside and sees two angels there, clothed in white, one sitting at the head and one sitting at the feet where Jesus body had lain, perhaps they had watched over the body from the time it had been placed in the tomb. Mary was fearful that the absent body had been snatched away, but robbers would not have taken care to place the vacated grave clothes neatly to the side and they could not have taken the body as it was watched over by the two angels who remained there in the tomb waiting for Mary’s appearance. They speak New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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to her as she gazes into the tomb, the absence of Jesus’ body overwhelms her with grief as she asks them where they have placed “the body of MY Lord” - in her thinking the body of Jesus is her responsibility entirely. They speak about Jesus’ resurrection, they announce the most thrilling and amazing words, “He is not here, He is risen!” Now Mary is conscious of the appearance of another person and she turns to see a man there who she assumes is the gardener who may well have taken away the body of Jesus. Her preoccupation with the dead prevented her seeing her living Lord present before her. Instead of answering her question, He simply speaks her name, “Mary” and she instantly recognises her Master’s voice. Only one person pronounced her name exactly like that with such tenderness, and His name was Jesus, her Lord. John the beloved disciple had immediately recognised the unique action of Jesus in the placing of the grave clothes in the tomb and now Mary the beloved daughter of Jesus immediately recognises the unique intonation in His voice as He spoke her name. It is the intimacy of love which triggers their immediate recognition of Jesus and their response of faith. Paul says, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom.10:10). Being restored to her Lord, like the other women who were met by Jesus, she fell at His feet and no doubt thought that the old relationship would now continue unbroken, but Jesus carefully directs her attention to His disciples who do not yet know the glad tidings that Jesus is risen. Mary is the first to herald the news of Jesus’ resurrection. Following the knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection, they have also come to the glad knowledge that He was in transit to the Father. His presence among them was to assure them that He was risen but it was only New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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temporary. The tactile touch due to Jesus’ humanity would be replaced by a deeper intimacy by the enablement of the indwelling Spirit. Jesus speaks to Mary about His ascending to Father and includes her in the action, He says that “I am ascending to My Father and to your Father.” Jesus is making His ascension personal to them as well as Himself. The key word Mary is to say to the troubled disciples is, “I am ascending …” – I am on my way to meet my Father and what a meeting that will be! Jesus now commissions her to go and to, “tell my brothers that I am risen.” These words of Jesus show us that He is still human due to His identification with His brothers. Jesus then says, “and to My God and your God” this second part of Jesus’ words suggest that Jesus’ relationship with His Father is distinct from their relationship with Him. The Appearance of Jesus to the Disciples, (vv19-23) “Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were together due to fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be to you.” 20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
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The disciples are shut in, behind closed doors (see also v26), when suddenly the Lord appears to them.1 There is no approach described, just the sudden appearance of Jesus whose first words to them, following His silent entry is, “Peace (not shalom) I give to you,” Shalom” is the Jewish greeting, but like the replacement the Sabbath Day by “the Lord’s Day” (see v19 where the Lord’s Day is referred to as “the first day of the week”), so peace2 (Gk. εἰρήνη) replaces shalom as the key note word of the gospel message, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Regarding “the first day of the week,” Jesus had established his lordship of the sabbath day, by multiple healings in the synagogue and now He establishes His lordship of the first day of the week which became known in the early church as “the Lord’s Day” by His supreme presence among them, - “Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them” (Lk.24:36), what a powerful statement that is and what an occasion! He shows to them His physical wounds now healed but the visible scars will remain. Imagine the impact of their risen Lord present among them and then the sight of His healed wounds reminding them of His horrendous crucifixion, and it comes to them in their grief, their bewilderment and fear. Luke captures the scene well and the turmoil of their hearts, “But they were startled and frightened, and thought that they were looking at a spirit” (Lk.24:37). Jesus speaks peace to them, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (Jn.14:27). This is the reason why Jesus did not go immediately from the tomb to the throne. He had to convince them that He was
1
Lk.24:36 The angels proclaim peace at the birth of Jesus (Lk.2:14), 14 references to peace in Luke, 6 references in John 2
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truly (physically) risen and then He had to convince them of where He was going, thus the importance of the (visible) ascension. Jesus’ loving heart again reaches out to them as He blesses them with the peace of God, extending his blessing into a commissioning, a sending by Jesus, just like Father had sent Him. It is in the context of the Lord’s sending that His next action must be understood. Jesus leans forwards with His face close to the face of each disciple and then He breathes on them. This outbreathing of the life-imparting breath of God to each disciple directly links with the action of Jesus as creator God of man, when He first breathed into His nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul/person. I am personally drawn to this passage and this deeply personal action of Jesus as He leaned over each one of His disciples and breathed into their nostrils, exactly as He had done when he created Adam. How often the Holy Spirit is spoken of as the breath of God and of course breath is invisible just as the Spirit is invisible. This unique action of Jesus speaks rich and deep intimacy, but practically it was an interim impartation of the Holy Spirit until 10 days later when the floodgates of heaven’s outpouring fell upon each one of the disciples in full measure. Bible teachers have made a big issue of this beautiful and intimate imparting of Jesus’ Spirit. No apostle refers to this event again because it was swallowed up by the effusive outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts ch.2. There are no grounds for making doctrine out of this event. It points to the new creation for humankind, a regeneration of heart which marks the beginning of the new covenant inaugurated by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Regeneration logically precedes empowerment in the order of God. For Jesus, birth and then physical growth and development preceded His anointing in the Jordan when He was baptized in water and New Life Radio – Talk No 25
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received the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I say, let God do what He will in ordering our lives and making us accessible to His Holy Spirit. The Appearance of Jesus to Thomas, (vv24-29) The apostle Thomas demonstrates how the presence of Jesus and the evidence of His healed wounds sparks immediate faith and he declares, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus’ reply to him speaks to those who will believe in the future despite the absence of Jesus in person, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (21:29). This is an important demonstration of faith for the apostle John to which he allocates a prominent place. He immediately follows this up with a statement about the reason why he wrote his Gospel in the first place, “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name” (Jn.20:31). Instead of describing the ascension we have an account of the events in ch.20 and also ch.21 which begins, “After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way, He showed Himself …” Again, John shares with us his unique knowledge of the events which preceded Jesus’ ascension. The focus of the incident is the conversation between Jesus and Peter and hinges on two Greek words for love, the word for human love is (Gk. φιλέω/philéō) and the word for God’s love is (Gk. ἀγάπη/agape). Further study would require you to look up the qualities and characteristics of both kinds of love. “So, when they had dined, Jesus says to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love/agape me more than these? He says unto him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love/philéō You. He says to him, Feed my lambs” (v15).
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31/03/2021
The Passion Narratives No 5 – The Resurrection of Jesus
“He says to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love/agape Me? He says to Him, Yes, Lord; You know that I love/philéō You. He says to him, Feed my sheep!” (v16). “He says to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love/philéō me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Do you love/philéō me? And he said unto him, Lord, you know all things; You know that I love/philéō You. Jesus says to him, Feed my sheep” (v17). What is Jesus doing here with Peter and this conversation which relies on the play of these two words? Peter had denied Jesus three times and Jesus asks thus vital question three times regarding Peter’s love for Him (note the personal pronouns here). Jesus uses the word agape for love, but Peter uses the word for human love as his response to Jesus’ challenge. The third time Jesus comes down to Peter’s word philéō, the word for human love, and now Jesus is even questioning his human love for Him! Jesus is bringing home to him his three denials of Jesus. Yes, human love failed him because it does not have the qualities of agape love, God’s quality of love. This was indeed a humbling for the apostle Peter, but Jesus does not hold this against him, with each acknowledgement of failure Jesus repeatedly recommissions him to feed my lambs and sheep. This is the pastoral gift exercised in the context of new and mature believers.
New Life Radio – Talk No 25
21 Derrick Harrison
31/03/2021
