Luke 24 – “I Promise I Am Not a Ghost”

There is so much to say here about the resurrection, the resurrected body of Christ, and the time he spent with his followers.  Here’s some highlights:

The Resurrected Body of Jesus

We see here that Jesus becomes the first person to receive their resurrection body.  Luke does his best to describe to us what Jesus is like after his resurrection.  In some ways he has a very physical body.  He can be touched, can break bread, and eats food.  He even bears the scars of his human flesh.  And yet his physical body has changed enough that two of the disciples don’t recognize him on the road.  But then his body is very spiritual.  He appears to the disciples to be a ghost, can disappear from a dinner table, and can suddenly appear in a crowded room.  The only thing that seems clear is that Luke is using the best words and tools that he has to try to describe to us something that is entirely new.  It is physical, but in a different way.  It is spiritual, but in a different way.  It’s new and it is difficult to describe, but it was life-changing to encounter.

(Doubting) Thomas and Friends

Luke doesn’t give us the full story of Thomas showing up late to the party with a personal story of doubt and disbelief.  What I love is that we constantly critique Thomas for his doubt because he insisted that he be able to touch Jesus’ hands and feet.  In Luke’s account, the entire group of Apostles and disciples is still in such disbelief after seeing the hands and feet that Jesus has to eat something in front of them to prove he’s not a ghost.  “Seriously.  I promise you I am not a ghost.  Can a ghost eat food?  Watch this….I’m eating the food.  See…I’m Jesus and I am not a ghost.”

Wait…the Prophets say Jesus had to Die?

One of the more troubling conversations that occurs over and over and over again throughout the Gospels is Jesus telling the Apostles he is going to Jerusalem to die to fulfill prophecy, only to have them either ignore him or misunderstand.  Here, the prophecy has been fulfilled and they have completely forgotten all of those conversations.  How is this possible?  The only thing I can think of like this today is the advice that every adult gives to every teenager: “Be careful who your friends are.  It can make your life great or terrible.”  Then every teenager fails to hear, thinks they know better, or ignores it.  Sometime later they look back and realize this lesson on their own and think, “I had no idea.  I only wish I had known.”  Then they become an adult and start giving this advice to teenagers.  The problem is that we are so sure that adults are mistaken or the concept is just so difficult we presume it false for that reason alone.  The Apostles apparently did the same thing every time Jesus foretold his death or explained the prophets.

The Difference the Resurrection Makes

At the beginning of this chapter the followers of Jesus are hiding, huddling, confused, scared, and not sure what to do.  By the end of it they are constantly worshiping in the Temple.  Remember that they were hiding from those who killed Jesus, the Jewish leaders and the Romans.  The last place you go if you are scared of those groups is the Temple.  But everything has changed.  Jesus is LORD and he has conquered sin and death.  So why be afraid of those who couldn’t kill Jesus and can’t kill you?  When you follow the one who has defeated death, those who hold power through fear lose their power.  This is the victory that suddenly belongs to all of those who proclaim the name of the Resurrected LORD, Jesus of Nazareth.  And now he invites each of us to share in this victory forever.  Have you joined in this victory or are you still afraid?

This concludes our discussion on Luke.  If there was something about Luke or our discussions on it that challenged you or that you particularly enjoyed, share it on the comments.  We will start with Luke’s sequel, the book of Acts on Monday, since Friday is a “Hot Topic” day.