Luke 24:36-53 - Appearances and Disappearances
Luke 24:36)While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37)They were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38)He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39) Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see, for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40)And when he had said this he showed them his hands and feet. 41)Yet for all their joy they were still disbelieving and wondering, and he said to them, “Have you anything to eat?” 42) They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43)and he took it and ate in their presence. 44) 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, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” 45)Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46)and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day 47)and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48)You are my witnesses of these things. 49)And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 50)Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51)While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven. 52)And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53) and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
Background to the Passage: Today’s verses bring the Gospel of Luke to a close. Or do they? I belief that they are not an ending but, rather, a transition. Granted, there are a number of important theological points that Luke wants to reiterate, probably in response to controversies in the earth communities. Still they mark a profound transition between the focus on the life of Jesus to the focus on the mission of the church. Today’s verses follow immediately on the powerful story of the disciples on the road to Emaus, where they do not recognize him until he comes home to dinner with them and opens their eyes to the meaning of the scripture. The context is the evening of the first Easter day. The disciples are gathered together talking with the Emaus walkers who have rushed back to Jerusalem to share their experiences with the others. While they are telling their stories, Jesus walks in and joins them. He reminds them of the whole of their experience, gives them their mission and promises them the power to do what God wants done. Then he ascends, his bodily work done. The focus of the faith shifts from what Jesus did to what the disciples now do.
Important Points for Luke: Before he moves on to the book of Acts and the expansion of the faith, Luke wants to make a few things crystal clear. First, Jesus’ resurrection was a bodily one. There is no place in early Christian theology for a belief in the immortality of the soul (that is the concept that there is something immortal about human beings that comes into a person at birth and leaves at death.) Rather, Luke wants us to understand that humanity is created by God and raised by God. Theologians, then and now, and even the scriptures themselves have different understandings of when humans are raised from death, but all agree that we do not drift from life to life. Rising from death is an act of God. Such was the case with Jesus’ resurrection, and such will be the case with us. Jesus’ body was transformed, but it was still a body. Here Luke goes even further than Paul and uses the words for flesh and bones. Second, Jesus appears to his disciples as they are sharing their stories with one another. Luke wanted people who were paying a terrible price for faith to remember that the risen Christ always comes to enliven people when they are telling their stories. Third, memory is solidified with food. Once the disciples have seen Jesus, while they are stumbling in joyful confusion, Jesus asks for food. It is in eating together that the reality of risen life takes form and shape. This is still the case. When we gather at table, particularly the Lord’s table, our faith memories are made concrete again. They are alive again. They have power again. Fourth, Jesus has fulfilled all that was foretold about Messiah in scripture. In this way the full weight of scriptural authority is given to Jesus’ Messiahship. Finally, experience of the living Christ leads to witness. It is that witness that the book of Acts focuses upon and that our own lives continue.
Word Study
Vs. 36 – While they were talking about this – The disciples are talking about the unbelievable events of the first Easter Day.
Peace be with you – This was a typical greeting with a bit of a twist. The word peace refers to complete wholeness and harmony in every aspects of a person and all of one’s relationships.
Vs. 37 – terrified – this word means ‘trembling from fear.’
Ghost – the Greek word used here is for a spirit, a wind, or a phantom.
Vs. 38 – frightened – Literally, stirred up, troubled, upset.
Doubts – This word refers to a kind of questioning hesitation.
Hearts – The heart was considered both the fountain of emotions and more particularly the organ from which we make our decisions and form our ethics.
Vs. 39 – touch me – Literally to grope like a blind person who is lost and trying to find the way.
Vs. 41 – This beautiful and complex verse literally says, ‘they disbelieved for joy.’ It refers to a kind of ‘too good to be true’ feeling.
Vs. 43 – ate – This is the fulfillment of the promise made at the Last Supper when Jesus said he would not eat with them again until the reign of God came.
Vs. 44 – everything – This is an all-encompassing word.
Moses, the prophets and the psalms – These were the three parts of the Hebrew scriptures.
Vs. 45 – opened – This is the same word used in the Emaus story. It means to open up completely, to swing wide open.
Minds – This word is also sometimes translated as comprehension. The implication is that the meaning of the scriptures is not necessarily self-evident. God needs to inspire our understanding.
To understand – This means to put all the pieces together into a whole that is larger than its parts.
Vs. 46 – suffer – This is a form of one of several words for suffering, pascho. It refers to suffering at the hands of others without resistance for the sake of a purpose or to protect someone else.
Vs. 47 – repentance – the word literally means ‘to change one’s mind’ about something. In the scriptures it is a bigger concept than that. It means to have such a primal change of mind, or world view, that one is never the same again, nor can one ever fall into the same behaviors again. It is the beginning of God ‘making all things new.’
Forgiveness – this is a legal word. It means to dismiss charges or release from prison.
Sins – This is a word from archery. It means to miss the mark toward which one was aiming.
In his name – This is the same concept as we use to talk of an ambassador. It means to act on behalf of another, to act with all the authority of the other, to act in a powerful way that is consistent with the complete nature of the other.
All – This is a key word in this passage. It takes the saving action of Jesus as Messiah beyond the confines of the Jewish community to the whole of humankind. No one is outside the embrace of God’s grace. Jerusalem is where it starts but not where it ends.
Vs. 48 – witnesses – From the Greek martus, from which we get our English word martyr. The idea of witness evolved in the New Testament from 1) being an eye witness to 2)being one who could testify to the truth of something, the gospel in particular, in court to 3) one who dies for the sake of the truth, for the sake of faith.
These things – refers to the fulfillment of the scriptures.
Vs. 49 – what my Father promised – refers to the range of blessings God has for us in general, and to the gift of the Holy Spirit in specific.
Clothed – This refers to the transformation of one’s identity. It also refers to being surrounded with protection and dignity.
Power – from the Greek word from which we get our English word dynamite. This word is usually associated with God. It is the power to accomplish God’s desired ends. The allusion here is to the passing of the prophetic mantle. In other words, we are to become God’s prophets, knowing God and God’s values so intimately that we speak for God into the circumstances of our times and lives.
Vs. 50 – led them out – This is fascinating! Jesus is shifting the narrative from the ministry of Jesus to the ministry of the church! He uses a change in location to make that shift explicit. Bethany was where Jesus began his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. By taking them to Bethany and commanding them to go back to Jerusalem, he is telling them that they will walk in his steps both of triumph and suffering.
Lifting up his hands – This is, of course, the usual stance for blessing. In this context it reminds the people of Moses as he blessed the people to cross into the land of promise, and Elijah’s blessing Elisha as he is being taken up into heaven. Like Elisha, Jesus’ people will receive a share of the master’s spirit.
Vs. 51 – blessing – This is the word for a eulogy, saying wonderful things about another.
Vs. 52 – worshipped – again this is significant to Luke. In Luke’s gospel only God is worthy of worship. Here we see that the disciples are beginning to understand the unique nature of Jesus Christ.
Joy – this word can refer to anything from calm delight to wild hilarity.
Questions for Personal Reflection
- Can you identify a time when you experienced a joy so great that you couldn’t believe it was true?
- Can you identify any old hurts that still haunt you? Can you identify any old hurts from which you have learned and are able to find blessing from having gone through them?
- What does it take for you to experience peace? What are the circumstances that rob you of peace? What are some things you might do to maintain your peace in stressful situations.
- Can you remember a time when you felt especially close to God as you shared your faith experiences with someone? As you shared your fears and doubts? As you shared a meal?
- Are there behaviors in your life about which you need ‘to change your mind’? What does it take for you to make serious changes? Ask God to help you and forgive you.
- What do you see as the purpose of the ascension? How might you look at that moment as a kind of ordination into ministry?