More Word to the World

We have reached our final lesson in The Life of Jesus series. Thank you for following along on this long journey.

I often wonder why Jesus only appeared privately to his followers. Why not reappear on Pilate’s judgment porch? Why not make a sudden appearance before the Sanhedrin showing Himself for who He really was? Would not that witness have convinced all the Jews instead of just a few? That was not Jesus’ way. Jesus did not then nor does He now force Himself onto unbelievers. Instead He told Thomas this:

John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed  are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

But for His disciples, He made His identity so obvious no disciple could ever deny Him again. Jesus overwhelmed their faith—they had no reason not to believe. However, He calls us more blessed because we believe even though we have not seen Him.

The miracle of resurrection changed these fearful and unreliable followers into men who turned their world upside down. No more would they hide behind closed doors. They would be imprisoned for preaching Jesus in the temple and then after miraculous deliverance from prison, and despite the threat of death if they did so, they went right back to the temple to preach.

Remember that word irreversible? Well, God took care of that word. It is no fairy tale, although we like to hear stories where everyone lived happily ever after. This is a story that has a happy ending. God is not satisfied with the bad and sad way of living of this earth. He offers a happy ending to all of His children.

Two men plus 11 apostles

And while these two are talking with the 11 apostles, another startling event occurred:

Luke 24:36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

It is a good thing that He started out offering peace because people always experience shock with unexpected divine appearances.

Luke 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

Jesus told them “touch me” and “handle me” and “have ye here any meat?” He ate a piece of broiled fish and a honeycomb to prove to them that he was not a ghost.

To a casual observer, it may seem as though Jesus was just having fun showing up and disappearing at a whim. The brutal torture imposed by the Romans of a few days past are but a distant shadow at this point. What was apparent that Jesus was not a victim but the Victor!

This kind of showing up and disappearing continued for six weeks. There were approximately a dozen such appearances.

Did coming back to life again remove the scars of Calvary from Jesus’ body? In one such appearance Jesus plainly showed his scars to the doubting disciple saying:

John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

Perhaps He wanted to leave the scars as a reminder that it does not matter what your past did to you, you can still experience a miracle of resurrection. The most horrible event in history was turned into the greatest event in history. And there are scars to prove it!

There may always be evidence of your awful past on hand, but seeing Jesus bear those scars and moving about freely in Victory reminds us that we can do the same. Take hope. Scars don’t go away but the pain does.

Jesus made 12 appearances to make it very clear to His disciples, glory can follow humiliation, and that the victim can find victory; and that God’s not dead, He is alive! God wins! Death and the devil lose!!!

Post-resurrection appearances

It is hard for us who have the gospel accounts to read, and for us who can look on the calendar and see “Easter” printed right there, to understand how hard it was for the disciples to believe. But in the six weeks that followed the resurrection, Jesus provided positive proof by making several appearances after he arose from the tomb. Jesus showed up in most ordinary circumstances: a private dinner, to two men walking along a road, to a weeping woman in a garden, and to some fishermen working a lake.

Two men walking

Jesus made an unusual covert appearance to a couple of men walking along the road. He suddenly appeared and interrupted their intense conversation:

Luke 24:15-16
15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

After speaking listening to them talk for a while, with the living Jesus standing before them, one of the men said with disappointment:

Luke 24:21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

It is not until sitting down to have dinner with them that finally:

Luke 24:31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

Immediately, the two men made a comment that I can bear witness to:

Luke 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

Holy Heart Burn is a beautiful thing to experience. These two men couldn’t Tweet it or post it on Facebook or make a cell phone call, so they returned to Jerusalem to the 11 apostles to share their story.

There was one of the disciples who was not among the group when Jesus appeared to the rest of them. And after hearing the other disciples tell the story that they had all seen him alive, he also doubted.

John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

Who said that? Thomas. No the resurrection was not some conspiracy manufactured by the disciples. They would have been too afraid to steal the body from a guarded tomb. Just think of it—the disciples, Jesus’ eleven closest friends, they did not even attend to his burial but left it for others who were not even as close to Him. No, to the disciples, the resurrection came to them as a shocking intrusion that they were not expecting.

The fact of the resurrection caused different responses. Some believed and were transformed by the truth and went on to turn their world upside down. Others found ways to ignore the strong evidence. Jesus predicted that would happen:

Luke 16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Importance of the Resurrection

The first Christians put much emphasis on the importance of the resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

A made up story?

Did the resurrection really happen or did the disciples just make it up as some critics conjecture so they could start a new religion? Nothing could be farther from the truth. We need to remember that the first doubters of the resurrection are not the atheists that you work with down at the factory or university. The first to doubt the resurrection story were the disciples themselves.

Luke 24:1-11
1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,
7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
8 And they remembered his words,
9 And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.
10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
11 And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.

The NIV said “their words seemed to them as nonsense.”

Pilate sent Jesus away to be crucified and shortly after, death followed and Jesus was placed in a tomb. The hope of the disciples was crushed by their Savior’s death. They did not really understand Jesus’ statements about resurrection so their despair seemed to be irreversible. But was it?

Dad’s truck

In my late teens and early twenties, my dad owned an old GMC truck with a three-speed manual transmission. The gearshift was on the steering column. One day in my senior year in high school, my yellow 1968 Volkswagen Beetle was not available for some reason so I had to borrow my dad’s old beat up truck to get to school. It was not the most attractive vehicle—and certainly no “chick magnet.” But it did run—until that day.

I made to school without any problems. I pulled into the parking lot and parked front end first up to the bumper barrier with no difficulty. But after school when it was time to leave, I started it shifted into reverse, and tried to back out—but I could not get the truck to move. When I let off the clutch and gave it some gas, the engine only raced but the truck didn’t move. I was stuck against a curb with no reverse gear.

It appeared that the forward gears were working but I could not go forward because of the concrete bumper barrier in front. I was in an irreversible situation. Fortunately I had a dad within reach of a telephone call who knew how to play with the shifting linkage under the truck and was able to get it backed up so we could get the truck home.

Is it really irreversible?

We often find life full of such irreversible situations. We find ourselves stuck between a stone curb in a situation that we cannot back out of. But then there is the miracle of resurrection. Resurrection offers the promise of reversibility. With God, there is nothing, not even death that is final. Even death can be reversed.

Think of the scene of walking out of a funeral chapel where everyone had been numbed by the weight the death of a loved one. Tears were flowing as the casket lid closed an era of living for that person. But think of the utter astonishment that would face the family when they walked out of the funeral chapel into the parking lot and found their loved one walking up to them with a grin and saying—“Why are you crying? I’m not dead. I’m alive and well!” That is about what the disciples felt on the first Easter.

After three days of tears and grieving, the disciples found a new hope and faith. What took place in one tomb in a graveyard outside of Jerusalem, can and will happen again. In fact in many ways, the resurrection showed them that even the most irreversible situation can be reversed by God.

The Verdict

After taking political pressure from the Jews who tried to test Pilate’s loyalty to Caesar, He gave his verdict. The scripture does not record Pilate pronouncing Jesus guilty of any particular crime, nor does it include his proclamation of Jesus punishment. We simply have this statement:

Matthew 27:26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

However, it does appear that Pilate mocked the Jews by putting an inscription over Jesus’ cross.

John 19:19-22
19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.
21 Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
22 Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.

Just who was this defendant?

Pilate, now getting more nervous about this case that he was going to have to give a final verdict on, which potentially included a death sentence, asked Jesus once again:

John 19:9-10
9 And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

It seemed as if the mighty power of Rome seemed to hold authority over heaven itself. But Jesus set Pilate straight. Heaven was in no way about to bow down to Rome or come under the authority of Rome. Pilate didn’t fully comprehend who was standing before him—God Himself. There was more than just a kingly robe wrapped mockingly about Him—He had a robe of flesh that concealed His true nature.

God the creator was standing before him. God the originator of all life (including Pilate’s) and the final judge of all mankind stood before Pilate. Only He looked more like a lamb led to slaughter at this present moment.

Jesus set Pilate straight on who should bow to whom:

John 19:11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

Before Herod

Galilee was a city under Herod’s jurisdiction and Herod just happened to be in town. This is Herod Antipas the son of Herod the Great who ruled all of Judea when Jesus was born. But after Jesus refused to answer any of Herod’s requests for a magic show, Herod put a gorgeous, kingly robe on Jesus, and sent Him back to Pilate. Back to Pilate He went.

Back to Pilate

Remember, Jesus only responded to one question of the High Priest: “Are you the Son of God?” To which Jesus answered yes. Now Pilate asks a question that gets a response.

Before Pilate, the Jews accused Jesus of proclaiming Himself a king. So Pilate asks Him a question about His claim of being a king:

John 18:37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then?…

Many times before Jesus had turned down the chance to declare Himself king. Many times before when people or even demons declared that He was the Son of God, He hushed them. Many times before when crowds pursued Him like fanatics pursuing a celebrity, he fled.

But now when Pilate asked Him, “Art thou a king then?”, Jesus answered:

John 18:37…Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Pilate began to realize that this man was not just another crazy man claiming to be Caesar as he had seen before—something was different about Jesus. Even Pilate’s wife sensed this and warned her husband about Him:

Matthew 27:19 When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

Something else bothered Pilate about Jesus. After declaring Jesus faultless, the Jews said something that troubled Pilate even more than his wife’s dream:

John 19:7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

Before Pilate

The Jews had previously stoned people they thought worthy of death, but for some reason, after condemning Jesus to death, they did not seek to stone Jesus. Instead, they bound him and led him the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate.  John describes a pious display of hypocrisy of the Jews in John 18:28. They refused to enter into Pilate’s judgment hall because it would “defile” them so that they could not observe the Passover. They made Pilate come out to them so they could falsely accuse Jesus without being defiled. Deception is so…deceptive!

As far as the charge of blasphemy went, The Romans did not concern themselves with religious matters. In fact Pilate’s initial verdict was:

John 18:31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:

“Is that your final answer, Pilate?” It turns out that no, it was not. However, with the death sentence being considered, Pilate asked what the charge was.

You will notice that they presented Jesus to Pilate with a charge other than blasphemy, which was a religious crime, so the Roman’s would try Him. In other words, while their court had found Jesus guilty of nothing but blasphemy, they quickly trumped up a different charge to fit the different court:

Luke 23:2 And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King.

Pilate examined him and delivered his second verdict:

Luke 23:4 Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.

And by the way, no matter how intently you examine Jesus, you never will find fault in Him.

I ask you again Pilate, “Is that your final answer?” No, it was not. When the Jews mentioned that Jesus had stirred up trouble in Galilee, after inquiring further and finding that Jesus was from Galilee, a city under Herod’s authority, Pilate gladly sent Jesus to Herod.