The feast of firstfruits was after the Sabbath day following the Passover. This was where they offered first (best) of their harvest. It might be produce from the field, grain, fruit from the vine or tree. It was offered to the Lord, as a representative offering to acknowledge that the entire harvest was His. It was thankfulness for the harvest.
But then Jesus rose on that day.
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (1 Cor 15:20-22)
Luke 24:1-7
Matthew tells us that the tomb was guarded by Roman Soldiers. An angel of the Lord came and rolled away the stone. A risen Savior no one was aware would be no good, the world needed to see in the tomb, to celebrate it being empty.
It was Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of James, with Joanna. Mark adds Salome. These were the women referred to in 23:56, who prepared spices for burial preparation. The decomposition of the human body begins immediately after death. In roughly 36 hours several obvious things would be going on, none of which would be a surprise to those who had previously prepared bodies for burial. Its not something we want to talk about or think about, particularly when it comes to Jesus. These women would have expected to find a body seized with rigor mortis, bloating would be well underway and the skin would appear to have a sheen as the top layer of skin begins to loosen.
However, none of that was found. In fact, the stone was rolled away and there was no body at all. They were utterly perplexed about this, wondering who would have moved the body of their Lord and where would they have taken Him. Suddenly there were two men there. Luke implies they appeared suddenly as if out of nowhere, and that they were angels by noting their shining clothes. The only other use of this word 'shining' is used to describe the flash of lightning as a similarity to how the Son of Man will return.
For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. (Luke 17:24)
It means it is sudden and apparent. These men were sudden and apparent to the women there. As they became aware of who these men were, they bowed their faces to the earth. These messengers delivered the message of the ages, Jesus is risen. He was not there. That was a place of the dead. They reminded the women who had been with Jesus in Galilee what He had told them.
Luke 24:8-12
It would be like a light coming on as they remembered his words; they would have seemed so odd and out of place, easily forgotten since they seemed so out of context. It was just nonsense to them at the time. The women ran to tell the others all that had happened, going to the disciples and other followers (Mark said, "tell the disciples and Peter"). All they spoke of seemed like the same nonsense. This is the only use of the word translated 'idle tales. It means devoid of anything valuable, which couldn't be any less true in this case. Using this word shows how far removed from disciple's mind was the thought of resurrection. Luke notes Peter was the first one in the tomb to confirm it and he saw the grave linens still there in the tomb. Peter got it. He marveled. No one would have removed the linen clothes if the body was stolen. The tomb wasn't opened from the inside (swoon theory – not worth talking about). Jesus was risen and the tomb was opened to show the world.
Mark and John both give an account of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene. Matthew gives an account of Jesus appearing to other women. Luke, however, chooses to speak of the unique account of Jesus appearing on the road to Emmaus.
Luke 24:13-16
The 'them' of verse 13 is a reference to the disciples who were told of the empty tomb.
- They did not believe, seeing this as idle tails.
- But Peter went to check it out.
- Two others were traveling alongside the road and°.
The two disciples traveling back to Emmaus had heard the news of the empty tomb. They were trying to figure what had just happened the last few days. They celebrated Passover, couldn't travel on the Sabbath and so were now traveling home the first day of the week, the same day of the resurrection. Emmaus was about 7 miles NW of Jerusalem.
As they walked, their conversation was all about what had just happened, they reasoned and conversed as they tried to figure it out. It wasn't unusual for another traveler to come near and join the conversation, especially someone traveling alone. Luke tells us their eyes were 'kept' and they didn't know it was Jesus. There's much debate about why they didn't recognize Him.
- One idea is that Jesus was disfigured; beaten, beard plucked out, marred. While these things are true, He is also healed and resurrected. His is physically recognized by the other disciples.
- There is some thought they were supernaturally blinded. But why? What purpose would Jesus have to blind them.
- The most likely is also the obvious choice. They were focused on their conversation. They didn't really look in detail at the man who joined them. They certainly weren't expecting Jesus. So, their eyes were kept on the road as they chatted.
Luke 24:17-24
These disciples were characterized by sadness. The one is named Cleopas (the whole glory; renowned father. Famed of all). The other isn't named. This may be because the other disciple was a woman, possibly Mrs. Cleopas. How ironic that he asked Jesus if He was the only one in Jerusalem that didn't know what had happened. Jesus has them recount what they know – this is the introduction to their testimony, the day they met Jesus alongside the road.
The recounting of the events come down to the empty tomb, of which was apparently not enough to convince them Jesus was resurrected. They were astonished, perplexed, but not convinced.
Luke 24:25-27
Jesus delivers a rebuke, implying they should have known of these things, for all the prophets spoke of them. Jesus gave them an Old Testament bible study about why Jesus had to suffer and enter His glor. "Moses and all the prophets" is to say the law and the prophets. He expounded on the OT scriptures that spoke of Him. Here are a few Jesus might have used:
Deuteronomy 18:15-16
The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, 'Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.'
Psalm 16:9-10
9Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
10For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Jeremiah 23:5
5"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord,
"That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
A King shall reign and prosper,
And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
Ezekiel 34:23-24
I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
Malachi 3:1
"Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,"
Says the Lord of hosts.
Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old,
From everlasting."
Jesus explained to these disciples all the scriptures concerning Him. What a bible study! What a teacher! That's a lesson no one would fall asleep in.
Luke 24:28-32
It seemed to them as though Jesus was going on but they impelled Him to stay with them that night. Can you imagine walking into your home, "Honey, I'm home, I brought the King of kings with me for supper!"
Note: Some of the resurrection appearances seem to be associated with meals.
Jesus took the bread and blessed it, broke it and gave it to them. This was probably more reminiscent of feeding of the 5000 than of the last supper. The blessing and breaking of bread would not be the responsibility of the guest buy the host, unless your host was the Lord. It may be that an elder or Rabbi would bless the bread.
It was then their eyes were opened. This makes it sound like a supernatural occurrence although some think they saw the nail scared hand breaking bread. There were three steps:
- Their eyes were opened.
- They saw Him
- He vanished.
It made sense to them. The teaching of the scriptures had moved them. They thought He taught the scriptures like He wrote them. They would not be surprised at all to find out that He had been the original author.
Luke 24:33-35
Even though verse 29 makes it clear that it was getting towards evening, these disciples turned right around and traveled back to Jerusalem to tell the others. Traveling at night wasn't the safest thing to do, but this was important enough, they didn't seem to give it another thought. They seemed to know where to find the others. When they did, they were already excited about the news of the resurrection. The latest news was that the Lord had appeared to Simon. They, in turn, told the others about their experience.
Luke 24:36-43
John makes it clear in his account that there was a fear of the Jews. The disciples were behind closed doors trying to figure out what was happening. Suddenly, Jesus is among them and greeting them. There must have been a collective gasp and maybe a shout of fright. He scared them, the door never opened, He just appeared. They thought they were seeing a ghost. Luke's the only one to use this word 'terrified' in the bible, he uses it twice. The word for 'frightened' is fearful to the point of extreme desperation.
Why were they troubled? What was the source of doubt? They doubted it was really Him. They doubted it was possible He was resurrected. It defied any reasonable and logical thought. How could it be possible. Jesus showed them the crucifixion scars on His hands and feet as evidence that it was Him. Jesus asked them to touch Him, particularly Thomas. He showed them He was flesh and bones. Even then, they still didn't believe. They were overwhelmed with joy and amazement and struggled to believe. To show them He was a man, He ate some fish. This removed any doubt about being a spirit. He was alive, He still is alive, bodily resurrected.
Jesus could appear in a closed room, but he was flesh and bone. His scars were very real in his hands, feet and side, but they were healed in some way (although Jesus invites Thomas to put his hand 'in' his side). He is still God and still a man.
Luke 24:44-48
Luke records Jesus saying this in Luke 9:22 and 18:31. He likely said it other times also. Then, supernaturally, Jesus opened their understanding. The scriptures came to life. They began to see Jesus in the law and prophets. This opened the way for the preaching of repentance and forgiveness of sins. His crucifixion and resurrection was the payment for sinful mankind. Those who turn from their sins and trust in the work He did will receive forgiveness.
This is the good news of Jesus Christ. It was to be preached to all nations. Here we are, doing just that. They were to start right there, right where they were.
Luke 24:49-53
Joel had written,
28"And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
29And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)
This is the promise of the Father. They were to stay in Jerusalem until they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The word 'endued' can also mean clothed. Jesus led His disciples to Bethany and then blessed them and ascended to heaven. The disciples worshiped Him. The doubt, fear and sadness was replaced with Joy and a zeal to praise Him and tell others the good news of Jesus Christ.
©2020 Doug Ford.
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