Now while they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace to you.” But being startled and frightened, they were thinking that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still were not believing because of their joy and were still marveling, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and He took it and ate it before them.
Luke 24:36-43
Introduction
The resurrection of Christ is the center-point of the Christian faith. Without it, we follow only a man who made claims that never came to fruition. CS Lewis coined a pithy response to objection, saying that Christ is one of three “L” words. Either He is a liar whose claims were known to be false, or He is a lunatic whose words come from a place of madness, or He is Lord. Those really are the three options.
And without the resurrection, the third option seems farfetched at best. But with the resurrection, it becomes the only option. This scene is important to understanding the nature of the resurrection of Christ because it is not merely some spiritual thing or an imagined experience. But rather, the flesh and blood embodied Christ rose from the dead and made Himself known to those around Him.
The firstborn from the dead
There are a couple of sections from Paul’s epistles that come to mind when I consider the resurrection of Christ. The first occurs in 1 Corinthians 15 when we are given a stark contrast against our eternal hope: “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:14) There were some around the time of the early Church (and even up to today) who would preach that Christ’s resurrection was not a true bodily resurrection. Some might say that He rose spiritually, but not physically. Others might say that His rising was a tale of inspiration rather than actual history.
But without Christ’s bodily resurrection, nothing we hope for makes sense. The second verse that comes to mind comes from the opening of Colossians. Here, Paul lays out a description of what Christ is: He is the image of the invisible God (verse 15), the creator of all things (verse 16), the sustainer of all things (verse 17), the head of the Church (verse 18), and, “the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” (verse 18)
The resurrection of Christ ensures our future hope. Because Christ was raised in the body, we know this is God’s plan for all believers. His was not a resurrection of spirit or memory, but of the whole self. The God-man did not lose His humanity when He died, but rather delivered His own body from the grave just as He will do for everyone who believes.
Only man can atone for sin
Last week I wrote that, “Because Jesus is God, He can bear the sin of His people and render them truly and justly forgiven”. But without humanity, that overcoming of sin and death means nothing. Christ is the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45), representing a renewed mankind who is made clean by the power of His blood.
That is why, when the disciples believed, “they were seeing a spirit,” He took the trouble to ensure them that they were not. He invited them to touch Him. He showed Himself to them, displaying the wounds He had borne only a few short days earlier. Finally, He ate with them.
Like the last supper, this communion with His disciples was a precious moment of unity between God and His people. This was more intimate, even, than Moses’ meeting God on top of Mount Sinai. It was a moment when they were all enriching their bodies together in fellowship. Eating together is one of those profound and mysterious ways acquaintances become friends and friends become family. And Christ partook in this meal with His disciples, drawing them close to Himself in the flesh.
We, too, can draw close to Him by partaking in the word, which sustains us (Deuteronomy 8:3), and by communing with one another who are His body (1 Corinthians 12:27). My prayer for the Church is that we continue to seek after the Lord fervently, and by doing so, also draw close to one another.
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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