Luke 24:1–8, 36–40, 44–46

Bible Studies for Life
Director of Ministry Leadership Development, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

JESUS’ RESURRECTION: FACT OR FICTION?
Luke 24:1–8, 36–40, 44–46
On Easter, we celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. For Christians, no other claim about the person and work of Jesus is more central to the gospel than “He is risen!” It is also fair to say no other claim is more widely contested. The apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians “if Christ has not been raised, then … your faith is in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14). Without the resurrection, Jesus is nothing more than another great teacher, miracle worker and tragic figure of history. “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead,” Paul wrote (1 Cor. 15:20). Therefore we worship a living Savior; by faith, we have hope for victory over sin and death; and we await Jesus’ return. This lesson highlights the testimony of those who first received the good news that Jesus lives and encountered the living Lord. Today we share in the joy of their discovery and affirm once again, “He’s alive!”

Remembering Jesus’ Promise (1–8)
It was early Sunday morning (“the first day of the week”), and a group of women came to the tomb to complete the burial process by anointing Jesus’ shrouded corpse with spices. Sabbath laws and darkness had undoubtedly prevented them from doing this sooner. Some of the women are identified for us in verse 10 as Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary, the mother of James. They made two unexpected discoveries: The stone that should be sealing the entrance to the tomb had been rolled away, and Jesus’ body was not in the tomb. “Two men … in shining garments” appeared; their description and activity are consistent with other biblical accounts of angels. The angels’ question, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?,” is a preface for the announcement that Jesus “is risen” and the reminder that He had told them of this.

Verse 8 reads, “And they remembered His words.” We may be tempted to marvel at His disciples’ forgetfulness, but He often spoke in parables and metaphors. Like the angels on that day, we today enjoy the aid of the Holy Spirit, who brings to our remembrance all that Jesus spoke (John 14:26). In the midst of their fear and uncertainty, the women at the tomb were prompted to believe the angels’ announcement because it squared with what Jesus had promised beforehand.

Confirming Jesus Lives (36–40)
In legal proceedings, it always strengthens a case when a witness’s testimony is corroborated by someone else. Here the women’s testimony was corroborated by two disciples — Cleopas and an unidentified man — who encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus (13–35). They reported their encounter with Him to “the eleven” that “[t]he Lord is risen indeed.” But the disciples did not have to trust only others’ reports, for Jesus appeared in their midst, offering the traditional greeting, shalom. Similar accounts of this appearance can be found in Mark 16:14 and John 20:19ff. The disciples’ initial reaction was one of fear, supposing they were seeing a ghost. But He dispelled any such notion. Jesus was there in the flesh, though we know that His was a resurrected body (1 Cor. 15:35–49). He invited them to touch Him and confirm His bodily form. Their faith was now based on a firsthand experience of the risen Lord.

Believing Scripture’s Testimony (44–46)
Much as He had done with the disciples in Emmaus, Jesus expounded the Old Testament texts that pointed to His (the Messiah’s) suffering, death and resurrection. The reference to “the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” drives home the point that all of Scripture testifies to God’s saving work and its fulfillment in Jesus. Furthermore He “opened their understanding” to these things, just as the Holy Spirit functions to do in believers’ minds and hearts today (John 14:26). Just as those first disciples were prompted to trust Scripture’s testimony concerning Jesus, we, too, can trust the biblical witness to all things concerning our Lord. And the one thing of which we can be most fully confident, on Easter and every day, is that Jesus was raised from the dead.