(Luke 24:1-12) But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that 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 tomb and reported all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. 11 But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.
"Wondering" could probably be used in place of "marveling" - like - wondering if someone broke in and stole the body - since the disciples were shocked and terrified when Jesus appeared to them...
(Luke 24:36-39) While they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be to you.” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought that they were seeing a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 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.”
Even for our sake - it was necessary for Jesus to appear to the disciples - as they are the main "witnesses" to Jesus' resurrection. With the Holy Spirit's inspiration, some of them would write down things they had experienced, things they had learned, and things they had witnessed...
(John 20:24-30) But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” 26 After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.” 28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”
30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book.
In one of the last conversations before His ascension, Jesus gave the disciples (and us) the "Great Commission" for the Church Age...
(Matthew 28:16-20) But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Jesus promises to always be with us! He would now be with all believers through the work and indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Here is another account of what happened before Jesus' ascension...
(Acts 1:1-5) The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. 3 To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. 4 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
BUT the disciples, being Israelites, were still fixated on having their covenants fulfilled, so they asked Jesus about it. Jesus' answer is poignant! NOW Jesus' response is totally different, since the disciples were to build up the Church and spread the gospel message. The answer is for all of us in the Church Age is - there are no signs for when the rapture will happen - for when the last seven years of the Jewish Age will BEGIN! We are not even to be concerned about that. We are to focus on living in God's will and spreading the gospel...(Acts 1:6-8) So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
As Jesus ascended to heaven, angels told the disciples an interesting fact about the second coming of Jesus. Maybe that was to give the Israelites some comfort - some hope - that God will not forget the promises He made with them...
(Acts 1:9-11) And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Today's takeaway: I heard a great sermon on the great commission. The pastor had gone to the original Greek and said that "Go therefore" can be translated or interpreted to mean "As you go..." As we live out God's will - we are to be witnesses. Just by how we live and love our fellow Christians and love our "neighbors" should be a testimony.
One of the "easiest" ways I have found, in order to tell someone about Jesus is - whenever someone asks a question, I answer it openly and honestly and matter-of-fact-ly. For example, if someone asks me what I did on Sunday, I WILL include the fact that I went to church! If someone asks me how I have been doing, and I have been struggling through something but God is guiding me through that - I will tell them about that. When they want to know more, they tend to ask.
And if they ask, "If your God loves you so much, why do you still suffer?" My answer has several levels. First of all, sometimes I suffer due to the consequences of my own actions, or the actions of someone else. Sometimes I suffer because God is trying to get my attention and there is something I can definitely learn through the experience. We should be learning and growing in every experience. Sometimes I suffer because I am being tested, and through the experience my faith can grow stronger BY TRUSTING AND LEANING ON GOD - as well as be a testimony to someone. If I say, "God is always there fore me" but never go through any hardships - I really couldn't make that statement!...
(1 Peter 1:3-9) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
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