Luke 24:3-39 Study Guide: the Wonder of the Resurrection
Community Group Study Guide — The Wonder of the Resurrection
Luke 24:36-49
If you have grown up in church or attended for a while you may struggle with wonder and awe at the resurrection of Jesus. The resurrection is both life changing on the one hand and familiar on the other. It is life changing in that our future hope and promise is that as Jesus rose from the dead so too will we rise and yet familiar in that we focus on it each Easter and many times throughout our preaching and teaching during the year. Yet get this, when the resurrection first happened that Easter morning, everyone was shocked. Jesus’s own disciples were shocked by Jesus’s triumph over death even though Jesus taught about his resurrection and it was predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures. Why was the resurrection so shocking and how is it core to your day to day faith in Jesus? Let’s explore how the disciples responded to the resurrection in Luke 24:36-39.
Bodily Resurrection
Luke 24:36-43
The resurrection is more than just “life after death” or the soul continuing after death, it is a physical reality of a new physical and yet eternal life. Luke goes to great extent to tell us that the disciples thought they saw a “spirit” but Jesus was actually there physically in a resurrected body (Luke 24:37-38). Jesus implored them to touch him and he offered them his hands and feet presumably because that was where the nails held him to the cross. Likewise, Jesus ate in their presence. Why would Luke give us this detail if not to communicate to us that Jesus was physically embodied.
In this passage we see the emotional and spiritual journey of the disciples in how they went from being frightened to doubting to marveling at the news of Jesus’s resurrection. Historically Jews believed in a physical resurrection at the end of time and even though Jesus taught about his resurrection they did not believe it would happen the way it did. You can almost see their wonder develop in the text as they move from fear to faith and the truth settled in; their Messiah was not dead, he was alive!
Some of us can view heaven as a floaty place in the clouds when we die, but the scriptural witness is that the resurrection was a physical event that broke the power of death and the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies too (Romans 8:11). Our eternity will include new physical bodies in a physical New Creation because Jesus undid the curse of sin and death in his resurrection.
Fulfillment of God’s Word
Luke 24:44-46
The Resurrection was not random, it was something predicted and taught on by Jesus. Specifically, Jesus taught about his death and resurrection as the fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption. The disciples just struggled to understand it. Luke wrote that Jesus told taught them about this, and that all the Law, Prophets and Psalms were fulfilled in him and his resurrection. Likewise, he spent time with the disciples teaching them again about the scriptures, specifically that the Christ must suffer and die and rise again on the third day (Luke 24:46). We see this taught in places like Isaiah 53 and the Messiah’s ministry of suffering, bearing our sin and extending forgiveness through his sacrifice. Psalm 16:18-20 and 49:13-15 both point to a promise that God would not abandon his Messiah to Sheol. Likewise, Isaiah 26:19 contains a promise that the dead and their bodies shall rise. And likely the most vivid image we get is in Ezekiel 37 as Ezekiel saw a valley of dry bones brought back to life and God made a promise that he would do this for his people.
Jesus wanted his people to understand that the resurrection was the fulfillment of the gospel, that death was undone and new life would be given to God’s people. This is important because it is undoing the consequence of sin in the garden of Eden that first brought death into the picture of human life. In Christ, he defeated death for us all so we may have life in his name (2 Corinthians 5:1-15).
Core to Our Witness
Luke 24:47-49
We do not worship a dead guy. Christian faith is distinct from every other world religion in that our savior is alive and as Christians when we talk about Jesus we need to remember to not leave him in the grave. Jesus died for our sin, and he rose again so that we may walk in newness of life. This means no longer being enslaved to sin or held captive by the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14).
When Jesus sent out his disciples, he gave them a mission to proclaim the resurrection and that repentance and the forgiveness of sin is found in Jesus. We get to carry a message of hope to the world that suffering, sin and death do not have the last word (Luke 24:47-48).
If you’re a follower of Jesus you get to be part of this mission to be a witness of the resurrection to the ends of the earth! We can take heart that death is not the end and that God has undone the effects of death through the resurrection of Jesus for all those who repent and believe. This means that our future is infinitely better than we can imagine. When you talk about your faith and hope in Jesus, remember that you too are a witness to the historical reality of the resurrection and that God has undone the effects of the curse of sin to restore relationship with him, you do not proclaim a dead God or a rule of life, you proclaim a living savior who is our hope.
At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.
How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week?
Discussion Questions:
Read Luke 24:36-49
How did the disciples respond to the resurrection in this passage? Why do you think that Luke emphasized the physical reality of the resurrection?
Jesus said that the resurrection was a fulfillment of his teaching, and the Old Testament scriptures. What are some reasons you think that the disciples missed it?
How is the resurrection a key part of sharing the gospel?
What would be different about your faith in Jesus if the resurrection did not happen?
