Easter Sunday: Luke 24:36-52

³⁶ 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.” ⁴⁰ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. ⁴¹ While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; ⁴³ and He took it and ate it before them.

⁴⁴ Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, ⁴⁷ and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰ And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. ⁵¹ While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

—Luke 24:36-52

Sermon Outline

1. His (MULTILINE)
2. His (MULTILINE)
3. His (MULTILINE)

References

Weekly Study Guide

One of the primary goals of this study has been to set the gospel in its proper context. That context is Jewish. As I have said many times before, Jesus was Jewish, the Apostles were Jewish, and the writers and recipients of the New Testament were primarily Jewish. There are so many statements and actions of Jesus that make no sense when read apart from His Jewishness. Ripping the New Testament out of this context absolutely prevents us from properly understanding the true meaning of what Jesus came to accomplish. Jen Rosner expressed this well:

“For His early followers, Jesus’ mission and message was absolutely incomprehensible outside the framework of God’s covenant with the Jewish people and the promises that anchored that covenant. Jesus came to fulfill the promises that had been made to the people of Israel, not to replace God’s chosen people with a new group. The gospel is, then, all about God’s faithfulness to the covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants…”

Amy-Jill Levine writes: “If you get the Jewish context wrong, you will certainly get Jesus wrong.” Jen Rosner goes on to ask: “Is the gospel that the church preaches today anchored in God’s enduring covenant with Israel?” In other words, when you hear someone share the gospel, or when you share the gospel yourself, how often do you begin in Genesis with the Fall, and then proceed to tell the story of Abraham and God’s promise to bring blessing upon the world? We must ask ourselves why that is not more often the case. That is what it means to place the gospel in its context. When we place the gospel only in the New Testament, we are leaving out most of the story of salvation.

As I have said before, we set before ourselves a monumental task in these study guides. To try to understand all that God is doing through the nation of Israel, a few paragraphs at a time, is, perhaps, a bit of a fool’s errand. But we have, at least, been able to open the doors to a much-needed conversation. The constraints of time and space have limited us from embarking on a fuller exploration of these supremely important truths, but I hope that we can perhaps view scripture with new eyes because of our time together. This fuller picture of Israel’s role and purpose helps us to see more clearly what is going on with Israel in 1^st & 2^nd Samuel.

How would I summarize this journey we have taken? We have covered so many topics; it is difficult to know where to begin. So, let’s just start at the beginning and retell the story we might already know well with the new perspective we’ve gained. So, here we go…

God created the Heavens and the Earth so that He might be glorified, and so that He might have a place where He would have fellowship with His children. To that end, His design was to create a realm in which He would universally rule over all, and He would set up an earthly Kingdom in which He would install mediators to rule creation on His behalf. But Satan had other plans. Satan undermined this Kingdom program by subverting the God-ordained authority structure and had Eve take the lead rather than Adam, and by tempting Adam and Eve to follow rather than lead creation. The Kingdom was thus temporarily thwarted through mankind’s sin and rebellion against God’s authority. Therefore, God set about on a plan to restore what was lost in the Fall. He chose a man named Abraham to be the beginning of a new nation, a nation uncorrupted by the evil with which Satan had infected every other nation on earth.

God promised Abraham that through His offspring, ultimate blessing would come back to the earth. This promised blessing had 3 components: Land, Seed, and Spiritual Blessing. The Land component promised that the title deed to a particular tract of land, situated at the crossroads of the world, would belong to Abraham and his offspring forever. The conditions for the enjoyment of the blessings of being in the land would eventually be spelled out in the temporary Mosaic Covenant, which detailed specific blessings for obedience and specific curses for disobedience. Genesis 12:3 states that Abraham’s offspring were to be a blessing. But when the Jews were apostate they were no longer being a blessing, so God took them out of the land. God was not going to let them enjoy the blessing in the land while they were rebelling against God. However, that temporary punishment of being out of the land could not affect their ownership of the land. The covenant God made with Abraham was unconditional.

The Seed aspect of this covenant with Abraham promised that from his loins would come forth many nations. But it would be through one specific nation that the ultimate seed would come. That nation was Israel. Israel would be set apart for service to God as His chosen vessel—a nation upon whom God had put His favor. They would serve as priests for all of humanity in mediating God’s blessings to the world. The nation of Israel was the seed of Abraham, but one of the purposes of Israel was to produce that ultimate seed, Messiah.

The Spiritual Blessing component of this promise to Abraham foretold that blessing upon blessing would come to Abraham and his offspring. He would be their God, and they would be His people. God told Abraham to be a blessing to the world and promised that those who would bless Abraham would be blessed, while those who cursed Abraham would be cursed. This blessing and cursing related to Abraham would serve as a foundational principle for all of human life and history. Then, the ultimate aspect of this spiritual blessing promise was that the entire world would be blessed by the perfect seed that Abraham’s family would produce. This seed would make all things right and fix what was broken in the world. This “blessing” was ultimately pointing to both salvation and to Heaven.

This promise to Abraham came in the form of a covenant. A covenant is a binding contract that obligates two parties together in relationship to accomplish certain things. The kind of covenant God chose to enter into was an unconditional covenant—meaning that it was not conditioned upon anything Abraham could or must do. It was fully and only incumbent upon God to fulfill the provisions of this covenant. This Abrahamic Covenant forms the basis for the rest of the covenants God makes with Israel. The 3 aspects of this promise to Abraham are elaborated upon in 3 subsequent covenants: Land, Davidic, and New.

In the Land Covenant we see that, despite what modern political discussions might have you believe, Israel has a right to the land forever. It was given to them by God, and this land will one day be the center of the world when the Kingdom does eventually come. Leviticus 26 describes how God warned Israel that their disobedience would bring escalating consequences—the most severe of which would be temporary expulsion from the land. This expulsion began in 70 A.D. and ended in 1948 when Israel became a nation again where God fulfilled His promise of the first worldwide regathering of His people. But precisely as Ezekiel described in chapters 36-37, Israel was regathered in unbelief—specifically for the purpose of judgment. This first worldwide regathering sets the stage for the coming Tribulation period—also known as “the time of Jacob’s trouble”. This is where God will allow Israel to go through a time of tribulation, “…as has never happened before nor never will again”. Which means that it will be worse for Israel in the Tribulation than it was in the Holocaust. After this “Tribulation” comes the second worldwide regathering of Israel—this time, for the purpose of blessing. This will take place at the end of the Tribulation as God gathers His people to Himself to reward them with the promised Kingdom. The Land Covenant was given to Israel as they prepared to enter the Promised Land.

Israel conquered the land and endured some 400 years of strife under the period of the Judges, and then it came time for Israel to become a monarchy. After the false start with King Saul, Israel got their true King in David. This is where God revealed to Israel so much more of His plan to rescue humanity through giving David the Davidic Covenant. This plan would involve a man from David’s line sitting on the throne of Israel forever. The ultimate King that God was preparing His people for was Messiah Jesus. When Jesus came, He offered this Kingdom to Israel, yet they rejected it. Thus, the Kingdom program—that God had started in Eden—continued to be on hold, and would have to wait until His return.

This Kingdom that God had promised Israel all throughout their history was to be a literal, political Kingdom that would last a thousand years with Jesus ruling over planet Earth from Jerusalem, seated upon David’s throne. We learn from Daniel that this will be a supernatural Kingdom that comes from the outside to destroy all the earthly kingdoms mankind has created in defiance of God. This Millennial Kingdom will be a time of peace and rest and will be a renovation of creation where, to a large extent, we will see a restoration back to what things were like in the Garden of Eden. This Kingdom was a promise God made to Israel and He will fulfill it with Israel. They will reassume their place of prominence in God’s plan, and He will fulfill with them every promise He has ever made to them. Even though many Christians confuse this idea of the Kingdom with what the church is doing now, scripture is clear that the Kingdom is future and will only be in existence when Messiah returns.

After Israel rejected the offer of the Kingdom in Matthew 12, God instituted the next step of His plan. The Messiah died for the sins of the world, rose again, and then sent His Holy Spirit, thus bringing in the next major covenant God had promised Israel. This New Covenant replaced the Mosaic Covenant as the regulations for life and obedience for God’s people. Since Israel had rejected Him, the primary recipients of this New Covenant would initially be the Gentile church. Believing Gentiles had been grafted into the family of God and would now have access to the spiritual blessings of the Jewish New Covenant. The Jews will ultimately repent of their sin, will come into compliance with the Mosaic Covenant, and the New Covenant will finally be fully fulfilled. When this happens, Messiah will return and establish His Kingdom on earth. He will rule for a thousand years as a precursor and preparation for the Eternal State—when God will destroy the current Heavens and Earth and create a New Heavens and Earth where we will dwell with Him forever.

That is a brief overview of the story of scripture, as told through the lens of the covenants that God reveals in scripture. According to one writer, it is through these covenants that God established relationships with mankind and revealed the major elements of His plan of salvation. Through the pre-Abraham covenants, God relates to mankind morally, legally, economically, socially, and politically. He also provides man with his vocational calling through the cultural mandate—to fill the earth and subdue it. The same is true for the covenants God makes with Israel. It is through the mechanism of covenants that God created the nation of Israel, blessed them, and charged them with the task of being His light to the world. Through these covenants, God bound Israel to Himself forever. Since these covenants have yet to be fully fulfilled, we know that God has a future for Israel in His plans. God will keep His Word to Israel and bring them back into the place of prominence He promised them.

We’ve seen that the Abrahamic Covenant is the key that unlocks the big picture of salvation history—a history that flows through the nation of Israel. We’ve also seen the sad result of the church attempting to extricate Israel from that story and co-opt it, focusing our eyes solely on what God is doing in the world through the church. The church, as the bride of Christ, plays a very important role in God drawing all nations unto Him. That is true. However, the church is not the central motif in scripture, the Kingdom is. The church exists from Pentecost until the Rapture, and then this betrothed bride of Christ becomes His wife, and they both will rule over the Kingdom together. But we misunderstand and distort the scope and purpose of God’s plan if we try to replace Israel with the church.

We saved the discussion of the coming Kingdom until nearly the end of our journey because we needed to establish the needed context for the Kingdom to make sense. We could have spent the entire four books of our study guides on this idea of the coming Kingdom. The Kingdom program of God is the major thread that ties all of scripture and history together. As we read God’s Word, we watch as mankind loses the Kingdom in Eden, and then regains it in the Millennium. The beginning, the end, and everything in-between is all about the Kingdom.

Hopefully, the big picture of our salvation and the plan of God is coming more and more into focus. It is so easy to get lost in the details of the individual stories in scripture, that sometimes, how it all fits together eludes us. When we are able to step back and explore the broad strokes of God’s plan, then all the little pieces that make up that plan make so much more sense.

I’d like to end our time together in this last study guide as I ended an earlier one. As we try to understand more clearly God’s heart for Israel, and strive to match our priorities with God’s priorities, and explore the plan that He has laid out for us, let’s try to acknowledge what Israel means to God. Let’s love Israel—not because they have already repented and acknowledged their sin of rejecting Messiah. But because they are the center and focus of God’s plan. God did not express His promises of faithfulness to them only when they were being obedient, but literally at the height of their disobedience.

Not everything modern Israel does is right. We can’t defend everything the secular nation of Israel does. But then again, we’re not called to do so. God sent prophet after prophet warning apostate Israel to repent. Yet their disobedience did not abrogate His promises. We absolutely cannot deny that God is currently up to something. He resurrected a dead people and brought them back into their own land. He is once again fighting their battles. So, let’s see Israel with the same heart that God does. And let’s love them because they are God’s chosen people, and we are part of God’s family with them. God is going to do a work in them—a work of drawing them back to Himself—a work that will be a subject of awe for us to behold.

But more than anything, let’s keep Israel in its place of prominence in the plan of God, because the Bible does so. Let’s read the Bible through the lens of the centrality of Israel and as the conduit through which God mediates salvation to the world. And when we rightly understand Israel’s place in the plan of God, we will understand our place so much better.

(MULTILINE)

Discussion Questions

1. What is your favorite Easter memory growing up? (MULTILINE)
2. The theme of “Kingdom” is the most prominent theme in scripture. God promised David a house and kingdom that would never end. He promised David that the ultimate King would come from his own family. In Jesus, we finally got that King. Easter is where we celebrate the vindication of that King. What kind of king do you think Jesus will be when He sets up His Kingdom in the Millennium? Not living in a monarchy presently, what would having a king mean to you? What do you imagine life under Jesus as your King will be like? (MULTILINE)
3. In your own words, what was the crucifixion of Jesus all about? What did it accomplish? How did it relate to the Old Testament sacrificial system? What did Jesus experience while He was on the cross? How does the crucifixion apply to you and me? With that in mind, what is the resurrection all about? What did it accomplish? What did it say about the death and sacrifice of Jesus? What incredible truths do we learn about God from the death and resurrection of Jesus? What do we learn about His plan, His justice, His holiness, and His love? (MULTILINE)
4. How do most people outside the church react when they hear about the resurrection of Jesus? What conversations have you had with unbelievers about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus? What reactions have you gotten? Why do you think the idea of someone coming back from the dead is so difficult to believe? What presuppositions are at play? What kind of evidence is there for the resurrection of Jesus (both biblical and extra-biblical)? (MULTILINE)
5. What are your earliest memories of hearing that Jesus rose from the dead? How has your understanding changed over the years? What is the most powerful truth about the resurrection that motivates how you live your life? What is your response today to the call of Christ to “go tell others” that Jesus has risen from the dead? How active are you in this calling? What holds you back from doing even more? What can you do this week to take a step toward obedience to the call of Christ to both “be and make disciples”? (MULTILINE)

Going Deeper

1. In light of the monumental significance of the death of Jesus, it is easy sometimes to underestimate the importance of His resurrection. Read Romans 5:10, 6:1-14, 8:11 and 1 Corinthians 6:14, 15:20-23. What do you see in these passages about the ramifications of the resurrection of Messiah? How has the resurrection of Jesus changed all of human history? How has it changed your life? (MULTILINE)
2. Why was it necessary for Christ to be raised from the dead? Read John 1:4 and 5:26. What is it about His nature that makes this necessary? Read 1 Chronicles 17:14 and Psalm 89:29. Why else must Jesus have been resurrected? Read 1 John 5:11-12, Ephesians 1:19-20, and 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. What is Jesus the source of, now that He is resurrected? (MULTILINE)

Transformational Activity

Outreach

Take some time this week and do some more studying on the resurrection of Christ. Read some commentaries and articles if you can. But as you do, focus on this one idea: how is the resurrection of Christ the motivation for our sharing God’s love with others? What is it about the resurrection that changes everything? What is it about this event that ought to motivate our passionate pursuit of God and our zealous desire to share that good news with everyone we know? Think and pray about that this week and come back together to share what you have learned.