Title: Imitating Jesus
Readings: Acts 3v12-19; Luke 24v36b-48
Introduction
[Slide 1 - Header] Both the passages we heard this morning come at the end of longer stories that we haven’t heard, so we’ll need a bit of background. It’s easier to make
sense of these two readings if we look at them in chronological
order. That way we can see the change in the disciples from the time
immediately after the resurrection to the time after Pentecost. |
Luke Reading
[Slide 2 – Road to Emmaus] So, I’ll start with the gospel reading from Luke. It comes at the end of the Road to Emmaus story. Cleopas and another disciple, possibly his wife, were on the way to Emmaus. It’s the Sunday after the crucifixion, the first day of their week. A stranger comes up to them on their walk and they begin talking. They tell Him about the expectations they had that Jesus was the messiah and how He had been put to death, and now they say someone has taken his body. The women who went to prepared His body saw a vision of angels and were told He is alive by them. The stranger explains what the scriptures say about the messiah, starting with Moses and all the prophets. When they reach Emmaus they persuade the stranger to stay with them, and as He breaks bread, they realise who He is. They immediately return to Jerusalem, and meet with the other disciples, where they are told that Jesus has risen and has appeared to Simon. Luke doesn’t describe that encounter here. |
Verse 36
The phrase “while they were still talking about this” at the start of verse 36 seems a bit understated. Can you imagine the excitement in the room. Probably coupled with a level of confusion, hope, exhilaration, joy, and a lot of other emotions.
Doors locked
[Slide
3 Disciples All Together]
 The Gospel of John tells us that the doors were locked, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Quite reasonably, they expected to be targetted as soon as rumours of the missing body began to spread. |
Jesus was there
Suddenly, Jesus was there. The first appearances of the resurrected Lord had all been in a context where He was mistaken for someone else. In the garden, by the tomb, Mary had thought he was the gardener. On the way to Emmaus, He was a stranger they met on their journey.
Now, though, He has just appeared. Normal people, those without resurrected bodies, don’t do that, in case you hadn’t noticed! They were startled by His appearance, so it’s not surprising that they thought they were seeing a ghost. The mood changed from excitement to fear in that instant.
Startled
Being startled has a strange effect on humans. In the airline industry, pilots are taught to understand how they react when they are startled, so that they can deal with it and return to normal operation quickly. Most of us stop functioning for a few seconds while we come to terms with the new situation. We easily jump to the wrong conclusions, and as a result take the wrong actions. You wouldn’t want to be doing that while landing a plane with 500 or more people on board, it could be catastrophic.
Ghost?
It should be no surprise, then, that the sudden appearance of Jesus startled the disciples, and in the next few seconds they come up with an implausible explanation. “It must be a ghost”.
Jesus can see that His appearance has disturbed them, so he tries to put their mind at rest, emphasising that it really is Him. “It is I, myself!” He shows them His hands and feet, but even that isn’t enough to break them out of their startle response. His request for food, though, will. Now they have to move and complete actions that they have done thousands of times – they hand him some cooked fish, and He took it and ate it.
CasperThere’s a great scene in Casper that shows what happens when Ghosts eat. [Slide 4 Casper video] The food goes straight through them, because they don’t have a real body. But, when the resurrected Jesus eats, the food is consumed, just as it would be if you or I ate the fish. |
Heavenly bodies[slide 5 Heavenly bodies]  |
Teaching
|
[slide 6 Purpose of Appearance]  29 I am going to
send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you
have been clothed with power from on high.
So, now they have to stay in Jerusalem and wait until Pentecost – because God’s timing and the promised Holy Spirit is vital to their witnessing. |
Acts 3[Slide 7 Prayers at the Temple] Now we come to the Acts reading. They have stayed in the city as instructed, and Pentecost has already happened. They are still in the city, and their habit now is to visit the temple in the afternoon for 3 o’clock prayers. BeggarsMost beggars have their pitches, places they can sit that are dry and have a reasonable foot fall – so that they know they have a good chance of being given some money. A crippled man was carried to the temple gate – the one called ‘Beautiful’ every day. He asked Peter and John for money. Peter and John don’t have any money, but they look intently at the man, and he at them. They see something in him and take his hand and command him to walk. |
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[Slide 8 – A lame man is healed]  |
Miracles
The miracles are continuing, they have inherited Jesus’s sense of who can be healed and who can’t. But Peter and John have a problem – well, probably more than one problem.
Firstly, the crowd think they alone are responsible for the miracle. Secondly, they do not want the attention of the temple authorities.
So, Peter needs to explain what has happened quickly.
His explanation starts with “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers has glorified his servant Jesus”
This would have taken the crowd straight back to the call of Moses in Exodus 3:6
“I am the God of your
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”
At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
He quickly establishes that Jesus is, in effect, the new Moses and likely stops any argument that might have begun.
Peter then explains the crucifixion and clearly blames them for the death, saying they preferred a murderer over the author of life. He tells them that he and John are witnesses of this – so there can be no disagreement. In verse 16 he says
By faith in the name of
Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’
name and the faith that comes through him that has given this
complete healing to him, as you can all see.
Ignorance
Peter acknowledges that they and their leaders acted in ignorance when they crucified Jesus, and that God fulfilled all that He had foretold as a result. Now, though, it is time to repent, so that their sins may be wiped out, and times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Bold
It is a bold speech, given under pressure and in a sensitive location. Peter has reacted well to the crowd that saw the healing. He is well-prepared now, and will not easily be startled by God acting in ways that he doesn’t understand – because much more has been revealed to him and at Pentecost He received the Holy Spirit.
Compare[Slide 9 - Compare] |
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit allows them to continue Jesus’ ministry, as it does all those who respond to Jesus’ call. This is what it means to be transformed by the Holy Spirit – we are able to do the things that God wants us to do. The change in us will be as obvious as the change in Peter.
Amen.
References
https://interruptingthesilence.com/2012/04/22/you-are-witnesses-a-sermon-on-luke-2436-48-easter-3/
Acts for everyone - Tom Wright
Luke for Everyone - Tom Wright
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