Bible Study - Resurrection Reactions P1 - Past and Future!

Bible Study Series: Resurrection, Rapture & the Redeemer

Resurrection Reactions P1- Past and Future!

by I Gordon

Have you ever considered the different reactions that people had to Jesus' resurrection? No? Well you will today because this message is on 'Resurrection reactions - past and future'. I believe that the past reactions to Jesus' resurrection give us a glimpse of the future reactions at the rapture. When you look at how individuals reacted to Jesus' resurrection you see combinations of perplexity, confusion, astonishment, dismissal and denial, unmatched joy... and even sanctioned lies, an invented story and pay-offs from those that were meant to the religious leaders of the day! And, as mentioned, what is interesting is that these past reactions give us a glimpse into reactions still to come at the soon coming resurrection and rapture of the Church. 

So here is what we'll do:

• We'll be in Luke 24:1-12 mostly today and will begin with some general thoughts concerning the resurrection. 
• Then we'll zero-in on the reactions to Jesus' resurrection from both believers and unbelievers  
• Finally we'll move from the past into the future to see how these reactions will be repeated again

The resurrection... on the day foretold!

Luk 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.

Let's start to break this down a little. It begins with...

Luk 24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.

So a group of women including Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (Mark 16:1-4) came to the tomb bringing various spices to further anoint and embalm Jesus' body for burial... if they can get into the tomb that is! From this we see straight away that resurrection wasn't on their minds and they weren't expecting what they experienced! Even though Jesus had repeatedly told the disciples that He would rise on the third day, they were still coming with the expectation of anointing a dead body. But with God, we should expect the unexpected! Now this occurred 'on the first day of the week' - Sunday. 

Who moved the stone?

Luk 24:2-3 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.

According to scripture, Joseph of Arimathea had provided his own new tomb, which had been cut out of the rock, for the burial place of Jesus (John 19:41, Matt 27:60). This fulfilled the great prophecy in Isaiah 53 that stated:

Isa 53:9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

Now unlike Jesus' own disciples, the Jewish leaders remembered that Jesus said He would rise from the dead and were worried that His disciples would even try to steal the body to make it look like this had happened. So they made sure that the whole tomb was heavily guarded and sealed. In Mathew's gospel we read:

Mat 27:62-66 Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, (63) and said, "Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I am to rise again.' (64) "Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last deception will be worse than the first." (65) Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how." (66) And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.

So the tomb was guarded by:

• The large stone which took several people to move and could not be moved from the inside.
• The armed Roman soldiers who guarded the tomb with their careers and possibly lives on the line if any anything went wrong.
• The Roman seal upon the stone which was backed by the full force and authority of the Roman Empire.    

And yet when the women arrived at the tomb there were several oddities: there was a moved stone, a broken seal, missing guards and, more importantly, no Jesus! So what happened? Who moved the stone?² Where was Jesus? Did the disciples take the body as the Chief Priests had earlier feared? Or had Jesus conquered death as He said He would? I think you know the answer. I hope you know the answer! Let's read on and see.

Only Christianity has an empty tomb!

Luk 24:4-8 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...

The Bible is clear on who moved the stone:

Mat 28:2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.

And let me just add that it wasn't just the earth that shook that day. Remember those tough Roman Soldiers that had been assigned to guard the tomb? Well they were shaking as well! They experienced the earthquake, saw the angel and, as Mathew records...

Mat 28:4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.

And then what did they do? They got out of there for they were not present when the women arrived at the tomb. So it was angels, just like at the birth (Luke 1:26-38, 2:8-12) and ascension of the Messiah (Acts 1:10-11), that got to announce Jesus' resurrection! And I love how they did it saying - 'Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen.' The women, and later the disciples, had either forgotten what Jesus said about the resurrection or didn't take it seriously! They came expecting to find the dead in the place of the dead. But Jesus wasn't dead. He was alive... just as He said He would be after three days. It is the resurrection of Jesus that sets Christianity apart for only Christianity has an empty tomb!³ Josh McDowell writes:

"All but four of the major world religions are based on mere philosophical propositions. Of the four that are based on personalities rather than philosophies, only Christianity claims an empty tomb for its founder. In 1900 B.C. Judaism’s Father Abraham died. In 483 B.C., Buddhist writings say Buddha died “with that utter passing away in which nothing whatever remains behind.” June 6, 632 A.D., Mohammed died. In 33 A.D., Jesus died but came back to life appearing to 500 people over a period of 40 days." And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (I Corinthians 15:14).
Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Page 180)

If you go to Jerusalem today you will find many graves filled with many bones... but not those of Jesus'! Pastor David Guzik writes well:

One may see many graves and tombs in Israel today. There is an ocean of tombs on the Mount of Olives, and vast sea of graves outside the eastern wall of the temple mount. You can see the tomb of Rebekkah, the tomb of David, the tomb of Absalom - but you won't find the tomb of Jesus anywhere. As the angel said, He is not here. ii. Every so often someone claims to have found evidence of the tomb of Jesus or the bones of Jesus. Each claim is found to be untrue, while the testimony of the angels is proven true over and over again: He is not here."
Pastor David Guzik

Importance of the Resurrection - Stop & Think!

Let's make some quick points concerning the resurrection⁴:

1. It is the resurrection that was the only sign that Jesus would give to an unbelieving Israel (Matt 12:38-40)
2. It is the resurrection that confirmed Jesus' words and thus the truth of Christianity itself (Acts 2:22-24)
3. It is the resurrection that demonstrates that humanity's greatest enemy (death) has been defeated and removes its fear for all who follow Jesus (Heb 2:14)
4. It is the resurrection that gives power for our lives today for believers follow a risen Lord! (Rom 8:11)
5. It is the resurrection that gives sure and certain hope of the future for all those that are Christ's for His experience, as the firstfruits from the dead, will be ours! (1 Pet 1:3, 1 Cor 15:20-23)

Resurrection Reactions - The Past

Luk 24:9-12 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.

I want to use the remainder of this study to look closer at 'resurrection reactions'. Let's explore the reactions of three different groups of people.

• Followers of Jesus: We've already seen the first reaction from the women who came to the tomb... it said they were 'perplexed' at the empty tomb. This word has the thought of 'not knowing how to proceed, determine, speak or act.' They were gob-smacked! They simply couldn't believe or understand what they were seeing! Now as they returned and reported all that had happened to the disciples we initially see them as dismissive. You could say that the first unbelievers of the resurrection were the disciples! They thought the story was 'nonsense', a 'foolish, idle tale'. "It can't have happened... It just can't have!" "But what if... What if they were right? Didn't Jesus say that He would rise from the dead after three days?" So Peter and John, with heightened curiosity and hope rising, took off and ran to the tomb. And upon seeing the linen wrappings lying by themselves we read that Peter returned, 'marveling' at what had happened. This word 'marveled' means 'a wonder - to be struck with admiration or astonishment'. Later, when Jesus Himself appeared to His disciples, we see a new reaction... the wonder and amazement turns to joy!
  
  Luk 24:36-41 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?"
  
  So there we have some of the early reactions to the resurrection of Jesus⁵ - We've seen initial perplexity, doubting and even dismissal... then heightened hope and curiosity, astonishment and marveling. And it ends with complete joy and amazement when they, Jesus' disciples, were finally in the presence of the risen Lord.
  
  
• The religious leaders: But what about Jesus' enemies? What about those that had worked so hard to have Him killed? Would news that He might be alive please them? Not likely! The gospel of Mathew fills in the details about how the Jewish leaders and chief priests reacted to the news...
  
  Mat 28:11-15 Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. (12) And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, (13) and said, "You are to say, 'His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.' (14) "And if this should come to the governor's ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble." (15) And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.
  
  How did they react? Well they lied. They invented a false story and paid off the guards to maintain and spread the lie. They actively worked to suppress the truth. Sounds like a lot of politicians and leaders today (but I digress!) And their falsehood was obviously successful because when Mathew wrote his gospel, around 20-30 years after the resurrection, he says that this false story was still widely believed among the Jews in that day.
  
  
• Satan and fallen angels: The Bible doesn't give Satan's reaction to the resurrection directly but you can certainly imagine. Satan had entered Judas to betray Jesus and would have been gloating over the Son of God on the cross. This, he would have thought, is his hour. This is when he ends the son of God! But I don't believe He understood what the cross and resurrection truly meant... Especially for his own defeat and destruction! (Col 2:14-15) There was a hidden wisdom and mystery in the cross and resurrection that was so great even the rulers of the age (including the fallen angelic realm) didn't see it. The Bible says that had they understood it they would not have crucified Jesus:
  
  1Co 2:6-8 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; (7) but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; (8) the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
  
  C.S Lewis, in 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' portrayed this deeper, hidden wisdom, like this when Aslan was killed on the stone tablet:

"At that moment they heard from behind them a loud noise—a great cracking, deafening noise as if a giant had broken a giant's plate.... The Stone Table was broken into two pieces by a great crack that ran down it from end to end; and there was no Aslan. "Who's done it?" cried Susan. "What does it mean? Is it more magic?"

"Yes!" said a great voice from behind their backs. "It is more magic." They looked round. There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself. "Oh, Aslan!" cried both the children, staring up at him, almost as much frightened as they were glad.... "But what does it all mean?" asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.

"It means," said Aslan, "that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward."
C.S Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Resurrection Reactions - The Future

Now all this is interesting but does it have any pointers to the coming resurrection and rapture of believers? What were those early resurrection reactions again? Well, they was a mixture of perplexity, doubt, dismissal, curiosity, marveling, astonishment and unrelenting joy! Oh... and an attempted coverup through a fabricated story to explain why the body of Jesus was missing. So now cast your thoughts into the future resurrection and rapture when instead of one missing body there will be millions! If there was perplexity because of one empty tomb, imagine the amount of perplexity and confusion when the graves of all believers are opened and millions of living saints disappear! There will be doubt and outright dismissal by many of course. Like the resurrection of Jesus the truth will be too much for most to handle. But some, who have previously been told by their parents and friends about what will happen, will believe. There will be more than enough evidence for those whose heart desires to know the truth. But like Jesus' resurrection, a story will need to be invented to explain what has happened. A lie for sure, but one believable enough to deceive the masses. But what type of story could possibly be great enough to explain the instant disappearance of millions of people? I mean... that is not something 'that just happens!' It was hard enough for the Jewish leaders to explain the one missing body of Jesus... but millions missing? How? Why?

It is interesting that in preparation for the coming resurrection and rapture of the Church, such a story is already being crafted and told. The story is already being prepared and declared and has been for the last 50-60 years. The late Chuck Missler and Mark Eastman, in their book 'Alien Encounters' quote New Agers and channelers who have received messages from so-called alien beings (in reality, demons) describing the coming sudden 'evacuation' of those who ultimately are holding the earth back. As you read the quotes below, note the biblical language used below such as 'twinkling of an eye' ,'in a moment', 'lightning that flashes in the sky' - all phrases used to speak of the rapture or return of Jesus in the Bible. Satan sure knows how to deceive and twist the truth! Here are a few quotes received from so-called 'alien beings':

“Our rescue ships will be able to come in close enough in the twinkling of an eye to set the lifting beams in operation in a moment. And all over the globe where events warrant it, this will be the method of evacuation. mankind will be lifted, levitated shall we say, by the beams from our smaller ships. These smaller craft will in turn taxi the persons to the larger ships overhead, higher in the atmosphere, where there is ample space and quarters and supplies for millions of people.” 
“The Great Evacuation will come upon the world very suddenly. The flash of emergency events will be as a lightning that flashes in the sky. So suddenly and so quick in its happening that it is over almost before you are aware of its presence…”
“Phase I of the Great Exodus of souls from the planet will take place at a moment’s notice when it is determined that the inhabitants are in danger.”

“This second phase immediately following the first. The second phase is vital, as we return for the children of all ages and races. The child does not have the power of choice in understanding nor personal accountability.”

Another New Ager/Channeler claims extraterrestrials from the star system of the Pleiades told her that:
“The people who leave the planet during the time of Earth changes do not fit in here any longer, and they are stopping the harmony of Earth. When the time comes that perhaps 20 million people leave the planet at one time there will be a tremendous shift in consciousness for those who are remaining.” ⁶

Thus, the story is already getting written concerning how and why millions of people will suddenly be gone. It is a dramatic fulfillment pictured first in the fabricated story of what happened to Jesus. Yet this coming story will be accompanied with all sorts of signs, wonders and satanic deception:

2Th 2:9-12 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, (10) and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (11) For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie (12) and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

And speaking of Satan, what do you think his reaction will be to the resurrection and rapture of the Church? It is very likely that as we go up he comes permanently down. And he is not happy. His reaction is one of anger and wrath for he suddenly knows that his time is very short!

Rev 12:10-12 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. (11) "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. (12) "For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time."

Conclusion - Resurrection Reactions for believers... JOY!

Let's conclude with the reaction of believers when Jesus stood in their midst for it again gives a glimpse of our reaction when we are finally face to face with Jesus.

Luk 24:41 While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"

When Jesus came and stood in their very midst the Bible says that because of the pure joy and overwhelming amazement, they still couldn't believe it! They couldn't believe that this was actually real... that this was actually happening! It was too good... Too incredible... Too amazing! "When am I going to wake up?" they would have thought. "Jesus is alive? And He is here and I'm with Him? But I saw Him die! And yet... here He is and I am with Him. I can touch Him. I can eat with Him. I can speak with Him. He is alive and well!" 

Does this not all give but a small glimpse of what it will be like at the resurrection and rapture of the Church? The overwhelming joy... the marveling and amazement... the sense even that this can't be real for it is too good to be true. And yet it is true. Imagine the realization that you are now standing in the presence of the One who created all things, who suffered for all sins, and who rose defeating all enemies! Imagine standing in the presence of God Almighty, Jesus Christ. If it was too much for the disciples when they saw Jesus after the resurrection, try imagine how overwhelming it will be to stand in heaven, with the angels, with your believing friends and family, with the entire Church of all races, nations and ages, worshipping the King of kings!  

When Thomas, who had doubted the resurrection, saw the risen Lord, all he could say was 'My Lord and my God!' The resurrection for Thomas not only proved the words of Jesus... it proved His deity. He realized that he was standing next to Immanuel - God with us! And all believers will get that experience. What will be our reaction? Utter joy, utter amazement, utter thankfulness that we could experience such grace! 

Make sure you are part of that believing Church! 

Next time we will explore resurrection again this time looking at what it means for our present day life. God bless!