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Author: Stephen Weller
974 words, 5 minutes read time

The Disciples Still Do Not Understand

Scripture: Luke 24:33-37; John 20:20-23

In the previous lesson the two travelers returned to Jerusalem after Jesus revealed himself to them. They gathered the eleven disciples and with a few others locked themselves into a room and told them of their experience. As they finished Jesus suddenly appears standing in the room before them. In this lesson we will find out what Jesus did and said.

^{Lk 24:38} 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. ^{Jn 20:20} Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ^{Lk 24:41} And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate before them. ^{Jn 20:21} Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

The fear on the part of the disciples is an indication of their lack of faith. If they had believed Jesus before he was crucified that he would die and then rise from the dead, they now would be rejoicing to see firsthand that he was who he claimed to be, and that victory was theirs. Jesus addresses this lack of faith by asking them why they were troubled and why their hearts were filled with doubt. The disciples thought they were seeing a spirit not an actual physical body. When Jesus walked on water they thought he was a ghost because they knew a physical body could not walk on water. Even though they say Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead after spending several days in the grave, they still couldn’t get their minds around the fact that Jesus was standing before them in a physical body.

To help the disciples understand, Jesus asks the disciples to come to him and touch him and see for themselves. He points out to them that a spirit does not have flesh and bones as he does. This seemed to help but since the appearance of Jesus was so sudden and so far beyond anything they have ever experienced, they were still having trouble believing. Clearly, Jesus looked different than he did before his death. Now is body is healed, and strong, and not subject to death and decay. Jesus was changed in that the perishable body he once had was now standing before them as imperishable and had characteristics that they yet did not have. I believe the disciples were seeing some of this difference and trying to understand it.

Jesus knew they were struggling to understand and accept this new experience, so he asks them if they had anything to eat. They provided him with a piece of broiled fish which he took and ate as they watched. This was another example that his body was physical, but yet they still wondered in what other ways might he be different than they. We wonder the same thing. What will our resurrected bodies be like?

The narrative now transitions to John as Jesus continues to speak to the disciples. What he says in John 20:21 – 22 is known as the Johannine “Great Commission.” The Father sent his Son (Jesus) and now the Sent One has become the Sender, commissioning his followers to serve as his messengers and representatives. In these two verses we see the Trinity. The Father sent his Son and the Holy Spirit indwells those Jesus sends out.

Jesus breathing on them and saying to them to receive the Holy Spirit is best understood to be a foretaste of what will occur at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit is given. The Holy Spirit was already in the world, but he did not dwell in people until after Pentecost. An exception to this was “when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:41 ESV).

John 20:23 is a difficult verse to explain because only God can forgive sins (Mark 2:7). In Mark 2:5, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” and he was healed. The scribes challenged this and said that Jesus being a man was blaspheming by claiming he had such power. This would imply that the “you” of verse 23 is not the individual believer, who according to Mark 2:7 cannot forgive sin. We can proclaim the gospel and the one who believes is forgiven his sin and the one who doesn’t, his sin isn’t forgiven. I guess we will have to wait until we see John in heaven to ask him what he meant.

Conclusion

The resurrected Jesus continues to reveal himself to his disciples, including both the eleven and others. I find it interesting to notice how easily the women have believed and accepted the resurrected Jesus, while in contrast the disciples are having such a difficult time. Based on your spiritual growth, how readily will you want to approach Jesus when you go to heaven? How well do you know Jesus and the culture of heaven? The more you know about both the more you will desire to go there.