Luke 24:36-39, “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.”

• In verse 38 we see Jesus has entered into Jerusalem, been put to death on a cross, resurrected from the dead, and in verse 38 Jesus says, “Why are you troubled?” What’s up with that?
• In verse 39 you need to circle those words, “See My hands, My feet, touch Me, see Me. Those words are important. In verse 39 Jesus is pointing the disciples to verifiable evidence of His resurrection.

Luke 24:40-43, “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.”

• In verse 41 Jesus asks, “Do you have anything to eat?” That almost sounds odd. In the context of Luke 24 the transition to Jesus’ hunger is almost anti-climatic. Up to this point in Jesus’ life there has been betrayal, arrest, more betrayal, trials, riots, more trials, blood, death, resurrection, and then the camera pans to Jesus sitting down to have a “Filet-O-Fish.” It just feels a little odd.
• But, in verse 41 Jesus is pointing the disciples to verifiable evidence, “See My wounds, touch My wounds, and get Me some food.” Listen to me, the resurrected Jesus isn’t a dazzling angel. The resurrected Jesus isn’t a mirage. The resurrected Jesus isn’t even sparkling in glory, so as to make the story more fantastic.

Luke 24:44, “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.”

• The phrases, “Law of Moses, Prophets, and Psalms” is a reference to the Old Testament, and we don’t have time this morning, but the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is promised over and over and over throughout the Old Testament, so that again Jesus is pointing the disciples and us this morning to verifiable evidence of His bodily resurrection, “Look at what has been written?”

Luke 24:45-49, “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.”

• That phrase, “You are witnesses of these things” is such powerful phrase for us this morning. The reason we are talking about this passage today is because men, women, and children examined the verifiable evidence of seeing, hearing, and touching the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and then in verse 49 Jesus says, “Now go and tell what you have seen!”
• Listen, if Jesus is a farce, and this is all made up, then at best the life of Jesus would have died out in a generation. Think of David Koresh in Waco.   Jim Jones in San Francisco. There is a flash of influence, and then the movement dies, and yet with Jesus, 2,000 years later men, women and children are still talking about the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
• Do you know why people are still talking about the bodily resurrection of Jesus? It is because the bodily resurrection of Jesus changes everything. In that moment the disciples see, touch, and hear Jesus resurrect from the dead, and it clicks for them, if Jesus can resurrect from the dead, the whole world can resurrect from the dead. It changes everything.

If Jesus can overcome death then it means why in the world would the disciples be concerned about accomplishments and accolades in life.  Just a few days ago the disciples are arguing about which of them is greater, the disciples are longing for titles, the disciples are deep in sorrow at the thought of losing those positions of influence, but they just observed verifiable evidence of Jesus overcoming death, and, and if Jesus can overcome death, the whole world can overcome death, so why in the world do they care about titles and awards and recognition. It just seems so small now.

In Jesus, they are going to overcome death. In Jesus, they are going to live forever. Not a hundred years, not a thousands years, but for eternity. Why would we flinch at someone’s accomplishment in life? Oh, how much emotional energy is wasted by the up’s and down’s of getting this or that accomplished in life! The resurrection of Jesus changes everything.

Why would we think of our life as being limited to 90-years on earth? Time is no longer part of the conversation. Death, gone. Disease, gone. Shame, gone. Condemnation, gone. Jesus is alive, and if Jesus eternal, the whole world can become eternal.