Luke 24:36-43

Luke 24:36-43 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

Jesus expected a lot from his followers. Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? His disciples could have retorted, Well, Jesus, this resurrection thing is rather hard for us to process. Yes, we knew Lazarus was raised from the dead, but he died peacefully as a whole man. You, on the other hand, were horribly beaten and then cruelly crucified, even your side was pierced by a sword. We can't fathom how any flesh and bones man could have endured such an ordeal and now be walking around. How can such a thing be possible? Even when Jesus showed them his hands and feet, which had been pierced, they still could not imagine such an event as his resurrection, but they did have a feeling of joy and amazement. But resurrection, how could the impossible be happening in front of them?

Jesus probably anticipated their response, for He had walked in their shoes as a human. Because He had been totally flesh, He understood the difficulty of believing in the divine, the heavenly. Jesus understood the flesh, yet He wanted his disciples to understand a new world had come to them, a miraculous plan from God. His resurrection heralded in a new order that led to eternal life. God established a new kingdom in the hearts of men: his kingdom of light. Even today people sometimes have a difficult time perceiving the kingdom of God. They appreciate the man Jesus who walked this earth, but they are unsure of the resurrected Lord, giver of life, Redeemer, and King. The man Jesus required less from them than the resurrected Jesus. The former asked people for a better, more loving life; the latter asks for a transformed life, a "newborn" life, committed to God. The former seemed earthly oriented; the latter is heavenly oriented. We who are IN CHRIST are new creatures, bound for a new city. This world is not our home; heaven is. As Christians we are changed and we try to do good deeds here on Earth, but making this world better is not our main concern. Our goal is to love God with all our hearts, minds, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. As children of a heavenly kingdom, we abide here for a while, but heaven is home.

As children of the Most High, we are not blind to human events. Recently, in the Seattle area, a good Christian family experienced a violent home invasion where a beloved husband and father, James Sanders, was horribly murdered. We wonder why this good man was not protected by God. Why was his life not spared? Well, this world is not our home. We are of another kingdom. Bad things do happen to good people. In the midst of all this sorrow, we hear his wife say she is praying for the salvation of their attackers, her husband's killer. Jesus understood the world of sin. Knowing he would face betrayal and death, the Bible says, After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. Jesus avoided Judea because he was in danger, but He went willingly to the cross. Bad things happen to good people in Judea, and we are all in Judea. The disciples remained in Judea; all but one died a martyr's death.

Although bad things do happen to Christians, God protects his own. Even under awful circumstances, God cares for his children, but we are still in Judea, the poison patch of sin and tragic human events. We don't live very long before we realize Christians die of cancer, accidents, even torture. We all pray that bad things do not happen to us, but when they do, what do we believe then? We must trust in God, believe in the resurrection regardless of circumstances. Yes, we sometimes lack understanding, like the disciples in the above verses. But faced with disaster, we chose to believe we were called by God to be separate from the world. He knows each of us by name. When it is our time to depart, He will say, Come my child, come James Sanders, come to my abode; I will give you rest in your heavenly home. From the foundation of the Earth, God chose us to be with him. Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. Praise God forevermore!