A Tangible Promise
Luke 24: 36-43 ·January 26, 2025· Joel Passmore
Part of: Luke, Alive with Him
Pastor Joel Passmore continues with part three of his four-part sermon miniseries titled 'Alive with Him' about how the resurrection of Jesus changes everything for us.
Transcript
Show
This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors. Select a time to jump to that point in the recording.
So we are about to finish our sermon series on the book of Luke that we've been in and out of since the church launched back in October of 22. We're in the last chapter of Luke, Luke 24, and it's about one thing. Like I've been saying, it's about one thing. It's about the resurrection of Jesus and everything that the resurrection of Jesus impacts. Well, probably not everything, but a whole lot of big things. And week one gave us a new testimony because of the resurrection of Jesus.
Not only of him being alive, but our allegiance to him. Week two gave us real assurance of God's plan to save, that it's spoken in his word and accomplished in Christ. And today we're going to examine something different, the physical, real nature of Jesus' resurrection and what that means for us. Anybody here know that the word of God is living and active? Anybody here ready and wanting God to be living and active in you through the word? That's right, let's go.
Let's go indeed. Okay, so a few weeks ago I turned 47. The Lord has been kind enough to bless me with relatively good health, but as my 40s have progressed into my mid and I guess maybe now upper 40s you can say, I realized I need to take better care of myself.
You know, portion control, that kind of thing. Then I heard about another 47-year-old. His name is Brian Johnson. He's an entrepreneur, he's a venture capitalist, and he's a very wealthy man. His current project is in the field of anti-aging. And he has submitted himself as the key subject of this study. He's a human guinea pig. Anything, I mean, I don't mean that, that's not an exaggeration. Anything science has demonstrated or even suggested that could slow down the aging process he does.
He is all in. He has a precision-controlled diet prepared by chefs every day, a daily hour-long plus workout regimen, regular use of therapeutic machines in his home for his skin, for his muscles, for his eyes, his hair. He does weekly blood work, frequent CAT scans. He measures all this biometric data about himself, and he tracks it, he analyzes it. He has supplements and prescriptions that add up to over 100 pills a day.
He's done plasma transfusions, gene therapy. The total cost that he spends on himself and this health project of his is over, wait for it, two million dollars a year.
Now, at first, this seemed like eccentric rich person stuff, you know? Seems like you can't, you know, every rich person's got their thing that they're really eccentric about, right? That's what it seemed like at first. Until I saw, there's a Netflix documentary on him. You should really watch it and think about it. The shirt or the hat that he often wears, it says, don't die.
That's when I knew, okay, this is more than just eccentric rich person stuff. That's the name that he's given to this movement that he started. There's don't die chapters meeting all over the world.
There's a website for don't die, and it says this. I'm going to quote it word for word. We are at war with death and its causes. We are building towards an infinite horizon. We are fighting for the freedom to exist as long as one chooses.
Now, this is more than a health craze, right? This is reaching for the apple all over again because you're wanting something that only God can give you, but you want to go around him, not through him, not cooperating with him to get it. It's ironic because you know who else is at war with death and all its causes? God.
He sent his warrior Jesus to win that war. And win it, he did. Here in this passage, that warrior Jesus stands in front of people risen from the dead, living bodily, a living word of peace that teaches us how to think about ourselves, our own bodies, our future. What's that going to look like? That is what he is standing there in front of the apostles and the disciples in this passage, saying and teaching, and it's what he is doing right now, spiritually, in your very presence right now.
He's standing here to teach you by his own living self, risen from the grave, what it is that your future could look like. So let's turn to Luke 24. Let's listen to what God has to say. Let's listen to the word speak. The word made flesh, the word come back from the grave. This is God's word. It's without error, and we can rely on it completely. Luke 24, verses 36 through 43. Hear now the word of God. As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, Peace to you.
But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 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. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, Have you anything here to eat?
They gave him a piece of broiled fish. And he took it and ate it before them. Pray with me. Lord God, thank you for this true testimony that we have. Because you wanted us to know and not just know, Lord, you wanted us to know and believe. Know and trust.
And I pray that you would break down in us every bit of unbelief. Every hold out in our heart where we are holding back things and not wanting to trust you or listen to you. Break those things down, Lord. Help us to see that it is good to be your disciples. To follow you completely. Teach us what you have to teach us this morning. Change us. In Jesus' holy name we pray.
A tangible promise is the subject for today. The resurrected Jesus shows the future of all who belong to him. Now, these are eight verses. They're pretty simple, really. But, oh, they are packed with implications for us. These eight verses could fill a whole afternoon. Don't worry, I'll just take about half of it. These verses are like a butterfly wing that if you picked up off the ground and saw with your naked eye, you would think, oh, that's nice.
That's beautiful. But if you put it under a microscope, you would be blown away. Oh, the complexity that's there. I had no idea. These verses are like a good friend that you've known for a while that you think you know pretty much everything about them and then they say something and you're like, I didn't know that about you. Wow. It's different than I thought. There's even more complexity in you than I realized. That's these eight verses. And it starts with this.
He's different now. He's different now. So you have to give Jesus this. He knows how to make an entrance. The man knows how to make an entrance. The disciples were together in a room. They're swapping stories about seeing Jesus. What does this mean? What did you see? What did you see? John's account of this passage, of this encounter, tells us that the doors were locked. So Jesus could have come up outside, knocked. It's me. Let me in. He could have, right?
But instead, just as suddenly as he vanished from dinner with the two disciples in the last passage, he just appears. He just appears. No wonder they were freaking out. They are really freaking out. He knew this would happen and in his kindness, the first words he says are, peace to you. Peace. But it doesn't help. They're still startled. They're still frightened. They think they've seen a spirit. They think they've seen a ghost.
Now, notice they think they see a spirit, not his spirit. They don't know what it is. They think it's some kind of apparition. They don't recognize him. Once again, someone does not recognize him. This has happened over and over. Mary thought he was the gardener. The disciples, when they were fishing in John 21, after they had already had this encounter that we're reading about today, they see him from the shore. They're close enough to have a conversation with him.
They've already seen him resurrected and they still don't recognize him that second time. Years ago, I was at my 15th high school reunion and it was really fun to catch up with people but the most fun part was to see how different people were. The night was full of, oh, I hardly recognized you and, oh, I didn't even know it was you at first. You look great. And then occasionally you would hear someone say the more ambiguous but polite, wow, look at you.
Look at you. My 30th reunion is next year and I wonder what people are going to say then. When Jesus was resurrected, he was different, right? But more different than just, hey, 15 years have gone by. He is way different They don't recognize him. He appears and disappears at will. What is up with that? And of course, he lives forever, right? He doesn't age. He's eternal. He doesn't change. The nails and the spears that hurt him before can hurt him no longer.
He's beyond that. He has entered a new state of being. He's left behind the frailties and the weaknesses of his former body and now he is clothed with power and glory and eternal life. It is really mysterious what it is that Jesus has now as this new body. And yet it makes sense, doesn't it? A perishable body cannot inhabit or inherit the imperishable kingdom of God. That wouldn't work. It's an imperishable, eternal, unfading kingdom. There has to be imperishable, unfading, eternal people.
And he is one of them. Jesus has gone through that change. So, he's different. Yet, he still has a physical body. Now, there is a lot for the disciples to take in here and Jesus knows it. He doesn't chastise them for their doubts. He doesn't criticise them for their fear. He names it. Why is it that you feel this way? He brings it out into the open. And then he helps. He says, a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And then he offers them proof.
He invites them to confirm for themselves. Touch me and see. This is show and tell. Remember elementary school? Show and tell? Passing around the arrowhead that someone found in their backyard and feeling it and turning it over and looking at it. Getting the shark's tooth that someone found on vacation. Looking at it. Examining it. Holding it up to your own mouth. Maybe that's just me.
That's what they're doing. It's show and tell. Jesus is showing his own body. He's saying, I know I really do. I want you to touch it. I want you to know that I'm here. See my hands and my feet that it is I myself. This is not some random spirit. This is not even my spirit. It is me. Flesh and bones in front of you.
He wanted them to feel for themselves the scars of his suffering. The marks that showed them who he is and what he's done. as they feel those things they know he's the one whose hands and feet the nails pierced held brutally to that cross. He's the one who endured God's wrath and took the punishment for sin. He's the one who died and whose side was pierced because they had to make sure.
He's the one who is before them now. He is alive. He's well. He is not a mental projection. He's not a hallucination. He is a physical reality. Their hands in his scars prove it.
And those scars tell us something else too. His resurrection body is different but it's not completely different than it was before. He can appear and vanish at will. He's not immediately recognizable. He lives forever. but he still has those scars. He still has those scars in his new resurrection body. His old body it seems has not been cast off or thrown away. It's been renewed. More than that it's been glorified. It's been glorified. It's different.
It's better but it still bears some resemblance to what it was before. And to drive that point home to really make it plain Jesus says hey you got anything to eat? Boy I haven't eaten in like three days.
Now listen was he simply hungry or was he trying to prove a point to them? I don't know. But we do know this they served him a fish and he ate it. Why would Luke tell us this? I think these are a couple of verses that are enormously important. Why would Luke tell us this? Well to tell us that his new body it was not just a cardboard cutout. It was a real working body with a real esophagus that pushed that food down and a real stomach that caught it.
He had real lungs that took in oxygen. Real blood that flowed through his veins and his arteries taking that oxygen to his real muscles. He had a real body. It's different but it's still a real functioning body. That's why Luke gives us these details.
Now I've gone through that fairly quickly because I think reading it it's pretty easy to see what it is that Luke is saying. But what are the implications? What does this mean for us? I want to take a little bit more time on this. What does this mean for us?
I'm going to start with this. Victory over death has come. Victory over death has come. Listen, real problems need real solutions, right? And the problem that we face is death.
Real problems need real solutions. There are people that say, look, all of this is just a story to inspire people. He didn't really rise from the grave. It's just meant to tell us that new life is possible. That's a little bit like if I had a flat tire and somebody drove up beside me and said, hey, let me tell you a story about a guy whose tire got changed. I would say, that's nice, but buddy, I still have a flat tire. Real problems need real solutions, right?
And our real problem is death. It's something that we inherently fear, and most people are searching for ways to escape. Sometimes we try to distract ourselves with entertainment or work or food or anything, just anything to make us stop thinking about it. Other times, we try to make peace with it by saying things like, oh, death, it's just a part of the circle of life. That death is natural and good. Let me tell you something. I really don't like hearing that.
It is a lie. Death is not natural. Death is not good. The only time we know that Jesus wept is when he looked at a community that had been impacted by death. He wept over death. It is not good. It is something that people say to psychologically soothe them because they're having trouble interacting with the reality of death.
Other people, like Brian Johnson that I mentioned earlier, they try to fight death. They try to outmaneuver death through science and exercise and diet and supplements and clean living. But let me tell you, no one ever escapes except for Jesus. Right? Except for Jesus. He fought and he won. He won over death. God raised him from the dead because he paid the penalty of sin in full. Do you know why death is not good? Because it's a punishment. It's a punishment for sin that God promised.
There was no death in the very good creation of God in the beginning. It was something that he imposed as a punishment. But you see, Jesus came back to life showing that that punishment had been paid.
The testimony of his bodily resurrection is so important because this is the real solution to our problem. This is the real answer. So what do we do about death? Is there any hope? Is there any way to overcome it? Let me tell you, if Jesus is your savior through faith, then his victory is your victory. It is. It really is. And that means you don't have anything to fear about death anymore. The sting has been removed. You don't have to lie and say that it's good.
You don't have to distract yourself with addictions. You don't have to spend a fortune chasing the illusion of escape. For the Christian, death does not win. It does not get the final word. When you die, Christian, your spirit goes to be with the Lord. Immediately, you are with him in his presence. Your body rests in the grave, but your spirit is with the Lord. That is the truth. Because of what Jesus has done, if he's yours by faith, that's what will happen to you.
Believe it. He said to the criminal on the cross next to him who believed in him, today I say to you, truly you will be with me in paradise. Paul says to be apart from the body is to be away from the body is to be together with the Lord.
So victory over death has come in Christ. If you have attached yourself to him, if you belong to him through repentance and faith, that is true for you. That will happen to you. Death has been overcome. But listen, I'm going to unpack this, it gets even deeper, even more meaningful. Here's the second thing. We will be raised like him. The resurrection body of Jesus shows us our future resurrection. Not just that we'll be alive like he's alive. It's deeper than that.
It's more than that. We will have a glorified body like his. Earlier in the scripture reading we read about Christ being the first fruits of our resurrection. The first fruits were the first part of the crop, the first part of the harvest, the first figs, the first ears of corn, the first things that show you everything that's going to come after that. You could look at the first fruits and you could say the harvest is coming because I see it here.
Now if agriculture analogies are not your thing, I've got some verses to make it even more plain for you. John writes this, we know that when he appears, we shall be like him. We shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. Paul says this, our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.
Transform it. Are you convinced yet? Maybe not. I got one more verse. I could bring a lot more than this. Here's another one from Paul, just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, that's Adam, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. Do you see? We will be transformed. When they looked at Jesus bodily in front of them in his strange new resurrection body, they were looking at their future. For all who hope in Christ, you're going to get a resurrection body.
That is the promise. That's the resurrection. Your body will be raised and transformed and glorified and it will be reunited with your spirit forever. That's how you will live for all time. Listen, chronic pain, birth defects, cancer, COPD, IBS, ALS, cerebral palsy, Alzheimer's, gone.
Gone. Death doesn't have the final word and neither do any of those afflictions. Your new body will never break down. Never get injured. Never be sick. Never suffer decay.
Friends, is this good news to you? You will get a resurrected, transformed, glorified body. I don't know what physical things you're dealing with. I know for some of you, but I don't know for all of you. They will be no more because he will transform your lowly body to be like his.
You will see him and you will be made like him. It's even better, I find, with each passing year. The news gets better and better and better. Okay, but there's more. There's more, okay? Here's the next thing. Your present body matters.
Now, you might be surprised that I'm saying this right after telling you that you're going to have this future glorious resurrected body. But here's why. Ancient peoples believed that the body is just a shell, that the material world, including our bodies, was evil, and that the real us was locked inside of this shell, and that salvation came by transcending the body, breaking out of the shell.
This viewpoint is very much alive and well today. In fact, more than ever, we are being told that our real self is deep down inside, on the inside, our bodies, that's what the problem is.
That we can change it if we like, and that sometimes we must. Some are even trying to leave the body behind entirely, to upload our consciousness. God did not create us as bodiless souls. He did not even create us as embodied souls. He created us soul and body together. That's how he made you. And that's how he will remake you. Do you see the continuity? You're not transcending the physical into a purely spiritual realm. It's physical and spiritual together now.
It's physical and spiritual together in the new heavens and the new earth. The physical resurrection of Jesus proves all this. His salvation is not discarding the body. You are not a hermit crab. You're not moving beyond the material. Spiritual and physical are still entwined. We live in a disposable society. So many things are made to be used once and then thrown away.
Christian, don't treat your bodies like that. Don't treat your body like that. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. We started the service by declaring that in the call to worship. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. God has given you that specific body for a reason. Listen, I know nobody is perfectly happy with their body. We feel like it's a car that our parents bought for us that we're like, did you even ask us what we wanted?
He's given you that specific body for a reason. You're not going to leave it behind like a shell. Like Jesus, that body will be transformed. It will be different, but it will bear some resemblance to what it was right now. And speaking of which, there's one last thing about this point. Scars tell stories.
Scars tell stories. You ever ask someone, hey, how did you get that scar? It might be, man, I had a bad accident. It might be, I had a huge surgery. I almost died. Scars tell stories. Jesus still had his scars after the resurrection. They were marks of what God had brought him through.
Someday we will each have a testimony of God's faithfulness to us that is as unique as we are. Embrace God's authorship of your life, including the experiences that leave scars.
Someday those may show what he brought you through. They may be a testimony that you share with someone. And here's the last thing. I told you it's a butterfly wing, right? Examine under the microscope there's a lot here. Here's the last thing. Our eternal home is physical. When we die, our spirits are at peace with the Lord. That is what we call heaven.
The Bible doesn't actually speak too much about that state, but we know that it's great. It's something great to look forward to. But remember, church, heaven is not forever. Did you know that? Heaven is not forever. When he returns and the resurrection happens, his people will have their souls rejoined with their glorified bodies. And those eternal body and soul people, they need a place to live. And it's not heaven. Heaven is temporary. That's why Peter says according to his promise, we are waiting for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
That's what Peter said he's waiting for. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the new heavens and the new earth too. And then in his revelation, John actually saw it. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. This is the eternal home of God's people. That's where we're going for all time. That's the forever place, not heaven. Heaven will pass away. New heavens and a new earth. That's the eternal home.
All of God's promised salvation are not just spiritual realities. They're not just spiritual realities. They're tangible ones too. A real physical place for real physical people. When he talks about giving us people land and rest, rich food and delicious drink, those are not just metaphors. He's telling us of a real beautiful place, real bodily rest, real food and real drink. The resurrected Jesus ate food.
We will too. The future home will contain so much of ordinary life without the sin. It will be work without futility, community without conflict, creativity without pride, recreation without idolatry, relationships without jealousy, worship without preoccupation. It will be a time of learning and exploring and making. We will tend to the new earth and build culture and we will do it all in total cooperation for the glory of God alone.
Listen, we need to talk about this more. We do. Because people out there want to hear it. People in here need to hear it too. People are way more interested in that kind of future than going to heaven. Because going to heaven, that sounds ethereal and ambiguous and nothing like our existence now. But the real future is the new heavens and the new earth. Let's talk more about that, about the tangible future, the tangible place prepared for God's tangible people.
The consistent image in scripture about this new place and the new people is a meal. It's in the prophets, it's in the gospels, it's in the New Testament letters, it's in Revelation. God's people feasting with him at his table, celebrating the fulfillment of all of his promises in their full redemption. There will be food and drink, I imagine there will be music and dancing, but the greatest treasure, the greatest treasure, the highest joy of the new heavens and the new earth will be seeing Jesus face to face with uninterrupted fellowship forever.