Yeshua’s Resurrection & Appearances ~ Part 4

In our last post, we explored Yeshua’s Resurrection & Appearances. We will continue to examine His Resurrection & Appearance.

Yeshua’s Identity Revealed

²⁸ They (Cleopas and his companion) approached the village where they were going. He made as if He were going on farther; ²⁹ but they held Him back, saying, “Stay with us, for it’s almost evening, and it’s getting dark.” So He went in to stay with them. ³⁰ As He was reclining with them at the table, He took the matzah, made the b’rakhah (blessing), broke it, and handed it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. But He became invisible to them. ³² They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn inside us as he spoke to us on the road, opening up the Tanakh to us?”  ^[1]

During the evening meal, Yeshua blessed and broke the bread. At that point, the two talmidim were allowed to recognize Yeshua, but He immediately became invisible to them. Their first thought was to recall what He had taught them as they walked along the road to Emmaus. With hearts ablaze, they ventured to Yerushalayim through the darkness of night to meet with the Emissaries and tell them about their experience.

Cleopas Reports of Appearance

³³ They got up at once and returned to Yerushalayim. There [on the evening that same day, the first day of the week, when the talmidim were gathered together behind locked doors out of fear of the Judeans]  ^[2]  and found the Eleven gathered together with their friends, ³⁴ saying, “It’s true! The Lord has risen! Shim’on saw him!” ³⁵ Then the two told what had happened on the road and how he had become known to them in the breaking of the matzah.  ^[3]

Unknown to the two talmidim, the risen Savior had appeared to Kefa (an appearance mentioned elsewhere only in 1 Corinthians 15:5) sometime earlier in the day. This was a decisive event for Kefa and the community because he led the Emissaries and the community in the coming years. Now, in a room full of eager listeners, these men talked about their experiences on the road to Emmaus and the following meal. It had been a day of many wonders, but an even greater wonder would soon visit them all.

Yeshua Appears to the Talmidim

³⁶ They were still talking about it when – there He was, standing among them! ³⁷ Startled and terrified, they thought they were seeing a ghost.

It is ironic that the group of talmidim were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost when the risen Messiah suddenly appeared in their midst. After all, they had been rejoicing about His resurrection (v. 34) and swapping stories about His several appearances that day. But their fear is understandable since Yeshua appeared suddenly in the middle of a crowd in what was indeed a locked room.

³⁸ But he said to them, “Why are you so upset? Why are these doubts welling up inside you? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet—it is I, myself! Touch me and see—a ghost doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you can see I do.” ⁴⁰ As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

Yeshua calmed the fears and doubts of His talmidim with evidence of His resurrection body. In His hands and feet, the nail scars were visible. The crowd of talmidim could touch Him and verify that He had a human body and was not a ghost.

⁴¹ While they were still unable to believe it for joy and stood there dumbfounded, he said to them, “Have you something here to eat?” ⁴² They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ which He took and ate in their presence. ⁴⁴ Yeshua said to them, “This is what I meant when I was still with you and told you that everything written about me in the Torah of Moshe, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled.”  ^[4]

Understandably, some were slow to believe. This was a highly unusual and unexpected event. Realizing their doubts, Yeshua offered an additional piece of evidence. He showed them that He could eat food (a piece of a broiled fish), something no ghost could do.

Emissaries Receive Authority

²¹ “Shalom aleikhem!” Yeshua repeated. “Just as the Father sent me, I myself am also sending you.” ²² Having said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Ruach HaKodesh! ²³ If you forgive someone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you hold them, they are held.”

These verses contain the Gospel of John’s version of the Great Commission, culminating in the presentation of Yeshua as the One sent from the Father. Now the sent One (Yeshua) had turned Sender, commissioning His followers to serve as His messengers and representatives (Yochanan 17:18). All three persons of the Godhead are involved in this commissioning. As Yeshua was sent by God the Father, so He, the Son, was sending out His talmidim (Yochanan 20:21), equipping them with the Ruach (v. 22). Yochanan thus demonstrated that each member of the Godhead is involved in the redemption plan and the mission of spreading the gospel to the world. The Ruach HaKodesh was given dramatically and permanently a short time later (Acts 2).

T’oma (Thomas) Doubts

²⁴ Now T’oma (the name means “twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Yeshua came. ²⁵ When the other talmidim told him, “We have seen the Lord,” he replied, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my finger into the place where the nails were and put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe it.”  ^[5]

Apparently, T’oma thought the disciples had seen a ghost (Mattityahu 14:26). Yet Yochanan was careful to affirm that Yeshua’s resurrection body was not that of a phantom or spirit apparition but a genuine (although glorified) human body (Yochanan 20:27).

Yeshua Appears to T’oma

²⁶ A week later, His talmidim were once more in the room, and this time T’oma was with them. Although the doors were locked, Yeshua came, stood among them, and said, “Shalom aleikhem!” ²⁷ Then He said to T’oma, “Put your finger here, look at my hands, take your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be lacking in trust, but have trust!” ²⁸ T’oma answered Him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Yeshua said to him, “Have you trusted because you have seen me? How blessed are those who do not see but trust anyway!” ^[6]

In our next post, we will continue to explore Yeshua’s Resurrection & Appearances. 

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^[1]  Luke 24:28–32.
^[2]  Yochanan 20:19.
^[3]  Luke 24:33–35.
^[4]  Luke 24:36–44.
^[5]  Yochanan 20:21–25.
^[6]  Yochanan 20:26–29.