“Too Good to be True!” – FBC Morning Light (11/19/2024)

Well good Tuesday morning to you. Today in our Bible reading we're reading the.

The Resurrection Accounts in the Four Gospels

Parallel accounts in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, of the resurrection of Jesus. So yesterday we saw Joseph of Arimathea placing him into that borrowed tomb, but today we're reading about the resurrection from that borrowed tomb.

Glorious day, glorious experience. But here's the thing, you know before Jesus was even crucified he kept reminding or repeating to the disciples the truth that he was going to be crucified, he would be buried, but he would rise again on the third day.

And here it is, the third day, and they're not expecting it. Jesus rises from the dead and they didn't expect it. They weren't looking for it. In fact, they completely doubted that it would happen, that it had happened.

Doubt, Fear, and Joy in Luke 24

And we see this in Luke's Gospel, particularly in chapter 24, it says in verse 36 and following, he says when as they said these things, the disciples, Jesus stood, so the disciples are in this upper room, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, peace to you.

But they were terrified and frightened and supposed that they had seen a spirit or a ghost, a ghost, and he said to them, why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? And this is a repeated experience on the part of the disciples.

Doubt, questioning, unbelief. Even though they heard Jesus speak, and even though as you continue to read in verse 39, Jesus says, look, look at my hands, look at my feet, handle me and touch me. And you know, a ghost doesn't have hands and feet.

Go ahead, handle me, see. A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. But they still did not believe for joy, and they marveled.

And he says, you have anything to eat? You have any food here? So they gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb, and he took it and ate it in their presence. So Jesus gave ample evidence of the truth, the fact of his resurrection, that he literally bodily rose from the dead.

Here he is in the midst of them. Now he has this resurrection body that is a mystery to us, because we don't have anything to compare it to at this point, but nevertheless, it's very real. He proves it to them.

Thomas, the Disciples, and the Reality of the Resurrection

And yet, when you look at Matthew's account, just before Jesus is going to, he's up on the mountain with his disciples, it's not long until he's going to ascend, it says, the 11 disciples went away into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.

Now verse 17 says, and when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. Some doubted. Now on the one hand, you know, there's a kind of doubt that says, I don't believe it. I just don't believe it.

Kind of like Thomas's doubt, when he said, unless I see the print in his hands and stick my finger in the print of his hands and my hand in his side, I'm not going to believe. That's one kind of doubt.

But there's another kind of doubt, you know, it's like in verse 41 of Luke 24, it says, they still did not believe for joy. They didn't believe for joy. I think that indicates a different kind of doubt.

Perhaps the kind of doubt that says, this is just too good to be true. This is too good to be true. You ever had an experience like that, and something happens to you, something comes along your path that is exceptional, you were totally not expecting it, and it brought you great joy, incredible joy, and you said, man, this is just too good to be true.

I can't believe it. Now it's right there in front of you, it's happening to you, you're experiencing it, and on certainly an intellectual level, you believe it, you can't deny it, it's there in front of you.

But there's this emotional response to what your eyes see, what your hands are handling, and you say, I just can't believe it, it's just too good to be true. Perhaps that's what the disciples are experiencing here, as Jesus graciously, kindly, overcomes all of their doubts, dispels all of their fears, and eliminates any question whatsoever regarding the reality that he is alive.

The Good News of a Risen Savior

It's just too good to be true. Well, thank the Lord that it is true, and it is so good, indeed, that our Savior died on a cross for our sins, and he was raised for our justification. Thank the Lord today for his great grace and great power, and that we serve a risen, living Savior.

So our Father and our God, we do thank you today for our Savior, who did not stay dead in a tomb, but indeed rose again to life, real life, physical, literal, bodily life. Thank you for the resurrection of our Savior, and for our salvation and justification on account of his life.

We pray in Jesus' name, amen. All right, listen, have a good rest of your Tuesday, and the Lord bless you in it.