Let us turn to God's Word. In that passage we read Luke
chapter 24, and drawing your attention this morning to words
that we find in verse 39. Luke 24, 39. He holds my hands
and my feet, that it is I myself, handle me and see. for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have I really want to
take for our text just four words these words in the middle of
the verse where Christ says to the disciples it is I myself
the four words then it is I myself and as we look at this particular
passage to consider how Christ is here declaring and demonstrating
the reality of his resurrection. He declares and demonstrates
that blessed truth of his resurrection from the dead. It is I myself. We see how at this time the disciples
were in some distress and they were very fearful when the Lord
appears to them the two have returned to Jerusalem
Christ having shown himself to them as they had journeyed with
him there on that road and returning they are told how he had also
appeared to Simon Peter and as they are there together suddenly
the Lord appears again in the midst of them in verse 36 as
they thus spake Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and
said unto them peace be unto you but how fearful they were. They were
terrified, it says. They were affrighted, and suppose
that they had seen a spirit. From whence does this fear arise? It's because they have inadequate
views of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the real cause of all
the trouble that they are feeling at this time. Had he not spoken
to those two on the Emmaus roads? At verse 25, and said to them,
O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
have spoken. And it's interesting, the word
that's used there, it's not the same word that Christ uses in
the Sermon on the Mount. Remember when he's expounding
the true nature of the Lord of God, the spirituality of the
Lord of God and he deals with the the sixth commandment which
says thou shalt not kill and he says that you're guilty of
breaking that law if you say to your brother fool well the word that's used there in
Matthew chapter 5 is a different word to what the Lord uses here
that word for when we speak disparagingly to another and dismiss him literally
means stupid or senseless. But what the Lord says to these
two on the road in verse 25 literally means you're not thinking, you're
not considering, you're not perceiving, you're not understanding. Why is it that they they're not
perceiving or understanding things are right, it all boils down
to the fact that they're failing to understand the truth of Scripture
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, concerning the Messiah. That truth is set forth in the
Old Testament Scriptures and it's those Scriptures of course
that the Lord then begins to expound on to those two. we're
told how he expounded to them in all the scriptures of things
concerning himself and then even with these here that he is meeting
now back at Jerusalem again he opens their understanding that
they might understand the scriptures how that all that is written
in Moses, in the prophets, in the Psalms, all concerns himself
We are often confusing, even fearful, terrified, if we fail
to have a right and a proper understanding concerning what
the Scriptures tell us with regards to the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the language of John
Newton in the hymn that we often sing, 1149, while thinking of
Christ. is the test to try both your state and your scheme. You
cannot be right in the rest unless you think rightly of Him. We need then to be clear with
regards to who He is. And this is what the Lord is
declaring to His disciples in the word that I want to bring
before you as our text. He says in verse 39, Behold,
it is I myself literally what he is saying is this I am myself
I am myself he is of course that one who is Jehovah Jesus he is
the great I am that I am. And how we see that repeatedly
in the Gospel according to Saint John, those remarkable I am passages. And how he says there in John
8, 24, if you believe not that I am he, you shall perish in
your sins. Literally, if you believe not
that I am, you shall perish in your sins. Before Abraham was,
I am. and so considering then these
four words this morning as the Lord addresses these disciples
in all their fears in all their terror and says unto them it
is I myself and I want to observe some three factors as the Lord
is seeking to assure them of the truth of His own resurrection. First of all, how the Lord Jesus
Christ is seen by them. Secondly, how they're touched
by Him. They handle Him. And then, thirdly,
how He comes and He partakes of foods before them. Those three things in which He
is demonstrating then the truth of his resurrection from the
dead first of all the Lord Jesus Christ is seen and isn't that
in a sense emphasized in this particular verse he says to them
behold my hands and my feet and the word behold of course literally
means look search consider it's a strong word The eye is to be
fixed, to look intently and carefully at what He is displaying before
them. He is showing them His hands
and His feet. And again He says in the middle
of the verse, handle me and see. And again we have the words at
the end of the verse, a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye
see me to have. There's a certain emphasis then
upon what they are to look at and to consider with their physical
sight. And what is it? Well, first of
all, a negative. What it is not, this is not a
spirit. This is not a spirit. We're told
at the end of verse 37 that what terrified and frightened them
was that they thought they were seeing just a spirit, an apparition. But the Lord says, at the end
of verse 39, A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me
have. This is not a spirit. This is a real person, with a
real body. Now, we know from John's account
of these things, there in John 20 and verse 19, that the place
where they were meeting on this day was an upper room and they
were very much afraid of what was going to happen next and
they had secured the doors. The doors were shut, barred,
bolted because of fear of the Jews. Well, how could it be that
a physical person could come and appear before them? How could
this be a real body? Now there are those, they call
themselves Christians, but they don't believe the Word of God,
even ministers, as you know, even bishops in the Church of
England, who are so liberal and modernistic in their attitude
to Scripture, that they deny the reality of the physical resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they say that this was just
a spirit, it wasn't a real resurrection. And, in a sense, they sometimes
appeal to Scripture, and maybe they confuse some people. There
are certain verses. Remember the language that we
find in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, that remarkable chapter in which
the apostle is dealing with the truth of the resurrection. And
what does it say there, 1 Corinthians 15.37, "...that which thou sowest, Thou sowest not that body that
shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat. The illustration
is being used, you go into the field and you sow the seed and
then you look for the crop to appear. Thou sowest bare grain. and something else appears. And
so these liberals, they say, well look, what we see in the
resurrection is not the body that was hanging and suffering
and bleeding and dying upon the cross, it's something different.
Again, Paul says there, in 1 Corinthians 15, it is so in a natural body,
it is raised a spiritual body, flesh and blood. cannot inherit
the Kingdom of God. These statements are there, and
these men seize on these particular verses, and they wrestle and
wrest the Word of God, tear it away from its context, and say
that the body that they saw, it wasn't a real body. It was
something very different. But that's not what the Scripture
is saying. what the scripture is saying is that that body is
the same body that was upon the cross but now it is a glorified
body it is sown in dishonor, yes it is raised in glory, it
is sown in weakness it is raised in power but it is the same body
but now it is a glorified body and now the Lord makes it quite
clear here that it is really himself it is I myself he says
handle me and say for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you
see me have there's no disputing that what those men who want
to deny the reality of the resurrection are doing when they appeal to
various statements in some of the scriptures, they are simply
twisting the Word of God. They wrestle with it and they
wrest it out of its context and they pervert it. Here we see
that the person that they witness, the one who stands before them,
is the same one that they had known during the days of his
earthly ministry. It's the very same body that
had hung there upon the cross, but now Though sown in dishonour,
it is raised in glory. This is not a spirit then. This
is something of substance. This is a real body. And what
is this body? It's that very body that bears
the marks of His crucifixion. Verse 40, When He had thus spoken,
He showed them His hands and His feet. Oh, this is clearly
the same body. There's no disputing it. Here
are the wounds that he had to endure when he poured out his
soul unto death, when he made that great sin-atoning sacrifice. And now we're told later by Luke,
at the beginning of the Acts, of course, Luke who is the human
author of this third gospel. He's also the one who is the
author of the Acts of the Apostles. And there at the beginning of
the Acts we're told how he showed himself alive after his passion
by many infallible proofs. There are these infallible proofs.
Forty days He was there appearing to them, showing Himself to them.
And this is the blessed truth that the Apostle Paul brings
out so plainly in that great 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. He mentions all those who were
actually witnesses of the great truth of His resurrection. He says there at verse 4 concerning
Christ, He was buried, He rose again the third day according
to the Scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the
twelve, after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren
at once, of whom the greater part remain unto his present,
but some are fallen asleep, after that he was seen of James, then
of all the apostles, and last of all, He was seen of me also
as of one born out of due time. Even this man Paul, he has that
mark of an apostle. Am I not an apostle? Have I not
seen Jesus Christ our Lord? These apostles, you see, they
are witnesses. Those 500, they're all witnesses
to the glorious truth that Christ is risen. And so he comes and
he shows himself to them. and he indicates to them that
this is a real body. This is not some apparition,
this is not simply a spiritual appearance. He has a substantial
body. He has flesh and bones. The body
now is a glorified body. But it's not enough, is it? That
they should see him. We see here how the Christ also
may be touched. and helped. It is I, myself. Handle me, he
says. Handle me. Now, this is the risen
Christ proving, establishing the truth of his resurrection
to his disciples, his witnesses and he invites them to handle
him. How is that squared with what he says to Mary there in
John chapter 20? Remember how he says to her,
touch me not. Touch me not. Well she is not
to touch him on that occasion because she first has an errand.
She must first obey the Lord's command and go and tell his disciples. handle me not he says I am not
yet ascended to my father but go to my brethren and say unto
them I ascend unto my father and your father and to my God
and your God she must first be about that business of going
to tell the others there's no contradiction when he forbids
her as it were to touch him and yet now he invites these disciples
to handle him. He can be touched, because his
body is a real body, and that's why the Lord invites them to
do this very thing. It is the deceiver, it is the
Antichrist who is the denial of Christ's true human nature. Remember how John brings that
out when he writes there in his first general epistle. He makes
it quite clear what the spirit of Antichrist is. Antichrist
is the one who denies the reality of the Lord's human nature. In 1 John chapter 4, Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they
are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the
world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh,
is not of God. And this is that spirit of Antichrist,
whereof ye have heard that it should come. And even now already
is it in the world. Now, of course, he's speaking
here of the blessed truth of the Lord's human nature, that
he was a real man. but it also goes on surely to
establish the truth that he who lived as a man and died as a
man is the same that rose again as a man and the one who is now
ascended to heaven and is at the right hand of God is the
man Christ Jesus it was the eternal son of God
who in the fullness of the time was made of a woman, when he
took to himself that human nature, and he has now risen in that
human nature, and he has ascended. He is still the Son of God and
the Son of Man there in heaven. And to deny that is the spirit
of antichrist. Many deceivers are entered into
the world, says John, Who are these who are the deceivers?
They are those who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. And so, those men who would pour
scorn on the blessed truth of the real resurrection of the
Lord Jesus Christ, they are to be recognized for what they are.
They are of the spirit of Antichrist. And they are to be declared as
such. and rejected as such. John is the one who of course
constantly brings out the blessed truth concerning the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ both in his gospel and also in his epistles. John's writings are somewhat
different to what we find in the other three synoptic gospels. It's the last of all the gospels
that was written And it does appear that John is beginning
there to answer those who had arisen, those false teachers,
those heretical teachers, who didn't understand the mystery
of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. John speaks much of him,
of course, as the eternal Son of God. The language that we
have at the beginning of his Gospel. where He speaks of Him
as the eternal Word of God. In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him.
Without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was
life and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth
in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. You know
the language that he uses, the word was made flesh and dwelt
among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. For no man hath seen
God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of
the Father, he hath declared it. John is asserting always
his great truth concerning the deity of the Lord Jesus, that
he is God. But John is the one who also
asserts the blessed truth of the reality of his human nature. And he was so intimate with the
Lord. He was that favoured one who, when the Lord instituted
his Holy Supper, was leaning upon the bosom of the Lord. Oh,
he had touched and handled him. and there does he begin that
first epistle so similar really to the beginning of the Gospel
of John that which was from the beginning which we have heard
which we have seen with our eyes which we have looked upon and
our hands have handled of the word of life for the life was
manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and show unto
you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested
unto us that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you
that ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship
is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ isn't there
a sense in which in the gospel he is plainly bringing forth
the truth of the Lord's deity that he is the eternal Son of
God the eternal Word of God he is God but here at the beginning
of the epistle this first epistle, he is asserting the truth that
he is a real man. It's what we've heard, what we've
seen, what we've looked upon, what we've handled. He is a real
man. And John is that one who can
bear testimony to it. And so what does the Lord do
here in our text? He declares quite clearly to
his disciples, it is I myself. I am myself. handle me, handle
me or they see him and they see a real man, even the man Christ
Jesus glorified and they are invited to touch him, to handle
him but again the Lord goes even further as he declares and demonstrates
the truth of his resurrection because he partakes of food He eats. Verse 41, While they yet believed
not for joy and wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here
any meat? And they gave him a piece of
a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb, and he took it, and it ate before
them. Observe exactly what is being
said here. This is a deliberate action on
the part of the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is seeking to establish
this blessed truth, to prove the reality of His human nature
yet. What does it say? He asks for
meat, for food, they give Him this piece of fish, and it says
at the end of verse 43, He did eat before them. He deliberately
partakes of that food before then they see him, eating it,
digesting it. Remember when, back in the Old
Testament, Moses is in the mount, 40 days,
receiving all that instruction concerning the worship of God,
the furnishings of the tabernacle and so forth, and it says they
wish not what's become of Moses and Aaron makes the golden calf and they worship the golden calf
or they imagine they're worshipping God by means of the golden calf
and yet God had specifically said they were to make no graven
images and then Moses is sent down from
the mount God will disinherit this wicked disobedient people. Moses comes down and he's got
the tables of the commandments written with the finger of God
in his hand and we're told how he broke the tables of the law
at the foot of the mount and it says that he broke the tables
before them. That was a deliberate act. He
broke the tables of the law before their eyes, it says. They saw
Him breaking the tables of the Lord. They had broken the commandment.
God had entered into covenant with them when He brought them
there to Mount Sinai and declares them to be His own peculiar special
people. They'd entered into covenant
with Him. and they've immediately broken the covenant, and so Moses
is directed by God to take those tables and to break the tables
before their very eyes. Oh, it was a great sin, you see,
and Moses has to come forth and stand for them before God and
be a mediator and plead with God on their behalf that he does
not disinherit them. Well, it's the same truth that
we see here, really. this is a significant statement
that we have at the end of verse 43 did eat before
them they must see what the Lord is doing or they are in a strange
situation really they are experiencing strange emotions they are such
mixed emotions remember how they were terrified and affrighted
there in verse 37. And then what are we told in
verse 41? They believe not for joy. They're
so overwhelmed by what they're witnessing that they can scarce
believe what is said before their eyes. And we know that at this
time there was a great deal of unbelief amongst them. and we see it, we read through
the chapter remember when the women come
back having been so early there at the sepulchre and the sepulchre
was empty and they tell the disciples verse 11 their words seem to
them as idle tales and they believe them not they believe them not
it's the same as the Lord addresses those two on the Emmaus road
verse 25, oh fools he says and slow of heart to believe slow
of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken they're so confused they are so unbelieving really,
that's the root of the problem and is it not also true of us
so often, that's the root of our problem that awful unbelief,
the sin which does so easily beset us it only brings confusion
to us and again we are told how the Lord actually upbraided them in Mark 16.14 He upbraided them,
it says with their unbelief and hardness of hearts, because they
believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen." That's
the disciples, those who had been His followers, those who
had acknowledged and confessed Him to be the Messiah, to be
the Son of God, and He has to upbraid. them because their hearts
are so hard and so unbelieving. And isn't it remarkable? At home
we've been reading the early chapters of Acts the last week
and it's so striking the change that comes over those men the
boldness of Peter and John and the other disciples and apostles
after the coming of the Holy Spirit. And of course that's
a promise that the Lord gives at the end of the Gospel here. I send the promise of my Father
upon you, he says, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until
ye be endured with power from on high. When the Spirit comes,
all their unbelief is dissipated. and now they are so bold in going
forth and proclaiming and preaching the truth and what is the great
theme that runs through the apostolic ministry there in the Acts they
are constantly asserting the truth of his resurrection from
the dead but how many infallible proofs were necessary and the
Lord grants those proofs as we said there at the beginning of
Acts in Acts 1 verse 3 He establishes, He proves the truth of His resurrection
to them by many infallible proofs. How the Lord ministers to His
people and how the Lord in His grace will come and minister
to us and open our eyes. That's what we need, is it not?
He opened their understanding, it says in verse 45, that they
might understand the Scripture. and said unto them, Thus it is
written. And thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise
from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission
of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. Oh, the Lord then comes now revealing himself to these people.
And what is the revelation? Well, it's summed up really in
these words that I said I'd declare as a text. It is I myself. I am myself. And this is where you have to
come to, to recognize that Christ is indeed the great I am. He is God, manifest in the flesh. If ye believe not that I am,
ye shall perish in your sins, he says. Or that Christ is God,
I can avouch, and for his people cares, since I to him have prayed, and he has answered
my prayer, says the hymn writer. He is that one then who is able
to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him. What
do we see here then, as we draw to a conclusion this morning? We here have the signs that Christ's
death upon the cross was very much for sinners, was very much
for sinners. After the words of our text in
verse 19, we're told what he did, he speaks, He speaks to them there in verse
39, but then it says in verse 40, when he had thus spoken,
he showed them his hands and his feet. It's a sign! I like the remark,
the comment that's made by Calvin. He says, by this sign it was
testified that Christ was risen for us, rather than for himself. It's a sign as He shows them
His hands and His feet. What's the significance of His
hands and His feet? Oh, these are those wounds, of
course, that He sustained on the cross, when He paid a great
price to ransom His people, where He satisfied all the demands
of the Holy Law of God, when He made the sin-atoning sacrifice, without the shedding of blood,
there's no remission of sins. He shows them His hands and His
feet. He is that One who is now truly
risen for them. Again, it comes out in what we
read in John chapter 20. In verse 19 it says, the same day
at evening, this is that first day of the week, the same day
at evening being the first day of the week, when the doors were
shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews,
came Jesus and stood in the midst and said unto them, Peace be
unto you. And when he had so said, he showed
them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad
when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus unto them, Peace
be unto you. As my Father hath sent me, even
so send I you. You see what it says here. He
stands in the midst in verse 19 and says to them, Peace be
unto you. And then at the beginning of
verse 21, Jesus says to them again, Peace be unto you. And what is it that we have between
those statements? At the end of verse 19, the beginning
of verse 21, He shows unto them His hands and His side. He is
showing them His wounds. And this is the cost of that
peace that He is now proclaiming. He has made peace through the
blood of His cross. He is the propitiation for our
sins. He has satisfied the wrath of
God. this is the great message no
wonder the disciples when he showed them his hands and his
feet they were glad they were glad this is the good news the
Lord that one who died is now risen and this is that gospel
that is to be proclaimed all the wounds the blood that was
shed there at Calvary that's the The tremendous cost of that
great legacy that he leaves his disciples. Peace I give unto
you my peace I leave with you he says. That is a legacy. The sign then of Christ's death.
His death was very much for sinners. His resurrection is also for
sinners. And what is the significance
of the resurrection? Is it not to strengthen the faith? of his people. We're told why
they yet believe not for joy and wonder. Oh it's too good, it's too great
to be true. Here is faith you see and it's
mixed with all these strange emotions the hymn says doesn't it to be
steadfast in believing yet to tremble fear and quake steadfast in believing and yet
or trembling at the wonder of all these things that the Lord
has done as he comes to establish his people and how does he establish
them by revealing himself to them I am he says the resurrection
and the life. He that believeth in me, though
he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth
in me shall never die. Believeth thou this? Do we really
believe this? Behold, he says, it is I, myself. Behold, I am myself. Behold my hands and my feet. that it is I myself handle me
and say for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me
have. May the Lord be pleased to bless
this verse to us. Amen.