There are three things that ‘jump out’ of today’s Gospel reading which seem to be tremendously important in the context of our journey through the season of Easter:

First, that the disciples thought the Risen Jesus was a ghost.

• Second, that they shared a meal together, over which Jesus taught them in a new way.
• And third, that Jesus called them to be witnesses.

Let’s spend a bit of time looking at each of these three things, and see what they have to say to us!

So, they thought Jesus was a ghost!

When I was a Church organist in Margate, I would often practice alone in the church, sometimes late at night.  On many occasions, during those 16 years, I had the experience of knowing that somebody had walked up the church and was standing behind me, but on each occasion in question, when I turned round, there was nobody there!

That experience left me with all sorts of questions about the existence of a spiritual world (about ‘ghosts’ if you’re happy to use that word), but I have to say, that I never found those experiences scary!

It’s not surprising, that the first thought to spring to the disciples minds when the met the risen Jesus, was that he was a ghost!  After all, they had seen him die!  But actually, Jesus clearly showed them that he wasn’t a ghost:

For a start, he invited the disciples to touch him.  And you can't touch a ghost, since a ghost has no substance.  Then Jesus, ever-practical, asked for food, and he ate the piece of fish they gave him – and ghosts don’t eat food!

Which brings us to my second thing – the shared meal – we all know that such occasions are important, not just sharing the food, but sharing company and conversation!

And so it was for the disciples (many important episodes in Jesus life had taken place around meal tables) and here, when they'd eaten together, Jesus began to teach them.  He opened the Scriptures to them in a new sort of way!

Now, this all sounds very normal, but there seems to have been something different about the way in which this Risen Jesus taught the disciples.   As if from the other side of death, Jesus himself had gained new insight into the Scriptures, and of how they had been fulfilled in the very things that had been happening to him. 

So, the Jesus who appeared in the Resurrection stories was definitely not the same as the Jesus who had lived and worked with them for three years.  This post-death, post-Easter Jesus is the Christ, the Saviour, the Lord and King! The ‘Lord of Heaven and Earth’ who we worship throughout this Easter season.

Clearly, all those who actually met the Risen Jesus, were moved and empowered in a whole new way, but what does it mean for us?

Well, we can be absolutely certain that something tremendous happened on that first Easter Day – something absolutely unique, and something that humanity has spent 2,000 years coming to terms with!

The resurrection of Jesus changed everything.  The disciples, who for the previous three years had a ‘kind of’ belief in Jesus, and had a ‘kind of’ understanding of what he was about, now knew! 

And it can be just the same for us, all these years later!  People who experience an encounter with the Risen Christ in some way or another – and it does happen to many people – even if they have spent the whole of their lives ‘kind of’ believing and ‘kind of’ understanding, suddenly now know at a totally different level and in a totally different way!  They too, understand that Jesus is Lord and King!  And just as it did for the disciples, that new way of knowing changes everything.

And once you know for sure that Jesus is real, then life is utterly transformed.  There's a very real source of strength and power!

Which brings me to the third thing – that Jesus told the disciples that they were witnesses!

When you witness something significant, you are required to share the experience – that may be in a court of law, if you have witnessed a crime, or a serious accident, or it may be out of sheer compulsion if you have experienced something wonderful – you just can’t keep it for yourself, you’ve got to share it!

May we all experience the Risen Christ in this Easter season, and his gift of eternal life, and may we all seek to do his will, by witnessing to the good news. 

And may we live and work to build up his kingdom here in this place!