Have you ever been caught off guard by something? That is, have you ever expected one thing to happen but then you were completely shocked when something else happened? Maybe you thought you job was secure, but then your boss called you into his office and said, “I’m so sorry, but we are going to have to let you go.” and you are left wondering what you are going to do. Maybe you weren’t expecting to have a baby, but then all of the sudden, “Surprise! You’re pregnant!” and you are left wondering what you are going to do. Or maybe you have experienced the shock an unexpected death of a loved one, and you felt that empty whole in the center of your heart.

This is exactly what happened to Jesus’ followers when he died on the cross. They thought that Jesus was going to lead a revolution and liberate Israel from Roman occupation and establish a kingdom of peace and justice on earth. But when Jesus breathed his final breath, their hopes were nailed to the cross! They were caught off guard by the crucifixion and they were left wondering what to do next.

But if Jesus’ followers were caught off guard by his crucifixion, they were really caught off guard by his resurrection. Even though he had foretold his resurrection on six occasions during his ministry, it never really registered with them. Since they didn’t expect Jesus to rise from the dead, it made it very difficult for them to believe it. In today’s passage, we see that the resurrection consistently catches Jesus’ followers off guard.

The Women: Caught Off Guard by the Resurrection (1-8)

The story begins early in the morning on the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and some other women were taking spices to Jesus’ tomb to anoint his body according to the Jewish burial custom. They had to wait until the first hint of light on Sunday morning because Jesus was buried late Friday afternoon just before the Sabbath had begun. It was against the law to anoint a dead body during the Sabbath. So, they went to his tomb at the first moment they could.

As they approached the tomb, they certainly expected to find Jesus’ body there. The first hint that something strange had taken place came when they saw that the stone had been rolled away. Tombs in ancient Israel were not like tombs today. They were usually caves rather than a hole in the ground, and tombstones were large round rocks set in a groove over the entrance rather than a granite slab engrave with decorative angels and flowers. This open tomb caught them off guard because there was no sign of who rolled it away or why they did it.

They were caught off guard again when they entered the tomb and discovered that Jesus’ body was gone. They saw his grave clothes lying there and they wondered what had happened. Had robbers stolen his body? Had a friend moved it? They just didn’t know and it troubled them.

As the women discussed the various possibilities, all of the sudden two men appeared beside them. They were caught off guard by this too. Their clothing shimmered white like lightning and the women were terrified. Who were these men and what did they want? After gazing for a minute, they recognized that they were some sort of supernatural beings, and they bowed down and put their faces toward the ground in worship.

Of all the surprises they experienced that morning, none was greater than the shock they received when the angels asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he is risen!” Could it be true? Was Jesus really alive? Did he really conquer the grave? As they pondered these things, the angels reminded them that Jesus himself foretold this. When they explained this, the women remembered Jesus’ words.

When see how Jesus’ followers refused to listen to his foretelling his own death and resurrection multiple times, it should make us think about how slow we are to listen to God’s word. They didn’t want to think about Jesus’ death; so they weren’t prepared for his resurrection. Like these women, many people today have trained their ears to only hear what they want to hear, especially when it comes to God.

How many times has God spoken to us about something in our lives? How many times has he tried to tell us something through the verses we read in the Bible, sermons that we hear, or major events in our lives, but we block it out because it isn’t what we want to hear in the moment. It is bad enough that many of us exercise selective hearing with our parents or spouse, but it is extremely detrimental when we exercise selective hearing with God.

Has God been speaking to you about something? Don’t let it go in one ear and out the other! Don’t be caught off guard!

The Eleven Apostles: Caught Off Guard by the Resurrection (9-12)

With elation, the women immediately went to tell the Eleven apostles what they had seen and heard. They told them about the stone that was rolled away, the empty tomb, the grave clothes, and the two angels. But the apostles were caught off guard by the women’s resurrection story and they didn’t believe it because their story seemed so farfetched.

Now we need to remember that the 1st century hadn’t experienced the feminist revolution. In this culture and historical period, women were considered less credible than men. So, if you can picture a group of women telling a group of men that Jesus had risen from the dead, their skepticism is somewhat understandable.

On the other hand, their skepticism is somewhat surprising. These eleven apostles had been with Jesus for over three years. They watched him turn water into wine, walk on water, and raise Lazarus from the dead, and yet they did not believe that he was resurrected.

There was one apostle that wasn’t totally caught off guard though. Peter had spent more time with Jesus than anyone else. Still feeling the effects of denying Jesus three times just a few days earlier, his skepticism wasn’t as profound as the others. He wanted to see for himself if the women’s story was true, so he got up and ran to the tomb. When he saw the grave clothes on the ground, he went away wondering what had happened.

The apostle’s initial skepticism about Jesus’ resurrection helps us to understand people’s skepticism about resurrection today. Resurrection is difficult to believe! It is a supernatural phenomenon and it completely betrays our instinct and experience. No one questions the reality of death because we have all known someone who has died, but how many of us know someone who has been resurrected? We would expect non-Christians to be skeptical about the resurrection, but what about Christians?

Last year Don Piper, author of 90 Minutes in Heaven, came to the Enosburg Falls High School and told us about his tragic car accident and how the coroner pronounced him dead at the scene. He told us about his 90 minutes in heaven and how he came back to earth. It was a compelling story. But I can’t tell you how many so called Christians asked me, “Do you think that really happened to him? Do you think he was really dead? Do you think that he is just trying to make money from this?” They showed their skepticism.

I honestly don’t know what happened to Don Piper, but I know that Jesus was resurrected on the third day. How about you? Do you really believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Don’t be caught off guard by the resurrection!

Cleopas: Caught Off Guard by the Resurrection (13-35)

Later that day, two of Jesus’ followers were walking on the road toward the village of Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were probably heading home after their hopes of a redeemed Israel were dashed. Cleopas and the unnamed disciple were discussing the events of the past few days, Jesus came up and walked alongside of them, but they didn’t recognize him.

Luke uses an imperfect passive grammatical construction to convey that God supernaturally prevented them from recognizing Jesus. This allowed Jesus to engage them in dialogue and make the surprise of the resurrection even greater. Jesus uses his hidden identity to play dumb with these disciples and to test their knowledge of the gospel. He asked them what they were talking about. Cleopas was amazed that this man hadn’t heard about the things that happened over the weekend. The irony in verse 19 is hilarious as Jesus plays dumb again and asks, “What things?”

From there, Cleopas and the other disciple went on to share the gospel with Jesus. Again, the irony of this scene is humorous as they tell Jesus who he was and what he did. They do a pretty good job of telling the story of Jesus’ identity, trial, and death, but they began to stumble when they got to the resurrection. They obviously did not understand the reality or significance of the empty tomb.

At that point, Jesus took over for them. Beginning with Moses and the Prophets, he led them through a little Bible study and showed how the whole Old Testament pointed to himself. They were so intrigued by this mysterious figure that they invited him to dine and stay with them for the evening. When Jesus sat down with them and reenacted the Last Supper by taking the bread, giving thanks, breaking it, and giving it to them, God miraculously opened their eyes and enabled them to see that it was the resurrected Christ. Talk about being caught off guard by the resurrection! As soon as they recognized him, he instantaneously disappeared from the table. They returned to the apostles in Jerusalem and confirmed the account that Jesus was indeed resurrected from the dead!

This episode of unknown identity reminds me of something funny that happened to me a few weeks ago while I was at Jay Peak skiing. I was riding up the ski lift with a friend and another guy that I did not know. The other guy knew my friend but not me.

After simply exchanging names, I listened to them talk for most of the ride. The guy was telling my friend that he is a Canadian citizen but he lives in the States all winter for ski season. He explained that what he was doing was technically illegal, but it wasn’t hurting anyone and there was little chance he would ever get caught.

As we were nearing the top of the lift, the guy wanted to be polite and asked me what I do for a living. I said, “Oh, I work for Border Patrol!” A blank and terrified look fell over his face and it looked like he wanted to say, “Oh, shhhooot!”Then my friend and I started cracking up laughing and I said, “No, I’m just kidding. I’m a pastor of a church!” I don’t think he believed me. He took off pretty quickly and we didn’t see him again.

Cleopas and the other didn’t realize that they were speaking to Jesus, and they told him the story of his own death and resurrection. Although this scene is somewhat humorous, it makes me wonder: If Jesus appeared to us while we were walking down a road today, would we be able to tell him the story of his own death and resurrection? Would we be able to explain the significance of the cross and the resurrection?

For those of us who are Christians here today, we may be the closest thing to Jesus that some people ever see. If someone came to you and asked the equivalent of “What things?” would you be able to tell him or her that Jesus had to die on the cross so that we have forgiveness for our sins? Would you be able to tell them that Jesus had to be resurrected so that he can offer us eternal life today? Would you have the courage to them that Jesus is the only way their souls can be saved from hell? Don’t be caught off guard by the resurrection!

If you are not a Christian today, here these words! Jesus sacrificed his life for you! He was resurrected so that you could spend eternity in heaven with him. He wants you to take him seriously! He wants you to put your trust in him today! He wants you to make a commitment to follow him right now! Whatever you do, don’t be caught off guard by the resurrection!

In this passage, there are three groups of people who were caught off guard by the resurrection. I hope we have learned something from them!