Day 19 - Jesus appears to the disciples
- Reading: John 20:19-23, John 20: 24-31, Luke 24:44-48
Yesterday we read about the empty tomb and the angels who declared “that Jesus has risen.” Today we talk about the Risen Savior who visits his disciples – his friends. In fact, verse 19 tells us that Jesus came the same day He resurrected, and He declares a message of peace. First off, he could have gone anywhere! He was the Risen King! Yet, he decided to be with his people, his disciples. And he goes with the calming and reassuring message of peace. I wonder if Jesus came with a message of peace because what he just went through gave us true peace. He conquered sin and evil so we could have peace with God. He destroyed the separation between God and his people. We now have direct access to God and the God of peace now dwells within us. He gave us the ultimate peace!
And as he speaks this message, he shows them his body. God was going to use these disciples to change the world. They were going to be his messengers that preached His Good News across the nations. When Jesus appeared with his message and his body, he was confirming all that he shared when he was among them. He was validating all that he foretold that he came to do. He wanted his disciples to know without a doubt that he died but now he lives and he lives because he is God. A God who came down to set his people free. These disciples need to see and feel those scars. They needed to touch the risen body because Jesus would someday soon be sending them on the hardest mission yet - to preach the Gospel to all the nations.
Jesus not only appeared to the disciples that day but several times after. Luke 24:44-48 highlights a little of what he may have been doing. A bible study. “He was opening their minds to understand the scriptures.” What was written in the Law of Moses (first 5 books of the Bible), the prophets and the Psalms. He took what we have been doing but on steroids and with complete accuracy because he is who was written about. Can you imagine that?! Jesus himself, talking about himself, and what he himself fulfilled, because he was the very thing that we needed to be made right before God. He was and is the answer!
But here is the beautiful thing, as Jesus opened the minds of the disciples to understand all that has been written, we have the Holy Spirit in us to help us understand. I truly believe the Holy Spirit helps me every time I read and then type a message on this blog. I didn’t even like writing before I started learning all these truths about Jesus over the last several years, and yet when I type the Holy Spirit helps it to flow and make sense! I know I am physically doing it as there are plenty of typos and grammatical errors, but on many days the message is beyond my capability. Thats what’s so awesome about the Holy Spirit alive in us! But let’s save this message for another day. Day 25 to be exact ;)
May we not merely gain knowledge. Instead, as we learn, may we grow and confess and change more into the people we’ve been created to be by the power of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us. - Francis Chan⠀