Jesus Appears

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
John 20 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.  (John 20:30-31, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
In John 20 we see several vignettes of Jesus appearing to his loved ones after his resurrection. I think there is some resounding beauty in who he appeared to and how he appeared to them, so let’s look at that today.

Mary Magdalene—Jesus was crucified and placed in the tomb before sundown on a Friday (so the Jews could keep the Sabbath) and a grieving Mary was at the tomb before daylight on Sunday to tend to the body. When she saw the body was gone she ran to get the men, who looked for a bit, then left, but Mary stayed. Angels were there, and interestingly enough this is one of the few places in scripture where the angels didn’t frighten the people they visited. Then Jesus appeared to her and she didn’t recognize him initially, until he said her name, and she knew that voice. She was every bit as much a disciple of Jesus’ as the 12 fellows often listed but because she was a woman, education was optional and she wouldn’t even have been considered a reliable witness to the occurrence in a court of law. Isn’t it curious, then, that Jesus chose to appear to her first?

The Disciples, notably:

Simon Peter—He’s baaack! Last time we saw Peter in the book of John he was swearing he didn’t even know that Jesus guy! Yet he was with John again when Mary came running to report that the tomb was empty. Always one to jump in boldly, he rushed to assess the situation. Hmmm… burial linens folded neatly… no grave robbery here. Something else must be afoot. 

John—As we’ve seen throughout the book, John refers to himself in third person, often as “the other one” or “the one Jesus loves.” John held nothing back in his innocent trust of Jesus but he was at the cross when Jesus died and saw it all come to a bloody end. He beat Peter in a footrace to the tomb but didn’t rush in… a broken heart can only take so much. Yet as soon as he saw the empty tomb, he “believed” or deposited his faith in Jesus again. 

Ten Disciples (Thomas was AWOL and Judas had hanged himself), had huddled in an upstairs room, afraid they would face the same fate as Jesus if the Jews found them. They had the doors locked when Jesus, not limited by human barriers, appeared in the middle of the group. In a strange scene, Jesus commissioned those fearful few to follow in his footsteps: “As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” Jesus had scars in his hands and side, and they were supposed to go for more? When they were badly in need of courage, guidance and a new perspective, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into them and gave them authority to forgive sin.

This brings us to Thomas. Thomas gets a bad rap doesn’t he? But he didn’t see the empty tomb, wasn’t there when Jesus appeared to the others and did not have the Holy Spirit “breathed” into him. Thomas wasn’t so much a doubter as an unbeliever who wouldn’t pretend to understand when he really didn’t, but when Thomas saw him rightly, he instinctively honored him: “My Lord and my God!”  We have seen Jesus conquer sickness, sin, evil men, death and sorrow; now we see him conquer unbelief. 


PERSONAL APPLICATION:
Have you found yourself in one of these scenarios yet? Underestimated? Brokenhearted? Unfaithful? Hopeless? Fearful? Unbelieving?  If so, you’re in good company. The resurrected Jesus chose to reveal himself to folks like me and you, and if you’ll let me paraphrase verses 30 and 31: Jesus did a lot of other awesome stuff but the best things are written here so if you can identify you can believe and have life breathed into you as well.


WHO AM I?
I’m Leigh Anne Bland. By the time you read this Christmas will be over, but I wanted to include a picture of my two favorite elves as they were setting up our tree this year.