BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD (Part VI)
In our portrait of the person and work of Jesus Christ, we have carefully highlighted The Passion of Jesus Christ, detailing
His betrayal, isolation, rejection, judgment, humiliation, chastisement,
satanic attacks and death by crucifixion. In this, the final installment
of our devotional series, we examine the
Resurrection and Post-Resurrection Appearances of Jesus Christ.
During the forty-day period immediately following the
resurrection of JESUS CHRIST, there were numerous occasions when He appeared dramatically to His
disciples, manifesting a very tangible confirmation that He was indeed alive
and had totally triumphed over Satan, sin, death, hell and the grave.
On Resurrection
Sunday, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of
James), Joanna, “and other women that were with them.” (Mark 16:9 –
Matthew 28:9 – Luke 24:10) They were commissioned by Christ to share the good
news with the eleven surviving original disciples.
Hearing this news, Peter raced to the sepulcher. On
the road to Emmaus, Jesus appeared and conversed with two of His followers, Peter
and Cleopas, although they did not immediately recognize Him. Jesus
expounded the scriptures to them, explaining how the Son of God had suffered
and entered into His glory. Dr. Luke outlined their encounter with
Christ. Here is how it ended:
Luke 24:28-35 (NKJV)
28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated
that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained
Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far
spent.” And He went in to stay with them. 30 Now it came
to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and
broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their
eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 And
they said one to another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked
with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 So
they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and
those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The
Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 And
they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known
to them in the breaking of bread.
That same Sunday evening, Jesus appeared to ten of His
disciples. Judas was deceased; Thomas was absent.
John 20:19-20 (NKJV)
19 Then, 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, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with
you.” 20 When He had said this, He showed
them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they
saw the Lord.
Eight days later, Jesus appeared again to His disciples,
Thomas being present.
John 20:26-28 (NKJV)
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with
them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and
said, “Peace to you!” 27 Then He said to
Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your
hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but
believing.” 28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My
Lord and my God!”
While seven of the disciples were fishing on the Sea of
Tiberias, Jesus appeared again and performed a miracle of abundance.
Obeying the directives of Jesus, they caught 153 huge fish and dined
sumptuously with The Master. “This is now the third time Jesus showed
Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.” (John 21:14) On
various occasions, by eating food with His disciples and by appearing/vanishing
before their eyes, Jesus displayed specific characteristics of His
post-resurrection body, similar to that which we believers will possess after
the Rapture. (I Corinthians 15:50-55)
Furthermore, the Apostle Paul recorded an occasion when
Jesus was seen by “five hundred brethren at once,” indicating that His
appearances were not limited to the inner circle of disciples, but occurred
publicly and broadly. (I Corinthians 15:6) Paul also records Christ’s
private appearances to James and to himself (on the road to Damascus) “as one
born out of due time.” (I Corinthians 15:7-8 – Acts 9:1-5)
Jesus also appeared to His eleven disciples on a mountain
in Galilee. “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.”
(Matthew 28:16-17) There they received the apostolic authority to
evangelize the entire world, known to us today as The Great Commission.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV)
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been
given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to
observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
In the prologue to The Acts of the Apostles, Dr. Luke
records the final appearance, impartation and instruction of Jesus Christ:
Acts 1:1-9 (NKJV)
1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began
both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was
taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the
apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented
Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them
during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of
God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He
commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the
Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for
John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit
not many days from now.” 6 Therefore, when they had come
together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the
kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not
for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own
authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 Now
when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a
cloud received Him out of their sight.
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Whenever I reflect upon the life and legacy of our Lord and
Savior, JESUS CHRIST, I stand in absolute awe of Him. It is my hope that this series has offered
some degree of insight and inspiration to every believing reader. It is my prayer that we will walk daily in
the love, grace, mercy, humility, power and authority of the Risen Savior. And may we ever live in His righteousness and
with earnest expectation of His imminent return. (Titus 2:11-13)
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