The Uncontainable Jesus
And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one,
I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
John 21:25
Jesus is amazing! After four gospels filled with supernatural power, love, and sacrifice, the last verse of the last gospel tells that we are only getting a glimpse of all He did. John supposes the world could not contain the record of everything He did. Jesus is uncontainable. The Pharisees could not contain Him, the disciples could not, Pilot could not, the cross could not, death could not, the tomb could not, and the gates of hell could not.
He is still the same Jesus today. Your failures, dysfunctions, misery, depression, religion, sickness, and sin cannot contain Him. Rejoice! Our Savior, King, and Brother is uncontainable! Lose yourself in the joyful reality that the abundant life is not available because we are more than enough but because He is more than enough.
There is more than enough grace, peace, joy, love, mercy, and compassion because He is inexhaustible. You can have all of Him, and someone else can have all of Him simultaneously. You have His full attention while the next person has His full attention. He is beautifully more.
The abundant life is grounded in the abundant Jesus. Welcome to a family that always has more than enough. Have you partnered with a lie that tells you there is only a limited amount? Are you living as if Jesus can help, but is not enough? Will you dare to believe and act like Jesus is enough?
Father, I ask you to pull off the blindfold that has limited our perspective of Christ. May I see as You see. May I live from the reality that You are enough for me. Thank you, Jesus, for being who You are, because it is who You are that is changing and defining who I am. Come Lord, and show me how to truly live. For Your name, renown, and glory are the desires of my heart. Amen.
The Lordship of Jesus
Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow me.”
John 21:21-22
Jesus is the lover of our souls, a friend closer than a brother, our Savior, but also our Lord. The relationship between Jesus and Peter is being restored, but Jesus is still Lord, and Peter isn’t. Lordship is a position of authority. Jesus has told Peter how he will die, and Peter asks about John. Jesus’ simple response is “what is that to you?” That may sound rude or unloving, but Jesus is gently, yet accurately, reminding Peter of that He is Lord.
In a Christian culture of grace and identity, we must not lose sight of the cornerstone of our faith: the Lordship of Jesus. History does not happen to Jesus. He is in history while above it and beyond it. Jesus knew how Peter was going to die and implies that if He wants John to live until He comes, He will. Without a clear realization of the Lordship of Christ, we do not have an anchor for our faith. Without this anchor, some might put faith in their faith or in biblical principles instead of faith in the person and work of Jesus.
Faith (trust) is only as strong as the one in whom it is placed. Sitting in a chair is an act of trust. The next time you sit in a chair, if it breaks, does mean you lacked faith? Of course not! Trust was given to the chair that was no longer worthy of the trust that was given. If we lose sight of the grandeur of the lordship of Jesus Christ, our faith will be redirected by fear. The greatness and goodness of His Lordship is our peace, regardless of what others might do.
To trust that Jesus is good but that not He is Lord never produces hope, joy, or peace. To trust that He is Lord but not that He is good cannot produce hope, joy, and peace either. It is only in trusting in His goodness and His lordship that we can experience hope, joy, and peace. Whether happy or sorrowful, in times of pain or comfort, in life or death, good will come to us because Jesus is Lord.
Feed My Sheep
And he said to Him, “Lord, you know all things: You know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”
John 21:17b
Have you ever met someone who made some bad decisions, mistakes, or failures, and never recovered? Do you know of a person who has made some bad decisions, mistakes, and failures, yet for them it seemed to turn into a blessing? Would you like to know what made the difference? One allowed their failures to lead to a wounded heart, and they remained there, which negatively affected the rest of their life; the other allowed their failures to lead them through a wounded heart into brokenness, which positively affected the rest of their life.
Brokenness is actually good. Wounds are not. Being shattered is not a good thing, but brokenness is a blessing. Brokenness is being stripped of our prideful selves. The opposite of brokenness is not wholeness but independence. Brokenness is the hope of wholeness. It is the joyful release of our lives into the hands of Christ. Only a broken person can pray “Not my will, but Your will be done.” An unbroken person is critical, judgmental, prideful, and unforgiving. Having clung to the ownership of their own lives, they are screaming, “Mine, mine, mine!”
You can almost hear the brokenness in the old apostle’s voice when he remarks, “Lord you know all things: You know that I love you.” The Bible states that, after he betrayed Jesus, Peter wept bitterly. He was wounded by his own choices, but he did not stop there. He allowed his disappointment in himself lead him into brokenness.
David was broken in his Psalm 51 prayer. He asked the Lord to change him, not bail him out. That is the cry of the broken—not to escape the issue but to be transformed. Then David continued to pray in that old Psalm that after the Lord changed him, He would use him.
Brokenness is the hope of future use. The broken Peter became the Apostle Peter. In this passage, Jesus asked some difficult questions that revealed Peter’s brokenness. The prideful, unbroken Peter would have made excuses, left the conversation, or emotionally exploded. But Peter was broken; he listened. Jesus not only restored Peter but commissioned him: “Feed My sheep.” Jesus entrusted His sheep to broken Peter. To the degree you have been broken, that is the degree you can be used.
Have you been avoiding brokenness? Are there past wounds that have never brought you to brokenness? Have they made you more critical or suspicious, more hard or bitter, less trusting? Do you desire to be greatly used by God? Are you willing to ask Him to bring you to brokenness?
This is a tale of old and it could be true
But I will leave that determination up to you
A righteous and courageous King
Whom everyone loved and whose praises they’d sing
Was looking for a horse to be his own
But it had to be worthy to represent the throne.
They found the largest and strongest horses to break
But none of them could seem to make
A good choice for such a fine King
Until one day a servant would bring
An average horse to say the least
But try they would
To see if he could
Become fit for the King
The horsemen trained and trained
Until the final day came
One last test
Would prove to them if this horse was truly the best. They gave him nothing to drink for three whole days
And then opened the gate to see if he’d stay
A trough of water lay before his eyes
But the command of the King was to sit tight
The horse, thirsty and hot from the desert heat moved not
The king said, “Go” and the horse began to trot Toward the water trough.
“Stop” yelled the noble King and to everyone’s wonder
The horse halted just short of the water
The horse stood still, not moving an inch
Until the King commanded, “Take a drink”
And so it was not the largest and strongest horse that was chosen
But the one who was willing to become broken.
Now adorned in royalty and honor
No one looks at him and ponders
What could he have been?
When you see him, you don’t see his brokenness,
Because your attention is drawn to the glory of his King
Guilt vs. Godly Sorrow
He said to him a third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?”
Peter was grieved because He said to him a third time, “Do you love me?”
John 21:17
Guilt is not good for you. Most people understand that; but when asked if they should never experience guilt, most people still think they need it. This is called neurotic. Guilt leads to condemnation, and condemnation leads to death. This is why in Jesus’ death condemnation was removed from those who believe (Rom. 8:1).
Guilt is focused on self and is motivated by fear and anger. Guilt is the functioning reality of a legalistic mindset. The law or legalist mentality is focused on the self’s relationship to the rules. Guilt asks questions like: Am I bad? Am I being good? Am I sinning? The reason guilt never leads to growth is that the person experiencing guilt moves into trying to relieve the guilty feeling instead of dealing with the issue. The goal of a guilt-ridden conscience is to be good. The presupposition is that being bad is the problem, and therefore being good is what will save us. But that is not the good news of Christian salvation and formation. The problem is not our badness—that is a symptom. The problem is we have been separated from God who is the source of life. Therefore, reconciliation is the goal of salvation and formation.
This is one of the curses of the fall. God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Why? He knew that when they ate they would be concerned about being good rather than being connected to Him. As created beings, we do not have the ability to be good apart from intimacy with God. Enjoyment of and intimacy with God is what sustains us, not knowledge of good and evil.
The alternative to guilt is a godly sorrow (2 Cor. 7:10). Godly sorrow is not about being good but being concerned about the relationship. It’s focus is on how my actions are affecting the ones I love. Godly sorrow is focused on the relationship, and its motivation is love. Love, therefore, moves people to repentance; guilt and shame impotent to bring repentance. Godly sorrow asks questions like: How will this decision affect the ones I love? Am I protecting the relationships that are important to me? Am I being truthful? Am I learning from my mistakes and failures?
As Jesus restores Peter, He does not show Him which of the commandments he had broken or the punishment that he deserved. He does not have to. He confronts Peter about the relationship by asking, “Do you love me?” Jesus was leading Peter through godly sorrow, which caused Peter to grieve. Grief is necessary to process and metabolize pain, loss, or disappointment. Peter was not concerned about the law, his goodness, or his wrongness. He was concerned about his relationship with Jesus. Peter’s actions affected the relationship, as does every action, and Jesus was restoring Peter by restoring the relationship.
Do you believe that guilt is good? Has guilt caused you to mature and grow? Has guilt produced the life of Christ in you? Is your focus on being good and right or on being loving and loved? The Resurrected Jesus did not ask Peter if he was good; he asked him do you love me?
The Heart of Restoration
He said to him [Peter] the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?”
John 21:17
We live in an egocentric culture, and egos are fragile. To ask Peter three times if he loved Jesus would be considered rude by some. But not to Jesus. It was love, and it was help. Jesus was not concerned about Peter’s ego but his restoration. Jesus knew the difference between pain that leads to harm and pain necessary for healing. Peter’s shame and disappointment with himself because of his past betrayal was pain that was going to harm him. The pain, sorrow, and discomfort that Peter felt during this confrontation was a healthy pain that led to wholeness.
The repetition of this question is obviously important. Some have suggested that Jesus asked one time for each time Peter betrayed Him. Others make a point that Jesus asks if Peter loves Him using one Greek word for love and Peter responds with another Greek word for love. Both observations are valid and may be important. What is clear, though, is that Jesus knew what He was doing and that asking three times was important to Him.
Two of the best ways we learn things is by repetition and by a strong emotional experience. For example, an Elementary teacher may hold up a picture of George Washington and describe him with some facts. She’ll then lower the picture and have the class repeat the facts. Then she raises the picture again and asks, “Who is this?” And by repetition the mind makes space for the information. That is a valid and proven method.
The other is quicker and more effective but also has some difficulty. A dad tells his son not to touch the stove; it’s hot. He repeats this over and over again. However, the boy does not know that one can learn by repetition, and he touches the hot stove. He learns the stove is hot and what hot feels like through a strong, painful, emotional experience.
Both methods are valid, but one causes more pain. We want to learn about good things through experience and bad things through listening to others. Wisdom teaches a person to learn by listening and observing others and then how to apply what we have learned to our situation. Foolish people have to learn everything by experience because they will not listen. Proverbs 26:11 states, “As a dog returns to his vomit so a fool returns to his folly.”
The three times that Jesus asked Peter this question are both examples of repetition and strong, painful, emotional experiences. Each time Jesus asked was more and more revealing. However, the questioning also revealed the heart of restoration.
Jesus was not asking because He lacked information. He was asking for one of two reasons: Jesus was either confronting Peter’s false sense of love for Him, or He was revealing to Peter that he really did love Him.
This question-confrontation was a learning experience, and Jesus was the Teacher and Peter the student. Jesus was revealing to Peter through each question that deep down Peter really did love Jesus. Jesus was restoring Peter’s faith in himself and revealing to Peter that he really did love Him. Peter’s betrayal caused him to doubt his devotion to Jesus, not Jesus’ devotion to him. Peter’s brokenness over that night was evidence that he did love Jesus. Mark’s gospel tells us Peter went out by himself and wept bitterly.
Oftentimes, the same is true for us. The conviction of the Lord is not to only show us where we have failed but to challenge how we understand ourselves in light of God. If a person lies and becomes convicted, this reveals that they are a truth teller, not a liar; liars do not become convicted when telling lies. Jesus was, in essence, showing Peter that he really did love Him, and that Jesus knew that. Jesus does not ask, “Peter, why did you betray me?” He asks, “Peter, do you love me?” The issue was not removing the doubt, but restoring the confidence in Peter’s devotion to Jesus. Peter did act cowardly the night of betrayal, but that does not mean that he did not love Jesus. It means he lacked the courage necessary to express the love that he had. This is why many great thinkers throughout history made courage a prime virtue, for without it the other virtues cannot be acted upon.
The heart of restoration is not only to forgive, but also to return something to its original intent. Jesus took Peter back to the origin of the issue and let Peter see that he really did love Him. He was bringing Peter his wholeness. Peter was becoming whole again by regaining an awareness of who he really was. He was a disciple of Jesus!
Because Jesus has risen from the dead, we have the hope of restoration, the hope of wholeness, the hope of knowing who we are before God and living in the reality of His love. Confrontation is an invitation. Is the Lord confronting you? Can you hear Him ask you, “Do you love me?”
Coals of Fire
Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.
John 21:10
Peter may have swum to the shore that day for many of reasons. One may have been that he had yet to have a private moment with Jesus to discuss his betrayal. He could have hurried, simply to have a moment alone with Jesus. When he arrived at the shore, he was wet, and it was a cold early morning.
As he walked up to Jesus, Peter would have smelled the fish and saw the fire. This type of fire, a “fire of coals,” is only mentioned twice in the New Testament: here in this passage and the night Peter denied Christ when he warmed his hands on a fire of coals. One cannot help but wonder if Peter was not reminded of that night as he warmed his hands around this early morning fire. It could have been precisely the reason Jesus made that fire of coals. He was recreating the moment.
We all know that sometimes we blow it. But the good news is that our failures are not final. The Resurrected Jesus lives to bring restoration—for Peter, for you, and for me. When we follow Jesus and fail, we have the opportunity to go through the situation again. The Resurrected Jesus recreates the moment, not to throw our failures in our faces, but to help us to confront them and conquer them.
Jesus recreates the moment because He is not only interested in forgiving Peter but also in restoring Peter. Forgiveness releases us from the debt; restoration brings us back to wholeness and purpose. When the moment is recreated and we successfully apply the strength given us to do the right thing, we become conquerors.
When a tire is losing air, one can submerge the tire underwater and find the leak. Then, once the repair has been made, the best way to test if wholeness has been restored is to plunge the tire back underwater.
Every person has experienced defeat, situations where we failed to measure up to our best intentions. When a similar circumstance comes around again, do you swim toward Christ or hide in the boat? The Resurrected Christ is waiting for you on the shore, not to condemn but to empower you to overcome.
Sanctified Service
Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.”
John 21:10
What would Jesus do? There is a tendency to answer this question in the most impractical and supernaturally flamboyant way possible. What would Jesus do if He were in middle school? The middle-schooler may say, “I don’t know. Show the teacher how smart He is and how dumb she is, then walk through the walls instead of using the door, then float down the hall into the gym, over to the pool, and walk on the water just because He can, and then saunter into the cafeteria where He would multiply the ice cream so He could eat as much as He wanted.” Or maybe, He would go to class on time, study, respect others, and walk through the doorways and down the hallways because He has nothing to prove. He may not even like ice cream, but if He does, I bet He can eat just one.
This reveals our fascinations with the supernatural, our seemingly unending immodesty of how we would use the limitless power and how impractically we view Jesus. Peter leaps out of the boat, swims to the shore and finds that Jesus has started a fire and is cooking fish and bread. Now Jesus could have said, “Fire, fish, and bread,” and—poof!—fire, fish and bread appear, ready to be consumed. But it better suits the modesty and meekness of Jesus to actually sit down and stack the coals Himself, prepare the fish that He may have bought and brought with Him, stack sticks around the coals to rest the fish and bread on, then blow on the little embers to start the fire.
This picture of the Resurrected Christ sanctifies practical service. It speaks to every parent who is cooking dinner for her family while trying to make sure the eight year old does not use the three year old as a tackling dummy. It tells us that the Resurrected Jesus takes time to serve the ones He loves. For every elderly woman who cuts up her husband’s meat because he lost his strength in the stroke, or for every husband who picks his handicapped wife up out of bed and lowers her into her wheelchair day after day, or for the father fixing the bike chain for his son, these are acts of service. Jesus is not too important or busy to take the time to prepare, cook, and serve. The same heart that is willing to go to the cross is willing to prepare breakfast on the beach. In fact, if one is not willing to sacrifice the time to listen, serve, and yield to another, offering oneself in some more heroic fashion like going to the mission field or working with the poor is simply fantasy.
No blind eyes are opened on this beach at this time, but some friends are going to feel loved, and Peter is going to experience some inner healing and reconciliation. Jesus does not think it’s a waste of time; He takes time to serve.
Are you willing to serve? Do you want to see Jesus do amazing things around you but are unwilling to take the time to serve others? When you serve, do you have to be in charge and/or do it your way? Can you serve without recognition? Have you become frustrated with practical service?
Learning to Remember
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”
John 21:7
A widow and a widower married one another late in life. You can imagine the surprise when this seventy-six year old woman became pregnant and successfully delivered a beautiful baby boy. It was a miracle. Beyond once-in-a-lifetime, this was a once-in-history event.
A few months after the healthy baby was born, a news reporter stopped by to capture a photo of the family. He knocked on the door, and the elderly mother opened it. “Hi, I am here to take the photo the news station called about.”
“Why, yes,” replied the woman.
“Tell me about the experience,” the intrigued camera man asked.
She went on and on about the miracle, wonder, and beauty of this amazing gift of a baby. After about ten minutes of her story and still standing on the front porch, the news reporter suggested, “Well, shall we take a picture?”
“Sure, honey,” replied the lady. “But we have to wait until he cries, first.”
“Okay . . . May I ask why?” said the reporter.
“Well, I have forgotten where I placed him.”
This may seem like an odd story. It is a made-up story, but it reveals the point: God will supernaturally act in our lives, and sometimes we forget about it. We forget the amazing things He does for us. Jesus gave the disciples instructions, and they were pulling in the full net before they even realized it was Him. This is not the first time Jesus had given fishing lessons to the disciples. This same scenario played out in the beginning of their ministry. A miraculous catch was what first inspired Peter about Jesus. It was actually when he received the invitation to follow the Rabbi. One would think that that event, being such a profound moment in Peter’s life, would have come to mind every time he went fishing, especially when the instruction and event was repeated almost verbatim. But John had to tell Peter that it was Jesus.
It is often easy to forget the great moments in the onslaught of the present. We must learn to remember. We must let Jesus’ interventions in our lives shape the way we think. When we experience a supernatural provision from the Lord, we are to let that experience train the way we think. No matter how small the provision was, if we doubt His ability and desire to provide the next time we are in need, we have violated the trust of the relationship. We are not trusting in Him who has always been trustworthy.
Take time to remember the moments that God has performed His promises. Write them down and then metabolize them. Take from those events the nutrients that can be fuel to trust Him in the next event. Invite friends in your life who can help you recognize when Jesus is at work. The Scriptures teach that it is possible to actually limit God’s activity in our lives by failing to remember. David wrote, “ . . . and limited the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from their enemy” (Psalm 78:41, 42).
Hope of Fruitfulness
Have you any food? . . . Cast your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some. So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
John 21:5-6
After a hard, fruitless night of fishing, Jesus goes right to the point by asking if the disciples had caught anything. Any fisherman knows the agony of answering “no” to that question. So it must have been hard for them to swallow that after all of their hard, fruitless labor, a stranger not only asks for fish, but then has the audacity to give them instructions on how to fish. You can just hear Peter: “Throw your net on the right side of the boat? I ought to come over there and throw you . . .”
This simple story gives us some simple principles that can change lives. First, Jesus points out their fruitlessness. He does not do this to condemn them but to prepare them for change. Hopelessness in the fruitless things may be exactly what Jesus is trying to bring us to. Before we can begin to change an unproductive area of life into being productive, we must come to and work through the difficult reality that what we have been doing is not working. The disciples could have medicated the pain of their fruitlessness by saying, “It’s just a bad night, guys. We know what we’re doing. That stranger does not know more about fishing than we do. Look at Him! He doesn’t even have a boat.” Let us not medicate ourselves in our fruitlessness with a false sense of hope, lying to ourselves, or blaming others around us.
Second, He gives them a promise with a simple yet precise instruction. He was specific. You throw the net on the right side of the boat. He used what they had in their hands, their own physical strength, and the lake they were presently on, even though for the whole night it yielded nothing. Then He gave a promise—you will find some there. Sometimes Jesus’ instructions are so simple that we think they are not supernatural enough to be Him. He used what they had and what they were familiar with. He even used their strength, but the blessing was from Him.
Third, and the hardest to swallow: they did not know it was Jesus. The Resurrected Jesus may actually come to you this way. He may minister to you as a stranger, through someone you know, or through someone everyone knows. He has the right to speak to you as He chooses. He may actually point out your fruitlessness through a complete stranger, or worse, someone you are already having difficulties with. The disciples actually took advice about fishing—which they knew how to do well—from a complete stranger. Wisdom is a possession of the humble! Pride can keep you from productivity.
Are there areas of your life that are fruitless? It may be in relationships, jobs, or investments. Where you invest your time and energy are the most important investments you make. Are you investing them in things that are productive? Has God been trying to bring you to hopelessness about what is not working in order to bring you to hoping in what does work? Is there a person or circumstance in your life that Jesus might be using to point out your fruitlessness? You may have received it as judgment or condemnation. Have there been people who offered some suggestions to you about changing something and you have not followed through? Ask Him to show you. Remember, it honors Him when we bear fruit (John 15:16). Even after your hard, fruitless work, remember that because He lives, He will visit you on your particular lake. Be confident; He knows exactly where you are!
Cycles of Life
Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”
John 21:5
God created life to be circular. We have seasons and planets that move in a circular pattern. People give birth to people, who start in the womb, then come out, and grow up to produce more people, who start in the womb, come out, and grow up. Our ecosystem functions in a rotating, circular pattern. Plants give oxygen for humans and other creatures to breathe, and humans and creatures give off carbon dioxide for plants to “breathe.” We breathe the oxygen in and the carbon dioxide out, and repeat that circular pattern over and over. If any of these circular patterns stop, we die.
Most of us think linearly. “The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.” There is not a better phrase that punctuates the Western mindset. Therefore, we have months of the year, and we number them. January is first, February is second, etc. However, in a circular approach, which one’s first—January or December? Or which of the seasons—spring, summer, fall, or winter—comes first? Life is not that easy to dissect and peer at under an American microscope. In some ways, linear thinking can actually hinder us from growth.
Jesus called the disciples children, which carries an idea of freshness and new beginnings. When they first were called to follow Him, it was a new beginning, one about which they knew very little. They learned some remarkable things and experienced even more. They were in fact the most educated people with the most experience concerning the life, ministry, and death of Jesus on the planet.
That may be why Jesus called them children. He could have been revealing that they were starting a new chapter and were novices again; walking with Jesus is circular, and they were beginning a new day.
Remember in your walk with Jesus to remain a novice. Believe your beliefs, live from conviction, but remember that we see dimly. The greatest hindrances to the advancement of the kingdom can sometimes be the successes of the last advancement. Jesus is constantly doing new things, bringing new days with new lessons that are sure to challenge us. Do not let what you know keep you from what He wants to teach you in this season.
Have an expectation to learn something new today on your journey with Christ. Ask Him for a teachable spirit. The proverb says, “A wise man receives instruction.” That means a wise man does not know it all, but knows how to hear instruction. Wisdom is grounded in the reality of circular learning. Wisdom recognizes good instruction and applies it to life. Jesus once took a child and set the child in the midst of the disciples and said, “Unless you become like one of these you cannot receive the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:13-16). This means, far from being disqualified, little children epitomize how to enter the reign of God. They are not problems to be solved or extras to be managed; they are model participants and recipients. The process of maturity is the process by which the Resurrected Christ forms us to be more and more childlike. Because He has risen, He lives to walk with us through the different cycles of spiritual growth.
In reflecting on your walk with Christ can you identify some “seasons”? Some new beginnings? What were some of the challenges to embracing that season of life? What have you learned that is keeping you from moving on with the Lord? What challenges do you have in trusting and receiving the kingdom of God like a child?
Going Fishing
After these things, Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
John 21:1
The disciples had encountered Jesus multiple times: Mary, the Emmaus two, the disciples in the upper room without Thomas, then again with Thomas, and now John records another encounter. We do not know the time between the last encounter and this one—probably a few days. However, this gives us some insight. What do you do between encounters? You go fishing!
Not literally. The emotional, mental, and spiritual ecstasy the disciples experienced during their encounters with Him cannot be lived all the time; it would have killed them. After all the wonderful encounters one might have with the Resurrected Christ, one still has to live life. People have to eat, bills have to be paid, relationships have to be tended to, dishes need to be washed, and so on. Even though the disciples did not tweet about their encounters with Jesus or update their Facebook status, they most likely discussed these events and reflected and celebrated with each other. However, please note that they did what was in front of them. They lived life. They needed food or money, so they did what they were skilled at doing. Doing what is in front of you does not mean you are going to miss out because you are not in the “more spiritual” upper room. The Resurrected Christ met them where they were, and they were found living life. Everyone in the Old Testament who was called and used by God was found doing everyday kinds of stuff.
There is a tendency to think that because the encounters with the Presence of Jesus are so powerful and in many ways form our inner life, the goal is to have them all the time. Therefore, we end up with Christians who don’t take care of their responsibilities because they are too busy “seeking the Lord.” This doesn’t mean we should do whatever we want and never seek Him or that we should just cope with His absence. The balance is keeping Him at the front of your mind and in the center of your heart. It is to have our hearts and minds aware of Him in all things. Therefore, you do the “everyday kind of stuff” unto Him and with Him while enjoying Him.
Do not let the over-spiritualized notion that the secular stuff is keeping you from Jesus. The disciples lived their lives. They went to work, caught some fish, sold some fish, laughed, cried, changed stinky cloth diapers—everyday kind of stuff. They probably did those things with a conscious awareness of Jesus. Nevertheless, they did what was in front of them.
Because Jesus lives, He can be encountered anywhere at any time. His resurrection redeems the ordinary, making any activity, no matter how small, meaningful when done unto the Lord. Christ sanctifies the secular by indwelling the Christian. Now all work can be service unto the Lord when we do it unto Him and with Him.
Doubting 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.
John 20:27
I told them they were crazy. I got too emotional and just blurted out from my own anger and hurt, “I won’t believe unless . . .” Unless—not if or when—but unless. “Unless I put my finger in the hole in His hand that I saw the Roman guard put there. Or put my hand into His side. Nope, I don’t know what all of you saw, but I can’t go there.”
Then eight days later, we were back in the upper room. It was weird between the others and me. I mean, everyone was nice and all, but you could feel the tension when I was there.
Then it happened. I saw Him, or He let me see Him. I’m not sure. All I know is, in that moment something terribly wonderful happened to me. My pride, my pain, all the stuff I thought I was protecting by doubting began to crumble in His presence. Then He repeated the statement I had made. He granted my request. When He asked for my hand, I started weeping uncontrollably. I didn’t want to touch His hands or His side. I wanted to hide. I felt so shameful. I felt like a fool.
I don’t know how to explain it. He never made me feel these things; it must have been in me the whole time. I realized how I must have hurt the others by calling them crazy. How arrogant I was to tell them that all their experiences were invalid if I didn’t have one! He still took my finger and put it into the hole in His hand. He never took His eyes off of me. I almost didn’t want to look at Him, but at the same time, the more I looked into His eyes, the more I felt whole again. Then He took my hand, turned His side to me, and began to place my hand where the spear penetrated Him. I pulled my hand back saying, “No, don’t,” but He gently took it again and placed it in His side. Then, I lifted my eyes until they met His.
At that moment, I had the most amazing and yet heart-breaking revelation. My hand was touching the wound that paid for my unbelief. This experience was not about Him responding to my doubt, but His response to my sin. This revelation cut me one way, completely breaking my sinful, wicked, doubting heart, and then cut me again another way, healing me with redemptive grace. I could only manage to get these words out of my mouth in that moment: “My Lord and My God.”
Thomas doubted. That did not make him evil, but human. He may have doubted out of his own insecurities. Jesus visited Mary, the Emmaus boys, and now the other disciples, and he seemed to be the only one left who hadn’t seen him. That kind of disappointment or rejection could have led him to doubt, because believing would hurt too much. Whatever the reason, Jesus offers us peace.
“My Lord, and my God” was Thomas’ response to this encounter with the Christ. Nothing about this experience elicits this kind of response. In fact, nothing one can see, feel, or touch could be sufficient evidence that Jesus is God incarnate. During this encounter, Jesus pronounced over Thomas, “Peace to you.”
We all have wounds of mistrust that become the basis of many of our doubts. We need Jesus to speak “peace” to our wounded hearts so that we might see Jesus for who He is.
The Resurrected Jesus brings hope and healing for doubting Thomases. Hope that in all our insecurities, fears, carnal logic, and unbelief, Jesus still cares about us and can make us whole. Dallas Willard, a formidable author, philosophy professor, and Christian thinker, once said, “If you are going to doubt, you might as well doubt your doubts.” Don’t settle for doubts; pursue, learn, pray, listen, study, and search. But also take the time to ask, seek, and knock for the healing presence of peace to our wounded hearts.
Receive the Holy Spirit
And when He said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
John 20:22
Because the tomb is empty, you do not have to be! The Resurrected Christ gives us the Holy Spirit. The word “receive” implies action on our part. It denotes a yielding to or taking in. If a wide receiver is to do his job well (catch the football), he will need soft hands. “Soft hands” means one’s hands are pliable enough to yield to or take in a football moving fast. In the same way, we receive by taking or yielding.
For the disciples, this was a moment in time that they received the Holy Spirit. As for us, we can receive every day. What are you receiving at this moment? What do you want to receive more of? You are choosing what you receive. There are things in our lives screaming at us, “Receive me! Receive me!” The TV is screaming. The ball game, the cell phone, the computer, people, and their needs are all screaming to us.
Paul asked the disciples in Ephesus, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” That is a great question. What are you choosing to receive today? Hear His whisper, “Receive Me. Receive my love.” Yield your self, time, and life to Him today. There are many things that are urgent and need your time today, but do not sacrifice the important on the altar of the urgent.
The more one’s self is filled and focused on “me,” the more and more empty one becomes. The self finds life and meaning in what it reaches out and embraces. Losing our lives to embrace Jesus Christ, the author of life, joy, and peace, is to find a life more abundant and meaningful than any amount of self-fulfillment ever could. Let the Resurrected Christ breathe a fresh wind into you today. Quiet your mind, your spirit, and ask the Holy Spirit to come and fill you right now.
If you then, being evil, will give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!
Luke 11:13
The Sending
As the Father sent me, I also send you.
John 20:21
As is a little word with huge implications. What does it mean to be sent as Jesus was sent? The dictionary defines as like this: “used in comparisons to refer to the extent or degree of something.” Jesus is comparing. To the same extent or degree that the Father sent Jesus, He is sending us.
The Father sent Jesus to represent Him. He sent Jesus with authority, power, and needed resources to accomplish all that the Father had purposed. Jesus does the same. Just as Jesus trusted the Father for needed resources to accomplish His purpose, we must trust Jesus for the needed resources to accomplish the mission given to us. Jesus is loved by the Father, and we are loved by Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God, and we are sons of God (Gal. 3:26). Jesus lived on the earth for His Father’s glory and to accomplish His Father’s will. We must live to glorify Jesus and accomplish His will. Just as the world needed Jesus to show them the Father, the world needs the church to show them what Jesus is like. When Jesus came to earth from the Father, He made a way to the Father (John. 14:6).
Everywhere we go, we are representatives of the kingdom of God making available the kingdom of God to others. Jesus announced and displayed the availability of the kingdom of God. We are to announce and display the availability of the King and His kingdom.
Will you lay down your rights to your own life as Jesus did to display His heart? Will you believe the words of Jesus, “As the Father sent me, so I send you”? Take a moment and imagine how your life would be different by daily receiving the mission to make available the kingdom of God.
Fear and the Resurrected Christ
When the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
John 20:19
Oftentimes, we believe that our fears are more powerful than love. Some train their children to believe that the fear of punishment motivates better than the power of love. The disciples shut the door and probably locked it because of fear. The good news is that our fears cannot keep Him out! Our fearful, closed-up hearts are no match for His powerful, fear-fighting love. His perfect love removes our fears.
Like a parent who allows their child to experience frustrations in order to learn necessary life skills, so God in His wisdom allows in our lives what He could have prevented. This brings unresolved fears to the surface. We often live trying to avoid what scares us. But because Jesus lives, He will be with us so we can face our fears in the power of His love, and we can overcome.
We must allow the Resurrected Christ to meet us in our insecurities. We can experience His powerful love in the midst of our fears. We close doors to protect us; God walks through walls because He loves us and wants to free us. He offers you peace in exchange for your fears. Jesus frees us from the inside out. Invite Jesus into your fear and listen for Him to say, “Peace to you.” Jesus’ deep, overwhelming, and uncompromising love for you in the midst of your fears is what quiets your fear.
“Daddy, Daddy!” yells the little boy holding a mangled rose up to his dad. “Why is it that when God opens the rose it looks so pretty, but when I try, it breaks?” And without a second’s hesitation, the boy answers his own question, “Oh, I know! He opens it from the inside.”
The Balanced Jesus
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not ascended to my Father.”
John 20:16-17
Imagine Mary’s excitement at seeing Jesus. This is John’s first record of anyone seeing the Resurrected Christ. You can then imagine her difficulty in understanding why she could not hug or cling to the loved one she thought she had lost.
There have been many speculations about what this interaction means; some speculate that she could have been electrocuted by glory if she would have touched Him. The answer will not be debated here. What we do know is that something was different.
Perhaps a simple reading suggests only that Jesus needed to go to the Father but loved Mary enough to stop. It does not appear He was afraid of Mary misunderstanding the situation. This might have been a boundary for Jesus, and even though it could have felt like a brick wall to an emotionally charged Mary, Jesus does not seem to be bothered by that. That does not make Him insensitive or unloving. He loved her. He knew that. He also knew He had to go to the Father. What if nothing would have happened to Mary if she had clung to Him? Maybe He did not want to be late. Maybe He was simply being kind to Mary and faithful to finish the task the Father gave.
You do not have to fear being unloving if your heart is determined to love. This encounter reveals that Jesus set limits with Mary. As Christians, we are to be loving and kind, but loyalty must be properly placed. Jesus would not be pulled away from obedience because of Mary’s excitement. He recognized her emotions but was still able to set a limit because He had to go to the Father. He not only lived this way after the resurrection, but before. The gospels tell us that on more than one occasion, Jesus ignored the needs of many in order to minister to one. Jesus was not moved by need, but by the Father’s will. This does not mean He did not have compassion; it meant that His first obligation and devotion was to the Father’s will.
We can live under the huge burden of believing we must meet every need. In being truly loving, you are not responsible for everyone’s or anyone’s life, emotions, or responses except your own. We love and delight in the Lord first, and from that resource and relationship, are able to love others, being aware that we may have to set momentary limits in order to obey Him. The Resurrected Christ teaches us that setting healthy limits with others in order to obey the Father is not unloving, but Christ-like.
This is not a license to be unloving or unkind; it is liberation into a healthy perspective. Enjoy and obey God first, the rest will fall into place.
Opening Understanding
He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
Luke 24:45
This one little verse reveals so much to us. First, it reveals that the disciples encounter the Resurrected Jesus without understanding the Scriptures. The Scriptures are a gift to us, not a requirement necessary to know Christ. That is hope for all of us who may have struggled understanding the Scriptures.
Second, it reveals that the Resurrected Jesus cares about us understanding the Scriptures. It matters to Him, enough that He spends this time “opening their understanding.” If it matters to Him, it should matter to us.
Third, we learn that Jesus taught them things concerning Himself (Luke 24:44). Seeing your present situation in light of the Scriptures fosters faith. Jesus probably pointed out all the scriptures concerning His resurrection, which helped them wrap their hearts around their present reality. Their heads may have never fully understood the concept, but Jesus knew that seeing the situation in light of the Scriptures would open the eyes of their hearts, producing faith. They may not have understood how Jesus rose from the dead, but they knew He rose from the dead and what this meant for them and for us.
Fourth, the Resurrected Christ teaches! His Spirit is with you and longs to open your understanding. He would love to encounter you through the Scriptures. Do not read the Bible to know the Bible (though the knowledge of the Bible will not hurt you). Read the Bible to know God. The more verses and chapters you read a day will not make you any more loved by Jesus. However, if you want to encounter Him, its a great place to look.
Today, open your Bible with expectation and read. Invite the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Resurrected Christ, to come and teach you. Read until you encounter Him. It may be a quiet little voice, or a stand-out passage, or a proverb that convicts your heart. Whatever it might be, go with anticipation to the Scriptures. He will encounter you.
The Practical Jesus
He said to them, “Have you any food?”
Luke 24:41
We were all there listening to their story when—poof! He was there. Some gasped. Others fell down. Some ruined their tunics. We thought it was a ghost. We could not believe our eyes.
He asked for some of our food. Peter would later kid Him about returning from the dead because He wanted some of Peter’s homemade grilled mush (fish found in the sea of Galilee). It was quite tasty, but we were all surprised that He would show up and ask for food. I guess that’s a good and tasty way to prove you’re not a ghost. We had imagined it happening a little differently. It was really quite funny. Mary knew it was Him because He called her by name in the garden; we knew it was Him because He ate. It was in the small things that we recognized it was Jesus.
The Resurrected Christ reveals Himself to people in some pretty peculiar ways. As you listen and try to follow His lead today, don’t downplay the small, practical things, like a hug, a phone call, a meal, money, babysitting, listening, a comment of love and appreciation, or simply being with someone. We all want to see the supernatural resurrected power of Jesus, but sometimes it’s supernatural that a supernatural being reveals Himself in natural ways. Jesus pointed out that we may serve the Lord by clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, or visiting the imprisoned. Sometimes the practical things can be the most powerful things.
As we sped through the crowded Indian village streets, the small-framed, dark-skinned, smiling pastor told me his story of coming to Christ. He said in broken English, “I was the third youngest of seven children. We were Hindus. My parents both died in an accident leaving all seven children to survive. My oldest brother and sister tried to help us but we could not get enough food, and we were starving. The oldest two started talking about suicide but did not want to leave any of the other brothers and sisters behind. So, they thought of all us jumping in front of a train, or tying rocks to our feet and jumping off the bridge into the water. We did not know what to do. I was seven years old and remember all of us crying.”
“Then a man who lived nearby brought us some rice. As we ate, he asked us questions. We told him what had happened and our talking of suicide. He told us that we should not kill ourselves, but come live with him. He said he would take care of us. We were a little uncertain because this man was a Christian, and my parents taught us to be suspicious of Christians. But my older brother said, ‘We have over three million gods, and as we are talking about killing ourselves, it is a Christian who comes to help. I will go and live with him and learn about his God.’ So, we lived with the missionary and the rest is history.”
Today, that pastor has rescued over eight hundred girls from prostitution and drugs, started 36 churches in 30 villages, led hundreds of thousands to Christ, and all that in about 35 years of ministry. All of that, because one man took some rice to some kids down the street. That is supernaturally practical.
Joy and Wonder
They still could not believe, they were so full of joy and wonder; so He said to them…
Luke 24:41
The Resurrected Jesus now stands in the middle of the disciples for the first time. He has appeared to Mary and the men on the Emmaus road, but now He is before their eyes and they wonder if it is a ghost. They are having trouble believing their own experience. Sound familiar?
Sometimes when we encounter Christ, we do not or cannot believe it. Our reasoning seems to tell us that disappointment or insanity is a more viable alternative than embracing a resurrected man! The dots did not connect for the disciples and sometimes may not for us. Even though they had heard the stories and were now seeing Him, it was still unbelievable. So what did they do? They enjoyed and marveled at the experience.
In our attempt to understand God more deeply, we can miss the joy that comes from Him. Some things are not meant to be understood, but enjoyed. Some things we must simply behold and stand in awe of because they are beyond our comprehension. Sometimes I think God would rather us delight in Him than understand Him. As the first disciples enjoyed and marveled at the experience they were having, Jesus spoke. Instead of trying to understand everything, let’s enjoy and marvel at Jesus. In due time, we will understand.
Have you had experiences you believe might have been Jesus? A dream, vision, thought, feeling, or desire? First, enjoy it! Second, worship. Third, obey. We do not have to fret understanding. He will clarify when He is ready. Until then, enjoy and marvel at the beautiful, Resurrected Jesus.
The Power of the Testimony
As they told these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them and said, “Peace to you.”
Luke 24:36
We all know the power of a story. A story communicates. Jesus used the power of stories to teach. Furthermore, stories of the experiences of others bring theories and principles to life. We can relate to the stories of others because all stories are human stories. The uniqueness of someone’s story makes it interesting; the familiarity makes it powerful. Deep down, we are all longing, hoping, praying, and needing the same things. And stories can inspire courage, fear, love, good, and evil.
As the two disciples told the story of their experience—of how they walked with the stranger who turned out to be Jesus—Jesus showed up. He physically stood in the midst of the disciples as the story was being told. That must have been impacting! This experience communicates. It communicates something about the Resurrected Jesus and about the power of our testimony.
A testimony is a person’s true experience. What the testimony of those two men communicated is important. It did not communicate a formula—that the others needed to walk to Emmaus in order to encounter Jesus. It did not communicate superiority—that the two men were more important than anyone else because of the encounter. It communicated something about Jesus—He was alive. It meant He cared about these men and cared about the others. The testimony gave them another option than they had just moments before. It was a testimony of hope that Jesus would encounter them, and encounter them He did.
The testimony has power to prophesy what God is like and what He likes to do. It does not give formulas. It reveals the nature of God impacting a person’s life. Every believer has an experience with the Resurrected Christ. Share it. Every time you share your personal story about Jesus, the Resurrected Christ is standing in your midst. You may tell about how He healed you, filled you, forgave you, loves you, pursued you, died for you, or protected you. Whatever your experience is, tell it! Know that as you do, He stands in that moment with readiness to do it for others. Through your testimony, Jesus speaks to others.
The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.
Revelation 19:10