Praise God! Jesus’s death by crucifixion was NOT the end of the story! Just as he said, he was resurrected on the third day (Sunday) and began appearing to people. Death couldn’t conquer him! And that’s why we have such a vibrant celebration every Easter Sunday morning!
All four gospels include stories about Jesus and his resurrected appearances to people. Jesus returned to earth for forty days in his resurrected state and during those days he spent time with many people. Here’s a list of the people documented in the gospels who saw and spoke with the resurrected Jesus:
· The women who visit the tomb early Sunday morning
· Peter and John
· Mary Magdalene
· Peter alone (several times)
· Two disciples on the road to Emmaus
· All the disciples except Thomas
· All the disciples with the famously “doubting Thomas”
· Jesus’s brother James
One thing that has always intrigued me about these encounters is how many times Jesus wasn’t recognized by these people – all of whom knew him, some for three years, while he was on earth! So … what about him made him unrecognizable?
In some instances, the confusion is logical and explainable. Take, for instance in John 20:11 (New International Version) when Jesus first appears to Mary Magdalene. This was early on Sunday morning, and of course, she was grieving because her Lord had been killed and buried.
“Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been … They asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying?’
“‘They have taken my Lord away,’ she said, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ At this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’
“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out, … ‘Teacher!’”
This scene makes my heart pound! Can you imagine how Mary felt? It wasn’t until he said her name, the way he had said it probably a hundred times when he was alive, that she knew it was indeed Jesus.
So why didn’t she look at him and immediately know it was him? Possible reasons are numerous: she was weeping, it was dark in the early morning, she’d probably had a fitful night’s sleep, she simply wasn’t expecting him to be alive! Those are all valid reasons.
In another story, Peter, not knowing what else to do with himself, takes his friends out fishing. In his hopelessness, it was the most familiar activity to him, since he used to make his living as a fisherman before Jesus called him to be fishers of men. And I imagine he was depressed considering his options. What would he do with his life now that he’d so colossally messed up with Jesus? Go back to fishing, he supposed. But as they were out in the boat about a hundred yards out, catching absolutely nothing, Jesus, who is standing on the shore calls to them, asking about their catch, or lack thereof.
They don’t recognize him either, but it’s understandable. He was a distance away, the water separated them, and maybe the sun was shining in their eyes.
This is the story of the miraculous catch after telling them to place their nets on the opposite side of the boat; which was a meaningful repeat of the first time Jesus met Peter, when he invited Peter (then called Simon) to follow him.
One of my favorite stories of the entire Bible is here – John 21: 9-12 (NIV): “When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153 of them, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’”
This story makes my heart happy. Why? I love that while the fishermen are pulling in this massive load of fish that Jesus miraculously provided for him, the Lord is busily making a fire and cooking a simple meal for them. When they reach him, soaking wet and struggling with the haul, he kindly says, “Come and have breakfast.”
Ahhh! I would love to receive this breakfast invitation from Jesus! And can you imagine how divinely delicious it tasted?
John continues this section with (verse 12b – 13): “None of the disciples dared ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord.”
So, there are many logical reasons why disciples and followers wouldn’t recognize Jesus after his resurrection. But there are some supernatural instances too. Let’s take a look at one.
Luke 24:36-37: “While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.”
There’s some supernatural stuff going on here. Jesus is described as just appearing out of nowhere – suddenly there beside them, not visibly approaching them. There are also instances of the disciples behind locked doors in the Upper Room, afraid of being apprehended by authorities, and Jesus suddenly appears among them without opening the door and walking in. Yes, I would be “startled and frightened” too!
But there’s another mention worth considering. Luke 24:15-16 says, “As they talked and discussed these things … Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.”
Who kept them from recognizing Jesus? God! God is of course in charge of this whole forty-day period of the resurrected Christ, just as he was in the details of the three years of Jesus’s earthly ministry. So, if God had his reasons for not letting people recognize Jesus at certain times, I’m sure they were good ones!
One more example that falls on the supernatural realm – after he first appeared to Mary Magdalene, the story I listed above, and she recognizes who he is after he says her name, let’s pick up at verse 17: “Jesus said, ‘Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.’”
Whoa, that’s really outside our earthly realm, so I researched to see how the experts interpret this. A Bible commentary called Catena Bible has this explanation: “The meaning of this saying is not easily understood, but it refers to a mystery. Some interpretations suggest that Jesus was not to be conversed with in the same way as before His death, as His body was now raised immortal and glorious.”
I don’t know exactly what Jesus meant by this strange warning, but on the other hand, I feel like I don’t really need to know. Maybe I’ll find out some day when I leave the earthly realm myself to go to heavenly glory.
Now let’s interrupt this topic for a second to discuss the number forty. A number that is extremely symbolic and important throughout the entire Bible. Why? Because of how many times it’s used! The number forty appears 134 times in the Old Testament and 24 times in the New. Let’s take a quick look at just a few of these significant events:
· God flooded the earth by having it rain for forty days and nights.
· Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and they wander the wilderness for 40 years.
· Elijah went 40 days without food or water at Mount Horeb.
· Jesus was tempted by the devil many times during the 40 complete days he fasted in the desert at the start of his ministry.
· After Jesus’s resurrection he walked the earth for 40 days before the Ascension.
There’s more, of course, but that gives you the idea … the number 40 is important to God. Oh, and guess what … I’m ending my The Year I Read the Bible project after … you guessed it … 40 essays! Yes, this is the last one!
Why did Jesus appear for 40 days? In all the cases, he appeared to the people in his life for two reasons.
One was to comfort them. He knew when he left them because of his crucifixion, that they weren’t prepared. They didn’t understand what he was telling them, and they were devastated. What they didn’t understand while he was still living, was undeniable now that he had died. But his teaching wasn’t over. He met people in their grief, in their despair, in their feelings of emptiness and hopelessness, and he ministered to them. There are many examples, but let’s take a look at one in John 20: 19-20 (NIV): “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.”
I can imagine how overjoyed they were! After three years of the lifestyle Jesus provided, all the hope and love and miracles and teaching, to just watch him die in such a brutal fashion, would’ve been devastating. But here he was! Safe and sound! God still had plans for him, and maybe, for them!
And the other was to prepare them for their future roles. Let’s continue reading that same section in John, verses 21 and 22:
“Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’”
Their time as disciples was not wasted! Jesus had further plans for them. His faith in his disciples had not wavered and he was there to ensure that they had what they needed to move ahead with his work.
Before Jesus ascends for good, we see these beautiful words that he shares with the disciples, which is known as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV):
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”
It’s a beautiful message, and it’s the essence of our Christian journey, for all of us, even to this day. Come to Jesus, then go and tell others. It’s what we do to continually spread Jesus’s message to the world. Indeed, it is exactly why I believe God called on me to complete this multi-year project that I call The Year I Read the Bible. My interest in learning more about the Bible was ignited, and I’m offering what I’ve learned to hopefully teach others.
And with that, let me say thank you for reading or listening to my essays! I hope you have learned at least a nugget of knowledge, and I hope your curiosity in learning more about the Bible has been ignited!
Let’s pray: Dear Father: I send you immense thanks for accompanying on this journey for the last several years. I pray that together, you and I can achieve readers to absorb these lessons and start their own Bible reading and learning challenges. I thank you for your faithfulness as I continue down this spiritual road to learning more about your Holy Word, and I ask for your faithfulness as I continue to learn. Amen.
Such a wonderful journey God has taken you on, Laurie.