John 20. Jesus appears. There is not a more true statement in all the world. Sometimes when we least expect it, Jesus appears. He appeared to Mary Magdalene in her grief. He appeared to the disciples in their fear, and to Thomas in his doubt. According to the Gospels, Acts, and 1 Corinthians, Jesus made at least 13 separate appearances over 40 days between his resurrection and ascension, to between 500-600 people, plus his appearance to Paul on the Damascus road several years after his ascension. Many of these people, including Thomas and Jesus' half-brother James, were skeptics before Jesus appeared to them. Paul was an enemy of the church and persecutor of Christians before Jesus appeared to him. Yet each one was transformed by Jesus' appearance into a faithful and bold follower of Christ. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were secret followers before Jesus rose from the grave, but became public leaders of the church afterward. This group of eye-witnesses to Jesus' resurrection were emboldened and empowered to literally change the world by what they had experienced.
In verse 29, Jesus blessed those of us who would believe, even though we would not see him physically. But Jesus still appears, and his appearance still transforms just as it did in John 20. My own life has been transformed since Jesus appeared. I remember a Sunday afternoon in my childhood when my family was having lunch with friends. I wandered into their back yard, still gripped by what I had seen and heard at church services that day. There was a lot I did not understand, but one thing I knew: Jesus was real, and he was alive. I've never been the same since.
Has Jesus appeared to you? Do you know when and where you first became aware of Jesus' reality and his presence? Leave a comment and tell us about it.
"These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." v. 31.
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