After the Resurrection: Do You Recognize Jesus?

By:  Min. Angela Lee Price

"Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said...(John 21:12)

I am inspired, sisters and brothers, by the stories in the Bible between the resurrection of Jesus and His ascension 40 days later into heaven.  There were several times when the disciples did not recognize Jesus in their midst. Mary Magdalene didn't immediately recognize Him at the tomb. She thought he was the gardener. The disciples on the road to Emmaus didn't recognize Him. The thought He was a stranger.  In John 21:1-14, the disciples did not recognize Jesus standing on the shore of the sea of Galilee after a failed night of fishing without a catch. Jesus shouted out to the disappointed disciples telling them, "Throw your nets on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some (v6). They did as He said without knowing who He was, and caught more fish than they could haul in. John the beloved disciple recognized Jesus first telling Peter, "It is the LORD" (v7)! We had best recognize, my sisters and brothers, the very presence of the LORD in our lives! He lives, moves and has his being in the earth today through the Holy Spirit! When Jesus shows up in your crisis, on the  in your disappoint, on your the job, even at your home, I pray that you will, as John did, recognize Him.  Because Jesus just might show up at any time in this Covid-19 global pandemic to bless you!

How do we recognize Jesus?  We can recognize Jesus by strengthening our relationship with Him regularly through online worship or socially-distant in-person services as conditions permit, Bible study, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. He said, My sheep know my voice" (John 10:3).  We need to know the voice of Jesus so that we can distinguish HIS VOICE from ALL the voices and chatter out there!  Mary did not recognize Jesus until after He spoke to her at the empty tomb (John 20:14-16).   The two men on the Emmaus road, though they didn't immediately recognize Him, heard His voice and later stated, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24: 13-36).  Jesus speaks today through the Word of God, the preached Word, and divinely orchestrated encounters and circumstances.  Can you recognize His voice?  His is the voice that should lead and guide you in this time of crisis.

Not only do we recognize Jesus by His voice, we recognize Him by what He has done for us.   We recognize what Jesus has done for us by performing loving acts of kindness and compassion for hurting, marginalized and oppressed people.  Throughout His ministry, the people did not simply recognize Jesus by what He said about Himself (as monumental as that was), but also by what He did to others.  Jesus consistently left people in a better state than what He found them. He healed, delivered, and set people free from their afflictions. He performed miracles in their lives! Only after Jesus filled their nets with fish, did John recognized Him exclaiming, "It is the Lord" (John 21:6-7)! For the disciples, Jesus had 153 large fish (their source of income), and a hot breakfast, forgiveness, and fellowship with Him on the shore, "Now come and have some breakfast!" Jesus said.  None of the disciples dared to ask him, 'Who are you?' They knew it was the Lord  This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead" (vv12-14).   The two men who walked with Jesus on the Emmaus road recognized Christ only after He gave them, in addition to the Scriptures, bread for their physical bodies, something to eat (Luke 24:28-35).   We need to be ready to be the hands and feet of  Jesus in this crisis.

As believers, we ought live our lives in such a way that people will recognize that we have been with Jesus.   Live in such a way that those who know you but don't know God will come to know God because they know you.  The disciples were fearful right before and after the resurrection. Peter denied Jesus three times.  Their encounters with the resurrected Lord between the resurrection and the ascension, however, forever changed them from fearful disciples to fearless evangelists. Jesus forgave Peter at the breakfast on the seashore and told him, "Feed my sheep" (vv15-18).  Days later the Apostle Peter would preach on Pentecost and 3,000 souls were saved. This is what Jesus will do for you, too.  Jesus will give your life purpose and direction if you choose to recognize Him as King of kings and Lord of lords and follow Him by faith.  

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Jesus Saves Ministries was founded August 12, 2005 by Min. Angela Lee Price. We are based in Louisville, Kentucky. Jesus Saves Ministries shares the ...