#WALKWITHJESUS 25

When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst.

John 20: 19

Reading: John 20: 19-24 

Before that thrilling Easter Sunday ended, every disciple, barring Thomas, knew without a doubt that Jesus had been raised from the dead and that every single thing they had believed about him, by faith, was now proven to be true.

For that night, when all his disciples had gathered to discuss what the women and Peter and the ones on the road to Emmaeus had seen, Jesus came and stood in their midst. He showed them his scars, he conversed with them, he ate with them. This was no ghost, no mass hysteria, no dream. Jesus himself stood alive, eternally alive, amongst them.

The resurrection had huge implications for their lives. Far from being over, their ministries were just about to begin in earnest. They would now be carrying the commission of God forward on Jesus’ behalf. They had thought themselves apostles and witnesses before – that was nothing compared to what lay ahead.

Above all, the feeble faith they had put in the miracle-working, godly, humble Nazarene had been proved true. They really had backed the right horse, they really had truly identified the Messiah. Not the religious leaders, not the Sanhedrin, not the Pharisees – they, the ordinary men and women of Galilee, had recognised the Messiah. And now, the rest of their lives would be given over to witness of Jesus.

Have you yet realised the massive implications of having been chosen by Jesus? The Father chose to open your eyes to see the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus. Have you yet understood that from that moment on, your life was given over to be a witness of Jesus?

Prayer

Father, show me how, when and where my life is a witness to Christ. 

For the family

Continue doing this 15-day devotional study about Easter that is suitable for children.