Hope renewed

"This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead." ~ John 21:14

When you read the Gospels you get to know the personalities of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ. You learn that they were at times impetuous, a little self-righteous, slow to catch on to the purpose of Christ's ministry, lacking understanding of what their Master was trying to teach them, and even their lack of focus. In essence these twelve ordinary men were allot like you and I.

One of the things that we all tend to find a little remarkable is how quickly they seemed to desert Jesus when He needed them most. In Luke 22 when Jesus is praying in the garden they fell asleep rather than pray with Him. He was even betrayed by one of the very men He had invested nearly three years of His life teaching, and who was a witness to Him performing miracles. When Jesus was arrested they scattered and hid. And we are all familiar with the the account of Peter and how he denied Jesus three times.

Journalist Rusty Wright penned an article titled; "Jesus Must Have Risen: Disciples Lives Changed" and in it he states; "After Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, most of the disciples fled in fear. Peter denied three times that he was a follower of Jesus. (The women were braver and stayed to the end.) Yet 10 out of the 11 Disciples (Judas committed suicide) were martyred for their faith. According to traditions, Peter was crucified upside down; Thomas was skewered; John was boiled in oil but survived. What turned these cowards into heroes? Each believed he had seen Jesus alive again."

Wright goes on to talk about the Gospel record which shows that; "For 40 days after his death, many different people said they saw Jesus alive. Witnesses included a woman, a shrewd tax collector, several fishermen and over 500 people at once. These claims provide further eyewitness testimony for the resurrection." Wright also reminds us that; "Paul, a first century skeptic-turned-believer, wrote that "Christ died for our sins... he was buried ... he was raised on the third day ... he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve (disciples). After that, he appeared to more than 500 at the same time, most of whom are still living" (I Corinthians 15: 3-6)." The resurrection of Jesus Christ changed these men and they would never be the same. It gave them a renewed hope and a boldness to proclaim that He was and is the promised Messiah.

A Hope Renewed by Erin Nichols

The tomb was empty,
Who had stolen Him?
All our hopes He did carry,
Why did He let them win?
The angel said; He is not here,
How can the dead rise?
It seems so unclear.
Are my senses telling me lies?
I hear His voice calling softly,
And I see Him standing before me!

Your sin, sweet child of mine,
I took upon that tree.
My death was in God's time,
Your sinful plight His plan did see,
I said in three days I would live,
In that tomb I left your sin,
To death you are no longer captive,
Don't you see that I did win?
Someday you will see me again,
Until that day tell my sheep of my resurrection.

I would encourage you to reach the 20th chapter in John's Gospel and see for yourself the eye witness accounts of post-resurrection appearances of Jesus Christ.

"He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." ~ John 21:17