Seen
View daily reading plan: Acts 1.1-5; 1 Cor 15.3-8
“Seen of them 40 days”
To prove beyond doubt that Jesus Christ had died, He was buried. To prove beyond doubt that He had risen from the dead, He was seen.
He was seen by many people, most of them listed in 1 Corinthians 15.3-8, notably by over 500 at once, many who were alive at the time of writing and could be asked about it.
He was seen in many places, as diverse as beside His empty tomb in the garden, in an upper room in Jerusalem, by the shore of Lake Galilee, on the road to Emmaus. Even from His exalted position in heaven He appeared in reality to His martyr Stephen, His erstwhile persecutor Saul of Tarsus, and His lonely servant John on the Isle of Patmos.
He was different but nonetheless real, in a body of flesh and bones (not blood). He ate with them, cooked for them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God for 40 days. He told them to wait for the enabling power of the Holy Spirit which they would receive as promised, ten days after He was taken up.
For us, seeing the risen Christ is different, but it is no less important. We “see Jesus ... crowned with glory and honour” (Heb 2.9). May we look to Him daily (12.2) and listen to His voice.
Monday, 1 April, 2024