This week, I’d kinda gonna begin where we left off last week. This isn’t a second part of a series, simply a quick tie-in.
John 21:9 “Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.”
John 21:12 “Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” ...
Here’s the second follow up from last week:
Jesus begins his earthly ministry calling “fishers of men”
After the resurrection He transitions from “fishers of men” to “tenders of sheep”.
So, after breakfast, Jesus has a walk on the beach with Peter and tells him:
“feed my lambs”
“tend my sheep”
“feed my sheep”
Jesus is telling Peter “after you catch these fish (people), you must disciple them”
You must feed them (feed them My Word)
Tend them (teach them, love them as I have loved you)
Last week, I encouraged you to have breakfast with Jesus. Did ya?
Friday morning I did. Men’s devotional.
Here’s the familiar passage that I read with new eyes this past week:
Psalm 51:10–12 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”
My big take-away in the past, was David asking God to create in him a clean heart.
The key word there for me was “create”.
David didn’t ask for God to “re-create” in him a clean heart, but to “create” in him a clean heart. Meaning he had never had a clean heart up until that plea to God!
Renew a steadfast spirit
Don’t cast me from Your presence
Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me
Restore joy
Uphold me
David is asking these things of God with a heart of:
Admission- admitting that he can’t do it without God.
Submission-I’m giving this all to you.
Surrender- This is the warrior King David y’all. He didn’t know the word “surrender”. Not in his vocabulary.
Yet, here he was, surrendering to God.
This is David’s plea of repentance to God
But listen to David’s promise to God:
Psalm 51:13 “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.”
Is that you?
Recognizing Jesus
I’d like us to examine 3 key passages today.
John 20:15,16 and
John 21:4 and
Luke 24:15-16 so
Go with me to:
John 20:15–16 “Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).”
John 21:4 “But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.”
Luke 24:15–16 “So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.”
Here’s what I’d like to consider today:
Why didn’t the disciples recognize Jesus after the resurrection?
Today’s message is “Recognizing Jesus”
In all three of the verses, these are disciples. Not someone that had never meet Jesus!
Let us examine 3 things today:
How the world sees Jesus
How the world sees us
How we see Jesus
Let’s begin in:
John 1:10-12 so, stand with me as we honor God while reading His word (read from my bible)
This is telling us how the world sees Jesus.
As Christians, in order to fully recognize Jesus we must:
Identify Him
Acknowledge Him
Approve Him
Give Him glory
With the exception of a couple of years, I have had facial hair since I was 18. I graduated high school and that summer grew a foomancho!
When my kids see photos of me without facial hair, they don’t immediately recognize me!
In all three of these passages, they knew who Jesus was by his identity, but they didn’t recognize Him.
Curious, to say the least.
All the depictions of Jesus are with Him having a beard, maybe He decided to come out of the tomb “clean-shaven”, I don’t know!
John 1:10 “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.”
Read it with a break-down of “world”.
John 1:11 “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”
They recognized Him, but they didn’t receive Him.
They didn’t acknowledge Him.
I’m not asking you to raise your hands or anything, but have you ever said “He’s not MY president”!?
Meaning: I didn’t approve him being president!
We have to:
Identify,
Acknowledge
Approve
John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”
Our true recognition of Him is though our worshipping Him, and glorifying Him.
Keep this in mind, as we examine the 3 key passages today.
Let’s look at them in the order (time-line) they are given to us in scripture:
Set up story of Mary Magdalene
John 20:15–16 “Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (ra-BO-neye)(which is to say, Teacher).”
-Jesus speaks to her, then not recognizing Him, supposing Him the gardener responds “where have you taken Him?”
Then Jesus says “Mary” and immediately she recognized Him!
Is that you? Do you recognize Him when He calls you by name? Or, check this out, do you recognize Him ONLY when He calls you by name?
Lets go to Luke 24:15–16 “So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.”
I’m a visual learner. I take it in and respond by seeing things!
Some have to touch and feel-in other words “DO”
Yet others learn best by hearing.
We are told here, there eyes were restrained. We can only assume GOD restrained their eyes.
But why?
Let’s unbox this a bit:
I can’t help but think of:
Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.””
Jesus was in the midst of these two disciples.
They were definitely gathered and talking about Jesus. But they didn’t know it was Him.
Is that you? Do you ever gather in Jesus’ name and not acknowledge He is in your midst?
Even in there distraught, discouraged state of mind, they were talking about Jesus! Telling the story about Jesus!
Luke 24:19–21 “And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.”
I can imagine these two disciples, looking at Jesus (not knowing He was Jesus) and saying “dude, you ain’t from these parts are you?”
I don’t know about you, but telling the story of Jesus, should bring restoration about us, shouldn’t it?
Give a blessing and get a blessing by telling the His story!
Luke 24:25–27 “Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Scolds them
Expounds scripture to them
Holy Spirit ever scolded you?
Y’all heard me say it before, and this won’t be the last time, because this is part of my testimony!
The Holy Spirit worked on me for the first time, when I was a candidate @ Tres Dias.
He scolded me, but He spoke to me in love! I’d never experienced that!
Luke 24:28–29 “Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.”
It doesn’t take much from us to get Jesus to stay with us! re-read:
Luke 24:28 “Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.”
Luke 24:29 “But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.”
John 15:4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
Luke 24:30 “Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.”
Do you realize powerful things happen when Jesus blesses and breaks bread?
Feeding of the thousands
Ushered in the New Covenant-Lord’s Supper
Eyes are opened!
Luke 24:31 “Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.”
Luke 24:32 “And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?””
I can just imagine them poking each other on the shoulder, saying “dude, what’s wrong with you, you should have known that was Him”!
Luke 24:33 “So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,”
It was late, but the hour didn’t delay them! They went and told the others!
Let’s look at the final passage of these 3 key passages today:
John 21:4 “But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.”
Deer hunting story...
-Ask others what their bible says-
The disciples are on the shore of this great body of water, surrounded by mountains.
He meets them in the valley.
They are lost, confused, hurt, ashamed
These 3 passages tell us soooo much:
In the story of Mary Magdalene we see Jesus meets us when we think we are surrounded by death.
In the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, we see Jesus meets us while traveling the long, hard road of disappointment.
In the story of the disciples by the sea, we see Jesus meets us in the valleys of confusion, hurt, and shame.
He meets us where we are, but has no intention of leaving of there!
As we start landing the plane, I want us to consider what the world should see in us, and thereby wanting some of what we have!
Matthew 7:15–17 ““Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.”
Matthew 7:18–20 “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
If we are abiding in Jesus, this is what the world should see:
John 6:35 “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
John 8:12 “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.””
John 10:7 “Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.”
John 10:11 ““I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”
John 10:14 “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.”
John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
John 15:1 ““I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.”
When people recognize Jesus through us, here are what I believe to be the most common positive responses:
Regret
Rejoice
Revival
I want you to know that I don’t usually start points with the same letter. That was not intentional...
I know, I got you scratching your head on that first one:
Regret- have you ever regretted you didn’t recognize Jesus sooner?
Luke 24:32 “And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?””
Rejoice-
John 21:7 “Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.”
In the NKJV we are not told if Peter plunges into the sea to swim away from Jesus and deny Him once again, or he swims to shore. The NLT tells us Peter swam to shore.
I don’t know about you, but I can feel the rejoicing in Peters heart!
Revival-
Luke 24:35 “And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.”
Church, when we recognize Jesus and share the Good news, there is revival!!!
Today, I challenge you to reflect on when you first recognized Jesus in your life, and let the joy of your salvation be restored to you, just as it was with David!
