Jesus Appears

Preached at Christ Church, Billericay @ 10:00 on 4 May 2025

Recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9vQM2saNrw from 28:20 to 43:25

 

	Introduction There’s a common thread running through the two readings that we had this morning. In each of them, Jesus appears. In John 21, He appears in His resurrection body, and in Acts, He appears as a vision. These are not the only times that Jesus appears, it happens many times in the New Testament and afterward. Whenever Jesus appears, something happens, not just in the instant, but in the future, because the people He meets are changed by meeting Him. Let’s start by looking at what happened in Acts.
	Acts 9 In Acts chapter 9 Saul has already stood by approvingly as Stephen was stoned to death. After this there was a great persecution of the believers, and they fled in all directions. Only the apostle stayed in Jerusalem. Pure Religion Saul is zealous for God, and believes that the Sect of the Nazarene is heretical and should be eradicated. He is a Pharisee, highly educated, and very devout. He will go to any lengths to keep his religion pure. Letters So, he goes to the high priests and gets letters for the synagogues in Damascus. These will allow him to arrest believers, restrain them, and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial – it’s a foregone conclusion in Saul’s mind. The letters would also assure any curious Romans that he was working for the Jerusalem authorities. They had what we might describe as an extradition treaty with the Romans, so that they could apply their own religious laws, without needing constant reference to Roman authority. It should be a straight forward job. He’d got the documents, he’d got the heavies, and most of all he’d got the attitude. Jerusalem to Damascus Walking from Jerusalem to Damascus today would take 66 hours according to Google Maps. If he can walk for 11 hours a day, that’s 6 days. The journey may have been a little longer in the first century. There’s plenty of time for thought, prayer, and reflection on such a journey. Scholars have suggested that Saul may have been meditating on the vision at the start of the book of Ezekiel. It was a common exercise amongst devout Jews at the time.
	Jesus Appears in Acts 9 As they near Damascus, suddenly there is a bright light from heaven. He and his companions are stopped in their tracks. A conversation occurs and Saul realises that he is persecuting Jesus. That’s how close the Lord is to us all, when something is done to us, it is done to Him, just as much. So, in persecuting the followers of “The Way”, as Christians called themselves at the time, he is persecuting Jesus. Bright Light The bright light has blinded him, and he is led to Damascus by his companions. After 3 days, something like scales fall from his eyes, and his whole theology has been re-written. Paul refers to this vision frequently – twice more in Acts – it is the defining moment of his life. He’s changed from hating the followers of “The Way”, to being their greatest evangelist. When Jesus appears, people are transformed, turned around, and reset.
	John 21 In John 21, seven of the disciples are together. They have all seen Jesus, they have believed in the resurrection, but they don’t know what to do, they seem lost and defeated. At Peter's suggestion, they decide to go fishing. In effect, they are returning to their old lives before they met Jesus, and spent 3 years with Him. Fishing is a nighttime activity, the fish are nearer the surface at night. So, they work all night, throwing the nets and retrieving them. It’s hard work, as dawn approaches they are tired, wet, and cold. Probably very fed up too. Friends / Children There’s someone on the shore, but they can’t tell who it is. He speaks to them. The NIV has: “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” The RSV has: “Children, you have no fish, have you?” The Greek word is children, according to my Interlinear. It’s interesting that Jesus would address them as children, it seems appropriate because they have no idea how to move forward. As a term of endearment, it will be comforting for them and perhaps makes the suggestion that they try again more acceptable. It may also be the first clue as to who the stranger is. Either way, it’s the catch that makes John sure. They’ve seen miraculous catches of fish before, they know who performs those sorts of miracles. Peter takes Action Peter, impetuous as ever, jumps over the side and swims ashore, leaving the others to manage an almost impossibly large catch.
	Jesus is ready for them Jesus already has a fire, with fish cooking and bread, ready for the hungry fishermen.  He doesn’t need what they have – but He does want it, and asks Peter to go and get some of the fish. Once the catch is ashore, they are invited to breakfast. God doesn’t need anything from us, but He does want all sorts of things. Acts 17:25 says “… He is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” They know it’s Jesus, yet somehow they still feel the need to ask. Jesus in His resurrection body is definitely Jesus, but somehow, different. The breakfast leads into Peter's re-instatement as head of the disciples and the newly founded movement that will become Christianity. Peter has been changed back into what he was before he denied Jesus, but is now stronger for the experience. But that’s another sermon.
Pic 6	St. Francis of Assisi Jesus appears many more times through history, each appearance is unique to the circumstances, but all result in the person being forever changed. I have two examples, the first is St Francis of Assisi. St. Francis was born into a rich family, but although living the high life when he was young, he always showed signs of dissatisfaction with that style of living. There were many times when he could have changed his ways, and it did begin to happen slowly. Then, in a run-down church he had a vision where an icon of Christ crucified spoke to him and said, “Francis, Francis, go and repair My church which, as you can see, is falling into ruins.” And he did repair that building and many others. This seems to have been the tipping point, but there was a long way to go and many trials to overcome before he founded the Franciscan Order.
	Sundar Singh My second example is Sundar Singh. He believed that his religious pursuits and the questioning of Christian priests left him without ultimate meaning. So, he decided to take his own life by throwing himself off a bridge. The night before, he asked that the true god would appear before him. That night, he had a vision of Jesus. Now a committed follower, he was rejected by his family, and they tried to kill him. He was rescued by a British Christian, and was soon publicly baptised – he was just sixteen. He travelled India – the Punjab and Kashmir - dressed as a sadhu, an ascetic devoted to spiritual practice. When Jesus appears life takes on a completely different meaning, or perhaps it has real meaning at last, and so becomes worth living.
	In WWII As we are remembering the 80th anniversary of VE day, I looked for some evidence of Jesus appearing during the war. There is a little, from newspaper cuttings that someone has collected. Small numbers of people had seen a vision of Christ crucified, followed by Angels in the sky. This happened in Sussex, Ipswich, and something similar in Peckham at different times. The purpose seems to have been mainly to bring some comfort to those who saw the visions.
	Conclusion We have seen how Jesus’s appearances to his disciples, to the apostle Paul, and to His followers throughout history have mad transformational changes to their lives. We can expect that Jesus will continue to appear to inspire and transform his followers. Personal There have been many times when I have had pictures, or words that may have come from God. I’m pretty sure about 2 or 3 of them. They were always for the church or others in the church. I wonder if any of you have had such a life-changing experience? My calling came through prayer and reflection. As I was told one of my recent sermons was depressing, I’ll leave you with this hope. Jesus could appear to any of us at any time, may be today, or tomorrow. If He does, our lives will be different from that point onwards. Amen.

References

https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2019-04-29/acts-91-6-7-20/

https://shortpowerfulsermons.com/john-211-19-the-breakfast-club-disciple-edition/

https://mypastoralponderings.com/2022/04/30/jesus-showed-himself-again-my-sermon-on-john-211-19/

https://thevcs.org/road-damascus#visionary-awakening

https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/the-153-fish-the-three-loves-and-the-one-call-to-follow-in-john-21/

https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/do-the-153-fish-in-john-21-count-for-anything/

https://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2018/04/153-fish-in-gospel-of-john.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_of_Assisi

https://ministry-to-children.com/pauls-conversion-sequenced-coloring-page/

Acts for everyone, Tom Wright part 1:      ISBN 978-0-281-05308-7

John for everyone part 2, Tom Wright,      ISBN 0-281-05520-3 

Expositors Bible Commentary Volume 9     ISBN 0-340-41080-9