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

Redemption Sunday

Preached 1 May 2022 at Christ church, Billericay

Readings: Acts 9v1-20,John 21v1-19

Redemption Sunday

I was talking to my daughter, Liz and explaining the passages I was preparing to preach on this morning, and she said ‘Redemption Sunday’. It is from the point of view of the main protagonists in our readings this morning. Both Peter and Paul needed God’s forgiveness for the things they had done before they could move into the ministry they were being called into.

Foundation Sunday

You could also call it Foundation Sunday. Without the events reported in today’s readings, the birth of the church at Pentecost could not have taken place, and there would be no-one to take the message out from the Jews to the Roman world.

Peter then Paul

I’m going to look at each of these stories, to see what we can learn from them, I’ll start with Peter and then move on to Paul.

Peter – Background

You will remember, I hope, that on Good Friday, we heard the story of the arrest and trial of Jesus. Peter has quite a part in that, and shows us that he really hasn’t absorbed much of what Jesus has been trying to teach him over the preceding three years. First of all he cut off the High priest’s servant’s ear. That was bad enough. Then he broke a promise to Jesus.

Matthew 26 (v31) Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“ ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

³³Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

³⁴“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

³⁵But Peter declared, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”

It’s a promise that we all implicitly make when we give our lives to Jesus and accept him as Lord and saviour.

Peter Tested

For Peter, the test of his promise came all too soon. After the arrest he was frightened, and when asked if he was with Jesus, he denied it. He was asked three times during that evening, and each time his own safety came first, so he denied knowing Jesus.

Our Test

We, too, will face that test at some point. There will be a situation where we will be asked in some way, “Are you with Jesus?” If we give the truthful answer, there will be negative consequences, perhaps not as severe as being arrested and put to death. Maybe just some awkward embarrassment, or perhaps they will make fun of you. You might lose a job or a job opportunity, or you might lose friends. We have to decide very quickly at that point which way we are going to respond.

Too much for Peter

The waiting around had got too much for Peter. He is a man of action, and quite impetuous. So he decides to go fishing – back to his old job. Fishing is a nighttime activity. Peter is joined by the other disciples. They spend a night working hard in the boat, but catch nothing.

It’s the Lord

Morning comes, then someone on the shore asks about their catch. They’re not sure who it is. He says, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” They do, one last try won’t hurt, then they can get some rest. But, it works, and they get a very good catch. Maybe John remembers that something like this has happened before, whatever it was, something triggers the recognition of Jesus on the shore, and as soon as John says “It’s the Lord”, Peter is on his way over the side of the boat, swimming to the shore.

Jesus provides breakfast

Jesus already has a fire going, and asks them to bring some of the 153 fish. He invites them to breakfast. Then in v12 it says, ‘None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.’ Jesus, now with a resurrection body, must have looked subtly different in some way – just enough for them to be uncertain.

Jesus Reinstates Peter

Even Peter must have known that he couldn’t just get away with denying Jesus. He must have known that at some point there would be a reckoning. He must have known that he can’t live up to Jesus’ promise to him having denied Jesus. Remember what Jesus had said:

“you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church;” (Matt. 16:18).

Here comes the reckoning. I like to imagine that Jesus took Peter a little way away from the group before this conversation started.

Jesus asks “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”

It’s an ambiguous question, does He mean the boats and the fishing life or the people?

“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

It’s an incomplete answer too, but that doesn’t seem to matter.

“Feed my lambs”, Jesus says.

One denial down, and a partial re-instatement has happened.

Jesus repeats the question and Peter repeats his answer, but this time Jesus’s response takes Peter a step further. “Take care of my sheep.”

Now Jesus has made Peter the shepherd of the flock that he was always intended to be.

Third Question

The third question seems like a downgrade “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

In the first two the word translated ‘truly love’ means Gods love for His people, in the third the word translated ‘love’ is a more personal love – affection and high regard.

This third one touches a nerve with Peter, no doubt as it was intended. His response shows it “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

“Feed my sheep” Jesus says, and the restoration and redemption of Peter’s denial is complete. He is back in the role that was intended for him.

Reminder

It is immediately followed by a reminder that Peter will still have to face his fear that led to the denial in the first place. He will still have to die for his beliefs. It may be a long way off, but it is definitely there. Then there’s the final command “Follow me”, which applies to us as much as to Peter.

God’s Plan B?

God’s plan is back on track. We talk a lot about God’s plan for our lives. Sometimes when we fail we fear we have lost the path that we were following. We talk, dejectedly, about following God’s plan B. I believe from looking at this story that there is no plan B. Everything that Peter has done, and the way the Jesus redeemed his failure is all part of plan A. Peter will be stronger for overcoming his failure, than if he had never failed. If nothing else he will have learnt something about the real nature of forgiveness.

For us, when we fail, sometimes it is not possible to restart the same work, that doesn’t imply that we are on plan B, simply that we never understood plan A. The experience will, if we listen to the Holy Spirit guide us in the path we should be taking.

Paul and his mission

Let’s now take a look at Paul’s story or Saul as he was then. Saul is a very different person to Peter. He is highly intelligent, highly trained, perhaps the greatest thinker of his generation. He is very enthusiastic, very dedicated, even driven. He doesn’t know when to stop. He didn’t need to get papers from the chief priests to track down and arrest the followers of the Way in another country. ‘The Way’ was what the disciples of Jesus called themselves. He was determined to wipe out this new ‘sect of the Nazarene’ as he would have called it. These believers in Jesus are a dangerous heresy and must be eliminated. He’s researched their beliefs, he knows exactly where they are wrong and how to bring them to trial and get them executed. That was Saul’s plan. So he gets a few supporters together and heads to Damascus, where he knows there is a large Jewish community.

Near Damascus

Four or five days later they are nearly there, the journey has been boring, no doubt, but the prize awaits! Suddenly he is surrounded by bright light from heaven and hears a voice “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

Saul has no idea, but recognises the power and authority of the voice, so responds “Who are you, Lord?”

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting, now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

That can’t be, Jesus is dead. Saul knows that the people he is after claim that Jesus is alive, but dead men don’t talk, do they?

Saul is led into Damascus by his colleagues, because he has been blinded by the light. Once there he has plenty of time – three days – to reflect on the experience and pray about it. He is not distracted by food, drink, or the ability to see, he is in his own dark world, with just his thoughts and the nudging of the Holy Spirit.

Ananias

We must give Ananias a mention even though we know nothing about him other than what’s recorded here. He was clearly a devout Christian, and spent a lot of time listening to the Holy Spirit. Wouldn’t it be lovely to hear from God as clearly as Ananias was able to, I bet that has taken years of practice.

He’s brave too. He walks into a situation, which, if he had misunderstood God’s message could easily have led to his death. Without his bravery and obedience, Paul would still be Saul, and the whole of Christian history would be different.

Saul recovers

After three days with no food or water Saul is weak. When Ananias lays hands on him, Saul is filled with the Holy Spirit. Saul’s priority then is to be baptized, which presumably was done by Ananias, as it does not appear there were any other believers present. A few days later, we read in verse 22 that Saul was getting “more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.”

Saul Redeemed

His murderous threats – his sin – has been redeemed by the power of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and he is on a new mission to bring the word of God to the Gentiles. Like so many that followed, Saul had set out to destroy Christianity, only to become one of it’s greatest proponents. Here are three others who tried the same thing (without the murderous threats)

Gilbert West (1703-1756)

Known as a poet, he set out to debunk the resurrection, instead he published ‘Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ’ (1747). On the fly-leaf he had the following printed: “Blame not before thou hast examined the truth.”

George Lyttelton (1709-1773)

Educated at Eton and Oxford, he set out to prove that Paul was not converted as the Bible states. Instead, he wrote ‘Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul (1747)’. In the introduction, he writes that the conversion of Saul is “a demonstration sufficient to prove Christianity to be a divine Revelation”

Albert Henry Ross (Frank Morison) (1881-1950)

Albert was a lawyer, journalist, novelist and sceptic. He is the author of “Who moved the stone”, which most of us have heard of, I’m sure.

Lessons of Saul

None of us, I hope, will go through an experience similar to Saul’s. His story, and those of the other three people I have just mentioned tells us that if we can get to just explain our faith, we can have an effect on people that we may never realise.

How many people had spoken to Saul, Gilbert, George, or Albert about their faith, before they started their investigations? They had to get the information from someone, before they decided to try to destroy Christendom.

I firmly believe that any inquiry into the faith, whatever the motive, can be enough for the inquirer to let Jesus into their lives. Then they too can have their ‘Redemption Sunday’ - their sins forgiven and receive the gift of eternal life.

Amen.