Encounter with the Resurrected Christ!

| Today, I want to talk to you about someone in the Bible who missed Easter. Missing Easter is not about missing a church service; it is about missing a personal experience with the risen Christ. To miss Easter is to miss the meaning of Easter- to miss the resurrection- to miss the real Jesus.
John 20:19-29 tells us a story of a disciple of Christ who missed Easter. Thomas, known to many of us as ”Doubting Thomas” missed the appearance of Christ after His resurrection. As a result, he missed Easter. What happens when you miss Easter?
1. If you miss Easter, you miss an encounter with Jesus: 19-24
Verses 19-23 describe a post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to His disciples. It was the Sunday evening after the crucifixion of Jesus. His disciples were scared and confused, they had locked themselves in a room in fear that those who had murdered Jesus would soon be looking for them.
All of a sudden, Jesus appears to His disciples. The Bible says that ”Jesus came and stood in their midst…” Notice this, Jesus was dead, they were scared, the doors were locked and Jesus appears to them! It’s clear that he came into the room even while the doors were still locked. When you encounter Jesus…
a) He gives you peace- ”peace be with you…”
Christ can offer peace like you’ve never known. He provides peace that comes only from a right relationship with Jesus Christ. You know the appearance of Jesus must have brought peace to the disciples’ troubled hearts. They were worried, confused, frustrated, heart- broken, afraid and upset. But the presence of Jesus had brought peace.
He showed them ”His hands and His side” and the Bible says that the disciples ”rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”
b) He gives you purpose- ”as the Father has sent Me, I also send you…”
Not only did Jesus offer peace, He also gave them a purpose. Now the Christ had been crucified and resurrected, He had a task and assignment for His followers. He commissions them to go and be ”Jesus” to the world. He gave them a purpose and a commission. And this group of people turned the world upside down with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
c) He gives you power- ”receive the Holy Spirit…”
Jesus then ”breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.” In this powerful act, Christ provided the strength and power they needed to fulfill His commission and task. He provided them with such power that they were able to preach and teach about the forgiveness of sins and salvation through Christ.
In Christ,

Fr. László