April 26, 2007

“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” Acts 1:3a.
Jesus, the Nazarene, had been crucified by the Roman authorities, under pressure from the Jewish religious leadership, and it was verified that He was dead and buried. Yet after a few days, there were reports – almost wishful thinking – that He was now alive. Jesus was making appearances to several small groups. Suddenly, He appeared at a gathering of His disciples, just a day or so after the reported resurrection. He really showed up. He did not just leave them alone to figure out what was next. He started to give them “many convincing proofs” that He was now alive in His resurrected body.
It seems as though Jesus wanted to make sure that His disciples understood what had happened to Him, that He was no longer dead, and that, indeed, He was in His new and improved state. He took pains, no pun intended, to make certain that they understood, because He knew that they would need to be utterly convinced of His resurrection in order to withstand the firestorm that life was to throw at them in the coming days and years. He knew that they would be under incredible and intense pressure that would test their conviction. Jesus “gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” Nor did He abandon them to fend for themselves.
On top of that, Jesus pledged that, after He returned to His Father in heaven, He would send Another, who would be even more help than even He had been. In fact, one of the names of this One being sent was “the Helper”. In a matter of days, Jesus’ disciples would be empowered by this new Helper. But in the mean time, Jesus sought to comfort them with the fact that He was indeed alive and well, and that He had not abandoned them. What proofs do you need today that Jesus has not abandoned you? There are most certainly times in each of our lives when it seems as if God has left the building and we are left wondering if He is ever coming back. This scene in Acts is one of several in which God seems to overcome incredible odds (death and the grave!) to give his disciples “many convincing proofs” that He is alive and present. He has done the same for each of us. Take time to reflect on the significance of this appearance “after his suffering”, and take comfort from His showing up. “I will never leave you or forsake you.”, said Jesus.