Repetition Reinforces

John 21:10-14 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. 
John goes to great pains to say that this was the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples.  He kept coming back; it was finally sinking in - Christ is risen indeed!  Jesus repeated other things as well. The abundant catch was something they had seen before - that they would recognize as being done by The Lord.  The Loaves and the Fish, though a common meal, had a special place in their memory, as they had seen Jesus feed thousands on an oversized snack.  Christ was impressing on them, and on us - yes, this is very real.  He has risen, and He invites us to join Him, fellowship with Him, trust Him, and wait to hear what His next step for us is.  We can count on Him to be there.

smells fishy to me...

John 21:1-9 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas also known as Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”“No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him for he had taken it off and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. 
Jesus had promised to give His life for His friends.  He did.  He had also promised to rise again. He did. He also had told them He would meet them in Galilee, on their home turf, in their everyday life.  Yet they seemed shocked when He kept His word.  But when Peter finally gets it, he's all in (literally, in the water.)  Jesus has done it again - repeated a miracle, which confirms in their hearts and minds that this is no coincidence, this is no hallucination.  Jesus is here, keeping His word.  The smell of fish is in the air, and that's a good thing.

Getting take-home today...

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. (John 20:1-10 ESV)
Today is Resurrection Day!  He is Risen!  He is risen indeed!  It is the first day of new life.  When Peter, John and Mary went to that empty tomb, they came away, they went home changed.  May we come to that tomb, and the One who was no longer there, today, and come away changed as well.

What will it take for you to believe?

Luke 24:33-41, 43 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” and he took it and ate it in their presence. 
These men had seen all the wonders Christ had done, including raising Lazarus from the dead. They had heard the report of the women, especially Mary, that the tomb was empty and Jesus was risen.  The two followers who met Him on the road to Emmaus have now brought their report, and even as they speak, He appears and speaks familiar words.  Yet, they thought they saw a ghost.  Even stronger than their fear was their doubt.  He invited them to investigate the physical evidence: His own body.  They still had trouble believing.  Finally, like many believers, it boils down to food.  Maybe that will be a good time for us to sit and let it all sink in - at the breakfast after the Sunrise service.  May it really sink in - He is Risen Indeed!  All He said is true.  He Himself is Truth and Life.

Busy minds... burning hearts...

Luke 24:13-32 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” “What things?” he asked.“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” 
YES, I KNOW IT's A VERY LONG SCRIPTURE PASSAGE TODAY.  But there's a reason.  Most students have the day off... some people will get off early... we still have some semblance in society that today is special.  Indeed, it should be the most thought-provoking day of the year.  We need to be taking time to stop and think about the truth of Good Friday and the whole Passion Week scenario.  These two spent time wrestling with the scriptures and talking with Jesus about what it all means.  May we do the same.  May our hearts burn.

Curious enough...

Luke 24:9-12 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. 
Throughout His ministry, Jesus had made a lot of comments to make His disciples curious - to get them to ask questions to find out more... to stretch their faith.  When He rose from the dead, that also created a great deal of curiosity.  Fortunately, it was not idle curiousity.  Peter (and John) went for themselves to see the empty tomb.  Though Peter did not fully believe, or put it all together immediately, He wondered, he let His curiosity move him.  If the tomb is empty, what does that mean for me?  If Christ is risen, what are the implications for my life, for all His followers, and for the world?

Prepared, Perplexed, Prodded

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. (Luke 24:1-9 ESV)
This is the most eventful and memorable day in human history to this point.  We do well to identify with the women and the rush of thoughts and emotions they went through that resurrection day: They went prepared, but were very unprepared for what they encountered.  They were rightly perplexed: what a rush of emotions and thoughts they experienced in a matter of moments. And they were prodded to remember, to go and to tell.  May we have the same experience as we look back on that great event and consider how it matters to us.