  
|
|
About-Him.Com Devotional 05-13-2006
http://about-him.com/ My Thoughts on the Life of Christ, from His Baptism to His Ascension. Par. 253-257: The Lord's Last Appearances in Galilee and His Ascension Mt. 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-20; Lu. 24:Jn. 21:1-24 We left off last week where Jesus had appeared the second time to the disciples as they sat at dinner. This is when doubting Thomas confirmed his faith by exclaiming, "My Lord and my God." At this time Jesus gave instruction and commissions to preach the gospel that are similar but distinct from The Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20. At some other time the Lord also appeared to James, His half brother who was converted after the resurrection. James later became the head of the church at Jerusalem. And according to I Corinthians 15:5-9, Jesus also appeared to five hundred brethren, whom Paul counted as eyewitnesses. Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. They were to go forth and preach the gospel which is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They were not to go immediately, but were to wait until they received the promise of the Father, the baptism of the Spirit, which would endue them with power for service (Luke 24:49). This promise of an endowment of spiritual power was later repeated at His ascension (Acts 1:8). At some time after the resurrection Jesus had made special appearance to Peter and of course he was present when the Lord appeared to His eleven disciples as a group. For some reason, perhaps fear or mixed emotions, Peter said , "I’m going fishing." Maybe he just needed to be busy, so that his mind could sort out all that had happened. Six other disciples including John and Thomas, said, "we’re going with you." They fished all night and tried all the tricks of their fishermen’s trade and caught nothing. At daybreak, they saw a form standing on the shore, but they didn’t know who it was until they heard Him say, "Do you have any meat" or "have you caught any fish." When they replied, "No," Jesus instructed them to cast their nets on the right side of the ship (That will preach, but space doesn't permit). Upon doing so, their nets were so full that they couldn’t lift them into the boat, so they dragged them to the shore. One hundred and fifty three fish filled the nets and yet they didn’t break. Jesus already had a fire started and some fish cooking. Upon hearing Jesus say, "Come and dine," the disciples brought their new catch to Jesus who was the grill master for the day (John 21:3-14). I’m sure the disciples grasped the object lesson given them by the one who three years earlier had said, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19 See Par 63). At some time Jesus gave The Great Commission at a mountain in Galilee. With all authority of heaven and earth, He commanded that they were to go into all the world, preaching the gospel baptising and making disciples in His name. They wouldn’t be left alone in this endeavor, He would go with them, and us, even until the end of the world (Matthew 28:19-20). The Ascension took place in Bethany and is recorded in Mark 16:19-20; Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:3-9 Luke 24:50 ¶ And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. The disciples were awestruck as they saw the Lord ascend to heaven. Two angels appeared and gave the promise that the same Jesus they had seen leave,, would be returning in like manner. Acts 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. They quit their gazing and went back to Jerusalem to wait for the promise of the Spirit. For the next ten days they were daily in the temple praising and magnifying God. While they and one hundred and nine other disciples were together in the upper room, the Spirit fell as promised. The rest is history. Empowered by the Spirit, the disciples traveled to the ends of the earth proclaiming the gospel and God confirming His word with signs following. Conclusion and Application: Jesus showed the disciples that he was aware of their frustrations after they had fished all night and caught nothing. He also knew they were hungry and had bread and fish cooking on the fire. He's just as aware of our frustrations and needs. When we've tried and failed, we need to ask the Lord if we are fishing on the right side of the boat. We don’t serve a dead God. He is alive and on the throne. He will return just as the angels promised. In the meantime, our job is to, "Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature." v This bring this series on the life of Christ to a close. I’ve learned a lot and had to dig into the word, and I’m sure that you have also. I’m also sure that you were blessed in doing so, the same as I. We'll do our best to have something fresh and anointed next week. New: We’ve started complementing our written devotional with a short audio file. In addition to our usual RealAudio and MP3 links you can now hear an instant play by clicking This Week’s Devotional. In About-Him
Online Sermons http://about-him.com/sermonlink.htmlOur Bible Studies http://about-him.com/bslinkpage.html Our Music: http://about-him.com/audio.html Flash Theater http://about-him.com/player.html Scripture list on 30 subjects http://about-him.com/wordarc.html Humor
A man called a company and asked to speak to Bob. The person who answered said, "Bob is
on vacation. Would you like to hold? "
Somebody Has Said
"How little chance the Holy Ghost has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies
have so bound Him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in a corner while they do
the work themselves." - C.T.Studd.
Keep Looking Up! Don and Marie Spooner About Him! Ministries Your thoughts and Inquiries Contact@about-him.com Subscribe to this devotional? Subscribe@about-him.com
The purpose of About-Him.Com is to glorify the Lord Jesus
Christ whom we preach as the Almighty God manifest in the flesh.
It is our desire that everything presented on these pages increases your
faith in our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
|