Can We Hear Him Now?

This morning I found myself back in John 19, thinking about Jesus' final moments.  It seems that sometimes I an just read the words and never really give them much thought, but this morning I found myself wondering about the simple words I read.  Here are the verses - John 19:28-30 NIV:

[28] "Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” [29] A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. [30] When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

This morning my mind was drawn to the beginning of verse 28, where John asserts that Jesus knew that everything "had now been finished".  It is a simple enough phrase, and one that points to verse 30, where Jesus says pretty much the same thing, but I found myself wondering how John knew that was what Jesus was thinking?  This was closely followed by the question, 'I wonder if the Apostles asked Jesus about His death, after He rose from the dead?' 

What an interesting question...

I find myself trying to put myself in the place of the Apostles after they realize Jesus has risen from the dead.  How would they have related to Him?  Did they ask Him questions?  Did they give Him plenty of personal space?  Did they encounter Him like we encounter another person?  Its one thing to have a relationship with another live person, I would think its quite another thing to have a relationship with someone who died and is now alive.

We have some small insight into these experiences recorded by the Gospels, the majority found in the Gospels of Luke and John.  We know that Jesus could appear in human form, but not as Himself as described in Luke 24:13-35 which is the story of the Road to Emmaus.  We know that HE appeared to Mary in the Garden, and she thought He was the gardener - see John 20:15.  We know that He revealed Himself in both stories by saying or doing something that they were personally familiar with Him doing, breaking the bread and calling Mary's name.

We also know that Jesus appeared to them in a locked room (John 20:19 & Luke 24:36).  We know that He proved He was not a ghost by eating food (Luke 24:43).  We know that he showed them His wounds, and even had Thomas put his fingers into the holes to prove they were real (John 20:27).  We know from John that Jesus even appeared by the shore and cooked them breakfast, again revealing Himself by His command to cast their nets in a certain place and their catching an abundance of fish where there had been none previously, which was similar to the first time Peter, James and John were called to follow Him (see Luke 5:4-6).  Finally, we know from Acts 1:3 that He interacted with the Apostles and remaining disciples for a period of 40 days following His resurrection, teaching them mostly about the Kingdom of God.  Luke also notes that Jesus gave them many convincing proofs that He was really alive.

So, back to my original questions, how did John know what Jesus was thinking and did the Apostles ask Jesus questions?  I find myself imagining Jesus standing in front of a class of kindergartners trying to get through the lesson on the Kingdom of God, and being constantly interrupted by one question after another, like "what was it like to be dead?", "Was it dark?", "Did it hurt?", "Why did you die, again?" "Where did you go?",  "Did you seen anyone?", "How did you just appear like that?"  I am completely convinced that Jesus did have to answer these types of questions, because until He did so, He wouldn't have been able to really teach them anything else!

We know that the disciples and even the apostles were extremely slow on the uptake, often not understanding the most clear language possible, especially about Jesus coming death.  It seems that their minds were too occupied by other thoughts and ideas about what the Messiah was going to do to restore the Kingdom of Israel, and what role they were going to play.  Thus, I believe that now that Jesus had their attention, He probably had to answer their questions and then get down to the real lessons about the Kingdom of God, what it really was, and how they were going to be witnesses to this newly established Kingdom.  We do know that He was successful, for once they received the infilling of the Holy Spirit the world was never the same!

So, this begs the question, why am I reflecting on these thoughts and observations this morning?  I think I can glean some understanding as follows:

1) Jesus can and does appear to us in many ways, and we need to be listening and looking for Him to do so!  He won't always reveal Himself to us in the same way.

2) Jesus is ok with answering questions and helping us through the basic stuff so that He can get to the meat of the conversation.  In my daily prayer, I usually spend the first 15 minutes walking back through the day before, just clearing my mind of stuff, so that I can actually focus on Him, and I know He is totally fine with that.

3) Once Jesus does get our attention, He is able to instruct us in ways no other can, for He knows us perfectly, knows what will get our attention, and even knows how we think, so that He can lead us in ways that are familiar, to new truths that we couldn't have understood on our own.

4) Jesus provided convincing proofs that He was alive, and He can and will do similar things for us.  I don't always need to be reassured that He is listening and speaking to me, but sometimes it is VERY helpful! 

5) Jesus has entrusted the Kingdom to us! He has fulfilled everything that was written about Him, and now we are His witnesses, entrusted with the Kingdom of God.

6) Jesus totally gets us, understands our minds, understands our emotions, our thinking, everything.  He will provide us intimate encounters with Him to help us recognize Him!

7) Finally, now that He has our attention, and has us separated from much of the rest of the World, He can speak words of significance to us, release revelation and work in our lives  in ways that will change the world!

Amen!

Come Lord Jesus!  Speak to us, meet with us, help us put our minds to rest, and bring release world changing revelation!

I am praying that we all might encounter the Lord this day!


Sam