Dear Reader,
After Easter, I always have trouble getting this one thing out of my mind: Why could they not recognize Jesus? Some reasons I think; just my thoughts:
– It was toward evening, and the sun was in their eyes?
– They just didn’t see Him clearly?
– They were so sorrowful and had tears in their eyes?
– I feel their faith must have been a factor. They didn’t really believe He would rise (see Luke 24:11).
– But the Bible says their eyes were held—“their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”
How often we have failed to recognize Christ (One who can be known to us, and who wants us to recognize Him in all of life), as He journeys on the highway of life with us?
In our day, Christ goes unrecognized so many times, and why? Could it be because of:
– Our sophistication?
– Our opulent society and easy living?
– Our spiritual perception?
– Our preconceived notion as to what a Christian should be? (We take time more seriously than eternity.)
– We are so preoccupied—our perception is blurred.
Why can’t we see the lowly and self-sacrificing Savior with the marks and the call of the cross? Paul said, “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus Christ,” and the call—“I will show him what great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” (Acts 9:16)
Even in the 21st century, though He split time into B.C. and A.D., Christ goes unrecognized.
We even see the believers grapple when they said, “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” Hear the despairing and hopeless emphasis in this statement.
WHY was their hope seemingly blasted? Could it be…
-They had not fully understood the Scriptures.
-They had not rightly comprehended Jesus’s teachings.
Maybe I’m a bit jaded, but I think the real answer is short and simple. I believe sometimes we choose not to see the Christ because we fear what it might call us to.
Is it just me, or do I really believe that Jesus is exactly who He says He is? I know in my heart I really believe it. Sometimes in my brain, I don’t act like I believe it. And I think that’s what holds the church back.
I’m thinking of this more now since I’m planting a new church. I have, for 30 years, learned the right ways to do church—and unfortunately, some of the wrong ways.
One of the things I want to do is lead a church that honestly and truly believes that Jesus is who He says He is.
I pray every morning that I recognize Him as He reveals Himself to me throughout the day.
Today as we recognize our country’s National Day of Prayer, would you join me in that prayer today?
~James