By hearing the stories in the Bible so often, we can sometimes forget how amazing they are. Consider that, after seeing Jesus die before their very eyes, the disciples saw their Master. They spoke with Him. They even ate with Him. This kind of experience is doubtless enough to change a person’s life – and it did.
Although it is not the point of today’s passage, it’s worth taking a moment to consider what reasons we have for our faith. We believe that Jesus has risen from the dead – that this is a thing that actually happened in history. That’s as incredible a claim today as it was 2,000 years ago, and yet we believe it.
In my mind, one of the most compelling reasons to believe in the risen Jesus is because His first followers believed it. This is no small matter. This first generation of Jesus-followers knew as well as anyone that Jesus had died; people in the First Century were acquainted enough with death to know it when they saw it. And yet, despite decades of intense persecution, mockery and ridicule, they continued to insist that Jesus was alive!
How did these first Christians know that Jesus was alive? Short answer: they saw Him. When Jesus turned up in the Upper Room and on the Road to Emmaus and here on the beach, there was no denying that this was their Rabbi in their midst. So, they did what any reasonable person would do: they went around telling people the Good News – Jesus is alive! And they did not give up on preaching this same message as long as they lived, no matter what happened. Because they knew that death was not the end. Because Jesus rose, they knew that they, too, would go on to live with Him. And so will we.
Be bold, Christians. Be courageous. Never give up proclaiming that Jesus is alive!