Scripture: John 21 v 25: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen."
Luke 24 v 39: "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have."
After He rose from the dead, Jesus now holds the keys of hell and death. He has conquered death for Himself and made a way for those who follow Him to have eternal life, not after they die, but starting from the moment they are born again. He saved His followers from an eternal Hell in the lake of fire. Most particularly He saved us from sin and its consequences.
He does not call Himself a person of flesh and blood, that is completely human, because He no longer has blood flowing in His veins. It has been taken to blot out all sin.
In His new divine body He is able to walk through walls; appearing and disappearing at will. One moment He is expounding the scriptures about Himself to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. When they belatedly recognised Him, He vanishes. Next moment He is in the Upper Room showing His disciples the holes in His hands and feet.
He appeared at the Sea of Galilee, where Peter had gone fishing, back to his old trade. Again Peter's nets were empty until a Stranger on the shore said cast your nets onto the right side of the vessel. The nets overflowed, without breaking, with 153 large fish. Immediately they knew it was Jesus on the shore.
Jesus breathed into the mouth of each of His disciples the breath of life, the infilling of the Holy Spirit. This is not the same as the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This infilling gave them authority to forgive sin, or withhold forgiveness if they discerned false repentance.
John 20 v 20 - 23: "And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23 Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained."
This breath of life is reminiscent of the Son of God, the Creator, breathing life into the clay statue that became Adam. The Father and the Son were present on Earth saying Let us make man in Our image. So we resemble our Father. We know we came from Heaven where He dwells, and will return there when we 'fall asleep in the Lord'. Jesus made all these things possible.
God's breath in Adam's lungs brought physical life to him and all of us. When we are no longer breathing we are dead. Sometimes the breath of life from a paramedic restores life to us. Jesus' breath into His disciple's lungs gave them spiritual authority over sin. The original breath God gave to Adam has been passed on to every human alive today. What a miracle!!
It would be wonderful if all those books about Him could have been written. However, He enjoys revealing Himself to us as we grow in the knowledge of Him. The more we seek Him to know more about Him, the more our treasure hunt reveals.
He is the Pearl of Great Price for which we must give everything to have the whole of it. The more we die to self and discern His Spirit in those around us, and uphold them, the more is His grace poured out upon us. The more we abandon our own selfish ambition and humbly yield to His will, the more we understand about human nature and the world around us.
We are His Story written for all to read. If your pages are blank, meaning you have done little or nothing to share His plan of salvation, then its never too late to make a start. This is how we can fill the whole world with the Acts of Jesus, by letting Him write them on the pages of our book of life.
Some of His wonders were written in the Book of Acts like when Stephen was being stoned to death for preaching the gospel, he saw Jesus standing in Heaven waiting for Him with great approval. Saul the Pharisee, who became Paul the Apostle, was standing watching. He was next. He met Jesus while he was on his way to Damascus to imprison Christians. It completely changed his life.
Jesus changes us, He moves into our hearts and starts housecleaning. Every day with Jesus is better than the day before. He heals, and delivers from demons, through Christians who mean business with Him.
Just this past week He ministered life to a man I know who died three times from loss of blood through a nose haemorrhage. His mother and I were praying continents apart for him not knowing what he was going through in the ambulance taking him to hospital. Jesus still does mighty acts today! We praise and thank Him, and give Him all the glory for this victory over death.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus was a real living person as well as being Your Son. He always spoke the truth, pouring out His life in healings, deliverance from demons, restoring dead people to life and many miracles. Today He does these things through His Body - us! Give us more faith and understanding so we can be His hands extended to the lost and those suffering. In Jesus' name. Amen.