He is not here, He is risen

What could turn a bunch of cowardly disciples into men who will give their lives for their beliefs?

Certainly no self-generated hoax or lie will have that kind of transforming power.  What changed them in just 3 days?  

They have seen the risen Lord!  

After the crucifixion of their leader Jesus, they hid behind locked doors in despair. Even though Jesus told them several times he will rise, they could not believe it. Lazarus, the poor widow's son and Jairus' daughter were different, they were raised to life by He who is the life giver. Now the source of that power is Himself dead. They touched his cold lifeless body as they prepared his burial.  They know a dead man when they see one.

No one expected Jesus to rise. The women prepared spices to complete the burial on the Sunday morning. The disciples were still hiding behind closed doors, when they should be waiting at the tomb for Jesus to rise from the dead.

Then they heard rumours, and sightings of the risen Jesus. The source was unreliable women (hmm...in those days the testimony of women were considered unreliable).

Then the Lord appear to Peter.  Brave, reckless, cowardly Peter, who denied Him three times. What grace, that Peter was the first of the  11 disciples to see the Lord. He appeared specifically to Mary Magdalene also, the one who showed immeasurable love to the Lord because whoever has been forgiven much loves much.

He also appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Cleopas and an unnamed disciple - most likely the other Mary his wife). They returned to tell the disciples.

And finally, He appeared to all the disciples (except Thomas) in a crowded locked room. That gave them such a fright that they thought He was a ghost. I would love to have been there at that very moment Jesus appeared.  If they were eating popcorn, I can just see the popcorn flying in the air, and some disciples hiding behind tables.

Jesus called on them to touch him, and inspect the holes in his hands and feet. He ate a fish to show that he was flesh, not a spirit.

This is the turning point in their lives.  

They touched, they handled, they talked and communed with their risen Lord. All the preaching in the world was never going to convince them.  It was their personal encounter with Jesus. This is what transforms lives. The scriptures are essential, but they are not the end, they are the means. The scriptures point to Jesus. It is Jesus that we all must encounter personally.  If you stop at merely reading and understanding the scriptures, you have only half completed the journey. Head knowledge itself will not cause such a dramatic change.

When the encounter with Jesus is real, it transforms. In this case, cowards to heroes. 

Observe where the disciples were meeting together after the ascension of Jesus (Luke 24)? At the temple!  Right in the middle of that brood of vipers who gave Jesus to be crucified. It's like sending them a message - come get me, I'm no longer afraid of what you can do to me. Do your worse, because I have seen the risen Saviour, and one day I am going to be with Him. 

And when the Holy Spirit filled them at Pentecost, they were filled with power and boldness to be witnesses for Jesus. This completes the transformation - Jesus in the person of the Holy Spirit, with them, living in them, doing His works through them.

If you haven't had such a personal transforming encounter with Jesus, seek after Him with all your heart. Put aside all the lifeless teachings you have been taught by people who have not experienced Jesus themselves, and go to the Lord.  "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God".   

Hallelujah, Lord Jesus come.