Jesus' Appearances & Ascension

Jesus' Ascension

Jesus appears to the disciples, and others over the 40 days after His resurrection. He engages in more teaching and deep discussions with the Apostles before He ascends to the Father in heaven. 

Scripture Study today:

John 20-21

Acts 1:3-11

1 Corinthians 15: 6, 7

(Also check out Matthew 24:30!)

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, I hope everyone had a blessed Easter and uh celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and and uh hope you've enjoyed the study of Holy Week and and as we went through and we wanted to pick up one more day and um this Monday uh and look at the the time that Jesus spent on earth before he ascended um thereafter his resurrection for those 40 days before he uh ascended into heaven to be at the right hand of the Father. So um that's what today is gonna serve as, is we'll just briefly look at uh those appearances that uh that Jesus made past his resurrection day and uh where he appeared to the eleven, um, appeared to them again, and and make some references of some other appearances that Jesus uh uh did. Obviously, we covered some of those yesterday as we looked at Resurrection Sunday and as we looked at when he um appeared to Mary and appeared to uh the two on the road to Emmaus. And then as we uh proceed from there, we're gonna read out of um John uh mainly uh John chapter 20, um starting in verse 26, and then uh we'll read almost the entirety, I guess the entirety of John chapter 21, um a quick reference to 1 Corinthians 15, and then we'll finish up today in Acts chapter 1 as Jesus ascends into heaven. So uh so again to reference today, John chapter 20 and 21, um, 1 Corinthians 15, just two verses, verse 6 and 7, um, and then Acts chapter 1, verses 3 through 11, uh will be kind of where we focus our study today. So uh picking up, uh we'll just jump straight in in John chapter 20, starting in verse 26. It says, after eight days, after eight days of his resurrection, his disciples were in again inside, and Thomas with them. So it's the first time that he appeared to the um appeared to the disciples in the uh in the room, Thomas wasn't wasn't with them as we didn't read yesterday, but just above that in verses twenty-four and twenty-five, it says of Thomas's doubt and and that uh if he doesn't be able to feel and touch Jesus, he will not believe. And in twenty-six it says, Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst, and said, Peace be with you. Then he said to Thomas, Reach here with your finger and see my hands, and reach here your hand and put into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believing. Thomas answered and said to him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, Because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see and yet believe. So again, Thomas doubting until he put his hand into the wounds of Jesus, those seeing and believed, and he says, My Lord and my God. Again, blessed are those who did not see and yet believed, as Jesus says. So here he appeared to them. In John chapter 21, verses one, we'll just read the we'll read the chapter where Jesus appears to those at the seashore, those disciples. It says, After these things, Jesus manifested himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias, and he manifested himself in this way. Simon Peter and Thomas Caldidimus and Nathaniel of Cana and Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee and the two other and two other of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, I am going fishing. They said to him, We will also come with you, and they went out and got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking Jesus stood on the beach, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, Children, you do not have any fish, do you? And they answered him, No, and he said to them, Cast the net on the right hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch. So they cast, and they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Therefore the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, that being John, said to Peter, It is the Lord. So when Simon Peter heard it, that it was heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and he threw himself into the sea, but the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards away dragging the net full of fish. So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire charcoal fire already laid, and fish placed on it in bread. Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish which you have now caught, and Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of large fish, a hundred and fifty three, and although there were so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, Come, have breakfast. None of the disciples ventured to question him, Who are you? Knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Tin my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Shepherd my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love me? And he said to him, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Tend my sheep. Truly, truly I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished, but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will gird you and bring you where you do not wish to go. Now this he said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God, and when he had spoken this, he said to him, Follow me. Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, again being John, following them, the one who also had leaned back on his bosom at the supper, and said, Lord, who is the one who betrays you? So Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, Lord, and what about this man? Jesus said to him, If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me. Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that the disciple would not die, yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only if I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? This is the disciple who is testifying of these things, to testifying to these things, and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written down in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written. So again, as Jesus presents Himself to the disciples after he was raised from the dead for the third time, as we just wrote, he has this conversation with Peter, and as we read it in English and the word love uh repeated there, um doesn't translate maybe the the full effect of do you love, do you love, do you really love me? Do you or how devoted and serious are you to me, as Jesus was wanting Peter to understand before he tells him basically that how his death will go about and that he'll be crucified as Jesus was. How amazing it is to see how God has worked in his divine plan. In Acts chapter one, verse three, it says to these he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days, and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, which he said, You have heard of from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together they were asking him, saying, Lord, is it at the time you are rest is it at this time you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or epochs which the Father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Again, just as we talked about. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven. Kind of breathtaking just to r to put all that into perspective as we went through the the last week of Christ's life on earth, up to his resurrection, the last part of his ministry, up to his crucifixion and resurrection, and then looked at these over this these few instances through the forty days that he appeared after he was raised from the dead to many, and then looking here as he ascended into heaven, where he is at the right hand of the Father now, living, our Lord and Savior in heaven now, and he will come again, just as they watched him go that day. And the servants that we are called to be, just as Jesus asked Peter, do you love me? Are you willing to serve me? Am I your Lord and Master? Those are the questions that Christ is asking each one of us. Is he your Lord and Savior? Do you serve him above all else? Just as he calls us to do. This is the end of Matthew and the Great Commission. Go out and preach the gospel. Preach Christ. There's not one thing that us ourselves, me sitting in front of this microphone, or Dan and Bronck when they are, or any pastor or preacher or evangelist that sets up and proclaims the gospel. We're not proclaiming anything that we're doing. There's nothing that we can do that's righteous. We're proclaiming the one who saved us. We're proclaiming what he did as we've looked at for the last um seven, eight days, six days, seven days in a row, proclaiming what he did that paid for what we could not. Amazing, amazing God that we serve. Thank y'all so much for joining in as we went through this week. Uh, it's been a blessing for me. Uh, it has been amazing to see God open up my own heart and my own life of what he did, what I proclaim and said here and proclaim Christ Lord, Jesus the Messiah. What he's done, what he's doing, what he will do, and he will come again. He will be judge, and he will never forsake those who genuinely come to him, follow him, and serve him as Lord. He loves you, he loves all of us. We love you. Thank you again for tuning in. As we end here for this week's study of Holy Week and Easter. Love y'all and God bless you.