The Trial - Final Part

Jesus appears to His disciples in Emmaus

When: Sunday evening, April 16, 30 AD
Where: Upper room, Upper city, Jerusalem, Judea

THE CHRIST APPEARS FOR THOMAS:

The Apostles and disciples that remained in Jerusalem, gathered, whenever possible, in the upper room. They made the home of Mark their unofficial meeting place. The religious leaders did not seem to be out to arrest other followers. So often, during the week following the resurrection, the followers gathered for a meal together.

During the week in Jerusalem those who were gathered began to feel more confident. They began to appear in public. They went to the temple more and more often and began to speak, to some that they met, about The Messiah. But they were still nervous, both about the authorities and about the message. Yet, when they gathered for meal in the evenings, they discussed their attempts to proclaim the good news, and found support and guidance from their spiritual family.

Yet, since the death of Jesus, Thomas had been off by himself, considering what had happened. He had believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and had been willing to back that belief by offering to die in battle with Jesus when the other disciples had counseled caution. He was hard to convince, but was just as hard to dissuade.

Thomas had taken Jesus' death personally. Thomas now believed that Jesus had betrayed his trust. Thomas believed that Jesus had been wrong (either a liar or misguided). Jesus' death had made a fool out of Thomas. 'Never again will I allow myself to be deceived by a false prophet', thought Thomas.

Meanwhile the Apostles and disciples that had gathered in Bethany also followed the Lord's command. They packed up and got on the road back to Galilee. They left on Monday morning, traveling up the Jordan valley to Capernaum.

By Friday night, as the Sabbath began, the Apostles and disciples who had been at Bethany and were on their way back to Galilee, had arrived in the vicinity of Salim and Aenon. They set up a camp for Friday night and Saturday day [to observe the Sabbath], rested Saturday night, and then resumed their journey on Sunday morning.

In Jerusalem, on Sunday evening, Thomas went to the Jerusalem gathering to apologize for his own poor judgment and to help the others see that it was time to "get on with their lives".

But as he entered the room full of excited Apostles, he was surprised. When he had left them last week, they were scared, confused, and discouraged. Now the Apostles gathered around Thomas and told him about how The Christ had appeared to them alive.

But Thomas was in no mood to be swept away by any "unproven belief" or to be guided by emotion. 'I will not be led down that path again without absolute proof. Let ME see, and touch, the wounds and I will reconsider', said Thomas. Thomas wanted to believe, but would not move forward blindly.

The door was shut when The Christ appeared again. Many recognized The Christ and greeted their Lord. But Thomas remained sitting, and watching. And when The Christ walked directly to Thomas and stood in front of him, the room fell silent.

'Thomas', said the Christ, 'you wanted proof!? Look at my hands', said Jesus, extending his hands. 'Look at my feet', pointing down. 'Look at my side', as he pulled up his tunic. 'Go ahead and touch them if you need further proof. Do not convince yourself to disbelieve. Have faith, or proof, if that is what you need'.

Thomas looked at The Christ and his throat tightened. Tears welled up in his eyes. 'I do not need further proof', Thomas thought, 'this is The Messiah'. 'My Lord', he managed to say as he tried to focus his eyes. Then his eyes closed and his head nodded forward. 'My God', he said quietly.

'Thomas', said The Christ, 'welcome back. Blessed will be those who believe without needing proof.'

When: Sunday morning, May 6, 30 AD
Where: Sea of Galilee

APPEARANCE IN GALILEE:

The Apostles and disciples that had traveled from Bethany, Judea, arrived in Galilee by Monday April 17. Some went to Capernaum and others went back to Bethsaida. Over the next two weeks all went about reorganizing their lives. They began to work in order to support themselves and their families. They attended synagogue on the Sabbath. They met as often as they could, trying to make sense out of the last two and a half years. But they lacked a guide, a goal, and a vision. Everything they had believed depended on the person and leadership of Jesus.

But on Saturday night, following the Sabbath of May 4/5, the Apostles Peter [Andrew had decided to stay in Jerusalem], James and John, Thomas and Nathaniel, and two other disciples, went out fishing on the lake. Thomas and Nathanael were working for Peter rather then living in Cana, in order to be near each other. They had spent the night fishing in hopes of selling them at the morning fish market. But they had wasted their time. They had caught nothing that they could sell.

When they sailed southwest from the delta of the upper Jordan River, where they had been fishing, they went past Capernaum. They needed to clean and repair the nets, so when they were past Capernaum they came to the cove where they had often done this work, and where Jesus had taught the crowds from the boat.

It was almost half an hour after sunrise when they arrived off the shore of the cove. As they approached the shore, they saw a man on the beach waving at them. They did not recognize the man, but he did not appear threatening. Maybe he just wanted some fresh fish. Sounding disappointed, the man called out loudly, 'You didn't catch anything did you?'

Peter was frustrated. Here was easy money, but they had nothing to sell. Peter answered that they had no fish for sale and then went back to the task of bringing his boat safely to rest.

But the stranger cupped his hands around his mouth, spoke loudly, and suggested, 'If you want to catch fish, then cast your nets off the boat toward the rising sun.' Peter furrowed his brows. That sounded familiar. So he decided that it would do no real harm to try.

As they began to draw in the net, they found that they had captured a large school of fish. The net was filled to capacity. When John became aware of the "chill going up his spine", he looked at the stranger and said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' Peter again looked at the stranger, remembered another large catch of fish, and agreed with John. Peter quickly put on his tunic, tucked it in, jumped into the water, swam and waded to shore. While he waded to shore the others on the boat finished bringing in the fish and brought the boats in to shore.

There, already prepared, was some bread and fish. The Christ wanted Peter to remember this catch, and so asked Peter to get some more fish for breakfast. Peter had to count them first so that later each man got his share of the profits from the sale. Peter was surprised that there were 153 large fish (he did not count the small ones that would not sell) and yet the net had held them all without breaking [The Church would hold people from all over the world and yet would not be destroyed]. The Christ, and the Apostles and disciples, ate their fill of fish and bread next to the Sea of Galilee where, to the south, the 5000 Jews had been fed, and, to the east, the 4000 Gentiles had been fed.

After breakfast, The Christ went walking alone with Peter. The Christ talked as they walked. God had granted The Christ full authority. Now it would be the mission of the Apostles to go to ALL nations and offer them the same opportunity that God had offered to them. To become aware of their sin, to ask for forgiveness, to repent, to be baptized into God's family, and to become disciples of the kingdom.

As Peter and The Christ sat down on the hill just north of the cove, and overlooking the lake, The Christ continued to instruct Peter. 'You Apostles and disciples must teach these new brothers and sisters what I have taught you,' said The Christ, 'to live by faith, and to serve God and love our neighbor, and thus live as a new family. Remember, I will always be with you in spirit.'

Then The Christ looked Peter in the eye. There were some things that Peter needed to understand. But first Peter had to come to understand that he was to be a leader, and would need a vision of the future.

'Peter, do you love serving God more than you love those people?' asked The Christ. Peter thought for a moment. 'Yes, I love God more', he said. The Christ responded, 'Then it will be your job to feed the spirits of these leaderless lambs.' To which Peter responded, 'I will.'

But The Christ asked Peter again, 'Are you sure?' and Peter responded immediately, 'Yes, I am sure.'

Yet, after a quiet pause, The Christ asked Peter, 'Do you understand what I am asking?' This brought back to Peter's mind the three times he had denied knowing Jesus. 'Lord', Peter said, 'you can be very sure if it.' The Christ pressed the point. 'Even if it means that you will ultimately follow me in every way?' he asked. Without a moments hesitation, and with a very serious look on his face, Peter responded, 'Yes Lord! In every way!'

The Christ and Peter sat together in the morning sun for a while. Peter noticed that John was walking toward them. Peter knew that John was strong in the faith. 'What about him?' asked Peter, nodding toward John. 'That is not your concern', said The Christ. 'He and I will work out his life.'

Then The Christ was gone. After some thought, Peter realized that The Christ had made it his responsibility to help the Apostles and disciples to form a new family and a new community, such as Jeremiah had spoken of.

To form that community, the Apostles and disciples needed to go back to Jerusalem immediately. There they would meet together with the Apostles and disciples who had remained there. And so they prepared to leave for the journey south. They would plan to leave in the morning of Tuesday, the 8th of May.

When: Wednesday morning, May 17, 30 AD
Where: Mount of Olives, Judea

THE CHRIST DEPARTS IN GLORY:

It was Tuesday night when Jesus again met with the Apostles and disciples in Jerusalem. The Christ reminded all the gathered Apostles and disciples that God's promise of a Messiah was now fulfilled. But he was interrupted. 'When will you restore the Kingdom of David that God promised?' he was asked.

The Christ told them that the timing of the revelation of the kingdom was up to the Father, and then continued. 'God's promise of a Messiah is fulfilled...just not in the way everyone expected. Not a physical kingdom...but a spiritual one. Not a king...but a servant. Not living by sight...but by faith. Not saved by obeying an external law...but by God's gift of forgiveness'.

The Christ showed how the suffering, death and resurrection, fulfilled the Spirit of the Hebrew scripture to have faith despite appearances. Now that the Apostles had begun to understand the truth of what had happened, they began to feel a new Spirit within them. More at peace. More convinced of God's true will. More bold.

All night they listened, questioned, and learned. 'What must we do now, Lord?' they asked excitedly. The Christ told them that they must shoulder the mission that the religious leaders had rejected. They must be God's light to the world, bring true justice to all, and draw all folks to God. 'Some of you must witness to the Jews in Jerusalem, telling them that ALL have fallen short of obeying God's law, that God loves them, that they must believe that it is God's desire to forgive their sins, and that they need to repent', The Christ told them. 'Then you shall witness throughout Judea and Samaria, and then to the whole world', said The Christ.

'You will be able to perform "signs" with the power of God, in order to attract the attention of non-believers. You must encourage others to believe (and if they believe, they will want to be baptized). Those who choose to disbelieve will not be members of our new family.'

The Christ told them that he was ascending and would not be personally leading them as he had in the past. Most had great difficulty visualizing how such a mission could be accomplished, until The Christ told them that if they stayed in Jerusalem eventually God would baptize them with the Holy Spirit, and that they would be guided and empowered for their mission.

At first light on Wednesday morning, the 40th day since the resurrection, The Christ led the Apostles and disciples out of the city, across the Kidron Valley bridge, and up onto the hill to the east of Jerusalem. They passed the garden of Gethsemane and climbed on toward the top of the Mount of Olives that oversees Jerusalem. A cloud covered the hilltop in the pre dawn light. The Apostles and disciples stopped and The Christ went just a bit further up the hill.

Then The Christ turned and faced the Apostles and disciples looking west to the city of Jerusalem. He raised his hands over them, and blessed them. At the rising of the sun, a breeze sent the cloud swirling around Jesus, and the Apostles and disciples saw him no more. All that the folks saw was the shining cloud, and they remembered that on Sinai, Moses had experienced the Shekina (the glory of God) as a cloud.

As the folks stared up at the cloud, two men in bright robes startled them. 'Folks, why stare at the cloud.' 'He will come again in the glory of God, just as you saw him go', they said.

And as the gathered followers realized that he was truly gone, they went back to Jerusalem more excited with each step. By the time the Jerusalem group entered the house, at around 7 am, they were actually singing psalms of praise to God.