THE LORD'S THREE APPEARINGS
THE LORD’S THREE APPEARINGS
John 20:19 - 31; John 21: 1 - 14
These scriptures give three appearings of the Lord: the first (chapter 20:10 to 23) is in answer to affection and to qualify for privilege and testimony; the second (chapter 20:24 to 29) is to bring a backward disciple into line with the testimony and the third (chapter 21:1 to 14) is to qualify His own for service. All three conditions in the disciples find their answers in the Lord in resurrection.
Mary had been sent with the light of the new relationship and position to the disciples, and they are found together as His “brethren”, which means that they loved Him; for everything in John, from chapter 14 especially, depends upon this. Faith does not take us into privilege but affection does. The Lord comes to them, to give them the consciousness of association with Him, in relationship to His Father and His God. This is proper assembly ground. The Lord has given us the Supper, suggested in verse 20, “He showed unto them his hands and his side”. We are reminded of His own love in that He gave Himself for the assembly, and of God’s love as witnessed by the blood and water from the riven side. Then the Lord comes to take His place in the midst of His own. He sings praises in the assembly. All this is on the line of privilege, and we need to be impressed with the fact that the Lord is the One who leads into this great blessedness. The words of the Lord “Peace be to you” were uttered with a view to their, and our, entering upon privilege.
The second part of this first appearing was the qualifying of His own for testimony; His repetition of “Peace” (verse 26) was with reference to this. Then He breathed into them saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. What a wonderful thing this is. The very life-breath of the risen Son of God,
[p. 248] breathed into His own. This would work out in our being here in His Spirit. All this is in view of the testimony of grace. “Whosesoever sins yet remit, they are remitted unto them”. This is the abiding testimony of grace which is to mark us continually, not simply for an hour on Lord’s Day evening. It is to be our spirit and bearing at all times.
Then the Lord appears to Thomas. Thomas was one who had loved and was devoted to a dead Christ, but he refused the truth of a living Christ in resurrection — he would in no wise believe. He represents a large class today — they expect Christ to do great things in the world, but the truth of a living Person outside the world altogether will not be received. However, the Lord had a personal interest in Thomas, in spite of his unbelief, and this is very affecting. The Lord on the second Lord’s Day after His resurrection spends time in order to bring Thomas into line with the testimony. The testimony was “My brethren”, a circle of those who loved a living Lord and a new relationship, “My Father and your Father, and ... my God and your God”. What Thomas, in his foolish unbelief had said, “Unless I see ...” (verse 25) was just the very thing that he needed in order to deliver him and many others like him. What did the nail prints in His hands mean? — That as to this world the Son of God was a crucified man. What then was the use of wasting energy affection and so on in seeking to improve such a world which had Satan as its god and prince. How we need the lesson of the nail prints. Then what about the riven side? Ah! that was the witness of all the love of God. If the one cuts us off from the world, the other introduces to a new world filled with divine love. Now can it be wondered at that Thomas, having this given him by the Lord, is ready to own, “My Lord and my God”.
Chapter 21 is the chapter of service. The Lord comes to the disciples to qualify them for service: “fishing” and “feeding” make up true service. But the disciples had first of [p. 249] all to learn their own weakness and nothingness. They had no fish and they had no meat. They had made a great mistake. The Lord had said to them. “I will go before you into Galilee” (Mark 14:28) and that they should see Him there (Mark 16:7), there shall ye see me. You would have thought that a man like Peter or John, or any of them would have been there expecting such a blessed sight. But no, “I go to fish” indicated that their service had a prior place in their minds than such privilege. So alas, they must prove their own weakness, but the Lord presents Himself, and the result is that Peter “cast himself into the sea”. That is, the man who would endeavour to serve the Lord in the power of natural energy disappeared. The Lord becomes everything for service. The principle of all true service is “Follow me”. When the fishes are caught they are brought to the shore, where Jesus is, that is the resurrection shore. All converts should be landed on the resurrection shore. Then they become “lambs” and “sheep” to be fed and shepherded.