Daily Devotion: John 20

Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene

¹⁶Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

Jesus appears to his Disciples

¹⁹On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Jesus appears to Thomas

²⁷Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

²⁸Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

It's interesting to note from the scripture here in John 20, that despite the despair, grief and sadness that the disciples and Mary feel from the loss of Jesus (bear in mind it was not just a physical loss, but also a boggle in their mind whether whatever Jesus has said and taught them were true), they recognized Jesus through his voice (example of Mary) and by what they see (example of disciples).

This clearly shows that in those times that they have spent with the Lord, they have built such a close relationship with Him that they know and recognize Him. Such that when they hear his voice or see Him, they will recognise Him! They are not strangers or unfamiliar to Jesus!

The disciples may have harbored doubts towards Jesus in the beginning (after crucification). But once they saw Jesus themselves, they believed and never doubted. Subsequently, they moved on to testify and their lives were radically transformed.

Application:

1. Do we recognise the Lord whenever we see Him at work in our lives? Example: When certain things come true for us, do we credit it to God? Or do we just say it is 'lucky'?

2. Start by giving thanks today for how blessed we are by God. List down at least 10 thanksgiving you can give to the Lord for this week and praise Him for it.

3. Are we harboring any doubts about Jesus despite all He has shown and provided for us in your Christian faith? Repent of the doubt and unbelief today and receive what Jesus says, "Stop doubting and believe.... Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."