Come and You will See

John 1:38-39 (NET) – Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them. “What do you want?” So they said to Him, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), “where are you staying?” Jesus answered, “Come and you will see.” So they stayed with Him that day. Now it was about four o'clock in the afternoon.”

This passage was part of a larger reading in our worship service Sunday.

It has been on my mind a great deal since then.

Especially the response Jesus gave the two disciples.

“Come and you will see.”

Jesus did not simply say where he was staying, rather it was an invitation for them to follow Him.

And follow Him they did.

So did the other disciples chosen by Jesus.

They came with Jesus and saw many remarkable things.

In time, they also did many remarkable things.

The lame were made to walk.

The blind were given sight.

Lepers were cured and made whole.

Even demons were cast out.

They came and saw things they could not have possibly imagined before following Jesus.

Yet for all they saw there was something they did not understand.

Luke 18:32-33 (NET) – “For He will be handed over to the Gentiles; He will be mocked, mistreated and spat on. They will flog Him severely and kill Him. Yet on the third day He will rise again.”

These things came to pass just as Jesus said they would.

Jesus was mocked, mistreated and spat upon.

Jesus was flogged severely.

Jesus was killed in the cruelest way known.

He was crucified.

Then, He was laid in a tomb which was covered with a stone.

When the women arrived at the tomb after the Sabbath an angel of the Lord had rolled the stone away.

His words, when compared to those of Jesus are quite remarkable.

Matthew 28:6 (NET) – “He is not here, for He has been raised, just as He said. Come and see the place where He was lying.”

When they returned to the disciples, the book of Mark tells us the disciples did not believe them.

I can imagine them saying, “Come and you will see.”

We have eternal life because of who Jesus was and the price He paid which we could not.

He was and is who He claimed to be!

The tomb is empty.

Come and you will see.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, February 7, 2014.

Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!

I’ll be back here on Friday, February 14, 2014.

A Family Resemblance

It still amazes me when someone I do not know walks up to me, mentions my father by name and then asks if I am his son.

A short time before Christmas I ran into an old friend who told me that he had come across an old photograph I might be interested in.

It was my good fortune to see this gentleman again just a week later.

He handed me an envelope containing the photograph he told me about previously.

I thanked him and then opened the envelope.

The photograph was very special to me.

It was taken during the 1950's when my father and one of his brothers both worked at a restaurant.

My father looked extremely young.

My father was about half my current age and his brother a few years older.

Also in the picture was the owner and some of his other employees.

That photograph has occupied my thoughts a great deal since.

I have shown this photograph to a number of people and there are some things people have been kind enough to point out.

They point out that there is a family resemblance between my father and his brother which is not surprising.

Some even say that my father and I share a resemblance.

I find this most interesting because I wear glasses, have had a beard for decades and have a large frame whereas my father was clean shaven, had no need for glasses and was a very trim gentleman.

Even though there are physical differences between us people can still see my father's characteristics in me.

Although he's been gone for a very long time and there are major differences in our appearance, I still encounter people who look at me and ask if he was my father.

Somehow, they can see past all the differences and still see a bit of my father in me.

This puts me in mind of the old hymn “They'll Know We are Christians by Our Love”.

Jesus put it this way.

John 13:35 (NIV) - "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

As Christians, that is the family resemblance we should all share.

Love not only for other Christians but for everyone.

Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, January 17, 2014.

Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!

I’ll be back here on Friday, January 24, 2014.