Jesus Does Not Appear to Everyone

Jan. 31

Read: Acts 10:34-48

Jesus did not “appear” to everyone. “But God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen…” (v.40-41) That is an odd statement, isn’t it? Why wouldn’t Jesus start off by appearing to “everyone”?

You see, Jesus appears only to those who have been “chosen”- “…chosen by God as witnesses… And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.” (v.41-42) Jesus did not start out by appearing to everyone because he wanted his people to be the ones that would bear witness… he wanted us to experience the joy and purpose of “testifying” to others. This “exclusivity” was really just a matter of including us - his children - in the mission and purpose of his kingdom. This was “exclusivity” that was leading to “inclusivity”. God’s plan was to call to himself people from every walk of life… every background… every circumstance… every tax bracket… every ethnicity… every personality… every vocation… “every tip and every tongue.

If Jesus has “appeared” to you… if he has awakened your heart and made himself known to you… it is for this reason. To have Jesus make himself known to you is to be called as a “witness” and to be able to testify that he is the one “appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.” What does that mean!?! Judge the “living and the dead”? (v.42) To “judge” is to render a decision… to declare what is right and what is wrong… to decide how things ought to be… how they are supposed to be. If Jesus has appeared to you, he is leading you into this LIFE… and this FULLNESS… and he wants you to declare (“testify”) the same to those around you. Jesus determines what is right for the LIVING. (“judges the living”) And Jesus determines your state when you have died… he “judges the dead”.

These truths will not be clear to everyone. Jesus takes his time in “appearing” to others and he does it through his people. Rest assured though, “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Let this sink in… every mistake… every malicious act… every loss of self control… every bit of these self-destructive-tiny-doses of death … Jesus has taken them from us! Jesus has not only forgiven us, but “removed our sin from us as far as the east is from the west.” How will we testify to this? Are we willing to talk to those around us… even our friends… about the ways that Jesus is bringing us LIFE? If Jesus has appeared to you… it is so he can lead you into “fullness of life”… this is right living. He is able to “judge”. He will help you make decisions… he can tell you what is right… what to do. What is in front of you right now that you do not know how to handle? Let Jesus “judge” for you as a “living” one. My hunch is that most of the time… we know what we need to do… and we just don’t want to do it. Bravely trust GOd and do what you know you need to do. Never squander the fact that Jesus has appeared to YOU. Not everyone has experienced that… and not everyone will. Love you guys. - JDP