Bobservations Column
by Pastor Bob Lawrenz
Some fifteen years ago, my mother told me a story about my father: Just a few days after he had passed and gone home to the Lord, my mother experienced a vision of my father. It was early in the morning, she told me, and he appeared in the doorway to her bedroom as she was rising to begin her day. He lingered for a moment, and then the vision ceased and he was gone. While I cannot explain it, it did not surprise me either. My mother was a Believer.
Several years before, Doris, the mother of a childhood friend (now grown) told of a similar experience after her husband had passed away. Doris was also a Believer. Both visions were peaceful and calming, and it appeared that the two husbands wanted one final opportunity to check on their wives and be assured of their well-being.
The common thread was love from two long marriages. But the two husbands made their brief appearance, and then were gone in less than a minute, never to return from beyond again. I liken it to the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation, who was invited to “come and see” the things going on in the Earth after he had been called up to heaven in Chapter 4.
As word spread that Jesus had risen from the dead, it should not have surprised anyone either. He had told them He would return after three days. And when He did reveal Himself on the third day to Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome, and then the others, it was not just a vision; it was not a short visit either. Jesus appeared many times to the Apostles and Disciples.
The Gospels record that He sat with them and ate meals with them, He walked along beside them and conversed openly with them. Jesus continued to teach them and prepare them for evangelism, taking the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. And these things continued for 40 days, not just a few moments. Paul even records that Jesus had been seen by more than 500 brethren at one time.
If we take the word of two widows, then our Lord Jesus is more than just a man. If their reports are within in the human realm, then Jesus was more than human when He lived among mankind. Jesus remains and will always be more than “just a man.” Jesus retained His Divinity while on the Earth, and now sits at the right hand of the Father. He is the One the Jews are waiting for…
“…The high priest answered and said unto Him, ‘I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou hast said; nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.’” - Mt. 26:63,64