THE PERFECT PEACE

Let's pick up where we left off in our story of Jesus Christ ... Now, Mary Magdalene and those with her had just spoken to the risen Lord and He told them to go tell His Apostles that He is risen. When they heard the news, the Apostles thought the women were making up stories and they didn’t believe them. That day, two disciples went to a village called Emmaus, and on the way, they talked about all the things that had happened.

You can imagine the concern, confusion and doubt in the room. While they talked, Jesus Himself walked along near them, but their eyes were restrained from recognizing Him. He said to them, What are you talking about that’s making you so sad? One of them, named Cleopas, said, Are you a stranger in Jerusalem, that you don’t know the things that have happened there lately?Notice that there was not a May Peace Be With You greeting ...

Jesus said, What things? They answered, About Jesus of Nazareth. He was a great prophet in Word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death and they’ve crucified Him. We trusted that He was the one that would redeem Israel. Today is the third day since it happened. Some women who also believed surprised us when they went to the sepulchre early today, and when they found His body gone, they came saying that they’d also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. Some went to see, and they found it was true what they said, but they didn’t see Jesus.

Jesus said to them, O fools, and slow to believe all that the prophets said. Shouldn’t Christ have suffered these things in order to enter into His glory? Then beginning with Moses, and then all the rest of the prophets, Jesus explained all the things in the scriptures about Himself. When they came near to Emmaus, Jesus acted like He was going further, but they said, Stay with us, it’s getting late. And He went in with them. As He sat to eat with them, He took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they knew Him, and He vanished out of their sight!

Our May Peace Be With You study on the Perfect Peace Bible verse continues ... They said to one another, Didn’t our hearts burn inside of us while He talked with us on the way and while He explained the scriptures to us? They left Emmaus and returned to Jerusalem the same hour to the eleven gathered together, and those who were with them, and they said, The Lord is truly risen, and has appeared to Simon! They told what happened and how He made Himself known to them in breaking of bread.

BUT ... Angels that come to earth DO eat. The two Angels that visited Abraham ate with him and then stayed with Lot and ate with him right before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:8, Genesis 19:3).

Jesus said, This is what I meant when I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled that were written in the law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms about me. Then He opened their understanding to the scriptures and said to them, So it was written, and it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise again the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in my name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

All power is given to me, in Heaven and on earth. Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and teaching them to observe all things that I’ve commanded you. He that believes and is baptized (With the Holy Spirit as John the Baptist said "I baptize you with water BUT Jesus baptizes you with fire and the Holy Ghost") will be saved, but he that doesn’t believe, will be damned.

These signs will follow those who believe. In my name they’ll cast out devils. They’ll speak with new tongues, they’ll take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them. They’ll lay hands on the sick, and they’ll recover. You are witnesses of these things, and I sent the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.

Then, He said to Thomas, Reach out your finger and behold my hands, and reach out your hand and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing. Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God. Jesus said to Him, Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

If you never knew where the term ‘Doubting Thomas’ came from, that last paragraph explains it all. A person who frequently doubts unless something is proven to them, is referred to as a Doubting Thomas. And guess who those people are that Jesus was talking about who have not seen, and still believe. That would be any believer who has never seen Jesus in the flesh. The Perfect Peace is found in faith.

Yes, that means even today, blessed are they if the CHOOSE to BELIEVE without seeing. I mean ... We do it all the time. We believe in the unseen every day. We believe there is an invisible wave that brings sound to our radios and visions to our televisions. We believe in the wind though it cannot be seen of itself, just it's effects. And what of disease. We cannot see them rascals but just try getting around someone that has it and you will see their fruits. Most of all ... LOVE ... You cannot see it but MAN ... Can you ever FEEL it. Ponder on this Our May Peace be with you TRUTH.

One day seven of Jesus’ disciples were together and Peter being among them said, I’m going fishing. The others said, We’re going with you. They went out into the sea of Tiberias and caught absolutely nothing. Now, you have to put yourself in the shoes of these guys. Here they sit, the same guys that gave up the last three and a half years of their lives to follow Jesus, back in the same boat that they were in before ... literally.

But they’ve changed inside. They’ve seen Jesus twice briefly since His resurrection, He was there in a moment and their hearts were once again filled with hope, and then He was gone again. If they could just sit and talk with Him again like old times. If it could only be like it was, before they abandoned Him at His darkest hour. Could the Grace of God outweigh what they had done? You bet your life it can.

Our May Peace be with you voyage into the Perfect Peace Bible verse continues ... As morning was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples being about 300 feet from shore (the length of a football field) didn’t know it was Him. He called out to them saying, Children, did you catch anything? They called back, No. Then Jesus yelled out, Throw the net on the right side of the ship, and you’ll get some. They threw the net to the right and soon they couldn’t pull it in because there were so many fish.

John said to Peter, remembering that this had happened once before, It’s the Lord! Peter, his soul bursting with emotion, dives into the sea, leaving his sins and his shame behind him and swims to shore as quickly as he can to once again be with his Lord. The others row as fast as they can to join them, dragging the net, straining with the weight of all the fish.

When they came to land, there was a campfire with fish and bread preparing. Jesus said, Bring the fish that you caught. Peter went and pulled up the net, filled with 153 fish, but the net still had not broken. Jesus said, come and eat. Without a doubt, they knew it was Jesus. He gave them bread and fish.

After they ate, Jesus said to Peter, Do you love me more than the others? Peter said, Yes, Lord you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my lambs. Then a second time Jesus asked, Peter, Do you love me? Peter answered, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my sheep. Jesus then asked Peter a third time, Peter, do you love me?

Peter was troubled and was seeking the perfect peace in this matter because Jesus asked him a third time. Peter said, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep. (This was done because Peter denied Him thrice and just accepted Him thrice.) Truly I say to you, When you were young, you readied yourself and went where you wished, but when you’re old, you’ll reach out your hands and someone else will ready you, and take you where you don’t want to go.