Seeing Jesus

Reading the stories of Jesus recorded in the bible I can’t help but be drawn to the idea that seeing Jesus was the most important thing any of the people of that time could do. They wanted to see him, they had heard about the power and his message and they needed to see him. Some wanted to be healed, some wanted discuss theology, some just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Zacheus climbed a tree, Peter walked on water, people walked for miles and some even tore the roof off a house. They did anything they had to do too see him.

How do we see Jesus today? He ascended to heaven in front of many witnesses and abides even now with his father so how can we encounter him, see him today? We see Jesus every day when we associate with friends who walk closely with him. We see him everyday if we invite him into our lives because he reveals himself, changing our lives. Every time we prayerfully open the bible we see him revealed by the Holy Spirit. He is revealed in the intricacies of nature and the kindness of a Christian. Sweet music lifted in praise opens our eye the character of the creator.

Imagine the joy of a blind man healed, opening his eyes and his first sight is the face of his savior. Think of the peace that fell on Zacheus when his eyes met the Lords loving gaze. Put yourself in the shoes of the demoniacs, lives completely changed from the first moment they laid eyes on the man in the boat.

Everybody who saw Jesus was changed, some where healed, all had the opportunity to be forgiven, and many gave up all to follow him. There is something else all the people who saw him shared. They told someone else what they had seen. He had such a dramatic effect on their lives that they couldn’t help but relate the story to someone else. Can’t you see the man from the pool, his few possessions grasped tightly in his hands, running through the streets shouting I’ve been healed! The sinner, depressed and hopeless, after spending a day listening to the savior assure them of salvation, of peace, of forgiveness, going to their friends and sharing the amazing joy that filled their hearts. Even the Pharisees in their unbelief could speak of little else, seeing Jesus was all they could talk about.
We talk about sharing the gospel, growing the church and witnessing to the world but first we have to see him. The definition of witness is someone who sees, with their own eyes, firsthand, an event. In order to be a witness we must have seen him. Invite him into you heart, open you bible and let him reveal himself to you. When you see him, you will know it because you will be compelled to tell someone else about the incredible, amazing man you just met, the man who is going to save the world.