Like Sheep Without a Shepherd

The Bible says that when Jesus died on the cross, His disciples were scattered like sheep without a shepherd. They were truly lost men and women.

The hours between the time His body was laid in the tomb on the Sabbath day evening, until the bright dawn of Easter morning, were the longest any of them had ever experienced in their lives. Their dreams had been shattered by the hammer blows of Roman soldiers, and their hearts had been broken. Their most treasured hope for a better life, an eternal one, lay dead in the grave. And they didn’t know what to do.

But Jesus knew. When He came forth from the tomb that morning, He began a forty day visitation program.

On that very first Sunday of resurrection living, Jesus met with Mary and the other women at the garden tomb. He later met with Peter in the afternoon; Clopas and his buddy on the road to Emmaus, and finally He met with the ten disciples late that evening. He met with Thomas the following week at the now regular Sunday evening meeting.

He had family meetings with His mother and His half-siblings, where He brought James and the rest to saving faith. He had beach meetings and breakfast meetings and retreat meetings up in the hills. He visited with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus over in Bethany, and He even had healing and miracle services (see John 20:30-31; Acts 1:3).

Jesus had a busy forty days after Easter!

If you group these appearances by region, about two thirds of them occurred in Judea, down south, while the rest were up north around Galilee. If you group them by size, which is something us preachers like to do, most were private affairs with no more than a dozen or so people in attendance, although He did have one large meeting with over 500 people!

The point is that Jesus knew that what His disciples needed the most after His crucifixion was some face-to-face time with Him. And He gave it to them. What He didn’t do however, was give them 24/7 attention. This forty day period was more one of vanishings than it was of appearances. He wanted to mend their broken hearts, but He also wanted them to get used to not having Him around. After all, He was about to ascend back to heaven for good, from their perspective.

And, so, Jesus came and went as He pleased, and yet He gave each one exactly what he or she needed.

To Mary and the faithful women at the tomb, He gave great joy and happiness. To Peter, bowed down in shame because of his denials 54 hours before, Jesus gave hope and courage. To the two disciples on the roadway, blinded by their grief, He gave a burning desire to see again. To Thomas, filled with doubt, Jesus gave a reason to believe, and to the other ten disciples, burdened down with troubled hearts, Jesus gave a supernatural peace of mind.

What is it that you need today?

The message of the resurrection is that Jesus is alive and that He has whatever it is your heart needs the most. He gave the disciples new motivation for living, new authority for ministering, and new power for witnessing. What is it you need Him to do for you? Just ask, and He will give you that which you need to pick up the shattered pieces of your life and become whole again.

All you have to do is trust Him.