I have always openly admitted that my favourite book of the Bible is the gospel of John. For me, there are so many incredibly special moments in John’s account of the life of Christ, but none more so than the way in which the apostle ends his writings. Having detailed Jesus’ death and resurrection and the way he appeared to the disciples to prove he was alive, John wraps it all up by saying: “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21: 25.) So you mean there was more?
If you take the time to read all the gospel accounts side by side, you will find a host of amazing miracles and life-altering events. People were raised from the dead, healed of blindness, leprosy, and other seemingly incurable conditions. It’s wonderfully overwhelming, but not exhaustive. We aren’t told about every word Jesus said, every meal he ate with his friends, or what he did during his downtime. Were there other miracles? Undoubtedly. It seems as though everywhere Jesus went, amazing things just couldn’t help happening. This was God come down to the earth as a man. The divine was walking around covered in human skin, and he doesn’t seem to have wasted a moment.
Let’s just take the time between his resurrection and ascension as an example. The Bible tells us a few things. In John, we learn about Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene as she stood outside his empty tomb crying. The poor woman thought someone had stolen His body, but then Jesus showed her he was very much alive, and her weeping turned to cries of delight. Then Jesus appeared to the disciples, not even needing a door to walk through because he could just appear and disappear at will. How incredible is that! The doors were locked, and the disciples were hiding away for fear of the Jewish leaders, but the Saviour came to encourage them and give them a promise of peace. (John 20: 19). Since Thomas wasn’t present on that occasion and he doubted the validity of his friends’ claims, Jesus showed up a second time a week later to dispel Thomas’s doubts. (John 20: 26.) Again, the doors were locked, but what did that matter to Jesus? Then there is the account of his meeting the 2men on the road to Emmaus, unique to Luke’s gospel.
I love reading these accounts of the resurrected Christ, but none more so than the story in the final chapter of John of how he waited for his disciples on the beach while they were out fishing and cooked them breakfast. The whole idea of the Lord making a meal for his friends is so moving. He even made sure they had a good catch of fish to take home for their families.
These are just a few snapshots of Jesus post-resurrection, and it would be easy for us to think that was all there was. Surely it’s enough! Jesus was alive! He spoke, answered questions, and still showed his love to those who had faithfully followed him. Yet the beginning of the book of acts reminds us that 40 days passed between His resurrection and ascension – 40 days during which he “Presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the Kingdom of God.” (Acts 1: 3.)
I read this verse again yesterday, and I found myself pondering the fact that 40 days is a long time. It’s over a month. So exactly what else did he do? As I sit writing this in early October, I realise that in 40 days, my Christmas lights will be up. Yes, I will admit I put them up in the middle of November, but still! … A lot can happen in 40 days.
John’s gospel gives us a brief look at just a few events that occurred during that 40 days, but there must have been a lot more. Our verse from Acts says that Jesus gave many convincing proofs that he was alive, and that he spoke about the Kingdom of God. Clearly, Jesus was still teaching post-resurrection. I imagine many of us wish we had records of that teaching, but for whatever reason, God didn’t feel that needed to be a part of our Bibles.
All this leads me to the point that with Jesus, there is always more. He is the God of immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. (Ephesians 3: 20.) he is limitless, and that’s hard to wrap our heads around because we live in a world of limitations. One day when we meet him in glory, I’m sure we’ll find out about more of the things Jesus did and said while he walked this earth – the things that there aren’t books big enough to contain, according to John.
Jesus may no longer be physically present here on the earth, but his ministry goes on through his church – through those of us who have accepted him as Saviour and have received his Holy Spirit to empower us. Just as Jesus never wasted a moment, we mustn’t either, because there is always more to be done. There are still books to be written about those we can help encourage out of the kingdom of darkness into his glorious kingdom of light. If Jesus could get a lot done in 40 days, then so can we.
It’s easy to rest on our laurels and think about the things we have already accomplished, especially when we get to a certain age, and we feel our best years are behind us. Perhaps you are reading this, and you feel that ill-health has put you out of the race once and for all. If so, I want to assure you that’s not true. As long as we have breath in our lungs, there is Kingdom work to be done. What you are called to do today may look a little different from what you did 20 years ago when you were in your prime, but it’s no less important. My life has gone through many seasons, and doubtless it will go through many more. Even during these past months, the Lord has given me a huge change of direction. I resisted it at first, but now I find it exciting, and I can’t wait for the new season I am heading into.
The only limitations Jesus will ever have are the ones we mistakenly put on him. How much more did he actually do during his earthly life than we read about in the gospels? Honestly, I’d love to know. Yet I don’t think my mind could ever contain it all. I suppose that’s why the Lord has given us all the information we need in our bibles. Yet my desire as I head into the new things God has for me is to continue to make every moment count for my Lord. I would encourage you to do the same as you assess where you currently are on your life’s journey. Remember that with Jesus, there is always more, so we never need settle for man-made restrictions.