Blessed be the name of our Lord Jesus Christ forever. It is yet another gracious opportunity that God has granted us to reflect together, my dear brother or sister, on these words of life. The Bible tells us that when the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to certain individuals—about 500 people in total (1 Corinthians 15:6). But have you ever wondered why? What was so special about these 500 that others didn’t have, to the point that only they were privileged to see Him? We must understand that this is characteristic of Christ: there are times when He reveals Himself to all, but there are also moments when He only appears to a selected few. And this is exactly what happened after His resurrection. During His 33 years on earth, anyone could visit Him or look at Him if they wanted to. But after His resurrection, no one could see Him unless He chose to reveal Himself to them. That is why He told the Jews in John 7:34,“You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come.” These 500 people who had the grace to see Jesus after His resurrection were not random or accidental beneficiaries. The Bible makes it clear that they were those who had been with Him, those who had walked with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem—from one end of Israel to the other. Acts 13:29–31:“When they had carried out all that was written about Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead, and for many days He was seen by those who had traveled with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.” These were the ones to whom Jesus manifested Himself the second time—people who had walked with Him, heard His teachings, and spoke about Him. An example is the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after His resurrection (Luke 24:13–35). Jesus saw it necessary to reveal Himself to them in a new glory. And it is consistent with God’s principle that those who honor Him, He honors; those who draw near to Him, He draws near to them (James 4:8). One of these individuals was even chosen to replace Judas Iscariot as an apostle. This second manifestation was not for show. Christ bestowed upon them a special gift that set them apart: They were made witnesses of Jesus. They were the ones chosen by God to spread the Gospel of Christ throughout the world, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:40–42:“But God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen—not by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.” Also see: Acts 2:31–32 So, if today we’re not interested in seeking Jesus, not interested in His Word, and feel burdened by hearing about Him—yet still claim to be saved—we must understand that there are dimensions of Jesus we will never experience. We miss the mark when we think that knowing Jesus is simply about being saved and casting out demons. We forget that Jesus is the very mystery of God—in whom the fullness of God dwells in bodily form: Colossians 2:9:“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” Once we reach the full knowledge of Him, there is nothing on this earth we won’t understand or be able to overcome. This is why Satan fights this truth—because he knows that once a person truly knows Jesus, his influence over them is finished. Ephesians 4:13–14:“Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching…” Therefore, let us make every effort to know Him, so we too may reach that point of being true witnesses of Christ, just as the apostles and those early believers were. But if we settle only for the Jesus of salvation—He will only reveal Himself to us in that way. Yet if we seek Him earnestly, desiring to know His ways, He will reveal Himself to us in the power of His resurrection. We will know Him deeply, just as those few—those 500—did. We will become entirely different people. Let’s begin taking this step today. Maranatha – The Lord is coming.