Luke 24:33-53

Imagine

I admit to being a big John Lennon fan. It started when I was 13 and is still going strong 48 years later. (Ouch!) Lennon said some pretty outrageous things; some of which were wrong and others were spot on. He was a great talent and it was a shame that he apparently never turned to Christ as did his band mate George Harrison.

One of Lennon’s most famous songs is Imagine. It has some nice thoughts in it and a couple of real stinkers. By the stinkers of course I’m referring to the bit about imagining there is no heaven. (Yes, I know he also sang “an no religion, too” but I’m not so sure I’m religious. I just believe in Jesus and love Him.)

Today’s passage got me to musing about John and his song because I was thinking, “Imagine being one of these disciples when Jesus appeared to them!” They thought they had seen a ghost. I’m not interested in creating a theology of ghosts but I think it is interesting that Jesus didn’t say, “No such thing.” Instead He said, “Ghosts don’t have flesh and bones as I have.”

Even after touching Him they still did not believe because of “joy and amazement.” If you are going to have a non-believing spell then “joy and amazement” are about the best reasons I can think of.

Then Jesus takes some fish and eats it. The fish is gone! The fish has left the building bite by bite. Imagine. Then He opens their minds so they can understand the Scriptures. He was dead. Now He is alive and eating fish. Now...now...I get it! It’s all right there in the scriptures.

I understand why John wrote all the things he wrote in Imagine and some of them are pretty cool, but nothing compares to what those disciples must have been experiencing that night. Just imagine!