how to see jesus

Biblical scholars tell us that the book in the bible that we call 1 John was written toward the close of the first century. It counters the claims Docetism, a heresy that denied that Jesus every lived here on earth as a man. That means that there was no sacrifice and we are still in debt for our sins. No wonder that John begins his letter ­– “That which was from the beginning . . . we have seen with our eyes . . . our hands have touched” (v. 1). Then in the following two verses he repeats three times that he saw him. John declares that his message is “what we have seen and heard” (v. 3).
     John wants his readers to understand that the Christian faith is not a philosophy, but a message about a real man who lived among us, died for our sins and three days later rose again victorious over sin and death. This incredible experience sets the Christian message apart. It is so distinct that if you wanted to start a new religion, the best thing to do would be to copy Christianity and “have yourself killed only to rise from the dead three days later.”
     The Christian faith rests on a solid foundation. It proclaims that God’s incarnate son lived among us, was crucified, and rose again. Scripture records that after his resurrection Jesus “appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once, most of whom are still alive” (1 Cor. 15:6). This basic event is crucial for a logical understanding of the remarkable expansion of the faith, and for fellowship within the assembly. John tells his readers that he is writing to them so they might have the same kind of fellowship that he was enjoying with the Father and the Son (v. 3). It was extremely important in the early years of the Christian faith that the central truths were not compromised in anyway
     And so it has been down through time. Deviant groups have severed their relationship out of a desire to interpret the faith differently. Denominations have expanded and split. Brand new approaches have clamored for recognition. Major differences have ruptured the status quo, but the true church continues. Jesus said that he would build his church on Peter’s declaration that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God” and that “all the powers of hell will not conquer it” (Matt. 16:18).
     John literally saw and touched the risen Christ. The church has faithfully proclaimed his message, and two millennia later you and I are united by faith with John and his first century believers. As time continues on, doctrines tend to drop along the wayside, but truth, although battered, is, and will be – victorious in the end.