looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Titus 2:13 WEB

Jesus makes many appearances in the Bible. He is present at the beginning of creation as we read in John 1:1, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. WEB” Here he is referred to as God just as he is in our scripture from the book of Titus. Also, Christ appears in the flesh, calling men and women to repentance, preaching and teaching the word of God. In addition, Jesus appears to his followers after his crucifixion and resurrection. 

The blessed hope that Paul refers to is the future return of our Lord and Savior. Having experienced the miraculous life, death, and resurrection of Christ, his disciples believed in his promised return. As Jesus said in John 14:2-3, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. KJV”

The Return of Christ

Paul too experienced an appearance of Jesus. Although he opposed Christian teaching and persecuted the early church, his encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus changed his life. For the early Christians, the blessed hope of his return was reinforced by their firsthand knowledge of the Lord and his faithfulness.  

Our Lord was not merely a man with wise teachings. He is the Savior of those who believe in God and repent from sin. The Bible is full of references to the saving grace of God and the blessed hope of the return of Christ. As Paul writes in Hebrews 9:28, “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation. WEB”

Yesterday’s Devotional: People Everywhere Should Repent