Jesus walked this earth for 40 days
after His resurrection. He appeared to the disciples on at
least four recorded occasions and prepared them for telling the good
news that He, the Son of God, had come to mankind to save
them. He did this by demonstrating He was God -- by simply
appearing within locked rooms in their midst. He displayed
his wounds and "doubting Thomas" put his finger into the nail hole of
Christ's hand and his hand into the wound in Christ's side.
On an occasion reported in 1 Corinthians 15:6, He appeared to over 500
of the brethren at one time. Another time after the apostles
fished all night without a single catch, He gave them a miraculous
catch of fish so large the apostles were amazed the nets didn't
tear. Then after a breakfast Jesus prepared for the
disciples, He asked Peter, the one who denied him three times, to
publicly declare his love for Him three times (John
21:15-17). He went on to instruct Peter to feed and take care
of His disciples. During these 40 days, Jesus taught the
apostles -- showing them how He had fulfilled the Old Testament
scriptures about Himself.
Jesus gave the apostles the "Great Commission" during this
time. He told them to go into all the world preaching the
Good News and making disciples of all nations. (Matthew
28:19) He also instructed them to wait together in Jerusalem
for the Holy Spirit to empower them.
The last thing Jesus said (Acts 1:8-9) to the apostles was, "...you
shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth. After he said this, he was taken up before
their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight." |
