After Easter – Forty days of Wonder

“He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

Can you imagine the discussions and excitement that took place after the resurrection of Jesus? After the initial shock of seeing him alive after such a brutal death, it must have left the witnesses with a sense of wonder each time they saw Him living and breathing. After the ecstasy of seeing His victory over the grave there must have been an amazed euphoria with every visitation Jesus made.

In our minds we often place the ascension very close to the resurrection. It was like there was an appearance or two, and then away He went into the clouds never to be seen again. Actually, there were forty days and multiple occasions when Jesus met with His followers. That’s over a month of wonder and awe – He lives! He really lives!

He showed himself alive by “many infallible proofs,” as Luke says it. There was to be no doubt in the minds of His apostles and other believers that this was indeed the same one that suffered, died and now stood before them alive!

“I can’t believe you are here!” one might have said. “Can I see your hand again?” another may have asked. It took a few days for the reality of resurrection to really be grasped. Jesus spent that time with the believers so it would be firmly established in their own minds, in their teaching, and in their writings for future generations of believers.

Lest they should believe He was only a Spirit, a ghost that had returned to visit them, He showed them His wounds and ate fish with them. Jesus said, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence” (Luke 24:39-43).

Before the disciples could believe, Jesus had to open their understanding of the Scriptures so that they could see how He was indeed the fulfillment of the prophecies, the psalms and the writings. Revelation often dawns slowly rather than suddenly with the blinding flash of illumination in a moment’s understanding. As believers met together and talked of all that Jesus had done and said, a fuller understanding of His purpose began to be revealed. It was forty days of wonder, forty days of revelation, forty days of instruction that would forever shape the foundation of the church.

Jesus still gives us time. Time to know Him. Time to receive His revelation. Time to revel in His wonder. As we spend time in His presence He is revealed in our lives and the confirmation of His resurrection is made known to us also!