The past several Sundays, we have followed the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ journey to the Cross. Of course, on Easter we touched upon the crucifixion and celebrated Jesus’ resurrection from the tomb. But, that wasn’t the end of Jesus’ travels on this earth. The Book of Acts tells us that Jesus made several appearances after His Resurrection. In fact, Jesus remained on this earth another 40 days before His Ascension into Heaven.[1] The fact that it was 40 days gives us a hint as to how important that time was. In the Bible, references to time frames that include the number “40” usually point to extraordinary events or time periods. For example: 1. While Noah was in the ark, it rained for 40 days and nights.[2] 2. Moses stayed on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights while God delivered to him the Ten Commandments.[3] 3. After God freed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before those who remained faithful were permitted to enter the Promised Land.[4] 4. The Philistine giant, Goliath, taunted the Israelite army for 40 days.[5] 5. Elijah received a power lunch from an angel that sustained him for 40 days and nights.[6] 6. The Prophet Jonah warned the people of Nineveh that God would bring judgment on them in 40 days.[7] 7. And, Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness for 40 days and nights.[8] During each of these 40-period stretches, something of a spiritual nature took place. Sometimes, it was a time of judgment or a time of trials that tested the faithfulness of God’s people. On other occasions, there were periods of teaching, preparation and spiritual growth. Each of these examples marked momentous biblical events. Jesus’ 40-day post-resurrection “ministry” was no less extraordinary. So, what was so vital about the 40 days following Jesus’ resurrection from the tomb? What does it tell us?
First of all, it tells us just how much Jesus loved the world! In His Heavenly Kingdom, He had a throne awaiting Him in the most glorious place you could ever imagine. He had been living on this dingy, dark and sin-filled planet for about 33 long years. And, what thanks had He gotten from humanity? For all His loving kindness, for all His miracles, for all His depravations on our behalf—humanity beat Him, spat upon Him, jeered Him, and then nailed Jesus to a Cross! If it had been you or me, and we were given the chance to return to the delights and wonders of Heaven, we would have headed on up in a heartbeat with no intentions of ever seeing earth again. . . but, not Jesus. No, He knew that He still had important matters that still needed His attention. And so, Jesus put off sitting on His Heavenly throne to make sure these things were done.
What things? Well, perhaps the most important thing was that Jesus wanted to make sure no one could argue that He hadn’t actually risen from the dead. The best way to make sure of that was to openly present Himself to multiple people on various different occasions. So, that is what Jesus did for the next 40 days. He came to people as a walking, talking, eating, breathing person in a physical resurrected body that was very much alive! This restoration of faith was so vital to His disciples who had been dealt a serious blow to their faith as they had lived through the fears and despair that came with Jesus’ crucifixion.[9] This prepared them for the coming of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would be poured into the hearts of His followers. It would propel them to catch the Roman world on fire with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
When you think about the numerous appearances of Christ following the Resurrection, it seems amazing that Jesus could pack so many of them into a mere 40-day period. In less than six weeks, Jesus met with people at least a dozen times. So, who was given the honor of being the first one to encounter Jesus after His Resurrection? Was it one of His eleven remaining Apostles—perhaps, someone with the status of Peter or John? A good ole reliable, mature, male witness? No, it wasn’t one of the Apostles. It wasn’t even a man who could boast of being the first witness to the resurrected Christ. It was a lowly woman named Mary Magdalene.[10] Her past reputation wasn’t meritorious. In fact, she was known to have been demon possessed before she became a follower of Christ. And yet, outside the tomb early on that first Easter morning, it was Mary Magdalene who saw Jesus, heard Him speak and touched His body. What is so amazing about this is that the selection of Mary for this honor is something that adds immensely to the credibility of her encounter with the Risen Lord. You see, if the Gospel writers had been making up a false story in an effort to convince people of Jesus’ Resurrection, they never would have mentioned a woman as being the first witness. Why?—because, in the male-dominated Jewish culture of the 1st century A.D., women were deemed too lowly to be good witnesses. In fact, they were not even allowed to testify in court.[11] So, why would Mary even be mentioned as the first person to bear witness to seeing the resurrected Christ? Well, the simple answer is because that is exactly the way it happened, and Jesus was exactly as she described Him—VERY MUCH ALIVE!
The second appearance of Jesus after His Resurrection was also to those of the female gender. Jesus appeared to “the other women” who had come to further prepare His body for burial. These included Mary, the mother of James, and Salome (Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1). As with Mary Magdalene, they saw Jesus with their own eyes, touched Him by clasping His feet, and heard Him speak. These women looked into the tomb and confirmed that Jesus’ body was no longer there. They listened as angels reported to them that Jesus was risen from the dead.[12]
In 1st Corinthian 15, Paul reveals that the third witness was finally a male when Jesus appeared to Peter. Then, Jesus came to all Twelve disciples. After that, Jesus presented Himself to a large group of 500 believers at one gathering. Many of them lived for years after this, proclaiming the reality of the Resurrected Lord. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul made it a point that anyone who wanted to confirm the truthfulness of what he was saying could easily find some of these eyewitnesses. The New Testament scholar, Norman Geisler, tells us it was as if Paul were saying: “If you do not believe me, just go and ask them?” Geisler goes on to say: “Despite its brevity, [1st Corinthians 15:5-7 ] is a powerful testimony to the bodily resurrection of Christ. It has the ring of truth about it. Paul is writing in 55 or 56 [A.D.], only twenty-two or twenty-three years after the Resurrection. Most of these eyewitnesses were still alive. And Paul challenges his readers to check out what he is saying with this multitude of witness who saw and probably heard Christ after His Resurrection.” Eventually, Jesus met with His brother, James, alone. Following that, He again met with all the Apostles.[13] Also, note that there are at least four different occasions where it was confirmed that Jesus ate food with His disciples.
Not long after His Resurrection, Jesus was traveling with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus.[14] When they stopped traveling that evening, Jesus broke bread with them and ate a meal. These two disciples then hurried back to Jerusalem and met with the Apostles to let them know what had happened. In Luke 24, it tells us that Jesus also ate with them there. Later, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus cooked a breakfast of fish and invited the disciples to eat with Him.[15] Finally, when Jesus met with His disciples for the last time before His Ascension, the Book of Acts informs us that He ate a meal with them.[16] Again, this provides us with hard evidence that Jesus’s resurrected body was not some ghostly apparition but was physical in nature.
Not only does Luke describe Jesus eating food, he also elaborates on something Jesus did for His disciples that benefited the world immensely from that time forward. Luke stated: 35 “Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized Him as He was breaking the bread. 36 And just as they were telling about it, Jesus Himself was suddenly standing there among them. ‘Peace be with you,’ He said. 37 But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost! 38 ‘Why are you frightened?’ He asked. ‘Why are your hearts filled with doubt? 39 Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really Me. Touch Me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.’ 40 As He spoke, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then He asked them, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ 42 They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and He ate it as they watched. 44 Then He said, ‘When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ 45 THEN HE OPENED THEIR MINDS TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES. 46 And He said, ‘Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of His name TO ALL THE NATIONS, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things. 49 And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from Heaven.’” Luke 24:35-49 (NLT2)
Here, we can see two of the most important reasons that Jesus delayed His Ascension into Heaven. First, Jesus stayed that extra 40 days in order to transform His disciples. How?—in what way did Jesus transform them? What we just read says that He “OPENED THEIR MINDS” to understand God’s Word! It was the quality of transformation that can only occur when one accepts the reality of Christ’ Resurrection. Later, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirt further enhanced the minds of Jesus’ disciples to enable them to better understand the depth and meaning of God’s Word. It was then that Peter explained the meaning of this wonderous event. Peter proclaimed what God had said centuries earlier through the Prophet Joel: 17 “This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams. 18 Yes, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will proclaim my message.” Acts 2:17-18 (TEV) (See Joel 2:28-29.) As an aside—for those who deny women the privilege of teaching or preaching God’s Word, they might want to reflect upon the fact that this Scripture says both God’s men AND WOMEN “will proclaim [God’s] message.” In this, we can see that Jesus was preparing His followers to spread the powerful message of His Good News to all the world. Again, Norman Geisler’s comment is insightful when he wrote: “The fact that this small band shortly became the world's greatest missionary society is ample testimony for how powerfully what the apostles heard Jesus speak impressed them.”[17]
But, something else is also important here, for Jesus saved the most important instruction to His disciples for last. It was His last command just before He ended His extra 40 days here on earth. The spread of the Gospel was not to be limited solely to the nation of Israel. It wasn’t meant for only the pious or devout. What did Jesus say? Luke quotes Him as saying, “This message would be proclaimed in the authority of His name to ALL THE NATIONS” everywhere! Matthew’s Gospel puts it this way: 19 “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT2)
So, considering all this, what does it mean to you? Well, like I said earlier, it means Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He died on the Cross, rose from the tomb, and chose to spend an extra 40 days in this world that had rejected and crucified Him. Then, He empowered His disciples, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to preach His Good News—and He bid them to spread it worldwide. Why?—so that eventually, in the course of time, His way to salvation would be offered to you. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, then He bids you to “go and make disciples of all the nations.” Now, you might say, “I can’t do that—I’d have to fly in a plane or go in a boat if I went to another nation. But, I hate to fly and I’m sure not going on a boat!” You don’t need an airplane and you don’t need a boat. Or, you might then say: “But, I can’t go to other nations because I don’t have a passport.” You don’t need a passport either. All you need is the will to share Jesus with others! The thing is—you don’t even have to leave American soil. You can witness for Jesus right here in this country. It will be just like visiting another nation because sometimes it seems like we are living in a foreign land when it comes to spiritual matters.
I was reminded of this during the past week. You see, it is hard—it is costly to share the Good News of Jesus in the land in which we live. I watched a video of the women’s basketball coach for the University of South Carolina. She is a strong woman of faith named, Dawn Staley. Following her basketball team’s big victory that gained them a trip to the Final Four Tournament, she openly shared her faith on national TV. She mentioned last year’s devastating loss in the tournament, then said: “[It] pulled us back here with a totally different team. If you don’t believe in God, something’s wrong with you. I’m a believer because ... He makes things come true. When you’re at your worst, He’s at His best.” Last Sunday, when her team won another big game, Coach Staley stated that it was “pretty cool” that her team’s victory came on Easter Sunday, the holiest day of the year. But, she doesn’t think of God only when her team wins. She added, “We just don’t celebrate on the victories. Last year, I thank God for even the loss. I don’t want to be one-sided and to give Him the glory [when it’s] only befitting for wins.” She concluded by proclaiming: “HE IS RISEN.” And, on that same Sunday, she posted on X: “To God be the Glory!!,” and offered thanks to “all of our prayer warriors who call on the main line to help get us to another Final Four. . . I am not ashamed to praise Him for what He continues to do for me and mine. If you’re a nonbeliever, it wasn’t for you, I wish you well with your beliefs.” [18]
It took courage to share the Good News of Jesus like that—multiple times to a nation-wide audience. And now, comes the hard part. Now, comes that part where we feel like we are living in a foreign. . . a very pagan land. You see, Coach Staley’s zeal in following Jesus’ command to “make disciples of all the nations” didn’t set too well with the Freedom from Religion Foundation—a 32,000-member organization of unbelievers committed to stifling Jesus’ Great Commission. This organization had its attorney file a letter of complain with the University of South Carolina urging it to “take action [against Coach Staley] to protect its student athletes and to ensure that Staley understands that she has been hired as a basketball coach and not a pastor.” The co-president of this organization added: “[Coach Staley’s] insults to all those who don't believe in her particular religion cannot be countenanced by a public university.” And now, Coach Staley will have to take the heat from those attacks. We need to pray that she will remain strong in her faith.
And, you need to do something else. You need to remember that Jesus died for you. He paid for your sins on the Cross. He rose from the grave and stayed on this earth an extra 40 days rather than bask in the joys of Heaven. He did that all for you. Now, what will you do for Him? It’s time for all of us to “make disciples of all the nations”—right here in this community. . . in this foreign land—RIGHT NOW!
Let us pray.
Darvin Satterwhite, Pastor
Forest Hill Baptist Church
April 7, 2024
©2024 All Rights Reserved as follows:
Anyone is at liberty to use this sermon or any portions thereof for educational or religious purposes, with or without credit. The pastor believes the material presented herein to be true to the teaching of Scripture, and desires to further, not restrict, its potential use as an aid in the study of God’s Word. The publication of this material is a grace ministry of Forest Hill Baptist Church in Louisa, Virginia.
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[1] Acts 1:3 “ During the forty days after His crucifixion, He appeared to the apostles from time to time, and He proved to them in many ways that He was actually alive. And He talked to them about the Kingdom of God.” (NLT2)
[2] Genesis 7:4 “Seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created.” (NLT2)
[3] Exodus 24:18 “Then Moses disappeared into the cloud as he climbed higher up the mountain. He remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” (NLT2)
[4] Numbers 32:13 “The LORD was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the LORD’s sight had died.” (NLT2)
[5] 1st Samuel 17:16 “The Philistine [Goliath] came forward morning and evening for forty days and took his stand.” (NASB)
[6] 1st Kings 19:8 “So [Elijah] got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.” (NLT2)
[7] Jonah 3:4 “On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: ‘Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!’” (NLT2)
[8] Matthew 4:1-2 1 “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.” (NLT2)
[9] “Answers,” Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, https://www.bing.com (April 12, 2021).
[10] Mark 16:9 “After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons.” (NLT2)
[11] Norman L. Geisler, “Resurrection, Evidence for,” in Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1999), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 651.
[12] Matthew 28:6 “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where His body was lying.” (NLT2)
[13] 1st Corinthians 15:5-7 5 “He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.” (NLT2)
[14] Luke 24:28-31 28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! (NLT2)
[15] John 21:10-14 10 “ Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught,’ Jesus said. 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn’t torn. 12 ‘Now come and have some breakfast!’ Jesus said. None of the disciples dared to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ They knew it was the Lord. 13 Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish. 14 This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead.” (NLT2)
[16] Acts 1:4 “Once when He was eating with them, He commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised, as I told you before.” (NLT2)
[17] Norman L. Geisler, “Resurrection, Evidence for,” in Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1999), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 652.
[18] Ryan Foley, “Atheist group files complaint against NCAA basketball coach for ‘proselytizing,’” Christian Post, https://www.christianpost.com/news/atheist-group-files-complaint-against-ncaa-basketball-coach.html (April 4, 2024).
