finally, once again to the disciples
just prior to His ascension.
at Pentecost (50 days after Easter
and 10 days after Ascension). Jesus
said, "You will receive power when
Combining these appearances,
over 500 individuals saw the risen
Lord before His ascension. The
diversity of these people, the large
number of persons, the
circumstances under which they
saw Jesus, the inability of Jesus'
enemies (the Pharisees, Sadducees,
and Romans) to disprove the
testimony of these disciples - all of
these things come together to form
convincing proof of the
resurrection of Jesus from the
tomb. Had Jesus died, arose, and
then gone immediately to be with
the Father, it would have been
quite easy for the authorities to
claim that the body of Jesus had
been stolen from the tomb. But as
it was, they now had to deal with
the reality of Jesus' person, and the
testimony of the disciples.
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." A third reason for the forty
Secondly, during those forty days,
Jesus had certain things to say to
His disciples, instructing them
concerning their future. He gave
instruction about the true nature of
the kingdom of God and taught His
disciples about their future
ministry. It was during this time
that Jesus promised the disciples
the empowerment of the Holy
Spirit, which the Church celebrates
day delay can be seen in the need
to encourage the disciples.
Following the crucifixion of Jesus,
we find the disciples huddled in the
Upper Room, fearing for their lives.
If the disciples were to become
what God had intended for them to
be - individuals who would "turn
the world upside down"- they
needed a new vision and hope.
THE CONTINUING MINISTRY OF
JESUS
When we speak of The Ascension
as bringing to an end the earthly
ministry of Jesus, we dare not assume that the ascension marked
the end of His ministry! Jesus is still
actively at work within and among
us. For example, the Scriptures
speak of the ascended Christ as
either seated (Ephesians 1:20) or
standing (Acts 7:56) at the right
hand of God. The right hand
position