The Christ of the 40 Days: Experiencing the Risen, Triumphant Lord

Forty Days Between the Tomb and the Ascension

The tragic events of Good Friday did not signal the end of Jesus Christ's ministry to His disciples?far from it. Easter morning was the beginning of a unique and important portion of Jesus' ministry on earth. For the next forty days, until His glorious ascension to heaven, Jesus appeared many times to His disciples. During this precious period, Jesus taught His followers about the requirements of discipleship, His own divine nature, and the power they would soon need to expand the kingdom of God "into all the world" (Mark 16:15). Today, we can experience that same power to accomplish God's work.

Even more important, those forty days provide us with the promise of His everlasting presence, for Jesus did not say, "I will be with you," as one who has to go away and come back again, but "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matthew 28:20), as a presence that is never to be withdrawn.