To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3 NAS95)
The resurrection puts flesh and bones on the meaning of Kingdom, in particular, the Kingdom of God. Off and on for a period of 40 days Jesus shifted His disciples’ fellowship with Himself from His physical presence to His presence as eternal King in the Kingdom of God. He knew after His ascension that His disciples, now turned apostles, needed to familiarize themselves with His invisible presence. Prior to the ascension, Jesus told them to wait for an empowering for Kingdom life. Yes, He’d mentioned the Holy Spirit, His Presence, who would be with them during His last evening with them in the upper room, but the disciples really couldn’t ingest what He said at that time. He needed now to help them live into this new reality of His continuing presence with them.
Resurrection shocks and informs as well as revolutionizes the way one thinks reality works. God not only became visibly King in the minds of His disciples, they now knew God reigns literally, eternally, and has never gone missing from His throne — no matter how messy earth looks. The disciples moved from shattered dreams and shocked hearts to startled amazement at the sight of the post-death, alive and embodied Jesus. Their world warped into the reality upon which the universe rests. Jesus, now resurrected, deepens the teaching of His Kingdom explaining the interactivity He will continue to have with them and those they invite into His Kingdom after His ascension. The Spirit will come, will empower, and they will know and recognize Jesus in the experience of the Holy Spirit. Resurrection breathes new life into the disciples, into us, and the Spirit empowers Jesus’ own to live and express Kingdom in communion with Him.
For Reflection:
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.” (Psalms 145:13 NAS95)
- How do you the experience the Holy Spirit as Jesus’ presence in your life today?
- When and in what ways have you most richly experienced the empowering of God’s presence with you?
