"The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom 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 1:1-3 NKJV
Why? If you have ever raised children, or interacted in any way with a child, you have probably heard the question ”why”? I know I have heard it all too many times, and have spent a forgettable amount of time trying to answer that question to the satisfaction of my children. Curiosity, however, is not only normal but necessary in learning the answers to the many questions we have as we grow. As believers, I would suggest that asking the question why is one of the best ways to learn about the Word, and all that it contains which the Father has chosen to teach us.
As an example, I want to share with you a few of my personal “why” questions concerning the time Jesus spent here on earth following His resurrection. The first, and probably most obvious one is why did He stay here at all? Throughout scripture we are told that His mission on earth was to sacrifice Himself for our sins by dying on the cross, and then resurrecting Himself as proof of His power over death. As that was accomplished on the third day, the first Easter Sunday, why didn’t He just appear to Mary and Martha, the disciples, and then go home?
As I thought about that, it seemed obvious at first that there had to be a reason yet as I studied it became rather perplexing in that the Bible tells us nothing about what He did during that time. There were no public teachings, no more miracles performed, and He never went back to the temple. All we are told is that He appeared to 500 people once, James once, and His disciples on four different occasions eventually telling them to wait in Jerusalem for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. It was then that He left this earth and ascended into Heaven.
“And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” Acts 1:7-9 NKJV
The more I thought about this, the conclusion I came to was simply that if there was nothing more for Him to do, Jesus was waiting for something to happen. Of course, the easy answer was the appearance of the Holy Spirit but as we know, that occurred fifty days after the resurrection and Jesus left after forty days so there had to be another reason. It was then that I considered the importance of the forty day period of time, and if it was important. As many understand, forty is a significant number in scripture, most often referring to judgment, and the fact that Jesus chose to stay for forty days seems to be too much for coincidence.
My conclusion as to why Jesus waited forty days, and what He might have been waiting for, lays in something He said during His ministry.
“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.” Matthew 12:39-41 NKJV
Now many of you will recognize this prophecy from Jesus and understand He was talking about His time in the tomb being three days and three nights just as Jonah was in the fish. While that is most certainly true, notice that He also goes on to say something else by telling His listeners that Israel would be judged by the men of Nineveh because they were willing to repent while Israel was not. If we go back to the account of Jonah and read what occurred, I believe we can see an interesting correlation to what Jesus did after His resurrection.
“And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.” “ Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.” Jonah 3:3-5, 10 NKJV
Jonah’s message to the people of Nineveh was that they had forty days to repent of their sins or face judgment from God. They listened and repented, earning a reprieve from God and were spared from His judgment. Since Jesus brought this up before His death and resurrection, it makes sense to me that just like Nineveh, God allowed a period of forty days for Israel to repent and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their sins. Unlike Nineveh, however, they refused to repent thus putting into motion their future judgment which will occur during the seven years of the tribulation.
Just as God waited for Israel to repent, He is also waiting for the world to repent and accept the free gift of salvation He has offered by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. The difference is that He has chosen to wait more than two thousand years for His Church, the bride of Christ, to grow to the size that it has. Yet we are also told there will come a time when God will tell His Son to come and get us and take us home, ending the waiting period until He unleashes His judgment on this earth. While Jesus’ sacrifice was first offered to the nation of Israel, after their rejection it has now been offered to all of us if we will only accept it. Everyone is afforded a choice as to where they will spend eternity. If your desire is to spend that eternity in Heaven with our Father, Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans exactly how to do that.
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
I pray you have, or will, make the choice to accept the gift of eternal life offered to us all as a result of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Keep watching.
