“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”

Philippians 3:10

As I sit here on the day after Easter, I am thinking about the disciples and what they may have been doing during those days between the resurrection and the ascension. We know very little about these intervening days. There are a few observations that can be gleaned from the pages of Scripture, but the Gospel accounts leave much to be desired in our understanding of the disciple’s actions and activities during those forty days.

We do know that Jesus made several different post-resurrection appearances during that span of time. Perhaps He made more than the Gospels record, but we know He appeared at different times and in different places. But other than the record of these appearances to the disciples, we know almost nothing about what they were doing in this period.

But what observations can we make? What principles can we glean from the limited amount of information we have? I would suggest the following.

First, we know that they were all devastated because of the death of Jesus. None of them had any hope in the resurrection. All they knew was that Jesus had been betrayed, crucified, and buried. None of them expected the miracle of the resurrection. The ones who did go to the tomb early on that Sunday morning went to anoint a corpse, not to meet a risen Lord.

And even after they have received eye-witness accounts of Jesus being alive, the Bible records that still some doubted. The reality of His death left them in a state of total loss, confusion and perplexity.

Second, we know that they were gathered together immediately after His death. Perhaps out of fear, or desperation, or to draw strength from numbers, or any one of many other possibilities, but they were together. Perhaps they were trying to come up with a plan that would enable them to carry on now that Jesus was dead and they no longer had a leader. And even if one arose as leader, what would he lead? A band of followers of a dead Messiah?

Third, we know that they experienced the risen Lord as He began making appearances to certain individuals and groups. Slowly but surely, as they witness Jesus through these appearances, their fears begin to turn to faith. They believe, even though some had to actually see before they would believe the fantastic reports. But yet, they did believe.

Fourth, even though it is not explicitly revealed in the pages of Scripture, we can surmise that their excitement continued to grow day after day as Jesus made His appearances. Can you imagine the anticipation that they must have experienced day after day, wondering if He would show Himself again? If the number of recorded appearances is actually the total number, then there could have been several days that would transpire between some of them. They must have been anxiously awaiting the next one. And no one knew where He might appear next.

Fifth, we know that when Jesus gave the instruction to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit, they were obedient to His command even though they must have felt that this would be placing themselves in a very dangerous spot. After all, they must have still been thinking that the authorities were still looking for them since they were disciples of Jesus.

And sixth, after the ascension they wait in that upper room in Jerusalem, believing by faith that they would be empowered just as Jesus had said. And indeed they were! Once the Holy Spirit appeared on the Day of Pentecost, they stormed the streets of Jerusalem, boldly proclaiming the message of the resurrection, and that through that momentous event salvation was now offered to man.

The verse quoted at the beginning of this blog is from the Apostle Paul, years after he had been converted on the Damascus Road. He knows that the only means of his successfully living the Christian life is to experience afresh and anew each day the power of the resurrection. And that is our only hope. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave is our guarantee that we, too, will experience the reality of resurrection by the power of His resurrection.

So, this day and every day, let us pray to experience the continual, consistent power of the resurrected Lord so that we might boldly proclaim to our generation as they did to theirs: Jesus Christ is Lord, and through the power of His resurrection you can share in the life He offers.

Let’s not lay aside the message of Easter until next year, but let’s live in its reality, and in the power of our resurrected Lord, every day. Hallelujah, what a Savior!