106 - Sunday Evening

The resurrection of Jesus Christ was not the end of His ministry; it was the end of a chapter. One stage of His assignment was now complete, and it was time for the next stage to begin. So when He appeared to His disciples on that Sunday evening, Jesus had much more in mind than simply convincing them that He was alive. He walked through those locked doors to announce the beginning of a new chapter in God’s great plan of salvation. He had fulfilled His earthly part of that plan, and now it was their turn. Because of His death and resurrection all that they had seen God do through Him over the past two and a half years would continue, and be multiplied, through them. The day of God’s great harvest was about to begin (Isa 53:10, 11; 54:1-3; 55:1, 4, 5; 56:3-8). Over the course of the past four days (Jn 13-20) He had taught them about this new season that lay ahead. And underlying it all was the promise that after He was glorified they would enter into a relationship with God deeper than any human had ever experienced before (Mt 11:11). He and the Father would come to dwell within them (Jn 14:23), and the Holy Spirit would fill their innermost being so abundantly that His presence would be like rivers of living water (Jn 7:38, 39).

That moment was fast approaching. His suffering, death and resurrection had made it all possible. So after a busy day of appearing to numerous disciples, Jesus walked into that locked room where many were fearfully hiding, and like a general addressing His troops, He made it absolutely clear to them that everything He had said to them over the past 48 hours, which they hadn’t really believed at the time, was, in fact, going to happen. That evening He gave them, and us, an assignment, an empowerment, and spiritual authority. For the past two and a half years He had modeled what their future ministry should look like. Then, by His cross and resurrection He had broken the power of sin and death so that now all who believed in Him would become capable of doing the same sort of ministry that He did. He reminded them that the Scriptures had prophesied that this would happen, and then He breathed on them and said, “Receive (take) the Holy Spirit” and Luke tells us that He also told them to wait for that power to arrive (Lk 24:49). He had done His part, now it was their turn.