“And (Jesus) said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and rise from the dead the third day. 47. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things.”
Jesus’ resurrection is not just the “happy ending” to the story about Jesus Christ. It is just the beginning of His purpose for coming to earth, dying on the cross and rising the third day. This is noted in the text above from Luke, and is attested at the end of all four of the gospels and in Acts.. Following is what Jesus’ disciples did after His resurrection, and this also gives us an idea about what we should be doing: First, Jesus' disciples did not go about their own business; rather, they went about His business. Each of His disciples, including the original disciples (excluding Judas) and the other disciples that followed Jesus by faith, went to work preaching, teaching and living by example the preaching of “repentance and remission of sins…” Some of them, like Peter, Andrew, James and John, gave up their secular work and gave full time to spreading the good news. Others did not give up their secular professions but witnessed where they were. That’s similar to how it is done today. Second, they went about His business literally. What do I mean? The answer is in the above text and is literally illustrated in Acts 1:8: “But you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth.” They began in Jerusalem and the work spread until it reached to the “uttermost part of the earth.” This is the same pattern for our mission today. They literally did what Jesus commanded in Acts 1:8. The work still expands from where we are to the ends of the earth. Incidentally, we should not forget that we are witnesses “where we are.” Third I want to give two illustrations of this expanding ministry. After “Saul of Tarsus” was converted on the Damascus Road, he became “Paul the Apostle.” In the book of Acts, beginning in Acts 13, you can follow his expanding mission from Antioch to Rome. Do you remember “doubting Thomas”? There is good evidence that Thomas, no longer “the doubter,” traveled as far as India, where he started a work that is still remembered in India today. He was martyred in India in 72 A.D. Both of these surrendered their lives, along with many others, to carry out Jesus’ command in all four gospels to take His good news to the world. It is still our ministry today “after the resurrection.” Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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