40 days

“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 things regarding the kingdom of God.” (1) This is a summary of Jesus’ work after His resurrection, information only Luke recorded. Jesus’ ministry after the resurrection lasted 40 days (the Bible records 10 appearances of the resurrected Jesus). This 40-day period was a transitional period from the time of the Gospels to the time of the Acts of the Apostles. (2) Jesus showed Himself alive to the apostles with many convincing proofs. The disciples confirmed that Jesus had risen with overwhelming evidence. (a) It was not a vision of Jesus, rather He had a glorified body. (b) The resurrected Jesus was able to eat food (Luke 24:42-43). (c) It is said in Acts 4:19-20, “But Peter and John answered and said to them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, make your own judgment; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.’” Our belief in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is based on the testimony of the disciples.

The kingdom of God

The resurrected Jesus taught His disciples regarding “the kingdom of God.” (1) Since the time the Jews rejected Jesus, the program of the kingdom of God entered a new phase. This is the state before the appearance of the Messianic kingdom (the Millennial Kingdom), referred to as the “mystery of the kingdom.” Many of the parables in Matthew 13 are meant to teach about the characteristics of the “mystery of the kingdom.” The “parable of the sower” (or the four types of soil) and the “parable of the wheat and the tares” are two examples. The resurrected Jesus continued to teach the themes that He began teaching in Matthew 13. (2) The church age is the time of the “mystery of the kingdom.” It is the period before the Messianic kingdom (the Millennial Kingdom) that will come after the second coming of the Messiah. It is this time, we currently live. It is unrealistic to think that all the promises regarding the kingdom of God found in the Old Testament are fulfilled by the church. The mission of the church will end with the rapture. What is the lesson taught in the “parable of the sower”? There are four types of responses to the gospel (four types of soil). Our mission is to continue sowing the seeds of the gospel without becoming discouraged. What lesson is there in the “parable of the wheat and the tares”? Within Christianity, both genuine and false coexists, and it is difficult to distinguish between them. However, only true believers belong to the universal church. This will be made clear on the final day.