Acts 1:3-5 James McCleery

After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

He is alive! No profounder words about Jesus have ever been spoken and believed such as these at this moment. In verse 3, Jesus presents himself, not as a ghost or apparition, but in living and breathing flesh to be the physical proof that He is alive. Jesus appears not for just a few days but for forty days; a time period seen in biblical terms that stresses the theme of testing or judgement. He allows himself to be seen for such a lengthy period of time to not only remove doubt of his resurrection from the apostle’s minds, but also to give them insight into the workings of the kingdom of God. We could compare what Jesus explains in verse 4 and 5 to a store owner who one day decides to hand over his business to his most trusted employees. He entrusts them to not only carry on the business and its mission but also to uphold the owner’s reputation. The store owner then goes one step further and assigns to them an emissary. The emissary is in constant contact with the owner and at any moment, should the employees ask, can impart a wealth of knowledge and resources on his behalf. Jesus states God will accomplish this through sending His emissary the Holy Spirit in a baptism that will give the apostles the ability to communicate directly with God. Jesus tells them that it is unlike John’s baptism by water, an act of obedience to God's call of repentance. John's baptism could be compared to the moment the store employees first went to work for the owner and agreed to obey and follow his policies and procedures. The baptism by the Holy Spirit now ensures the apostles will have the ability to not only speak with the Father directly but, also they will have access to all His resources when they ask in His name. What an astounding and humbling revelation for those who chose to obey God and follow Jesus.