Our Lord's Last 40 Days on Earth

Biblical Discernment

Our Lord’s Last 40 Days on Earth
What Did He Teach?

d_jjackson@hotmail.com


Our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ spent His last 40 days on earth teaching the eleven apostles about the “kingdom of God.”

Acts 1:3 – “….being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

Which Scriptures did our Lord use in teaching the eleven about the kingdom?

Luke 24:25-27 – “Then He said unto them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself.”

Luke 24:44-45 – “And He said unto them, these are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me.

Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.”

So, we see, that our Lord taught about the kingdom of God from the Old Testament Scriptures. As we have seen before, the O.T. Scriptures have much to say about a coming kingdom on earth, with our Lord Jesus Christ sitting on David’s throne in Jerusalem, and ruling over Israel and the nations. The O.T. Scriptures did not foretell the church, the Body of Christ. This revelation was reserved for the apostle Paul, by the exalted, risen Lord.
As we continue in Acts, the eleven ask our Lord a very logical question: Acts 1:6 – “….Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”

Now our Lord had “opened their understanding” of the Scriptures, so they understood perfectly what He was teaching them. Notice this: Their first order of business after the Lord’s ascension was to bring their number back up to twelve. Why is this important? Would the number twelve be significant to Israel and the kingdom? Our Lord Jesus Christ had told the twelve: Matthew 19:28 – “…verily I say unto you that ye who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

When we turn to Acts 3:18-21 we find that Peter offers the return of our Lord [as Israel’s Messiah] contingent upon Israel’s repentance. Notice that these things had been “spoken by the mouth of all His Holy prophets since the world began” [Acts 3:21b].


The Commissions given by our Lord Jesus Christ during the 40 days

Remember that our Lord Jesus Christ “opened their [the 11] understanding” of the O.T. Scriptures about the earthly kingdom during this 40 day period. He also gave the eleven [later twelve] their “marching orders.” Since He had taught them about the “kingdom,” it stands to reason that their “marching orders” would involve this kingdom.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye…teach all nations….baptizing them [the nations] in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit…teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you…I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” The end of what age? The kingdom age, of course.

This is a “kingdom” commission. That’s all the Lord Jesus Christ had taught the apostles [about the coming kingdom]. As we come into the book of Acts the twelve [with Peter as their spokesman] go only to Israel [at the onset]. They baptized the Jews in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ [not in the “name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”]. An example of the “all things” He had taught them would be Matthew 23:2,3. they were to obey “….those that sit in Moses seat….”

The twelve never fulfilled this commission as far as the Biblical record goes. They even [later] gave Paul the “…right hand of fellowship…” and agreed that they would confine their ministry to Israel [Galatians 2:7-9]. An example of them doing this would be the book of James, addressed to the “Twelve tribes scattered abroad.” Also, during this “scattering” the twelve remained in Jerusalem [Acts 8:1]. Later, after James was killed, they did not bring their number back up to twelve. Why would that be?????????????? Acts is a transitional book. Sir Robert Anderson has rightfully said, “The book of Acts is not the account of the beginning of the church [The Body of Christ], but is instead the record of the setting aside of the favorite nation [Israel].”

Another commission is found in Mark 16:15-18. “…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” What gospel did they know [at this time]? The gospel of the kingdom, of course. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Believeth what? That the Lord Jesus Christ was truly Israel’s Messiah. To manifest their faith in believing this, they were then to submit to water baptism ‘for the remission of sins.’ Acts 2:38. Now watch this: “And these signs shall follow those who believe: [who are the ‘sign’ people? Israel – Acts 2:22; 1 Corinthians 1:22]. In my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

Does this remind us of a commission our Lord gave to the twelve in Matthew 10:5-10? Sure does.

The next commission is found in Luke 24:47-49 – “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

This “enduement” [empowering] is mentioned in Acts 1:5-8, and took place when [in fulfillment of prophecy] the apostles were baptized by the Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit. This is not the baptism by which one becomes a member of the Body of Christ. That baptism is found in 1 Corinthians 12:13 and the Holy Spirit is the baptizer and the Body of Christ is the element baptized into.

John the Baptist had foretold this ‘enduement’ in Matthew 3:11, and Peter refers to that in Acts 11:16.

Now to John 20:21-23 – “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be upon you; as My Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit. Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever’s sins ye retain, they are retained. “

Rome relies on this verse [and others like it] to justify the forgiveness of sins by their priests. In Matthew 16:19 our Lord Jesus Christ gave to Peter [as the leader of the twelve] the “keys to the kingdom…” And He told Peter, “….whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The church mentioned in verse 18 cannot be the Body of Christ. In context, it is a future [Messianic] kingdom church.

Notice that this “binding and loosing” takes place on the earth and is confirmed in heaven. This fits perfectly with the earthly kingdom program, but does not fit at all in the Body of Christ [heavenly] program.

Acts 1:8 is next. “But ye shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Note the order of progression: [1] Jerusalem [2] Judea [the Jews had to be filled first] – “But Jesus said unto her, Let the children [Israel] first be filled; for it is not right to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs” [Mark 7:27] [3] Samaria [half Jews] – You will recall that our Lord told the woman at the well [a Samaritan] that “….salvation is of the Jews.” John 4:22.

Later, our Lord Jesus Christ raised up Saul of Tarsus and made him the apostle Paul. He appointed Paul to be the “apostle to the Gentiles” [Romans 11:13]. He gave to Paul the marching orders for the Body of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:19-21. We, in the Body of Christ, are to be trained and equipped by the pastor/teacher to ‘do the work of the ministry.’ We are to be trained to be ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ and we have been given the ministry of the word of reconciliation.

Further, we are to make known the ‘mystery’ and preach the ‘unsearchable riches’ of the Lord Jesus Christ: Ephesians 3:8 ,9.

“Unto me, who am less than the least of all the saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable [untraceable] riches of Christ. And to make all [men] see what is the fellowship [i.e.,. dispensation] of the mystery…..”