Text: Acts 1:3 (KJV) “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
The resurrection wasn’t the end. It wasn’t “mission accomplished.” It was ignition.
For forty days after Jesus walked out of the tomb, He didn’t call His followers into maintenance mode. He didn’t tell them to start building monuments. He didn’t hand them a rulebook and say, “Play it safe until I get back.”
He spent forty days fueling a revolution.
He spent forty days retraining a broken people to see the world through resurrection eyes.
And today, much of American Christianity has traded that revolution for something safer, smaller, and infinitely less dangerous to the empires of the world.
It’s time to reclaim what those forty days were really about.
Resurrection Wasn’t a Private Event
Luke tells us Jesus showed Himself “by many infallible proofs” (Acts 1:3).
Resurrection wasn’t a hidden, mystical experience for a few elite mystics. It was physical. It was public. It was verifiable.
- He ate with them (Luke 24:42-43).
- They touched Him (John 20:27).
- He walked and talked among them (Luke 24:15).
The earliest Christians didn’t spread a philosophy. They spread news.
The man Rome killed is alive.
Which meant Rome’s entire system was exposed as powerless.
If the empire’s greatest weapon — death — had been defeated, every structure built on fear crumbled at its foundations.
That’s why, for forty days, Jesus didn’t teach them how to run religious services. He taught them “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
Because a kingdom was breaking in.
And it wasn’t going to look anything like the safe, respectable Christianity we’ve built today.
The American Church: Living Between Resurrection and Retreat
Today, many American churches function like post-resurrection disciples—before Pentecost.
- Hiding behind safe walls.
- Speaking only to themselves.
- Waiting for “someday” victories while clinging to yesterday’s fears.
Jesus didn’t stay dead so we could form committees. He didn’t rise so we could build bigger buildings. He didn’t ascend so we could argue about carpet colors, worship styles, or social media strategies.
He rose to launch a movement that could not be contained by:
- Borders.
- Buildings.
- Bureaucracies.
The forty days after resurrection were about reshaping broken, fearful people into ambassadors of a kingdom that refuses to bow to the death-dealing powers of the world.
Where did we lose that fire?
Forty Days of Kingdom Schooling
Notice: Jesus wasn’t teaching “how to get into heaven.”
He was teaching how heaven was invading earth.
He wasn’t prepping them for escapism. He was preparing them for engagement.
What did He talk about?
- The upside-down kingdom where the last are first.
- The call to forgive seventy times seven.
- The absurd command to love enemies and pray for persecutors.
- The economics of generosity instead of hoarding.
- The politics of servanthood instead of dominance.
He was building a people who could outlive empires because they had already died to fear.
That’s why they would face lions, crosses, prisons, and exile — and sing while they did it.
They weren’t trying to preserve their lives. They were living the resurrection life right now, no matter the cost.
Forty days to dismantle the old loyalties. Forty days to build a kingdom immune to Caesar’s threats.
And we?
We argue about parking spaces and service times while the world watches in disbelief.
The Kingdom Was Never a Theory
For Jesus, “kingdom” wasn’t an abstraction.
It was flesh and blood.
It was eating with outcasts. It was touching lepers. It was confronting religious elites. It was choosing a cross over a throne.
For us, “kingdom” has become a slogan.
- Kingdom coffee shops.
- Kingdom business seminars.
- Kingdom hashtags.
Meanwhile, the real kingdom has always been — and remains — a dangerous, destabilizing reality for every empire built on violence, greed, and exclusion.
The resurrection crowned a King. And He’s not running for re-election.
We don’t vote Him in. We don’t franchise Him out. We don’t tame Him into “family-friendly” formats.
We follow or we don’t. There’s no third option.
The American Dream Is Not the Kingdom of God
Somewhere along the line, too many churches baptized the American dream and called it discipleship.
- Prosperity equals blessing.
- Comfort equals faithfulness.
- Safety equals wisdom.
But Jesus spent His last forty days warning them:
The way of the cross is still the only way to resurrection life.
You cannot:
- Serve Caesar and Christ.
- Worship security and the Savior.
- Chase status and carry a cross.
If our version of Christianity demands nothing of us but good manners and better bank accounts, it’s not the Gospel Jesus died and rose to announce.
It’s empire religion wearing a Jesus jersey.
And the world can tell the difference even when we pretend we can’t.
The Mission of the Forty Days: Witnesses, Not Consumers
Jesus told them bluntly:
“Ye shall be witnesses unto me… unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Not “consumers of religious goods.” Not “attendees of inspirational events.” Not “managers of holy clubs.”
Witnesses.
People who:
- Saw something.
- Heard something.
- Were so ruined by resurrection that they couldn’t be silent.
Witnesses risk. Witnesses testify. Witnesses live like people who know the end of the story.
The American church is drowning in religious consumers. We need witnesses.
People who carry the scandalous announcement that death has been defeated and the world has already begun to turn upside down.
Even when it costs them everything. Especially then.
The Ascension: Jesus Didn’t Leave—He Launched
When Jesus ascended, it wasn’t abandonment. It was commissioning.
He didn’t “beam up” to escape earth. He ascended to His throne to rule over it.
“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18)
Translation?
He is King now.
Not “someday.” Not “spiritually only.” Not “after the next election cycle.”
Now.
Our job isn’t to wait for Jesus to become King. Our job is to announce and live under His kingship here and now—even when the world bows to other lords.
What the Forty Days Demand of Us Today
If we take the resurrection seriously, If we take the forty days seriously,
Then we cannot:
- Bow to fear.
- Worship comfort.
- Obsess over personal success.
We must:
- Love dangerously.
- Hope defiantly.
- Forgive outrageously.
- Serve humbly.
- Live generously.
Not as a strategy for “church growth.” But because we already belong to a kingdom that death cannot touch.
Because the stone is rolled away. Because the tomb is empty. Because the King is alive.
And because “normal” died the moment He walked out of that grave.
If Jesus Spent Forty Days Talking About the Kingdom, Maybe We Should Too
Imagine if our churches spent forty days after Easter the way Jesus spent His:
- Not fundraising for bigger buildings.
- Not selling “resurrection merch.”
- Not hosting “safe” church picnics.
But teaching about the dangerous, hope-soaked, empire-shaking kingdom of God.
- Teaching that faith isn’t fire insurance but a call to follow.
- Teaching that love isn’t a bumper sticker but a battlefield strategy.
- Teaching that hope isn’t sentimentality but a sledgehammer against despair.
Imagine what might happen.
- Maybe we’d lose some casual fans.
- Maybe we’d anger the religious establishment.
- Maybe we’d risk reputation, money, comfort.
But maybe—
Maybe we’d look a little more like the people Jesus spent His forty days preparing.
And maybe—
The world would notice. And wonder. And ask about the hope they can’t seem to kill.
The Forty Days Are Still Ongoing
We are still living in the aftershock of resurrection.
We are still living in the invitation of the forty days.
The risen Christ is still calling His people:
- Not to retreat.
- Not to sanitize.
- Not to survive.
But to embody a kingdom where the last are first, the broken are blessed, the mourning are comforted, and death is just a doorway to life we can’t yet imagine.
We can either:
- Play church.
- Or be the church.
We can either:
- Nod at the empty tomb.
- Or walk into a dangerous, beautiful new world where Jesus reigns and empire has already been unmasked.
The revolution is still underway. The King is still alive. The kingdom is still advancing.
The question is:
Will we stay behind closed doors? Or will we live like the stone has already rolled away?
Choose wisely. The empty tomb demands nothing less.
Amen.
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