40 Days in His Resurrected Body

Overview

For 40 days between his resurrection and his ascension, Jesus Christ was on earth in his resurrected body, appearing to his followers in nine recorded resurrection appearances. Paul summarises them in 1 Corinthians 15: Christ was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve, then of above 500 brethren at once, then of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all by Paul himself. Jon Ryan walks through those 40 days, from the empty tomb on Easter morning and the guards paid to say the body was stolen, to the seven-mile walk to Emmaus, the meal of boiled fish and honeycomb, the ascension from Bethany, and Pentecost ten days later when about 3,000 were born again.

Transcript

Why the Number 40 Signifies Testing and Transformation

One of the most unique times in all of history is the period of 40 days when Christ had been raised from the dead and he was in his resurrected body until he ascended to the Father. And so let’s take a look at those that period of time. How significant, how amazing.

Of course, Christ’s impact on earth changed our calendars. We are now in 2025 AD, it’s called, and that’s the whole world recognized that Jesus Christ was born. And so you have BC before Christ, often as it’s referred, and you have, after he was born, you started the calendars all rerouted or rebooted.

And so here we’re going to take a look at this significant time and I want to point out the significance of the number 40. There’s numbers in the Word of God that have unique significance as they’re used. 40 symbolizes a period of testing or trial. It’s ultimately a transformation or period of spiritual growth.

Some examples, there was 40 days or 40 nights of rain during the time of Noah when the earth was flooded. He spent 40 days on Mount Sinai while he was leading the children of Israel. He went up to the top of Mount Sinai and spent 40 days and 40 nights there. And he received the Ten Commandments. He received these tablets written by the hand of God that he brought down and shared with the followers with Israel. The Israelites wandered with Moses for 40 years in the desert.

Jesus Christ, when he received the Spirit of God, when he was first baptized in the River Jordan at the end of the third chapter of Luke and Matthew, as we see Jesus Christ was there with John the Baptist and he received the Spirit of God. And then he was 40 days and 40 nights that he was fasting with God in the desert. And then there’s 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension.

Nine Resurrection Appearances and the Empty Tomb on Easter Morning

So let’s take a look at some of this. If you start off with me and go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, please. 1 Corinthians 15. Now, there’s specifically nine different incidents. If you’ll call that or I’ll call it that of what they’re referred to as resurrection appearances during these 40 days. We don’t have time to look at specifically at each of these nine events. But I can certainly remind you of some of them.

If you recall, we looked at recently that on the morning that we refer to in our country as Easter Sunday morning. On that specific morning, Mary and some of the women had gone to the tomb with spices to to anoint the body. That’s that’s how they would take care of someone that had passed or died. And they were went there and found the stone rolled away and the body Jesus Christ was gone.

And they were distressed and they think, you know, Mary ran back to tell Peter that someone had stolen the body. That was her assessment. Somebody had taken the body out of the tomb and she was distressed.

And Peter ran back with with another disciple and and found just as Mary had said that there was the stone rolled away and no body in the tomb. And so, so this is an account or a record. We can we can see that in in John chapter 20 and some of the other Gospels here in 1 Corinthians 15 is a bit of a summary that the apostle Paul writes.

Paul’s Summary of the Gospel: Died, Buried, Risen the Third Day

So let’s look at this in verse to 1 Corinthians 15 to it starts off by which he are also. Well, maybe we’ll read verse one more over brethren. I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received and wherein you stand by which also year saved. If you keep in memory what I preached unto you. Unless you have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you. First of all, that which I also received how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures.

So this can be seen in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ had even told his followers that he would rise again on the third day. And he told them basically right from the word of God, they had a hard time believing this. So, until they saw it come to pass.

As a matter of fact, at one point, the women came back to the tomb and saw that Jesus was gone and there was two angels there. And they said, do you remember what he told you and it says they remembered his words. And they, and they went back.

Seen of Cephas, the Twelve, and Over 500 Brethren

According to the scriptures, verse five, and that he was seen of Cephas, that’s Peter. Then of the 12, after that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present. But some are falling asleep. After that, he was seen of James.

So here Paul is writing this, this epistle to the Corinthians years later, after Jesus Christ had had been raised from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God. You can read in the book of Acts how things transpired and and Paul at one point, Paul was part of the, the Sanhedrin, the, the ruling body of Israel, the religious body of Israel. And they were the ones that were so vehement and so instrumental in getting the Romans to crucify Jesus Christ.

And at one point Paul was, you know, taking men and women to jail that were pronouncing or preaching that Christ had been raised from the dead trying to deny that. And he was very zealous to do this, but Paul himself encountered Jesus Christ when he was in the process of this. And that’s a record in Acts chapter nine.

And he says that here we’re again in verse seven of 1 Corinthians 15. After that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of all, he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

So, so you have these occurrences he’s then Paul’s listing many of them right here. And it’s just, it’s amazing to consider, as I often try to do, what was going on in the, in the hearts of these men and women, both those that were believers, and those that were believers, those that were distressed by this news and what had occurred.

Matthew 28: The Women Come to the Sepulchre at Dawn

Go to Matthew, the book of Matthew. And go to chapter 28, the last chapter. And here, again, this is another account of the resurrection.

You know, it starts off the end of the Sabbath, as began to dawn toward the first day of the week. So, as began to dawn, it’s pretty dark, right? It’s the sun is just about to come up. And so, came Mary Magdalene, the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

So there, I’ve often said, and tried to consider myself. They, I’m sure have not slept hardly at all over the last three days. I mean, they had so loved and respected Jesus Christ, and he was so brutally beaten and crucified and taken from them. He was amazingly distressed. And here they come to the, to the tomb, to the graveside, and they find he’s gone.

The Guards Paid to Say the Disciples Stole the Body

But jump down, if you will, to go to verse 11. Because the word began to get out that Jesus Christ is not there, right? And so how do the unbelievers, how do the, these religious leaders that orchestrated the crucifixion Jesus Christ, what are they thinking?

And it says in verse 11, now when they were going, behold, some of them which came into the city and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. And when they were assembled with the elders and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldier saying, say ye, his disciples came by night and stole him away while we slept.

And they had, they had heard about Jesus Christ telling people that he was going to get up on the third day. And so they had set these, this religious group, these leaders had set soldiers to stand guard at the tomb. And we can read these records and find that when Jesus Christ was raised, these soldiers were amazed and what they had witnessed. And then they came in and told this to their leadership that the stone was rolled away and, and Jesus Christ was raised and then they were astonished, they were afraid for their lives.

And so now these religious people take a political stance, right? So like so often we see even in our day and time. And they said, well, don’t tell people that. Tell him this story. And so they gave them some money to have them lie and say that the disciples came by night and stole his body away.

They had to account for it because they’re acknowledging that he was not there. And they just heard from their own soldiers that he was raised from the dead. It wasn’t that his disciples came by the night and in the night and stole his body. That’s that God had raised him just like he said they would, or said God would. It’s incredible.

Go to Acts chapter two. So you got these different groups that are believing and affected in a different way and some of them are afraid because what he said has actually happened.

The devil himself has got to be just so astonished that when this happened, he thought he had won when he had Jesus Christ crucified and laid in the tomb. And then he, of course, he doesn’t believe the word. So he didn’t believe that God was going to get him up until it actually happened.

And now he’s working to try and cover it up to hide it. He still does that to this day.

Acts 1: Many Infallible Proofs Seen of Them 40 Days

In Acts chapter two, Peter with the 11 apostles with him are there at Jerusalem at the temple on this is called the day of Pentecost, which was 10 days after Jesus Christ had ascended. He had been around for 40 days in his resurrected body. And now they were there as the Book of Acts opened up. Well, we may as well look at that. We’re right here next to go to Acts chapter one, please.

And it says, verse one, the former treatise, have I made O Theophilus of all that Jesus began to do and teach. This is attributed to the that Luke wrote the Book of Acts and the former treatise that Luke had written was the Gospel of Luke. And O Theophilus is just a term. It means beloved of God. So he had written this account that became the word of God, the Gospel of Luke, just like Mark had written the Gospel of Mark and John the Gospel of John. And now he’s, he’s writing this follow up this Book of Acts.

And it says in verse two, all Jesus began both to do and teach until the day which he was taken up. After that, he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs. That’s what we’re looking at.

These infallible proofs, these records of individuals that saw him, even in that record we saw in Corinthians, at one point of over 500 brethren at one time.

A Defense Attorney’s Verdict on the Resurrection Evidence

And I was looking at this. Look at this thing online that I saw today. And it was done by some legal minds, people that are just very intellectual and very sound and their ability to research. And, and they refer to some legal precedents. And wanted they have this in this account that I was looking at.

They refer to this one gentleman that Greenleaf was his name he was born early in the last century, and he was renowned as a matter of fact even in the book of Genesis, Guinness Book of World Records. He’s announced or renowned as one of the best defense attorneys that’s ever lived. And he approached the whole idea of the resurrection Jesus Christ, and with the proofs and the accounts and the eyewitnesses and all that they were able to put together.

He came to the place of the conclusion that this assuredly happened. There’s, there’s more evidence for this than most things anywhere that are taken to be believed with all that that is accounted for all the witnesses that have been recorded as seeing Jesus Christ in his resurrected body.

Wait in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father

So here it says in this act chapter one by many infallible proofs being seen of them 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, and being assembled together with them, commanded them. This is on the 40th day. He’s assembled together with his followers, and he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which says he, you have heard of me for John truly baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy ghost, not many days hence.

They therefore were come together. They asked of him, saying, Lord, will thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel.

They knew that there’s a point in the Old Testament where it says, there’s going to be the sufferings. And then there’s going to be the glory. And they said, is this the time when this the end times.

And Jesus Christ answered to them in verse 7 said, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power, but you shall receive power after that. The Holy Ghost has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter most part of the earth.

The Ascension and the Two Men in White Apparel

And when he had spoken these things while they beheld, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up again, gotta picture this. They were the followers of Jesus Christ, some of his closest companions, these men that many of them he had ordained them as apostles. And he’s giving them these words.

And then all of a sudden he says, I want you to go and spend time in Jerusalem. That’s where I want you to be. And there’s going to be a point in time very soon when you’re going to receive Holy Spirit.

Previous to this throughout the whole Old Testament, there were only certain individuals that received Holy Spirit. These men like Moses and David and these individuals in the word Elijah and Elisha, and they led God’s people, Abraham. These people had the Spirit of God and they led the masses, they led the others. But now Jesus Christ says you’re all going to receive the Spirit of God. Just go hang out in Jerusalem and it’s going to happen in a few days.

And then he starts to float up into the air and they’re watching. It says while they steadfastly looked, I’m sure their jaws, their jaws were just dropped open. Oh my God, he’s floating away. And he said the cloud received him out of their sight.

Verse 10, and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel. These are angels. Oftentimes angels are described just like this.

Which also said ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven. This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven. And so then they returned unto Jerusalem. They followed his instruction.

Pentecost: Ten Days After the Ascension

So now 10 days later, they are coming, they’re in Jerusalem and they’re going to the temple at the hours of prayer. Their assignment was to wait for the promise of the Father. And they believed that that’s coming. And sure enough, 10 days later was the day of Pentecost.

And now we’re in Acts chapter two. And they receive this spirit of God as the early verses here of Acts chapter two describe. And then you get to verse 11. And it says, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues. The wonderful works of God and they were all amazed and were in doubt.

Acts chapter two verse 12, they were all amazed and were in doubt saying one to another. What mean is this? Others mocking said these men are full of new wine. See, the enemy’s always trying to discredit and to cover up the great significance of God moving.

Verse 14. But Peter standing up with the 11, the other apostles, lifted up his voice and said unto them, you men of Judea and all you that dwelt in Jerusalem, that dwell in Jerusalem. Be this known unto you and hearken to my words for these are not drunken. As you suppose seeing is but the third hour of the day.

It’s only nine o’clock in the morning. He said, nobody’s drunk here. You know, this was the accusation that’s the best. The enemy could come up with these people are drunk. Peter says, nobody’s drunk here.

And then he goes on to to relate with them or communicate to them. What was written in the Old Testament, he quotes from Joel. And he tells them what’s going on here in the book of Joel and how this applies to what’s going on.

Peter Preaches Jesus of Nazareth, Approved of God

Get down to verse 22. He meant of Israel. Hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth, the man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs. You all saw this. You all witnessed Jesus Christ. You saw the miracles that he did, the wonders, the signs.

They had been in the Jerusalem area. So many of these people that had come in and others that had come in and heard about it. And he’s saying, you all know this man did these things. And now he’s going to go on.

Jesus of Nazareth, the man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you as you yourselves also know. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. You have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

So it’s not just the believers are there. They’re in this temple at Jerusalem. It’s one of the high days of the year, the calendar year, Pentecost. People who come in from all around to be a part of this celebration of Pentecost.

And there’s also all the, the Jewish leaders were there. And he’s telling them, you’ve taken him and by wicked hands have slain crucified and slain whom God hath raised up having loose the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holding of it for David speakers.

David’s Prophecy of the Resurrection and 3,000 Born Again at Pentecost

And now he’s going to quote from the Old Testament. Again, what, what David had written in the, in the book of Psalms, jumped down to verse 29.

Man and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried and his sepulchres with us until this day. I mean, they would have all had such great respect for David. David was one of the great, great kings of Israel in the Old Testament. And so he’s quoted David and now he’s, he’s saying, you know, David died and he’s buried and we know his sepulchre is here.

Verse 30, therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. David told of the coming of the Messiah. And he said, and there, and Peter’s accounting for that.

He’s seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither is flesh did see corruption. See, I told you Jesus Christ share this with his, with his followers, that you can destroy this temple, but in three days it’s going to raise up again that God would, would raise him from the dead.

Verse 32, this Jesus has God raised up where if we are all witnesses, we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received the Father, the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which he now see and hear. For David is not ascended into heaven, but he said to himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes, thy footstool.

Therefore that all the houses Israel know assuredly that God hath made the same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Jesus is the Messiah that we’ve waited for since the promise in Genesis chapter three.

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Wow, in light of all this, what do we do? And Peter goes on and tells them and about 3,000 of them get born again in that very day of Pentecost.

See, Peter’s pronouncing to them the significance of the resurrection. They had heard words, they’d heard the lie spread that somebody stole the body. They’ve had all this that they had to contend with and yet people had been saying, I saw him.

A group of 500 people all saw him. Peter and Mary and these other individuals had all witnessed Jesus Christ in his resurrected body. It’s just, it’s incredible.

The Road to Emmaus: Seven Miles With the Risen Christ

There were two men that in Luke 24 recounts two men that were leaving the Jerusalem area to go back home to this city where they were from, Emmaus, which is about a little over seven miles away from Jerusalem, and they encountered Jesus Christ who taught them the word while they walked. How long does it take to walk seven miles? Especially if you’re just strolling, they’re just walking along and Jesus Christ is teaching them the word.

They had to be hours, but maybe, I don’t know, seven miles if you walk three miles an hour, that’s two and a half hours perhaps. And they get there and they have a meal with Jesus Christ and as he breaks bread with them, that’s all recorded in Luke 24, their eyes were open and they realized he’s there. That’s Jesus Christ.

That they had, they were leaving because they were distressed that nothing had happened and now it’s been three days and now they’re sitting with them. And then the record goes on in Luke 24 that they hotfooted back to Jerusalem and they find out that the disciples are saying, we’ve seen him. Peter saw him.

It just was such an incredible time as all this was unfolding in the midst of them. In this first century, the days following Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and then his subsequent resurrection. And that’s where it goes. Let’s close in Luke 24.

Luke 24: Handle Me and See, For a Spirit Has Not Flesh and Bones

My gosh, to look at these accounts in the gospel, just take the time and read the last chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Read some of this. It’s so easy to, you don’t have to be a research specialist to find these. It’s all through the word.

In Luke 24 is another account and I just mentioned to you those two men that were heading home to Emmaus and behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus and you read this as they’re amazed at what Jesus Christ teaches them and it just shows the personal individual call. Jesus Christ didn’t just appear to the masses. He appeared to individuals.

He appeared first to Mary who had been possessed with seven devil spirits earlier in her life. Here he’s spending time with these two men. Like I said, walking seven miles, there’s a good chunk of the day that he spent his first day in his resurrected body just talking to two fellas.

And so they are amazed and they head back and it says, well, let me pick it up here.

We’re in Luke 24 and it says verse 33 and they rose up the same hour and returned to Jerusalem and found the 11 gathered together and them that were with them saying the Lord is risen indeed and that appeared to Simon. That’s Peter, Simon Peter and they told what things were done in the way and how he was known of them in the breaking of bread. They said, yeah, we had lunch with them.

I mean, it’s like this was, it had to be such an exciting day and as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them. All of a sudden Jesus is right there and said to them, peace be unto you but they were terrified and frightened and suppose they had seen the spirit and he said unto them, why are you troubled and why do thoughts arise in your heart behold my hands, my feet that is I myself handle me and see for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me have.

He says, here, come feel my hand look at the holes in my hand where I was crucified. He says, you know, touch me and when he had thus spoken he showed them his hands and his feet and while they yet believe not for joy and wondered, he said unto them have you here any meat and he’s going to have a meal with them and they gave him a piece of boiled fish and a honeycomb and he took it and did eat before them.

This is just incredible. Jesus Christ in his resurrected body is with his closest followers on this incredible day and in the 39 days that followed after this and they just was amazing to see all this unfold and it says if you go down to verse 50 and he led them out as far as Bethany this is where we pick it up in Acts chapter 1 and he’s lifted up his hands and blessed them and they came to pass while he blessed them he was parted from them and carried up into heaven and they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God, amen.

Looking Forward to the Return of Jesus Christ

How amazing is it to see God’s word come to pass and we are assured that just as truly as he came the first time as God had promised that he’s coming back we can look forward to the return of Jesus Christ. We have the grace that God has given us each of us that believes can have the spirit of God within us, that connection that is our ticket to heaven and all hell can’t stop us from going. It’s amazing the comfort that’s there when we realize the truth of what God has written.

So Father I thank you for how exciting your word is and that we can look forward with eager anticipation to the fulfillment of your word that just as surely as you promised Christ would come the first time and he came and exceeded everyone’s expectations and that you raised him from the dead and that there’s no question that he has been raised from the dead as he was seen by so many as it’s recorded in the word and that you’ve promised that he’s going to return and that we can look forward to the return of Jesus Christ that day and time when the trumpet sounds as you’ve written and the angels shout we are gathered together those that have died before us that believed and all of us that are still alive when he comes back are going to be gathered together to be with you forever. How exciting is that? We thank you God for your tremendous love for us in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Key Takeaways

• In Scripture the number 40 marks testing and trial ending in transformation: 40 days of rain in Noah’s day, 40 days on Mount Sinai, 40 years in the desert, 40 days of fasting after the Jordan, and 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension.
• There are nine recorded resurrection appearances in those 40 days. 1 Corinthians 15 lists Cephas, the twelve, above 500 brethren at once, James, all the apostles, and Paul.
• Matthew 28 records the chief priests paying the guards to say the disciples stole the body, which is itself an admission that the tomb was empty.
• Acts 1 calls the appearances many infallible proofs, and on the fortieth day Christ told the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father before he was taken up.
• Pentecost came ten days after the ascension. Peter preached the resurrection from Joel and from David’s own words, and about 3,000 were born again that day.
• Christ appeared to individuals and not only to crowds: first to Mary, then to two men on the seven-mile road to Emmaus, before the eleven handled him and watched him eat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the number 40 significant in the Bible?

In Scripture 40 symbolises a period of testing or trial that ends in transformation or spiritual growth. It rained 40 days and 40 nights in Noah’s day. Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai and received the Ten Commandments. Israel wandered 40 years in the desert. Jesus fasted 40 days after receiving the Spirit of God at the Jordan. And 40 days passed between the resurrection and the ascension.

What happened during the 40 days between the resurrection and the ascension?

Jesus was on earth in his resurrected body and appeared to his followers on nine separate occasions. 1 Corinthians 15 records that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve, then of above 500 brethren at once, then of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all by Paul. He walked the seven miles to Emmaus teaching two men, ate boiled fish and honeycomb with the eleven, and on the fortieth day told them to wait in Jerusalem before he was taken up from Bethany.

Why did the religious leaders say the disciples stole the body?

Matthew 28 records that the soldiers set to guard the tomb came into the city and told the chief priests all the things that were done. The elders took counsel and gave the soldiers large money to say that his disciples came by night and stole him away while they slept. They had just heard from their own guards that Christ was raised, so the story was a political cover for an empty tomb they could not deny.

Scripture References

Luke 3; Matthew 3; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; John 20; Acts 9; Matthew 28:1-15; Acts 2:1-41; Acts 1:1-11; Joel 2:28-32; Psalm 16:10; Psalm 110:1; Genesis 3; Luke 24:13-53

This text was prepared from the teaching audio. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.