By Jerry D. Ousley
Early in the morning, the sun barely catching a glimpse of the day over the horizon, several women made their way to a tomb. A group of soldiers had been ordered to guard the tomb but these women wanted to make certain that the men who had placed Him in the tomb had prepared His body properly.
But when the tomb came into view, the soldiers had scattered and the large stone that had been rolled over the entrance had been pushed out of the way. They rushed down to see what may have happened. Did they move His body? Had a thief arrived to claim Him? But when they got there, two men in bright, shining garments told them that He had risen from the dead!
Later, Jesus showed Himself to Mary Magdalene, then to Peter and John, and then to the disciples who had gathered in the upper room, except for Thomas and, of course, Judas. Then, that evening, He appeared to two men as they traveled from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
Over the next 40 days Jesus appeared several times to different numbers of believers. I’ve often wondered why He did this. Why 40 days? Then I realized that a period of 40 days seemed significant in the Bible. A quick search revealed the following:
In Genesis we see that the people on Earth had become so wicked that God told Noah to build an ark. After it was finished and all the animals and those who were to be saved were on board, God shut the ark and for the next 40 days and nights it rained.
Genesis 50 tells us that when Joseph died, they spent 40 days, according to the Egyptian culture, embalming his body.
In Exodus, God gave the Law to the Moses. He had to do this twice because the first time, after he came down from Mount Sinai, because the people of Israel were dancing and worshiping a golden calf, in his anger he threw down the tables on which God had written the Law, breaking them – symbolic of how the people of Israel had broken God’s Law. So, Moses spent another 40 days on Sinai, this time cutting the stone tables himself.
In Deuteronomy, Moses sent twelve spies to explore the land God had promised and they spent 40 days doing that.
1 Samuel 17 tells us that Goliath challenged the army of Israel for 40 days before David brought him down – literally!
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah was fed a meal by an angel and he went 40 days on that meal.
In Ezekiel 4:6, after laying on his left side for 90 days for the sins of Israel, God told him to roll over on his right side for another 40 days for the sins of Judah.
In Jonah, after the prophet finally was obedient to God, he told the Ninevites that in 40 days God was going to destroy the city. He didn’t because they repented.
And in the Gospels, we are told that Jesus fasted 40 days before beginning His public ministry.
So, what does all of this have to do with Jesus’ last 40 days on Earth? To be honest with you, I’m not sure either. I just know that the number of days is significant to God.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it takes about that long for something to become a habitual routine for mankind. It takes us a while. Maybe it took that long for the disciples (followers – students) to be transformed into apostles (those who are first, ministering to a group, or beginning a new movement). He spent this time deeply teaching His followers, plainly telling them the gospel and what they should be teaching the world.
Whatever the reason was, I’m very glad for it. Because of it, we are saved from certain death because of our sin. Because Jesus spent those 40 days with His disciples, we are what we are now. Maybe we should spend the next 40 days thinking about that. Perhaps God will do great things in our lives!
—————
Jerry D. Ousley is the author of “Soul Challenge”, “Soul Journey”, “Ordeal”, “The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional” and his first novel “The Shoe Tree.” Newer books include “Finality” and “Dividing God’s Church.” Visit our website at spirit bread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.
Early in the morning, the sun barely catching a glimpse of the day over the horizon, several women made their way to a tomb. A group of soldiers had been ordered to guard the tomb but these women wanted to make certain that the men who had placed Him in the tomb had prepared His body properly.
But when the tomb came into view, the soldiers had scattered and the large stone that had been rolled over the entrance had been pushed out of the way. They rushed down to see what may have happened. Did they move His body? Had a thief arrived to claim Him? But when they got there, two men in bright, shining garments told them that He had risen from the dead!
Later, Jesus showed Himself to Mary Magdalene, then to Peter and John, and then to the disciples who had gathered in the upper room, except for Thomas and, of course, Judas. Then, that evening, He appeared to two men as they traveled from Jerusalem to Emmaus.
Over the next 40 days Jesus appeared several times to different numbers of believers. I’ve often wondered why He did this. Why 40 days? Then I realized that a period of 40 days seemed significant in the Bible. A quick search revealed the following:
In Genesis we see that the people on Earth had become so wicked that God told Noah to build an ark. After it was finished and all the animals and those who were to be saved were on board, God shut the ark and for the next 40 days and nights it rained.
Genesis 50 tells us that when Joseph died, they spent 40 days, according to the Egyptian culture, embalming his body.
In Exodus, God gave the Law to the Moses. He had to do this twice because the first time, after he came down from Mount Sinai, because the people of Israel were dancing and worshiping a golden calf, in his anger he threw down the tables on which God had written the Law, breaking them – symbolic of how the people of Israel had broken God’s Law. So, Moses spent another 40 days on Sinai, this time cutting the stone tables himself.
In Deuteronomy, Moses sent twelve spies to explore the land God had promised and they spent 40 days doing that.
1 Samuel 17 tells us that Goliath challenged the army of Israel for 40 days before David brought him down – literally!
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah was fed a meal by an angel and he went 40 days on that meal.
In Ezekiel 4:6, after laying on his left side for 90 days for the sins of Israel, God told him to roll over on his right side for another 40 days for the sins of Judah.
In Jonah, after the prophet finally was obedient to God, he told the Ninevites that in 40 days God was going to destroy the city. He didn’t because they repented.
And in the Gospels, we are told that Jesus fasted 40 days before beginning His public ministry.
So, what does all of this have to do with Jesus’ last 40 days on Earth? To be honest with you, I’m not sure either. I just know that the number of days is significant to God.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it takes about that long for something to become a habitual routine for mankind. It takes us a while. Maybe it took that long for the disciples (followers – students) to be transformed into apostles (those who are first, ministering to a group, or beginning a new movement). He spent this time deeply teaching His followers, plainly telling them the gospel and what they should be teaching the world.
Whatever the reason was, I’m very glad for it. Because of it, we are saved from certain death because of our sin. Because Jesus spent those 40 days with His disciples, we are what we are now. Maybe we should spend the next 40 days thinking about that. Perhaps God will do great things in our lives!
—————
Jerry D. Ousley is the author of “Soul Challenge”, “Soul Journey”, “Ordeal”, “The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional” and his first novel “The Shoe Tree.” Newer books include “Finality” and “Dividing God’s Church.” Visit our website at spirit bread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.
