Why did Jesus leave his disciples forty days after his resurrection?
Forty is a significant number in the Scriptures. Moses went to the mountain to seek the face of God for forty days in prayer and fasting. The people of Israel were in the wilderness for forty years in preparation for their entry into the Promised Land. Elijah fasted for forty days as he journeyed in the wilderness to the mountain of God. For forty days after his resurrection Jesus appeared numerous times to his disciples to assure them that he had risen indeed and to prepare them for the task of carrying on the work which he began during his earthly ministry.
Jesus' departure and Ascension was both an end and a beginning for his disciples. While it was the end of Jesus' physical presence with his beloved disciples, it marked the beginning of Jesus' presence with them in a new way.
Jesus promised that he would be with them always to the end of time (Matthew 28:20). Now as the glorified and risen Lord and Savior, ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven, Jesus promised to send them the Holy Spirit who would anoint them with power on the Feast of Pentecost, just as Jesus was anointed for his ministry at the River Jordan. When the Lord Jesus departed physically from the apostles, they were not left in sorrow or grief. Instead, they were filled with joy and with great anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus' last words to his apostles point to his saving mission and to their mission to be witnesses of his saving death and his glorious resurrection and to proclaim the good news of salvation to all the world. Their task is to proclaim the Gospel, the Good News of salvation not only to the people of Israel, but to all the nations as well. God's love and gift of salvation is not reserved for a few/ or for one nation alone, but it is for the whole world, for all who will accept it. The Gospel is the power of God, the power to release people from their burden of guilt, sin, and oppression, and also, Gospel is the power to heal, restore, and make us whole.
This is the great commission which the risen Christ gives to the whole church. All of us have been given a share in this task: to be heralds of the Good News and ambassadors for Jesus Christ, the only savior of the world. We have not been left alone in this task, for the risen Lord works in and through us by the power of his Holy Spirit. We cannot be effective witnesses to Christ unless we stay close to Christ. We need his own divine strength in order to fulfill this divine mission. This is why Jesus tells us, in the First Reading, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you..."
Jesus Christ is true man and true God. To be his witnesses we must share not only his human nature, but also his divine nature. That was one of the main reasons he ascended into heaven.
On Ascension Day, Christ is sending us out into today's world to be his witnesses, just as he sent out his Apostles two thousand years ago. Success in that mission is the only thing that will satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. And all we have to do in order to be as successful as his first Apostles is to stay as close as possible to our Lord.
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