I had this thought when I was watching the TBN special with Rabbi Sobel performing a Seder, that when the disciples began their journeys, and even especially as they were being martyred, that the memory of Jesus washing their feet, move them beyond their pain.
There is a difference between the emotional state of the disciples after the crucifixion and after the ascension 40 days post resurrection.
After the crucifixion, the disciples were afraid and full of doubt. Their leader who they saw perform miracles and stood up to the Jewish leaders was dead. They believed what he said and did not expect that unforeseen turn of their fortunes. Some probably thought of going back to the rabbis to beg for forgiveness and hope that they can be reintegrated back into Jewish life, although at a hefty financial and reputational cost.
What the resurrection and the 40 days following did is dispel that doubt. They knew concretely that their leader was different. He was right and the Jewish leaders were wrong. He was the true representative of the Jewish god and the Pharisees (Jewish rabbis) were not, and the fact that he was alive after he died showed them that the Jewish god is the most powerful and the true God among all gods. What they didn’t know was what to do next and how to do it.
For ten days between ascension and Pentecost they had the burden of knowing the truth and what they had to do but not the courage or the means to do it. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” Acts 1:18. First start with the Jews, then the Israelites, then the whole world.
The Pentecost changed that. They had the courage and the means to fulfill that commandment. The filling with the Holy Spirit was not just an emotionally transformative experience. It was a complete rewiring of their brain with capabilities and a deep understanding of how to go about it. For example, the tongues they spoke were real languages that existed and spoken by nations. A reversal of the Tower of Babel. It also filled them with the determination to complete that mission.
In a way our mission is easier. What we seem to have forgotten is how to go about it and the determination to see it through. But the commandment stays the same: start with the Jews, then the Israelites, then the whole world.
Jeff - That was on of the most concise and beautiful descriptions of the Passion and Resurrection I have read.
Keep hope alive. We know what changed them and it is the same today as it was two thousand years ago.
I had this thought when I was watching the TBN special with Rabbi Sobel performing a Seder, that when the disciples began their journeys, and even especially as they were being martyred, that the memory of Jesus washing their feet, move them beyond their pain.
There is a difference between the emotional state of the disciples after the crucifixion and after the ascension 40 days post resurrection.
After the crucifixion, the disciples were afraid and full of doubt. Their leader who they saw perform miracles and stood up to the Jewish leaders was dead. They believed what he said and did not expect that unforeseen turn of their fortunes. Some probably thought of going back to the rabbis to beg for forgiveness and hope that they can be reintegrated back into Jewish life, although at a hefty financial and reputational cost.
What the resurrection and the 40 days following did is dispel that doubt. They knew concretely that their leader was different. He was right and the Jewish leaders were wrong. He was the true representative of the Jewish god and the Pharisees (Jewish rabbis) were not, and the fact that he was alive after he died showed them that the Jewish god is the most powerful and the true God among all gods. What they didn’t know was what to do next and how to do it.
For ten days between ascension and Pentecost they had the burden of knowing the truth and what they had to do but not the courage or the means to do it. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” Acts 1:18. First start with the Jews, then the Israelites, then the whole world.
The Pentecost changed that. They had the courage and the means to fulfill that commandment. The filling with the Holy Spirit was not just an emotionally transformative experience. It was a complete rewiring of their brain with capabilities and a deep understanding of how to go about it. For example, the tongues they spoke were real languages that existed and spoken by nations. A reversal of the Tower of Babel. It also filled them with the determination to complete that mission.
In a way our mission is easier. What we seem to have forgotten is how to go about it and the determination to see it through. But the commandment stays the same: start with the Jews, then the Israelites, then the whole world.
Gee. You’re so smart.