Our Lord Jesus Christ spent 40 days with His disciples after the resurrection to prove to them that He is truly risen, then before He ascended to heaven He said to them “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high” Luke 24: 46‐48.
The resurrection was a life‐changing event for the Apostles, they all became bold eye‐witnesses to the Lord’s power calling people to believe, repent of their sins to be forgiven.
All the disciples – except St. John the beloved – offered their lives as a testimony for the truth!…
St. Peter – who could not witness in front of a servant girl and denied our Lord, he publicly proclaimed His name facing rulers and high priests!!… even to the Emperor – Nero, who sentenced St. Peter to death being crucified up‐side‐down. It is the power of the Lord’s resurrection‐ we can only experience this power through the risen Lord, and we need to ask Him to “raise us with your power” – as we sing in one of the hymns.
St. Paul – even he didn’t see the Lord during the 40 days – he met Him on the way to Damascus and this was a life‐changing event for Saul of Tarsus – only when we have such encounter with the risen Lord we can surrender to such power and say: “Lord, what do you want me to do?”, St. Paul became the greatest preacher, writing 14 epistles and ended up in Rome as he was martyred during the reign of Nero.
St. Thomas – is another example of witnessing to one of the largest nation on earth – India. Being analytical, his doubts couldn’t allow him to believe without seeing. A life‐changing encounter with the Lord on Thomas Sunday shaped his life. The Lord asked St. Thomas to go to India and there he preached the word and converted many Indians to know the true God, even the king – Lukios – believed, here is how: “when the king asked St. Thomas about his work, since he was a carpenter and a physician; he said: “The palaces that I built were the souls that have become the temples of the King of Glory; the carpentry that I did was the Gospel that removes the thorns of sin; and the medicines I practiced are the Holy Mysteries which heal the poison of the evil one. The king became angry and tortured him, and bound him among four poles, cut off his skin and rubbed his wounds with salt and lime. St. Thomas endured the pains. The kings’ wife saw him suffering, and she fell from the window and died. Lukios came to him and said: “If you raise my wife from the dead, I believe in your God.” Thomas went to the room where the dead body was, and said: “Arsabona rise up in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” She rose instantly. When her husband saw that, he believed and many more with him from the people of the city, and Thomas baptized them.”
