Beyond the Resurrection 

Jesus was laid in a tomb where he rested in an elevated state of consciousness for three days prior to his resurrection. He was connected with the source of all life which has the power to reconstruct any organism. He demonstrated when communion is established with the Divine Mind of the Father, we enter into the river of life whose waters cleanse, purify and revitalize. He assured us we also have the ability to take others along with us. In his solitude the truth was quietly manifesting itself as he prepared to overcome the illusion of death. He proved to us we can awaken our receptivity to the power of the Christ Consciousness within, of which he is the perfect expression. After the resurrection there was a period of forty days in which Jesus appeared to His disciples. We should understand how extremely important were his accomplishments during this period of his pristine life as he reaffirmed the ancient scriptural wisdom: “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?” 

Jesus restored his disciples’ faith which gave 
them the resolve to follow his instructions. 

Jesus’ crucifixion was devastating to his followers. Peter said to Jesus, “We have left everything to follow you.” And John said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” They did not realize he was destined to be crucified and then resurrected so that all may understand with certainty that life is eternal. The despair caused by the crucifixion of their beloved Master became the catalyst for the purging of all worldly states of mind from their consciousness’ which would not allow the truth to gain entry. It set in motion the necessary process of surrendering their personalities in order that the Christ Consciousness may be expressed in its fullness through them. 

From the perspective of Jesus’ followers, everything they had hoped for and believed in was being destroyed in the course of that momentous day on Calvary while he was being crucified. 

After his resurrection Jesus began the task of restoring their faith and increasing their understanding. 

He appeared to a sobbing Mary Magdalene. With one word, “Mary,” he restored her faith and hope. 

He appeared to the apostles and more especially a “Doubting Thomas,” and “showed them his hands and side” which had been pierced as a result of his crucifixion. The apostles were “overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” They wondered if they had misunderstood all that was happening. What they had seen as a tragic occurrence, they were beginning to realize was preordained for the uplifting of all humanity. 

Jesus revealed to his disciples how 
the scriptures had predicted his coming. 

The disciples were not aware what the Scriptures had foretold. Once their faith was restored Jesus moved to solidify their discipleship by greatly increasing their understanding of scriptural prophesy. 

“He gave the apostles commandments and spoke of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” 

“Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets,” he explained to his disciples what was prophesied regarding the role he was to play in the redemption of humanity. 

The disciple’s “hearts burned” as he revealed the truer meaning of the Scriptures to them. Once they were unaware of the truth, but now he gave them many reassuring spiritual insights. 

Jesus commanded his followers to 
“go and make disciples of all nations.” 

With their faith restored and strengthened, Jesus’ final instructions to his followers were to “go and make disciples of all nations.” They were commanded to share with the world the great things he had said and done which were said to be so many they could not possibly be recorded. To this end they would be able to speak in “tongues” whereby every man heard them speak in his own language and they who listened wondered “how every man could hear in his own tongue wherein he were born.” 

Jesus ascended into heaven forty days after the resurrection upon completion of the work necessary for our salvation. “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” In a metaphorical sense, Jesus’ ascension signifies the continual unfolding of man’s spiritual nature toward progressively deeper communion with God. 

“When the day of the Pentecost had come” signifies the gathering of Jesus’ followers for the purpose of harvesting the blessings of spirit. The first Pentecost after his ascension was the time of the first coming of the Holy Spirit to baptize the disciples. “They numbered about an hundred and twenty” and were praying for ten days for the Christ Consciousness to descend upon them as they had been promised. The joining of their many minds as one in prayerful communion with the Divine Mind of God had an increasingly purifying and empowering effect, this being the very reason we ourselves gather in worship. All were baptized with the brilliant and blissful currents of absolute illumination and purified with the perpetual light of truth. They were blessed with the wisdom and selflessness that springs from the unfathomably enlightening possession of the Christ Consciousness, with which they were able to go forth and sow the seeds of Christianity as they had been commanded by their risen Master Jesus. 

By Paul Martin © 2012
Beyond the Resurrection www.MyPrayers.net