Can you imagine what it would be like if every member of your branch church had seen Jesus after the resurrection? Would the services of your branch feel different? Would the atmosphere of Sunday School be even more alive?
The resurrection of Jesus transformed those who witnessed it. Seeing his life reinvigorated, untouched by material conditions, must have transported his immediate disciples to a different mental universe—above a sense of life in matter to an understanding of the reality of spiritual existence, and of the solidity of God’s presence and power. Jesus had talked to his disciples about this spiritualized consciousness, or kingdom of heaven within, which they glimpsed to differing degrees before his resurrection. But when he returned to them after the crucifixion unharmed, that kingdom of heaven burst into their experience in a way that changed everything.
For one thing, the disciples’ new understanding emboldened them greatly. They went from cowering in secret, in fear for their lives (see John 20:19), to healing and speaking openly about their faith before crowds. The New Testament book of Acts shows that Jesus’ final demonstration of divine power drew the disciples together into a sense of unity, fellowship, and mutual affection based on the profound shared vision of man’s eternal nature as the child of God.
