What role did eating and drinking play in confirming Jesus' resurrection in Acts 10:41? Setting the Scene • Acts 10 records Peter’s sermon in Cornelius’s house. • In v. 41 Peter explains that after rising, Jesus appeared “to witnesses whom God had chosen beforehand—by us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead”. • That simple phrase, “ate and drank,” is packed with meaning. Physical Proof of Bodily Resurrection • Spirits do not need food (Luke 24:39). • Luke 24:41-43: “They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate in front of them”. • John 21:12-14: breakfast of fish and bread by the Sea of Galilee. • Eating shows Jesus was not an apparition; His body was tangible, glorified yet truly physical (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 20). Validation of the Apostolic Witness • “Witnesses whom God had chosen” (Acts 10:41) were men and women who shared a table with the risen Lord. • Table fellowship marked them out as firsthand observers; their testimony is credible and legally sufficient (Deuteronomy 19:15). • 1 John 1:1-3 echoes the same: “we have seen…we have touched.” Continuity With His Earthly Ministry • Jesus had often taught and ministered around meals (e.g., feeding 5,000; Last Supper). • By eating again post-resurrection, He signaled that the same Jesus who broke bread before the cross now lives forever (Hebrews 13:8). Covenant Fellowship Restored • In Luke 22:30 Jesus promised the disciples would “eat and drink at My table in My kingdom.” • Post-Easter meals preview that promise; fellowship with God is reopened through the risen Christ (Revelation 3:20). Commissioning Moment • Meals became launchpads for mission: – Luke 24:44-49: after eating, Jesus opened the Scriptures and sent them. – John 21:15-17: after breakfast, Peter is recommissioned. • Acts 10:41 shows Peter drawing on that shared meal to authenticate his gospel before Gentiles. Practical Takeaways • The resurrection is not a mystical idea but a historical, bodily reality. • Christian faith rests on verifiable testimony, not personal opinion (Acts 1:3). • Fellowship at the Lord’s Table each week proclaims that same living Christ until He returns (1 Corinthians 11:26). |
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