What is the meaning of Acts 10:41? Not by all the people Peter points out that the risen Jesus “was not seen by all the people” (Acts 10:41). The Lord did not stage a public spectacle in Jerusalem’s streets; He revealed Himself selectively. • This was consistent with Jesus’ own words: “The world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me” (John 14:19). • It guarded the resurrection from becoming a carnival attraction while still providing abundant proof (Acts 1:3). • God did not owe unbelievers additional signs after the empty tomb and the prophets (Luke 24:25–27). • The pattern echoes earlier divine disclosures, such as the transfiguration seen only by three (Mark 9:2–8). But by the witnesses God had chosen beforehand God’s plan required reliable, prepared eyewitnesses. “Chosen beforehand” underscores divine initiative. • Jesus promised that His followers would “testify” because they had been with Him “from the beginning” (John 15:27). • A matter was established “on the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deuteronomy 19:15); God supplied far more (1 Corinthians 15:5–7). • Their commission was clear: “You will be My witnesses… to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). • Because the selection was God’s, not man’s, the message carried heaven’s authority, not human conjecture (Galatians 1:11–12). By us who ate and drank with Him Peter adds a warm, everyday detail: they shared meals with the risen Christ. • Touch, sight, and table fellowship proved His physical resurrection. “They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate it before them” (Luke 24:42–43). • At the shore of Galilee Jesus said, “Come, have breakfast” and “took the bread and gave it to them” (John 21:12–13). • Eating and drinking show continuity of the same Jesus who had eaten with them before the cross (Mark 14:18). • These shared moments bonded the witnesses to a living Lord, equipping them to speak with affectionate certainty (1 John 1:1–3). After He rose from the dead The clause drives home the timeline: the appearances occurred after a genuine, bodily resurrection. • “God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32). • Death is now powerless over Him: “Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again” (Romans 6:9). • The risen Christ holds “the keys of Death and of Hades” (Revelation 1:18), guaranteeing believers’ future resurrection (1 Peter 1:3). • Because the resurrection is factual history, the gospel offers unshakable hope rather than mere inspiration (1 Corinthians 15:14, 20). Summary Acts 10:41 shows God’s deliberate strategy: the risen Jesus revealed Himself, not to the curious masses, but to handpicked witnesses who experienced real, bodily fellowship with Him. Their personal meals with the living Christ anchored their testimony, providing the church—and the world—with trustworthy, firsthand evidence that Jesus truly conquered death. |
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