so one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of john until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”
[acts 1:21-22]
a witness to his resurrection
the thing here that needed to be restored was a whole witness of Christ’s resurrection. it’s not that the eleven weren’t enough to spread the gospel; they would need more than that anyway. the thing of importance here is an established witness of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. without the resurrection, our faith is for nothing! Jesus’ life and teachings cannot be just a story: they are either real and true, making him truly the Son of God come to defeat death and redeem us from our debt, or they are meaningless. the disciples urgently defended the credibility of the resurrection.
Lord, remind us of the centrality of your resurrection. may we live every day reminded that because you defeated death we can live in the life you bought. we believe you did it; remind us of it every day!
~ stephen hall