Evangelium Quadraginta Dierum: The Forty-day Mission of Christ - The Forgotten Heritage While those who ponder the historical relevance of Acts 1:3 [Acts 1:1] concern themselves almost exclusively with the evidence of the canonical writings, we now possess in the early apocryphal texts, both those recently discovered and those being reappraised in the light of new findings, an impressive body of evidence that has direct bearing on the problem of the historicity of the 40 days. It is the purpose of the present study to indicate briefly the nature of this evidence.
The theme of the 40 days has always been a disturbing one. For many scholars the possibility of such an event as that indicated in Acts 1:3 [Acts 1:1] is not even to be discussed,1 for others such things are tolerable only as myths,2 while some are frank enough to admit that they simply don’t like the story.3 It is astonishing how many writers on the resurrection pass by the 40-day interval in studied silence,4 and indeed churchmen since Clement and Origen have employed all the arts of rhetoric and logic to evade its crass literalism.5 It is claimed that the story is insufficiently attested,6 or that the language 7 or the thought-forms of the ancients elude us,8 or that the writers themselves are confused—e.g., in maintaining that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom” while asserting “the very opposite” in the doctrine of the resurrection.9 We are often reminded today that we are here dealing with prefigured types and images that need not be taken literally, 40 itself being a well-known symbolic number in sacred writings.
But on the other hand, Luke may well have chosen the round number precisely because everybody knew of like 40-day periods of spiritual discipline and preparation;11 ancient thought-forms can be checked by the words and behavior of an Ignatius, willing to give his life to show how he interpreted the 40 days;12 and contradictions may well have their source in the minds of readers rather than writers—the “flesh and blood” issue, in fact, seems to be of our own making.
The Ascension & the Close of the Testimony
He opens the scriptures to them one last time, tells them to wait until they are clothed with power, walks them out to Bethany, and is taken up with his hands still raised over them. They go back to the city and spend their days in the temple.
Tap a Gospel to show or hide its column. Narrow to any two to read them side by side.
Note. One green mark closes the harmony. At Luke 24:51 the Joseph Smith Translation changes “he was parted from them” to “he was taken from them”, the only substantive change in the entire post-resurrection era, and it turns the ascension from something he did into something done to him.
? How to read this edition
The reading is the Joseph Smith Translation, in the text of the Covenant Christian Edition, carried beside each Gospel and set against the King James baseline. Headers give both numbering systems: the CCE chapter and verse, and the traditional KJV reference.
19So then, after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into Heaven and sat on the right hand of God. 20And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
44And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you while I was yet with you — that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures, 46and said unto them, Thus it is written: And thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48And you are witnesses of these things. 49And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but remain in the city of Jerusalem until you are endowed with power from on high.
50And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from taken from them and carried up into Heaven. 52And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
Until You Are Endowed with Power
Thus It Behoved Christ to Suffer
Writing to the elders of the church in the autumn of 1835 on how to teach the first principles, Joseph Smith began the doctrine of repentance with verses 45 through 47, the last lesson in Luke, and drew from them what the suffering and rising were for.
Letter to the Elders of the Church, 2 October 1835, Kirtland · published in the Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate, September 1835 (1:179–182); Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 80–82, which dates it 1 September 1835 (the date here is the Joseph Smith Papers’) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗And now to show our doctrine on this subject, we shall commence with the first principles of the gospel, which are repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands. This we believe to be our duty, to teach to all mankind the doctrine of repentance, which we shall endeavor to show from the following quotations: “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead, the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”—Luke 24:45, 46, 47. By this we learn, that it behoved Christ to suffer, and to be crucified, and rise again on the third day, for the express purpose that repentance and remission of sins should be preached unto all nations. “Then Peter said unto them, repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”—Acts 2:38, 39. By this we learn, that the promise of the Holy Ghost, is unto as many as the doctrine of repentance was to be preached, which was unto all nations.
The Time That We Were Required to Tarry in Kirtland to Be Endued
Joseph Smith is not expounding Luke here; this is his journal. It is shown because it applies verse 49 to his own church. At the solemn assembly in the Kirtland temple in March 1836, while the bread and wine were brought in, he told the elders that their time of tarrying to be endued was nearly over, and the journal closes the night by calling it a Pentecost.
Journal, 30 March 1836, Kirtland temple · Joseph Smith, Journal, 1835–1836, pp. 188–190 (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 109, which prints it after the 27 March entry) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗… the bread & wine was then brought in, and I observed that we had fasted all the day; and lest we faint; as the Saviour did so shall we do on this occasion, we shall bless the bread and give it to the 12 and they to the multitude, after which we shall bless the wine and do likewise; while waiting I made the following remarks, that the time that we were required to tarry in Kirtland to be endued would be fulfilled in a few days, and then the Elders would go forth and each must stand for himself, that it was not necessary for them to be sent out two by two as in former times; but to go in all meekness in sobriety and preach Jesus Christ & him crucified not to contend with others on the account of their faith or systems of religion but pursue a steady course, this I delivered by way of commandment, and all that observe them not will pull down persecution upon thier heads, while those who do shall always be filled with the Holy Ghost, this I pronounced as a prophesy, sealed with a Hosanna & amen.
… the brethren continued exhorting, prophesying and speaking in tongues until 5 o clock in the morning— the Saviour made his appearance to some, while angels minestered unto others, and it was a penticost and enduement indeed, long to be remembered for the sound shall go forth from this place into all the world, and the occurrences of this day shall be handed down upon the pages of sacred history to all generations, as the day of Pentecost, so shall this day be numbered and celebrated as a year of Jubilee and time of rejoicing to the saints of the most high God.
And in Luke We Find the Finishing Clause
The Times and Seasons editorial on baptism, which Joseph Smith then edited, sets the three commissions side by side (Matthew, then Mark, then this one), and calls Luke’s the finishing clause. It then turns to verse 49: the witnesses were to wait at Jerusalem until they were endowed, and it examines Peter first.
Editorial, “Baptism,” Times and Seasons, 1 September 1842 (3:903–905); Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 262–263 · Joseph Smith Papers ↗And in Luke we find the finishing clause like this,—that it was necessary that Christ should die and rise the third day—that remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. We will now examine the witnesses. As it will be recollected, they were to wait at Jerusalem till they were endowed with power from on high and then go and teach all nations whatsoever the Lord had commanded them. As Peter held the keys of the kingdom, we will examine him first. Now on the day of Pentecost, when there was a marvellous display of the gifts, according to the promise in Mark, many were pricked in the heart, and said unto Peter, and to the rest of the Apostles, men and brethren what shall we do? Peter said unto them: Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remissioe [remission] of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, &c.— Here one of the witnesses says in so many words, repent and be baptised. And we are of the opinion that Peter having been taught by the Lord, and commissioned by the Lord, and endowed by the Lord, would be about as correct a counsellor, or ambassador as we or they could enquire of to know the right way to enter into the kingdom.
The Endowment Was to Prepare Them for Their Mission
Verse 49 is the last instruction Jesus gives in Luke, and it is a command to wait. Preaching at the Nauvoo temple on whether the kingdom of God existed in John the Baptist’s day, Joseph Smith turned to it in passing and said what it was for: a sentence that also explains why the Restoration began by building a house.
Discourse, 22 January 1843, Nauvoo · History, 1838–1856, vol. D-1, addenda, p. 6 (Words of Joseph Smith, 156–160); reported by Wilford Woodruff · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Christ preached through Jerusalem on the same ground where John had preached, and when the Apostles were raised up, they worked in Jerusalem, and Jesus commanded them to tarry there until they were endowed with power from on high. Had they not work to do in Jerusalem? They did work and prepared a people for the Pentecost. The kingdom of God was with them before the day of Pentecost as well as afterwards, and it was also with John, and he preached the same gospel and baptism that Jesus and the Apostles preached after him.
The endowment was to prepare the disciples for their missions unto the world. Whenever men can find out the will of God and find an administrator legally authorized from God, there is the kingdom of God, but where these are not, the kingdom of God is not. All the ordinances, systems, and administrations on the earth are of no use to the children of men, unless they are ordained and authorized of God, for nothing will save a man but a legal administrator, for none others will be acknowledged either by God or angels.
The Apostles Endowed with Greater Power Than John
Joseph Smith is not expounding verse 49 here; his subject in March 1844 was the difference between the spirit of Elias and the spirit of Elijah. It is shown for one sentence that says what the power from on high added: the Apostles, once endowed, held more than John had held.
Discourse, 10 March 1844, Nauvoo · History, 1838–1856, vol. E-1, p. 1919; Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 336; reported by Wilford Woodruff · Joseph Smith Papers ↗John’s mission was limited to preaching and baptizing; but what he did was legal, and when Jesus Christ came to any of John’s disciples, he baptized them with fire and the Holy Ghost. We find the Apostles endowed with greater power than John; their office was more under the Spirit and power of Elijah than Elias. In the case of Philip when he went down to Samaria, when he was under the Spirit of Elias he baptized both men and women; when Peter and John heard of it, they went down and laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. This shows the distinction between the two powers.
A House to Put the Power In
The command at verse 49 is not “go” but “wait”, and what they were to wait for is named in a word the King James renders “endued.” Nibley, writing on the forty days and on the temple, treats both halves of that: what was taught in the interval that ends here, and why the same promise, when it was renewed, required a building first.
The argument most confidently put forth today for the post-resurrectional activity of Jesus is the behavior of the apostles, who before the resurrection were by all accounts unready not only to preach but even to hear “the things of the kingdom,” and yet presently went forth into the world fully laden.26 But is it not remarkable that nothing has come down to us from that wonderful time when the church is supposed to have received all its knowledge and training? Why have we only the opening words of the Lord’s discourse, declaring how badly the disciples needed the instruction that followed (Luke 24:25 [Luke 14:3]—27), of which nothing is preserved in the canon (v. 45)? Those early apocryphal writings which purport to tell the rest of the story may not be ignored by the serious student. These writings take a position of conscious resistance to the rising tide of skepticism regarding the reality of the resurrection. 27 Luke had made it perfectly clear at the outset of his history that he was dealing with solid reality; like his other prologue, the story of Zacharias, this one is a forthright factual account that leaves no margin for speculation. Unlike the related themes of the resurrection and ascension, the 40 days has had no appeal to artists and orators, for it offers the imagination nothing to play with—it is not a subject for discussion but an end of discussion, not something to be proven but the proof itself, the unshakable cornerstone of the edifice Luke is about to construct.28 In this spirit the bulk of the early apocryphal writings make of the 40 days the foundation of their own teachings, and when Ignatius wants an unanswerable argument for the resurrection of the flesh, he appeals not only to the 40 days but to a non-canonical witness for them.
The Prophet insisted emphatically that there could be no proper endowments until a house was built for them: “Finish that temple and God will fill it with power.” 22 The idea of the temple is a compelling one, not just spiritual, but supremely practical. If people are to come together and act in union, a specific time and place must be stipulated with the proper appointments for the planned activities. One collection of studies, The Temple in Antiquity, notes that all temples have in common a specific “place, cult, and personnel.” 23 At all times, the temple was, as it was for ancient Israel, “the place which Jehovah, your God, has chosen out of all your tribes to put his name there for his dwelling; ye shall seek out that place and go there” (Deuteronomy 12:5, author’s translation). It is still the place where all things are gathered in one, “appointed by the finger of the Lord, . . . even the place of the temple” (D&C 84:3–4 [T&C 82:1-2]).
The mystique of the temple lies in its extension to other worlds; it is the reflection on earth of the heavenly order, and the power that fills it comes from above. That is why all the middot, or sacred measurements, of the building have to be so carefully observed (see 1 Kings 6:2–36). So in modern times, all is “according to the pattern . . . given . . . hereafter” (D&C 94:5 [T&C 97:2]). How the temple is put into phase with the cosmos itself appears in the dedication. The description of the surveying of the foundation of the great temple at Edfu, still preserved on the walls there, vividly recalls a like event in St. George: “Precisely at 12 m., President Brigham Young, at whose side stood Presidents John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells, broke ground at the south-east corner, and, kneeling on that particular spot, he offered the dedicatory prayer.” 24 The southeast corner was selected, Brigham Young explained, because that is where the light comes from. Coordination of time and place by the stars and the compass set the earthly temple into the framework of the cosmos. The word temple itself expresses the idea most clearly.
The third entry is about Nauvoo, not Jerusalem. It is placed here because Luke’s last instruction, wait in the city until you are clothed with power, is the pattern Nibley is describing, and because the disciples spent the interval “continually in the temple.”
He Sat Down at the Right Hand
Mark reports two things about the ascension: that he was received up, and that he sat down at the right hand of God. Barker reads the second as a temple statement: the high priest who has carried the atonement blood through the veil takes his seat, and the interval before the last act begins.
The Letter to the Hebrews explained the role of Jesus as the new Melchizedek (Heb. 7.11 [Heb. 1:19]), the one who had attained the priesthood by ascent, being raised up, not by descent from Aaron. The crucifixion and ascension had been recognized as the enthronement of the Lamb, exactly as described in Hebrews 10.12 [Heb. 1:31]: “When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, there to wait until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.” The remainder of the tenth Jubilee was the time of waiting until the final battle and victory when the Great High Priest would emerge to complete the Atonement and conclude the Jubilee.
The Word of God rides out from heaven, wearing a white robe sprinkled with blood; he is the high priest who has taken the atonement blood into the holy of holies.
The quotations are from a scanned printing of The Great High Priest: spacing errors from the scan have been corrected, and the wording is unchanged.