Immediate Proclamation

Weeks after his death the disciples proclaimed the Gospel in the very city Jesus was crucified in

The disciples stayed in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1,9) even when the church came under heavy persecution. (Acts 7, 12). This speaks volumes because the resurrection was proclaimed in the very city where Jesus was crucified. For the disciples to preach this so soon after Jesus' judicial murder that their religious leaders set up was to invite the same type of persecution. They could have waited until things calmed down. But they did not. Peter went from denying Jesus to boldly proclaiming his resurrection just 50 days after Jesus was murdered. (Acts 2:22-24) Occasionally, the report of a miracle may be allowed to pass without inspection -- especially if it is located very far from the place where it is proclaimed. In contrast, in the case of the resurrection was announced on the spot in Jerusalem. The enemies of Christianity had the means, motive, and opportunity to discredit the story.

The foes of Jesus likely could have easily produced a body and squelched the entire thing. Instead, as a result of their preaching, thousands of people left their Jewish practices of worship at the temple, worshipping on the Sabbath and offering animal sacrifices to start a whole new way of life. They gave up their belief in a conquering Messiah that would save them from Rome. Something very big was happening, to say the least.

Jacques Saurin

Wisdom from the 17th century on the importance of time:

 "The apostles proclaimed the resurrection at Pentecost, when Jerusalem expected the spread of the report, and endeavored to prevent it; while the eyes of their enemies were yet sparkling with rage and madness, while Calvary was yet dyed with the blood they had spilled there. Do impostors take such measures? Would not they have waited till the fury of the Jews had been appeased, till judges and public officers, had been changed, and till people had been less attentive to their dispositions?”

- Jacques Saurin, French theologian and minister from the 17th Century. A writer of several volumes on history and Christianity.

Is Jesus Alive?