What Do You Do after the Resurrection? | A Sermon by Min. Wu Mee

Acts chapter one asks a serious question after Easter joy, what do God’s people do after the resurrection? The empty tomb declares that Jesus is alive, death has been defeated, and the Savior lives and reigns forever. But the resurrection was not the end of the story for the disciples. The resurrection was the beginning of a new life, a new assignment, and a new season of preparation.

Jesus appeared for forty days and proved one thing, “I am alive.” Jesus met Mary Magdalene, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, doubting Thomas, broken Peter, and more than five hundred believers. The pattern is clear. Resurrection gave them victory. Preparation gave them direction. Ascension gave them responsibility. Pentecost gave them power. God does not always give victory quickly and power immediately. God uses preparation and waiting to shape people for his purpose.

John chapter 20 shows that after the resurrection, the disciples had to come out of hiding. The tomb was empty, but fear was still in their hearts. Fear, trauma, disappointment, and painful experience can keep people locked up even when God has already given victory. Elijah also stood in victory on Mount Carmel, then ran into a cave after Jezebel’s threat. God’s question still searches the heart, “What are you doing here?”

John chapter 21 shows that after the resurrection, Jesus had to restore Peter. Peter went back to fishing after denying Jesus, thinking his failure was final. But Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me?” and restored him step by step. Jonah also ran from God, but the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Failure is not the final chapter when God gives another chance.

Luke chapter 24 shows that after the resurrection, the disciples had to recognize Jesus again. The two on the road to Emmaus were grieving and confused, and Jesus walked with them, but they did not know him. Jacob also woke up and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.” Pain can cloud vision, but God is still closer than people think.

Acts chapter one shows that after the resurrection, the disciples had to wait for God’s power and then move into mission. Waiting is not wasting, it is preparation. The angels’ question, “Why do you stand here looking into heaven?” was a redirection. The church is not called to stay frozen in wonder, but to serve, proclaim the gospel, and move forward because Jesus is alive.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Come out of hiding The empty tomb does not mean fear disappears automatically. A locked room can still remain inside the heart after God has already won the victory. Elijah’s cave shows that a person can stand on a mountain one day and hide the next, but God’s question calls fear into the light. [09:26]
• 2. Failure is not final Peter thought denial had finished him, but Jesus met him with restoration, not rejection. Jonah ran from God’s call, yet the word of the Lord came to him a second time. God’s mercy does not excuse failure, but it does write a new chapter after repentance. [12:15]
• 3. Pain can cloud recognition The Emmaus disciples walked with Jesus and still did not recognize him because grief filled their eyes. Jacob also discovered that God was present in the wilderness before Jacob knew it. Pain can make God feel absent, but the risen Christ may be walking beside the wounded heart already. [14:09]
• 4. Waiting is preparation, not wasting The disciples were ready to go, but Jesus told them to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit. David was anointed king, yet caves, rejection, and uncertainty shaped him before the throne. God’s delay is not neglect when his hand is building strength for the assignment. [15:49]
• 5. Wonder must become witness The disciples stared into heaven, but the angels redirected their eyes back to the mission. Worship was not being condemned, but passivity was being corrected. The resurrection does not make the church an audience of faith, but participants in God’s work in the world.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [04:57] - Opening Prayer
• [05:29] - What Do You Do After the Resurrection?
• [07:06] - Forty Days of Preparation
• [08:33] - Victory, Direction, Responsibility, Power
• [09:26] - Come Out of Hiding
• [12:15] - Jesus Restores Peter
• [14:09] - Recognize Jesus Again
• [15:49] - Wait for God’s Power
• [18:12] - Move Into the Mission
• [20:20] - Tell the People to Move Forward
• [21:23] - Live Like Jesus Is Alive

Bible Reading

Acts 1:1-11
“In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’ So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.’ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’” [05:29]

John 20:19
“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”

John 21:15-17
“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep.’”

Luke 24:13-16
“That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”

Observation questions

1. In Acts 1:1-11, what are the disciples told to do before they begin their witness, and what promise are they given? [15:49]
2. In John 20:19, what detail shows the condition of the disciples after the resurrection, and what reason is given for the locked doors? [09:26]
3. In John 21:15-17, what question does Jesus repeat to Peter, and what responsibility does he give Peter each time?
4. In Luke 24:13-16, what were the two disciples doing on the road to Emmaus, and what surprising thing happened while they were walking? [14:09]

Interpretation questions

1. If the tomb was empty but the disciples were still hiding, what does that show about how fear can remain in a person even after God has already won the victory? [09:26]
2. Jesus restores Peter by speaking to him directly and giving him fresh responsibility. What does that suggest about how Jesus deals with repentant failure? [12:15]
3. The disciples on the road to Emmaus were walking with Jesus and still did not recognize him. How can grief, confusion, or disappointment affect a person’s ability to notice God’s presence? [14:09]
4. In Acts 1, the angels ask, “Why do you stand looking into heaven?” How does that question redirect the church from wonder alone to active witness in the world? [18:12]

Application questions

1. Fear can keep a person locked up inside even when Jesus is alive and victory has already been won. Where has fear, pain, or disappointment caused hiding in this season—in prayer, in relationships, or in obedience? [09:26]
2. Failure is not the final chapter when Jesus restores. Is there a past sin, regret, or unfinished obedience that still feels final? What would it look like to let Jesus meet that place honestly instead of running from it? [12:15]
3. Pain can cloud recognition. When life has been heavy, how has it affected the ability to see where God may already be at work? What signs of his nearness might have been missed? [14:09]
4. Waiting is not wasting; it is preparation. What is being waited on right now—direction, healing, breakthrough, open doors, clarity? How might God be shaping character and trust in that waiting instead of simply delaying the answer? [15:49]
5. Jesus told the disciples to wait for power before moving into mission. Is there any area where action has been rushed ahead of prayer, surrender, or dependence on the Holy Spirit? What would it look like to slow down and wait well? [16:29]
6. Wonder must become witness. What is one practical way this week to move from admiring the truth that Jesus is alive to actually serving, encouraging, or speaking about him to someone else? [18:12]
7. The resurrection is not only something to celebrate; it is truth that should shape daily life. What would “living like Jesus is alive” change about the way this week is approached? [21:23]