ON THE day of his resurrection, Jesus’ human nature begins to participate fully in the divine Glory. Jesus now asks us to believe in his name, that is, in the divine power he has just received and that works through him.
The Name is a word that has little or no meaning for us. For the Jews, it meant the active presence of God. This term allowed them to speak of God’s mysterious presence in the world without disregarding his greatness. The Bible does not say that God walked with the Hebrews toward the Promised Land (for God does not walk), instead it says that his Name or his Face (Ex. 33:14) was among them. God’s presence could not be confined within his temple, but the Bible says that his Name dwelt in this temple, from whence he blessed all the activities of his people.
The Name, thus, means divine presence or power. Paul says that the resurrected Jesus has received his Name that outshines any other (Phil. 2:9). God the Father has given it to him and Jesus, who has received it, is not less than him, whatever belongs to his Father is now his as well. Jesus does not receive glory as one receives a title or an honor (as already proclaimed in Is. 9:5) for divine glory can be granted only to God. If he receives a divine title, it is because he actually received divinity from the Father in the beginning – divinity is his very being.
Thus, Jesus is as much God as the Father, but he is so in a different way, by receiving everything from God who possesses all. That is why it is written that his Name is the Son (Heb. 1:4) When we speak to the Father in the Name of Jesus, this means much more than bolstering ourselves with his merits (Heb. 5:9) of making use of his valuable intercession (Heb. 7:25). We present ourselves as sons and daughters, knowing that God embraced us with the same paternal love he has for his own Beloved One (Eph. 1:6).
From then on Our Lord Jesus Christ, with divine power, begins little by little to direct human history and the personal path of each one of us to himself. The apostles were sent into the world to heal and sanctify it.
The miracles and healings are not ends in themselves; they are only signs and means.
The goal of evangelization is that all creation may be gathered around the person of the Son-of-God-become-human, through the power of his Spirit. “Do not fear”, the Lord says, “my Church is not a shelter against the world, its temptations and problems; rather each of you is baptized to be an apostle”.
Signs like these will accompany those who have believed. The Acts of the Apostles reports these signs and miracles. Even today they can be seen wherever Christians fulfill their mission of evangelizing the world.
Such is the meaning of the Resurrection of Jesus.
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