Why Did The Lord Linger On Earth?

Thanks for a very informative website.

What did Christ do on earth during the period after his resurrection and Pentecost? Why wasn’t He taken directly to Heaven and why did He have to stay an additional 49days? A. The Bible doesn’t specifically address this question.  What we know is that He appeared to over 500 people (1 Cor. 15:6) during the time.  Acts 1:3 says that He offered many convincing proofs that He really came back to life, and spoke to them about the Kingdom of God. But that’s all we know for sure.

Forty is the Biblical number for testing, and the Lord was on Earth for forty days before being taken up into Heaven (Acts 1:3).  Perhaps He was testing the disciples during that time so they could see if they were ready to take the Church into the world.