As a young Baptist boy, I remember that we typically carried the euphoria of Easter
Sunday till the following day, Monday. We used to call that Galilee Day. I am not sure if
that practice is still sustained today. For the most part, Galilee Day was a day of picnics.
We had fun, eating and playing all sorts of games. The originator of that idea thought
that was the best way to honour Jesus’ instruction to the disciples after the resurrection,
that He would meet them in Galilee. The picnic did serve some ends, but not what
Jesus had in mind. Their own Galilee Meet was not a picnic, it was a commissioning
ceremony. As we can see from our text, Jesus sent the disciples just as He had been
sent. So Easter is not just about eating and wearing new clothes, it is an invitation to
serious kingdom business.
“His equipment for us is the Holy Spirit.”
If we may ask, how was Jesus sent? John 9:5 provides a clue – “As long as I am in the
world, I am the light of the world.” An additional clue is His mandate found in Luke 4:18-
19 – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the
gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the
captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” All these define our task as believers.
From our text, we see that He has not sent us out without equipping us. His equipment
for us is the Holy Spirit.