Jesus appeared to his apostles for forty days before his ascension, according to the Acts of the Apostles.
Acts 1:3 says that after his suffering Jesus presented himself alive to the apostles and gave many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days. The same passage connects these appearances with teaching about the kingdom of God.
Acts then describes Jesus being taken up while the apostles watched, after which two men in white clothing tell them that Jesus will return in the same way. The Gospel of Luke also ends with Jesus’ departure, but it does not provide the same explicit forty-day duration.
The number forty has wider biblical associations with testing, preparation, and transition, including the Israelites’ forty years in the wilderness and Jesus’ forty days of fasting. The forty days before the ascension should not be confused with the forty days of fasting in the wilderness, which is a separate Gospel episode.