DAY SEVENTY:
The Ascension
Ascension Day is just another Thursday here in America. In many places, however, the day is almost as big as Easter. Schools and businesses are closed and churches are open. It's a shame that we don't make more of this day, as Jesus' return to heaven brings us so many benefits. He won the victory over sin and death, and now He will reign at the Father's right hand until He returns and sets right the last pieces of what Satan ruined through Adam and Eve's sin. Let's look at today's passage from the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.
First, Luke gave an introduction, similar to the one in his Gospel. "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." We don't know who Theophilus was. Scholars speculate that he was a wealthy patron who supported Luke's efforts to record Christ and His church's history, who was named Theophilus. Others think it was a code name for a high Roman official who could not reveal that he was a Christian (Theophilus means Lover of God in Greek). Or maybe Luke is addressing all lovers of God.
Luke told us that Jesus hung around for forty days after His resurrection. He appeared not just to the disciples, but to many others as well. My favorite story of Jesus after His resurrection is the account of how He walked with two of His followers as they went to Emmaus. They didn't know who this stranger was, but their hearts burned within them, they later said, when He explained the Scriptures to them. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:7, "Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep." As Luke said, Jesus gave "many convincing proofs" in those forty days that He was alive!
This is the most incredible news! Jesus is alive, risen from the dead! He is the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus told the disciples, however, not to go out and spread this message just yet. He told them to stay in Jerusalem until the promised Comforter came to them. "For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." We saw yesterday that Jesus breathed on the disciples and said "Receive the Holy Spirit." So why must they wait to be baptized in the Holy Spirit? Read on and we'll see.
The disciples had a question for Jesus: "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" They're still expecting an earthly reign. How could Israel, even the Pharisees and the Scribes, refuse to worship Him now? Indeed, how could anyone on the planet refuse Him? They remember that Jesus promised that they would sit with Him on twelve thrones and rule with Him. They're eager to get the measurements for the drapes in their palaces!
Jesus replied, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority." Jesus told them, "It's none of your business." This is all in the Father's hands and He will cause it all to unfold according to His wisdom and goodness. This is the best-kept secret in the universe. Even Jesus doesn't know. "But concerning that day or that hour,no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Mark 13:32) Jesus will be as surprised as we are when He returns! Even though He is equal to the Father, He won't know when He's coming back until the Father tells Him. I believe it's because He chooses not to know, so that He will be as joyously surprised as we are! So it doesn't do a lot of good to speculate about the end of the age. Certainly there are signs of the times and we must be aware of them. But Jesus will get here when He gets here, and in the meantime He has work for us to do.
Jesus went on and said, "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." The word for power here is dunamis. We get words like dynamo and dynamite from it. The word means more than just power, though. It also carries with it a sense of right or authority. They will share the Gospel message with power, but also with a boldness that comes from God's own authority. The Holy Spirit will enable them to be His witnesses, not just in Jerusalem, not just in the surrounding area of Judea and Samaria, but all over the planet! The Gospel is not just for the children of Abraham after the flesh. It's for everyone so that all may become children of Abraham through Christ.
"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." That had to have been one incredible sight! Jesus went back home, His mission accomplished. Imagine the joy in heaven, how the angels and saints welcomed the conquering hero! But what about the disciples who were left there on the Mount of Olives. Let's read on: "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.'" Who knows how long they stood there, just staring up in the sky? They might have stayed there a long time, getting incredibly stiff necks, if two men in white, obviously angels, came by. They told the disciples that they don't need to hang around watching for Jesus' return. He'll come back the same way He left, and they and everyone else on earth will know it when He arrives. "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen." (Revelation 1:7) The disciples went back to town to wait. We'll see what God did just ten days later, on the Day of Pentecost, when we resume our study next week.
So just what does Jesus' ascension into Heaven mean for us? First of all it means that Jesus is at work getting ready for our arrival. Jesus told His disciples, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." That was nearly 2,000 years ago. With that much time to get things ready for us, just imagine how great heaven will be when we get there! This gives us such great comfort when a loved one goes to be with the Lord, and it encourages us in the midst of our struggles in this life.
The ascension also gives us our mandate. King Jesus rules His kingdom and His subjects. The people of Jesus' day, and even His own disciples, expected the kingdom NOW, in a very visible way. But that's not how Jesus told us it would be. He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." (Mark 4:26-29) The Kingdom of God grows slowly, like a seed. A lot happens beneath the surface before the shoot pierces the soil. Then yet more growth must take place, and that too takes time. Finally the grain is ripe and ready for harvest. Jesus also said, "The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." (Luke 17:20-21) The Kingdom is here already, unseen by most, growing day by day. The Kingdom grows one soul at a time as people hear our witness and come to Christ.
These are our marching orders for life between Christ's first and second comings: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, to the end of the age." Next week we'll see how the earliest Christians did just this!
Here is a song from the Taizé Community in France. Let the words sink deeply into your spirit.
No comments:
Post a Comment