Thursday of this week marks the Feast of the Ascension in the Christian calendar, the day, approximately forty days after Easter, when Jesus ascended back into heaven, where He is seated at the right hand of God the Father. We will read the account of this in our Scripture today, where we see the risen Christ commission His church, give the promise of the Holy Spirit, ascend into heaven, and we are given a guarantee of His return.
As our Scripture opens, Jesus had taken His disciples out of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives, nearby the village of Bethany, which is just a couple of miles from Jerusalem (Luke 24:50-51). Though Jesus had told them before that He would be returning to the Father, I don’t believe they knew what was going to happen that day. He had instructed them that they were to be His witnesses, bringing the Gospel message to the world. Now, as they were on the Mount of Olives, Jesus told them that they were to return to Jerusalem. They were to wait, not work, until they received the promised power of the Holy Spirit (vs. 4-5). This was a command, a divine directive, and not a suggestion. They were not to proceed further until they had the power of the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist had baptized with water, but they would soon be baptized with the Holy Spirit. This shows a clear distinction between John’s preparatory ministry and Jesus’ empowering ministry. This baptism of the Holy Spirit would occur about 1 ½ weeks later, at Pentecost. However at this time they did not understand or know. This would empower them for the ministry of spreading the Gospel. God’s work must be done in God’s power, not with just human enthusiasm. They were to wait on God.
As the disciples were gathered with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, they were still expecting an immediate political kingdom, a restoration of the kingdom of Israel, bringing them out from any type of foreign control (vs. 6-7). Jesus, though, redirected their focus to the spiritual mission they had. Their expectation was rooted in Old Testament prophecy. It was Biblical, however their timing was off. Jesus did not deny the future restoration of Israel, He simply said that the timing is the Father’s business, not theirs right then. Times and dates are set by God. We too should not be trying to set dates for when Jesus will return. Our calling is to spread the Gospel message, seeing people come to saving faith in Jesus, not in date-setting.
Verse 8 is the mission of the Church, and is basically the outline of the entire Book of Acts in a nutshell. The disciples would receive power when the Holy Spirit would come upon them, and then they were to be witnesses for Jesus, not debaters, politicians, or philosophers. Their mission was to expand outward. It would start in Jerusalem on Pentecost (local), and was to proceed to Judea (regional), then also into Samaria (cross-cultural), and outward to the end of the earth (global). God made us for a purpose. We are to take the Good News of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ into the world. The Lord desires us to reach others for Him.
It took a little while for the early Christians to move outward, beyond Judea, beyond their own nationality and culture, to witness to Gentiles and welcome them into the Church. But the Holy Spirit moved with events and His conviction and encouragement, and He ensured it happened. The Church’s mission is proclaiming the risen Savior Jesus, and the power for this comes from the Holy Spirit. Every believer is called to be a witness. The Gospel is to move outward. If we are not reaching outward, we are resisting the Holy Spirit’s design.
Following these instructions, Jesus physically, visibly, and bodily ascended into heaven (vs. 9-11). Jesus was taken up bodily, this was not symbolic or spiritualized. A cloud received Him, which is often a symbol in the Bible of God’s glory. Two angels then appeared, bringing the disciples a message. They asked why the disciples were just standing there, gaping up into the sky. Their implication was to stop staring and to start obeying what Jesus had just told them. They proceeded to then tell them that Jesus would return. In His return He would come down from heaven, visibly and bodily.
Jesus is now exalted, seated at the Father’s right hand. There He is our Intercessor, our High Priest (Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34). Ascension Day calls us to worship Jesus as our exalted Lord and trusted Intercessor. We are to serve Him as we await His return.
As we take a final look at the disciples in our Scripture for today, we see that none of these men were well-traveled before Jesus called them. Their ways were not sophisticated. They had little formal education. They didn’t have a lot of humility, as several tried to grab positions in Jesus’ kingdom. Peter tried to get Jesus to avoid the cross. They fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane. Yet Jesus chose them and commissioned them to bring His message to the world. You may not think that you have what it takes to be a witness for Jesus. Or some other people may tell you the same, that you’re not smart or qualified. Just remember, God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies those He has called.
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