1In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote
about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving
instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and
gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a
period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave
them this command: “Do not leave
Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me
speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be
baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and
asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
-Acts 1:1-11
As is becoming the routine for me in Saturday gatherings, I am ready to burst out my immediate thoughts on the passage for our discussion and I hold them in, knowing what truncated monstrosity of blah will flow forth if I open my mouth. Wisely (I hope), I shut up and let others do the talking in the inevitably uncomfortable silence that follows the questions asked, waiting for someone else to say something of value. I don’t want to sound like an idiot and still more, I don’t want to speak simply for the attention I know that I’ll get, however brief.
Stupidly, I didn’t write down the discussion questions. I’ll have to remember to do that next week! The main question was this:
What is the importance of the ascension of Jesus? Why should we celebrate it, rather than overlook it as often happens in preparation for Pentecost?
To me, there is an explicit and implicit importance in this passage. An obvious interpretation and a latent interpretation. The first clear thought that comes to mind is the reminder that Jesus is so much more than a man. In the time Jesus spends among his disciples (now apostles – that distinction was very interesting to learn!), they live as teacher and students. With such a personal relationship with Jesus—a face to face, in your face kind of relationship—I imagine it must have been hard for the apostles to remember that Jesus was not just the friendly, wise rabbi. He had been sent from Heaven on a mission to reach his people, to end the barriers between them that their sins had created. His sacrifice was complete and Jesus prepared to give the apostles their orders, what he expected them to do with everything he has said, the commands he had given that came straight from his Father in Heaven.
The apostles were comfortable. They were in the safe part of the teacher-student relationship; there was no real spiritual risk in just hearing what Jesus had to say. A physical risk, sure, but spiritually, they can choose to twist Jesus’ words to suit their own versions of God’s will. Time after time, we see the disciples getting lost in Jesus’ teachings, confused by what he means, arguing amongst themselves, and “majoring in the minors”, not unlike some of us today. But in this passage, they then find out that Jesus expects them to do something with the knowledge he’s been giving them, something that will change the world.
I liked Garet’s metaphor of the mother bird pushing her baby birds out of the nest, hoping that they’ll fly. Jesus does the same here, very much in the style of Pastor Pete’s Know-Do-Become model of faith. The disciples know what Jesus expects. He’s given them commands that they struggle to discern and made promises he will fulfill in God’s timing. Jesus tells them it is time to go and do.
In the wonderful style of our God, he doesn’t leave them floundering. He promises to send them the Holy Spirit, who will help them become like Jesus. This passage is explicitly a testament to the wondrous power of Jesus, that he is unlike any other man to walk this earth because he is not of this world.
The implicit meaning is more subjective, so this is when I add my personal flavor to this passage. :)
Jesus leaves the apostles in a place of waiting, which in my opinion is one of the most uncomfortable places to be. When I heard that phrase used—“place of waiting”—my mind instantly jumped to the song Everlasting God, which says, “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord.” What a powerful lyric! The apostles are waiting for God’s promise of the Holy Spirit to be fulfilled and as they do, if they trust in him, they can expect their strength to rise to match what is coming, a life of sacrifice and love, a life of telling others the Good News.
Places of waiting are uncomfortable and in my experience, they are also the places where spiritual growth occurs. When I am waiting for God, I am at my most vulnerable because I am not in control of my own situation. I am letting go of my innate human desire to be independent. I am letting God be in control, as he is meant to be. I am relying on God’s past promises fulfilled to his people to find the courage to believe that he will fulfill the ones he makes to me.
This place of waiting is the time for the apostles to deepen their relationships with God because to fulfill the Great Commission, they will need to be in step with God’s will. That is not to say they shouldn’t be already, but it is a time of refocusing. It is a time to reflect on the words of Jesus so that when the Holy Spirit descends, they are prepared to go and make disciples of their own.
I think that is what the “men in white” are for. The apostles are prepared to, as Garet said, remain in that place of awe, standing in wonder at the power of Jesus. The angels remind them of what Jesus has said, letting them know plainly that they should be ready to act, no pun intended.
And we should be ready to do the same.
-Christen
