I remember several years ago rearranging my schedule to watch Tiger Woods in his attempt to win the Masters. I hurried home from the office at 3 for the afternoon coverage, turned on the television, and snow. We had paid the cable bill, so I knew that wasn’t the problem. So I called the cable company to report the problem and they said a cable repairman had just left and would be there soon, the whole community was out of service. The problem was, the repairman was coming from Spokane, it would be an hour and a half drive just to get to their cable system. Needless to say, I missed the first round coverage.
Life is like that at times. We don’t always get to see what we want to see. That is what was happening in Acts 1:9-11. Here are the disciples, they had just finished a conversation with Jesus, and now He has ascended before their eyes into heaven, well, He had begun the ascent then a cloud hid Him from their sight. They did not have the experience of Stephen we will talk about later in Acts. So there they stood, starring off into the sky, hoping they could see more, perhaps a final glimpse, possibly the cloud would roll away, who knows. Now, I am not saying I starred at the snow on the television hoping to see a glimpse of Tiger Woods, but how often have you or I gazed at something, starring, expecting to see something more when nothing more can be seen?
Lets gather some thoughts from Acts.
I. Jesus is alive and we are to live our lives with this fact in mind.
Luke gives an explanation of this with a single Greek word, eperthe which means “He was taken up.” We are told very little about the ascension except it happened after Jesus gave the disciples the mandate to witness, and that it took place on the Mount of Olives.
On November 28, 1942, there was a fire at the Coconut Grove Nightclub in Boston. Almost 500 people lost their lives in the fire, and many of the victims were taken to a nearby hospital that was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of casualties, as you might imagine. One of the survivors told of what happened when he arrived in the emergency room. After having been there a while, a doctor looked at him and pronounced, “He’s dead. Cover him up.” At this point, the now pronounced dead victim responded, “I’m not dead!” His remarked surprised the doctor and the nurse who was preparing the pull the sheet over his head because they thought he was dead but his words convinced them otherwise at which point they began to treat his wounds and he did recover from his injuries.
I bring this out because a good number of people have pronounced God as dead. Nietzsche, a German philosopher said it, “God is dead.” And there are others like Nietzche, people who say the resurrection never happened, people who don’t believe Jesus rose from the grave or ascended into heaven. There are those who do not believe Jesus has the power or ability to help us in our world today.
The Book of Acts tells a very different story. Jesus is alive. Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father, in heaven, making requests on our behalf. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He is communicating His life to and through us. We should never forget this truth. At times when it seems like everything has come against you, if you are following Jesus as your Lord and Savior, remember, just you and He make a majority, and change is just around the corner for you. Walk with Jesus, depend on Him, praise Him, and glorify Him in everything you say and do.
A. Jesus entered Heaven, the conquering King.
Jesus coming to earth was the greatest even in the history of redemption. Remember His entry recorded in Luke 2:14 where it says the heavenly host appeared to the shepherds saying, “Glory to God in the highest.” Now we read in Philippians 2:8 Jesus place after His ascension back to heaven, And being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by being obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus returned to heaven the conquering King. Imagine what a celebration which took at His homecoming. Can you imagine the Father’s joy and His delight at Jesus ascension? Can you just picture the scene in your mind, the angels breaking loose in adoration and praise when Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father.
The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. Hebrews 1:3.
Who is the Son? He is the glory of the Father, the one who sustains and upholds all things. And what did the Son do? He died on earth for all sinners. Hebrews goes on to say After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Jesus provided the redeemers payment for our sins, the sins of all mankind, and than He sat down on His throne. What a scene, what a celebration, what a Savior.
In the Message, Hebrews 9:11-14 reads, But when the Messiah arrived, high priests of the superior things of this new covenant, He bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent” – the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using His own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up for our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.
When Jesus entered heaven, He entered with His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
Hebrews 10:12-14 states, As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God and waited for His enemies to cave in. It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, He did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process.
I am trying to stretch your image of a heavenly celebration. Paul prayed for the Ephesians to grasp the magnitude of Christ, a prayer that is for you as well in Ephesians 1:19-22 …and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
This sound better than any Presidential Inauguration gala. I would love to continue to ponder the image, but it is time to come back down to earth with the next point…
B. A Cloud Hid Jesus from the disciples sight.
I wonder, could the cloud have hidden Jesus from their sight because the heavenly celebration was to glorious for them to behold while they were still earth bound? Just a thought.
The cloud was undoubtedly meant to symbolize the shekinah, the visible manifestation of the divine presence and glory of God. In Exodus 40:34 we read how a cloud hovered over the tabernacle of God set up on the wilderness journey out of Egypt. In Mark 9:7 we read how a cloud surrounded Jesus and his three disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration as a visible sign of God’s presence and the approval of His Son.
Here in Acts we find a similarity, a cloud that covers Jesus in His ascension into heaven, a shekinah cloud, the manifestation of God’s glory, presence and approval.
II. You were Not Meant to be a Sky Gazer
And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold two men in white clothing stood beside them vs. 10
A. Where have you set your sights?
How often have you said good-bye to someone, and then watched them drive down the road, hoping to catch a final look as they disappear in the distance and while you look, you have become unaware of the things around you?
I can picture then with the disciples. They were so intent on the ascension they missed the two men who came and stood beside them. How often do we miss the opportunities around us because we are caught looking into the past or forward to the mileposts of the future? Looking forward or backward we find at times we have missed the obvious, the present.
Here we find two men appearing in their midst, interrupting their thoughts. The Bible does not identify them. We have speculation from silence, as most think them to be angels sent from God. Some have even said they could have been Moses and Elijah, but we don’t know because Luke does not provide us with a details of their identity. We are not sure from this passage when the disciples became aware of their arrival or at what time they began to speak during the ascension as the disciples were looking upward. The Greek verb used here of the disciples looking into the sky is a word that denotes a straining of the eyes. We do know this, the disciples were interrupted from their sky gazing as these two men brought them down to earth with a truth...
B. Your Primary concern is to do the will of God.
And they also said, “Men of Galilee, who do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven vs. 10
We are not meant to be sky gazers, God has a job for us to do. We need to be concerned about accomplishing the task God has given us to do, daring not to sit idle on the sidelines. Our job is about witnessing, not looking where we are not to spend out time day dreaming about the would of or could of in life, but actively involving ourselves in the work God has given us to do right now.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:45-47 Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his Master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you, that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
From this passage, how will the Lord find His servants? He will find them doing.
C. We are to be anxious to do God’s Will
There is a heaven, these two men said Jesus was taken up into it, but the thought of heaven is not to make you inactive here on earth. Our primary preoccupation is not to be that of standing and looking into the sky to see heaven, to be starring upward for Jesus return. We are to be heavenly minded by doing God’s will here on this earth. This is something I wish all Christian could grasp a hold of.
The thought of heaven should spur us on to living a life worthy of God, pleasing Him in every way. Jesus told them to be His witness, yet these two men come and find them starring off into space. The implication is this. Jesus has gone to heaven, now you should be anxious to continue His work here on earth.
How often do we criticize the ministry of someone else yet find ourselves standing idly by? Let us never be like that, but be about the Lord’s business in the time He has given us to do the work.
D. We do the Lord’s work by Faith
Jesus said to Thomas in John 20:29 Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
Jesus is speaking of you and I in this passage. By faith we have believed the promises of God and in Christ we have anchored ourselves. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:7 We are to live by faith, not by sight
So, how is your faith walk going? Are you being a faithful witness in your world?
John Calvin wrote, “they were not rebuked because they looked up toward heaven; but because they desired to behold Christ when a cloud had been interposed to prevent them from seeing Him with their bodily senses…Let us therefore learn from this passage that Christ is not to be sought either in heaven or upon the earth other than by faith…The angels wish to recall the disciples from desiring the bodily presence of Christ…Jesus was received up into heaven that they should not foolishly yearn to bring Him back to earth.”
From a theological viewpoint Christ’s ascension is very significant. Jesus had finished the work He came to earth to accomplish. He had died for our sins, the sins of all mankind, completing His sacrifice. When He ascended into heaven He was glorified and given a place at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus was and continues to be exalted above every name and given all power, authority, and might. He reigns while all His enemies become His footstool. And on the earth, the torch has been passed. We as Christians, believers in His divine redemption, are to witness to those who do not know Him.
We do not see Him, yet He rules over everything. We do not see Him, yet He lives in us through His Spirit. We do not see Him yet through Him we can do all things. We do not see Him, yet we know He watches over us and promises us that our service for Him is not in vein, that He will reward us for the work we are doing on His behalf. So how well are we doing in this area? Were in our lives do we need to work smarter? What is your personal action plan to fulfill the call of Christ in your life?
III. Jesus is Coming Again.
The two men said in the last part of verse 11, 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.
We were window shopping in Port Townsend when we encountered a woman sitting on a street bend hold a sign that said, Jesus is Coming Soon. I have heard this message throughout my almost 30 years as a Christian. In fact, it is older than me. The disciples over 2,000 years ago, immediately following His departure into heaven, through His return to be any day. Paul had to address the issue when too many Christians we not working but waiting so he spoke on laziness.
The truth that Jesus is coming again, and it could be anytime, should not cause us to recline but to react by telling others of His coming. No where in the Bible does it talk about a Christian retirement plan. You need to personally be doing something not depending upon others to do your part.
When I was a youth, my father and his business partner had purchased a raspberry field with plans to turn it into a mobile home park. They told my older sister, myself and his partners two daughters we could work the field and split the profits at the end of the berry season if we wanted. The four of us began to work the field. Much had become overgrown and needed to be cleaned out but after a few days of blood sweat and tears we discovered what we had gotten ourselves into, work, and that was not our youthful cup of tea. It reminds me of the story Jesus told of the Kingdom of God in Matthew 24. The owner of a field had entrusted his property to his servants while he went away on a long journey. One servant received 5 talents, another three and a third one talent., each it said according to their ability. After a time the Master returned and settled account with these servants based upon their performance. We know from reading the story the guy with the one talent did not fare well, failing to take advantage of the situation. At the end of the raspberry season, the four of us were like that one servant who received no return. We fizzled as raspberry farmers for a dispute among us resulted in not a single flat of berry’s harvested, and the next year, our dad’s never offered us the opportunity to work the field again.
Before you say shame on you for letting that opportunity slip away, I wonder, how much are we making a return on the talents God has given us for use in building His Kingdom? One day Jesus is going to return to settle up with us, or one day we will meet Him in heaven to settle up, either way, we are going to have to give an accounting. Revelation 22:12 says, Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”
Matthew 16:27 reads, For the son of man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.
Matthew 10:40-42 He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward.
We can long for Christ’s return, but do something in your longing. BE READY WHEN JESUS COME.
And when He comes we will be with Him forever. I Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.
As we leave this passage of Acts, let me conclude by sharing a prayer of Paul in Colossians 1:10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.
Serve God, and serve Him well. He has done so much for you and I and He is continuing to do so. Let us serve Him while we have the opportunity for what we do here as believers is making deposits in out heavenly bank account which pays out eternal dividends.
