THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD

Acts 1: 1-14

Over the last several weeks I have taught parts of the book of Revelation to my Wednesday Bible Study and to my Friday DISCIPLE class. There have been many readings of that book that have lead people down a wrong rabbit trail of rapture, Armageddon predictions on the end of the world., and wondering about the beast. All of these extrapolations make money for people, but fail to take seriously that this apocalypse was written for persecuted Christians in the last decade of the first century. We know that over 80 % of Revelation’s references are from the Old Testament, a fact that made it understandable to the faithful people of the day. Things happened in the Old Testament that make New Testament events more meaningful. For example, in II Kings chapter 2 we find Elijah, one of the greatest of Old Testament prophets, ascending into heaven in a whirlwind. The people assumed that at some time their Messiah might embody the qualities of Elijah. We know also that when Jesus gathered his disciples in the Upper Room as recorded in John 14, Jesus was counting on his disciples to remember the marriage arrangements in Jewish households to understand what would happen next. We know that like us, in times of fear and sorrow, the disciple’s minds seemed to leave them. But we know from Jewish tradition that the father of a man betrothed to a woman would take his son away after agreeing on a bride price with the woman’s father. They would go away until a proper room was built on the father’s house in which the new bride and groom would live—and while the father and son are building it together, the father is deciding when to declare that the room is done; he is also observing when he thinks his son’s level of maturity and life training have readied him to be married. When he decides all is ready, he sends his son back to get his betrothed. It is a time of expectation, and the son always returns for his bride.

We are most glad that Scripture includes both Luke’s Gospel and Acts. In fact we are quite sure that Luke actually considered Acts to be the second act of his story of the beginning and spread of Christianity. It is in Luke’s gospel that we get the picture of Jesus’ ascension, which is different from his resurrection on Easter. On Easter, Jesus rose from the dead and broke the bonds of death. Then he appeared to his disciples and to more than 500 others in the days after his resurrection, until finally, it was time for his departing—not forever—but until he comes again, in the same way as the groom departs from the bride for a time to prepare a place for them to live, and then, at a time only decided by his father, the son returns to join his bride. The ascension is not Jesus’ departure for good; it is Jesus’ departure for a while, and with purpose.  Let’s unpack the ascension story today.

First, according to tradition there is a time of preparation before the son returns to the bride (that we know as the church.) That is described in verse 1 of Acts chapter 1. Referring back to Luke’ first act that we call his Gospel, Luke says, “I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until this day when he is to be taken up.” Jesus had preparatory work to be done before left the earth. Verse 2 reminds us that after his resurrection and before he ascended, Jesus had not attained the glory that he would soon have; his powers were limited by his humanness, and thus it is through the power of God’s Spirit that his instructions are given. That’s why he says that Jesus “had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles.” Then in verse 3 we find out that the period of time between his resurrection and ascension was said to be “forty days.” Forty day events have been significant in the Bible. Not only was that number said to be the length of time of the great flood in the story of Noah, it also was the length of days in the wilderness that it took for Jesus to prepare for his ministry. Now after giving his apostles the forty days of training, they were going to be sent out, but only after they are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells them that John baptized them with water, but now they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. All was now finally ready for the grand exit of their beloved Lord. But first there was this question in verse 6: “Will you now give the kingdom back to Israel?” It’s a question that, in one form or another, has been asked by Jews for ages. But Jesus said something that I wish predictors of raptures would heed: “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority.” (Verse 7) This isn’t news for Jews, or even for those new Christians! There has been a lifetime of waiting, wondering, and hoping about the messiah. And the time of the return is not known to people! Why? Because only the Father knows and makes the determination of when that time is right. Children sometimes have to wait for their dad or mom to come back from a long trip. And families do a similar thing as they wait and hope that their loved one in the military will be home one day. The actual day and time of return cannot be anchored down with certainty. Neither can the return of the Son.

Second, there is work to do until the Son returns. As he rises into the air and disappears from their view (verse 9), the next phase of their life is about to begin: witnessing. As Christ ascends to his Kingship, (which metaphorically is called the “right hand of power”), the power to witness is transferred into those on the ground; they were not commissioned to stay in the upper room, or in seclusion. They had work to do, preparing themselves, and the world, for the bridegroom’s return! They couldn’t let their lamps go out (also referring to a Jewish wedding) they had to get the invitations ready for the great banquet, a wedding banquet, when he returned! They did not invite by email or engraved invitations; they did it person to person, face to face. It is the one part of witnesses that has hardly changed a bit over the years, and it is the best way: hearing someone tell another person how Jesus became their Lord or how God changed their life cannot be disputed. It is their story, powerful enough to change them. Hearing it could quite possibly motivate someone else to try to trust God again, or for the first time. We in our day are also called to do what they did: to invite, and to tell our faith stories.

Finally, before they set out joyously or purposely, the apostles had to pray about their choice and their plans. So again, as we symbolically do today, they gathered back together in the upper room, this time with Mary Jesus’ mother, and Jesus’ brothers, along with several women according to verse 14. This was an inclusive group. And the Bible says “With one accord they devoted themselves to prayer.” A.M. Ramsey sums up Jesus’ ascension this way: when he ascended, he truly became King of all things; when he ascended, he became the forerunner of those who could now follow him to eternal life. And when he ascended, he became our priest, who intercedes at the throne of grace and judgment for the entire human race. [A THEOLOGICAL WORD BOOK OF THE BIBLE, Macmillan, 1978, p. 23] But let us never forget the traditions that give us a clue about what comes next and what we are to do until that time: The ascension of Jesus was just the beginning of the Father’s plan; the return of his son for his bride, the Church, is sure to follow. When? You don’t know; men who make headlines with their claims don’t know; not even the Son knows: only the Father knows when. What shall we do until that time; activities that perhaps could even speed up the date of that royal wedding? Prepare is the first thing: putting on the garments of praise and of purity, discarding our old and soiled ways. Preach is the second thing. It is done with our lives and with our lips, telling others about our experiences that made us believers and followers. If our experiences are genuinely shared, others may want to be disciples of our Lord as well. And finally we shall pray, pray that our wills may be aligned with the will and the ways of God. What a glorious day it was when Christ ascended into heaven! And what a glorious day it will be when he returns! Some will just wait for him; some will predict his return. But others will change their lives and work for him and witness for him;; and that will make all the difference.

Jeffrey A. Sumner June 5, 2011