Lessons from the Ascension - Part One

 Last week we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. It would be yet another 40 days before He ascended to His heavenly throne, and over the next week or so I will focus our attention on that event. I will do so because the Lord’s ascension holds significant implications for Christians – AND for non-Christians. More about that in a few moments. But first, let’s turn our attention to St Luke’s account of Christ’s ascension. You’ll find it in the Acts of the Apostles, which is an addendum to the gospel according to Luke. As many of you may know, the gospel of Luke is his record of Jesus’ life and ministry while among us. The book of the Acts is Luke’s record of the Holy Spirit’s work and ministry in and through the early days of the Church.

By the way, who was Luke? Very briefly, he was not an apostle, but one of many disciples who followed Jesus. He was a physician (Colossians 4:14), and the only Gentile to write any part of the New Testament. He also accompanied St Paul on some of his missionary journeys (Acts 16, 17, 20, 27).

So, here is Acts 1: (Acts 1:1-12) “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

 

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why 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.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.”

 

At the very outset of Luke’s record of the early church, he makes several important points with timely application to our lives in Christ today. For the sake of time, we will look at only three today.

So, point number one: Luke wrote two books of the New Testament – the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. In both cases his purpose was to inform Theophilus – probably his friend – about the ‘exact truth’ concerning the things he’d been taught about the life and ministry of Jesus, and also about the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the early church.

 

Luke started his account of the history of the early church this way: “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.” 

Let’s turn to that first account for a moment because it introduces a critically important component in the history of the Acts of the Apostles that Luke is about to write:

 

(Luke, 1:1-4) “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus;  so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.

It’s imperative to note that Luke’s account of both the gospel AND the Acts of the Apostles is rooted in investigative research during which he interviewed eyewitnesses of the events he records. And why is it important to recognize that he wrote his accounts from meticulous investigation? Because there were then, and there are today, masses of naysayers and scoffers and mockers who want to discredit not only Luke, but all of the writers of the New AND THE OLD Testaments.

Why do scoffers mock? Why do so many people – even of academic and theological rank – why do they go out of their way to try to discredit the inerrancy, infallibility, and full inspiration of God's word?

 

The answer to that is easy: Because the entire thrust of the entire Bible is toward one aim, one purpose. As the apostle Paul writes: (2 Timothy 3:13-17) “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

 

THAT is why scoffers and liars – children of Satan as they are – try to seduce YOU and me into dismissing the infallibility, inerrancy, and inspiration of the Scriptures – so we can be robbed of the ONLY wisdom that leads to salvation.

 

But let me make one final point about point number one: Why is it so incredible to believe that the One who simply spoke and the entire universe and all things in that universe into existence – including all we see and know on planet Earth – why is it so impossible for some to believe that the Creator Himself ensured the accurate recording AND transmission of His word through the millennia, down to this very moment? Why is that so difficult for some to believe?

 

Well, that all was point number one: Both the gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles are completely trustworthy and able to give us wisdom that leads to salvation.

 

Now, point number two, which is found in verses 10-11 of Acts chapter 1: “And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why 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.”

 

Please hear this: Just as Jesus had ascended to His heavenly throne, this same Jesus is going to one day return and set His feet firmly on earth. We know He will return because He TOLD us He is going to return.

 

For example, John 14:1-3 – “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

 

Jesus WILL return. That’s good news for some. It’s also very bad news for others. Christ’s return for those whose sins have by faith been washed in His most precious blood will enjoy an eternity with Him in Paradise. That, of course, is the good news.

 

But the bad news about His return is that those who’ve rejected Christ’s atonement will spend eternity in a place of unbelievable torment – a place God originally prepared for the devil and his demons. You’ll find that text in Matthew 25:41.

 

Here is only one of the Lord’s warnings to the scoffer and unbeliever: (Luke 17:26-30) And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.

 

And St Paul warned them: (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9) “The Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed.”

 

“But,” unbelievers often mock, “it’s been 2000 years and you Christians are still waiting.” 

 

The answer? “Yes, we are. But just as humanity waited a very, very long time for Messiah’s first advent – which occurred just as God promised – so also we wait now for a very, very long time for His second advent – which WILL occur because God never breaks His promise.”

 

And, listen – Please. It will all happen SUDDENLY. There will be no time to repent when it occurs SUDDENLY. That’s surely why Jesus used the example of the apocalypse of Sodom and Gomorrah: [T]hey were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:27-30)

 

Christian here in this sanctuary – and non-Christian (even the religious non-Christian) – PLEASE, PLEASE do not let that day catch you unaware. Seek the Holy Spirit’s help to daily walk more closely and more obediently with Jesus. Daily. Each day, starting today and on for the rest of your life.

 

So, the take-home message of point number two: Eternity with Jesus in Paradise, or eternity in torment away from His presence. Those are humanity’s only choices.

 

Which leads us now to the third point of today’s message, which has to do with our expectations of Christ. Luke tells us that even Jesus’ closest friends, the ones who for three years walked with Him, listened to His teachings, saw His miracles, heard His warnings, remembered Him telling them to seek first God's kingdom and to listen for the Father’s voice . . .

 

And they STILL didn’t get it.

 

Even after the resurrection, they remained fixated on what had been their expectations of Him all along: “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” They STILL expected Jesus to militarily overthrow Rome. But Jesus didn’t come from heaven to earth to overthrow Rome.  Rome was NOT the enemy – and nor is any government on earth today the enemy. Jesus came to overthrow the spiritual kingdom of darkness – the deep, pervasive darkness that had bound the souls of men, women, dragging them captive to eternal death. It was rescue from THAT enemy that the Lord had come – to them and to us.

 

But we should be careful not to point an accusatory finger at the disciples. How many of us today live with unfulfilled expectations? How many of us, having walked with Christ for so many years and yet STILL miss the purpose of His first advent?.

 

Notice how the Lord responded when they asked if He was about to restore Israel to its former ascendency over the nations: “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.

 

In other words, Jesus said, “Guys, it’s none of your business when – or IF – I will meet your expectations.” And what did He next tell them? He commanded them to get about doing the work He had called them to do – which was (and is) to bring the gospel into the world held bound by Satan and by sin.

 

We’ll look more closely next week at that mission to which He has called us, but for now let me reiterate for myself and also for you who live with unfulfilled expectations:

 

It’s none of our business when – or even IF – Jesus meets our expectations. What IS our business is to lay aside our disappointments and simply trust Him to always do justly. What IS our business is that we not focus on how WE want things to turn out, but on how He wants things to turn out.

 

Isn’t that what we pray when we pray, “THY Kingdom come, THY will be done”? Our business is to lay aside what WE want and what WE hope for, and trust Him, serve Him, follow Him, to seek His kingdom and His righteousness all the days of our very short lives.

 

So, let me now bring this message to a close by way of review:

 

Point number one: Luke wrote for Theophilus – as well as for you and me in 2024 – an accurate record of Jesus’ life and ministry, as well as an accurate record of the events in the early church. He did so in order that Theophilus – and we – might know the ‘exact truth’ about the things we’ve been taught and which we believe.

 

Point two: Jesus is coming back to earth. That’s good news for some. It is very bad news for most. If you have never asked Jesus to forgive yours sins, if you have never humbled yourself before Christ’s cross and promised to follow Him wherever He leads, then you might be ‘religious’ – but – and please hear me – you will be terrified when the Lord returns.

 

Point number three: We ought to learn, as the apostles learned - God's role is NOT to meet our expectations. His purpose is to conform you and me into the image of His Son – who learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

 

Listen to Romans 8:28-29a – “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.”

 

And now Hebrews 5:8-9 “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.”

 

Christian – we can trust the Bible to give us the exact truth of what God wants us to know. I hope you routinely – even daily – seek His guidance through His word.

 

We will return to Luke’s account of the ascension next week.