Imagine for a moment that a good friend of yours has struggled long and hard through a time of campaigning. His efforts paid off and he has been elected to political office. He will represent you and the rest of your area in the nation’s capital, a member of the legislature. You are happy because you know him well, that he is a realistic idealist, a person of firm conviction, strong character, and blessed with wisdom.
Just before leaving for the capital, he gives his farewell speech. He promises to work hard, to affect change, to serve the people of his community well. He goes—and doesn’t come back. Not for a long, long time. You continue waiting. It is readily apparent from the government projects and grants that come to your area that he is working hard. Help is received by those that need it. But the bulk of his work has yet to be completed, and that can only happen when he comes back. So when’s he coming back?
Now imagine if he were gone 40 years. What sort of doubts would come to your mind?
The author of the book of Acts, Luke the historian, recorded this history of the early church about 40 years after Jesus ascended to heaven. That’s a long time for Christians to be waiting expectantly for him to return to them. Many people who were around when the apostles came and started the churches have since died. Many more of these Christians have never met or seen the apostles? they’re too young. None have ever met Jesus. His life and death seems so long ago, especially for those who weren’t even born when it happened. So when is Jesus coming back?
It is to these Christians that Luke writes about Jesus and his ministry, and about the ministry of those he sent out. He writes to build up the churches, to strengthen their faith. He wants to give them assurance of Christ’s reality, his resurrection, his life, his power. To do that, he makes the moment that Jesus went up to heaven—his ascension——the pivot point between his two books, the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
Luke writes for people who have heard the story, but are waiting—who have been waiting a long time. People like us. This word about Jesus’ departure is not only for Christians of the early churches; it is for Christians today.
In telling this story, Luke reminds the early Christians that there is a greater purpose for their waiting. So too for us. We too can take four lessons about our purpose from this story as we continue to wait for the return of Jesus.
First we note that Christ’s ascension is about power. After he rose from the grave, Jesus had been talking and teaching for forty days about the kingdom of God: it’s coming closer and closer. And some of the disciples are wondering, will it finally be the political power they’ve been waiting for? Will this be a return to Israel’s great glory days, as when Solomon was on the throne? Jesus says no. Not to disappoint them, not to crush their dreams. Just the opposite: that dream isn’t big enough. Jesus promises much greater power—spiritual power that will go far beyond the borders of their little nation, will transform far more than a remote patch of dust and fields on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. This is a power that will triumph over the Roman Empire, will forever and continually change world history, will change every nation on the face of the earth.
Remember the friend and politician we imagined earlier? He had to leave town to take up the reins of power in the capital. A member of parliament or Congress must be there physically to influence work for good of the people they lead. Only in the capital can such a person wield the power that’s been given to them. So too, when Jesus went up to heaven, he took up his throne over all creation. He had to leave earth in order to use the fullness of his power.
Jesus leaves to rule over all creation. He sits at the right hand of God the Father, speaks on our behalf, as one of us. It is humanity on the throne, because Jesus ascended and even now reigns as one fully human. He was and is one of us.
And as one of us, he promises to his disciples a share in this power.
That is why Luke calls the ministry of Jesus on earth a work begun. His followers will continue it. And Jesus Christ himself will one day complete it.
So one lesson we can take from our reading of the Bible today is that we have been empowered. Jesus said to his disciples back then, as he says to his people today, “You will receive power.“ So often we are tempted to lift up our hands to heaven in despair or disillusion. With the world as messed up as it is, what can we do? All we can hope for, we might think, is to scratch out a comfortable living, to try to make the best of things of a world gone bad.
Not so. Look through the pages of history, and you will see that ordinary people like us, disciples of Jesus Christ through the centuries have been blessed with divine power. From Augustine of Hippo to William Wilberforce, from Martin Luther to Mother Theresa, ordinary Christians have made a difference, standing up to oppression and pointing the way to the abundant life we have in Jesus. With his authority we make decisions, bring about change, allocate resources, spend money, reach out with helping hands and so much more. We don’t have to be timid; we ought not be afraid. For we are blessed with the power that melts hearts of ice, that transforms communities, that topples governments.
Lesson one is that we’ve been empowered. But Jesus shares divine power for a purpose, and a part of that purpose is proclamation. He tells them, “You will be my witnesses.“ They are to tell others what they have seen and heard. They’ll be witnesses in Jerusalem right there in their own capital city, away from their home towns: witnesses right in the heart of religious power, the city that persecuted them and killed their beloved Rabbi.
Beyond that, they will be witnesses in all Judea, the rest of the country, back to their own district of Galilee. They’ll be witnesses in Samaria, the land they saw as a nation of despised Jewish wannabe’s —— a place unclean. They’ll be witnesses all the way to the ends of the earth, from the neighboring countries, to the Roman capital, to countries and peoples they’ve never even heard of!
So yes! If that’s the calling before them, these people will need power! Their prior record as witnesses for Jesus was not too promising. They had been too tired to pray with him the one time he asked them for their help, when he most needed them. Their leader, Peter, denied under oath three times ever having met Jesus. The rest ran off and hid when the authorities showed up. Yes, they needed power. And as soon as they got it, they went.
That points us to a second lesson that comes from the story of Christ’s ascension. It is admittedly borrowed from environmental movement, but it’s fitting. Followers of Jesus need to think globally, but act locally. Christians are called to the ends of the earth. And the church has gone ? to every conceivable place, and is still going, reaching out to tiny tribes and crossing dangerous borders.
But not all disciples are called to cross cultural missions. The followers of Jesus are called to the ends of the earth—and wherever you are standing or sitting right now is one end!
I remember when my wife Christa and I really began to realize what that means. I was still in school, working at a very young church as an intern in northern Michigan. We had just taken that step that many young couples take when they are beginning to think about raising a family: we got a puppy. It’s like parenting on a small scale. We soon discovered that when you walk with a puppy, all kinds of people stop and say hello and ask about the dog and want to pet her and pick her up. People were just excited to meet our dog. And we came to know more personally and more powerfully than ever before that we had someone else for our neighbors to meet: Jesus Christ. It may not sound like much of a revelation, but I’d always grown up with a sense that telling others about Jesus was the job for missionaries who go off to far away places. But when Jesus told his first disciples to go to the ends of the earth, northern Michigan was, for them, a far away place! It was the place where Jesus had sent us, at least for a time.
So where has Jesus planted you? Can you see that he has given you power to be his witness, on the end of the earth you now occupy?
Jesus promises power, he calls us to be witnesses, and he also promises that he will return one day. His disciples wanted to know when. But they got no answer. Christ himself did not know ? that date is known only to the Father. So after he left, they remained waiting patiently right there. Luke says they were looking intently into the sky. Their eyes were searching, as when you are with a friend at the beach and he says that he can see a sailboat, way out on the horizon, just a tiny white triangle. They were still looking for him. After all, he had left them mysteriously before. How could they be sure that this was the last time?
Their little staring contest ended when they were startled by a voice. Suddenly two men appeared from out of nowhere. They verified Jesus’ words, and told them to get going.
The two heavenly witnesses asserted that yes, he will return. He will come back just as he went, just as Jesus himself had told them some time before: “At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.“
So they know he’s coming back one day. Jesus himself had said it and two men affirmed it. And those two men were angels—messengers of God himself.
But the angels’ words were more than just affirmation of what Jesus said. There’s also a rebuke: “Why do you stand here looking at the sky?“ Or, what are you doing here? You’ve got things to do, don’t you? Now get going!
It may seem hard for us imagine, in such a busy day and age, that we might be in danger of waiting around and looking at the sky. Those first fisherman disciples may have had that kind of time on their hands, but surely not us! But think of your time in kingdom terms. How urgent are we about pursuing the purposes Jesus has for us? It’s true, we all need periods of rest and re—creation, but when is the last time you rose up from the sofa after 5 or 6 hours of television, and felt refreshed and ready to take on the world? Or how many more strokes do you need to shave off your golf score to be satisfied? Or how much of even our busyness is really a futile attempt to build up our own kingdoms, the pursuit of some pie in the sky dream with no everlasting value?
Thus the third lesson: in the comfort of Christ’s promise to come back, go out and get to work!
Yes, he is coming again; affirming that truth is one of the primary goals of this story in the ears of Luke’s first readers. Luke spoke at the start of this book of ?many convincing proofs.’ He wants his listeners to be convinced of the truth of what they have been told. Listeners like us.
So believe it. Jesus is coming again. But in the meantime, don’t just stand there waiting for him. Don’t be about building up your empire. There’s kingdom work to be done! God has a purpose for you, for your life. You’ve got a calling to fulfill.
The disciples leave the hill, and they gather together to pray. The fact is, for the immediate future, they had no instructions. Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit will come to you; go wait in Jerusalem.“ And again, they weren’t told how long to wait. It turned out to be not too long, only ten days. So what do disciples do when they aren’t exactly sure what to do?
They returned to the upper room. And they prayed together. They prayed as a community. They prayed continually, as they awaited direction, expecting the Holy Spirit to come.
That’s our fourth and final lesson from the story of the ascension of Jesus. When you’re not sure exactly what to do, pray!
James Gilmour, a missionary to Mongolia, was once asked to treat some wounded soldiers. He used his knowledge of basic first aid to dress the wounds of two of the men, but a third had a badly broken thigh bone. There were no physiology books to be found in the primitive hospital, and no doctor with whom to consult. Having no idea of what to do for such an injury, Gilmour kneeled beside the injured man and prayed. He was soon interrupted by a crowd of beggars asking for money. Hurriedly he gave them a small gift, plus a few kind words of spiritual direction.
Most of the small crowd left, but one weary man remained, half—starved and little more than a living skeleton. Gilmour suddenly realized that his prayer for help had been answered, for this fellow as a walking lesson in human bone structure! He asked the elderly man for permission to examine him. After carefully tracing the femur bone with his fingers to learn how to treat the soldier’s broken leg, he returned to the patient and was able to set the fracture.
In the life of any disciple, any person who follows Jesus, there will be times of confusion. Times of doubt. Times when you are not sure what is being asked of you or where to go or what to do. Times when you are? waiting. In times like that, prayer is a good default position. It’s a way of checking back in with Jesus, and seeking guidance for what’s next.
It’s been almost 2000 years now! After all that time, Christians are still a people waiting, though not without hope, and not without purpose. We know that because of four lessons from the Bible’s account of Jesus ascending into heaven:
We wait as a people empowered; a people whose king has shared his throne with us.
We wait as a people with a task and purpose ? to tell who Christ is, and what he has done for us.
We wait and we work, with full assurance of his return.
We wait and we pray, knowing that we are heard, and receive guidance through the Holy Spirit.
Everett Vander Horst
Everett Vander Horst is the senior pastor at Shawnee Park Christian Reformed Church, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He and his wife Christa have been married for 14 years, and have 3 children: Laura (10), Eric (7) and Jason (5). A Canadian, Everett grew up on a dairy farm in southwestern Ontario. After graduating from Calvin Theological Seminary in 1996, he and Christa moved to British Columbia where Everett was ordained as pastor in the Telkwa Christian Reformed Church. They took the call to Shawnee Park CRC in 2001. When he is not pastoring, Everett enjoys digital photography, fishing as well as building toys and furniture in his basement woodshop.
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