The Ascension of Christ
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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.”
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk[c] from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
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Ascension is the final piece of the birth, death, resurrection life story of Jesus Christ. It is a story that invites us into his story, that he may dwell in us and we in him. The Ascension takes what happened back in New Testament times and brings it into your life and my life.
Acts 1:1-5 records many appearances of the risen Jesus after his Good Friday suffering and death [v3]. Acts 1:4 repeats Jesus’ instruction to wait in Jerusalem for the Baptism with the Holy Spirit. It turned out to be 40 days of waiting between Resurrection to Ascension and a further 10 days from Ascension to Pentecost, which we celebrate next week.
It was not 50 days of inactive waiting.
In Acts 1:6-8, they received their commission and in Acts 1:9-12, they witnessed Jesus ascending to heaven and in Acts 1:13-14 they joined together in a marathon time of prayer
These 3 factors make up their call to mission and it is still our call to mission today.
1. Commissioned as witnesses to go and tell empowered by Holy Spirit
2. Jesus Ascended and King Jesus is enthroned
3. They joined together and prayed.
The Commission
This is Luke’s version of the Great Commission. Acts 1:8 ‘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.’
Matthew’s record of the Great Commission is better known. ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19,20
Cambridge Dictionary: ‘To commission means to formally hire, request, or authorise a group to perform a particular task.’ Wikipedia: ‘The Great Commission is the instruction of Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world.’
It may surprsie you to know that, the phrase “Great Commission” does not appear in the Bible. It was used much later in the 17th Century. In 19th-century Hudson Taylor , founder of the China Inland Mission [now OMF] in 1866, used the Great Commission phrase to promote the spread of Christianity to China.
Three important features of this commission of Acts 1:8 for us today….
1. The mission must spread from Jerusalem to the end of the earth. That’s the goal of the mission until Jesus returns.
2. The people are sent are ‘witnesses’ empowered by Holy Spirit to witness.
3. The power is received when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
Luke the writer of Acts said he is writing an ‘orderly account.’ Notice how orderly this account is, written like history, no drama, no mysticism. v8 they were commissioned as witnesses, v9 Jesus was lifted up into heaven. Despite questions that there may be about the commission and the ascension, like ‘how did he defy gravity and ascend?’ Acts 1 records it as history; this happened as it is written - there were 120 present, witnessing these two events; commission and ascension. Acts 1:8 stresses the importance of witnesses and specifically, eye-witnesses. Just as they were commissioned to be ‘witnesses’ in v8, four times In Acts 1:9,10 we read phrases, all to do with eyes and looking: ‘before their eyes’, ‘a cloud hid him from their sight’, ‘they were looking intently’, the angels asked, ‘why do you stand looking.’ This is indeed a great commission. It is not just for the original apostles, but an ongoing directive for the Church. "The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed." Hudson taylor
Matthew’s Great Comm concludes with that wonderful promise of Jesus being with us: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age"
2. Ascension of Jesus
(Acts 1:9) “He was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight”. Acts 1:11, two men dressed in white [angels] said: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
So what do we need to know about the Ascension?
Do you remember that incident at the resurrection when Mary embraced Jesus and he said “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father ”, John 20:17. What was going on is this; Mary was trying to cling on to Jesus for her time and space but Jesus was saying ‘let me go, so that I can be free to be omnipresent - in every time and space. Quite simply, Jesus ascended physically so that he could be ever-present spiritually, with us always. The cloud envelopes him and transports him from their sight. We have to assume that the cloud is supernatural assuring them of Jesus’ transfer to his heavenly glory. It is not the first time a cloud has been used in this way.
As they stood there looking intently at the sky, ascension meant absence to them. His teaching, his friendship and protection all gone. But the ascension is quite the opposite of that. It is not absence but presence: his teaching and friendship not diminished but amplified. Unless we grasp what his ascension means, we will be like the disciples who were gawping, looking for a reappearance. Humanly speaking, it is understandable, but they were standing, looking up, not looking out, not witnessing. Believers, yes, but not at that point endued with the power of the Holy Spirit and not understanding the commission to bear witness.
His ascension to heaven means he can be here and now by his Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus, on Ascension Day, was liberated from the restriction of time & space. He was released into the heavenly realm to be available throughout all time: helping us when tempted (Hebrews 2:16), pleading our case at God’s Right hand (Romans 8:34) our advocate (1 John 2:1). Our Saviour, elder brother and friend is our forgiver, healer, protector from the evil one. He knows you by name - knows your needs and your problems. When I bring my cares to King Jesus. He says cast that care on me because I care for you (1 Pet 5:7).
The ascension released Jesus from time into the dimension called eternity. This is not absence; this is a catalyst for the glorious presence of our Lord Jesus. V11, the angels gave them a gentle nudge about dawdling and longing for Jesus to remain in the dimension of time. Sometimes we need a nudge to be outward-looking rather than standing passive and upward-looking. The Spirit nudges us to be moved to mission by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Ascension also means coronation.
Heb 1:3 says, He has taken a seat at the right hand of the majesty on high.
The 6th of May 2023 was King Charles III’s Coronation; he literally ascended to the throne at Westminster Abbey. The rights to the throne passed to him on 8/9/22 on the death of Queen Elizabeth 2nd. If (say Scott) (a member of our church) had broken through security and ran and sat on the throne, it would have made no difference – he had no right. Jesus lived the perfect life and died a sinner’s death, and defeated death by his resurrection. By right, he ascended to his heavenly throne; the ascension was Jesus’ coronation, his glorifying and crowning. Jesus now reigns triumphant with the whole company of heaven. As ur Creed says “he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” Despite the apathy and animosity against him in the world today, Jesus is enthroned as sovereign, and we are commissioned to bear witness to this.
3.Prayer
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Acts 1:12 ‘Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.’
Imagine that walk back to Jeru after the ascension, no more than a 1Km [not like Emmaus Rd 7 miles]! Ten days in the upstairs room, united in ‘constant’ prayer. Greek word Proskartereo means ‘to be busy or persistent.’
They return in obedience to Jesus’ instruction of Acts 1:4,5,8 and then begin their witness.
Imagine that marathon prayer time!
Praying expectantly, but they had no idea how the Spirit would be manifest. [Next Sunday, we will have a sermon on Acts 2 - the Day of Pentecost].
We are told the number in that upper room waiting was 120. One hundred and twenty people committed themselves to prayer. Few of them would rarely have been outside Galilee. These 120 were to go out and reach the world. From such small beginnings, the church grew. They answered the call, and so should we. Our small beginnings must begin with devotion to prayer. Talk to God about the people you know and then talk to the people about the God you know. God is raising up intercessory prayer warriors and church prayer groups around the world who invite the Lord, to fulfil the promise of HS upon his people with power, to be his witnesses to every tribe and nation and here among your friends, family and neighbours.
A Christian witness is someone who has been so transformed by the risen Jesus Christ, freeing them from a self-filled life so that they can hardly keep it to themselves.
When you are empowered by Holy Spirit you speak of him as one who knows and loves Jesus.
I believe Jesus is speaking to us here today, “You will be my witnesses.”
Historically, God has poured out his Holy Spirit in times of awakening and revival. There is talk about a quiet revival in our time. The Bible Society, say there was record sales last year 400k double the 200k sales in 2019
The ends of the earth are going to be reached by witnesses, not preachers.
Let us devote ourselves to prayer that God will empower us to be witnesses to our friends and family and here in this parish today.
