Not many people realize the day we celebrate the ascension of Jesus to heaven because it didn’t happen on a Sunday. In fact, it was a Thursday. Yes, the ascension happened 40 days after the resurrection. It was a difficult time in the church – things were in disarray after Jesus returned to heaven and people didn’t know when the Holy Spirit would come to take the place of Jesus on earth. This year, Ascension Day is next Thursday, May 14th. I thought about waiting until Thursday to write about this event, but I decided that it would be more meaningful to post it tonight so that we would all have time to contemplate the importance of Ascension Day this coming week.
It turns out that God’s people had to wait another ten days after the ascension before the Holy Spirit arrived at the founding of the Acts 2 church. That interim period was a time of contemplation and waiting. Waiting must have been very difficult for the apostles. After all, their leader was gone and they had witnessed the return of Jesus as He was lifted up and disappeared behind a cloud on His journey back to the Father.
In fact, two beings, presumably angels, asked the disciples why they were looking toward heaven. The apostles had asked Jesus if this was the time that the people of God, the Israelites, would have a restored kingdom. Jesus declined to answer – in fact, maybe He truly didn’t know the will of the Father, but Jesus rebuffed their question. However, Jesus instructed His followers to stay the course and wait in Jerusalem for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. But for how long? That was the unanswered question they had asked.
I can understand why this period of history was so important to the followers of Jesus. For the first time since the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, they were really without their leader. Now, I know that we can say that the crucifixion signified the death of Jesus, but He was resurrected from the dead on what we refer to as Easter – and He visited the apostles soon after that.
Now, the apostles watched Jesus ascend into the clouds. As you may recall, Jesus said that He was going on ahead to prepare a place for His people. It must have seemed much more final to them. They witnessed this first hand… And Jesus told them to wait! This whole ascension thing must have been very confusing. And not knowing when, or even who the Holy Spirit was, would have been very unnerving. Yet, they were obedient and obeyed – believing that the commands of Jesus were trustworthy and true. In fact, the apostles huddled together in a room – and waited…
Tonight’s verse comes from the beginning of the book of Acts, the second book that Luke authored. As you may know, the good Dr. Luke was focused on telling the pure, accurate, honest truth about events surrounding Jesus. His beginning verses in Acts set the stage for the coming of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the church as we know it. Luke tells us, in Acts 1:1-5, 9-14, “In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”… After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “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.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 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. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”
My encouragement this evening is that God has a plan for us and it includes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that we are never without the presence of God within us. This week is a time of quiet solitude and waiting, filled with prayer, for the arrival of the third member of the Godhead. Now, after the ascension, the wheels were set in motion for the arrival of the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that we will all stop, reflect, wait and anticipate the events of Pentecost. This is the pregnant pause before the greatest “ekklesia” that was ever created. Thank God! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…