Read Acts 1:6-11 “Jesus’ Ascension”
6 So when they met together, they 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.” (TNIV)
John Stott notes that it is not that Luke is about Jesus and Acts about his church rather, in Acts, Luke refers to Luke (i.e. his book!) as detailing what Jesus began to do and teach, implying that Acts records the continuation of this.[1]
➡ How can this be, though, when Jesus ascends to heaven in the very first chapter?
Jesus’ ascension is, in some ways, an anticlimax. In the minds of his followers, Jesus had gone from being the expected Messiah who would bring about the restoration of Israel (his life), to failing completely in this (his death) to then being a Messiah who went above and beyond anyone’s expectations by defeating even death (his resurrection). Surely now, this Messiah would finally establish his kingdom once and for all (i.e. v. 6)? Well, no. Rather, Jesus is off back to heaven and, led by the Holy Spirit, his followers are to continue his work. It is, therefore, no wonder that they stand and stare for a while in slight disbelief that Jesus has gone away from them, again!
It is at this point that an important tension is introduced for Jesus has gone BUT he will return – the implication being that it is on his return that God’s kingdom will finally come fully. Thus the whole of Acts is set in the midst of a now/not-yet tension. On the one hand, the amazing miracle of Jesus’ resurrection has occurred and the promised Spirit is soon to be poured out. On the other hand, full restoration awaits Jesus’ return at an undetermined point in the future. As we read through Acts, it is important to remember this now/not yet tension, which is, indeed, a tension we still face today.
➡ In what ways have you experienced the now/not yet tension of Acts in your own life? How has this tension made you feel? How does remembering this tension impact our perspective on the ups and downs of life?
Throughout Acts, there is the overarching sense that the early Christians viewed Jesus’ return as imminent and something to be eagerly awaited (e.g. 3:17-21). In fact, they had orientated their whole lives around Jesus’ return; it was a future event that dominated their lives in the present.
➡ Does Jesus’ future return impact our lives in the same way? How might we change if it did?
If you have a bit longer :-)
As you will definitely know if you’ve done the Cairos course, Jesus’ “great commission” here (and in Matt. 28:18-12) is not the first time God has expressed his desire to reveal his love to the “nations.” Rather, right at the start of Israel’s life, God promised Abraham that “all peoples on the earth will be blessed through you.” However, although there was a promising(ish) start – in that a “mixed crowd” left Egypt along with the Israelites and were readily welcomed into their community – by the time we get to the end of the OT, we find that a guy called Ezra is deliberately sending away from the community anyone with even a hint of unIsraeliteness about them (see Ezra 9-10)![2]
➡ Inline with God’s desire to reach all people, we do not want to deliberately exclude anyone from our community but are there ways in which we may do this unthinkingly? If so, how can we change?
To be fair to Ezra, he acted as he did at a time when Israel was at its most fragile. It was just coming out of a period of exile and, according to Israel’s prophets, this exile had come about largely as a result of the Israelites’ uncritical incorporation of their neighbors’ religious beliefs and practices. Thus, Ezra understandably thought that Israel’s only chance of success was to be as focused on God as possible which, to him, meant removing any possibility of them being adversely influenced by the nations around them.
➡ How can we maintain an inclusive and welcoming community without incorporating beliefs or practices that will lead us away from God?
➡ Can you think of times in your life when you have compromised your faith in response to people around you? How did you feel?
➡ What could you do this week in response to Jesus’ desire that we bear witness to him in Loughborough AND BEYOND?!
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