Luke 24:50-53 & Acts 1:21-22

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

This evening’s two Bible passages are Lk. 24:50-53:

⁵⁰ And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.⁵¹ While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³ and were continually in the temple blessing God.

 and Acts 1:21-22:

²¹ So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²² beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.

 The disciples’ response to the resurrection was one of confused emotions. Matthew tells us that the women’s initial response was a mix of “fear and great joy” (Matt. 28:9). The men’s reaction was a mix of disbelief (Lk. 24:11), gladness (Jn 20:20), and wonder (Lk 24:12) in both senses of the word: “marvel” and “I wonder what happens now.” Luke says the men “disbelieved for joy” (24:41). John tells us that, for lack of any sense of direction, six disciples went back to Galilee to resume their careers as fishermen, only to have the risen Jesus appear to them again (Jn 21). Whatever joy they felt at the resurrection was held in check by bewilderment. So, Jesus had risen from the dead. Amazing! What did it all mean?

 This all changed with Christ’s ascension. After watching his reception into the glory cloud, the disciples “worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.” Their joy was unrestrained. Their worship of the ascended Christ and of the God who had received him into glory was public and unafraid.

 Now they understood that the resurrection wasn’t the end of the story. Jesus hadn’t failed to “restore the kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1:6). His mission all along had been a much greater one and they had a part in it: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” From his exalted position in heaven, the ascended Christ would empower them to carry out this mission by sending the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

 After Christ’s ascension, there was no more talk among the apostles of returning to their fishing business in Galilee. Instead, they began to plan ahead for their worldwide mission. They added a new apostle to take Judas’s place. There had been twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus had chosen twelve apostles. Matthias was chosen by lot to return their number to twelve. He’d been with them during Jesus’s ministry, he was “a witness to the resurrection” (Acts 1:22), and, since the resurrection now included the ascension, I think it’s fair to believe that he was a witness to the ascension as well. The apostles were no longer confused. They knew that Jesus was still leading them, they were clear about the nature of their mission, and they were actively preparing for their empowerment by the Spirit.

We can see now that God had planned a linked sequence of events: the birth of Christ, his sinless life, his crucifixion, his resurrection, his ascension, and the coming of the Spirit. Each part was essential. Jesus had tried to explain this sequence to the disciples, but they’d never really understood. When he ignored their advice to stay away from Jerusalem and ended up crucified, they despaired. When he rose from the dead, they were glad but confused. With his ascension, matters became a lot clearer. With Pentecost (on which we’ll meditate next week) their mission became possible. Of course, it didn’t make everything easy. They would suffer persecution, but that, too, like the crucifixion, would be part of God’s gracious plan to save a contrary and broken world.

 Life doesn’t always make sense while we’re living it. Right now, COVID-19 doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s not what we planned or expected. We may be tempted to despair, as the disciples were after the crucifixion, or as God blesses us, to experience a strange mix of gladness and confusion, like the disciples after the resurrection. At such times, we’d do well to remember that the crucifixion and resurrection were followed by the ascension, when the sequence of events in which the disciples found themselves began to make more sense, and that the ascension was followed by Pentecost, when something far better than any of their previous plans suddenly became possible. To remember this doesn’t guarantee us a painless future, any more than it did for the disciples, but it does help to reassure us that even confusing times can play their part in a sequence of events that will end, praise God, in our own reception into glory.

I end with a blessing: “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:11-12).

Your brother in Christ,

Max

P.S. Ann has persuaded me to take two days off this weekend, one for the Sabbath rest on Sunday, and another on Monday, May 25, not just because it’s Memorial Day but also because it’s our 46^th wedding anniversary. You’ll hear from me again on Tuesday.