Ascension: The Day After

"Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called the Mount of Olives, which is near Jerusalem--a Sabbath day's journey away.  When the arrived they went to the room upstairs where they were staying: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.  All theses were continually united in prayer along with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers."  Acts 1:12-14

At the marketplace in Jerusalem, the Apostle John ran into his cousin Yusef who asked, "You told me last week that the Crucified Rabbi from Nazareth was alive!"   John replied, "Absolutely!  We were with Him on the Mount of Olives just yesterday!"  "Well, where is He now?", demanded Cousin Yusef.  And in the first ever usage of "what had happened was", John explains, "Well... see... there was this cloud, right..."

Yes, as the authors of The Ascension: Humanity in the Presence of God have aptly stated, "the ascension seems like bad evangelism strategy."

In the last several days, I've been reading books like the one already mentioned and also Derek Thomas' Taken Up To Heaven to help me answer the mind-boggling questions as well as wrap my mind around the enormous blessings that I have on the topic of ascension.  But just yesterday, while I was listening to a very helpful sermon on Luke 24:50-53, I was challenged to look at the reactions of the Apostles to what they witnessed in the ascension of Christ.  Certainly, they were joyous and worshipful at what they saw, but as one who wasn't present that day, it made me wonder what my reaction should be.  As I searched further for a response, I instead discovered a resolve: prayer.

I don't know if the Apostles actually understood that Jesus was taking them to the Mount of Olives in order that they would witness His ascent/departure.  I can only imagine the awe of that moment when the cloud came and took Him out of their sight.  But I do know that one minute, Jesus was there and the next He was no longer physically present with them.  When the last high-five was slapped, someone had to realize that the party had ended.  At least that phase of it.

What do you do the day after Jesus ascends to heaven?

"All these were continually united in prayer..."  Every believer now lives in the day after the ascension of Jesus.  And while there are many differences between we who live today and the Apostles of that time, we are alike in this way: we have our marching orders.  We are to preach the gospel, make disciples that make disciples, instruct and train mankind everywhere to obey Jesus and His teachings, and to baptize them into the family of God.  How are we to be enabled by the Holy Spirit to do these things to the glory of Christ without fervent and regular prayer to the Father?

Whatever other response you may have to the ascension may the Lord grant you a heart to faithfully pray for Christ's kingdom to advance through the gospel and His church.

Gospel Basics in the Book of Acts

Consider the diverse majors offered in our colleges.  Think of all the various professions.  Imagine whatever skills, specialties, and talents a person may have or hope to master.  Whatever you come up with, you will not escape the bottom line necessity to master three skills: "reading, 'riting, and 'rithmatic".  If a person only learns to read pictures/signs, write by tracing/drawing valuable symbols, and count their own money, they will at least have done the minimum to prove my statement true.

In many ways, the same can be said of the gospel.  There are certain things that we cannot avoid if we want to share the message of the cross.  Likewise, if we are serious about evangelism, there are topics we will naturally become fluent in and discipline will make us comfortable talking about (even though most won't want to hear you).  In the book of Acts, there are three such topics ("there's always three") that I will call the Three R's for the book of Acts due to how readily they reoccur.

Resurrection...  It's inescapable.  Anyone just casually reading through Acts can't help but recognize how often Peter, John, Paul, etc. refer back to the resurrection.  On one level, Christ being raised serves as the seal of approval of the Father upon Him.  A risen Jesus, as Peter would argue, is proof positive that Psalm 110:1 has been fulfilled and that Jesus is in fact, both Lord and Christ.

And at a more raw and gut level, the resurrection serves as a divine rebuke.  Think of it- when the question is asked how a lame man stands healed, here is the answer given:

It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.  

Acts 4:10 (emphasis added)

The earliest recording of apostolic preaching includes using the resurrection as a hammer.  It jolts the listeners to recognize the terrible wrath of God against their sin: the crucifixion of Christ.  It also informs them that their work of putting Him to death has been undone by the One Who raised Jesus: none other than God.  This sets up the need for the next R.

Repentance...  The flow from resurrection to repentance is most clearly seen in Peter's address from Acts 2.  Upon pronouncing Jesus as "both Lord and Christ" by evidence of the resurrection we read this response from those in attendance:

"When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"  Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins..."

Acts 2:37-38

The call to repentance is all through the book.  And while Peter is busy prosecuting the Jews for their sins, Paul isn't letting Gentiles off the hook.  In the context of their idolatry, Paul explains to the crowd in Athens,

"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent."

Acts 17:30

But today, repentance is a dirty word in many pulpits.  "Why beat people up and remind them of their sins?  They already know their not perfect" many say.  And while that may make sense to some, we have to continually demand an honest answer from ourselves to this question:  am I making this up as I go along or am I taking my marching orders from the Word of God?

Think about it-  once commissioned to spread the gospel to all the world, the tiny band of the faithful Jesus left behind adopted the most ridiculous strategy ever:  tell people how bad they are... they're sure to come running.  It's not exactly a strategy for church growth (numerically) but it is the truth because there's no need to repent unless you're a sinner.  It's totally counter-intuitive, but then again, do we still believe that God's ways are not our ways or are we forcing our way and calling it "Spirit-led"?

Relentless Resilience... In chapter 4 they were warned.  The fifth chapter records the flogging of the apostles.    Stephen became the first martyr in chapter 7.  In chapter 8, the church leadership stays in Jerusalem while vast numbers of believers are forced from their homes due to persecution.  Peter is called on the carpet and has to manage a near schism of believers in chapter 11 and is soon imprisoned in chapter 12.  Paul is dragged out of the city of Iconium and left for dead in chapter 14.  The very next day, he and Barnabus leave for the city of Derbe and preach there.  I've barely covered half of the book!

How did they overcome all these odds?  Why did they persevere and persist in their faithfulness to Christ and to the gospel of God?  The Holy Spirit had convinced them of the truth and meaning of the Resurrection and had been transforming them through a lifestyle of repentance.  The external reality of Jesus' life and the internal change that is brought through repentance gave them the incentive and immutable impulse to keep going despite the trials before them.

Is your life in Christ lacking the fervor and passion resembling the relentless resilience of the early believers in Acts?  If so, you'll do yourself a service by revisiting the doctrine of the resurrection and seeking the grace of God to repent from sin and turn toward Him.