1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The Ascension
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and 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.”
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When I first read this passage, I couldn't really relate to any part of it and I wanted to just give up and not even bother trying to understand the words. But I realized that even if I don't "get it" these are still the precious words of God and if I truly love Him, I should want to listen and hear His voice in the silence. So I read it again and again and again, until I heard what God wanted to say to me.
From the first half of the passage (verses 1-5) I see how relational Jesus is. Jesus could have easily just gone back up to heaven to be with the Father after He rose from the dead, but Jesus stayed on earth for 40 more days. And during these 40 days, the passage says that Jesus appeared to people and spoke about the kingdom of God. He wanted to be with His disciples and the people on earth because He loves us. Then after the 40 days as Jesus ascended into heaven, He doesn't leave us alone; rather, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit to continue to be in relationship with us.
The second part of the passage (verses 6-11) showed me a lot about my worries and my need to be in control. Jesus is telling the disciples that they do not need to know when He will come again, they just need to be obedient to their calling on earth (that is to share the Gospel). And that applies to me, too. I don't NEED to know what my future will look like and I don't NEED to know what will happen tomorrow; my responsibility is to do what God is calling me to do right now-to love those around me and share the Gospel.
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