Acts 1:6-11 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? ”He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 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. ”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.”
As Jesus departs from earth, He announces that his mission of salvation should be presented to the whole world, not just to the Jews. 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. The disciples were focused on the restoration of Israel, throwing off the yoke of the Romans and finally gaining the prominence among all nations that the people, chosen by God, deserved. Lord, are you at this time going to restorethe kingdom to Israel? If Jesus were to go back to his Father soon, then this rehabilitation and restoration of the Jewish nation must happen quickly. For the disciples, restoration of Israel was important. The prophets of old spoke often of the Jewish nation's spiritual health or well-being. Of course, the disciples knew Moses had delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt to establish the Jews in a blessed land, flowing with milk and honey. Now they assumed Jesus’ ministry was for the Jews’ betterment. He was healing Jews of sicknesses, infirmities, and demon possession. What other purpose would Jesus have other than restoration of the people of Israel? But we see even in the angel's announcement of the coming of Jesus, that God’s purpose for Jesus extended far beyond the nation of Israel. Jesus was to restore all people, everywhere, to God, the Creator, for all ages to come. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause GREAT JOY FOR ALL THE PEOPLE. (Luke 2:9-10) Earlier in Jesus' great commission to the disciples, He widened their mission to all people on the face of the earth. Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations (PEOPLE), baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20) This was such an important mission that Jesus said He would be with them and all people who carry this assignment to the end of time. They would not be spared death or persecution, but they would have the power of the Holy Spirit with them to bolster their ministry, to empower them with the gift of healing and casting out demons. The Lord would be with them in word and deed. The disciples, as they saw Jesus depart that day, did not really understand their commission until the Holy Spirit imbued them with power on Pentecost; then they would be instruments for the glory of God. Immediately on Pentecost, we see Peter standing up, addressing a crowd of people about the Good News of Jesus Christ being crucified for all people, freeing whosoever will believe in his name from sin and death.
Jesus came to free people from the bondage of sin and death. Jesus’ life demonstrated God’s intention to deliver all people from their slavery to the devil. He did this by healing and casting out demons wherever He went. From city to city He proclaimed the redemptive message of God to all people, instructing them how to live and telling them to ask God for forgiveness of their sins. Jesus served the needy quickly wherever He journeyed. In addition, He faced down the religious leaders of his day, who possessed little love for the people; instead, aggrandizing themselves within the community of the Jews. He came as He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) Jesus personified the Lord’s favor. God placed him in the midst of the Jewish people. He would die by their hands. But as in the wilderness when the bronze snake was lifted up on a cursed pole to heal all those who had been bitten by a poisonous snake, Jesus would be lifted up in their midst on a cross, cursed on a tree, but salvation would come to all who looked upon the cross with faith in his works. Jesus’ death would reveal clearly God’s favor on humans that He created from dust. Jesus the Christ, God himself, would pay the penalty for the waywardness of mankind, his rebellion to God’s goodness and control. However, Jesus did not stay in the grave, but He arose in three days by God’s power, illustrating what will happen to all believers: an inheritance of eternal life has come to all. Jesus became the first fruit that passed from living on earth to the heavenly domain. As Paul says, But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22) As believers, we are no longer entangled in sin and death; our lives are eternal, destined to be with God forever. Jesus said, I will never leave you. He said to the disciples, I will come and get you, so we have an expectation of THE GREAT LIGHT as seen by Paul and Moses, coming to us at our demise to deliver us to the bosom of God. This understanding of the Good News was not in the disciples' minds as they watched Jesus depart. For them the restoration of Israel ended their expectations of Jesus. However, as the word of God says,“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9) Jesus said, the seed must die, we must die, but what follows is beyond our imagination. Not only have sin and death been defeated, but we who are alive evermore will be in the household of God as his children, originally born of dust, but then born of the Spirit of God through the work of Jesus on the cross.
If this is the good news and it is, as the two men dressed in white said, why do you stand here looking into the sky? Jesus’ return will happen, but in the meantime, you, the people of God, have a mission to carry out. While Jesus was on earth, He was constantly in the mode of carrying out God’s purposes on earth. Jesus always did the Father’s will, so He was constantly on the move after his baptism in the river Jordan. Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him,and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied,“Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. (Mark 1:35-39) The Father’s will was for him to go from community to community, ministering the good will of God. He was not sedentary, asking the people of Israel to come to him. No, He moved under the auspices of the Holy Spirit. We see this aspect of moving in all of scripture. Faith is moving, acting, performing, rather than sitting and contemplating God. Moses was sent to the Israelites in Egypt. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:9-10) The Lord said, So now, go. Of course, Moses was full of fear, for he had fled Egypt in the fear the Egyptians would take his life for he had killed an Egyptian for beating an Israelite. But God told him to go, so he went with much fear and trepidation. When Paul was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was told by Jesus to get up and go into the city of Damascus. Do not lie there in fright, but get up and go. Jesus commissioned his disciples to go into all the world, but first they must wait until Pentecost for the power of God to infill them. But going is the commission to all believers everywhere. We are to get up, forsake our comfort and fear, and serve the Lord with our whole heart, mind, and strength. So many Christians today tarry in their belief, but do not go and display the work of the Lord in their lives. We abandon the word strength in Jesus’ cardinal commandment of serving God. Often our strength is used for ourselves, our comfort. But Christianity is a serving ministry. Why stand and wait for Jesus to return to your life? Why not work while it is yet day? When the disciples were arguing over who will be first in heaven, Jesus addresses their concern by saying the greatest in heaven will be the one on earth who serves everyone, who is a slave to all. A slave is always in the act of doing for the master. He, as Jesus, who said I must be going to the next city, will be looking for places to serve. How do we serve? Jesus points this out clearly, He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them,“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”(Mark 9:36-37) We serve others as a mother serves her precious child. We serve the troubled, the hurting, the wayward as a mom serves her child in her arms. We feed them the milk of kindness and love. We show Jesus to them by comforting them with our warm presence and concern. We are God’s servants, imaging God to the world. So get up, move, be as God is: loving and caring to a lost generation. Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
Merry Christmas!
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