So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
- Acts 1:6-11 I remember learning something important in a high school speech class: The teacher emphasized the difference between hearing and listening. There are lots of things we hear audibly that we don’ t really process. Sometimes I think this is why Jesus repeated said repeatedly, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” It’s a phrase repeated seven times in the synoptic gospels (Matthew 11:15, 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8, 14:35). Part of what limits our ability to understand sometimes is excessive familiarity. And I say this with some hesitation, since I really believe in the practice of memorizing scripture. But scriptures can become so familiar that the words become rote to us. You can think of how this happens with the Lord’s Prayer or the 23rd Psalm. The Great Commission has this tendency among evangelicals, and especially the Matthean version (in Matthew 28:19-20). It says we’re to go and make disciples of all nations. We’re to baptize and teach people to obey what Jesus taught. These words are so familiar to me they can bounce right off my ears. It can come to a point where you’ve heard something so often it becomes like the wallpaper in your house. It’s just there. One possible solution to all this is to study the variations that exist between the four gospels. The one is Matthew is the best-known, but the versions in Luke and John and (for some arguably) in Mark are equally canonical. And I say that today because in Acts 1:7-8 we hear another variation of the Great Commission that gives the setting for the ascension. Think of it this way: The “famous last words” that someone speaks are often thought to be the really important – worth chronicling for the ages. There are some well-known examples… “I’m losing it.” – Frank Sinatra “Swing low, sweet chariot.” – Harriet Tubman “Lord help my poor soul.” – Edgar Allan Poe Let’s look closely at Jesus’ famous last words. They’re not His last word of all, but they are the last words He gave before He ascended into heaven:
And it’s interesting to me that His ascension carried the focus of His disciples who were watching. Think of this in relation to your own life and sense of focus: What distracts you? What really keeps you from focusing on Jesus? Keep in mind that the definition of idolatry is anything that is less than God being put in the place of God. This can be done with lots of things – good and bad: money, alcohol, romance, cars, careers, addictions, etc. Of course not all of these things are bad things – but they certainly can be bad if they distract us from our faith in Christ. Some people see this as problematic. The Marxist critique of religion famously says that heavenly hopes become an opiate of the people. They’re so focused on the afterlife that they don’t deal with the real problems we’re facing on this side of eternity. And there’s some truth to this. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was the one who coined the phrase, “Some people are so heavenly-minded they are no earthly good”. That being true, it’s also important to see how a heavenly-focus empowers people for living in this world. Recently I’ve been reading Joni Eareckson Tada’s book on heaven. She’s the well-known Christian speaker and author who suffered a diving accident when she was 17 and became a quadriplegic. I have sometimes thought that if I were ever stuck with her lot in life, I would be so depressed. But she’s out there doing paintings and speaking and writing books. And a key motivator for her, I sense, is that she anticipates a day in heaven when she’ll be fully embodied. No more wheelchairs, medical appointments, and hardships – full mobility. This is because she knows that our current existence is but a small fraction of eternity. Our home is in heaven, and Jesus goes there to prepare a place for us. So we keep the focus on Jesus. And part of the continuous focus on Him is how it shifts our focus here on the ground. Notice how in the Ascension there’s a shift for the disciples from looking upward to looking outward. Jesus is taken behind the cloud. The angels afterwards seem to imply that we shouldn’t keep looking up (though Jesus will return some day), but we should look out, where His commission stands to be fulfilled. Of course this doesn’t mean we’re all alone. I’m reminded of another scripture that speaks of a cloud; Hebrews 12:1 says this: “…since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” The image of a cloud is a key there – and it tells us something about our loved ones who’ve departed from this side of eternity. It’s like they’re in a crowd cheering us on in an athletic event. The fact that they’re obscured from our sight does not mean they’re not there. They are the witnesses that surround us. And it’s true that way with Jesus, but even more so. Christ has ascended, but not in a way where He’s abandoned us. The promise in His Great Commission of power from on high reminds us that we’re empowered for what He calls us to. I like this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.” This is what helps us shift our focus from the sky to the ground. Our power comes from above, but our task is right here on earth – taking the Christian influence from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, to the ends of the earth. There was a time for the disciples to be looking up. That time changed. The time came for them to look outward. And that time is now. We have heard the Great Commission with our ears. We know that we’re empowered, and we know we have a job to do. And now, with our eyes, we look out at the world around us. And it’s a world that needs a witness to Jesus – now more than ever. What with all the death and suffering that’s out there – it’s needed. But we’re not alone for the task; we are empowered. Christ is present, and the Holy Spirit is with us. Andrew McHenry, Pastor First Congregational Church
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Andrew McHenryI am a husband, a Congregational pastor, and a native Kansan currently living in Thermalito, California. In the past I have also been a prison chaplain and a youth pastor. Interests include reading, railroads, prog rock, KU, and the KC Royals. Archives
March 2024
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