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Sunday After Ascension Day
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Mike Moffitt, June 2, 2019


What Were They Expecting?


Text: Acts 1:3–8

A little over 43 years ago our daughter Amy was born. She was our first child and we had been cautiously looking forward to her birth since we found out that Teresa was pregnant. We had fixed up the spare bedroom in our house and had bought clothes and all the things that a baby would need. I don’t believe they had sonograms back then and the doctor had told us to expect a boy by the way that Teresa was carrying the child. We went out and bought most of the clothes at a yard sale where friends had two little boys who had outgrown them.

On February 17, 1977, at a little after 8:00 p.m. our bundle of joy arrived after 13 hours of labor. I was exhausted and I think Teresa was too. I’ll never forget the moment when the nurse handed our daughter to me and I cradled her in my arms. I don’t think that I had known what to expect, but I do know that I had not expected the rush of love and affection that I immediately felt for that little girl. She looked up at me and smiled and my heart melted. The doctor said that the smile was most likely just gas, but I wasn’t having any of that, we had connected.

My world had just turned upside down and I knew in a moment that I would give my life to protect this little one. I was terrified that I wouldn’t know how to raise her well, but I would give it my best shot. Now, over 43 years later, I still feel the same way about her and that is true of our son, Ben, as well. The event changed my life in ways that I could not have predicted. I had seen some of our friends have children and had experienced how unavailable they often were because of the baby, but I didn’t know what that was like. Nothing would ever be the same because our focus had changed as well as our priorities.

This week as I studied and prayed over today’s passages I wondered what the disciples thought when Jesus told them to go and wait for the baptizing power of the Holy Spirit to come upon them. My guess is that they were not sure what they expected but when the Spirit was poured out everything changed as to their focus and priorities. This morning I want us to take a look at what Jesus told them and how it was different from what they thought they heard initially.

Today we continue our journey through the Easter season and head to the day of Pentecost, next Sunday. Last Thursday was the celebration of the Ascension of Jesus back to his Father and that will be our focus today.

This morning you have heard the account of Jesus ascending back to the Father from Luke’s gospel and Luke’s account in Acts 1. Both Luke and Acts were written to Theophilus who some have suggested was Luke’s patron who provided the money for Luke’s research and distribution of the Gospel and the Book of Acts. The important point of this writing was that Luke wanted to give an accurate and orderly account for those who would read the two works. Luke begins his gospel with this assertion,

t seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Luke’s review of the Gospel stresses the comprehensiveness of Jesus’ teaching to the disciples,

“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened up their minds to understand the Scriptures.

Earlier in Luke chapter 24, we find a similar story of two disciples who left Jerusalem and headed home to the village of Emmaus. You’ll remember that Jesus appears to them, but they don’t initially recognize him. Jesus questions them as to what they were talking about. They explain to Jesus all that had happened in Jerusalem the past few days and of the crucifixion of Jesus, the one they had believed was the Messiah. In Luke 24:25–27,

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Then later as they are preparing to eat a meal with Jesus, still not recognizing who he is, He breaks the bread and their eyes are opened and Jesus disappears. Verses 32–33 recounts,

They said to each other, “did not our hearts burn within us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.

In both of these stories Jesus was telling his disciples that it had been crucial that all the fulfillment of Scripture center on the person of Christ. Old Testament hope was being realized here, though at the time Jesus was speaking the scriptural text would not have been known as the Old Testament but the Scriptures. All that God had promised in the Messiah had been fulfilled in Jesus. What God promises he brings to pass. For the two on the road to Emmaus as well as the 11 disciples who gathered with Jesus before he ascended to the Father, it was when he opened up their minds to understand the Scriptures concerning him that everything changed. To know who Jesus really is demands a response. Now that they knew, they would be tasked with spreading the Good News of the Gospel and it would need to reveal all that God had done in sending his Son. What did Jesus reveal to them?

First, the Christ had to suffer. Jesus had told them this on many occasions in Luke’s Gospel (9:22, 44; 17:25; 18:31–33; 22:37) but they didn’t clearly understand what that would entail.

Second, Messiah was to be raised from the dead, the Psalms clearly foretold it (Psalm 16:10; 110:1. 118:22–26). Now they had seen the evidence for themselves, so Jesus would charge them with telling the story of God’s mercy around the world.

Third, that those tasks remained to be accomplished in 5 ways.

The disciples were called to preach the Good News and they began to fulfill that call in Acts 2, and ever since the church's mission has been to proclaim Jesus’ Lordship over all of creation by teaching and preaching God’s Holy Word. It is the only way to salvation.

The message is to be a call to repentance. It has always been the way of hope and it doesn’t mean to merely change your mind but out of love and gratitude, turn and follow the commands and purposes of God.

What is offered is forgiveness of sins. There doesn’t need to be a separation between God and man. As we turn to God through Jesus Christ, the offer of forgiveness reveals itself in God’s willingness to be gracious and cancel the debt of our sin that Jesus paid for in his death upon the cross.

The authority of all this is bound up in the name of Jesus. This is a major theme in the Book of Acts. All the events are tied together in Jesus’ personal appearance and his royal authority. Baptism in water and Spirit, healing, forgiveness of sin are all seen to emanate from the risen Savior who carries out these through the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon and within his people.

This message is for all nations, and the preaching would start in Jerusalem. It took the church a while to move forward but that had been Jesus’ call to them in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:16–20. Luke 24:47–49 calls this the mission and it would be accomplished because it would come from the promise of the Father,

“…repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Luke’s Gospel provides a link between itself and the Book of Acts with one telling all that Jesus did and taught while on earth, while the other reports on what Jesus continued to do and teach through his disciples and the church. Jesus qualified the apostles as witnesses to the truth of the resurrection by appearing to them repeatedly over a period of 40 days. The many encounters with Jesus would serve as the physical evidence that Jesus Christ was indeed alive. The Apostle Paul would later write in 1 Corinthians 15:3–8,

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

The importance of the continuity between the evangelistic purpose of the Gospel of Luke with the church’s fulfillment of its missionary mandate in the Book of Acts cannot be overestimated. Here is the proof that a gospel message that claims to go back to the Apostles can be trusted because they received it from Jesus. In other words, there was actually an empty tomb and the gospels key salvation event—the resurrection, actually happened. This recounting of Luke in his Gospel and in the Book of Acts points in one direction—Jesus is alive! Therefore, we can boldly without hesitation invite unbelievers to hear our witness and consider the evidence.

Let’s look again at Acts 1:3–8,

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.” 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.”

This promise of the Holy Spirit’s power being poured out in order to accomplish all of God’s Holy will was not a new concept. In Exodus 31:1–6 the Lord tells Moses,

“See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 6 And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you…”

God anointed these artisans to create all that God commanded for the building and filling the tabernacle which would be a model of the throne of God in Heaven. God wanted them to get this right for their instruction and they would perform beyond their ordinary skills because God placed his Holy Spirit within them. In 1 Chronicles 11–12, we can read the story of David’s mighty men of 30 who were valiant and powerful warriors. Each of them would individually slay hundreds of their enemies in one battle because they were committed to King David and his God. 1 Chronicles 12:18,

Then the Spirit clothed Amasai, chief of the thirty, and he said, “We are yours, O David, and with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers!  For your God helps you.”

Time and again God would instruct his people as to how they were to reveal to all the nations that Israel’s God was the creator and sustainer of all things and should be praised and honored for who he is. There would never be anything that God’s children were asked to do solely in their own strength, for God is always willing to provide all that is needed to comply. In simple tasks like speaking, God promised to anoint them and bring to remembrance all that needed to be said. When Jeremiah complained that he was young and shouldn’t be expected to confront the king of Israel and his priests with God’s messages demanding they repent, God promised to place his words in Jeremiah's mouth and to deliver him. God has always equipped his people to perform the tasks they have been given.

The disciples had seen Jesus perform amazing feats of healing the sick, raising the dead and having complete authority over the demonic. Now they have seen their Lord resurrected from the dead so it really is natural for them to ask Jesus, “Lord, Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” Central to Old Testament faith was the conviction that God would in the end time fully restore his people to their inheritance in the land promised to Abraham. When this happened, they would live securely without foreign domination (Jeremiah 16:15; 23:8;50:19; Hosea 11:11; Joel 3:17).

Jesus had been teaching about the Kingdom of God and now they see him resurrected from the dead, so they want to know the date of when all these hopes will be realized. They had asked about these things throughout Jesus’ ministry (Luke 19:11; 21:7). It shows that they are still not seeing God’s heart for the world but are still thinking only about Israel.

Jesus only gives a mild rebuke as he tells them that only the Father knows the date and time, but in the meantime there was much to be done until he returns again. So, he redirects their focus to the immediate, they are to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit falls upon them in power, “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 ends of the earth.”

In truth, there was nothing else for Jesus to say to them. No more discussion, they were to wait, and, as if to accent this, “He was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” I love the next verses as they stand around looking up to heaven. I love the way the Message reads on this,

These were his last words. As they watched, he was taken up and disappeared in a cloud. They stood there, staring into the empty sky. Suddenly two men appeared—in white robes! They said, “You Galileans!—why do you just stand here looking up at an empty sky? This very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly—and mysteriously—as he left.”

Acts 1:8 sets out clearly what the church is to be doing until Jesus returns. Through a command/promise, Jesus tells his disciples of the resources, content and scope of their primary task. The essential resource is God the Holy Spirit, who will come on them at Pentecost as he did on Mary at the incarnation (Lk 1:35). By this Spirit-baptism they will receive the supernatural ability to work miracles and preach effectively (Acts 4:7–10, 31, 33; 6:5, 8; 8:13). Their witness will be bold and will produce conviction leading to positive or negative decisions (2:37, 41; 4:8, 13, 31; 6:5, 10; 7:54–58). Ordinary people like Stephen will experience the joy of the indwelling presence of the Spirit even in moments of danger and crisis. The disciples who had run in fear when Jesus was arrested will now boldly proclaim that Jesus is Lord to the very ones who had Jesus murdered,

The whole church, and each member of it, was to take up this task. All who receive the apostles' teaching become witnesses (14:2–3; 22:15–18, 20). The Christian church has always been a missionary church.

Jesus had told them “you will be my witnesses” and this mandate, expressed with a future-tense verb (will be), can be taken as both a command and a prophetic promise. Luke may well have intended that it be understood in both ways. Not only does he show the church obediently carrying out this mandate (2:47; 4:31, 33; 6:4, 7; 8:4; 11:19–20), but he also shows how God intervenes at strategic points to give impetus and direction for taking the mission across another cultural threshold or into another geographical region (8:16–17, 26, 29; 10:9–16, 19–20; 11:20–21; 13:2; 16:9–10; 18:9–10; 23:11). God in his grace makes sure the mandate is completely fulfilled. Luke likely did not have particular places in mind when he wrote “to the ends of the earth” but you can rest assured that the Holy Spirit who anointed him to write meant literally to the ends of the earth and all the people groups.

As the disciples stood looking up into the heavens the two angels appear to interpret God’s mighty act in Jesus’ ascension. The angels describe in simple terms what has just happened: Jesus has been taken up into heaven and he will no longer be with them in the way he had in his earthly ministry. In Heaven Jesus is in a position of authority, at the Father’s right hand to pour out salvation blessings and by the Holy Spirit to direct the mission and purposes of his church.

In Matthew’s gospel the last instruction that Jesus leaves is what we call “The Great Commission”. This gives the command greater weight because it is his final word to the church. He doesn’t give it as an optional ministry activity to those who feel called to a ministry of cross-cultural interests and to churches with a surplus of funds. Instead, it is presented as the primary task of the church of Jesus Christ.

The first page of Anglican Frontier Missions booklet, The Door is Open, the Time is Now, says this,

Our Lord’s Great Commission has guided the church’s outreach into the world since his Ascension. One part of this Commission, however, receives only dim light when compared to the rest. That neglected part, from the Great Commission in Acts 1:8, is ‘and to the ends of the earth.

It goes on to say that more than two billion people in today’s world have not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. This amounts to about 28% of the world’s population. This is what’s at the heart of the ministry of AFM and others like Answering the Call.

This week as we continue the journey towards Pentecost and the remembrance of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit we must ask the Spirit to reveal our hearts to us.

Do you want more of God’s Holy Spirit poured into you? If so, to what end? Are you prepared to be used in powerful ways because of the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon you? How far are you willing to go in service to God in the gospel mandate? The Holy Spirit is poured on those who want to be equipped for ministry to the lost and hopeless. I believe that we have an opportunity to see God move in our midst, not to be observers but as missionaries locally or to the ends of the earth.

Let’s pray.

©2019 Rev. Mike Moffitt

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