He [Jesus] presented Himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God…He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, “you heard from Me…
Acts 1:1-11
Luke, a physician, continues his 2 part writings of Jesus to his friend, Theophilus. In these verses today, Luke covers the 40-day period the resurrected Jesus appeared to many people, including His Disciples on many occasions. Luke writes of an occasion when Jesus was eating with His Disciples and He commanded them to remain in Jerusalem and “wait for the gift My Father promised…” Back in the upper room discourse, the night Jesus was betrayed into the hands of evil men, Jesus had told His Disciples that He and the Father would send them “another Helper,” who is the Holy Spirit and He will “bring to your remembrance” all things” Jesus had taught them. Now, Jesus is telling His Disciples that “in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” This prompted the Disciples to ask Jesus about restoring “the kingdom of Israel” at this time. In His response, Jesus reiterates what He had told them many times during His earthly ministry, that it is not for them to know that which the Father, only, knows. Oh, dear Christians, that, through the millennia since, theologians and students of Scripture could take Jesus’ teaching about His Second Coming to heart and NOT try to “predict” what God alone knows! Such activity detracts from the clear teachings of our Lord to spread the gospel message far and wide, baptizing disciples and, teaching them all that Jesus has taught His disciples, us! The time for Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords was about to occur. Jesus spent 40 days, in His glorified body, appearing to many believers to show them that He truly was alive and, ten days after His Ascension, the Holy Spirit would descend upon the Disciples, like “tongues of fire,” giving them the promise of God, preaching in all the languages of the people who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover and remained there, now, 50 days later. Then, two men, dressed in white, angels appearing as humans, assured those watching Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven that Christians, alive on earth when Jesus comes again, will witness Jesus’ return in the same way these believers had witnessed His Ascension. Oh, what a day that will be for Christians, on earth, to see our Lord Jesus return in Majesty and Glory to take His Chosen ones, His Bride, to Heaven to receive glorified bodies and, to rule and reign with our Lord throughout eternity!
Source: S C Ball April 15, 2023
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