Acts 1:6-11

My dad has a party trick that is always a hit with the grandkids. He can make a coin disappear. Sometimes it’s a small piece of candy or maybe a straw wrapper if they are restless in a restaurant. He holds it in one hand between his middle finger and thumb, showing it to kids. With one swift motion it is gone, he throws the invisible item in the air, and it reappears behind an ear. They giggle with amazement as they try to figure out how he did it. It’s fun to watch the grandkids grow older, increasingly convinced they have figured it out. Sometimes he will switch it up with a magic word or blowing on his hand to make it appear. Delight mixes with confusion, while their critical thinking and problem solving goes into overdrive. Now imagine the disciples watching not just a slight of hand trick but the actual disappearance of Jesus. He defied the laws of physics and rose up into the sky.

Wonder multiplied by infinity, is how I imagine the disciples felt during their last meeting with Jesus on earth. We learned from verse 4 that they had stayed in Jerusalem. In our passage today you can see the wheels turning in the disciples’ heads. What is going to happen next? Let’s put ourselves in their shoes for a moment. Each one called out of their previous lives, starting over, stepping out to follow Jesus. Three years of watching Jesus do his ministry, understanding that most of what you were taught as a good Israelite, actually meant the opposite, seeing Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, and tell off the religious elite. They thought he was going to overthrow the Roman government only to watch him lay down his life to the authorities, and witness the brutal death of your friend, and leader. They grieved together as a group and then experienced the overwhelming joy of seeing Jesus’ resurrection together. They spoke with him, ate with him, could hug him and laugh with him again. Jesus was back, physically back. Surely now the rollercoaster was over, and he would get down to the business of overthrowing Rome and restoring Israel.  Like my children watching my dad do his magic trick, the disciples must have been thinking with each wild experience that they could figure out what was coming next. Our finite minds try to make sense of things, that’s being human.  However, the disciples could never have expected what was coming next.

Let’s read the passage, Acts 1:6–11 (ESV):

⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸But 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.” ⁹And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, ¹¹and 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.”

They asked Jesus if what they had expected all along was finally coming next and in true Jesus fashion, he doesn’t give them a yes or no. He tells them the truth, puts them in their place and encourages them all in one. Jesus says, the “Father has fixed by his own authority”, this shows us that God has had his plan all along. Jesus tells the disciples of God’s sovereignty within our salvation, sanctification and what is coming next, the birth of the church. Don’t worry though, after Jesus says no to giving the information they were seeking, he then gives them an assignment with certainty. He declares, “You WILL receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” He gives them a task, a mission, a purpose; “You WILL be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth”.  This was not what the disciples were expecting but Jesus showed kindness with his clarity. As we read on in the Book of Acts, we will see this is exactly what the disciples did for the rest of their lives.

The disciples were mere mortals, however, so Jesus made sure they knew, they would not be alone. In verse 8 he tells them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you…” As a side, it is important to note here the appearance of the Trinity. The Trinity is not a word used in Scripture, but the concept of a triune (Three-in-one) Godhead is all over Scripture. Verse 7 reveals the Father’s omnipotence and omniscience in His restoration of humanity and his creation. He has all knowledge and authority. In verse 8 Jesus acknowledges the Holy Spirit as part of the God head, as the source of power for Christians and as the person of the Trinity that “comes upon” us. The very beginning of the Book of Acts, and the very beginning of the Church, Jesus gives the disciples the source of power. The Holy Spirit is the main character of the book of Acts. We are about to see all that he does in and through the followers.

If there was one section of Scripture that I wish had more detail it would be Acts 1:9-11. My mental visual of the assentation of Christ is always Jesus on cables being unevenly hoisted by a stagehand, or maybe bad CGI in a low budget film. Reading this passage gives me the same feeling as my children as they watch my dad make a coin disappear. Where did he go? No one can fault the disciples for staring into the sky in wonder. I would too.

Focused on Jesus and watching him go, the disciples did not seem to notice the two “men in white robes. What they said to the disciples is the kindest nudge from heaven to be about the business of Christ. Jesus had just told them what to do, and while they were still saying their “southern goodbye” watching him until he was all the way out of sight, the two angels, pulled them back to earth with a rhetorical question. In Verse 11 these two angelic beings say, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you to heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go to heaven.”  My paraphrase is, Hey! What are you waiting for?! He is coming back, so get to work. Go! Be witnesses!

I can imagine the emotional whiplash they must have felt. Being amazed at all God is doing and then being snapped back to the task at hand. Our lives can feel like that too at times. Wins and losses, times of clarity and understanding can quickly become muddied by new circumstances or shifts that are inevitable in life. Sometimes we stand gazing up at Jesus wondering what he will do next, waiting for the Holy Spirit to lead us onward, but this Scripture can be a gentle reminder to be about the mission while you wait.

In the next section of Acts we will study what the disciples did after seeing Jesus go, but for now, let’s ask ourselves what we can do when our emotions are on a spiritual roller coaster. We can live in the wonder and amazement of all that Jesus does and live with our eyes glued to him like a child watching a magic trick. What will he do next? We can hear the assignment and get started, knowing that he will return, and he has given us instructions. Keep the wonder but get to work.

The Good Portion Journaling Questions:

Tell about a time when you were amazed and confused at the same time. Where were you? How old? Do you like being amazed or are you bothered by not knowing how it’s done?

In verse 7 Jesus acknowledges the Father’s knowledge and Authority, when have you seen the Father’s authority in your life? Is it hard for you to live in His authority?

Have you had a time when you felt the Holy Spirit leading you to be a witness to those that don’t know him? Tell about what you learned about the Holy Spirit from that experience.

What did you learn about the Trinity in this passage? The Father? The Son (Jesus)? The Holy Spirit?