Acts 1:1-11 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
The Ascension of Our Lord Sunday, May 29, 2022 “Be a Witness of the Ascended Savior”
There are times it is extremely helpful to have a witness. If you make the shot of your lifetime on the golf course, and the ball drops in for a hole-in-one, it’s nice if someone else is there to witness it. I am not saying that no one would believe you otherwise, but it sure is helpful to have a witness. If you want your wedding to be legally recorded in this state, two witnesses need to sign the marriage license affirming what took place. If you get into an automobile accident because someone else was driving recklessly, the situation may not be clear to your insurance company unless there is someone else, a witness, who can corroborate your story. In front of us today is an important event in the life and ministry of Jesus. His ascension required witnesses, and in a slightly different way, it still requires witnesses today. From the experience of the disciples when Jesus ascended, we can each learn to be a witness of the ascended Savior. To truly be a witness of the ascended Savior, you first need to learn the lessons of his life. Our reading from the first chapter of the book of Acts really summarizes briefly what those lessons are. It talks about Jesus suffering. It talks about the many convincing proofs he gave to his disciples that he was alive, implying that he had not only suffered but also died. And we know from the rest of Scripture that this implication is accurate. Jesus suffered a great many things at the hands of his own countrymen and of the Roman authorities over them. He suffered all the way to the point of death on a cross. But for forty days, Jesus proved over and over again that he was indeed alive. Luke, whom God used to write both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, records more details about the life-lessons from Jesus. He wrote, “[Jesus] said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. He said to them, ‘This is what is written and so it must be: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.’” The lessons from Jesus’ life are incredibly important. They are the heart of the gospel, the good news that we all need to hear. The lessons we learn from the life of Jesus mean that he has done all the things that we could not do. He has brought forgiveness of sins and life and salvation to us. These lessons about his suffering and his death force us to remember why he needed to suffer and to die. Why would he willingly go to such suffering and such a torturous execution? And the answer is right here in our hearts. Christ Jesus came to save sinners. He came to bring forgiveness for a world of sinners, for people who could invent and do the evil that we see all around us. He came to forgive the hearts that lead people to war against each other, to rip babies out of wombs when they are not wanted, or to shoot school children. And he came to save people that might never do those things, but whose hearts are full of the same anger and jealousy and selfishness and darkness as theirs. And if you don’t consider yourself among that group, please look carefully not at your best moments but at your worst. And then rejoice that Jesus forgives. That is the main lesson from his life: that he died for every sin. He died for your sins. And he is alive again. The disciples saw him. They ate with him. They learned from him. They heard his teaching. And then they watched him ascend to heaven. Christ’s ascension marks his work as complete. Every proof necessary regarding his death and his resurrection has been given. Every lesson he needed to teach his disciples so they could pass it down for future generations had been taught. And so, just as he said he would, Jesus went to his Father’s side. And for that, he needed witnesses. No one was there to see Jesus rise from the dead. They didn’t need to be there. They didn’t need the dramatic scene that plays out on so many medical dramas where the heart monitor that has been painfully quiet springs back to its steady rhythm. Over forty days Jesus could appear to his disciples and Mary and others, and that was enough to show them that he was alive again so that they could learn the lessons of forgiveness and certainty. But Jesus couldn’t sneak away into heaven. If he did, his disciples would be left wondering whether he had simply gone someplace else. Instead, he had witnesses that got to gaze on him rising up into the clouds until they could see him no more. Their lessons were learned. They were his witnesses.
And they would be his witnesses into the world. They would tell others what they had learned. They would proclaim the good news near and far. They would pass it on to future generations. And they did this because they relied on the promises he made. Jesus gave these disciples, these witnesses, some very specific promises. He instructed them to stay in Jerusalem and promised a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He promised to equip them to be his witnesses in that city and in the region around it and all the way to the ends of the earth. Jesus gives us promises, too. He allows us to be his witnesses as we know the lessons of his life and rely on the promises he made. He has promised never to leave us. His ascension is such a unique event because he is both leaving his disciples—that’s what happens in a physical and visible way—and not leaving them. After he ascends, he is still with them, even though they don’t see him. And he is with us in the same way. That’s his promise. He has given us the Holy Spirit, too. It wasn’t done in the same flashy way as it was with the disciples, something we’ll hear more about next week. But he promises that through the Holy Spirit’s work in us, he will get us through all that we face. He promises us a home with him in heaven. He’s promised that he has gone to prepare our place there. And the promises stand whether we are dealing with good times or bad. The promises stand whether we feel like he is with us or we feel like something else. The promises of our ascended Savior are what we rely on in particular when we face challenges and difficulties. I have heard from many just how affected they have been by the news of 19 students killed in a school shooting earlier this week. And too many have turned to things other than God’s promises. They have tried to work out earthly solutions to a spiritual problem. They have made up their own expectations instead of relying on Christ’s promises. They have turned to human wisdom instead of listening to what our Savior says. Our Savior says that evil and terrible things will continue as long as this present world continues. No laws will make a perfect society because no laws can change people’s hearts. But the promise can. The promise is that no evil in this world can snatch us out of the hand of our Good Shepherd. No danger can destroy our relationship with our ascended Lord. And I understand that we are not witnesses in the same sense that the disciples were who got to see the cloud move in to hide Jesus from their sight, but we are witnesses nonetheless because our ascended Savior has seen to it that we have heard their testimony and we have been given faith to believe it. We have learned the lessons from Jesus’ life. We rely on the promises he made. One more factor will complete our lesson in being witnesses of our ascended Lord. The final step is that we anticipate his return. When Jesus ascended, the disciples weren’t quite sure what to do. Angels caught them just staring up into the sky where Jesus had been. Those heavenly messengers shared one more promise. The same Jesus would come back. Jesus had made this promise before. The angels shared it again at the very moment that the disciples needed to hear it. They had just watched Jesus ascend. The angels directed their attention to anticipating Jesus coming back again. Their witness has been shared with us so that we can direct our attention the same way. This is a matter of perspective. It is so easy for us to focus on earthly things, on temporary things, on the less important. We tend to gravitate toward issues of money or politics. We make our plans concerning our earthly futures. As witnesses of and for our ascended Savior, as those who have learned the lessons from his life and relied on the promises he has given, our focus shifts to the most important things. He inspires us to give generously to the work of the church and sharing his good news with others. He inspires us to step out of our comfort zones to tell others about our Savior who is also their Savior. He inspires us to be confident in spite of political leaders who disappoint or disease that threatens or other tragedies that strike. Because we anticipate his return. We know that our home is not here. It is in heaven with him. We will see him coming back again. There are many times when it is valuable and important to have witnesses. The life-changing and worldchanging event of our Savior’s ascension required witnesses who learned the lessons of his life, who relied on the promises he gave, and who anticipated his return. Through their witness, we have come to know him better. We, like them, get to await his return as forgiven children whose homes are in heaven with him. And we, like them, get to share the good news with others.
The Text: Acts 1:1–11 (EHV) I wrote my first book, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began doing and teaching 2until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3After he had suffered, he presented himself alive to the apostles with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and told them things about the kingdom of God. 4Once,
when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for what the Father promised, which you heard from me. 5For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6So
when they were together with him, they asked, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7He
said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set 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, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9After
he said these things, he was taken up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. were looking intently into the sky as he went away. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood beside them. 11They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” 10They