Jesus Taken Up To Heaven
JESUS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN
ACTS 1:1-14
Notice the effect of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples.
Verses 1-5 connect Luke’s account of how the good news was brought from Jerusalem to Rome with his earlier record of how the good news began, set out in his Gospel. The climax of that record was Jesus’ resurrection and appearance to his apostles (1:3), followed by a warning and a promise (1:4-5). Is this “baptism with the Holy Spirit” the same as that referred to in 1 Corinthians 12:13—ie marking our entry into the fellowship of the church?
1:6-11. The apostles are still bemuddled over the meaning of the kingdom (1:3) and the nature of their task (1:6-7); and thoughts of an earthly reign fill their minds (see Mark 10:35-45). Jesus directs them to their immediate responsibility (1:8; what is it? Does it fulfill Isaiah 43:10?). They must leave the future in God’s hands, and attend to what he commissions them to be and do. This missionary task depends upon:
1:12-14 show how the apostles interpreted the command to wait (1:4). What was their chief occupation? The upper room, often identified with the scene of the Last Supper, was to be a hallowed spot, and not least because Jesus had bound these men and women together in love and deep friendship. Even a former tax collector and a nationalist Zealot lost their traditional hatred for each other (1:13, who are they?)
Notes 1:4: “while staying with them” is literally “sharing a meal with them”; cf. Luke 24:41-43; John 21:12-14; Acts 10:41, one of the many proofs of his true resurrection. 1:8: the ground plan of the entire book. 1:9: the cloud is an Old Testament sign of God’s presence. He is received into his immediate presence (John 17:11,24). Questions of how far is “up” are beside the point if God is omnipresent. The ascension is the withdrawal of Jesus from our earth-bound vision, but not from our world (Matthew 28:20). 1:12: 1,000 yards is the extent of such a journey. 1:14: the women are those who were last at the cross (Mark 15:40,47) and first at the tomb (Mark 16:1-2).