WE CAN'T KEEP STANDING HERE
Overwhelmed
It was a Thursday afternoon and Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples were gathered together on a hill outside of the town of Bethany… just standing there. They weren’t doing anything really, just staring up into the clouds, probably with wide eyes and wrinkled foreheads and open mouths because Jesus had just been taken up in midair right in front of their eyes! He had actually floated up off of the ground and rose into the sky until they could see him no more. And what a way to cap off the events of the last month and a half! Exactly six weeks before this final miracle of their Savior, they had been walking and talking with Jesus in the city of Jerusalem like they had done dozens of times before. But that Thursday had been no ordinary Thursday either. It happened to be Maundy Thursday. And, as the disciples looked back on that afternoon, things were about to spiral out of control. That night Jesus gave them the Lord’s Supper for the very first time. One of their close friends betrayed Jesus. He was arrested; he was crucified; he was buried; he rose from the dead; he physically appeared to them multiple times in various places; he gave them final instructions about what to do after his departure; and then he led them to a place southeast of Jerusalem where he physically ascended into heaven in full view. A lot had happened in those six weeks! From fear to worry to despair to panic to disbelief to inexpressible joy to anxiety to disappointment… The disciples had gone through the full range of emotions as their lives had been turned upside down in the 42 days now past. And now they were standing there on that hill near Bethany, looking up into the clouds in which their Savior had just disappeared, not knowing what to do, not knowing what to say, just trying to catch up with everything that had happened over such a short period of time.
Suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
“Why are you still standing here?” the angels asked the disciples. It must have been a little startling to suddenly see two angels right next to them. Of course, the disciples had seen plenty of amazing things in the last few weeks... But it was a legitimate question, wasn’t it? “Why are you still standing here?” Yes, Jesus was going to come back, but not yet. Yes, it certainly was an incredible miracle that the disciples had just seen, but they were about to experience another never-before-seen miracle ten days later. And the disciples weren’t doing what the Lord had told them to do anyway. He didn’t ask them to stand there on that hill and stare up into the sky. He didn’t tell them to take some time off now those hectic six weeks were over with. No, he told them to go into Jerusalem and wait for the special gift he was going to give to them. In fact, right before he ascended into heaven he hinted at what that gift was going to be: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That was what they were supposed to be doing. Not standing there out in the middle of nowhere. Not waiting for Jesus’ glorious return before it was time. But preparing themselves and preparing others so that as many people as possible would be ready when Jesus came again.
Ministry Transition
To be fair: it must have been a hard transition for the disciples. Jesus had sent them out on their own before of course, but not for long periods of time - and they had always come back to him to check in. Jesus had always taken the lead; Jesus had always directed them where to go; Jesus had always corrected them when they were wrong and comforted them when they were hurting. But now he was gone. They had seen him leave with their own eyes. And they were starting to realize that there was going to be a ministry transition of sorts: they were going to have to continue to do the work of the kingdom of God without their God visibly there to hold their hands. They were now going to be the leaders of the Christian Church on earth. They were going to have to go out into the world with this gospel; they were going to be the ones that others looked to for answers and guidance just as they had once looked to Christ.
The disciples ended up getting the hang of it, of course. Peter preached and taught and wrote for decades to follow. John lived for another 70 years or so after this event. The other disciples faithfully proclaimed what they saw and experienced to any who would listen. The apostle Paul was even brought faith a few years after Jesus’ ascension and boldly spread the Word to the world. But it wasn’t easy. And the disciples on that day near Bethany knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It was going to be hard without their Savior. It was going to be lonely at times. And so before leaving that hill that afternoon they just stood there, looking up to where their Lord had been just moments before, probably a little hesitant to leave anytime soon, maybe even a little scared to get back to the work that was waiting for them in Jerusalem.
Staring without Sharing
Every Sunday we gather together here to worship that same Savior the disciples saw ascend into heaven. We stand side by side with our brothers and sisters; we blend our voices in prayer and song; we collectively look to him who is still physically here but not visibly. And it’s good to be here together, to sit together, to stand together just like the disciples did on that unknown hill 40 days after Jesus rose from the dead. But their Lord didn’t want his disciples to remain standing there. He didn’t want them to simply be staring; he wanted them to be sharing. And so he gently urged them back into Jerusalem with an angelic visit so that they could take the message about their ascended Savior into the world.
Our Lord doesn’t want us to just stand here either. He doesn’t want us to simply be staring at the cross and the altar and the font in front of a church; he wants us to be sharing those things with those who aren’t here with us. He wants us to be going; he wants us to be doing the work he has given us the privilege to do. We aren’t going to be dowsed with the Holy Spirit in the same miraculous way the disciples were 10 days later at Pentecost, but we do have the same mission as those original disciples had, the same “calling” in a way, the same world-wide harvest field in which to work. And so we can’t stay standing here. We can’t remain sitting in these chairs. We can’t keep hiding behind these walls.
But it’s more comfortable here, isn’t it? It’s so much easier standing here among fellow Christians who believe exactly what you believe. It’s so much more relaxing to hear and study and soak in the Truth with those who already know the Truth. It’s not always so relaxing or easy or comfortable going out “there.” Because out “there” is where unbelievers are. Out “there” is where people live who don’t know what you believe and usually don’t care. And so leaving the familiar and friendly gatherings that we enjoy here each Sunday isn’t always on the top of our “to do” list. Because it can be hard and intimidating and overwhelming. Plus, we tend to be a little lazy.
We just don’t always want to make the effort to get into that kind of discussion with our next door neighbor. We just don’t always feel up to broaching that topic with our relative. We just don’t always feel like spending the time and working up the patience and preparing ourselves for rejection in order to invite or encourage or offer something to that friend who we know needs to hear the Word of God, but we just haven’t gotten to it yet. And so we put it off for yet another day. And another. And another. And in the meantime we keep coming back and standing here each Sunday, praying and singing and confessing - as we well should! - but then when it’s all over with we are, in effect, still standing here, not going, not sharing; just staring. Waiting for the Lord to come back and take us home, but not doing every single thing we can ourselves to prepare others for his arrival. And maybe I shouldn’t use the word “we” here; maybe I should just stick to what “I” know that “I” do. But I’m sure all of you can think of plenty of opportunities that you have left untaken and plenty of words that you have left unsaid and plenty of souls that you have left uninvited. We all just stand around sometimes. We all tend to want to linger on Bethany’s hill with Jesus’ disciples for a while instead of taking what we have seen and heard and believe to those who need to hear and see and believe it too.
Jesus didn’t Stay
On that very first Ascension Day so many years ago, as the disciples stood on that hill looking up into the sky, they had no reason to stay there, did they? They had no reason to stay because their Lord didn’t stay. He had left! He had gone into heaven never to come back until the Day of Judgment. But why did he leave? Why did Jesus ascend from this earth? Why didn’t he just stay here and help us and guide us and direct us visibly and verbally? Jesus didn’t stay because his work was done. He had accomplished everything that he had come to do. There was nothing left for him achieve. The suffering was over with, the temptations were long past, the punishment was satisfied, death was defeated, the grave was emptied, the resurrection was proved, our forgiveness was won, and our eternal life was guaranteed. Jesus had done it all. And his ascension into heaven marked the final act of Christ on this earth. It was the finishing touch on a perfect life. It was the victory march of a successful mission. And it was a clear indication that now that his work of salvation was done, he placed that message into the hands of his children so that they could bring that message of salvation to the world.
Ascension is a turning point in many ways. We have gone through months and months of Christ’s suffering during lent and Christ’s dying during Holy Week and Christ’s resurrection at Easter and Christ’s miraculous appearances in the weeks following and now Christ’s ascension into heaven. Lent started almost three full months ago. And from that point until now we have focused almost all of our attention on the last week of Jesus’ life and the 40 days thereafter. You have seen what Jesus has done for you. You have heard about what Jesus has sacrificed for you. And you have been fully convinced that he has done all of these things with you in mind and for your salvation. Now take what you have seen with your eyes and what you have heard with your ears and what you have believed in your hearts and let it find its way onto your tongue! It’s time to share what you know! It’s time to speak what you’ve read! It’s time to invite and encourage and offer and reach out in some way to those who haven’t seen what Jesus went through during the season of Lent or what Jesus accomplished during Holy Week or what Jesus guaranteed at Easter or what Jesus finished at his Ascension. It’s time to walk back down that hill with those disciples and into Jerusalem. It’s time to get ready to share that message! It’s time to let someone know about the incredible joy that you have in your Savior! And, just like those eleven disciples, you have everything you need to go. You have the words; you have the reason; you have the Lord by your side. It’s not time to stand around anymore. There’s a story that needs telling. There’s a Savior that needs introducing. There are souls that need saving.
Amen.
“Jesus appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” - 1 Tim. 3:16
Overwhelmed
It was a Thursday afternoon and Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples were gathered together on a hill outside of the town of Bethany… just standing there. They weren’t doing anything really, just staring up into the clouds, probably with wide eyes and wrinkled foreheads and open mouths because Jesus had just been taken up in midair right in front of their eyes! He had actually floated up off of the ground and rose into the sky until they could see him no more. And what a way to cap off the events of the last month and a half! Exactly six weeks before this final miracle of their Savior, they had been walking and talking with Jesus in the city of Jerusalem like they had done dozens of times before. But that Thursday had been no ordinary Thursday either. It happened to be Maundy Thursday. And, as the disciples looked back on that afternoon, things were about to spiral out of control. That night Jesus gave them the Lord’s Supper for the very first time. One of their close friends betrayed Jesus. He was arrested; he was crucified; he was buried; he rose from the dead; he physically appeared to them multiple times in various places; he gave them final instructions about what to do after his departure; and then he led them to a place southeast of Jerusalem where he physically ascended into heaven in full view. A lot had happened in those six weeks! From fear to worry to despair to panic to disbelief to inexpressible joy to anxiety to disappointment… The disciples had gone through the full range of emotions as their lives had been turned upside down in the 42 days now past. And now they were standing there on that hill near Bethany, looking up into the clouds in which their Savior had just disappeared, not knowing what to do, not knowing what to say, just trying to catch up with everything that had happened over such a short period of time.
Suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
“Why are you still standing here?” the angels asked the disciples. It must have been a little startling to suddenly see two angels right next to them. Of course, the disciples had seen plenty of amazing things in the last few weeks... But it was a legitimate question, wasn’t it? “Why are you still standing here?” Yes, Jesus was going to come back, but not yet. Yes, it certainly was an incredible miracle that the disciples had just seen, but they were about to experience another never-before-seen miracle ten days later. And the disciples weren’t doing what the Lord had told them to do anyway. He didn’t ask them to stand there on that hill and stare up into the sky. He didn’t tell them to take some time off now those hectic six weeks were over with. No, he told them to go into Jerusalem and wait for the special gift he was going to give to them. In fact, right before he ascended into heaven he hinted at what that gift was going to be: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That was what they were supposed to be doing. Not standing there out in the middle of nowhere. Not waiting for Jesus’ glorious return before it was time. But preparing themselves and preparing others so that as many people as possible would be ready when Jesus came again.
Ministry Transition
To be fair: it must have been a hard transition for the disciples. Jesus had sent them out on their own before of course, but not for long periods of time - and they had always come back to him to check in. Jesus had always taken the lead; Jesus had always directed them where to go; Jesus had always corrected them when they were wrong and comforted them when they were hurting. But now he was gone. They had seen him leave with their own eyes. And they were starting to realize that there was going to be a ministry transition of sorts: they were going to have to continue to do the work of the kingdom of God without their God visibly there to hold their hands. They were now going to be the leaders of the Christian Church on earth. They were going to have to go out into the world with this gospel; they were going to be the ones that others looked to for answers and guidance just as they had once looked to Christ.
The disciples ended up getting the hang of it, of course. Peter preached and taught and wrote for decades to follow. John lived for another 70 years or so after this event. The other disciples faithfully proclaimed what they saw and experienced to any who would listen. The apostle Paul was even brought faith a few years after Jesus’ ascension and boldly spread the Word to the world. But it wasn’t easy. And the disciples on that day near Bethany knew it wasn’t going to be easy. It was going to be hard without their Savior. It was going to be lonely at times. And so before leaving that hill that afternoon they just stood there, looking up to where their Lord had been just moments before, probably a little hesitant to leave anytime soon, maybe even a little scared to get back to the work that was waiting for them in Jerusalem.
Staring without Sharing
Every Sunday we gather together here to worship that same Savior the disciples saw ascend into heaven. We stand side by side with our brothers and sisters; we blend our voices in prayer and song; we collectively look to him who is still physically here but not visibly. And it’s good to be here together, to sit together, to stand together just like the disciples did on that unknown hill 40 days after Jesus rose from the dead. But their Lord didn’t want his disciples to remain standing there. He didn’t want them to simply be staring; he wanted them to be sharing. And so he gently urged them back into Jerusalem with an angelic visit so that they could take the message about their ascended Savior into the world.
Our Lord doesn’t want us to just stand here either. He doesn’t want us to simply be staring at the cross and the altar and the font in front of a church; he wants us to be sharing those things with those who aren’t here with us. He wants us to be going; he wants us to be doing the work he has given us the privilege to do. We aren’t going to be dowsed with the Holy Spirit in the same miraculous way the disciples were 10 days later at Pentecost, but we do have the same mission as those original disciples had, the same “calling” in a way, the same world-wide harvest field in which to work. And so we can’t stay standing here. We can’t remain sitting in these chairs. We can’t keep hiding behind these walls.
But it’s more comfortable here, isn’t it? It’s so much easier standing here among fellow Christians who believe exactly what you believe. It’s so much more relaxing to hear and study and soak in the Truth with those who already know the Truth. It’s not always so relaxing or easy or comfortable going out “there.” Because out “there” is where unbelievers are. Out “there” is where people live who don’t know what you believe and usually don’t care. And so leaving the familiar and friendly gatherings that we enjoy here each Sunday isn’t always on the top of our “to do” list. Because it can be hard and intimidating and overwhelming. Plus, we tend to be a little lazy.
We just don’t always want to make the effort to get into that kind of discussion with our next door neighbor. We just don’t always feel up to broaching that topic with our relative. We just don’t always feel like spending the time and working up the patience and preparing ourselves for rejection in order to invite or encourage or offer something to that friend who we know needs to hear the Word of God, but we just haven’t gotten to it yet. And so we put it off for yet another day. And another. And another. And in the meantime we keep coming back and standing here each Sunday, praying and singing and confessing - as we well should! - but then when it’s all over with we are, in effect, still standing here, not going, not sharing; just staring. Waiting for the Lord to come back and take us home, but not doing every single thing we can ourselves to prepare others for his arrival. And maybe I shouldn’t use the word “we” here; maybe I should just stick to what “I” know that “I” do. But I’m sure all of you can think of plenty of opportunities that you have left untaken and plenty of words that you have left unsaid and plenty of souls that you have left uninvited. We all just stand around sometimes. We all tend to want to linger on Bethany’s hill with Jesus’ disciples for a while instead of taking what we have seen and heard and believe to those who need to hear and see and believe it too.
Jesus didn’t Stay
On that very first Ascension Day so many years ago, as the disciples stood on that hill looking up into the sky, they had no reason to stay there, did they? They had no reason to stay because their Lord didn’t stay. He had left! He had gone into heaven never to come back until the Day of Judgment. But why did he leave? Why did Jesus ascend from this earth? Why didn’t he just stay here and help us and guide us and direct us visibly and verbally? Jesus didn’t stay because his work was done. He had accomplished everything that he had come to do. There was nothing left for him achieve. The suffering was over with, the temptations were long past, the punishment was satisfied, death was defeated, the grave was emptied, the resurrection was proved, our forgiveness was won, and our eternal life was guaranteed. Jesus had done it all. And his ascension into heaven marked the final act of Christ on this earth. It was the finishing touch on a perfect life. It was the victory march of a successful mission. And it was a clear indication that now that his work of salvation was done, he placed that message into the hands of his children so that they could bring that message of salvation to the world.
Ascension is a turning point in many ways. We have gone through months and months of Christ’s suffering during lent and Christ’s dying during Holy Week and Christ’s resurrection at Easter and Christ’s miraculous appearances in the weeks following and now Christ’s ascension into heaven. Lent started almost three full months ago. And from that point until now we have focused almost all of our attention on the last week of Jesus’ life and the 40 days thereafter. You have seen what Jesus has done for you. You have heard about what Jesus has sacrificed for you. And you have been fully convinced that he has done all of these things with you in mind and for your salvation. Now take what you have seen with your eyes and what you have heard with your ears and what you have believed in your hearts and let it find its way onto your tongue! It’s time to share what you know! It’s time to speak what you’ve read! It’s time to invite and encourage and offer and reach out in some way to those who haven’t seen what Jesus went through during the season of Lent or what Jesus accomplished during Holy Week or what Jesus guaranteed at Easter or what Jesus finished at his Ascension. It’s time to walk back down that hill with those disciples and into Jerusalem. It’s time to get ready to share that message! It’s time to let someone know about the incredible joy that you have in your Savior! And, just like those eleven disciples, you have everything you need to go. You have the words; you have the reason; you have the Lord by your side. It’s not time to stand around anymore. There’s a story that needs telling. There’s a Savior that needs introducing. There are souls that need saving.
Amen.
“Jesus appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” - 1 Tim. 3:16
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