What did Jesus leave His followers with before He ascended? In this 2nd episode in Acts, Arlin and Anthony walk through His final words in Acts 1:1-11. They highlight three promises given by Jesus: the promise of the Spirit, the promise of power, and the promise of His return. Join us to discover what Jesus’ promises mean for us today.
Transcript
We are continuing our series in the book of Acts. If you missed, in our last episode, we did an overview of the series. I want you to know all His promises are certain, so you witness for Him till He comes again.
Think about the last moments you’ve spent with a loved one. The parting is hard and our last moments with them leave an impression. Today we look at the disciples last moments with Jesus.
Let’s read Acts 1:1-11.
1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,
3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,
11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
There was no doubt among His followers that Jesus was/is alive. The “infallible proof” “proved he was alive” wording is awesome—it means Jesus is alive. This fact changes everything.
He was seen by them, and Jesus continued teaching the “Kingdom of God.” This was the theme of His life, so why would he change now? The Kingdom of God isn’t used a lot in Acts, 8 times, but its use is strategic. Luke doesn’t let us forget about it, after all, this is the next phase of His kingdom. Acts is the link between the Gospels and the Epistles, without it we would be missing a big piece. We won’t look at all 8 times it is mentioned, but notice Acts starts and ends with His kingdom being taught.
Let’s look at the 3 promises Jesus leaves us with.
Promise of the Spirit- Before Ascension
Jesus promised the disciples that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days. He knew he was leaving and was preparing them for that time. Imagine what they thought when Jesus said baptized with the Spirit. They had the Old Testament examples of the Spirit coming on people, and maybe this is what they expected. Later, they remembered His words, and they understood them. In Acts 11:16, Peter quotes Jesus saying this.
They come back with a question – He talked about it His whole life, so they had good reason to expect it.
Did Jesus restore the kingdom to Israel?
He did not meet their expectations, but what came next was the next phase of His kingdom.
This question shows their expectations. What are you and I expecting? When was the last time you asked Jesus, are you setting up your kingdom now? We can learn from their anticipation, “Lord, is it now?”
Promise of Power – At Ascension
Look at his answer; it was not a yes or a no, and he did not reprimand them for asking. He says the times and seasons are not for you to know, but you will get power and you will be witnesses.
Today, I think his answer would still be the same; dates and times are not for you to know. Look at the many people who have said Jesus is going to restore His kingdom and gave a date and a place. Are there any of these that left a positive view of Jesus and His work? Not that I know of.
Jesus’ answer is still a good one for those who want a date. “Not for you to know dates or times, but you have power—go and be my witnesses.” You don’t get the time, but you will get power.
Acts 1:8 is an important verse that points to the promise of power and the command to be witnesses. It also gives us an overview of the rest of Acts. It says, “You shall receive power,” not peace, or joy, or many other things, but POWER.
It is interesting that He didn’t say we would have the Holy Spirit. Do we have this power today? In English, this sounds like a once-and-done event. The verb tense in the original gives the meaning of continuing action, “you shall be obtaining” power. You won’t exhaust this resource so we don’t need to worry about running out. No need to refill, but there may be a need to purify the vessel. You want more of the Spirit? Make room for Him.
We are receiving power to be witnesses.
What is a witness? They tell others how they saw it. Everyone who experienced the Jesus who is alive can tell others about Him. This is what witnesses do—they tell. The Greek word is the word from which we get our word for martyr. Shortly after they were doing just this, they witnessed by being martyred.
Where will this happen? In ever growing circles. The avalanche continues!
Then that is it! These are His last recorded words. He starts going up. What do you think they said as he went? Imagine being there. You been there when the helium balloon escapes, this is how I imagine it.
Promise of His Return – After Ascension
Acts 1:10 says, “Suddenly two angels appeared.”They didn’t come walking down the road, they were just there. In verse 11, someone asks, “Why are you just looking into the sky?” I think I would have been doing exactly that.
The angels said, “Just as you have seen him go into heaven, he will come back,” and this is our last promise. The angels knew this, and ever since He left, we have been looking for His return. The early followers were expecting Him soon. James 5:8 says, “Lord’s coming is near,” and 1 Peter 4:7 says, “the end of all things is near,” and there are other examples in the New Testament and many examples of Christians expecting and waiting for Christ. Still we are looking and we say it is closer today than it was yesterday.
Some people are scoffers and question when Jesus is returning. To this day, the scoffers in II Peter 3:4 have been right. They are saying, “Where is this coming he promised?” but the wait is not over. In II Cor 1:20 it says, “In Christ, all of God’s promises are yes and amen.” I realize that to some people this sounds ridiculous, and I can’t speak for everyone, but I believe it. It is not blind faith. Look at all Jesus said and taught. It is solid! I am expecting this to happen and looking for it. All His promises are certain, and we have a reasonable faith.
The disciples then went back to Jerusalem. They had a lot to process. They lost Jesus again, but this time was different. In Acts 1:14, 120 people continued in prayer. This was not a huge group, but they are doing the right thing. Chapter 1 ends with God showing them Matthias was to take the place of Judas, fulfilling Psalm 109:8—an example of a promise fulfilled.
Conclusion
We’ve looked at 3 of His promises: 2 have happened, and 1 is yet to happen. The Spirit has come, we have received Power, and we are expecting the last one soon. I want you to know all His promises are certain, so you witness for Him till He comes again. Jesus command to the disciples applies to us. We shall be receiving power to be His witnesses. After you experience Jesus, go and tell others about Him.
