Until Later
“After the
Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and He sat at the
right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the
Lord worked with them and confirmed His word by the signs that accompanied it” (Mark
16:19-20 NIV).
“When He had
led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed
them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven. Then
they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed
continually at the temple, praising God” (Luke 24:50-53 NIV).
Setting the Scene
The final
glimpse of Jesus was yet another surprise in a long line of startling
developments for His disciples. During the previous forty days Jesus had been
appearing and disappearing unexpectedly, so this departure was markedly
different. Both Mark and Luke report that He was “taken up.” He didn’t
disappear; He went away, leaving the distinct impression that what He said
about returning might happen at any time. In the book of Acts, when Luke
continued his account of what happened next, he added: “They were looking
intently up into the sky as He was going, when 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’” (Acts
1:10-11 NIV).
Clearly, the
spreading of the gospel to the nations was not going to happen by disciples
stuck on the Mount of Olives looking up to the sky. Luke’s closing note is that
they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. The power was coming, but the
message was already planted. They would soon set the world on fire with the
unstoppable Good News that any life can be eternally altered by the forgiving
power of God, to the glory of God.
Getting Personal
In what ways do other people recognize your joy?
How does the joy of the Lord affect your daily life?
How often would you say you delight in anticipating
Christ’s return?
What does that privilege mean to you?
Just as His
first disciples, fresh from the scene of Jesus’ ascension, anticipated Christ’s
return, we live today in similar anticipation. The believer knows that none of
us has to live longer than a lifetime to see Jesus. We will leave through death
to meet Him, or He will come for us. Either way, our task is to live with joy,
letting others know why it is that we cannot stop praising God.
Talking to God
Adapt one of the apostle Paul’s prayers, that “Christ will make His home in your heart as you trust in Him; that your roots would grow down into God’s love and keep you strong; and that you may have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is; that you may experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully; and that you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Ephesians 3:17-19 NLT).
Veerman, D. R. (2011-08-25). Life Application Study Bible Devotional.
“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.”
Just as His
first disciples, fresh from the scene of Jesus’ ascension, anticipated Christ’s
return, we live today in similar anticipation.
How often
would you say you delight in anticipating Christ’s return?
No comments:
Post a Comment