I'll Be Right Back

The Book of Acts begins by dropping the reader right into the middle of a teaching session that Jesus was conducting with His Apostles. It is apparent that the Apostles were not satisfied with knowing about the kingdom; they were obsessed with knowing when it was to come.  Notice how verse six , of chapter 1, shows their persistence, “they kept asking Him, has the time come…” (NLT). Undoubtedly, the Apostles had a personal stake in this question; they wanted the kingdom to begin soon because that would mean the overthrow of the Roman government and the end of the oppression of the Jewish people once and for all. Perhaps this question is not overtly selfish, but it does have pride-like undertones when viewed in the broader context. Let me take a moment to explain.

God did indeed promise in the Old Testament that the nation of Israel would be instrumental in the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth, but what the Jewish mind failed to remember is that the kingdom of God has always been a plan for all people. God’s promise to restore that which was lost in the Garden of Eden (Gen.3:15) through sin was not only for the nation of Israel (the nation of Israel was not even in existence at that time). The plan of God’s kingdom has always been centered on Christ as the only way to make salvation available for all people, not just the nation of Israel. When Christ returns at the second coming, He will re-establish the kingdom of God that was lost in the Garden of Eden through sin (we often term this period as the “millennial kingdom” focusing on the 1,000-year aspect; Rev.20:3). It is during this time that Jesus will be ruling over the earth, with the nation of Israel functioning in the unique way that God intended.

Isaiah 42:6 tells us that Israel was to be a light to the Gentile nations, a bright light that would draw all the nations around them to the one true God. Unfortunately, the Bible reveals that the reverse happened. In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel pulled away from the one true God and went after the gods of the nations around them, and in the New Testament, when Jesus, the Light of the World, shows up, the Jewish people still reject Him. It seems apparent that the Jewish people are so preoccupied with their unique role in the kingdom of God that they have forgotten the original plan of redemption for all humanity. Christ did not forget the original plan; in fact, His death and resurrection were integral to the plan. Like acts in a play, Christ knew that more were coming, and He also knew that the Father had already written the ending; so, Christ tells the Apostles not to worry about the future; the Father has it all under control.  They needed to focus on their present task, not their future role in the kingdom of God.

As the Apostles received this commission from Christ on the Mount of Olives, something remarkable happened: Jesus ascended into the heavens. As Jesus ascends into the heavens, two supernatural beings suddenly appear beside the group, asking the Apostles why they are staring into the sky. Then, these two supernatural messengers deliver their message of hope:  Jesus is coming back! But look carefully at verse 11 and read the entire sentence: Jesus is coming back in the same manner that He went into heaven. This verse is one of the strongest proof texts for a literal and physical return of Christ in the future.

While the words of the two messengers were full of hope and excitement, they were also a reminder for the Apostles to stay focused on the task ahead of them.  Oliver Wendell Holmes famously said, “Some people are so heavenly-minded that they are no earthly good.” While that quote is catchy, the real truth is quite the opposite. The Apostles turned the world upside-down for the cause of Christ because they were so heavenly-minded. In his famous work, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says, “It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world (heaven) that they have become so ineffective in this.” The word “witness”, used almost 40 times throughout the book of Acts, is one of the most crucial words in the entire book. The word defines our vital role in God’s plan. Just like God instructed the Apostles to be His witnesses, we, too, have a job to witness (testify) to others of what Christ has done for us.