Ascension
Preaching
A BUCKET FULL OF MIRACLES
Preaching The Miracles Of Jesus
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Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you -- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
The Ascension Of The Lord, which comes forty days after Easter according to both Acts 1:3 and the liturgical calendar (which derives from Acts in this case), is always on a Thursday. For this reason it is not observed in many congregations, and even when observed, attendance at Ascension worship services is often rather sparse. For this reason, it seems, the lection appointed for this day is identical in each of the three cycles in the church year. The First Lesson in all cases is Acts 1:1-11, and the Gospel Lesson is Luke 24:44-53.
Luke very carefully divides his two volumes (Luke and Acts) at the event of the ascension, with the gospel coming first, and the history of the church coming second. Unfortunately, the requirements of the traditional worship and the order in which readings are presented means that the readings are presented in the opposite order. While this is not a plea for scrapping the traditional order of readings, it is offered as a possible rationale for reversing the traditional order on this day.
These readings include Luke's transition between the gospel and the history, namely Acts 1:1-5. This transition begins with a summary of the gospel, and particularly of the resurrection, which was the most important event of the first volume. Many of the themes from the first volume are to be fulfilled and expanded in this second volume. In many ways this is accomplished by this transition which also serves to make the entire book of Acts a fulfillment of the work of Jesus.
About The Text
The two lessons, presented here in the order in which they were first presented by Luke, have been challenged by some commentators as not truly belonging to the text of the Lucan narrative. The arguments revolve largely around the particular word choices made in these sections. With words not commonly found in the Lucan vocabulary, some have opted to suggest these verses do not belong in the original, but were added later to the text. Closer examination does reveal some vocabulary differences, but the theology and style of these sections make the vocabulary issues less than decisive.
In fact, by insisting that the ascension is the point of transition between the two portions of his narrative, Luke manages to construct a rather dramatic end to the gospel and a dramatic beginning to the history. While there are some difficulties between the two accounts, in general, the history expands the description of events found in the gospel.
Words Of Luke 24:44-53
I was still with you -- This incident takes place after the resurrection, and the relationship between Jesus and his disciples has changed. Rather than being incarnate, Jesus is now in a resurrected body, and soon to be physically gone. Already, the relationship has changed, a fact which is reflected in this introduction.
Moses, the prophets, and the psalms -- This reflects the traditional Hebrew division of the scriptures. While the Hebrew Scriptures as a whole are referred to a number of times, this is the only use of this structural reference in the New Testament. Taken in conjunction with other references, particularly those ascribed to Jesus, it is clear that he was well versed in the Hebrew Scriptures, and had a knowledge of them which was based in that tradition.
opened their minds -- This reference to opening the disciples' minds is a clear parallel to the episode earlier on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). In both instances, insight into events comes from interaction with the resurrected Christ, who opens the scriptures (on the road to Emmaus) or the disciples' minds to understand the scriptures (in this episode). Further, the details of the resulting understanding are similar as well.
witnesses -- The word used here for witness derives from the law courts, and is also found in Acts. The concept of basing this gospel on the testimony of witnesses is very important for Luke, as he could not claim to have been an eyewitness himself. Since he is writing a derivative work connecting his gospel to the testimony of eye witnesses lends it an additional cachet of veracity which is quite important.
beginning from Jerusalem -- Luke uses a theological construct to frame the growth of the church which he is going to report in the next half of his work. This phrase is the first portion of that construct, and here the grammar involved is ambiguous enough to allow the phrase to be connected to either the preceding or following phrases. The NRSV, and most other translations, place the phrase with what precedes it, as in the text of the NRSV. The possibility must be allowed for that the text really belongs with what follows, as in the NRSV footnote. The meaning is slightly different with the second option, which connects the Jerusalem beginning with the eyewitness basis of the proclamation.
my Father -- Luke includes a number of echoes to the Gospel of John, in this case to John 15:16. The promised gift from the Father leads directly to the story of Pentecost in Acts, which is another connection from this story to another writing.
stay here -- Clearly the city where the disciples were to stay has rather elastic boundaries, since in the next verse Jesus leads them to Bethany. There are two possible explanations for this anomaly.
First, Bethany was regarded as close enough to Jerusalem to allow people staying there during Passover to participate in the activities in the temple. Clearly this is what Jesus and his companions had done in the past, so it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the disciples continued the practice after the ascension and still regard themselves as following Jesus' instructions.
Second, Jesus' instructions only applied after he ascended. Until that time he led the disciples where he pleased, including the familiar ground of Bethany.
It should also be noted that Luke includes this instruction even though it seems to contradict the evidence of Mark 16:7 (and the parallel in Matthew 28:7) about an Easer morning instruction to go to Galilee, and the reports in Matthew 28:16 and John 21:1 that the disciples met Jesus in Galilee. Luke is clearly writing from a theological perspective that enables him to disregard historical reports and evidence contrary to his theological understanding.
Bethany -- The small town of Bethany seems to have been the usual place for Jesus and his disciples to stay during Passover. As a result of this, it seems logical that this location was also well supplied with followers of Jesus (according to John 11:1, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived here, and the donkey he rode on Palm Sunday was also provided by a follower from here according to Mark 11:1), which made his stays there relatively safe. In Mark 11:11-12 (and the parallels in Matthew 21:17; Luke 19:29; and John 12:1) Jesus is staying in Bethany while he is actually visiting Jerusalem and worshiping in the temple. Jesus also was invited to dinner during his stays in Bethany (Matthew 26:6). New Testament references to this town near Jerusalem (eleven of them), locate the village on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, which places the ascension in a mountainous locale.
lifting up his hands -- The last image of Jesus in Luke's Gospel finds him in a priestly stance, a pose of benediction. This represents yet another link to John, where Jesus also appears in a priestly role when he delivers what is known as the high priestly prayer (John 17).
carried up -- The Gospel of Luke ends with the impression that the ascension happened quite late on Easter evening. Acts begins by correcting, or updating the impression. Some of the manuscripts omit this phrase, and scholarly opinion seems somewhat divided on its inclusion.
The debate seems to focus on this word. For Luke the ascension is the glorification of Christ, which comes only after the resurrection (in a point of theological differentiation, John's glorification begins when Jesus is raised up on the cross). The word used here in Greek is also the word used for the action of the priests in the temple in elevating the sacrifices of the people. Thus, the earthly Jesus is, in his final scene on earth, raised up as the ultimate sacrifice, a theological point similar to that made later in the book of Hebrews.
Some commentators feel this word is not emphasized here, and suggest that this omission of emphasis represents the original text. Others suggest that the phrase is omitted to make the end of Luke fit better with the beginning of Acts. It is likely that the latter position is the more rational, but the evidence for either position is not completely conclusive.
in the temple -- It must be remembered that the Gospel of Luke ends at a time long before the Christians' breach with the Jews, when worship in the temple was still regarded as the proper behavior for a Christian with a Jewish background (which was pretty much everyone who was a Christian at the time of the end of the gospel). Historically, Christians would spend forty to fifty years following the ascension faithfully worshiping in the temple. It was only with the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 C.E. that Christians in Jerusalem ended their worship in the Temple.
Words Of Acts 1:1-11
all -- This word betrays a desire on Luke's part to fix the form of the memories of Jesus according to his own theological understanding of the events. Likely this is not an indication of a desire to be completely comprehensive in including everything known (see John 20:30-31, which is likely an accurate reflection of Luke's principles for inclusion as well as John's), but an indication of Luke's principle of including everything necessary to bring a reader to faith (see Luke 1:3-4). Incidents which were difficult to conciliate with his understanding of events were eliminated without apologies.
to heaven -- This phrase is actually not included in the Greek text. It is, however, implied by both the context and the action of the ascension which ends Luke and begins Acts, and is, consequently, regularly supplied by translators.
apostles -- This term occurs 38 times in the book of Acts. Only in 14:4 and 16 does it refer to Paul and Barnabas. All other references are to the twelve (or eleven), typically in Jerusalem. Clearly, for Luke, the eleven or twelve (following the election of Matthias as a replacement for Judas, Acts 1:15-26) are the leaders of the church, the ones who lend their title to the first era in the history of the church -- the Apostolic Age. The minor fact that Acts focuses on Peter and Paul, with only a passing reference to James, has little to do with the hagiographic respect he shows for the eleven or twelve leaders.
during forty days -- The phrase is much more ambiguous than it might first appear. It might be understood as "constantly with the apostles" for the period of forty days. Alternatively, it might be taken to mean "appeared many times during" this period to the apostles. This ambiguity is present in the Greek and is retained by the NRSV translation.
While staying with them -- This word is a hapex legomenon, which leads to the problems encountered in the effort to translate it properly. There are at least three possible translations. The first, eat with them (literally eat salt) emphasizes the fellowship aspects of the relationship during these forty days. In more modern terms, this is a sort of graduate seminar between a beloved professor and his best students as they prepare to leave school.
A second possible translation is bring together, camp out with. Not only does this meaning echo the image of John 1:14, it also emphasizes both the new status of the resurrected Christ (which is an echo of Luke 24:44) and the fact that at this time the apostles were all together with Jesus, a sort of primal church council.
A third possibility is that the word in Greek is actually a misspelling of the word which means stay with, be with, spend time with. Leaving aside the issue of possible misspellings in the text, there are several texts that actually have the variant spelling. This understanding would emphasize the intermittent nature of Christ's appearances to the apostles during this period, as opposed to a continual presence among them, which seems to be emphasized in the previous translation possibility.
witnesses -- Once again, as in the gospel, Luke uses the concept borrowed from the legal system to describe what the apostles will be doing. The Greek word for witness, marturia, is the basis for the English word martyr. In many ways, this is a telling comment on the nature of the witness which can be called for from a Christian.
Jerusalem -- Again, Luke is imposing his theological construct to structure his presentation of events. Historical evidence indicates that Christianity actually originated in a variety of places such as Joppa, Lydia, Damascus, and likely Galilee. All these places saw the rise of local groups of Christians during the period immediately after the resurrection. The other gospels all seem to either have the disciples back in Galilee for resurrection appearances (Matthew and John) or, at the least, being commanded to return to Galilee (Mark). It is probable that, in a strict historical perspective, after Galilee, the disciples went on to other places to proclaim the good news.
gazing up -- This is a common expression in Luke. In fact, twelve of the fourteen times the term appears in the New Testament occur in Luke. The term is used with a sense of extended time, in addition to the obvious action, the term also expresses a relatively lengthy duration of an event. Older translations often used the term eyes fixed.
heaven -- The Greek used here, ouranos, can mean either the dwelling place of God (and by extension, God) or merely the sky. Luke uses the term in both ways in his writings, and here it seems to have both meanings at the same time. On the one hand, Jesus ascends to dwelling place of his father while the apostles are simultaneously looking at the sky.
Parallels
The accounts of the ascension in Luke and Acts are, in many ways, without exact parallels in the gospels. The closest parallel is in the text known as the longer ending of Mark. While Mark 16:19-20, and the rest of the longer ending, has been a part of the gospel since ancient times, it seems clear that they originated from a source other than that which produced the rest of the gospel.
The two verses in question here are clearly about the subject of the ascension, their content betrays the likelihood of a date later than the rest of the Gospel of Mark. In Mark's longer ending, Jesus has just delivered his final teaching to the disciples, and he is rather abruptly "taken up into heaven." There, in fulfillment of a popular psalm (110:1), which was taken as a true Davidic psalm, and a prophecy of the Messiah at the time, Jesus "sat down at the right hand of God."
It is this final action of Jesus, the sitting at the right hand of the Father, which seems to have been added and clearly betrays the later origin of the longer ending. Luke, in the story of Stephen in Acts 7, who, at the moment of his execution, sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-56). The posture, standing in Acts and seated in Mark, would seem to be a possible indication that Luke understood the relationship somewhat differently than did the author of the longer ending. In the Letter to the Hebrews, this image also appears, in 1:3, where Jesus assumes a seat at the right hand of God after the ascension.
Aside from an effort to correctly identify the date of the composition of the longer ending of Mark, there is little in these verses that adds to the Lucan images of the ascension. The location of Jesus in heaven, and also on earth is explicitly stated in these verses, but it is only an explicit statement of what Luke has already introduced.
The Gospels of Matthew and John do not contain explicit mentions of the ascension, but Matthew 28:16 frames the final scene of the gospel by placing the disciples on a mountain (Bethany, in Luke, is on the Mount of Olives) worshiping Jesus. The gospel ends with a final summary of Jesus' teaching, which is a vague echo of Mark (in the teaching only, not in the content of the lesson). There are echoes of the ascension scene in John, but the ascension itself is not reported.
The Gospel of John includes a story of Jesus eating with the disciples during an appearance in Galilee (John 21:4-14). This is an echo of the words in Acts 1:4, even though the location echoes Matthew and, to some extent, Mark. Basically, the ascension is reported most clearly and first in Luke and Acts.
The People
As Individuals
The only person actually mentioned by name in these lessons is Jesus. Rather than simply an individual, at this point Jesus must be taken as two distinct identities. The first is that of the physical body which had recently been resurrected. The precise disposition of this body was an issue with which some in the early church were quite concerned. While modern biblical commentators have not been nearly as fascinated as their forebearers with this issue, at one point it was a significant concern. In fact, some modern novelists have found this subject to work as the basis for their works of fiction, usually with someone discovering the remains of a body which is subsequently identified (or misidentified) as the body of Jesus.
In the early church, the issue was not one of identification of the body, but rather one of the disposition. And the ascension resolved the question rather neatly. The physical, resurrected body of Jesus was taken up into heaven, which accounted quite clearly for the current location of the physical body of Jesus.
The other issue involved with Christ involves the promises of presence and support that are made. The clearest promise is, of course, found in the concluding verse of the Gospel of Matthew, also known as the Great Commission. There Jesus says, "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b).
In Luke, the promise is generally that of baptism with the Holy Spirit within a few days (Acts 1:5). However, the Spirit of Jesus is still a motivating force in the church as it grows in Acts. While the physical body has gone to heaven, the Spirit of Christ remains among the apostles, providing the strength, courage, and wisdom which are needed in the early years of the church.
In Acts 1:10, two men suddenly appear next to Jesus. This mention of two figures has led some to suspect that the incident known as the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8; Matthew 17:1-8; and Luke 9:28-36) is actually a resurrection story, if not a reference to the ascension. If, in fact, the ascension is the basis for a misplaced resurrection/ascension account, it is these two men who provide the connective link.
Even without considering the Transfiguration, the comment the two figures make to the apostles in Acts 1:11, "Men of Galilee," might cause some consideration of the witness of the other three gospels, which all include a return by the disciples to Galilee (or an instruction to return in Mark) after the resurrection. It also serves as a reminder that Luke maintains the presence in Jerusalem for theological reasons.
The apostles are, in a way, undergoing a transition parallel to the change from one volume of the Lucan narrative to another, and even, in some senses, parallel to the transition of Jesus from earth to heaven.
It has been said that in the gospels the disciples seem rather slow, frequently asking for explanations of events and often misunderstanding what has been said or done. This pattern continues in Acts 1:6, when the disciples looked to Jesus to restore Israel's political fortunes. However, within a few verses (by Acts 1:14 and 15-17) the disciples are fervently religious, praying together, and then recognizing the need to replace Judas as the twelfth apostle.
After this event, while the apostles are certainly not perfect paragons of wisdom and strength, they change dramatically from the individuals of the gospel. Now they preach without fear, proclaim the good news, and challenge the established authorities. In some ways this dramatic change is a reflection of the presentation by the author. But in some other, quite significant ways this change is best understood as a reflection of the impact of the Spirit of Christ in their lives.
As Images And Signs
The event of the ascension can also be understood as an end and a beginning. This event is the end of the Gospel of Luke, as well as the end of the personal, physical relationship with (or, understood in another way, faith in) Jesus. The ascension is also a beginning, the beginning of Acts as well as the beginning of the apostles' inseparable connection with Christ, a friend and trusted companion both on earth and in heaven.
The Action
In The Story
In Acts 1:3, Luke mentions the "many convincing proofs" by which Jesus proved to the disciples he was alive. Perhaps the most convincing is mentioned in the next verse, which can be translated as "while eating with them." Eating is traditionally thought of as something no ghost can possibly do, hence eating proved the resurrected Jesus was not a ghost. This point is made even more explicit in Luke 24:36-43, which recounts a resurrection appearance which has similarities to John's account of Doubting Thomas.
Jesus appears among the disciples, and they are terrified, since they think he is a ghost. Jesus tells the disciples to look at his hands and feet, and then to touch him, to prove he is not a ghost. When the disciples still seem to have doubts, Jesus provides the ultimate proof of his physical body by taking a piece of boiled fish and eating it in front of them. Similar incidents which involve eating can be found in Mark 16:14 and John 21:12-13. John's recounting of the incident of breakfast at the seaside is heavily overlaid with eucharistic images, but the same can be said for the other references, including the story of the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:30). The common theme among all these stories is the idea that Jesus became known to his followers during the "breaking of bread," or during the sharing of a meal.
The story of the ascension contains a number of difficulties in reconciling the events listed in Luke with the parallel account in Acts. This does not mean that Luke forgot the details, or changed the story between the two accounts. Rather, it is an indication that Luke is writing a theological document, not an unbiased history.
In the gospel, the end of the earthly ministry comes with Jesus taking his leave at the end of the first Easter, with a gesture of benediction borrowed from the priestly practice of the temple. In Acts, Luke is deeply concerned to ensure there is no indication that the church is the creation of human beings alone, hence the need for a final forty days of instruction from the risen Jesus. Not a human venture, but one guided by the risen Christ through its history. In fact, this is a theme that is quite apparent in Acts, where visions, dreams, the Spirit, and the Lord intervene in the action with some regularity to ensure it progresses properly.
Thus, the story of the ascension serves two different purposes, one in each version in which it is found. Not that new information arrived between the appearance of the gospel and the history, but that the theological nature of the larger story made it necessary for the details to adjust accordingly.
In The Hearers
Those who heard the stories of the ascension likely were not troubled by the variations in the details. Luke, in 1:4 (and supported by John 20:31), indicates his purpose in writing these materials is to convince his hearers (or readers) of the truth of Jesus and his ministry that they might believe in him. The stories of the ascension not only settled the nagging minor question of what happened to the resurrected physical body of Jesus (a question similar to the question of "Who was Mrs. Cain?"), but also emphasized that the actions of the apostles were based firmly on the instruction they had received from the resurrected Christ. Hence, the change from less than astute followers, to fearless, intrepid leaders can be attributed to this period of instruction.
The Sermon
Illustrations
Between Luke and Acts, the picture of the apostles changes dramatically, but change can be a difficult thing to face and endure:
During the early days of World War II the British were hard pressed to find artillery to defend their shores against an anticipated invasion. Manpower was also in short supply, and every source was tapped. Finally, the crew manning a piece of artillery which had, in days gone by, been drawn by horses, was under study. The piece was terribly slow to fire, so a time-motion study expert was brought in to see what could be done to improve the rate of fire. The expert and his crew took movies of the firing of the gun and studied them in slow motion.
Eventually the crew noticed the two members of the crew who stood perfectly still, then came to attention and held that position for at least three seconds before the gun was fired and stayed in that posture until after the gun was fired. No one could figure out why the men were behaving this way, except that it was called for in the directions for firing the gun. Finally, an elderly artillery officer was consulted. After some initial puzzlement, he finally recognized what the two men were doing. "I have it!" he cried. "They are holding the horses."
Speaking of the concept of witnesses and witnessing:
In the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the title characters are trying to escape a posse, after a train robbery. The posse consists of good horsemen who are relentless in their pursuit of the pair. Finally Butch asks Sundance a question, "Who are those guys?"
That is exactly how Christians should witness: quietly, relentlessly, so that all who see them are moved to ask, "Who are those guys?"
A study was once made, and it was concluded that the average person spoke for only ten or eleven minutes a day. The average sentence takes only two and a half seconds to say. We communicate more through our actions than through our words, more with our eyes and facial expressions, hands and shoulders than with our mouths.
The apostles spent, according to Acts, the forty days between Easter and the Ascension being instructed by the risen Christ. Instruction in the church is more often similar to that of a university in this cynical view:
Universities are full of knowledge. After all, the freshmen arrive knowing everything, and the graduating seniors take no knowledge away, so the knowledge must accumulate somewhere on campus.
Approaches To Preaching
As the last illustration points out, the apostles, even after years of traveling with Jesus, and learning from him on a regular basis, spent forty days learning more from him. Even the apostles who had been with him from the beginning, as is clearly the case, based on Acts 1:21-22 underwent this last period of intensive instruction. Clearly there is a need for Christians, even those who have been in the faith for years, to continue to study and learn.
Acts 1:8 serves as the model and pattern for the rest of Acts. This is a typical literary device of Luke, namely to introduce a theme, refer to it again, and only then present it in detail. Thus, as the introduction for the rest of the book this verse sets the pattern which will be followed. The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, and then, beginning in Jerusalem and then spreading out to the rest of the world (with the concluding scene in Rome, the center of the known world). This is Luke's theological understanding of the pattern of growth for the church, a pattern he edits the details to present.
This is the story of how Jesus, as a physical body, ascended to heaven. The resurrected Jesus returned to heaven. Christ, as a spiritual presence, remains on earth, among his followers until the end of the age, as Matthew expresses it. The two directions in this lesson are pointed out in the two meanings of heaven at the end of Luke.
The two meanings can also be taken as a symptom of this event as both the end (of the gospel) and the beginning (of the history). It can also be taken as the end of our former life and the beginning of our new life in Christ.
The apostles are called, in Acts, to be Christ's witnesses in the world. In Grandmother and the Priests Taylor Caldwell has a character remind his listeners that an eyewitness isn't always believed. In fact, eyewitnesses are often doubted, and quite regularly incorrect in their recollections. On the other hand, legends, again based on Caldwell's insight, are often accepted as true largely because they are legends handed down from the past, sanctified by the centuries of repetition they have gone through. By these retellings the stories are lifted above doubt and suspicion.
Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you -- that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. "This," he said, "is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were watching he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."
The Ascension Of The Lord, which comes forty days after Easter according to both Acts 1:3 and the liturgical calendar (which derives from Acts in this case), is always on a Thursday. For this reason it is not observed in many congregations, and even when observed, attendance at Ascension worship services is often rather sparse. For this reason, it seems, the lection appointed for this day is identical in each of the three cycles in the church year. The First Lesson in all cases is Acts 1:1-11, and the Gospel Lesson is Luke 24:44-53.
Luke very carefully divides his two volumes (Luke and Acts) at the event of the ascension, with the gospel coming first, and the history of the church coming second. Unfortunately, the requirements of the traditional worship and the order in which readings are presented means that the readings are presented in the opposite order. While this is not a plea for scrapping the traditional order of readings, it is offered as a possible rationale for reversing the traditional order on this day.
These readings include Luke's transition between the gospel and the history, namely Acts 1:1-5. This transition begins with a summary of the gospel, and particularly of the resurrection, which was the most important event of the first volume. Many of the themes from the first volume are to be fulfilled and expanded in this second volume. In many ways this is accomplished by this transition which also serves to make the entire book of Acts a fulfillment of the work of Jesus.
About The Text
The two lessons, presented here in the order in which they were first presented by Luke, have been challenged by some commentators as not truly belonging to the text of the Lucan narrative. The arguments revolve largely around the particular word choices made in these sections. With words not commonly found in the Lucan vocabulary, some have opted to suggest these verses do not belong in the original, but were added later to the text. Closer examination does reveal some vocabulary differences, but the theology and style of these sections make the vocabulary issues less than decisive.
In fact, by insisting that the ascension is the point of transition between the two portions of his narrative, Luke manages to construct a rather dramatic end to the gospel and a dramatic beginning to the history. While there are some difficulties between the two accounts, in general, the history expands the description of events found in the gospel.
Words Of Luke 24:44-53
I was still with you -- This incident takes place after the resurrection, and the relationship between Jesus and his disciples has changed. Rather than being incarnate, Jesus is now in a resurrected body, and soon to be physically gone. Already, the relationship has changed, a fact which is reflected in this introduction.
Moses, the prophets, and the psalms -- This reflects the traditional Hebrew division of the scriptures. While the Hebrew Scriptures as a whole are referred to a number of times, this is the only use of this structural reference in the New Testament. Taken in conjunction with other references, particularly those ascribed to Jesus, it is clear that he was well versed in the Hebrew Scriptures, and had a knowledge of them which was based in that tradition.
opened their minds -- This reference to opening the disciples' minds is a clear parallel to the episode earlier on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). In both instances, insight into events comes from interaction with the resurrected Christ, who opens the scriptures (on the road to Emmaus) or the disciples' minds to understand the scriptures (in this episode). Further, the details of the resulting understanding are similar as well.
witnesses -- The word used here for witness derives from the law courts, and is also found in Acts. The concept of basing this gospel on the testimony of witnesses is very important for Luke, as he could not claim to have been an eyewitness himself. Since he is writing a derivative work connecting his gospel to the testimony of eye witnesses lends it an additional cachet of veracity which is quite important.
beginning from Jerusalem -- Luke uses a theological construct to frame the growth of the church which he is going to report in the next half of his work. This phrase is the first portion of that construct, and here the grammar involved is ambiguous enough to allow the phrase to be connected to either the preceding or following phrases. The NRSV, and most other translations, place the phrase with what precedes it, as in the text of the NRSV. The possibility must be allowed for that the text really belongs with what follows, as in the NRSV footnote. The meaning is slightly different with the second option, which connects the Jerusalem beginning with the eyewitness basis of the proclamation.
my Father -- Luke includes a number of echoes to the Gospel of John, in this case to John 15:16. The promised gift from the Father leads directly to the story of Pentecost in Acts, which is another connection from this story to another writing.
stay here -- Clearly the city where the disciples were to stay has rather elastic boundaries, since in the next verse Jesus leads them to Bethany. There are two possible explanations for this anomaly.
First, Bethany was regarded as close enough to Jerusalem to allow people staying there during Passover to participate in the activities in the temple. Clearly this is what Jesus and his companions had done in the past, so it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the disciples continued the practice after the ascension and still regard themselves as following Jesus' instructions.
Second, Jesus' instructions only applied after he ascended. Until that time he led the disciples where he pleased, including the familiar ground of Bethany.
It should also be noted that Luke includes this instruction even though it seems to contradict the evidence of Mark 16:7 (and the parallel in Matthew 28:7) about an Easer morning instruction to go to Galilee, and the reports in Matthew 28:16 and John 21:1 that the disciples met Jesus in Galilee. Luke is clearly writing from a theological perspective that enables him to disregard historical reports and evidence contrary to his theological understanding.
Bethany -- The small town of Bethany seems to have been the usual place for Jesus and his disciples to stay during Passover. As a result of this, it seems logical that this location was also well supplied with followers of Jesus (according to John 11:1, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus lived here, and the donkey he rode on Palm Sunday was also provided by a follower from here according to Mark 11:1), which made his stays there relatively safe. In Mark 11:11-12 (and the parallels in Matthew 21:17; Luke 19:29; and John 12:1) Jesus is staying in Bethany while he is actually visiting Jerusalem and worshiping in the temple. Jesus also was invited to dinner during his stays in Bethany (Matthew 26:6). New Testament references to this town near Jerusalem (eleven of them), locate the village on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, which places the ascension in a mountainous locale.
lifting up his hands -- The last image of Jesus in Luke's Gospel finds him in a priestly stance, a pose of benediction. This represents yet another link to John, where Jesus also appears in a priestly role when he delivers what is known as the high priestly prayer (John 17).
carried up -- The Gospel of Luke ends with the impression that the ascension happened quite late on Easter evening. Acts begins by correcting, or updating the impression. Some of the manuscripts omit this phrase, and scholarly opinion seems somewhat divided on its inclusion.
The debate seems to focus on this word. For Luke the ascension is the glorification of Christ, which comes only after the resurrection (in a point of theological differentiation, John's glorification begins when Jesus is raised up on the cross). The word used here in Greek is also the word used for the action of the priests in the temple in elevating the sacrifices of the people. Thus, the earthly Jesus is, in his final scene on earth, raised up as the ultimate sacrifice, a theological point similar to that made later in the book of Hebrews.
Some commentators feel this word is not emphasized here, and suggest that this omission of emphasis represents the original text. Others suggest that the phrase is omitted to make the end of Luke fit better with the beginning of Acts. It is likely that the latter position is the more rational, but the evidence for either position is not completely conclusive.
in the temple -- It must be remembered that the Gospel of Luke ends at a time long before the Christians' breach with the Jews, when worship in the temple was still regarded as the proper behavior for a Christian with a Jewish background (which was pretty much everyone who was a Christian at the time of the end of the gospel). Historically, Christians would spend forty to fifty years following the ascension faithfully worshiping in the temple. It was only with the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 C.E. that Christians in Jerusalem ended their worship in the Temple.
Words Of Acts 1:1-11
all -- This word betrays a desire on Luke's part to fix the form of the memories of Jesus according to his own theological understanding of the events. Likely this is not an indication of a desire to be completely comprehensive in including everything known (see John 20:30-31, which is likely an accurate reflection of Luke's principles for inclusion as well as John's), but an indication of Luke's principle of including everything necessary to bring a reader to faith (see Luke 1:3-4). Incidents which were difficult to conciliate with his understanding of events were eliminated without apologies.
to heaven -- This phrase is actually not included in the Greek text. It is, however, implied by both the context and the action of the ascension which ends Luke and begins Acts, and is, consequently, regularly supplied by translators.
apostles -- This term occurs 38 times in the book of Acts. Only in 14:4 and 16 does it refer to Paul and Barnabas. All other references are to the twelve (or eleven), typically in Jerusalem. Clearly, for Luke, the eleven or twelve (following the election of Matthias as a replacement for Judas, Acts 1:15-26) are the leaders of the church, the ones who lend their title to the first era in the history of the church -- the Apostolic Age. The minor fact that Acts focuses on Peter and Paul, with only a passing reference to James, has little to do with the hagiographic respect he shows for the eleven or twelve leaders.
during forty days -- The phrase is much more ambiguous than it might first appear. It might be understood as "constantly with the apostles" for the period of forty days. Alternatively, it might be taken to mean "appeared many times during" this period to the apostles. This ambiguity is present in the Greek and is retained by the NRSV translation.
While staying with them -- This word is a hapex legomenon, which leads to the problems encountered in the effort to translate it properly. There are at least three possible translations. The first, eat with them (literally eat salt) emphasizes the fellowship aspects of the relationship during these forty days. In more modern terms, this is a sort of graduate seminar between a beloved professor and his best students as they prepare to leave school.
A second possible translation is bring together, camp out with. Not only does this meaning echo the image of John 1:14, it also emphasizes both the new status of the resurrected Christ (which is an echo of Luke 24:44) and the fact that at this time the apostles were all together with Jesus, a sort of primal church council.
A third possibility is that the word in Greek is actually a misspelling of the word which means stay with, be with, spend time with. Leaving aside the issue of possible misspellings in the text, there are several texts that actually have the variant spelling. This understanding would emphasize the intermittent nature of Christ's appearances to the apostles during this period, as opposed to a continual presence among them, which seems to be emphasized in the previous translation possibility.
witnesses -- Once again, as in the gospel, Luke uses the concept borrowed from the legal system to describe what the apostles will be doing. The Greek word for witness, marturia, is the basis for the English word martyr. In many ways, this is a telling comment on the nature of the witness which can be called for from a Christian.
Jerusalem -- Again, Luke is imposing his theological construct to structure his presentation of events. Historical evidence indicates that Christianity actually originated in a variety of places such as Joppa, Lydia, Damascus, and likely Galilee. All these places saw the rise of local groups of Christians during the period immediately after the resurrection. The other gospels all seem to either have the disciples back in Galilee for resurrection appearances (Matthew and John) or, at the least, being commanded to return to Galilee (Mark). It is probable that, in a strict historical perspective, after Galilee, the disciples went on to other places to proclaim the good news.
gazing up -- This is a common expression in Luke. In fact, twelve of the fourteen times the term appears in the New Testament occur in Luke. The term is used with a sense of extended time, in addition to the obvious action, the term also expresses a relatively lengthy duration of an event. Older translations often used the term eyes fixed.
heaven -- The Greek used here, ouranos, can mean either the dwelling place of God (and by extension, God) or merely the sky. Luke uses the term in both ways in his writings, and here it seems to have both meanings at the same time. On the one hand, Jesus ascends to dwelling place of his father while the apostles are simultaneously looking at the sky.
Parallels
The accounts of the ascension in Luke and Acts are, in many ways, without exact parallels in the gospels. The closest parallel is in the text known as the longer ending of Mark. While Mark 16:19-20, and the rest of the longer ending, has been a part of the gospel since ancient times, it seems clear that they originated from a source other than that which produced the rest of the gospel.
The two verses in question here are clearly about the subject of the ascension, their content betrays the likelihood of a date later than the rest of the Gospel of Mark. In Mark's longer ending, Jesus has just delivered his final teaching to the disciples, and he is rather abruptly "taken up into heaven." There, in fulfillment of a popular psalm (110:1), which was taken as a true Davidic psalm, and a prophecy of the Messiah at the time, Jesus "sat down at the right hand of God."
It is this final action of Jesus, the sitting at the right hand of the Father, which seems to have been added and clearly betrays the later origin of the longer ending. Luke, in the story of Stephen in Acts 7, who, at the moment of his execution, sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-56). The posture, standing in Acts and seated in Mark, would seem to be a possible indication that Luke understood the relationship somewhat differently than did the author of the longer ending. In the Letter to the Hebrews, this image also appears, in 1:3, where Jesus assumes a seat at the right hand of God after the ascension.
Aside from an effort to correctly identify the date of the composition of the longer ending of Mark, there is little in these verses that adds to the Lucan images of the ascension. The location of Jesus in heaven, and also on earth is explicitly stated in these verses, but it is only an explicit statement of what Luke has already introduced.
The Gospels of Matthew and John do not contain explicit mentions of the ascension, but Matthew 28:16 frames the final scene of the gospel by placing the disciples on a mountain (Bethany, in Luke, is on the Mount of Olives) worshiping Jesus. The gospel ends with a final summary of Jesus' teaching, which is a vague echo of Mark (in the teaching only, not in the content of the lesson). There are echoes of the ascension scene in John, but the ascension itself is not reported.
The Gospel of John includes a story of Jesus eating with the disciples during an appearance in Galilee (John 21:4-14). This is an echo of the words in Acts 1:4, even though the location echoes Matthew and, to some extent, Mark. Basically, the ascension is reported most clearly and first in Luke and Acts.
The People
As Individuals
The only person actually mentioned by name in these lessons is Jesus. Rather than simply an individual, at this point Jesus must be taken as two distinct identities. The first is that of the physical body which had recently been resurrected. The precise disposition of this body was an issue with which some in the early church were quite concerned. While modern biblical commentators have not been nearly as fascinated as their forebearers with this issue, at one point it was a significant concern. In fact, some modern novelists have found this subject to work as the basis for their works of fiction, usually with someone discovering the remains of a body which is subsequently identified (or misidentified) as the body of Jesus.
In the early church, the issue was not one of identification of the body, but rather one of the disposition. And the ascension resolved the question rather neatly. The physical, resurrected body of Jesus was taken up into heaven, which accounted quite clearly for the current location of the physical body of Jesus.
The other issue involved with Christ involves the promises of presence and support that are made. The clearest promise is, of course, found in the concluding verse of the Gospel of Matthew, also known as the Great Commission. There Jesus says, "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b).
In Luke, the promise is generally that of baptism with the Holy Spirit within a few days (Acts 1:5). However, the Spirit of Jesus is still a motivating force in the church as it grows in Acts. While the physical body has gone to heaven, the Spirit of Christ remains among the apostles, providing the strength, courage, and wisdom which are needed in the early years of the church.
In Acts 1:10, two men suddenly appear next to Jesus. This mention of two figures has led some to suspect that the incident known as the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8; Matthew 17:1-8; and Luke 9:28-36) is actually a resurrection story, if not a reference to the ascension. If, in fact, the ascension is the basis for a misplaced resurrection/ascension account, it is these two men who provide the connective link.
Even without considering the Transfiguration, the comment the two figures make to the apostles in Acts 1:11, "Men of Galilee," might cause some consideration of the witness of the other three gospels, which all include a return by the disciples to Galilee (or an instruction to return in Mark) after the resurrection. It also serves as a reminder that Luke maintains the presence in Jerusalem for theological reasons.
The apostles are, in a way, undergoing a transition parallel to the change from one volume of the Lucan narrative to another, and even, in some senses, parallel to the transition of Jesus from earth to heaven.
It has been said that in the gospels the disciples seem rather slow, frequently asking for explanations of events and often misunderstanding what has been said or done. This pattern continues in Acts 1:6, when the disciples looked to Jesus to restore Israel's political fortunes. However, within a few verses (by Acts 1:14 and 15-17) the disciples are fervently religious, praying together, and then recognizing the need to replace Judas as the twelfth apostle.
After this event, while the apostles are certainly not perfect paragons of wisdom and strength, they change dramatically from the individuals of the gospel. Now they preach without fear, proclaim the good news, and challenge the established authorities. In some ways this dramatic change is a reflection of the presentation by the author. But in some other, quite significant ways this change is best understood as a reflection of the impact of the Spirit of Christ in their lives.
As Images And Signs
The event of the ascension can also be understood as an end and a beginning. This event is the end of the Gospel of Luke, as well as the end of the personal, physical relationship with (or, understood in another way, faith in) Jesus. The ascension is also a beginning, the beginning of Acts as well as the beginning of the apostles' inseparable connection with Christ, a friend and trusted companion both on earth and in heaven.
The Action
In The Story
In Acts 1:3, Luke mentions the "many convincing proofs" by which Jesus proved to the disciples he was alive. Perhaps the most convincing is mentioned in the next verse, which can be translated as "while eating with them." Eating is traditionally thought of as something no ghost can possibly do, hence eating proved the resurrected Jesus was not a ghost. This point is made even more explicit in Luke 24:36-43, which recounts a resurrection appearance which has similarities to John's account of Doubting Thomas.
Jesus appears among the disciples, and they are terrified, since they think he is a ghost. Jesus tells the disciples to look at his hands and feet, and then to touch him, to prove he is not a ghost. When the disciples still seem to have doubts, Jesus provides the ultimate proof of his physical body by taking a piece of boiled fish and eating it in front of them. Similar incidents which involve eating can be found in Mark 16:14 and John 21:12-13. John's recounting of the incident of breakfast at the seaside is heavily overlaid with eucharistic images, but the same can be said for the other references, including the story of the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:30). The common theme among all these stories is the idea that Jesus became known to his followers during the "breaking of bread," or during the sharing of a meal.
The story of the ascension contains a number of difficulties in reconciling the events listed in Luke with the parallel account in Acts. This does not mean that Luke forgot the details, or changed the story between the two accounts. Rather, it is an indication that Luke is writing a theological document, not an unbiased history.
In the gospel, the end of the earthly ministry comes with Jesus taking his leave at the end of the first Easter, with a gesture of benediction borrowed from the priestly practice of the temple. In Acts, Luke is deeply concerned to ensure there is no indication that the church is the creation of human beings alone, hence the need for a final forty days of instruction from the risen Jesus. Not a human venture, but one guided by the risen Christ through its history. In fact, this is a theme that is quite apparent in Acts, where visions, dreams, the Spirit, and the Lord intervene in the action with some regularity to ensure it progresses properly.
Thus, the story of the ascension serves two different purposes, one in each version in which it is found. Not that new information arrived between the appearance of the gospel and the history, but that the theological nature of the larger story made it necessary for the details to adjust accordingly.
In The Hearers
Those who heard the stories of the ascension likely were not troubled by the variations in the details. Luke, in 1:4 (and supported by John 20:31), indicates his purpose in writing these materials is to convince his hearers (or readers) of the truth of Jesus and his ministry that they might believe in him. The stories of the ascension not only settled the nagging minor question of what happened to the resurrected physical body of Jesus (a question similar to the question of "Who was Mrs. Cain?"), but also emphasized that the actions of the apostles were based firmly on the instruction they had received from the resurrected Christ. Hence, the change from less than astute followers, to fearless, intrepid leaders can be attributed to this period of instruction.
The Sermon
Illustrations
Between Luke and Acts, the picture of the apostles changes dramatically, but change can be a difficult thing to face and endure:
During the early days of World War II the British were hard pressed to find artillery to defend their shores against an anticipated invasion. Manpower was also in short supply, and every source was tapped. Finally, the crew manning a piece of artillery which had, in days gone by, been drawn by horses, was under study. The piece was terribly slow to fire, so a time-motion study expert was brought in to see what could be done to improve the rate of fire. The expert and his crew took movies of the firing of the gun and studied them in slow motion.
Eventually the crew noticed the two members of the crew who stood perfectly still, then came to attention and held that position for at least three seconds before the gun was fired and stayed in that posture until after the gun was fired. No one could figure out why the men were behaving this way, except that it was called for in the directions for firing the gun. Finally, an elderly artillery officer was consulted. After some initial puzzlement, he finally recognized what the two men were doing. "I have it!" he cried. "They are holding the horses."
Speaking of the concept of witnesses and witnessing:
In the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the title characters are trying to escape a posse, after a train robbery. The posse consists of good horsemen who are relentless in their pursuit of the pair. Finally Butch asks Sundance a question, "Who are those guys?"
That is exactly how Christians should witness: quietly, relentlessly, so that all who see them are moved to ask, "Who are those guys?"
A study was once made, and it was concluded that the average person spoke for only ten or eleven minutes a day. The average sentence takes only two and a half seconds to say. We communicate more through our actions than through our words, more with our eyes and facial expressions, hands and shoulders than with our mouths.
The apostles spent, according to Acts, the forty days between Easter and the Ascension being instructed by the risen Christ. Instruction in the church is more often similar to that of a university in this cynical view:
Universities are full of knowledge. After all, the freshmen arrive knowing everything, and the graduating seniors take no knowledge away, so the knowledge must accumulate somewhere on campus.
Approaches To Preaching
As the last illustration points out, the apostles, even after years of traveling with Jesus, and learning from him on a regular basis, spent forty days learning more from him. Even the apostles who had been with him from the beginning, as is clearly the case, based on Acts 1:21-22 underwent this last period of intensive instruction. Clearly there is a need for Christians, even those who have been in the faith for years, to continue to study and learn.
Acts 1:8 serves as the model and pattern for the rest of Acts. This is a typical literary device of Luke, namely to introduce a theme, refer to it again, and only then present it in detail. Thus, as the introduction for the rest of the book this verse sets the pattern which will be followed. The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, and then, beginning in Jerusalem and then spreading out to the rest of the world (with the concluding scene in Rome, the center of the known world). This is Luke's theological understanding of the pattern of growth for the church, a pattern he edits the details to present.
This is the story of how Jesus, as a physical body, ascended to heaven. The resurrected Jesus returned to heaven. Christ, as a spiritual presence, remains on earth, among his followers until the end of the age, as Matthew expresses it. The two directions in this lesson are pointed out in the two meanings of heaven at the end of Luke.
The two meanings can also be taken as a symptom of this event as both the end (of the gospel) and the beginning (of the history). It can also be taken as the end of our former life and the beginning of our new life in Christ.
The apostles are called, in Acts, to be Christ's witnesses in the world. In Grandmother and the Priests Taylor Caldwell has a character remind his listeners that an eyewitness isn't always believed. In fact, eyewitnesses are often doubted, and quite regularly incorrect in their recollections. On the other hand, legends, again based on Caldwell's insight, are often accepted as true largely because they are legends handed down from the past, sanctified by the centuries of repetition they have gone through. By these retellings the stories are lifted above doubt and suspicion.
