Scripture:
44
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you:
Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the
Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could
understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The
Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance
and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you
what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed
with power from on high.” 50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of
Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing
them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshipped him
and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the
temple, praising God.
Sermon:
Good
evening to all of you! I am privileged to be here to join you in the worship. I
am sure you came here with a purpose: to commemorate our Lord’s ascension! This
is the day when we gather together to contemplate how Jesus had his last words
with disciples, issued his commission of evangelism, took the disciples out to
Bethany, lifted up his hands, blessed them, and departed into heaven. I could
imagine the whole scenario was filled with a sense of awesomeness and the
atmosphere was charged with a mixture of emotions among disciples.
From
the Gospel we read just now, although Luke did not portray on the disciples’
reactions when they witnessed how our Lord rise in the air, and soon disappear
into heaven. It goes without saying that this is a defining moment for Jesus’ followers.
Words could not describe the heaviness of their heart when they had to wave
their hands and say good bye to their beloved Lord. Today, as human being, we often
experience separations and partings with our loved ones. I am curious to know
how you handle it? At times it proves our frailty in emotions and more often
than not we are overcome by it and eventually broke into tears.
I
can still remember many years back, when God sent me to teach in a government
school, something unexpected happened to me. As I was about to leave the school
to begin a new career in newspaper office, I struggled myself very much to face
the separation with my students. When they came to know my departure, most of
them were heavy hearted to say good bye. During a farewell lunch organized by
the Board of Directors, they presented me a song entitled The Red River Valley,
the lyrics and tune made me feel like crying. These students were very affectionate
and passionate, even after my farewell with them they wrote many letters to me for
two consecutive years. It took me quite some time to read and reply, the
letters carried weight and were piling all over my desk.
I
am not a professional teacher, yet I received so much affection from my students.
What more our Lord Jesus who had been a divine teacher for three and half years
in the lives of disciples. Surely, Peter and his companions would have
controlled their emotions during the separation with their beloved Lord!
However, according to the record given by Luke, it says that the disciples
worshipped Jesus and returned to Jerusalem with a great joy (V 52). It shows
that the outcome of disciples’ parting with their Lord ended with a cheerful
note. No tears, no crying, and no sadness at all! Why such a response and
reactions?
As
you could see from the Gospel, Jesus’ disciples underwent spiritual
transformation, their faith had been restored and their minds were opened by our
Lord. We must take note before Jesus’ ascension, He had spent 40 days with
disciples explaining to them the necessity for his suffering and death, and how
the Cross and resurrection were relevant to the Old Testament Scriptures. Just
as Luke quoted Jesus as saying “This is what I told you while I was still with
you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses,
the Prophets and the Psalms” (V44). From here we can gather our Lord not only
enabled his disciples understand the Old Testament Scriptures, but explained
further how the promises and prophesies all fit together in his Messiah’s mission on earth.
Dear
friends, what a privilege it was for the disciples to listen to Jesus expound
the Word, from there they discovered the mystery of Messiahship. Before this encounter,
they used to trust Jesus in a flesh and blood manner, but now their spiritual
eyes were opened and believed whole-heartedly the resurrected Lord who is above
and independent of space and time. Now they began to understand they had a
Master from whom nothing could separate them anymore. That was why they were
filled with eternal bliss and joy, and they did not leave Bethany heart-broken,
instead they departed with gladness, high-spirited, and rejoicing in the Lord!
Dear
friends, do you wish to experience great joy just as Jesus’ disciples did? I am
sure you do. As Christians, we know very well our joy is entirely different
from the worldly happiness. While happiness in the world is elusive and
momentary, our joy in the Lord gives us peace, assurance and eternal security. From
disciples’ experience, the foundation of their joy is the Word of God. I
believe how our Lord opened their mind before his ascension, the Holy Spirit
does the same in our life today. Have you ever wondered how to understand a
difficult Bible passage? Of course, you could grasp it through inductive study,
consulting reference works, and getting guidance from our clergy. Of all these
efforts taken, we must not neglect the role of the Holy Spirit, for only He can
open our mind, giving us the needed insight to practice God’s Word in our personal
life. May the Holy Spirit come, help us, guide us and teach us!
Jesus
did not confine the heavenly joy to his circle of disciples, he commanded them
to share the joy of salvation to the world. In fact, our Lord took his last
appearance with them as the occasion to issue a commission of evangelism, as
written by Luke, it mentions repentance and forgiveness of sins will be
preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses
of these things (V 47 - 48). Yes, they were given a great entrustment by their
Lord, to be witnesses of all that he had said and done. The message was focused
on repentance and forgiveness of sins, proclaiming to the world Jesus came not
to condemn sinners, but showing them the way to salvation, experiencing the
real joy in their personal lives.
Thanks
be to God! The disciples did a wonderful work in proclaiming Good News to their
community. Through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, they preached the Gospel
with conviction, courage and assurance, hundreds and thousands of people came
to know Christ! When we take a quick look at Acts Chapter 2, we would witness how
Peter himself was transformed from a coward during Jesus’ suffering to a
preacher with audacity before an immense crowd at Pentecost. All this took
place after Jesus’ ascension. Today, we are also the disciples of Jesus Christ,
receiving the same entrustment as disciples in the first century. The only
difference is that they testified to what they saw personally during Jesus’
ministry on earth, whereas we bear witness to their testimonies, and to our own
experiences of the resurrected Jesus. Though the nature of witnessing might
differ slightly, the rewards we receive in heaven are the same. May the Lord
use us mightily in the areas of our services to Him in this wicked and perverse
generation.
This
evening, I could see you came here with a sincere heart, participating in our
Ascension service. In some churches today, our Lord’s ascension is not given
the prominence it used to be. Nevertheless, you made yourselves available this
evening! I can say the time you spent here would not be wasted, and your
presence here would be remembered by our Lord. Amen! As for me, Ascension is as
important as Easter: celebration of Easter without Jesus’ Ascension is
incomplete! This is the day we are reminded how our Lord returns to heaven and
sit on the throne of glory! His ascension is the proof that He has conquered
every enemy and He reigns supremely far above all. It is my prayer that God
will speak to us through the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit, how he touched
the lives of his disciples through his Ascension message, in the same way our
lives would be touched, renewed and transformed. May God bless all of you, let
us pray.
