Acts 1:1-11
Joys for Our Journeys 8
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Benson/Vail, AZ
August 25, 2019
The Journey from Earth to Heaven I wrote my first book, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began doing and teaching 2 until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After he had suffered, he presented himself alive to the apostles with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and told them things about the kingdom of God. 4 Once, when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for what the Father promised, which you heard from me. 5 For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they were together with him, they asked, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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.” 9 After he said these things, he was taken up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 They were looking intently into the sky as he went away. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood beside them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
My friends in Christ, Preparations for our journeys Some of you know that I’m leaving on a journey this afternoon. Okay, calling it a journey might seem like a stretch! It’s a little trip. I’m going to Vegas, baby! Yeah, it’s not what others of you might think. Vegas is the mid-point of our AZ-CA District of WELS churches. Since it’s kind of in the middle and cheap to fly into and reasonably priced for accommodations—and because we have 4 churches there—we often have conferences and meetings in Vegas. Well, I have both of those this week! So, there are no planned trips to The Strip and I’m not taking any money to gamble with. It will be home mission pastors sharing outreach ideas for a couple days and then Mission Board meetings for a couple days, so that we can help and support the pastors doing mission work in our district. Before going on a “journey” like this, I let some key people know. For instance, there is a note in the worship folder telling you that I’m going away, but I’m coming back again. I explained this to those at Wednesday Bible Study so that they know I’m not just canceling class for no good reason and to assure them that we’ll pick up where we left off after I return. I tell my wife where I’m going and where I’m staying and what time I have to leave and what time I’ll be back home. I prepare other people, I prepare things for my journey, and then I go. You do the same kinds of things when you take a trip. The house sitter needs to know; the dog sitter needs to know. You might tell family members, neighbors, or church friends. Then you get things ready, and then you leave. We do these things so that they know what’s going on and what to expect. In some cases, it helps others feel comfortable and removes their questions and concerns. As we look at Acts chapter 1, Luke tells us that before Jesus left on his Journey from Earth to Heaven, he did the same thing! He did this for the comfort and reassurance of his disciples then, and you and I receive comfort and reassurance now from the way Jesus prepared them and from the journey that he made.
Jesus Prepares Others for The Journey He Would Take During the time after Jesus rose from death and the grave on Easter and before his ascension to heaven, he still had work to do. Those were 40 days full of teaching and proving that he was truly alive, that he had risen, just as he said he would do after his sacrificial death. We probably remember some of those times Jesus showed himself to his followers. There was Mary at the empty tomb, the disciples in the locked room— twice—and the seaside meeting in Galilee that featured a miraculous catch of fish and the reinstatement of Peter. We probably remember the convincing proofs, like showing Thomas the nail marks in his hands and the spear mark in his side. He did a bunch of eating too—in the closed room, breakfast on the beach, and here just prior to his Journey from Earth to Heaven! Each time that proved to them that he had physically risen from death. You may also remember some of the instruction Jesus gave to his followers during those 40 days, like the “Great Commission,”—that his followers were to go out into the world and make disciples by baptizing and teaching what he had taught them. Or a favorite of many people—his walking and teaching the Emmaus disciples, how he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:27). And then there was the review session in the locked room where he appeared to the Twelve. He told them: “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:46-47).” For 40 days—from his resurrection on Easter to his Ascension into heaven—Jesus proved his resurrection, instructed his disciples, gave them promises of the Holy Spirit coming to them, and comforted them with the certainty of his return. He gave instructions at his Ascension too. Don’t leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes upon you…you will be my witnesses here in Jerusalem and all over the world. Jesus did all of these things to prepare his people for his departure. He was going to ascend to heaven to return to his Father. They would be left to contend with life in this world…with the ugly friction between the Romans and their people in Israel, with their own sinfulness that would bring them trouble, with Satan’s efforts to squash the preaching of the gospel. They would need to be able to remember that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was for them and that there is life with God after life in this world. Until that day came for them though, their lives would be in service to their Savior as they told others about Jesus. The Journey from Earth To Heaven So Jesus prepared his people with all of this for 40 days, and then he made his Journey from Earth to Heaven. The description of his journey is pretty simple, as Luke records it: After he said these things, he was taken up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. We could mention what Luke wrote to end his gospel, but it only adds a little: While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven (Luke 24:49).
Really, this journey was not so complicated and clearly doesn’t need any further description, otherwise the Holy Spirit would have inspired Luke to write more. Jesus was talking his disciples, he blessed them, and they watched him rise, up through the clouds on his way to heaven. But what is worth considering is that Jesus is the only one who could make this journey—just like the journeys we’ve considered over the last few weeks. Only the Son of God could come down from heaven as true God and true man. Only Jesus and his perfectly righteous life could make the journey to the cross for sinners. Only Jesus could make the journey from death to life as the conqueror over sin, Satan, and the grave. And only the risen Christ could make this journey to his eternal throne in heaven where he is seated at the right hand of the Father. Only Jesus, who lived, suffered, died, and rose from death—true God and the world’s Savior—could declare the world’s sin paid for and take his seat in heaven to await the Last Day when he will return in the same way those disciples saw him go—visibly, in the sky, and with an announcement from God’s angels. You remember that at his arrival in this world, the angels announced his birth to the shepherds. At his departure from this world, his ascension, two angels explained to the disciples what had just happened and assured them that he would return. And on the Last Day, when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead, it will be with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet call of God. Until that day, Jesus is ruling over all things in the interest of the Church and preparing an eternal place for his people there. Our Comfort and Reassurance Prior to his Journey from Earth to Heaven, Jesus prepared his followers so that they would feel comfortable, so that their questions and concerns would be removed, so that they would know what was going on and what to expect. He told them and he showed them that he was their Savior. His resurrection from death proved it. Forgiveness was theirs, and eternal life in heaven too, because of these things he had done for them. And that was where he was going—to heaven—to prepare a place for them, just as he told them prior to this journey to the cross. After he returned to his Father in heaven, the Holy Spirit would come to them and equip them to share the good news of salvation by faith in Jesus. The angels assured them that Jesus would return—just like their Savior had told them before. He would leave to be with his Father in heaven and he promised to return on the Last Day as the Judge of all people who will bring every person who trusts in him to heaven with him.
You and I draw comfort from this also! Don’t you need the same assurances his disciples needed? Don’t you need to know that your sins have been paid for by Jesus—including those of not fully grasping everything Jesus says and everything he has done? Don’t you need forgiveness for sometimes focusing on the wrong things— like thinking that God is always going to make things in this life better for you—instead of focusing on witnessing God to the people in your world and thinking more about the eternity you have in store in heaven? Oh, we need to be taught, time and time again, just like them, that Jesus had to live perfectly because we don’t, that he had to suffer and die for our sins, that he defeated death in order to promise us eternal life. We need to be instructed by Jesus on these important details so that we find comfort when we are confronted with our sins. We need the assurance that Jesus paid for them and that we are completely forgiven. And don’t we need the comforting reassurance that the Holy Spirit lives in us and equips us to not only live in a Christian way, but to tell others that Jesus is their Savior too? They had Pentecost, a generous, heaping helping of the Holy Spirit! But you and I have received the Spirit in baptism and he instructs us regularly as he works through the Word when we read our Bibles and go to Bible Study and sit here in church! We are now his witnesses to the end of the earth, so we need this comforting reminder. And yes, as we deal with this world’s struggles and problems and we fight our own sinful nature, so there is part of us that wants out of here! The disciples didn’t want to deal with the politics of the day: the ridiculous taxes demanded from the Romans who ruled them, and their own sketchy Jewish leaders who were self-serving and dishonest. They were sick of it; they wanted Jesus to restore their earthly kingdom. We don’t want to deal with all the division and dirty politics and fighting and war we experience either. We need to hear Jesus say that the Father has all of this in his hands. We need him to steer us, more importantly, to the comfort found in the angels’ words: This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven,” because we know that at that time every unsavory and ungodly thing that we contend with here—including our own sinful lives—will come to an end. We know that at the return of our Savior, when he comes upon the clouds of heaven with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God, Jesus is coming to take us to be with him in heaven for all eternity. When we trust that truth and we are reminded of it, we are encouraged to share it with others so that they, like us, will watch for the return of their Savior also. The Lord, who Journeyed from Earth to Heaven, will come back in the same way those disciples saw him go, and he will take all of us who trust in him to be with him eternally. There is no greater comfort, and we have it today because Jesus has promised it and prepared us for it. Amen. Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.