Sermon Text: Acts 1:1-11
Date: May 21, 2023
Event: The Ascension of Our Lord (Observed), Year A
Acts 1:1-11 (EHV)
I wrote my first book, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began doing and teaching 2until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3After 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.
4Once, 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. 5For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6So when they were together with him, they asked, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. 8But 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.”
9After he said these things, he was taken up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10They were looking intently into the sky as he went away. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood beside them. 11They 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.”
Jesus’ Work Is Done; Our Work Continues
Do you make to-do lists? Lately, I’ve been using electronic to-do lists on the phone and computer. While I really like that from an organizational standpoint and being to have my list just about anywhere, I have to admit there’s something missing without the tactile, almost visceral feeling of scratching something off a list. And there’s something not quite as satisfying about an empty to-do list on the screen compared to a mangled, completed list on a piece of paper.
Whatever your organizational methods might be, there is something satisfying about a project completed and taking it off our plate. In a lot of ways, that is what the festival of the Ascension of Our Lord is about—Jesus is showing us his completed to-do list. But in other ways, it’s a fresh, well-filled list of things for God’s people to accomplish. So, this morning, let’s consider what it means that Jesus’ work is done, and our work continues on.
It may seem a little bit weird to talk about Jesus’ work being done here with his ascension into heaven. After all, haven’t we been talking throughout the whole Easter season that his resurrection was the end of his work, proving that the payment was received in full? Even more than that, didn’t Jesus himself say his work was finished on Good Friday on the cross? So, what makes his ascension the actual end of his work? Is it even the end?
Jesus’ resurrection was and remains a crucial part of the gospel message. It was absolutely vital that Peter and Thomas and all of the disciples knew that Jesus had actually, physically risen from the dead. Not that our sins were paid for at the tomb—but it was promised that the Messiah would rise, that he would not see decay in the grave. Jesus had to rise from the dead to fulfill the promises about the Savior. But this was more than just scratching things off his to-do list. Jesus’ resurrection proved that everything worked. Jesus said he would suffer and die to pay for the sins of the whole world—that he would be lifted up so that everyone who put their faith in him as Savior would have eternal life. Had he not risen from the dead, that would mean something had gone horribly wrong with God’s plans, and as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). But Jesus has been raised and his resurrection assures us that God accepted his payment for our sins and that through Jesus, we are forgiven!
God drives the truth that our salvation is complete in many ways. If Jesus’ work for us could be summarized with his words from the cross, “It is finished,” his resurrection is the exclamation point at the end of that sentence, and his ascension is a heavy underline.
Jesus ascending into heaven is a clear mark that this work of salvation is complete. Everything that mankind needed from God to rescue us from our sins has been accomplished. Jesus lived a perfect life for us and suffered hell in our place on the cross to pay for our sins. We are forgiven. Heaven is our free gift. There is nothing, not one sliver of anything, that we need to (or even can) do. His ascension is the end of his earthly ministry because he did it all. You and I are forgiven because God has forgiven us in Jesus. End of story. Full stop.
Jesus’ work of salvation is done. But at his ascension, his disciples’ work was really just beginning: “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.” Jesus had often told his disciples what their role would be after his work was done. Jesus had even sent them to practice sharing his Word while he was still with them. And this was because Jesus would not remain visibly on earth as a teacher, preacher, and miracle worker as he had been during his earthly ministry. His disciples would be the messengers. He would give them that title apostle, which means someone who is sent out. Jesus was sending them out with the gospel.
That’s really the point of the book of Acts. It is Luke's follow-up to his Gospel which traces not the life and work of Jesus, but the life and work of the very early Christian church. The book of Acts, in part, answers the question, “How did the apostles serve as Jesus’ witnesses?” Luke writes to Theophilus to tell him what happened after Jesus’ work was done—and so begins with the very end of Jesus’ earthly ministry.
Throughout the book of Acts, you can see the gospel acting like a rock thrown into a pond, just as Jesus said it would. It starts in Jerusalem (which we’ll celebrate next Sunday on Pentecost Day), and ripples out to Judea, the region around Jerusalem, then to Samaria, the region between Judea and Galilee, and from there to “the ends of the earth.” The book of Acts shows the gospel getting as far as Rome. Paul’s letter to the Romans makes clear he had a desire to get to Spain (though whether he got there or not remains unknown). History and tradition tell us of the possibility of the disciples going very, very far from Jerusalem, perhaps as far as India or even beyond.
So, they went far, but not everywhere. Not every person heard about Jesus from the apostles. Because Jesus never intended this message to be shared in one generation. The work of going to the ends of the earth began with the disciples, but it continues with us.
The angels reminded the disciples of what would come in the future: “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.” This remains true for you and me today as well. We don’t see Jesus with our physical eyes—though we know he is ruling all things for us. But Jesus will return one day, and on that day that will be the end of this life. If you and I are still alive when Jesus returns—which really could be today!—we will rejoice to finally to have our sinful natures purged from us completely, to be taken to eternal life with our Savior because he has taken away our sins.
And while he could return at any moment, we are not to stand on the top of a hill, slack-jawed, staring at the clouds waiting for him to reappear. No, until Jesus returns, we have work to do. We have responsibilities on our plates to our families, our communities, our work, and even ourselves.
But Jesus also has included us in the work to share his gospel. In fact, neither he nor the angels would be the primary messengers of this good news. No, it was always the plan that those who have experienced God’s forgiveness—you and me—would be the primary messengers to share that forgiveness.
We do that together as a congregation as we provide a place where we all can gather regularly, study God’s Word, and have the Holy Spirit build us up in our faith. We work together to bring this eternally-important message to our community in the best way that we can. We work together as a church body, a synod, to jointly train new generations of pastors, teachers, staff ministers, and church leaders. We work together to send missionaries to places where you and I cannot go, to support those messengers as they truly go to the ends of the earth.
And in this, we rightly question if Jesus’ work is actually done. While the work of salvation is absolutely complete, Jesus’ ascension does not mean that he has left us on our own to fend for ourselves and navigate these tasks blindly. God is really doing this work through us. We may share Jesus with someone, but he is working through that sharing. We may ensure that God’s Word goes out to some distant or very close place, but God is working through us to bring about success for that work. He alone works faith in the heart of those who hear this message. He brings people to himself through our witness of what Jesus has done.
So, let’s embrace the task that Jesus has for us. Let us work together in with whatever skills and blessings the Lord has given to us, to share the glorious message of sins completely forgiven by Jesus. This is a message that people will not learn on their own; they cannot figure it out by exploring nature or searching their own hearts. They need someone to share it with them. They need a witness to share what they know. My brothers and sisters, let’s be those witnesses in whatever opportunities the Lord provides for us. Let us work together to share the glorious message that our sin is forgiven, and heaven is ours because Christ is risen, he is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.
