From Ascension to Mission
We all know the rhythm of a good television series, don’t we?
One episode ends, the immediate problems are resolved, the music begins, and the credits roll. But that is not, of course, the end of the story. The characters remain, the story continues, and often the next episode opens up something bigger than we first imagined.
And this is a helpful way to read the beginning of Acts.
Luke wrote the first part of his report about Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, and we heard the ending of that as our first reading. We might think, “Well, there we go — story done. Jesus has done his work, the credits roll.”
But Acts opens by saying these amazing words: that Luke’s first book, the Gospel, was all about what Jesus began to do and teach. Acts shows us what Jesus then continues to do and teach — no longer visibly in Galilee and Jerusalem, but invisibly and powerfully from heaven, by his Spirit, through his witnesses, the apostles.
Acts is not really the story of Peter and Paul and Barnabas and all the others — or even of the early church. At the deepest level, the book of Acts, which we’re going to be studying in our sermon series over the next few weeks, is the story of the ascended Lord Jesus continuing his mission by the Holy Spirit through ordinary people who bear witness to him.
There are three things for us to think about this evening.
The continuing Christ
Acts chapter 1 says that Luke’s first book recorded all that Jesus began to do and teach. And that’s amazing, isn’t it? Because it shows that the earthly ministry of Jesus was only the beginning.
The ascension that we’re celebrating this evening does not mean that Jesus has gone away into retirement, as it were. It means he has gone to the throne. He is continuing his work, orchestrating salvation — but now from heaven.
So really, Acts is not the Acts of the Apostles in the strictest sense. That title is actually a bit of a misnomer. It is the acts of the ascended Christ through his apostles.
Imagine watching the opening episode of a great drama. The first episode introduces the characters, the conflict, the promise, the mission. And then, just as it ends, the words appear:
To be continued… That is what Luke is doing: Acts is the continuation.
And this matters for church and ministry today, because it shows us that we are not caretakers of religious memory. We are not museum custodians. We serve the living, reigning Christ, who still speaks through his word. Jesus began to do and teach amazing things during his earthly life, and that did not finish with the last chapter of Acts. It continues even today.
Jesus still does his work through his church — in the preaching of the word, in gathering sinners, in building up our faith, and in changing lives.
So when we pray, when we share the gospel with others, when we welcome people into church, when we study the Bible together, we are not trying to keep a dying institution alive. We are participating in the continuing mission of Jesus.
The confused commissioned
In verse 6, the disciples say to Jesus:
“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
And if you have been following Jesus’ mission through the Gospels, that should really be a face-palm moment. You think, “Oh disciples — have you really still not understood? Do you really still think Jesus’ mission is about restoring Israel as a kind of military power against the Romans?”
And yet, actually, it is not a stupid question because the Old Testament really did promise restoration. Jesus really is the king. But the disciples still do not fully grasp what his mission is really about. And this shows us that the missing piece is the Holy Spirit.
Jesus had told them to wait for the promise of the Father. It shows they did not merely need more information — they already had more than enough knowledge. What they needed was illumination. They needed the Spirit to open their eyes and fit them for the task.
It is a bit like a problem I increasingly have with long-sightedness. Is anybody else here long-sighted? These glasses are only going to get thicker as I get older — that’s what it means — and my eyes will end up looking huge! When I pick up a book without my glasses, I can see there is writing on the page, but I cannot understand the specifics of what it says because it is all one big blur.
In the same way, the disciples knew there was a kingdom of God, but they needed the glasses of the Spirit to enable them to understand what it actually meant. And it is the same for us today.
That is humbling for us, because it shows we can be religious and still misunderstand Jesus’ mission. It can all remain blurry. We are not naturally able to understand what God is doing unless the Holy Spirit helps us understand what the Bible says about him. The disciples needed the Spirit not merely to make them bold — though they certainly did need that — but to make their understanding clear.
So our churches must not be driven by nostalgia, habit, or institutional survival. We need constantly to ask:
What is the risen Jesus actually doing?
What mission has he given us?
What would it mean to be led by his Spirit rather than by our own assumptions?
We need to make sure that we are putting on the glasses of the Spirit whenever we read the Bible, whenever we think about the world around us, and praying that he would do this for us and for others. Because Jesus continues his mission by his Spirit, and that means we must not assume we naturally understand what he is doing. We have to depend on the Spirit to realign our vision with his kingdom.
The world-wide witnesses
In verse 8, Jesus says:
“You will be my witnesses.”
Notice that Jesus does not answer the disciples’ question about restoring the kingdom by giving them a date. He says:
“It is not for you to know the times or dates.”
In effect, he says: “Don’t worry about exactly when the kingdom will come in fullness. But do concern yourselves with this — you are about to receive power from on high through the Holy Spirit. Your task now is to bear witness to me.”
Beginning in Jerusalem, then spreading out through Judea and Samaria, throughout the Mediterranean world — and wonderfully, by the end of Acts, Paul is preparing to go to Rome itself, the very heart of imperial power, to bear witness before the emperor.
And notice what the disciples are witnesses to. They are not witnesses to vague values — as if Jesus’ central message were simply try harder to be good.
No. They are witnesses to a person:
Jesus’ life.
Jesus’ death.
His resurrection.
His reign.
His mercy.
His salvation.
Think for a moment about what it means to be a witness in court. A witness is not there to entertain, speculate, impress, or show off. A witness simply says:
“This is what I have seen.”
“This is what I know.”
“This is the truth I must tell.”
And as the church, we too are meant to stand in the witness box before the world — not to look impressive, but to be faithful in telling the truth about Jesus. That gives us the shape of Christian ministry. We are not called to be successful, popular, respectable, busy, or useful. We are called first and foremost to be witnesses.
That means church life must always move outward — from worship to witness, from fellowship together to mission, from receiving the gospel to speaking the gospel to others.
So this new series through Acts should encourage us to keep asking:
How does the ascended Jesus bear witness to himself through his people today?
How is he calling us to join in that work here and now?
The ascension is not Jesus leaving the mission behind. It is Jesus taking the throne from which the mission goes forward.
Acts begins with three great truths:
First, Jesus has not stopped working — and that is still true today.
Secondly, Jesus’ disciples cannot do his work without the Spirit — and that is still true today.
And thirdly, the church exists for one purpose: to bear witness to Christ — and that is still true today.
So let us now turn to the Lord in prayer, asking that he would help us to do this: to open our eyes to his truth, and to give us the same boldness that he gave to the disciples. Amen.
Acts 1:1-11
Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.”
So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
Luke 24:45-53
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.”
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 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. You are witnesses of these things. 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.”
The Ascension
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.