The Majesty Of His Ascension

“After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.” (Acts 1:9)

For the disciples who witnessed Jesus and His ascension back to Heaven, it was an event of majesty.


The King of Kings was returning to His rightful place in Heaven at the Father’s right hand.

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It Was A Heavenly Event.

It was supernatural.

The Lord Jesus had no problem overcoming the Laws of Nature while He ministered on earth.

He walked on water, healed the sick, raised the dead, and fed great multitudes of people with small amounts of food.

His ascension was merely another instance of His power as God.

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It Was A Holy Event.

A cloud hid Him from their sight.

His glory was waiting to reclaim Him!

His glory had been allowed to surface once on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-9).

He was received up into His glory once again!

The Mystery Of Jesus' Ascension

Then they gathered around Him and 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. (Acts 1: 6-7)

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The Apostles knew nothing of Jesus’ going away.

They thought He would establish His kingdom immediately.

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They weren’t alone in their belief.

No one anticipated the ascension of Jesus back to Heaven.

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It Was A Mystery To His Prophets.

The prophets knew nothing of this great event.

The Jews could not conceive of a Messiah Who would die on a cross.

They were expecting a King Who would reign in power and liberate the people of Israel.


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It Was A Mystery To His People.

While Jesus was ministering in the midst of His people, He spoke of His ascension on several occasions (John 6:62; 7:33; 14:28; 16:5; 20:17).

But none of the disciples understood just what He was saying.

They could not grasp the thought that Jesus would be going away.

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Jesus' ascension was a mystery to everyone!

The Time For Good Bye

Acts 1:9-12

The time of Jesus’ earthly ministry had come to a close.

He stood with His disciples on the Mount of Olives, just outside the city of Jerusalem.

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It was from this mountain that He had descended, on the back of a donkey, into Jerusalem for His triumphal entry into that city.

It was at the foot of this mountain that He gathered with His men in a place called Gethsemane to pray the night He was arrested.

It was from this garden that He had been taken away, arrested, tried and crucified by the Jews and the Romans.

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This was the time for “Good-byes”.

Jesus was getting ready to ascend back to Heaven from which He had come.

He was leaving His men behind.

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This must be an exceedingly difficult moment for His disciples.

They were about to watch the One they had loved, served and worshiped go away.

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They had been with Jesus through the good times and the bad times.

They had watched Him exercise the power of deity to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cause the lame to walk, the deaf to hear and the blind to see.

They had seen Him raise the dead, and walk on the water.

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Now, they were about to watch Him go away.

Surely their hearts were breaking as they listened to His final words and waited for the moment they would be parted from Him.

It was parting time.

It was time to say good bye!

We Must Acquire The Right Power

“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.” (Acts 1:8)

If our message is to be accepted; if our methods are to be successful; if our mindset is to be right; we need the help of the Holy Spirit.

The disciples were promised that the Spirit of God was coming, and when He came, He would fill them with God’s power (Luke 24:49).

When that power came on the day of Pentecost, those terrified disciples, who had been hiding from the Jews in fear, became bold preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:1-21). When they preached the Gospel, 3,000 souls were saved (Acts 2:41).

What made the difference? It wasn’t their eloquence. It wasn’t their oratory. It wasn’t their delivery. What made the difference was the power of God on their lives!

That same power is available to us today! If we are going to have the power of God on our witness, our words and our works, we must get our lives in the kind of shape the Lord can bless and use. We must be like the early church (Acts 2:42-47). When we do, we will see the Lord pour out His power on our witness to the world.

We desperately need God’s power on our lives and on our church. We will never enjoy His unction and power until our hearts are right with one another and with Him.

We Must Have The Right Mindset

“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.” (Acts 1:8)

The witness to Jesus is to testify to the whole world!

That is a big task, so Jesus breaks it down for us.

We are to begin close and move out!

Our mission field is anywhere lost people can be found! Anywhere sinners can be found, there is a need for the Gospel and the Gospel witness.

Most of us will never go to the ends of the earth, but we can serve in our Jerusalem. We can witness to our families, our friends, our co-workers, total strangers, to anyone we meet, and anywhere we go.

We are to always be on mission for Jesus, telling a lost and dying world that Jesus saves.

Everyone we meet is either a believer, or they are in need of the Gospel!

Let’s tell them about our Savior!

Let’s share the glorious news that Jesus saves and will save all who will come to Him by faith (Rev. 22:17).

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It is our individual responsibility to share the Gospel with the world.

We Must Share What We Know

“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.” (Acts 1:8)

Jesus called His people to tell others the truth about Him. We are to be the ultimate witness to the truth. We are to lay down our lives for the truth. We are to be Christian martyrs if need be.

We are to tell what we know and what we have seen to be true about Jesus.

We have some great examples in the Bible: Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41); Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-39); Paul before King Agrippa (Acts 26:1-31); The Blind Man before the Sanhedrin (John 9:10-12; 15-17; 24-27; 30-33). These great witnesses just told what they knew!

And that is all the Lord wants us to do (1 Pet. 3:15)!

We are to share the Truth about Jesus!

Sharing The Right Gospel Message

Acts 1:8

Jesus told His men that they were to be His “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

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Here is Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected from the dead, and about to ascend into Heaven.

He could have talked about anything in the world. But His last words were a command and a commission to share the Gospel.

If sharing the Gospel was that important to Him, then it should be equally important to us! We are to be found keeping the main thing the main thing as we move through this world.

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As Jesus’ Gospel witnesses, we must share about Jesus! Jesus is to be the sole focus of our Gospel message. We are to tell the world all about Him.

We are not to talk about us, our lives, our beliefs, our denomination, our church, or our favorite preacher. None of these things have saving power! Only His Gospel message can save the people (Rom. 1:16)!

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We are to share the full message of the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:3-4; Rom. 10:9-10; 13; John 3:16; Acts 16:31). We are to tell the message of His love, His death and His resurrection. We are to tell the world that Jesus will save anyone who comes to Him by faith!

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Our sole mission is to point people to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only hope the world has for salvation (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Acts 16:31).

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We must share the right Gospel message.

Only the Gospel message of Jesus can save the people!

Keeping The Main Thing The Main Thing

Acts 1:8

This text records our Lord’s last meeting with His disciples while He was here on earth. He was preparing to ascend back into Heaven to sit down at the right hand of God.

Before He left, He commanded and commissioned His men to reach the world with His message. He reminded them of what should be the central focus of their ministry. He reminded them that they were to keep the main thing the main thing!

He had to overcome a distraction (6-7). The disciples wanted to talk about future things. They wanted to know if the time had come for Him to establish His kingdom here on earth.

Jesus told them that the times and dates were not their concern. Their responsibility was to be faithful to Him and work while they waited.

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We are to do the same.

We are not to get caught up in future events, or any other theological dispute that distracts us from the main thing.

We must not be distracted from our very purpose in being left in this world. Our duty is to be busy working for the Lord Jesus while we wait for Him to return.

We are commanded by Jesus to be His witnesses to the world of His Gospel and of His saving grace.

We are commissioned, commanded and constructed to share the Gospel with a lost world.

We are His ambassadors in this world (2 Cor. 5:20).

So let's stay focused.

Let's keep the main thing the main thing.