Of all the events that occurred toward the end of the Savior's earthly ministry, His ascension into heaven is among the least studied, yet this event is of great comfort and encouragment for God's faithful. Of all the passages where the ascension of Jesus is taught, Acts 1:1-11 is the most comprehensive. Thus, in the next few bulletin articles, we will examine the ascension from Acts 1.

The "Theophilus" Connection

The Gospel according to Luke is the only Gospel that has a sequel. Luke and Acts are not merely two works by the same author; rather, they are two volumes of a single work. The first verse in Acts connects it to Luke's Gospel: "The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach" (Acts 1:1). Exactly who Theophilus was is not certain, but he was likely a new Christian of high political rank who wanted to know more about Christianity. By "former treatise" Luke refers back to his Gospel, which consisted of "all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up" (Acts 1:1b-2a). "All" must be qualified. Obviously, Luke could not record everything Jesus did and taught (cf. Jn. 21:25), but what he did record was sufficient to know that Jesus was (and is) the Son of God (cf. Jn. 20:30-31). "To do and teach" are present tense infinities, which show that the effect of Christ's work continues to impact the world even though He is in heaven.1 The word "began," in the clause "all that Jesus began both to do and teach," implies that Jesus remains active, though the manner of His work has changed. He is no longer doing and teaching in the flesh, but He continues to do and to teach through His body, the church. This is the message of Acts, which goes beyond "the day in which he was taken up."

Between the Resurrection and Ascension

After Jesus was raised and before He ascended, Luke reveals that the Savior "through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:2b-3). These activities occurred within "forty days," the time from His resurrection until the time of His ascension. Jesus "being seen of them forty days" is also translated "by the space of forty days" (ASV) and "during forty days" (NKJ). The original language is literally, "through forty days." The Greek grammar implies that Jesus was not with them continuously, but that He appeared to them from time to time during these forty days. The more times Jesus showed Himself, the more confidence the apostles had that He was alive and well. Forty days would give them plenty of time to know assuredly that this was Jesus!

Commandments In examining the risen Lord's activity during these forty days, consider first the "commandments" He gave. The text states that Jesus "commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father" (Acts 1:4). That "promise" involved being "baptized with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 1:5), which was prophesied by John the Baptist (Mt. 3:11). The apostles were also given what is often called the Great Commission (Acts 1:8 cf. Mt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15-16). It seems likely that they were given this commission on more than one occasion during this forty day period. They were definitely given the commission again moments before the Lord ascended out of their sight (Acts 1:8-11).

Proofs Jesus also showed "himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs" (Acts 1:3a). The word "passion" refers to Jesus' suffering in connection with the Calvary events. The aorist tense of the word speaks of the suffering as complete, which would include His death, a reminder of the price paid for our salvation (cf. Acts 17:3; 26:23). "Infallible proofs" comes from one Greek word that refers to convincing, decisive proof, "that from which something is surely and plainly known."2 After His resurrection, during this forty day period, Luke records Jesus' appearances to two disciples on the Emmaus Road (Lk. 24:13-32 cf. Mk. 16:12-13), to Peter (Lk. 24:33-35 cf. 1 Cor. 15:5), to the apostles (Lk. 24:36-43 cf. Mk. 16:14), and to the apostles again immediately prior to the ascension (Lk. 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8). Additional appearances were to Mary Magdelene (Mk. 16:9-11; Jn. 20:11-18), to certain women (Mt. 28:9-15), to seven apostles by the Sea of Galilee (Jn. 21:1-23), to more than five hundred brethren at once (1 Cor. 15:6), and to James (1 Cor. 15:7). These post-resurrection appearances resulted in great comfort and confidence for all who loved Him!

Preaching the Kingdom The content of Jesus' teaching was "the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3c). The "kingdom of God" refers primarily to the reign of God and secondarily to the realm where He reigns. Since God has always reigned, He has always had a kingdom, although there have been different manifestations of it (Ex. 15:18 cf. Ps. 103:19; 145:11-13). In the Old Testament there was also the expectation of a future manifestation of God's rule, when He would exercise kingship in a fuller way (Isa. 24:23; 33:22; Zep. 3:15; Zec. 14:16-17). This was symbolically revealed by the prophets (Joel 2:28; Amos 9:11; Isa. 2:2; Dan. 2:44). Such prophecies made clear that this final manifestation of God's kingdom would be established in the last dispensation of time when the Messiah would reign (Heb. 1:1-2). The church of Christ is the final manifestation of God's kingdom this side of eternity (Mt. 16:18-19 cf. Acts 2:37-47). Both John the Baptist and Jesus preached the "kingdom of God" (Mt. 3:2; Mk. 1:15). In fact, the earthly ministry of Jesus may be summed up as the "kingdom of God" (Lk. 4:43). That the apostles needed to be instructed in matters pertaining to the kingdom is evident by their understanding before Jesus went to the cross (Mt. 20:20-28) and by their unbelief following the death of Christ (Lk. 24:25-26, 44-48). That they still, even after forty days of teaching by the resurrected Lord, misunderstood the nature of the kingdom is evident by their question, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6).

May we understand and accept what the Lord teaches us through His inspired word!