O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.[1]
Entering glory through suffering
Acts 1:6-11 NRSV
So, when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 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.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Chrysostom
But why did the Holy Spirit not come to them while Christ was present, rather than immediately after his departure? Instead, although Christ ascended on the fortieth day, the Spirit came to them when the day of Pentecost had come. . . . It was necessary for them to have a longing for the event and so receive the grace. For this reason, Christ himself departed, and then the Spirit came. For if he had been present, they would not have expected the Spirit so earnestly as they did.[2]
Conrad Gempf
The return of Jesus, just like the restoration of the kingdom, is certain, as the repeated same is probably meant to emphasize. The return was not theirs to worry about. They had other things to do, as Jesus had already outlined. John Stott writes: ‘There was something fundamentally anomalous about their gazing up into the sky when they had been commissioned to go to the ends of the earth … Their calling was to be witnesses not stargazers’ (The Message of Acts [IVP, 1990], p. 51).[3]
1 Peter 5:6-11 NRSV
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.
Matthew Henry
Humility preserves peace and order in all Christian churches and societies; pride disturbs them. Where God gives grace to be humble, he will give wisdom, faith, and holiness. To be humble, and subject to our reconciled God, will bring greater comfort to the soul than the gratification of pride and ambition. But it is to be in due time; not in thy fancied time, but God’s own wisely appointed time. Does he wait, and wilt not thou? What difficulties will not the firm belief of his wisdom, power, and goodness get over! Then be humble under his hand. Cast “all you care;” personal cares, family cares, cares for the present, and cares for the future, for yourselves, for others, for the church, on God. These are burdensome, and often very sinful, when they arise from unbelief and distrust, when they torture and distract the mind, unfit us for duties, and hinder our delight in the service of God. The remedy is, to cast our care upon God, and leave every event to his wise and gracious disposal. Firm belief that the Divine will and counsels are right, calms the spirit of a man.[4]
The Heidelberg Catechism[5]
Question #46
How do you understand the words, He ascended into heaven?
That Christ, in the sight of His disciples, was taken up from earth into heaven, and there continues for our interest, until He comes again to judge the living and the dead.
Question #47
Is Christ, then, not with us even to the end of the world, as He has promised?
Christ is true man and true God: with respect to His human nature, He is no more on earth; but with respect to His Godhead, majesty, grace, and Spirit, He is at no time absent from us.
Question #49
Of what advantage to us is Christ’s ascension into heaven?
First, that He is our Advocate in the presence of His Father in heaven; second, that we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that He, as the Head, will also take us, His members, up to Himself; third, that He sends us His Spirit as an earnest, by whose power we seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God, and not the things that are upon the earth.
Hear us, O merciful God, and grant our minds to be lifted up to where our Redeemer has ascended; that at the second coming of the Mediator we may receive from your manifested bounty what we now venture to hope for as a promised gift; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[6]
Facing a Task Unfinished
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.[7]
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1] Collect for the Sunday after Ascension Day, Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019, p. 613.
[2] Chrysostom, Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 1, Ancient Christian Devotional Year A, p. 131.
[3] Conrad Gempf, “Acts,” in New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition, ed. D. A. Carson et al., 4th ed. (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994), 1070.
[4] Matthew Henry and Thomas Scott, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997), 1 Pe 5:5.
[5] G. I. Williamson, The Heidelberg Catechism: A Study Guide. P & R Publishing, 1993, pp. 81-82.
[6] The Leonine Sacramentary, Ancient Christian Devotional Year A, p. 134.
[7] 1 Timothy 1:17 NIV
