City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, ¹¹ and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

-Acts 1:6-11 (ESV)

 ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”

-Luke 24:4-7

Reflection

There is an interesting parallel between the scene at Jesus’ tomb and the scene of Jesus’ ascension into Heaven.  As Jesus ascends to the sky and the disciples are caught gazing skyward, two men (probably angels) appear to them in white robes.  But if you just take a look back at the end of Luke’s other work, we see that the women at Jesus tomb encountered two men in shiny clothes, telling them not to look for the living among the dead.  Perhaps these are the same two men.

At the tomb the message was that Jesus was alive, and that we should not look to Him as if he were dead.  Now that His followers were able to spend time with the living Christ and see Him disappear in the clouds, another message was provided; Jesus is coming back just like he left.

In both encounters, the two men addressed the crowd in the same way.  At the ascension they asked a why question: “why do you stand looking into heaven?” (Acts 1:11). At the tomb they also asked a why question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5).

In both cases, after asking these questions, they make a clarifying statement.  At the tomb they declare “He is not here; he had risen!” (Luke 24:6). For Jesus’ ascension, these messengers say that Jesus will return in the same way as they saw him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11). In both cases, these messengers are working to redirect the eyes of Jesus’ followers.  They are setting expectations and moving the crown along, like docents in a museum.  Jesus is risen, so we should expect him to be among the living.  And Jesus will return, so we should expect to see him again.

Application

Most Christians understand that our expectation is that we will see Jesus either when we die or when he returns.  This is an expectation that should have an influence on everything we do, everything we say, and everything we think.  We should live our lives as if Jesus will return tomorrow, while knowing that we still have work to do today.

But the message from the angels seems to be that we should not spend all our time gazing at the sky.  I think the intent is that we live out this expectancy with our hearts to the sky and our hands to the plow, pursuing God’s kingdom.  And we are to have no worries.  If you are pursuing the will of the Father, you won’t miss the return of the Son.

Prayer

Dear Lord, teach me to be a faithful servant.  Teach me to guard my heart against the things that would distract me from my devotion to You. Teach me to love the things of Your kingdom.  And teach me to expect the return of Your Son, Jesus Christ, while I maintain a focus on the work You have placed before me.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.