Sermon May 16, 1999 A Completed Resurrection based on Acts 1:1-11
Jesus Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
We have reached the final Sunday of the Easter season, the Seventh Sunday of Easter. At the fortieth day from His resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven. This was a day celebrated last Thursday. Then, at the fiftieth day from Jesus' resurrection, the gift of the Holy Spirit was given in a powerful measure on the day of Pentecost. On this Sunday we lie between Ascension and Pentecost. Yet, remaining in the season of Easter, we continue to remember the importance of Christ's resurrection. Our first lesson, the reading from Acts, reports on the events leading up to Christ's ascension and also those immediately following it.
The first two verses introduce the book of Acts. The human author wrote, being inspired by the Holy Spirit, these words:
NIV Acts 1:1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
Someone named Theophilus is being addressed. Theophilus is a compound name formed from the words theos, meaning God, and philos, meaning friend or lover of. The name Theophilus means friend or lover of God. This is about all we know of that person to which the book of Acts seems to be addressed.
The exception is the mention of the same name at the opening of the Gospel of Luke. Here is what the first four verses of Luke's Gospel say:
NIV Luke 1:1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
With this we see the connection between Acts and Luke: they are both written by Luke and addressed to Theophilus. The Gospel was the first book written, and Acts continues the series. Indeed the words opening Acts reference the former book, the Gospel.
Was this Theophilus a real person? An argument can be made that he was real based on the title given in the Gospel, most excellent Theophilus. This would lead to thoughts that perhaps he was a Roman official and a believer, but one who needed or desired more instruction.
On the other hand, it can be suggested that the name Theophilus is a general reference to people who love God. It could be that Luke was writing to general believers, who were won through the blood of Christ, and given His righteousness. Therefore he could address them as most excellent, because God had indeed made them excellent, not because of their works, but rather though His grace and love.
You to, as a believer in Jesus Christ, are a most excellent lover of God. This does not come of your own efforts or deeds. Each of us instead should be considered most excellent sinners. In fact, without Christ, we are not lovers of God, but haters of Him. We are His enemies. The love of God came to us, however, through our Lord, Jesus Christ. That love saved us from our sins and made us most excellent lovers of God. It is good to substitute your name for Theophilus, so that you know that the Scriptures are God's personal letter to you. Since it is a letter from someone very important, let us open and read that letter.
We go on in our text to see the strong attachment to the resurrection. It has been seven weeks since Easter was celebrated and almost 2000 years since it occurred. We tend to forget the importance of what happened. Jesus was dead, but then He became alive again. In our text, Jesus was giving proof continuously that He was alive:
3 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.
Jesus spent forty days showing Himself, in a physical fashion, eating with them, speaking to them, and so forth. He spent the time speaking about the kingdom of God, but we are not given the details of what He spoke.
The apostles next hear of the promise of this dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The text says:
4 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. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
The gift of the Holy Spirit is again promised. This baptism with the Holy Spirit is a further blessing beyond baptism with water. To be baptized means, in the plainest sense, to be washed. Jesus promises that they will be washed with the Holy Spirit. They would indeed be washed in the sense of being prepared for a task. People used to take a special bath on Saturday evening in preparation for attending church the next day. They would put on their best clothes as they came to appear before their Lord in His house. In the same way, the disciples were to be washed by the Holy Spirit to prepare them for something special they were given to do.
It is unfortunate that the disciples did not receive this promise so graciously. They later queried Jesus as to whether the gift would meet their expectations.
6 So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.
In effect, the apostles were saying they wanted a particular thing from Jesus. They wanted the gift of having Him restore Israel. In other words, they wanted to have Israel become politically separate from the Roman Empire. They wanted national power restored. The unfortunate thing is that the apostles were trying to mold God's gift to them into something to satisfy their own self-centered desires. They looked to their own expectations and desires and expected God to work according to them. They wanted God to meet their agenda.
Before we separate the apostles into the bin of lowly Christians and ourselves into the ones that are better, we would do well to ask: Do we do the same thing? Do we demand that God's gifts conform to our expectations and desires. How about God's gift of His Word? Are we likely to want to ignore or skip over portions which we don't like or understand? Then there is the gift of the Lord's Supper. Perhaps we get into a frame of mind where we want to determine how that gift ought to be delivered. In the same way, we might wonder about our liturgy and hymns. Wouldn't it be better if God gave us a message in our liturgy and hymns that was more about ourselves and how good we are, instead of pointing us toward Christ?
It is exactly this sin of making demands upon the gifts that our Lord gives us that is the reason we need to be directed to Christ. In Christ, we find forgiveness for this sin and all others. In Christ we have the gift to outweigh all others. We have Christ alone, on His terms, not on our terms. Christ comes on His terms, as He died on the cross for us sinners, and rose again. We do not come to Christ with any claims about our own righteousness. Rather, we come empty-handed and looking only to our Lord to fill our hands with His incredible gift.
Next, our text has Jesus lay out before the disciples the task which they are assigned. He explains the reason why they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit:
8 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."
The disciples are going to be given the outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that they might go and share the good news they had learned from Jesus. We too, have the same task before us. We are to witness, by word and deed, to others the Gospel of salvation we have in Christ. All of us can think of our failures in this task. We have not done as our Lord directed us. In fact, we can witness that same Gospel to ourselves, to see that our past failures are forgiven. We have the freedom to follow our Lord's commands, knowing that the slate is wiped clean.
After Jesus gives the directive to the apostles to be witnesses, He ascends. So says the text:
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
There is a strong element of mystery in this event. Jesus rose up and a cloud hid Him. We know that He returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. That phrase, sit at the right hand of the Father, simply means to be a position of power. The Son and the Father are one, and with His ascension, Jesus assumes His role as ruler of the universe.
There is one important difference in the Son of God when He leaves heaven going to earth and when He returns. That difference is that He returns with a fully human nature. He has always had a divine nature, but in the conception in Mary's womb, a human nature was joined to that divine nature. Now Jesus Christ returns to heaven. We now have a representative or mediator in heaven who shares our human nature.
We also see in the ascension that the resurrection of Christ is made complete. His resurrection is unlike the other people which were restored to life. The three that Jesus resurrected and the one that Elijah resurrected were still to face an earthly death. Jesus, on the other hand, was raised never to face death again. Instead of death, He ascended to heaven and lives forever. This is resurrection made complete.
Our attention may tend to want to stay focused on the Ascension. We, like the disciples, want to continue to look into the sky. This is why the angels were sent to the disciples, as the text reports:
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "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."
The attention of the apostles and our attention is taken off of where Jesus is now, and placed on His coming return. Knowing what has happened in the past, we look ahead to the future. The coming of Christ means the coming of a judgment of the living and the dead. With this to come, we are led to share the Good News with as many people as possible, so that, believing in Christ, they may experience the judgment with a verdict of not-guilty. We also allow ourselves to be prepared for that same resurrection by the Holy Spirit, working through Word and Sacrament.
Our attention is also drawn away from the troubles of this life and on to the future for us who believe in Christ. This is a future of resurrection to eternal life. Instead of standing looking into the sky, wondering in an empty-headed fashion, what will become of us, we can rest securely on our Lord's promise to return and His glorious resurrection and ascension. We know that we are not abandoned, but rather have bright futures as we confidently believe the promises of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.