"The Return of the King" (Acts 1:1-11)

Acts: 1:1-11 | The Return of the King

Theme: King Jesus is reigning until his return.

 

1. Returning from the Dead (Acts 1:1—5)
2. Returning to Heaven (Acts 1:6—9)
3. Returning to Earth (Acts 1:10—11)

Transcript:

Well, this morning our sermon text will be in Acts chapter one. If you want to open this in the pew Bible in front of you, this will be on page 1080. 1080, 1080. And as you're opening your bibles this morning, let's join our hearts to together this morning in prayer. Gracious heavenly Father, we cannot see your son, Jesus Christ, but Father, you tell us in your word that he is with us by his spirit, and that bodily he is with you.

He is seated at your right hand. His great redemptive work is completed and now he is reigning at your right hand and continuing to put his enemies under his feet until the day when he returns. And so Father, we pray that as we study your word and read about the triumphant moment when Jesus ascended to your right hand, we pray that this morning you would continue to pour out your spirit from heaven to fill us with the Spirit who indwells so that we might have hearts to understand and eyes to see and ears to hear all that is contained in the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, our King, our Savior, your son. It's in Christ's mighty name we pray. Amen.

Well, please stand for the reading of God's word as we read from Acts, chapter 1, verses 1 through 11 in the first book. O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up. After he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, he presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you heard from me. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

So when they had come together, they asked him, lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed 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 and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. 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.

And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of our God stands forever. Please be seated.

This morning we start a sermon series in the Book of Acts. And if you have read the Book of Acts before, you probably came away with the impression that this is a book that tells the story, the history of the very early church. And you would be correct about this. But the passage that we are looking at this morning is so important to help shape and frame the way we understand the nature of this history. Because this is no ordinary history.

This is not simply about people and pivotal events and politics. We're going to find those things as we go along. But it's about more than that. This is about the continuing reign of, of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this first verse, we read that what Luke began to teach, or what Luke began to write about in the Gospel of Luke, the first book was what Jesus began to do and to teach, which implies that there's a continuation.

He is still reigning, still doing, still teaching. And in this history, we are reading the continued history of our King, Jesus Christ reigning. What we are going to read about the events on earth, we are to understand that this is what Jesus is orchestrating from heaven. But it's not just that. We are also reading an ordinary history about things that happened a long time ago.

As we keep an eye on the events of the past, these are going to inform the way that we live in the present as we await Jesus bodily return in the future. So this morning, in this critical opening passage of the Book of Acts, our theme this morning is that King Jesus is reigning until his return. King Jesus is reigning until his return. And we are going to see that Luke structures this passage according to the three returns of King Jesus. First of all, his returning from the dead, his returning from the dead in verses one through five, second, his returning to heaven and the ascension returning to heaven, and then third, the one day returning to earth that he will do when he returns, returning from the dead, returning to heaven and returning to earth.

So we'll start in this section after Jesus has returned from the dead in verses one through five of this passage. Now, again I've mentioned it, the Book of Acts is written by Luke, the same Luke who wrote the Gospel of Luke, the book of Luke, the story of Jesus life according to Luke. And in the beginning of the Gospel of Luke, Luke addressed what he was writing to a man named Theophilus, the same Theophilus that he is Also addressing this book to in Luke 13:4, Luke said that he sought to wrote that book in order to write an orderly account for you. Most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Now, we don't know who Theophilus is.

There are a lot of guesses about who he is, but those aren't terribly profitable for us to try to speculate upon this morning. The important thing for our purposes is that there is a clear continuation that what began in the Gospel of Luke about the story of Jesus is continuing in the Book of Acts. We're meant to read these together and we even see Luke signposting that for us. He writes here in verse one, in the first book, O Theophilus, talking about the Gospel of Luke, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach. The implication here is that Jesus is continuing to do things.

He is continuing to teach things in the Book of Acts. But what's more, again, we have an eye on the past in order to inform the present. There would be a way for Luke to have written this. All that Jesus began to do and to teach, to suggest that what's happening in the Book of Acts sort of completes the story. You read the great introduction to Jesus story in the Gospel of Luke, and now we come to the climactic conclusion.

You know, there was a cliffhanger. And now we read the conclusion of the Book of Acts, and by the time we get to the Book of Acts, we could have expected the story of Jesus to be done. But the way that Luke writes this, that he began to do and to teach, has sort of a nuance that says, this is the beginning in the Gospel of Luke. And now there is more that Jesus is doing and teaching. But that work is going to continue even Beyond Acts chapter 28, even on to this present day, even till today, until the day when Jesus Christ returns again.

Again, we're looking to the past to inform the present as we await the future when Jesus Christ will return again. This is extremely important, extremely relevant for our lives today. And what Luke does at the beginning of this is he's giving us a glimpse into those precious 40 days where Jesus Christ, after he was resurrected from the dead, spent time with his disciples. Here. They're called the apostles.

That is, they are the ones who are sent by Jesus on a mission that he is giving them into the world. Now, it's very important we read that this happens over 40 days in verse three, that first of all, this happens after Jesus returned from the dead. Rose from the Dead, verse 3. He presented Himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. So that's the beginning of this period, the end of this period.

If you look just a little bit up into the previous verse in verse 2, this was until the day when he was taken up. And so what was he doing during that time? Well, this was. He was during this time giving commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Now it's very significant that it's happening over 40 days because this parallels something that we read about in the Gospel of Luke.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus himself underwent a 40 day period of preparation. During that time, Jesus was out in the wilderness. He was being tempted and tested. He was fasting during this time. So he was hungry when the devil came to him to try to get him to betray his Father in heaven and to destroy the mission on which he had been sent.

But our Lord Jesus successfully resists the devil and wins an opening victory that opens the way to the rest of the earthly ministry through Jesus sufferings his death and paving the way toward his resurrection and his entering into glory. Well now, as one commentator, John Polhill points out, these same 40 days are paralleling this. This is not the preparation of Jesus for ministry. This is Jesus preparation of his apostles for the ministry that he is going to send them into the world to accomplish. And so he's teaching them by giving these commands.

But it's not just that. This is sort of a cram session with Jesus. You know, maybe some of you have taken some of those test prep courses to take a standardized test and you studied really, really hard to take that test. And once the the test was over, the facts sort of bled out of your mind and you didn't have to remember all of those things anymore. That's not what's happening here.

What Jesus is particularly doing is pointing them that they need to stay in the city for a few more days. Because a few days after this in Jerusalem in verse 4, they are to await for the promise of the Father, which he said, you heard from me. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. We should notice that there's a tremendous hat tip or a tremendous acknowledgment of the work and presence of our triune God. In this passage right here, notice that.

What are the apostles to await? They are to await the promise of the Father. The Father promises and Jesus says this is what you heard from me. And if you remember what he's quoting, he's quoting the language of John the Baptist. John the Baptist who insisted, I am not the Christ, but there is one coming after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.

I baptize with water, but he will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And Jesus is saying, what happened? What began in the Gospel of Luke. You're about to see the fulfillment of this, what the Father promised. Jesus is saying, I will be the one to baptize you.

And I will baptize you in the Holy Spirit who will come upon you, who will be outpoured from heaven. And he will bless you and equip you and empower you for the mission that I am giving you. We are seeing distinct works of each of the persons of the Trinity. What the Father promises, the Son accomplishes. What the Son accomplishes.

Now he sends his Spirit to apply to his people three persons whose you might distinguish their work, but their work, I hope you can see, is inseparable. It's linked together. You cannot divide the work of the Father from the Son and from the Spirit. One God engaging in the work of redemption of the people of God whom he had chosen to save from before the foundations of the earth were laid. And so this is what Jesus promises.

This is what Jesus points forward and he charges his disciples, not only teaching them what they're to do, but he promises, you need the Holy Spirit. Now, it's very important to understand again what's happening in the Gospel of Acts. This is not just a history of people and political intrigue and different pivotal events. What's happening here is the ongoing reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, when we think of Jesus work, we primarily think about the kinds of things that we find in the Gospel of Luke and the other gospels, the things that Jesus did during his earthly life and ministry.

And we recognize that that comes after a very long history in the Old Testament where we were awaiting the coming Messiah, awaiting the one who was promised to come, awaiting the one who would lay down his life as a sacrifice for sin. And once he accomplishes it, it's almost like, well, what else is there? Right? Shouldn't this be the end? That's the grand finale.

And Jesus went into heaven and we all lived happily ever after. And everything is just wonderful and Kumbaya forever and ever. But that's not the way this works. There's a really interesting, I think, illustration in the Lord of the Rings. I'm not the only pastor here who likes the Lord of the Rings, but the Lord of the Rings and the story of the return of the king.

The Lord of the Rings is a story of trying to destroy the ring which has brought so much evil into the world. It's a symbol of sin in a lot of ways, and the sinful grasp for power to overthrow God and to overthrow people in this world. And the whole story of the Lord of the Rings is for the hobbits to try to get that ring back to Mordor, to throw it into the fires of Mordor to destroy it. And that's three long books devoted to that story, and even four if you count the Hobbit before it, which tells about the origin of the ring there. And once they destroy the ring, you think, okay, the story's over.

Fantastic. They can be done. The end. But it doesn't end there. Then Aragorn is crowned king, the High King.

And so you think, great, well, that must be the end. What else is there? Shouldn't this be the end? But it's so interesting that after that it tells Tolkien very wisely reflecting this story. He's self consciously trying to reflect this story.

There's a story of the hobbits trying to go back to the Shire where they came from. And it's the long story of their return and their life after. And when they come back, they find that even though the great problem has been dealt with, there's so much to put in order in the world. They have to fight enemies. Saruman, the bad wizard is there.

They have to have a great battle with enemies. They have to start families, they have to replant trees. It's not just that the decisive work of destroying the ring had to be done. So much has to be done, as the enemies who sought for the ring have to be done away with. And again, Tolkien is reflecting this story that we find here, the story where when Jesus great decisive redemptive work is done, that's not the end of the story.

He is ascended into heaven. Again, not to check out. He's not on vacation. This isn't a sabbatical for Jesus. Jesus is reigning and he is continuing to put his enemies under his feet.

But to get to that, Jesus truly must enter into his reign. And to do that, he must ascend the steps of heaven to enter into his throne at the right hand of his Father. And so we come to the second section. Returning to heaven. Returning to heaven.

In Acts, chapter 1, verses 6 through 9, Jesus again has returned from the dead. And We've seen this 40 day period after his return from the dead. Now we are going to see that great moment when Jesus returns to heaven. Now, in verses 6 and 7, the apostles ask Jesus a kingdom question. Again, Jesus reign and rule is very much in focus in this passage.

They ask him a kingdom question. When they had come together, they asked him, lord, will you at this time time restore the kingdom to Israel? Now again, if we've read the Gospel of Luke, this is nothing new. The crowds, the disciples, the leaders were all asking Jesus about his political aspirations. They knew that somehow he symbolized the king that was long awaited.

And they, some of them wanted him to be the king, some of them hated the idea that he would be king. But in all of this they totally misunderstood the nature of the kingdom that Jesus Christ was coming to establish. He was not coming as they hoped, as they wanted, as they expected, to establish a political, national, earthly and ethnic kingdom. He came to establish a kingdom of Israel as a spiritual kingdom throughout all nations to the end of the earth. And as Paul explains in Romans 11:23,24, what we are going to see playing out in the Book of Acts is that if Israel is an olive tree, an olive tree that God himself has planted, there are many unbelieving Jews who are going to be broken off of this.

They set themselves against the king in the Gospel of Luke, and they are going to continue setting themselves against the kingdom in the Book of Acts, as Gentiles are grafted in by faith. But we're told in Romans chapter 11 that those Jews who do not continue in their unbelief will be grafted back in. And so there's this tremendous story of the Gospel going out to the whole world, starting in Jerusalem, moving into Judea and Samaria, into the ends of the earth. And everywhere they're trying to reach Jews. And they're also finding Gentiles who are receptive to the faith.

This is the mission that Jesus Christ is sending them to do as he clarifies in verse seven. He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father is fixed 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 and in all Judea and Samaria, south and north and to the end of the earth. Now, many have pointed out that this forms something of a table of contents to the Book of Acts.

You know, you open a book and you sort of look at the table of contents to scan which chapters or passages might be important or relevant to whatever you're trying to learn about. Well, this is it. This is the table of contents. The mission that starts in Jerusalem is then going to expand into Judea and then to Samaria, and then it's going to expand to the end of the earth. What happens at the beginning here in Jerusalem?

Stay in the city, Stay in Jerusalem is going to conclude Rome, the capital of the empire, over all the ends of the earth at this time. And every step along the way, they are not doing this again. This isn't just sort of a general story of history and people just trying to make their way through life. At every step, they're empowered by the Holy Spirit as he furthers the mission, as he empowers them to accomplish everything that Jesus has given them to do.

And then suddenly there's just no fanfare, it just happens. In verse nine we read, something shocking happens. And when he had said these things, as they were looking at him, they're expecting him to finish his sentence. At least as they were looking on, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. Suddenly, without warning, the great, triumphant, mighty King Jesus ascends into heaven to be seated as a king at the right hand of his Father.

First, he had returned from the dead, now he returns to heaven. This is the one who came down from heaven and who will return to heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who took upon a human nature. And now as the God man, the one who was crucified and died, but has risen from the dead and now is alive forevermore, the Alpha and the Omega, he ascends to heaven where he reigns at the Father's right hand. Now this importantly was prophesied in the Old Testament in two at least two important places.

The first place of importance is the direct prophecy In Daniel, Chapter 7, the story of the Ancient of days enthroned and all of his kingdom and dominion and power. Well then, before the Ancient of Days is brought one like a Son of man who enters into his kingdom. And I want to read to you what it says in Daniel 7, verses 13 through 14. Daniel says, I saw in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven. Do you remember when Jesus was rising, a cloud took him out of their sight.

That story, fulfillment of the prophecy coming with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of man. And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away in his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. What a great thought.

Jesus has completed his earthly ministry. He's come and fulfilled every part of the royal rescue mission. And now as a triumphant king, he's headed into heaven for that ticker tape parade on the streets of gold. Now again, what I said earlier is this passage, the first part of our passage here, gave us the rare glimpse we have in the whole Bible of what happened in those 40 days between the time when Jesus returned from the dead and before he returned to heaven. Well, there's an Old Testament passage that gives us a glimpse into heaven when Jesus returns there, when he comes Triumphant@PSALM24.

And we're going to read it a little bit later because it's so important to the ascension. In that psalm there's a question who has clean hands and a pure heart? And it's this Messiah who can ascend the hill of the Lord. And it's the Messiah who's has his hands perfectly clean. His heart is absolutely pure.

He has not lifted up his soul to what is false or sworn deceitfully. And so he may ascend the hill of the Lord into heaven to receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness. And upon his arrival Again, Psalm 24 is that great psalm where the host of heaven are crying. Be lifted up, O ancient gates. And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.

Who is this king of glory? The Lord, strong in battle, the Lord, he is the King of glory. It's about Jesus triumphant, entering into heaven, entering into his throne where the gates are being lifted up to make way for him in this ticker tape parade as he goes to seat to be seated at his Father's right hand where he is still reigning. Now again we're going to sing this later. We're going to celebrate the enthronement and the ascension of Jesus.

And again, as we think about this, what's left? Isn't that the end of the story? What possibly more could come of this? It seems like it would all be downhill from there. Jesus is on his throne.

But before we get to where we find ourselves in this, we have to think about one more return. And this is going to shape how we think about that question. What's left? What's next? And this is in the third section, the third return of Jesus, when one day Jesus will be returning bodily to earth, return from the dead, return to heaven.

And now we're between that time and the future. When Jesus will be returning to earth in verses 10 through 11. Now, as we look at verses 10 and 11, there's a really important parallel in the Gospel of Luke. In the Gospel of Luke, you may remember that at the tomb there are these women who are there, and they're confused. They're perplexed.

Why? Because they could not see the body of Jesus. They could not find the body of Jesus. They knew where Jesus had been buried. They came to anoint him for burial.

But when they arrive, Jesus is not there. His body is not there. And they're perplexed by this. Where is Jesus? Well, as they're confused about all this, suddenly we read that two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.

Again, 40 days later, in verse 10, we read, and while they, these men, the apostles, were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes. Two men just appear again and again. In the Gospel of Luke, in Luke 24, verses 5 through 6, those two men encourage the perplexed women with the good news about Jesus. They say, why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but he is risen again.

These women were perplexed because they could not see the body of Jesus. So these men are perplexed because the body of Jesus is now hidden from them as they look into heaven, as he's hidden in this cloud, as he ascends into heaven. And so in verse 11, these men encourage the men of Galilee. They say, 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.

The king is in heaven now, but one day he is coming again. This is incredibly good news of the kingdom, incredibly good news of the king. He is reigning again. He is not on break. He is not on sabbatical.

This is not a time off. Jesus is reigning.

So what's our application from this? How do we apply this? Well, as a church and as we study the book of Acts and we think about the way the Acts is narrating the history of the church. And again, as we have our eye on the past, inform the present as we await the future when Jesus returns. What this is doing is sort of framing where we are in history.

It's reminding us that we are in the time between the times. We are in the time between Jesus first coming and more than that, his return then into heaven and the time when Jesus will then descend from heaven and come again. That's where we find ourselves. And again, in this time, we are told that Jesus is reigning. He is the king.

They're asking about the kingdom. He is the king, the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The king is reigning and we have a mission to accomplish. So our application is that we must submit to the reign and the rule of King Jesus with the knowledge that Jesus must reign until he returns. And he will reign until he returns.

Now, as your pastor, again, not official tonight, but this still counts. During my first Sunday here in the pulpit, I want to start by making one thing absolutely clear. As John the Baptist said, I want to repeat, I am not the Christ. Now, I know you know that you're saying, why are you saying this to us? Why would you even think of saying that to us?

We all know these things in our heads, but these are things that we are so subtly tempted to forget. Again, Jesus body is in heaven. We can't see him right now. And so just by nature, as creatures of this world, we're very often tempted to live by sight instead of by faith, to sort of gravitate toward and expect too much from the people around us. And that takes a variety of different forms and shapes in the relationships in our lives.

But I know that I will be tempted to try to make things happen here, right? And you will be tempted to want me to make things happen. We must remember from the very beginning, none of us does, that I plant, I water, but it's God who gives the growth. We do not build the kingdom. Jesus builds his kingdom.

We are his servants, the instruments he uses. As King Jesus establishes his kingdom in this world, putting his enemies under his feet, preparing the way for his eventual bodily return, you will be tempted perhaps to look to me for leadership, direction and comfort in ways that only Christ can fulfill. And in the depravity of my heart as a sinner, I'll be tempted to want that. But I promise you, I will let you down. That's maybe not the best note to start on, but I'm going to start there.

We're going to set the bar low. I will let you down. Jesus never will. Even the painful things that he brings into his life, Even seasons where you've waited three and a half years for a pastor to come, this has not been because Jesus has been asleep at the wheel. But he's again taken that much needed R and R time.

In heaven, Jesus has been reigning and he continues to reign. He's been building you up. He's been equipping you. He's been drawing the Lost. To come to know Jesus Christ through faith and salvation.

I'm not the Christ, but I come to you this morning as his ambassador and on behalf of the King, I declare to you incredible news. The King is alive. The King is active. The King is reigning every detail of your life, every detail of the long history of this church. Jesus Christ as King is reigning over, is orchestrating, is ordering, is purposing to his appointed.

I declare to you this morning, particularly as his ambassador, that what Jesus has come, has accomplished everything needed for life and godliness, that he actually did come into this world. That the High King of Heaven became a servant. He took upon himself a lowly human nature like ours and not just any human being. He took upon himself the lowliest place. He became the slave of all he suffered so that we might live.

He took upon himself the curse of God's wrath against us for the sin that we incurred against him for our guilt to cleanse us of our filthiness before him. He did that. And I come bearing good news that it's done. That decisive act has been accomplished. And there is nothing that you can do this morning to try to atone for your sins.

You couldn't do it and you don't need to do it because that work is accomplished. And now our High Priest has ascended to heaven with blood stained hands standing before the Father and our High Priest again. He's still working. He ever lives to intercede for his people. That's what he's doing right now this morning.

He's praying for you. He's praying that God would apply the the blood that he has shed for you through his Holy Spirit who applies everything he's accomplished to his people.

And today, this morning, King Jesus, he is alive. He is in heaven. He is reigning. He is putting his enemies under his feet. He is bringing the dead to life spiritually.

He is subduing our sin. He is restraining Satan. He is ordering all things. He is blessing and building up his church by his word and by his spirit. This morning as we read from the beginning of the history of the early church, we're entering into the beginning a new chapter of this church.

This church. I had some time to look back through the history books that were produced this week of history books that were produced through the hundredth anniversary and the 150th anniversary of this church. I've never been a part of a church with such a long history. It's a blessing we're coming to a new chapter of this church and this is an exciting time. But there are challenges ahead of us.

There are opportunities. There are hopes and hurts to sort through. But church, take heart. You are in very good hands. And I am not talking about mine.

You are in the hands of King Jesus. And he cannot fail Jesus. King Jesus will reign until he returns. Let's pray.