It was in the upper room that Jesus showed His disciples the full extent of His love. For them this was as difficult to grasp as it is today. He also told them of the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in them. The events that followed, in Gethsemane and at Calvary, left them filled with apprehension and frustration. The One they believed had come to restore the earthly kingdom to Israel was deceased. Their champion was dead.
Before the crucifixion, Christ informed them that he would see them in Galilee in three days. Instead of being overwhelmed with expectation, they are huddled in a panic room for fear of the Jews. He surprised them by His presence, rebuked them for their unbelief, offered them His peace for the days ahead, and commissioned them to make disciples of all nations. Still, everything hinged on the promise of the Holy Spirit that would come to indwell them and make this possible.
The narrative moves steadily ahead as Christ appears to several hundred believers over the next several days. Upon coming to Bethany, the scene is set for an incredible event. Jesus reiterates the commission He gave to them. He tells again of the Spirit that would empower them to accomplish this task. The disciples ignorantly question Him about the timing of the restoration of Israel. In an instant Jesus is taken up into Heaven. Two angelic messengers broke their gaze with the promise of the eventual return of Christ.
The Ascension is a much overlooked, but crucial event in the sovereign plan and purposes of God. It is here that Jesus Christ, the God-man, took his place of authority over the church, even over the entirety of the cosmos. Jesus is presently in the throne room! To grasp this further, we move from Acts 1 and proceed to one of the grandest passages of Scripture in Revelation 4-5. It is from here that He creates and orders and blesses, and He rules, reveals, and redeems. If He is not the center, there is no circumference and no sustaining purpose. He is simultaneously the Lion and the Lamb, demonstrating the infinite and intimate dimensions of God’s will.
But they stood gazing. They were then directed to wait in Jerusalem until they were empowered from on high.