Posted by Chester Morton / Tuesday 24 January 2017 / No comments
The Ascension of Jesus
After the resurrection of Jesus, he showed himself to the
Apostles in many ways, to prove that he was still alive. This he did for a period of
forty days and as he did so, he spoke to them about the kingdom of God.
Jesus Christ charged the Apostles not to leave Jerusalem until
they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus also told them that though
John the Baptist baptized with water, they shall, in the not too distant
future, baptize with the Holy Spirit.
After that, when they had come together, they asked Jesus
whether he was going to restore the kingdom of Israel? Jesus replied that the
time and the season, which the father had appointed, was not theirs to know,
but rather that when the time comes, they shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit falls on them and they shall witness to the people in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria
and every part of the world.
After Jesus had said this, they were just there looking on
when the spirit of God lifted Jesus up into the clouds until they could not see
him anymore. They were there looking into the clouds and then they realized
that two men dressed in white dresses stood by their side and asked why they
were still looking up into the clouds. Then the two men said, the same man they had seen going into the heavens, they would, very soon, see come back to earth the
same way.
After all these had happened, the Apostles returned to
Jerusalem from Mount Olivet, which was about a Sabbath day’s journey. They went
into the Upper room where they stayed.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
1. Give an account of the ascension of Jesus into heaven.
2. How did Jesus depart from among his disciples?
3. “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.” Describe the circumstances leading to this
statement.
