Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction: \\ A. Goodbyes aren’t easy.

Especially if we or they will be gone for a long time.

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There are some very memorable goodbyes in history.

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It is also especially hard to say goodbye to an elderly friend or loved because we know that it might be the last time we will see them.

\\ \\ B. Today we are going to talk about Jesus’ goodbye to His disciples – we know it as the Ascension.

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The most important events in Jesus’ life certainly include His birth, baptism, temptation, transfiguration, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.

\\ 2. It is interesting to me that not all of the Gospels record this event.

\\ 3. John says nothing about the ascension of Jesus.

He ended his Gospel, saying, “Jesus did many other things as well.

If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”

(Jn.

21:25) \\ 4. Matthew ended his Gospel with Jesus gathering with His disciples on a mountain in Galilee.

He issued the Great Commission and then promised, “And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.”

(Mt.

28:20) \\ 5. Mark ended his Gospel with a speech similar to the Great Commission in Matthew, and then he wrote, “After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.” (Mk.

16:19)

\\ C. It is Luke the careful historian who gives the most ink to the ascension of Jesus.

\\ 1. Luke ended his Gospel, written especially for the most excellent Theophilus, (Lk.

24:50-52) \\ 2. Then Luke opened volume two, saying, (Acts 1:1-3) \\ 3. Luke recorded Jesus’ instructions that they should not leave Jerusalem, but should wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them, and then they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

\\ 4. Luke then wrote, (Acts 1:9-11) \\ \\ 5.

The birth of Jesus is a truly important event.

\\ 6. Certainly His crucifixion and resurrection are the most critical for our salvation.

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But the ascension is also an important event.

\\ \\ I. Why the Ascension was an Absolute Necessity \\ A. There are several reasons that the ascension was an absolute necessity.

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First of all, there had to be a final moment when Jesus returned to heaven.

\\ 2. Imagine if the resurrection appearances of Jesus had just simply petered out.

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There would be something wrong and indefinite about that.

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There had to be a day dividing when the Jesus of earth would become the Christ of heaven.

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The ascension marked the transition from His earthly ministry to His heavenly one.

\\ 6. Behind Him was the persecution of men; before Him was the applause of angels.

\\ 7. Behind Him was the cruel cross; before Him was the glorious crown.

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So the ascension was an absolute necessity because there had to be a final moment when Jesus left the earth.

\\ \\ B. A second reason the ascension was an absolute necessity, is the fact that Jesus’ going allowed for the Spirit’s coming.

\\ 1. Jesus told them in John 16, (Jn.

16:5-7) \\ 2. Jesus continued in verse 12, (Jn.

16:12-14) \\ 3.

So the going of Jesus allowed for the coming of the Sprit, and the coming of the Spirit ushered in the beginning of the church.

\\ 4. It is hard to imagine life in the church without the Spirit.

It is an impossibility.

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It is hard to imagine our lives today in the church without the work of the Holy Spirit.

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The Holy Spirit brings me such hope, peace and power, while at the same time convicting me of my sin when I get off course.

\\ \\ C. Another reason the ascension was an absolute necessity, is the fact that it allowed Him to begin His permanent, heavenly ministry.

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It has been well said that: “At the ascension Jesus left the here for the everywhere.

He left the now for the eternal.

He left the First Century to fill all the centuries.”

\\ 2. Just as the grave could not hold Him when His Father raised Him from the dead, so the earth could not hold Him when the time came for Him to return to His Father.

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And as Mark says, “he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.” (Mk.

16:19) \\ 4. Similarly, Peter wrote, (1 Pt. 3:18,21,22) \\ 5.

In heaven, at God’s right hand, Jesus is our interceding High Priest, giving us the grace we need for life and service (Heb.

4:14-16).

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He is also our Advocate before the Father, forgiving us when we confess our sins (1 Jn. 1:9-2:2) \\ 7. The exalted and glorified Head of the church is now working with His people on earth and helping them accomplish His purposes.

(Mt.

28:19-20; Mk. 16:20) \\ \\ D.. We have proof that Jesus ascended and is now ministering at the right hand of God.

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In Acts 7, we read about Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

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As he was on trial before the Sanhedrin, the Bible says, (Acts 7:55-58) \\ 2. That same Saul had his own encounter with the risen and ascended Christ.

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The Bible says, (Acts 9:3-6) \\ 3.

About seventy years later, the apostle John was on the island of Patmos, exiled by the Roman authorities, when Jesus the resurrected and ascended Christ appeared to him.

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The Bible says, (Rev.

1:10, 12-18) \\ 4. So we see from these verses that the ascended Christ is very much alive and active.

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He is busy standing beside his followers as they face trouble and persecution.

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He is busy calling people into ministry, and He is busy inspecting His churches.

\\ \\ E. One final reason the ascension was an absolute necessity was the fact of His return.

/The asking by the disciples./

"Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel" (Acts 1:6).

"Restore again the kingdom to Israel."

We note two things about this restoration aspect of the question the disciples asked Christ.

They are the country in the restoration and the confidence in the restoration.

(1) The /country/ in the restoration was Israel.

The nation of Israel will one day be restored to great glory; in fact, the restoration will make Israel a far greater nation in far better circumstances than ever it was in its heyday in the past (Ezekiel 40-48).

The Jews will be gathered out of the nations of the world and brought to Israel (Ezekiel 34:11-14) to populate the land.

(2) The /confidence/ in the restoration is seen in the fact that the disciples did not ask /if/ the restoration was going to take place but /when./

This question assumed that the restoration would take place, as we will note more about shortly.

The only question with the disciples was when was the restoration going to happen.

Note that the question asked by the disciples also assumes that Jesus Christ will do the restoring ("wilt thou").

It will not be brought about by the United Nations or other world powers, but it will be brought about by Jesus Christ Himself.

Third, /reason./

"Kingdom."

Here we look into the reason why the disciples asked this question.

What prompted it?

We do not have far to look what prompted their thoughts about the kingdom.

Just a few verses before our text which records the disciples’ question, we have the report that Jesus was teaching the disciples about the "Kingdom of God."

The text indicates that it was the major theme of His teaching during the forty days from the resurrection to the ascension.

So logically, with all the kingdom teaching, the disciples asked their question about the kingdom of Israel—the kingdom of God includes the kingdom for Israel.

It is all a part of God’s Sovereign rule.

Fourth, /readiness./

"At this time."

As we have already noted, the question asked by the disciples was not if the kingdom was to be restored but when.

Was Christ ready to restore the kingdom now?

It is evident that the disciples were hoping for the restoration at that time.

they saw the great blessing that would come when Christ restored the kingdom to Israel and ruled over the world.

/The answering by the Savior./

"And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power" (Acts 1:7).

Two important notations can be made about the answer of Christ to the disciples.

They are that there was no denying of the restoration, and there was no declaring of the time.

First, /no denying of the restoration./

If the restoration was a myth perpetrated by the people or a misunderstanding by the disciples, this was the time for Christ to set the disciples straight once and for all about the kingdom matter.

But Christ did not in anyway discredit the idea voiced by the disciples of the restoration of Israel.

Those who deny the restoration have no ground here for denying it.

Second, /no declaring of the time./

Christ’s answer simply said that the disciples could not know the time.