Acts 1:9-12

Key points: The Urgency of the Mission, The Urgency of the Mission comes from the imminence of the Return of Christ, The Urgency of the Mission looks like waiting on God.’

Good morning, everyone!

It’s very good to be with you all this morning. I want you to know that it has been my joy to come and speak with you all, and it continues to be a joy. I enjoy getting to refine my process for sermon preparation, as well as delving into the treasures of the text of God’s word. I look forward to continuing to do this with you all.

I will use this time to experiment some with different teaching styles/lesson structures and so I ask that if I do something different with the structures that you like, let me know! It helps me always get better at what the Lord has called me to do.

With that being said, We are going to be looking at verses 9-12 today of Chapter 1, and I hope to divide this down into three sections for us. The main section is the urgency of the mission. The 2nd is looking at the imminence of Christ. And the last is the importance of waiting on the Lord.

So now I want us to dig in to the scriptures so we are going to be back in Acts 1 looking at verses 6-12. We are going to reread it all to reestablish the entire passage in our mind.

Acts 1:6-12 (ESV)

6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 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.” 9 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. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “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.” Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ac 1:6–12.

I wanted us to read alll the scripture again to remind us of how brief of a conversation this was that actually happened. Maybe there was more said, we don’t know. But what the scripture gives us is not much of a conversation. It’s one question, a redirection and a charge to receive the Holy Spirit.

So I want us to notice here is the brevity of the conversation. Jesus has been with these guys for 3 years. All eyes have been on him, he just resurrected a few weeks ago.

And then Luke here, known for giving an extraordinary amount of detail gives us one line of dialogue?

Why do we get so little about the last interaction.

And why is Jesus keeping it so short?

We are gonna see why. Keep reading in verse 9

9 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. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “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.” Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ac 1:9–12.

When he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

“When he had siad these things, as they were looking on.”

Luke gives us some details in his writing to indicate the Jesus was immediately taken away. Right after giving them the line, you will be my witnesses in JErusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the Earth. He just ascends.

This event is known as the acension. This is Jesus’ last bodily momemnt on Earth until his return.

And myabe you like, why are you making such a big deal about how little this verse is?

Ok, well, I want to ask you.

What would you define this moment as? Is it a climactic moment? Or is it anti-climactic? Is it maybe somewhere in between?

What are some of the climactic aspects of it? He’s riding a cloud. Yep, your like, wow, that’s pretty amazing. Look look at Jesus he’s riding on a cloud.

This is pretty epic right? I mean, who have you ever seen, just start floating up and away towards heaven. This is some real superhero esque stuff here.

But what I want to show you, is this moment, beyond Jesus ascending, is meant to be anticlimatic to Lukes writing. Jesus is talked about in the first 8 verses and then now in verse 9 he’s gone. It’s clear, that Jesus’s life and ministry are not going to be the main focus of this.

Now were getting somewhere, I want us to be reminded that this isn’t the Gospels. This is the book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The main idea of this book is again, the Holy Spirit doing these amazing works.

So yes, he is ascending on the cloud, but the only important thing we see about the cloud is that it was obscuring Jesus from their vision. The cloud was there, not to serve as some cool vehicle for Jesus to ride on, it’s to obscure their vision?

Why? Because this moment isn’t supposed to be something they camp out in. Jesus doeswn’t want their focus to be on him and how awesome he looks as he is ascending to the sky.

Look at the details! Luke gives us one line of dialogue and then Jesus is gone. The description of how Jesus left is one verse. We got chapters describing his last days in Jerusalem, his time on the cross, his burial, we got details. Here we get 1 verse. He’s gone by verse 9.

That’s all? Where’s the fanfare? Where’s the big booming voice that was at his baptism saying, come, enter into the glory you had with me when the world was not yet created? Where’s the grand benediction as Jesus prays for them as he ascends? Where’s the angels singing in triumph to welcome home their king? The king of Kings is returning to heaven. God the Son, who stepeed down from his place at the right hand of the Father is ascending back to him.

And we get 1 verse. And a little bit of detail. Like Jesus is just gone.

There’s something here, I’m telling you, Luke is trying to get us to see something.

And we keep reading and we see the disciples are just staring. They are just goo-goo eyed. WOW.

and we continue in the scripture

and behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “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.”

There’s two angels who come to them. That’s who the men in white robes are by the way, they’re angels. They are wearing white, they appear suddenly appear. That’s why he uses the word behold. It’s a word that implies immediacy.

They are staring at Jesus going up into heaven, and immeditaly two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “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.

They address them as Men of Galilee, this is an intentional title. It draws a connection between them and Jesus. It reminds them of where this all started, they were Men from Galilee who Jesus had called, taught, and ultimately died for. It reminds them of how much different their lives are now because of Jesus who’ve they’ve met.

And now he’s gone, and their staring at him, and then what do these Angels say? Why do you stand looking into heaven?

This is another rebuke to them. They are standing and watching Jesus as he is ascending, and they are asking why are you staring at Jesus?

My initial reacion is what’s wrong with them staring at Jesus? Isn’t that a perfectly natural response. What would you do if you were one of them? Be honest.

I believe this part of the passage shows the very clear shift in the narrative of scripture that is going on here. Jesus is still the focus of the book of Acts, but he’s no longer there in person. And the disciples are being corrected because Jesus’s time on Earth is done. It’s not about his earthly life and ministry anymore.

The shift is from Jesus being there with them in the flesh, to Jesus being there with them in the Spirit. And so now, they need to stop staring at Jesus in the flesh, who is ascending up into the sky.

Because he isn’t going to leave them alone, he’s just not going to come back in the same way. He is coming to them again, But it is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who is not Jesus but is the spirit of Jesus.

In the book of Acts, the discples had to learn to relate to and rely on God the Spirit, as God the Son was going back into heaven.

This is important because we now live in this age. God the Son is not presently bodily with us here on Earth. God the Spirit is. The book of Acts is going to be a guide to learning the Holy Spirit. Learning how he works, what it looks like when he is speaking and moving and what he does.

So what I want to look at in the rest of our time is three things.

The first is the urgency of the mission.

Why did the disciples get rebuked here? Because they were focusing on the body of Jesus, not on the mission of Jesus. He’s just told them what is gonna happen, but they are staring at him as he goes away.

They aren’t acting in line with the fact that he has just passed the torch to them. He’s not on Earth anymore, he’s not going to be walking around in his body doing earthly ministry. He’s going to be doing ministry through the apostles. You see, Jesus has just expanded the amount of kingdom work he is able to do. Because now he is doing work through his apostles. God in them through the Holy Spirit

We see these things in the Gospel of John as he is giving his final teachings to his disciples before the crucifixion. I encourage you tto go and read those chapters. I believe they explain and pair very nicely with the scriptures I’m reading today.

John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.

John 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 

They are being redirected to the fact that the ministry of reconciliation has now been entrusted to them. And they do not need to stare at Jesus going up into heaven anymore. There’s a mission to get to?

What does this show us? This shows us the urgency of the mission the apostles have been sent on. They are now the one’s to who Jesus has entrusted the message of the Gospel and reconciliation of the world.

We see this in John 20:19-23

where JEsus says

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,[c] Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

He had given them this authority and responsibility of carrying on his work to be witnesses to the lost and dying world around them. A world that didn’t believe in him and needed him. If you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them if you withold, it is withheld.

Forgiveness of sin is not a light thing. They are able to proclaim forgiveness through the gospel, and their ministry of reconciling people to God through the message of the Gospel results in the forgiveness of peoples sins.

And now, they are standing still, staring at him.

And so we get to see these angels redirect their focus back to the mission.

Which brings me to the point, we all need this direction. We now have inherited this mission. God has entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to his people.

And everyone of us, constantly, daily, hourly, need to be redirected to his mission. We live in a world full of distractions. Everything bright and glittery. We need to remember the importance of what it means to be Christians in this world

The angels message is this, and we need to also listen to this message. We need to remember the urgency of the mission.

What’s the urgency of the mission? Life or death. People receiving Christ and living eternally with him. No sacrifice too much, no sacrifice not worth the results. Forgiveness for our sins, before an infintely holy, righteous, powerful and just God. Love from the most loving and merciful being in all of the universe. It’s literally the most important mission in the world.

There couldn’t be anything more important for us to be attending to in our lives than sharing who Jesus is, what he’s done, and what his word says with the people and the world around us.

If you aren’t making the mission of the Gospel the priority of your life, you need to be redirected. We need to walk out repentance towards the distractions that keep us from prioritizing God’s mission.

The urgency of the mission is found in the nature of what the Mission is.

We also see the urgency of the mission in the imminent return of Christ.

We see this in the angels message.

This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Jesus is coming soon. This was told to them as he’s going up. Jesus is going to return soon! Why are you staring at him, he’s going up into heaven sure, but he’s going to be coming back just like that.

If there’s ever a group that needs to be concerned with the return of Jesus it’s us. If the disciples weren’t supposed to stand around wasting time, how much less should we. We are closer than we’ve ever been. And as Paul long ago said in 1 Corinthians 7:29

The time is very short before the Lord’s return. It really is. Even if it were 80 years from now, that is so little time. Because it’s the most important thing to ever happen. Time will be over when Jesus comes. Eternity is going to begin in that single moment, no longer a chance to repent, no longer a chance to evangelize, simply eternity. When Jesus comes back, he is coming with Judgment. He’s coming with fire in his eyes and a sword in his mouth. This is where Jesus

And time is very short. If it was short 2000 years ago, how much more iminent is it today?

The mission is urgent, because Jesus’s return is iminent. And when he comes back this time, he’s not coming in peace, he’s coming with righteousness, and judgement , and a sword. To save his people and to judge those who aren’t his.

We should fear and tremble at the reality of Jesus’s return. We should recognize the urgency of the mission that comes with his return. And we should be urgently sharing with, praying for, and loving and serving people around us. This life is a war, and it’s a warfare for lost souls.

And I feel as if this can cause us to feel nervous or anxious. Oh no, I’ve got to save all these people. No you don’t, you need to be faithful with your life. Remember, the Holy Spirit is here. Only he can save lost people, only he can help you to be faithful in Christ.

You need to rely on the Lord, and seek him. We need to depend on Christ, which is where we transition into this third point.

Beause here’s where the passage get’s very interesting. What do they do with this reminder of the urgency?

This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.[a]

They take a short walk, back to the place they were staying, we are going to look more in depth next week at what they were doing. But we see this, they needed to go urgently… wait, and pray.

That’s what they needed to go do, stop staring at Jesus and go wait.

It seems counter-intuative doesn’t it?

But what it shows is this. The urgency of the mission doesn’t mean that we need to suddenly just start doing a bunch of stuff. You don’t just quit your job and start going door to door evangelizing. It doesn’t neccesarily mean you need to pack up your belongings and move to a third-world country that hasn’t heard of Jesus.

The urgency of the mission means you need urgently wait on God. Urgency and wait sound counter-intuative. Like if I say I urgently need to go to the hospital and you tell me ok then, let’s wait. I’m going to be die.

But here, in the urgency of the mission. The disciples need to go and wait.

Don’t miss this. The urgency of the mission doesn’t mean that we are crushed by anxiety over the mission. Jesus never intended for us to be crushed under the weight of our inability to reach the whole world. Rather, we are to recognize our inadequacy and inability to accomplish the mission, and rely on the Lord.

Time spent waiting on the Lord and doing nothing isn’t a waste of time, it’s something we urgently need to do. We need to stop trying to live the Christian life on our own strength, and we need to rely on God and spend time intimately with him. Waiting on the Lord to reach the whole world means spending time praying for the mission of the world. To spend time praying for the harvest. To spend time praying for the lost. To spend time praying for your own obedience.

There’s going to be a time for work. When you have opportunites with lost people, there’s prayer to be had, opportunites to be taken, good conversations to be had.

But there will be times and seasons of preperation. There will be times where you will just have a day to relax at your home. But make it waiting on the Lord. Use it as time to pray as you prepare to seek to share the gospel with your coworkers. Use it to be nourished by God in his word. Use it as a time to invest in loving your family and caring for them and serving them.

Urgency about the world mission doesn’t mean anxiety and guilt, it means priority and care for.

Urgency doesn’t mean anxiety over the world mission, it doesn’t mean the crushing weight of the lostness of the world and blame for people dynig without Christ laid squarely on our shoulders.

It means in love, we care for the lost around us. It does mean a burdern for lost people that leads us to pray. It doesn’t mean anxiety, but it does mean priority. Living our life as agents of God redemption and restoration becomes a priortiy in our lives. It must, if we truly believe in Jesus.

So, what are ways that you need to have more urgency about the mission. Pray for God to break your heart with a burden for lost people. If you are at peace and satisfied with not reaching out to any lost people in your life, ask God to give you a broken heart for these things. Ask him to give you a burden.

Spend time waiting on the Lord by seeking him in his word and in prayer. Ask him to show you what he is wanting you to grow in to share his love more with others.

Do you truly believe the Gospel of Jesus?

Do you truly have a transformed heart and life?

Do you know how to share the Gospel?

Do you have lsot people you are outreaching too?

How have you been praying for the lost? For your coworker, students, family?

Gow do you use your time, talents, and treasures to advance the kingdom of God through loving your neighbor and sharing Christ?

It’s urgent, it needs to be our priortiy, and may the Lord grant us repentance for the ways it is not.

Invitation and prayer.