Now What

Have you ever wondered what the disciples did immediately after Jesus ascended to heaven ten days before Pentecost?

In Acts 1: 9, Luke tells us that Jesus, the One who already defied death, defies gravity. In the presence of his followers, he is taken up into the clouds and then, he disappears. One moment, Jesus is promising his disciples the power of the Holy Spirit, the next moment, he’s gone. Just like that (in the twinkling of an eye).

Can you picture the scene?

Can you visualize the look on the faces of the disciples? Can you imagine their reactions? This whole experience had to be jaw-dropping, right? I wonder, did the disciples laugh? Did they cry? Did they “ooh” and “ahh” like we do during the fireworks display on the 4th of July? Maybe they said nothing at all. Maybe they were in shock. Frozen. Maybe there was complete silence just outside of Jerusalem this day. Crickets. And, if there was silence, who do you think was the first to break it? My guess would be Peter. He always seems to have something to say. Then again, maybe the disciples weren’t silent at all but, instead, began praising God at the top of their lungs for all Jesus accomplished in ministry, on the cross, and in the grave and for the imminent reception of a power they were promised to receive that is beyond comprehension.

Can you imagine being there for the Ascension of Christ?

What a sight to see. Obviously, we weren’t there; we didn’t get to see Jesus return to heaven. But, we might get the opportunity to see him come back, especially in light of the current trajectory of our world today.

We are in the last days, just as Peter proclaimed in Acts 2. I pray we’re still alive on earth for the second coming of the King. There’s no doubt about it, Jesus will return. He will descend again, this time to reclaim his church (and all of creation for that matter). The two angels spoke of this in Acts 1:11,

“Jesus will return in the same way He went up to heaven (Acts 1:11).”

What a great, and terrible, day this will be. Of course, whether this day is great or terrible is dependent upon what kingdom you have chosen (the kingdom of darkness or the Kingdom of Light).

The truth is we don’t know what the disciples did immediately after Jesus ascended to heaven. We do know, however, that the disciples didn’t just twiddle their thumbs, look at each other, and ask,

“So now what?”

They knew what they had to do. After all, Jesus told them. Immediately before He took His place at the right hand of God the Father, Jesus gave His disciples work to do; He assigned them a job; He gave them a task. Jesus laid out their life’s mission for them, plainly. Jesus’ last words to his disciples are recorded in Acts 1:8,

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Well, we can see from the book of Acts that the disciples took Jesus’ final words on earth to heart. Shortly after Jesus’ ascension, the disciples went back to Jerusalem to pray… and plan… and wait for God’s promise. Then, once they “received the power of the Holy Spirit,” they got after it and did exactly what Jesus told them to do. They became His witnesses; they spread the message and love of Jesus “in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Fast forward a couple thousand years, plus.

Here we are. The year is 2025. We don’t need to ask ourselves,

“So now what?”

We know what to do. We’ve also been given a divine agenda. We have a royal decree. Our King has given us an important task. As followers of Christ, we have received the power of the Holy Spirit and are called to be His witnesses as well. Where do we go from here? Well, in our context Jesus’ mandate is to take his message from wherever we are to the ends of the earth until we finish this race or he returns.