When they had gathered together they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. 10 While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. 11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away.
As Jesus was about to ascend to his Father, the disciples asked him when the great restoration of the earthly Kingdom of Israel would occur (v. 6). Given that Jesus’ role was to be a light to the nation that brings salvation to the whole world (Is. 49:6), Jesus replied that the apostles did not need to know when the kingdom would be restored (v. 7). The restored Israel would be comprised of the new tribes of Jacob; the survivors of Israel and the Gentiles who accepted Jesus (Acts 13:47-47). The disciples would receive power by the Holy Spirit to be his witnesses throughout the whole world (v. 8). The whole world was not defined, but at that time it could have meant Rome which was considered the capital of the world. The ends of the world could also have extended beyond Rome because Philip went down to Ethiopia (Acts 8:26-40).
Christians today continue the universal mission of Christ trying to reach “every creature under heaven” (Col 1:23). Jesus was then lifted up to heaven and disappeared into a cloud (v. 9). Two angels (cf. Lk. 24:4-8) announced that Jesus would return in the same way he left (v. 11); “They will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory (Lk. 21:27).” The apostles were gathered on a Sabbath so they could not travel more than a “sabbath day’s journey (v. 12)” which was approximately one half to two thirds of a mile, the distance a Jew in Jesus’ time might travel on the Sabbath without transgressing the Law.
Almighty God, you gave us the Holy Spirit that we might bring the Good News of salvation to others as you direct. Help your disciples to be faithful to all that your Son taught so that we may be witnesses to our communities and help reconstitute the dispersed followers of Christ into one Church. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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