The Promise of the Holy Spirit and The Ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:1-12)

In the first book, Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught 2 until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for “the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; 5 for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the holy Spirit.”  6 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.

The ‘first book’ was the Gospel of Luke and Luke the Evangelist is also traditionally believed to be the author of the Acts of the Apostles.  Luke addresses an individual named Theophilus who may have been a Roman soldier or a Christian convert.  In Acts, Luke continues the narrative begun in his Gospel.  The risen Lord spent 40 days with his Apostles before he ascended to heaven instructing them through the Holy Spirit in preparation for their ministry of spreading the Gospel just as Moses spent forty days receiving the Law.  The number forty often signifies the completion or fulfillment of a period of testing or trial.  Jesus instructed his disciples to remain in Jerusalem and await the coming of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 24:49; Jn. 14:16-17).  John the Baptist baptized with water as a symbol of repentance, but baptism with the Holy Spirit imparts spiritual power that will enable the disciples to carry out their mission (Mk. 1:7-8).  

The disciples asked Jesus when the great restoration of the earthly Kingdom of Israel would occur.  They still expected a political restoration of Israel.  There were several OT prophecies about the restoration of Israel (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:24-28; Is. 11:11-12; Is. 60:1-22; Zech. 8:7-8).  Some Christians interpret the OT prophecies in a strictly literal sense while others interpret them in a spiritual or non-literal sense and view them as being fulfilled in a spiritual manner through Christ.  Many Christians see Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about the restoration of Israel which will be fully realized at the return of Christ.  The servant of the Lord is to be a light to the nation that brings salvation to the whole world (Is. 49:6).  The restoration of Israel involves the gathering of both Jewish and Gentile believers into the people of God (Rom. 11).  

Jesus told the apostles that they did not need to know when the kingdom would be restored reminding them that only God knew when the restoration would occur (Mt. 24:36).  Their baptism by the Holy Spirit would empower them to bear witness to Jesus’ resurrection throughout the whole world starting from Jerusalem.  The Gospel message is universal.  Jesus was then lifted up to heaven in the presence of the disciples and he disappeared into a cloud.  Two angels (cf. Lk. 24:4-8) reassured the disciples that Jesus would return in the same way he left, “They will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory (Lk. 21:27).”  

The disciples were gathered on a Sabbath so by Jewish custom they could not travel more than a “sabbath day’s journey.” The commandment in the Torah forbade Jews from leaving their homes on the Sabbath day (Ex. 16:29), but the Jewish authorities interpreted the Law to mean that one could not travel more than a certain distance (approximately one-half to two-thirds of a mile) from their home on the Sabbath day without transgressing the Law.

Almighty God, grant us the guidance of the Holy Spirit to continue the mission of Christ in preaching the Gospel and bearing witness to his death and resurrection.  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.

                Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.