Things Above
“So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 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’” (Acts 1:6-8).
Throughout the life of Jesus, it was commonly believed that He was going to set up an earthly kingdom. For example, the story of Peter cutting off the ear of Malchus is familiar to many. If was hard for Peter to understand that he should not fight with the sword. Jesus did not need to fight a battle with the sword in order to establish His Kingdom. Further, when Jesus was arrested, Pilate asked Jesus if He was King of His own nation. Jesus responded by saying “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).
Despite having explained this, it was still confusing to some. Such is the case here in Acts chapter one. As Jesus had appeared to His disciples to give them final instructions and teachings, they asked Jesus a question about His kingdom. The disciples asked, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). It appears in this verse that many were still expecting Jesus to establish an earthly kingdom. However, Jesus warned the disciples about questioning the timing of God because that belongs to God. Jesus knew that He was about to ascend into heaven and would appear to earth once again when He comes to gather His disciples. But no one knows that day. “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13).
After the question raised by the disciples, Jesus reminds them of what their mission is. Jesus reassured them by saying “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). Jesus then said to them “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It is almost as if Jesus was telling His disciples, “You do not yet understand, but you will. Do not focus on what you do not know at this time, instead, focus on the mission ahead which is to spread the gospel to the end of the earth.” The disciples would understand as the Holy Spirit came. But the message from Jesus is still a valuable message today.
How often do we get focused on things of the earth? Perhaps we see evil in our world, and we ask God when He is going to come back. Perhaps we see evil people and question why God does not send “fire to come down from heaven and consume them” (Luke 9:54). Too often we focus our minds on that which is not important to us. We need to remember to words of Jesus to His disciples. “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 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” (Acts 1:7-8). Let us, like the disciples in this passage, focus our minds on the task at hand. Which is, taking the gospel of Jesus Christ into the whole world teaching everyone to believe in Jesus Christ and be baptized for the remission of their sins.
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2).
