Acts 1:6-11 (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.””
Here Jesus was with the disciples one last time on the Mount of Olives, where he ascended into heaven. The disciples are still hoping for a major political shift, so they questioned him as to when he would restore the kingdom to Israel. In Jewish culture, the expectation of the restoration of Israel would be marked by the revived activity of God’s Spirit. If we back up to v. 5 that we read last week, Jesus tells them they will be baptized by the Holy Spirit. So, these words of a presence and move of God’s Spirit which had been withheld since the last of the prophets suddenly rekindles the hope of the restoration of Israel. Jesus does not directly answer their question but shifts the focus to what their life’s work would be until that day.
Questions Reveal Motivations
Acts 1:6 “6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?””
People always want to know how long the wait will be. How long will the pain last? How long will I have to do this? How long do I have to endure this? Many times the reason I want to know is that deep down inside is a desire to still have control, a desire to choose to trust Him depending on the answers He gives.
In regards to the disciples, we see a history of the disciples having the wrong motivations: a focus on political change and at times a desire for power and recognition. If we look back in Mark 9 and 10 and Luke 22, we see where the disciples were arguing about who would be known as the greatest - who would sit by Jesus’ side in Heaven. Jesus is teaching them to leave things that are God’s concern up to him and instead put their efforts into what He has called them to do. This empowerment that they will receive is not about changing politics, it’s about furthering the gospel so that hearts are changed. They will make a difference in the world in a way they don’t yet understand.
God wants us to have faith and completely trust Him without having all the answers.
Our demand to know can place our faith on the back burner. We have all these questions we want answered before we put our faith into action, and Jesus has the same response to us that he gave the disciples in v. 7.: “The Father has fixed all of this by His own authority.”
“What I sense Jesus is saying to the disciples and to us in His response, is that the power of His Spirit will be entrusted to people who can accept His authority over timing.” (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Preacher’s Commentary Series)
Galatians 5: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
And no matter what our situation may look like, these are things we need to help us get through.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Faith is believing even when I cannot see, but it’s also believing even when I cannot feel and even when I do not know. Will I still trust Him? The only thing that you and I need to know in order to have faith in our difficult situation is that our God is faithful, and it’s in that place of complete surrender where His power is made known. Faith is the acceptance of God’s purpose and plan when the specific time, method, and reason might not be fully understood.
Some things are simply not for us to know.
There are questions that we ask God that, even if He answered them for us, our human minds could not possibly wrap around it. When we are waiting to trust Him until we have all the answers what we are saying is, “I will choose to trust Him depending on the outcome”, but God is saying, “The outcome is dependent on your trust.” He has an answer, but there is a step of faith we have to take in order to begin that journey toward the answer.
Acts 1:7 “7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.”
Jesus had even denied himself the knowledge of when the kingdom would be restored. Jesus reminded the disciples that God has all authority and He will take care of what weighed on their minds and they didn’t need to know the details.
Mark 13:32 “32 “But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
This was not to say the kingdom would not be established, but that the exact time was not something that would revealed to them or a concern for them except in the sense of being prepared. Even the angels that appear after Jesus ascends confirm that he will return.
Acts 1:11 “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.””
For the church to receive power there must be a shift from needing to know to needing to obey. Sometimes we need to stop trying to get our questions answered and instead ask ourselves the question, “What has God asked me to do that I need to obey?” We can be honest about what we do not know and extremely confident about what we do know at the same time. We can come to the conclusion that “I don’t have to have all the answers, because I am confident that He does!”
We see that the disciples were given clear instructions and proof for the next step.
Acts 1:8 “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.””
Jesus had proven to them that he was indeed alive and well. He was the same Jesus who had been crucified, as his wounds would testify. He ate with them and talked with them. There was more than enough proof. The next step was to wait in Jerusalem. So they didn’t know what exactly would happen, when it would happen, or how it would happen, but we do know that they were obedient, they had faith in what Jesus told them was going to happen, and it was in that place of obedience to him that they received power. There was a specific direction to stay, and if they obeyed, there would be a gift of power to them for a very specific reason. It was not to become political leaders or receive a seat in the throne room; It was to accomplish God’s purpose.
Never bend the instructions or the gifts to fit your original assumptions. Our focus should always be on our calling and God’s agenda for our lives, not our own. The power the disciples were given in the book of Acts came with clear direction of how it was to be used. The Church has more than enough proof and more than enough instructions to take the next step, and it begins with obedience to what we know will bring power to complete that step and the next and the next.