You Will Receive Power
Tony Nester
Acts 1:6-14
Today we go back to the first chapter of Acts because
today is the Sunday when many Christians recall Jesus'
Ascension into Heaven. It was the Ascension of Jesus
that convinced the disciples that he would no longer
be appearing to them as he had been doing since that
first Easter morning.
Here's how Luke records this event. I'm reading Acts
1:6-11.
(Acts 1:6-11 NRSV) So when they had come together,
they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will
restore the kingdom to Israel?" {7} He replied, "It is
not for you to know the times or periods that the
Father has set 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, in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." {9}
When he had said this, as they were watching, he was
lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
{10} While he was going and they were gazing up toward
heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.
{11} They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand
looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been
taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same
way as you saw him go into heaven."
Luke shows us that it wasn't easy to understand the
true impact of Jesus' resurrection. The question the
disciples ask Jesus in verse 6 reveals the difficulty
they had getting the picture straight.
"Lord, is this the time when you will restore the
kingdom to Israel?"
I think we would better catch the meaning of their
question if we were to translate the verse more freely
as, "Come on, Lord, haven't we waited long enough?
Isn't this the perfect time for you to restore the
kingdom to Israel? Why should we wait any longer?"
The disciple's impatience is quite understandable.
They had been through a lot: three years of wandering
around with Jesus not knowing where there n ...
Tony Nester
Acts 1:6-14
Today we go back to the first chapter of Acts because
today is the Sunday when many Christians recall Jesus'
Ascension into Heaven. It was the Ascension of Jesus
that convinced the disciples that he would no longer
be appearing to them as he had been doing since that
first Easter morning.
Here's how Luke records this event. I'm reading Acts
1:6-11.
(Acts 1:6-11 NRSV) So when they had come together,
they asked him, "Lord, is this the time when you will
restore the kingdom to Israel?" {7} He replied, "It is
not for you to know the times or periods that the
Father has set 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, in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." {9}
When he had said this, as they were watching, he was
lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
{10} While he was going and they were gazing up toward
heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.
{11} They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand
looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been
taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same
way as you saw him go into heaven."
Luke shows us that it wasn't easy to understand the
true impact of Jesus' resurrection. The question the
disciples ask Jesus in verse 6 reveals the difficulty
they had getting the picture straight.
"Lord, is this the time when you will restore the
kingdom to Israel?"
I think we would better catch the meaning of their
question if we were to translate the verse more freely
as, "Come on, Lord, haven't we waited long enough?
Isn't this the perfect time for you to restore the
kingdom to Israel? Why should we wait any longer?"
The disciple's impatience is quite understandable.
They had been through a lot: three years of wandering
around with Jesus not knowing where there n ...
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