Goodbye...for now...Text: Acts 1 To start off this morning, I’d like you to think of a time when you were saying goodbye to family or friends.... What were some of the things that you talked about as you said goodbye? Are there any common thoughts that you normally express to people before you leave? I think for most people at least three basic ideas come to mind when saying goodbye. First, we often briefly review the time we’ve spent together. Something like: “Well, thanks for inviting us to the wedding. It was great to be a part of this important event. We really enjoyed being here.” And it doesn’t have to be just huge events like weddings. It could just be after a casual dinner, “Thanks for having us, dinner was great!” The second part of typical goodbyes is the promise to make plans for keeping in touch on a regular basis, or at least in the near future. “We really need to get together more often. I’ll give you a call; we’ll see what we can work out. Let’s keep in touch until then.” The third thing that often goes into saying goodbye is making plans for when we’ll see the person again. Sometimes those plans are very tentative, even so, we seem to be unable to say goodbye without at least proposing some plans for the future; even, “See you,” tomorrow, or next week, or even just “See you later!”
With those parts of saying goodbye in mind let’s take a look at the way Jesus said goodbye to his disciples in our text from Acts 1. As we hear Jesus say goodbye, we’ll 1. Recall what He accomplished with his visit 2. Receive His promise to keep in touch 3. Remember His plans to see us again.
This year, in the Sundays following Easter, we’ve been reading from the Books of Acts. We’ve seen the effects of Christ’s resurrection on the church in Jerusalem. The timid followers of Christ became committed evangelists and the good news about Jesus spread throughout the Roman Empire. Through the disciples and evangelists, like the Apostle Paul, God’s Word was brought to a great number of people. And, all of that success can be traced back to our text in Acts 1. When Jesus said goodbye to His disciples He promised and predicted all of it. In His final words before His ascension, Jesus outlined what was going to happen. The first thing that Luke mentions about Jesus’ farewell is how He reviewed the mission he had just accomplished. From vv 1-3: In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” Before He said His goodbye and returned to His seat of glory at His Father’s right hand, Jesus recalled what He had accomplished. He gave His disciples many convincing proofs that He was alive, and, His being alive was proof that he had done everything necessary for salvation. The fact that death had no power over Him showed that the curse of sin had been broken and that Satan’s power had been crushed. Because the disciples were slow to believe and understand what Jesus had done, He spent 40 days saying goodbye to them, teaching and reviewing the purpose for His coming to earth in the first place.
Some might say that hearing Jesus say goodbye to His disciples can’t have the same impact on us as it did on them. After all we don’t get to hear Him teach about the kingdom of God or see the convincing proofs that He’s alive. But, we do have the written record of what Jesus accomplished, and that’s more than the disciples had when Jesus said goodbye to them. By opening God’s Word, printed in our own language, we can read about the convincing proofs Jesus offered to establish the fact that He paid for our sins. And, as we recall Jesus’ ascension, it’s important for us to remember that part of his goodbye. We need to join Him in looking back on what He’s done For us.
In everyday life, if a person doesn’t finish a job, what happens? They’re usually sent back to work on it until they do. If your boss sends you to do a job and you come back and haven’t done it he’ll send you back until you get it done; or he’ll get someone else to do it and you’ll be looking for another job. If you ask one of your kids to mow the lawn you expect it ALL to be done, not just part of it. If the job is not done you’ll send them back out again until it is finished.
Jesus’ ascension means that He finished his work. The Father didn’t have to send Jesus back to Bethlehem to start over, or back to Nazareth to finish things up, or back to the cross to complete the work of dying as our substitute. No; Jesus finished everything exactly as it needed to be done. The Apostle Paul connected what Jesus accomplished to his ascension in Ephesians 4: This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)
Sometimes when we say goodbye to someone we want to recall some of the things that we did in our time together. When it’s time to leave we often talk about what was accomplished; not to take pride in what’s been done but to reassure people that we were happy to help. To a certain extent, we see something like that in Jesus’ goodbye to His disciples before he ascended into heaven. He recalled what he accomplished with His visit because He had done it all for them and us. So, today, as we hear Jesus say goodbye it’s also good for us to recall what He accomplished on our behalf.
Many times, when we say our goodbyes, we make all kinds of promises about keeping in touch. We might say, we’ll try to call or text or email more often. And, often times, for a variety of reasons, we don’t do it, we don’t keep our promises to stay in touch. On the other hand, when Jesus said goodbye, His promises were more than just empty words. Luke tells us: On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with1 water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Jesus promised to keep in touch with His disciples by sending them the Holy Spirit. And, just before his final goodbye, Jesus repeated His promise to keep in touch vv 6-8: So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." As the disciples carried out their mission, Jesus would give them the power they needed; He would send the Holy Spirit to them. And not just for power, but also to stay in touch with them. Then Luke tells us, “After he said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.”
As we recall Jesus saying goodbye to his disciples and promising to be with them, we need to ask ourselves if we’re living in the power of those same promises. When Jesus said goodbye to His disciples, His words apply to all believers. As believers, we’re given not just the promise, but also the gift of the Holy Spirit. So, when we hear Jesus Words, we know He keeps His promise to stay in touch.
I read a story a while back from the 1930s or 40s, about a family in the remote mountains of Kentucky. And, they went to a great deal of trouble to have electrical power installed in their home. After the line was put in, the electric company noticed that the family didn’t use very much electricity. In fact, the meter barely even registered any usage at all. So they sent a meter reader out to check. The man came to the door and said, “We’ve looked at the amount listed on your meter. Don’t you use electricity?” “Oh yes,” they said. “We turn the lights on every night so we can see our kerosene lamps in order to light them and then we switch it off again.”
Isn’t that the way we often apply the power of God in our lives? He has so much to give and we only use a little. Then we go back to our old way of living and our helpless struggling. The power of Jesus’ ascension offers us much more. In our reading from Ephesians, the Apostle Paul declared, That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
The word “goodbye” has an interesting history. It’s actually a contraction of “God be with ye.” So in earlier forms of the English language people who said “goodbye” were really expressing the wish that the person they were leaving would be kept safe by God. Spanish has a similar expression, Vaya con Dios, Go with God. When we hear Jesus say goodbye to His disciples, we hear His promise that God would be with them. And since He is God, Jesus promised He would be with them always through His Spirit. In Matthew 28 Jesus said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” So, as we hear Jesus say goodbye I pray that we take His promise to-keep-in-touch to heart and make use of it by reading and hearing God’s Word often; because when we do, God the Holy Spirit is speaking to us and strengthening our faith.
We said that the last part of our “goodbyes” often include plans for the future. Luke’s record of Jesus saying goodbye to His disciples in Acts 1 includes Jesus’ plans for a future visit, and those plans were delivered by angels. From vv 10-11 “They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.’”
Although we pass over the words “He ascended into heaven” somewhat quickly when we say the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicene Creed, hopefully we don’t forget that our future is built on Christ’s ascension. He went to heaven to prepare a place for us; and He will return from heaven to take us to be with Him. In John 14 Jesus said, "In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." Jesus ascended into heaven to prepare a place for us. Now that’s something to look forward to! We have a reservation in God’s house! And, we will be welcome there forever. We will be free from sin, pain, tears and disease, including COVID19, forever, as we receive a glorified body free that’s from all of that.
On The Last Day, Judgment Day, Jesus will return in the same way He left on the day of His ascension; He’ll return to take us to be with Him forever. Everyone will see Him come back. It won’t be an invisible or secret return. We won’t miss seeing Him. And, the even better news connected to Christ’s return is that He has plans to take us with Him! In 1Thessalonians 4 The Apostle Paul wrote, “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” Christ’s ascension is now a symbol of our own ascension and we’re to use it to encourage each other. Jesus will return to take us to be with Him forever!
“Goodbyes.” There seem to be some predictable things that go along with saying goodbye. We reminisce for a bit. We look back on the visit we’ve had with a friend or relative. Then we usually make promises to keep in touch. And finally we make plans for the next visit. We also see those things when Jesus said goodbye to His disciples just before His ascension. They recalled why He had visited them. He came to bring salvation and show the way to heaven. Then, Jesus promised to stay in touch by sending the Holy Spirit. Finally when Jesus said goodbye, the disciples were reminded of His plans to visit them again.
Today, we also recall Jesus’ finished work of saving us, we recall His promise to stay in touch with us through the gift of the Holy Spirit, and we recall His plans for a future visit. So, as we hear Jesus say, “Goodbye, for now,” we also wait for the day when He says, “Hello,” and never says, “Goodbye” again! TGBTG, Amen.