A TIMING ISSUE
Acts 1:6-11 NKJV
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
The book of Acts, written by Luke, is the account of the formation and advancement of the early church after the resurrection of Jesus. It is the story of the men and women who spread the gospel all over the world. In the book of Acts, we'll see the ministry of the Holy Spirit and how important He was to the development of the church. And He still is.
In our verses for today, we gain a greater understanding of the fact that the apostles did not understand their mission and the timing of the Lord's return. We can look back and see from our perspective, and it may appear obvious. But what is important to note is that revelation is progressive.
For example, after the resurrection, the apostles asked Jesus if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel. The nation of Israel was under the rule of the Roman Empire, and the apostles were thinking that now that Jesus was alive, maybe the time had come. They were still missing the revelation of salvation that would come through Jesus. They were thinking earthly kingdom, while Jesus was thinking heavenly kingdom. Jesus let them know that the timing of Israel's restoration was above their pay grade. But the good news was that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. This power was so that they could spread the message of Jesus to the ends of the earth. The ends of the earth thing also went over their heads. It took years before this group would recognize that the gospel of Jesus was for all people, not just those of Jewish heritage.
The other timing issue that seemed to be a miss for the apostles was the return of Jesus. He was talking with them and then was taken up into a cloud, and they could no longer see Him. Two angels appeared to them and told them to stop straining to see. Jesus would return in the same way that they saw Him go. What the angels did not say was the timing of Jesus' return. And they did not say that the apostles would see Him return, only that Jesus would descend in the same manner that He ascended. But it appeared that the apostles were thinking that Jesus would return soon. Even after the day of Pentecost, when the church got active, the early church was thinking Jesus was coming back at any time. This is totally my opinion, but we see in the actions of the early church, by having all things common, their mentality seemed very short-term. After a few years of Jesus not coming back, we no longer see that type of communal living. The church still took care of its own, but the all things common concept seemed to fade. If you thought Jesus was coming back soon, having property and long-term investments would not nearly be as important.
APPLICATION
Timing is still an issue today. The Lord can communicate a directive to us by the Holy Spirit, but we need to ask not just what, but when. The Lord started relaying to me about being a pastor, and I never thought to ask about the timing. So I took my family back to North Carolina in an ill-fated attempt to start a church. Lesson learned the hard way. Following the Lord's leading is not an exact science. It's not a formula. It is a process that we learn. And we continue to learn. The Lord was able to get the right timing to His church then, and He can still do the same for us today.
PRAYER
Lord, I trust You to lead me and show me not just what to do but when to do it.