Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

Father, we begin a new series by opening up your Word and reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

Lord, we see the beginnings of the spread of the Gospel, of the risen and ascended,

and one day coming again, Lord Jesus Christ.

And Lord, these words are for us this morning, so help us to have ears to hear and minds to comprehend

and hearts to receive everything you would teach us this morning from your Word.

Lord, may your name be lifted high. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Sometimes I troll my wife just to get her going, and I know it might not seem like a very loving thing to do,

but it's actually kind of a very loving thing to do. I like teasing a little bit.

And one of the things I troll her with, and it doesn't fail to work, it always works,

is I go on about how I think the whole story with Helen Keller, the deaf and blind woman,

I guess 100 years ago, or she was born 100 years ago, how I think the whole thing's a hoax.

That's how I talk about it, because how can somebody who's blind and deaf her whole life

come up with these incredible, you know, sayings and all of this kind of activism?

And Christine's like, are you out of your mind?

And because she says that, I keep pushing it.

It's silly, it's foolish.

I don't believe Helen Keller at all is a hoax or some kind of made-up story.

But I love trolling Christine.

I say to her often, give me proof, give me proof.

She really came up with all that stuff.

And she just shakes her head.

And we have a good laugh about it usually.

Anyway, she shrugs me off.

And anyways, I bring up that story to pose a question to you this morning.

What does it take for you to believe something?

What is the proof that you need to believe that something is legitimate, something is real,

something is grounded in fact?

What proofs are required for you to believe that, say, the earth is round,

or the moon landing was real,

or that this past week the Peruvian aliens that were on display at the Mexican Congress are legitimate?

What proof do you need that something is real?

So these three examples of the moon landing being a hoax and the earth being round or flat,

and even I would put forward to the aliens in the Mexican Congress,

I think they're, in a sense, silly modern conspiracy theories

that really only find traction because of social media,

everybody having a platform and a voice.

But what about the very ancient claim that a man died 2,000 years ago

and didn't just have a fainting spell,

but was buried and three days later he rose again from the dead?

How do you guys wrestle with that?

What kind of proof do you need that Jesus Christ rose from the grave three days after he died on a Roman cross?

That he walked around and visited with and taught many for 40 days after his resurrection,

and that after 40 days he literally ascended into the heavens.

What proof would you need to believe that?

How on earth can Christine laugh at my trolling about Helen Keller?

Or how on earth can we roll our eyes at flat earthers

when we claim that someone rose from the grave after three days dead?

And more so, other parts of Scripture attest that if this did not happen,

our faith is not just on shaky ground, but it's on no ground at all.

It's foundationless.

The Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 15, 13 and 14, says this,

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

Friends, the real, literal, factual resurrection and ascension of Christ,

no matter how outlandish and proofless it may seem,

is so germane to our faith that without it our faith is rendered void.

No continues, no saves, game over.

And that is a reference for you 80s and 90s kids that played regular Nintendo.

There's no saves, there's no going backs, there's no start again.

Our faith is done and we are to be pitied in this life.

So, like I mentioned, we're beginning this series in the book of Acts of the Apostles.

And we begin, first thing, with the resurrection and the ascension.

St. Luke, a physician, wrote this second volume of Christ's life to this man, Theophilus.

We're not sure who Theophilus is.

The name literally means beloved of God or lover of God or loved by God.

And the first volume was Luke's gospel account.

This is the second volume that he'll reference right in the opening verses of our text.

And right off the bat, there is an attestation that Jesus literally, factually rose from the grave and ascended.

And that fact that Luke presents, this man of science, this man of proof,

will be the very thing that lays the foundation for the rest of the book of Acts.

So, this morning, we're going to look at three aspects of what makes the resurrection and the ascension true.

And all these points are deeply interconnected.

But for the sake of clarity, we're going to divide them up and look at them separately.

So, we're going to look at the resurrection and the ascension are factual, are biblical, and are necessary.

So, let's jump right into it.

Look with me.

Acts chapter 1, verses 1 to 3.

Acts 1:1–3

This is how it opens up.

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach

until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit

to the apostles whom he had chosen.

He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs,

appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Some of the earliest and most persistent heresies combated by the church,

and also those same heresies that come about today in the church,

have to do with the literal, factual resurrection of Christ from the grave.

The creed that we just recited together goes to great lengths to articulate the legitimacy,

veracity of Jesus' literal resurrection.

And Luke here is really hammering it home right off the bat.

So, Luke, in both his gospel accounts and in these opening verses,

describes instances where Jesus is seen by both individuals and groups,

women, and that's a key bit, because women, their testimony,

their eyewitness testimony was really suspect at best in the ancient world.

Not great. It's just the reality of it.

So he was seen by individuals, groups, women, men, young as well as old.

He ate with people. He studied the scriptures with people and taught the scriptures to people.

So he visited with the same people on multiple occasions.

He was present after the resurrection for 40 days.

And just to put that in kind of perspective, so we say 40 days,

but that's over five weeks.

T. Swift will be in Toronto for six days,

and the city will be buzzing.

Imagine how the news of a dead man come to life

would have made its way, it permeated through Jerusalem.

Not over six days, but over five plus weeks.

Luke goes to great lengths in his recorded history to make it clear that the resurrection,

which would have been very strange back then as it is today,

hard to believe, actually happened.

So this matters a great deal because

true faith must be rooted in truth and facts.

It has to be.

It matters not the degree of faith I have as I walk on a footbridge,

the faith I have in the footbridge and its integrity,

if it's not anchored on either side or it's wobbly,

or if it is shoddily made and giant waves are coming

and are going to knock the whole bridge.

It doesn't matter how much faith I have in something

that is not rooted and finds its foundation in truth,

something that lacks integrity.

So again, it matters because true faith must be rooted in truth and facts.

In my preparation, I came across this quote by a theologian named Alistair Roberts,

and he says it like this,

The sheer range of resurrection appearances

and the many ways that Jesus demonstrates that it is indeed he,

that it is who has come back from the dead,

all serve to ground the faith of the disciples

and to secure their witness in the resurrection.

To ground their faith in facts,

that the resurrection did in fact happen

and was witnessed by many people.

The resurrection and ascension of Jesus,

it was not cooked up.

It was not the plan,

the secret plan of some kind of charismatic leader

to pull the wool over a bunch of gullible people's eyes.

Nor was it this conspiracy

made by this cabal of malicious conspirators

wishing to take over the world and overthrow Rome.

The resurrection and ascension

was a witnessed factual event

that changed everything for these disciples

and the people that they would come in contact with

and in fact all of human history.

So consider this,

this ragtag group that Lynn read.

Some were tax collectors,

one was tax collectors,

some were fishermen,

coming from all sorts of different backgrounds.

One was a zealot,

which we think of somebody

that has a lot of excitement for something

or is hardcore about something,

but back then a zealot was

a political terrorist in a sense.

It was a ragtag group of disciples

that Jesus gathered together

whom when he left

were arrested,

were beaten,

were imprisoned,

were scattered,

all of them,

but one,

history tells us,

were martyred.

These men

witnessed the resurrection of Christ.

They were empowered by the Holy Spirit

and started to bear witness

to the literal resurrection of Jesus

and it cost them everything.

You don't do that,

you don't do that for a nice idea.

You don't lay your life on the line

with gaining nothing

in terms of earthly possession

for this kind of symbolic ideal

that may or may not be true,

a metaphor for an unreal myth.

You do it

because you have been so gripped

by the power of God

and empowered by his Holy Spirit

that you cannot help

but attest to what has happened.

It is a remarkable thing

that these disciples

will go to their death

gaining nothing

in earthly rewards

to bear witness

with great joy

to the risen,

literally risen

and ascended Lord Jesus Christ.

this is the key revelation

of the Christian faith

and it is rooted in fact.

It matters.

It really does.

And when the resurrection,

the legitimacy of the resurrection

becomes shaky

because the reality is

we live in a modern world

and who on earth

is going to believe

that somebody

three days in a morgue

is going to come back to life?

It's hard for us to believe

but if that belief

starts to crumble,

everything else crumbles.

It is the key revelation

of the Christian faith

and it was attested to many

over a long period of time.

I'm not trying to say,

look at us,

we're better than other

faith traditions

but consider with me

how in Mormonism

the key revelation

was given to one man

in secret

and he then spread it

to many other people

compelling them

to believe

without really

any kind of proof

or the proof

was shoddy

or in Islam,

Muhammad,

again,

private revelation

where he then said,

you know,

you'll have to believe me.

There's no proof.

There's no eyewitness.

There's no

proof across

40 days

or even a week

in this sense.

The Christian faith

takes great,

goes to great lengths

to prove

the factuality

of the resurrection

and not by one mouth

but by many.

So in the same way

that factual evidence

is necessary

for the legitimacy

of the resurrection

and the ascension,

so too is biblical

evidence necessary.

So if the resurrection

and ascension

are both factual,

they are both biblical.

What do I mean?

Throughout the Old Testament,

there were allusions

to resurrection

and ascensions

which were connected

to the time

when the Holy Spirit

would be poured out

on all people

and mark the beginning

of the end.

the end times

or the beginning

of the rule

and reign of God

that would go on forever.

That is why

the disciples ask

in verse 6

what they do

and this is what they say

in verse 6.

Lord,

will you at this time

restore the kingdom

to Israel?

Lord,

is this the time

when the end

has come?

Now we'll get back

to that in the third point

so we'll just pause there

but let's read

verses 4 to 6

and dig into

the biblical nature

of the resurrection

and the ascension.

And while staying

with them

that is Jesus,

He,

Jesus,

ordered them

not to depart

from Jerusalem

but to wait

for the promise

of the Father

which He said,

You heard from Me

for John baptized

with water

but you will be baptized

with the Holy Spirit

not many days

from now.

So when they had come together

they asked Him,

Lord,

will you at this time

restore the kingdom

to Israel?

We'll pause there.

Right in these three verses

there are references

to Joel chapter 2

Joel 2 · chapter mention

and Malachi chapter 3

Malachi 3 · chapter mention

and 4

as well as Isaiah 30

all of which

were proclaimed

by John the Baptist

in Luke chapter 3.

Luke 3 · chapter mention

But even more than that

we have resurrection

and ascension patterns

throughout all of

Scripture

that prepare us

to understand

not in full

but in part

the coming resurrection

and ascension

of Christ

in Holy Scripture.

Just give a few examples.

This is not an exhaustive list.

Genesis 22

Abraham takes

his son Isaac

up to Mount Moriah

because God

has commanded him

to slay his son.

And then

after the Lord

stays His hand

the writer of Hebrews

tells us

that Abraham

believed that God

would resurrect Isaac.

It's an allusion

to what is to come.

There is

in 2 Kings chapter 4

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

a dead son

of a Shunammite

who is resurrected.

Jonah descends

into the sea

in Jonah chapter 2

Jonah 2 · chapter mention

and experiences

a type of death

that then

he is resurrected

and spat

back on shore

by this great fish.

There is the

Valley of Dry Bones

in Ezekiel 37.

Various

references

to resurrection

and ascension

throughout the Psalter

and throughout

the book

of Isaiah.

In short

the resurrection

and its theology

and the allusions

are everywhere

in the Old Testament.

So so too

are the references

to the ascension.

Look with me

verses 9 to 11.

And when he had

said these things

as they were looking on

Jesus was lifted up

and a cloud took him

out of their sight

and while they were

gazing into heaven

as he went

behold

two men stood by them

in white robes

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.

The ascension

marks the enthronement

of Christ as king.

He ascends

to the right hand

of the father

to rule and reign

after making his enemies

his footstool.

Conquering death.

Throughout the Old Testament

we see this theme

time and again

Moses ascending

to Mount Sinai

to speak

and to learn

from Yahweh

God Almighty.

The Psalms

there's various Psalms

that speak

of enthronement.

David ascending

with the Ark

of the Covenant

to Zion.

Elijah ascending

into heaven.

And that's just

to reference

a few bits of Scripture

and that's actually

not to say anything

else about the cloud

that's referenced here

throughout the Old Testament

that represents

the very presence

of God Almighty

or the 40 days

this pattern

of 40

throughout the Old Testament

that

again

it's either

40 days

or 40 years

throughout the Old Testament

suffice it to say

that in these

first 11 verses

we see reference

after reference

to the Old Testament

that the resurrection

and the ascension

are deeply

biblical themes.

I ask the question

why does it matter?

Why can't Jesus

just do something

that hasn't

been alluded to before

or there's no

reference to

or no fulfillment

around?

This is the reason

because all of Scripture

all of it

from the opening

words of Genesis

to the very

end of Revelation

all of Scripture

hinges

on Jesus

and His resurrection

and ascension.

All of Scripture

points to Him

every story

every teaching

every movement

in Holy Scripture

helps us

to understand

or prepares us

to receive

Christ

His

death

that defeats

death

and sin

and evil

proving so

by His

rising from the

dead

and ascending

so that we

may know God

so that perdition

isn't our destiny

anymore

so that we

can have joy

unspeakable

full of glory

because

if Jesus

doesn't fulfill

the Scriptures

or if the Scriptures

don't point to Him

then He is a

false Messiah

a false representative

of God Almighty

He is a charlatan

leading people astray

but He is not

this means that

the factual

biblical

resurrection

and ascension

of Christ

they matter

so very much

and as such

they are

necessary

necessary

for us

and for

the church

look with me

verses 6

to 11

especially

7 to 9

you're just

looking at that

but look at

the text

with me

once more

so when they

had come together

they asked Him

Lord will you

at this time

restore the

kingdom to Israel

and Jesus

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 all

Judea

and Samaria

and to

the ends

of the earth

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

actually

we'll stop

there for

now

this section

of scripture

tells us

that Jesus'

ministry

His mission

does not

end with

the ascension

but continues

on with

His disciples

with the

church

and we

see a bit

of that

actually

in the

opening

few

verses

in chapter

one

it says

in the

first book

O Theophilus

I have

dealt

with all

that Jesus

began

to do

and teach

until the

day when

He was

taken up

after

He had

given

commands

through the

Holy Spirit

to the

apostles

whom He

had chosen

that language

there

it

gives

the idea

that

Jesus'

work

what He

has taught

the things

that He

did

did not

stop

when He

ascended

into heaven

and they

certainly

did not

the

church

takes

on

the

ministry

of

Christ

after

He

ascends

and this

is why

He

tells

them

that

after

He

departs

He

will

send

the

Holy

Spirit

who

will

empower

them

to

continue

His

very

ministry

consider

what

Jesus

says

in

John

16

starting

in

verse

5

he

says

this

to

his

disciples

but

now

I

am

going

to

him

who

sent

me

and

none

of

you

asks

me

where

are

you

going

but

because

I

have

said

these

things

to

you

sorrow

has

filled

your

heart

verse

7

nevertheless

I

tell

you

the

truth

it

is

to

your

advantage

that

I

go

away

for

if

I

do

not

go

away

the

helper

will

not

come

to

you

but

if

I

go

I

will

send

him

to

you

and

when

he

comes

he

will

convict

the

world

concerning

sin

and

righteousness

and

judgment

concerning

sin

because

they

do

not

believe

in

me

concerning

righteousness

because

I

go

to

the

father

and

you

will

see

me

no

longer

concerning

judgment

because

the

ruler

of

this

world

is

judged

the

helper

that

Jesus

is

referring

to

is

the

Holy

Spirit

so

Jesus

doesn't

send

the

Holy

Spirit

unless

he

ascends

first

the

ministry

of

Jesus

cannot

continue

unless

the

disciples

are

empowered

by

the

Holy

Spirit

and

the

Holy

Spirit

will

not

come

unless

Jesus

has

risen

from

the

grave

and

ascended

to

the

right

hand

of

the

father

so

you

see

the

resurrection

and

ascension

are

incredibly

important

for

us

without

the

Holy

Spirit

we

cannot

do

anything

long

lasting

and

eternal

for

almighty

God

we

just

cannot

we

have

no

ability

no

power

no

strength

we

also

lack

courage

all

of

which

the

Holy

Spirit

the

helper

will

give

now

concerning

the

kingdom

reference

in

verse

6

so

by

the

time

Jesus

was

born

he

came

onto

the

scene

this

biblical

idea

of

the

kingdom

of

God

was

co-opted

by

nationalistic

purposes

Israel

really

was

subject

to

foreign

powers

time

and time

again

century

after

century

they

had

a

short

window

a

brief

window

albeit

a very

messy

window

of

independence

after

the

Greeks

were

pushed

out

by

the

time

Jesus

came

about

the

Romans

were

occupying

Israel

and

this

did not

sit

well

with

a

large

majority

of

the

Israelite

population

so

the

disciples

like

many

other

Israelites

believe

that

the

coming

kingdom

of

God

would

result

in

the

physical

restoration

of

Israel

where

Rome

would

be

destroyed

and

that

Israel

would

regain

its

stature

kind

of

like

what

it

was

under

King

Solomon

but

you

see

the

Bible

doesn't

speak

of it

like

that

that

was

never

God's

intention

rather

the

kingdom

of

Israel

would

be

comprised

not

just

of

one

ethnicity

the

Jewish

people

but

all

ethnicities

Jew

and

Gentile

a

reconstituted

Israel

if

that

helps

you

understand

it

Israel

would

be

reconstituted

on one

hand

it

didn't

negate

the

ethnicity

of

ethnic

Israel

but

what

it

did

was

it

expanded

the

borders

to

include

all

people

so

that

everyone

who

had

the

faith

in

Christ

the

faith

of

Abraham

Isaac

and

Jacob

would

be

called

God's

people

would

be

a

part

of

the

nation

of

Israel

God's

one

people

and

what

was

the

mechanism

for

spreading

of

this

new

constituted

Israel

the

Holy

Spirit

would

be

empowered

would

empower

the

disciples

would

empower

God's

people

and

they

would

bear

witness

to

the

gospel

of

Christ

from

Jerusalem

to

Jakarta

from

Judea

to

Jamaica

from

Samaria

to

Sumatra

to

the

ends

of

the

earth

it's

not

like

I

know

that

we

joke

about

Torontonians

thinking

it's

the

center

of

the

world

but

our

world

is

the

center

of

our

world

but

the

reality

is

this

is

on

the

outskirts

of

the

known

world

this

is

used

to

be

called

the

new

world

this

is

in

a

sense

proof

that

the

bearing

witness

to

the

gospel

of

Christ

worked

we

do

not

live

in

Judea

we

live

across

a

giant

Christ

why

and

believing

in

Christ

why

because

people

bore

witness

to

Christ

over

centuries

and

centuries

and

centuries

handing

down

the

faith

saying

Christ

did

rise

from

the

grave

and

it

is

according

to

the

scriptures

and

you

ought

to

believe

in

it

because

it

is

life

everlasting

it

is

salvation

to

your

souls

and

here

we

are

it's

remarkable

the

kingdom

spreads

as

we

here

in

this

small

group

in

the

corner

of

the

world

in

the

new

world

it's

not

so

new

anymore

as

we

bear

witness

to

the

risen

and

ascended

king

of

all

even

if

it

costs

us

earthly

glory

or

maybe

our

earthly

lives

for

our

treasure

is

no

longer

in

the

here

and

now

our

true

treasure

but

it

is

with

Christ

Jesus

for

all

of

eternity

so

in

fact

the

very

word

used

for

bearing

witness

to

Christ

the

witness

is

the

same

word

we

use

for

martyrdom

because

so

convinced

were

the

early

disciples

and

the

early

church

of

the

literal

factual

biblical

necessary

resurrection

and ascension

of Christ

that they

bore witness

to him

and it

cost

them

their

lives

and

that's

how

we

get

the

term

martyr

quite

remarkable

another

theologian

a guy

named

Peter

Lightheart

says this

of

Christian

martyrdom

Christian

martyrdom

means

bearing

witness

to the

truth

of the

gospel

and of

God's

word

especially

in the

face

of

intimidation

insults

exclusion

put downs

threats

Christian

martyrs

peaceably

bear witness

to the

lordship

of

Jesus

they

peaceably

confess

that

Jesus

is

lord

of

lords

king

of

kings

ruler

of

all

nations

Christian

martyrdom

is a

willingness

to follow

Jesus

all the

way

to the

cross

martyrdom

doesn't

involve

killing

it's

jolly

defiance

ready

to be

slandered

insulted

beaten

killed

for the

one

who

died

for

me

I want

to leave

you with

two

things

the first

is

this

the task

of

bearing

witness

to

Christ

Jesus

is

impossible

it is

it is

an

impossible

task

it's

impossible

unless

we

know

the risen

Christ

ourselves

and when

we do

the promise

is that

the Holy

Spirit

resides

within

us

but we

also

must

daily

pray for

strength

and courage

when we

come to

faith

in

Christ

the Holy

Spirit

it does

he does

he lives

within us

but the

scripture also

talks about

a continual

empowering

of the

Spirit

in order

to live

a godly

life

so

Ephesians

5

18

says

this

do not

be drunk

with wine

for that

is debauchery

but be

filled

with the

Spirit

the idea

is not

a one

time

filling

of the

Spirit

a continual

filling

of the

Spirit

that is

just to

say

ask God

for strength

every day

and he'll

give it

to you

by his

Spirit

ask God

for courage

every day

and he will

by his

Spirit

ask God

to help you

to be excited

about God

every day

and he will

by his

Spirit

it is

impossible

but it is

not impossible

for God

and he has

promised to

empower you

the second

thing I want

to leave you

with is this

we

do not

we come

to this

Christian

life

as

individuals

we have

to take

this faith

for our

own

it is

not enough

that

we

have

these

wonderful

children

baptized

and they're

growing up

in a

Christian

home

or if

your kids

aren't

baptized

that they're

growing up

in a

Christian

home

and

you know

I'm

Christian

because my

parents

are

Christian

they have

to take

on the

faith

themselves

we all

have

to

we come

to this

faith

as individuals

but friends

we walk

it out

together

we do

we can't

live out

the life

that God

calls us

to as

individuals

by ourselves

there's a

famous line

in Band

of Brothers

with Easy

Company

it says

we stand

alone

together

it's just

it's so

powerful

but that's

what we're

called to

do

you cannot

obey

Christ

by yourself

you can't

you need

encouragement

you need

teaching

you need

somebody

to tell

you to

get your

act

together

sometimes

you need

somebody

to pray

for you

and to

do

certain

things

together

and to

celebrate

in the

victories

and to

mend

your wounds

so to

speak

in the

losses

you're

not

expected

to do

this

by

yourself

so

it is

an

impossible

task

without

God's

help

and

without

the

help

of

your

brothers

and

sisters

in

the

faith

and

more

than

anything

else

so I

said

two

things

I'll

leave

you

actually

with

three

things

Jesus

goes

away

he ascends

into

heaven

but

in

Matthew

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

chapter

28

when he

gives

the

great

commission

he

says

this

all

authority

in

heaven

and

on

earth

has

been

given

to

me

go

therefore

and

make

disciples

of

all

nations

bearing

witness