Growing up I heard people call New York City, “The city so nice, they named it twice.” A little bit of research on that saying led me to discover that there was a song by this title in the late 1970s, which may help explain how the saying became popular and spread to a boy living in Iowa. The basis for the saying is that New York City is actually just named “New York,” thus making it New York, New York.
If New York City is “the city so nice they named it twice,” then I think we should think of the Ascension of Jesus as “the event so nice that Luke narrated it twice” because he records it at both the end of his gospel (Luke 24:50-52) and the beginning of Acts (Acts 1:9-11). I find Luke’s dual descriptions of this event fascinating since it is an event that few Christians think about or talk about, especially in comparison to the celebrations of other key events of Jesus like his birth, death, and resurrection. The ascension is also named in the Apostles’ Creed and thus it seems worthy of our attention and celebration. While I posted about this event last year, Luke thought it was so nice he described it twice and therefore, so shall I.
Not Retired, But Relocated
We can be tempted to read the story of Jesus’s ascension like it is his retirement or he is a hero who is riding off into the sunset after completing his work. It may also appear to be something of a “passing of the baton” of Jesus’s work, passing the mantle of ministry onto the apostles like Elijah does with Elisha in the Old Testament – or like Captain America does with the Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Rather than seeing this event as Jesus going off to heaven to reflect upon his accomplishments while others continue what he started and carry on his legacy, I think we should view it as Jesus relocating to serve and minister in another place. I say this in large part because of the words Luke uses to open the book of Acts. In Acts 1:1-2, Luke notes that he wrote his “first narrative” (the Gospel of Luke) “about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up” (referring to the ascension). I added the emphasis on the word “began” because I think it points to something important; Luke’s use of this word shows that Jesus’s ministry on earth is not the entirety of his ministry but marks a beginning to it. This would imply that his ministry continues; Jesus is not retiring from ministry but rather relocating and now ministering in a different place in a different way. I explored some of this heavenly ministry, especially Jesus’s intercessor on our behalf, in last year’s ascension post and in a recent post about how “He Still Gets Us,” so I won’t explore it here. Instead, I want to focus upon how we see Jesus continuing to work in the book of Acts.
Not the Acts of the Apostles, But the Acts of Jesus
We often call Luke’s second volume as the “Acts of the Apostles,” as that is the traditional name. When you read the book, though, it is interesting how few apostles play a role in it. We will see Peter doing a lot of ministry, at times with the help of John (see Acts 3-4). We read about the Apostle James being put to death (Acts 12) and how Matthias becomes Judas’ replacement (Acts 1:15-26). That is about all, though, as we never hear from Matthias again and the other apostles aren’t really mentioned outside of being named in Acts 1:13. In contrast, we read about various figures who were not among the twelve apostles but play an important role in the early church – Stephen (Acts 7), Philip (Acts 8), and Paul (Acts 13-28). In fact, the longest speech in Acts is not from one of the 12 but from Stephen, the one who plays a pivotal role at the Jerusalem Council is James the brother of Jesus, and the bulk of attention of the book is on Paul. This book is not really about the apostles.
Some have noted the minimal focus on the apostles and stated that we should think of the book as the “Acts of the Holy Spirit” because the ministry happens through the Holy Spirit. I think that is insightful, but it is still slightly off in terms of the emphasis of the book and how it is framed. In light of what I noted about the opening verses of Luke as well as the fact that the Holy Spirit is said to be poured out by Jesus (Acts 2:33), I think an even better way of viewing the book could be “Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus.” I can’t take credit for this title, as it is the title of an excellent study on Acts by Alan J. Thompson that I used as a textbook for an online course I served as the instructor of this past semester at Covenant Theological Seminary. Thompson notes that the book may best be entitled “the Acts of the Lord Jesus, through his people, by the Holy Spirit, for the accomplishment of God’s purposes” (p. 49), but that the best shorthand of that longer title would be “Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus.”
Thompson notes that when you examine the book of Acts, you see Jesus active and not absent. I already mentioned the fact that Jesus is the one who pours out the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Jesus’s connection with the Holy Spirit is also seen in the term used later of the “Spirit of Jesus” (Acts 16:7). The Spirit’s work is thus an extension of Jesus’s work. We see Jesus at work in other ways, as he appears to Saul in Acts 9 and is said to be the one who truly healed the paralyzed man in Acts 3-4. But there are also subtle references to Jesus’s word that we might miss. The book consistently refers to Jesus as “Lord,” so when people talk about “the Lord” in it (see Acts 2:36), we should see it as referring to Jesus. Thus, when people pray to the Lord (Acts 1:24-26; 13:1), they are praying to Jesus. Therefore, Jesus continues to lead and guide his church. Jesus is the one who adds to its number (Acts 2:47; 11:20-21), opening the hearts of people (Acts 16:15), and giving them repentance and forgiveness (Acts 5:32). The risen Jesus continues to be at work in building his church throughout the book of Acts. He remains the main character in Acts.
Not Relaxing, But Reigning
We should not view Jesus’s ascension as a footnote to his ministry or just the exclamation point at the end of his earthly ministry. We should view it as a key development, a turning point and the next chapter in his ministry that continues to this day. Jesus is not relaxing in heaven, but rather he is reigning over his church. He continues to move in people’s lives and transform them. He strengthens his people and protects them. In the midst of the topsy-turvy world we live in, it is good to know that we are not alone in that God is with us, but I think it is even more exciting to remember that Jesus is reigning and ruling, guiding and directing us. Jesus’s ascension is a great reminder that he reigns even now, and also that he will return to reign in full. He is not relaxing right now; in a certain sense, the day of relaxation comes upon his return when all has finally been put to right. We see that idea in 1 Corinthians 15:25-26: “For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be abolished is death.”
So, let’s not overlook ascension day this year or in the coming years. Rather, let us be overjoyed by what it means and teaches us about Jesus’s ministry today.
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