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by Logan Ames

During Holy Week this past spring, my wife and I joined about 125 other believers from our community and packed a local movie theater to see the latest God’s Not Dead movie. The movie was fantastic, but I want to tell you how I, the pastor of one of the churches involved, represented myself in front of so many others that night. Clara and I got a big bag of popcorn to share and when we got to our seats, she put it on the armrest between our two seats and then went to the restroom. Before she walked away, she looked at me and said, “Be careful and don’t knock it over." I sort of half-listened because I was confident in my ability to not spill the popcorn. But as Proverbs 16:18 tells us, pride goes before the fall, so you can pretty much assume what happened next. A minute or so later, I turned to my left away from the popcorn to speak to the person sitting beside me. As I turned, the outer edge of the sleeve of my shirt on my right arm barely bumped into the bag of popcorn and it was instantly all over the floor in front of our seats. As my wife returned, she just looked at me, shook her head, and said, “Seriously?” How could I have possibly managed to do the one thing she told me not to do?

I’m thinking that Jesus probably felt similarly before he left his disciples and ascended back into heaven. As we learned in last week’s post, one of the last things Jesus told his disciples was to “stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). He had told them that the Holy Spirit would be given to them as promised, but they had to actually wait for it. This is not what we’re used to. Jesus normally wanted his followers to GO, not STAY. They were to go and share the good news with the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 10:6), and were later told to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). But here, Jesus is very clear that they are not to “go” anywhere without him or the Holy Spirit because they would have no power and would be in danger of “spilling the popcorn." Trying to operate in their own power with no help from the Spirit would be disastrous, so he commands them to stay and wait.

Jesus ascended into heaven when his mission on earth was complete, and it was time for his true followers to put their complete confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit rather than continuing to depend on his physical presence. This was the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another one. So, with Jesus returning to the Father, he was about to give them the promised Spirit to guide them and remind them of everything he had taught them. It is recorded in Acts 1:8-9 that right after Jesus told the disciples that they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit to help them live as witnesses wherever they would go, he was “taken up” right in front of them and was hidden from their sight. While this tells us that he “ascended," it does not tells us about where he went and what he is doing there.

For that information, we have to read a little bit further in the New Testament. Jesus told his followers right before he left that they would be “baptized by the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). The Apostle Peter then was able to understand the craziness that was happening on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) as the power of the Holy Spirit resting on them. However, seeing the power of the Spirit in physical form was just the beginning. As Peter and the rest of the apostles grew in their faith and practice of the Christian life, they began to learn what it was like to have the Spirit work in them and also through them. Sometimes, the power of the Holy Spirit allowed them to do supernatural things that others could see; sometimes it did the supernatural work of change within them. Peter describes this power in 1 Peter 3:21-22. He says the baptism of the Spirit, which is only symbolized by water baptism, gives us a “clear conscience toward God." Then, he says that this baptism “saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." In other words, unless there has been a change in our hearts that comes as a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in us, how can we be sure we’re truly saved?

In the midst of talking about salvation through Christ, Peter says in verse 22 that Jesus “has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand - with angels, authorities, and powers in submission to him." So, now we know that Jesus didn’t just ascend into air and evaporate; he went straight to heaven and is now seated at God’s right hand, which is why the Apostles’ Creed says as much. This is a big deal! If someone were at my “right hand," that wouldn’t mean a thing. But describing Jesus as being “at God’s right hand” meant that he is in a position of great power, lordship, and authority.

As we dig further into the core roots of our Christian faith, this is the first time that we are talking about Jesus in this light. We are used to Jesus being loving, humble, and even meek. When we think of Jesus, we see the suffering servant who was willing to endure the pain of the cross in our place. Yet, we must never forget that his suffering was only part of his story. When he was seated at God’s right hand, he became the judge over all. This means we should not take him lightly. We should not live as though he doesn’t care about our sins. We ought not mistake his kindness and love for weakness. He sees everything we do, hears everything we say, and knows everything we think. If he is truly our Lord, that means that we seek to do what he desires for us and what would please him. One day, regardless of whether you believe in him or not, you are going to stand before him as the Righteous Judge and Ruler of all. Will you be ready? Will you stand there assuming that he’s okay with your choices? Have you been living under the assumption that you’ve been “good enough” to get to heaven? I encourage you to take some time to get to know Jesus through his Spirit. Ask him to reveal the areas of your life where things need to change. Then, understanding his authority, make a choice to surrender anything that doesn’t belong in your life to Jesus. In doing this, you truly show Jesus and those around you that he is your Lord.

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