Luke the physician wrote how the disciples of Jesus asked Him, “Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power. But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”, and in chapter one and verse nine of the book of Acts Luke wrote when Jesus, “had spoken these things … a cloud received him out of their sight” where we read:
And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up;
and a cloud received him out of their sight.
The verse begins, “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up;” Luke began with the words, “and when he had spoken these things” which means “and at the time and moment he, Jesus, uttered, declared and proclaimed the idea of the Holy Ghost coming upon His disciples and them being witnesses of Him”, “while they beheld” or “during the time they, Jesus' disciples, observed, notice, gazed and saw”, “he was taken up” which means “he, Jesus, was lifted, raised and exalted”. Luke shared how Jesus' disciples saw Him began to rise into the sky after He told them about the Holy Spirit coming upon them to be His witnesses in the world.
The verse goes on to say, “and a cloud received him out of their sight.” Luke continued with the words, “and a cloud” or “and a cloud in the sky” “received him” which means “carried him, Jesus, upward” “out of their sight” or “separate and apart from their, Jesus' disciples' vision”. Luke shared how Jesus was engulfed with a cloud from the sky which carried Him out of the eyesight of His disciples.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn about the ascension of Jesus back to Heaven with God. Jesus told His disciples He would be physically leaving them, and after He said the “Holy Spirit” would come upon them and empower them to be His witnesses throughout the world, He returned to His Father God above. We will discover more about this event in our next verse, but for now let us keep in mind that Jesus fulfilled His words about physically leaving His disciples, and the responsibility for the Kingdom of God was now being transferred to them. God through His Holy Spirit would give them the ability to carry out their mission, but Jesus was no longer to be physically with them. God desires a loving personal relationship with every person, and when they submit their lives to Him, He will forgive their sins, grant them everlasting life and empower them to be “witnesses” of Him to promote the Kingdom of God. Let all who read these words understand the ascension of Jesus and be willing to be His agents in the world.
Next time Luke shares how Jesus' disciples, “looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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