6/2/57

Scripture: Acts 1: 1-14

“The gospel must have witnesses --- for it is always within one generation from extinction.” The apostles proclaimed it. Martyrs have testified to it with their lives. Some of our forefathers have defended it and witnessed it with fervor. But if it is known to the next, and succeeding generations, we must witness to it! With this sobering thought in mind, let us reexamine the story of the coming of the message, with power, upon the small band of Christ’s disciples. The church calls it Pentecost. And it comes about this time after Easter.

The followers of the Beloved Master had seen their Lord taken and done to death. How it must have crushed them to think of it! When they thought of it they must have had a hopeless longing to see Him again the way he was in Galilee. Their feeling may not have been unlike that of one who has seen a friend’s body mangled in an accident, or wasted away in lingering illness. And he or she says, “I’d give anything to forget that dead body and to remember my friend the way he used to be -- a picture of life itself!” Some of those disciples were saying, “We trusted that it was He who should have redeemed Israel.” But they also longed to see him again as he was.

Well, it was given to them to see him again, first in the resurrection, then in certain reappearances, then in the ascension. It was not simple. Even the resurrection could not blot out of their remembrance his suffering and death. Nor should it. It is too full of permanent meaning and saving grace for them, and for us, and for all the world. The resurrection does not make sense apart from the agony and death of the crucifixion. But, added to their assurance that their Lord was in very truth a living Lord, was the certainty that he was perceived -- seen -- by some, and that he had ascended to the Father in heaven.

Now the Bible account of the ascension poses problems. To believe in it with the same kind of literal interpretation as that of some early artist painting the form of Jesus floating skyward through the clouds, implies an acceptance of the pre-Copernican universe. That universe was understood to be a sort of cosmic sandwich with our life on the flat earth imbedded between a slice of heaven and one of hell. With an astronomer’s understanding of the physical universe, and the place of the round earth in its vastness, it is hardly possible to think of heaven or hell as geographically locatable “places.” Rather, they become a state of being. Paradise is a spiritual abode, and one even feels that he has had fleeting glimpses of it while yet live upon the earth. Likewise some have been sure they had a taste of Hades while here in physical life. But the idea of the ascension of Christ still holds a great wealth of meaning. It helps to complete the resurrection and the major events of our redemption.

Christ’s physical presence was withdrawn from the mortal earth. But his life continues so vividly that it is perceived with saving effect throughout the centuries. When our time comes, we must be withdrawn from this same earthly view to resume, or continue, our life with God. And the assurance of this saving possibility, in all its bafflement and beauty, in the hearts of the apostles, fired life with permanent meaning.

When our time comes, our bodies are usually laid to rest in the dust of the earth, while our spirits pass to the eternal presence of God. The body of Jesus had been laid to rest in this fashion, with the dignity and tender care of sorrow and even remorse. But the disciples were permitted to see and know him again -- alive and transfigured. In their joy, they realized that he truly had not come to restore the kingdom of Israel, but to show forth his victory over death and to reaffirm his promise of the Holy Spirit. When this was accomplished, he disappeared from their view and they were sure that he had rejoined God in His realm. They could hardly have concluded anything else.

The great doctrines of the Christian faith were forced upon Christians, not just in whim or fancy, but on the long and much-pounded anvil of experience. First comes the event and experience, and then it must be explained in some way.

Five centuries ago in a world where the earth was generally firmly believed to be flat, men set sail to go to the very edges of it, if need be, to find out! They kept on going, and going, until at length they arrived at the point from which they started. Then the conclusion had to be accepted that the earth was not flat, but round. And not round like a lawn roller, but, finally, round like a ball!

So it is with the doctrine of Christ’s birth. A little boy was born of humble parents in the village of Bethlehem. He grew up a normal boy in an obscure provincial town in Galilee, Nazareth. He was known as the son in the house of Joseph, the carpenter. When he was grown, he began a ministry of help and hope and healing that could not be accounted for in the ordinary human categories. His fellow townsmen wondered, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” [Luke 4: 22]. The learned Pharisees were confused because “he spoke with authority.” [Mark 1: 22]. His disciples marveled in astonishment at the wonders, asking, “Who is this that even the winds and the waves obey him?” [Matthew 8: 27]. At last it dawned upon one of them that truly “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [Matthew 16: 16].

From then on, they were sure that his coming into the world was a special act of God --- that God was present in him in some unique way. Some such process, through deep experience, led them through the stories of his birth to the resurrection and ascension.

The ascension completes the meaning of the cross. On the cross, God showed the world that He so loves his people that he gave His son for us all, that “whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” [John 3: 16]. By this sacrifice we have it made clear to us that we can be forgiven and healed in spirit --- made at one with God (this is the doctrine of the atonement). One more thing the ascension and the doctrine of the atonement suggest: that Christ having gone through all this intercedes for His own. “I will pray the Father,” he had assured his disciples, “and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.” [John 14: 16].

The thought that Christ prayed for his own, and still prays for us, is a tremendous assurance. Do you know how rewarding it is to feel that someone is praying for you? It may be father or mother or friend; pastor or brother or sister or teacher. You may be alone, away from home. You may be faced with a perplexing dilemma. You may not see any solution to some difficulty. You may not know how to carry some grief. But the assurance that someone is praying for you helps tremendously to face what must be lived through.

Incidentally it is, or should be, characteristic of Christians that they pray for one another. Don’t leave this great resource for help and power to your mother or your pastor or your wife or your pious uncle alone. But pray for those whose need you know --- your son in a difficult and tempting spot, your neighbor with a tragedy to endure, your friend who is ill, your grandfather who is lonely, or for the one whom you know to be torn with anxiety. Pray for those who need to know the reality of God. You can give and receive great help in this practice.

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Christ is more than unique Son of God and more than intercessor for His followers. He is also our king; and his ascension marks the beginning of his rule. He had talked much about his kingdom and he was consistently and tragically misunderstood. His disciples misunderstood him in love. They projected upon him their longing for political freedom, for social status and for economic security. They hoped, quite literally, to crown him king when he entered Jerusalem for the last time. But they did not know that their pathetic desire for a king would put a crown of thorns on their Master’s head -- the only crown he would receive in his lifetime.

But after his resurrection, they were convinced that he had received a crown which alone was worthy of him. By that time, they had come to realize that he should not be ruler over one small nation of people on a narrow strip of disputed land, but that his destiny was to rule everywhere, till the end of time.

It is remarkable to see how this recognition has spread. Daniel Fleming has complied a collection of Christian works of art from all over the world in his volume: “Each With His Own Brush.” Looking it through one sees the Christ portrayed with Oriental features, Indian characteristics, swarthy face, fair skin, dark skin -- and so on. It shows us dramatically that He belongs to all races and places and conditions of mankind --- king over the hearts and lives of people everywhere.

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Further, the ascension points directly to Pentecost. Christ had promised “Ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in Jordan, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” [Acts 1: 8].

A beloved and thoughtful fellow minister remarked in my hearing some years ago, that this 8th verse of the first chapter of the Book of Acts is the key to the whole book of Acts. “Ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Jordan, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The assurance and the command are most touching and practical: Stop loafing! Get to work! Pentecost did not come to an idle church. It came with the rushing urge to go out and witness to the Christ everywhere.

There had been a time when Peter, James and John wanted to pitch their tents on a mountain where they had been inspired by the transfiguration of Christ. They would have liked to linger there and continue the blessed happiness and wonder of it by erecting special altars, and so on. But Jesus told them to get on down the mountain again, for there was work to be done! [Mark 9: 2-9].

Disciples were at work, and had been at work, when Pentecost came. They were consolidating their organization. There was the place of Judas Iscariot to be filled. After diligent search, they elected Matthias to fill the place. Pentecost came to them when they were all “with one accord in one place.” The army of the Lord (about twelve strong!) was ready for His marching order. When Peter began to preach he must have thanked God for a risen Christ, seen of them and known to be bringing power to them sufficient for all their tasks! The power is something wonderful --- and surprising. It is not the fury of a cornered animal or a frightened monarch, nor of any strong-arm dictator. It is the power of confident love. It is a personal force, a more than merely mortal competence.

Martin Luther King, Jr. knows some of it. You recall that he is a leader in the passive resistance against racial segregation on buses in Montgomery, Alabama. Last November, he preached a sermon pleading with his hearers always to struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons; never to become bitter. In pressing for justice, move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love. “Let no man pull you so low as to hate him,” said he; “always avoid violence. If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in your struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness.” He went on the ask of his hearers “let your oppressor know that you are not attempting to defeat or humiliate him, or even to pay him back for injustices that he has heaped upon you. Let him know that you are merely seeking justice for him as well as yourself.”

Then he goes on saying candidly: “Honesty impels me to admit that such a stand will require willingness to suffer and sacrifice. So don’t despair if you are condemned and persecuted for righteousness’ sake --- Often you will be called an impractical idealist or a dangerous radical. Sometimes it might mean going to jail. If such is the case you must honorably grace the jail with your presence. It might even mean physical death. But if physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children from a permanent life of psychological death, then nothing could be more Christian.”

He goes on with his sermon: “I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may.” And “love is the most durable power in the world ----- the highest good is love ---- He who loves is a participant in the being of God. He who hates does not know God.”

That sounds like the kind of power that came upon the apostles at Pentecost. It is still available to the earnest and sincere who look to a living Christ to be their strength in life.

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Delivered in Wisconsin Rapids, June 2, 1957.