Why Do You Stand Looking Into Heaven?
“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 first eleven verses of Acts record a number of significant things. First, there is the introduction by Luke to Theophilus, following up on his gospel—Luke ended his gospel with the ascension of Jesus (Luke 24:50–53), and he records it again in Acts 1:9. Second, Jesus showed himself to his disciples over a forty day period, proving his resurrection and teaching them about the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). Third, Jesus commands them to stay in Jerusalem until they receive the promised Holy Spirit (vv. 4, 5). Fourth, the disciples query Jesus about the appearance of the Kingdom (vs. 6). Fifth, Jesus points out that they misunderstand the future. They were not to concern themselves with “times and seasons,” but they would receive the Holy Spirit and his power and be Jesus’ witnesses in Jerusalem, and then extending farther out into the world (vv. 7, 8).
It is important to understand what Jesus means by the Kingdom. The disciples want to know. As far as Jesus in concerned, the Kingdom is spiritual in nature and not merely physical. The Kingdom is also eternal and not merely temporal. The Kingdom is also powerful and not weak. It was the promised Holy Spirit who brings this about. In Luke 17:21 Jesus told his disciples that the kingdom was within them. The disciples, of course, were looking for a visible political kingdom. They expected the Davidic throne to be in operation once again. That’s the essence of verse 6. They were also looking for an ethnically restricted kingdom: “will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” They were also thinking narrowly in extent. Geographically, they focused only on Israel, but Jesus speaks of reaching the “end of the earth” (vs. 8). The authority behind the power they would receive is the Holy Spirit: “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (vs. 8).
The New Testament characterizes the presence of the Holy Spirit as an indwelling and sealing (Eph. 1:13; 4:30; James 4:5). This refers to the permanent residing of the Spirit within the believer. The spiritual benefits that are ours because we possess the Spirit (by regeneration) are incredible. There is power to witness effectively (vs.8). We have the authority of Jesus (Matt. 28:18–20). It is by the Holy Spirit that we have victory over sin (Acts 2:42–46; Rom. 6, 8; Gal. 2:20). We are able to wage war in the power of the Spirit against the devil and his forces (Acts 16:16–18; 2 Cor. 10:3, 4; Eph. 6:10–18). We are graciously gifted and empowered by the Spirit for service and ministry (Acts 2; Rom. 12; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4; 1 Pet. 4).
All of these point to the fact that we are to be busy in and for the Kingdom. As far as our labor for the Lord is concerned we should follow the dictum of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” I suppose the disciples were still trying to understand what Jesus had just said to them in verse 8, when he was suddenly lifted up and a cloud hid him from their view (vs. 9). That, in and of itself, would give anyone a fright. Perhaps the disciples were frightened which was why they were gazing. They had been privileged to see the life and ministry of our Lord. They were witnesses of his Resurrection, and they had been listening to him over a forty day period, yet they are transfixed as Jesus ascends. The ascension of Jesus is important. Jesus leaves earth in his physical body, and we believe that our Lord still possesses that glorified body in heaven today. It is our hope to be transformed and have a glorified body like his (1 Cor. 15:50–53; 2 Cor. 5:1–5; Phil. 3:20; 1 John 3:2, 3).
The ascension also means that our Lord Jesus Christ is exalted now at the Father’s right hand. There he exercises his High Priestly ministry on our behalf (Acts 2:32–36; 5:31; Eph. 1:20; Phil. 2:9–11; Heb. 1:3; 2:9–18; 7:15–28; 8:1–3; 9:11–14, 24–28; 10:12; 1 Pet. 3:22). Our Lord remains a man and retains his body now glorified through his Resurrection. As the ascension was visible and bodily to the disciples, so, too, will be the return of Jesus. That’s what the angels say to the disciples in verse 11.
If the ascension caused some serious issues, the appearance of angels probably also did. The disciples are “gazing into heaven” (looking upward) when the two angels suddenly appear. The angels appear in human form. They are dressed in white robes (see Matt. 28:3; John 20:12). They are God’s messengers. As messengers, angels sometimes appear as an individual or in pairs. The thrust of their message to the disciples (in question form) is not to waste time standing there gazing off into heaven. There’s work awaiting them and they better get to it. Yes, Jesus is gone, but “this Jesus” would come again as they had seen him go.
The disciples, no doubt, would recall Jesus’ words to them that he would return for them (John 14:3). Not only this, but the promise of the Holy Spirit to be with them and in them would also compensate for the fact that Jesus was now in heaven (John 14:16–19). It is through the Spirit that our Lord is present with us. He has not left us alone. He is with us. Here is the truth concerning the union and communion that exists between the Son and the Spirit (as it does in the Trinity). It was necessary and to our advantage for Jesus to go away so that the Spirit (Helper) might come (John 16:7). The presence of the Lord Jesus in heaven at the Father’s right hand, and the presence of the Holy Spirit within us signifies that the Lord is with us always, even until the end of the age (Matt. 28:20; esp. John 16:12–15). Our Lord has ascended “far above all the heavens that he might fill all things” (Eph. 4:10), yet he dwells with us by his Spirit. The believer is the habitation of God. This is what Paul said in Ephesians 2:22: “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” First John 3:24 confirms the same truth: “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” As the disciples already had been commanded by the Lord as to what they were supposed to do (vs. 8), it was pointless gazing into heaven waiting either for Jesus to return or for some other sign. We are called upon to be watching and vigilant, but this is in the midst of our daily work and lives. We must not be lazy. We are not to go and sit on some mountain and gaze up into the sky and stay there until Jesus comes. We must work because Jesus is coming. We must live as he commanded and do as he commanded (John 15:10, 14, 17; 1 John 3:24).
We must not become too preoccupied with earthly things so that they eclipse our spiritual responsibilities. This is easy and natural to do. Our responsibilities are important, but let us see them in the light of our spiritual obligations to the Lord. It is never easy to become holy or be obedient. It is much easier to stay gazing like the disciples and think we are being spiritual. It is always easier to go downhill than uphill. Going down always gathers momentum. Going up is always tough. The Lord has promised that we are not alone. He is with us by the Spirit, and, therefore, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to enable and transform us. We are to yield to the Spirit in obedience, and then we do his work in his power and not ours. That way God always gets the glory. Don’t be a gazer with your head in the clouds. Be a laborer in the vineyard.