April 3, 2016
You probably know the scene well: the Super Bowl has just ended and the camera crew finds the star player. In addition to the plays of the game, the reporter will ask: "So what will you do now?" The player will look into the camera and answer "Go to Disneyworld!" Its become iconic in American culture. No imagine you were the disciples two thousand years ago. You have spent most of the last month riding a roller coaster of emotions far greater than any sports event. You have experienced the thrill of the Triumphal Entry; the pain and agony of The Cross; and then the sheer thrill of the Resurrection. Now that Jesus has conquered death and has defeated Satan, you can imagine the Super Bowl question being asked like this: "You have just defeated your eternal enemy the Devil and came back from the dead, what will you do now Jesus?" And you know his answer? No, not Disneyworld. His answer was to leave earth. Leave his disciples and go back to heaven.
Take a few moments to read about his departure in Acts 1:1-11.
Crazy, right? The disciples are expecting Jesus to drive out the Romans and establish his Kingdom here on earth. I am sure they had many, many questions for the man who feed thousands, calmed storms, and returned from the grave! His response was to look to heaven and tell his Father "Beam me up!" But he did not do this on a whim, no. He had a plan. He had a reason to leave us here.
Jesus Left Earth To Sit At The Right Hand Of God
Romans 8:34 tells us "Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." He left to sit at his father's throne and speak for us. But to whom is he speaking against? Revelation 12:10 explains that the devil is at the Father's throne accusing us day and night! Every mistake, sin, and failure is tattled to the Father. And every time the devil brings something up against us, Jesus just steps in and shows his life to the father and Satan has nothing to argue with. Paul writes in II Corinthians 13:5 that we are in Jesus, and he is in us. More than that, Jesus is in the Father, and we are in him also. This means that when Satan complains and tries to show our sin, the Father looks through the filter of his son and sees only the righteousness of Jesus.
Jesus Left Earth To Allow The Arrival Of The Holy Spirit
It was only a few years ago that if we wanted to access the internet we had to be at a computer with a physical cable connection to the World Wide Web. There was usually one place in the house where the computer was set up and everyone waited to use it. When all we had was dial up, that meant waiting until someone got off the phone, ha! Imagine today's youth if we had to walk around with large desktops and hundreds of feet of LAN line in order to stream music while we did house chores. Instead, today we have these amazing boxes that provide Wi-Fi which free us to interact with the Internet anywhere we want.
Jesus leaving was an upgrade. Jesus is the only way to access God (kinda like a hard wire LAN line) and the Holy Spirit which he sent in his place is wireless access any time any where. In John 16:7 Jesus explained that "it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." The Holy Spirit comforts us, teaches us, and helps to keep us from sinning. Jesus did these things while on earth, but in his human form he was limited to only those in his immediate surroundings. The Holy Spirit (Advocate) on the other hand can be with millions of people in millions of places simultaneously. So whether we are in church, at home, at work, or wherever, we can have access to God. Talk about great coverage! Does the bible really support that? YES! Romans 8:38-39 confirms that there is nothing of this world or the spiritual world that can separate us from God! He is connected to us 24/7.
Jesus Left Earth With A Promise To Return
In the record of Acts chapter 1 we read that after Jesus disappeared into the sky, two angels appear to the disciples. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (verse 11) Jesus himself promised to return. In John 14:1-4 Jesus promised to go and prepare a place for us, and that if he prepared that place then he will certainly come back for us. Long before Arnold Schwarzenegger uttered the famed line "I'll be back", Jesus coined the phrase and made the promise for real. He left to get a place ready for us to join him one day, and we can count on his promise that he will return to take us there!
Takeaway From Today's Teaching
Leaving us does not mean Jesus abandoned us! Love knows no limitations, and his love is a perfect love!
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