Knowing & Doing
The Ascension
At the beginning of Acts, Luke describes how the recently-risen Jesus leaves Earth and returns to Heaven. It’s a shockingly brief account:
“He (Jesus) said to them (the disciples gathered around Him): ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight.” Acts 1:7-9
Boom. That’s it! Luke tells it almost like it’s just an everyday thing for the once-dead Son of God to be sucked up into Heaven in a whoosh of clouds. Scripture says the disciples stood “looking up intently into the sky as He was going” (Acts 1:10). I’m sure their eyes were wide and their mouths wide open in amazement. And if they would have had time to digest what they had just seen, I bet their next thought would have been… Whoa. Ok, so what now?
But they didn’t have much time to mentally mull over what they had just seen because “suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘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.’” (Acts 1:10-11)
What Are You Looking At?
Suddenly two angels appeared. They sure didn’t waste much time. And it’s almost as if they punched the disciples in the arms and said, “Hey! What are you guys looking at? He’s gone, so let’s go! Stop standing around with your mouths hanging wide open. Get to work!”
The angels’ question, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?” uses the Greek word istemi, which means to stand firmly or to fix or establish. It makes me imagine the disciples’ feet were cemented to the ground, overcome with awe. But these “Men of Galilee” had no time to stand and wonder. No time to ponder or even praise. The angels’ words made it clear the disciples weren’t meant to stop or stay.
The Transfiguration
It reminds me of the time Peter, James and John witnessed Jesus’s transfiguration. Scripture says Jesus was “transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus” (Matthew 17:2-3). Wow. This was undeniably an incredible spectacle to behold. In response, Peter suggested they build temporary shelters and camp out in this obviously holy spot. It wasn’t a bad suggestion - to stop, be still and worship - but this wasn’t the time for sitting and soaking. In fact, immediately after, Jesus leads them back down the mountain, back into ministry.
In both instances, the disciples experienced something amazing beyond words. And in both instances, God urged them to watch, learn, and go.
Interesting.
There are definitely times in the Bible when God commands us to be still and let the Lord fight for us. There are times when Jesus reminds us to sit and soak, like Mary, instead of busting it in busyness like Martha. There are certainly times in life when we need to stop and worship.
But there are also times when we need to stop soaking and go; times to put our knowledge into action.
Knowing and Doing
While the angels’ words to the disciples may seem sudden and even harsh, the meaning behind their message is unmistakable. Experiencing Jesus’ transfiguration and later His ascension was not just to increase the disciples’ knowledge or strengthen their faith (though these were certainly byproducts!). Walking and talking with Jesus, seeing Him perform miracles, rise from the dead and then return to Heaven - all the disciples experienced- was meant to transform their lives and propel them in obedience; to compel them to service. And the same is true for us.
I’ll be the first to confess that I like soaking. I enjoy reading and learning. But is my soaking and all the knowing really accomplishing anything?
It occurs to me that learning about Jesus is much easier than teaching others about Him. Knowing Jesus requires much less energy than sharing Him with someone else.
Experiencing Jesus in personal Bible study and worship is much more comfortable than serving Him in public.
But if my worship doesn’t result in obedience, what good is it? If learning about Jesus in Bible study doesn’t transform us into His servants, why waste the time?
Knowing and doing are two vastly different things. While it’s not smart to rush into doing without first knowing, it’s equally unhelpful to possess much knowing without then doing.
This is exactly what James was thinking when He wrote that believers shouldn’t just know the Word of God; we should also obey it.
“Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (James 1:22).
And this is the same message the angels gave to the disciples when they said,
“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” (Acts 1:11). In other words, stop soaking! This same Jesus, the one you’ve walked and talked with, the one who makes promises and keeps them, the one who walks on water and calms the winds, the one who was and is God in the flesh, He will return. It’s time to take what you know and go.
In his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, John Stott wrote,
“God intends us to penetrate the world. Christian salt has no business to remain snugly in elegant little ecclesiastical salt cellars; our place is to be rubbed into the secular community, as salt is rubbed into meat, to stop it going bad.”
Like the disciples, standing on the mountain top, worshiping in church, learning in Bible study must all culminate in going, in serving, in obeying. Our knowing must result in doing.
