Proofs of Christ's Resurrection; Christ's Address to His
Apostles.
1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus
began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after
that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles
whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion
by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking
of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4 And, being assembled
together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard
of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with
the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
In these verses, I. Theophilus is put in mind, and we in him, of St.
Luke's gospel, which it will be of use for us to cast an eye upon before
we enter upon the study of this book, that we may not only see how this
begins where that breaks off, but that, as in water face answers to face,
so do the acts of the apostles to the acts of their Master, the acts of
his grace.
1. His patron, to whom he dedicates this book (I should rather say his
pupil, for he designs, in dedicating it to him, to instruct and direct
him, and not to crave his countenance or protection), is Theophilus, v.
1. In the epistle dedicatory before his gospel, he had called him most
excellent Theophilus; here he calls him no more than O Theophilus; not
that he had lost his excellency, nor that it was diminished and become
less illustrious; but perhaps he had now quitted his place, whatever it
was, for the sake of which that title was given him,--or he was now grown
into years, and despised such titles of respect more than he had done,--or
Luke was grown more intimate with him, and therefore could address him
with the more freedom. It was usual with the ancients, both Christian and
heathen writers, thus to inscribe their writings to some particular persons.
But the directing some of the books of the scripture so is an intimation
to each of us to receive them as if directed to us in particular, to us
by name; for whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for
our learning.
2. His gospel is here called the former treatise which he had made,
which he had an eye to in writing this, intending this for a continuation
and confirmation of that, ton proton logon--the former word. What is written
of the gospel is the word as truly as what was spoken; nay, we now know
no unwritten word that we are to give credit to, but as it agrees with
that which is written. He made the former treatise, and now is divinely
inspired to make this, for Christ's scholars must go on towards perfection,
Heb. vi. 1. And therefore their guides must help them on, must still teach
the people knowledge (Eccl. xii. 9), and not think that their former labours,
though ever so good, will excuse them from further labours; but they should
rather be quickened and encouraged by them, as St. Luke here, who, because
he had laid the foundation in a former treatise, will build upon it in
this. Let not this therefore drive out that; let not new sermons and new
books make us forget old ones, but put us in mind of them, and help us
to improve them.
3. The contents of his gospel were that, all that, which Jesus began
both to do and teach; and the same is the subject of the writings of the
other three evangelists. Observe, (1.) Christ both did and taught. The
doctrine he taught was confirmed by the miraculous works he did, which
proved him a teacher come from God (John iii. 2); and the duties he taught
were copied out in the holy gracious works he did, for he hath left us
an example, and that such as proves him a teacher come from God too, for
by their fruits you shall know them. Those are the best ministers that
both do and teach, whose lives are a constant sermon. (2.) He began both
to do and teach; he laid the foundation of all that was to be taught and
done in the Christian church. His apostles were to carry on and continue
what he began, and to do and teach the same things. Christ set them in,
and then left them to go on, but sent his Spirit to empower them both to
do and teach. It is a comfort to those who are endeavouring to carry on
the work of the gospel that Christ himself began it. The great salvation
at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, Heb. ii. 3. (3.) The four
evangelists, and Luke particularly, have handed down to us all that Jesus
began both to do and to teach; not all the particulars--the world could
not have contained them; but all the heads, samples of all, so many, and
in such variety, that by them we may judge of the rest. We have the beginnings
of his doctrine (Matt. iv. 17), and the beginnings of his miracles, John
ii. 11. Luke had spoken, had treated, of all Christ's sayings and doings,
had given us a general idea of them, though he had not recorded each in
particular.
4. The period of the evangelical story is fixed to the day in which
he was taken up, v. 2. Then it was that he left this world, and his bodily
presence was no more in it. St. Mark's gospel concludes with the Lord's
being received up into heaven (Mark xvi. 19), and so does St. Luke's, Luke
xxiv. 51. Christ continued doing and teaching to the last, till he was
taken up to the other work he had to do within the veil.
II. The truth of Christ's resurrection is maintained and evidenced,
v. 3. That part of what was related in the former treatise was so material
that it was necessary to be upon all occasions repeated. The great evidence
of his resurrection was that he showed himself alive to his apostles; being
alive, he showed himself so, and he was seen of them. They were honest
men, and one may depend upon their testimony; but the question is whether
they were not imposed upon, as many a well-meaning man is. No, they were
not; for, 1. The proofs were infallible, tekmeria--plain indications, both
that he was alive (he walked and talked with them, he ate and drank with
them) and that it was he himself, and not another; for he showed them again
and again the marks of the wounds in his hands, and feet, and side, which
was the utmost proof the thing was capable of or required. 2. They were
many, and often repeated: He was seen by them forty days, not constantly
residing with them, but frequently appearing to them, and bringing them
by degrees to be fully satisfied concerning it, so that all their sorrow
for his departure was done away by it. Christ's staying upon earth so long
after he had entered upon his state of exaltation and glory, to confirm
the faith of his disciples and comfort their hearts, was such an instance
of condescension and compassion to believers as may fully assure us that
we have a high priest that is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
III. A general hint given of the instructions he furnished his disciples
with, now that he was about to leave them, and they, since he breathed
on them and opened their understandings, were better able to receive them.
1. He instructed them concerning the work they were to do: He gave commandments
to the apostles whom he had chosen. Note, Christ's choice is always attended
with his charge. Those whom he elected into the apostleship expected he
should give them preferments, instead of which he gave them commandments.
When he took his journey, and gave authority to his servants, and to every
one his work (Mark xiii. 34), he gave them commandments through the Holy
Ghost, which he was himself filled with as Mediator, and which he had breathed
into them. In giving them the Holy Ghost, he gave them his commandments;
for the Comforter will be a commander; and his office was to bring to their
remembrance what Christ had said. He charged those that were apostles by
the Holy Ghost; so the words are placed. It was their receiving the Holy
Ghost that sealed their commission, John xx. 22. He was not taken up till
after he had given them their charge, and so finished his work. 2. He instructed
them concerning the doctrine they were to preach: He spoke to them of the
things pertaining to the kingdom of God. He had given them a general idea
of that kingdom, and the certain time it should be set up in the world
(in his parable, Mark xiii.), but here he instructed them more in the nature
of it, as a kingdom of grace in this world and of glory in the other, and
opened to them that covenant which is the great charter by which it is
incorporated. Now this was intended, (1.) To prepare them to receive the
Holy Ghost, and to go through that which they were designed for. He tells
them in secret what they must tell the world; and they shall find that
the Spirit of truth, when he comes, will say the same. (2.) To be one of
the proofs of Christ's resurrection; so it comes in here; the disciples,
to whom he showed himself alive, knew that it was he, not only by what
he showed them, but by what he said to them. None but he could speak thus
clearly, thus fully, of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. He
did not entertain them with discourses of politics or the kingdoms of men,
of philosophy or the kingdom of nature, but pure divinity and the kingdom
of grace, the things which most nearly concerned them, and those to whom
they were sent.
IV. A particular assurance given them that they should now shortly receive
the Holy Ghost, with orders given them to expect it (v. 4, 5), he being
assembled together with them, probably in the interview at the mountain
in Galilee which he had appointed before his death; for there is mention
of their coming together again (v. 6), to attend his ascension. Though
he had now ordered them to Galilee, yet they must not think to continue
there; no, they must return to Jerusalem, and not depart thence. Observe,
1. The command he gives them to wait. This was to raise their expectations
of something great; and something very great they had reason to expect
from their exalted Redeemer. (1.) They must wait till the time appointed,
which is now not many days hence. Those that by faith hope promised mercies
will come must with patience wait till they do come, according to the time,
the set time. And when the time draws nigh, as now it did, we must, as
Daniel, look earnestly for it, Dan. ix. 3. (2.) They must wait in the place
appointed, in Jerusalem, for there the Spirit must be first poured out,
because Christ was to be as king upon the holy hill of Zion; and because
the word of the Lord must go forth from Jerusalem; this must be the mother-church.
There Christ was put to shame, and therefore there he will have this honour
done him, and this favour is done to Jerusalem to teach us to forgive our
enemies and persecutors. The apostles were more exposed to danger at Jerusalem
than they would have been in Galilee; but we may cheerfully trust God with
our safety, when we keep in the way of our duty. The apostles were now
to put on a public character, and therefore must venture in a public station.
Jerusalem was the fittest candlestick for those lights to be set up in.
2. The assurance he gives them that they shall not wait in vain.
(1.) The blessing designed them shall come, and they shall find it was
worth waiting for; You shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost; that is,
[1.] "The Holy Ghost shall be poured out upon you more plentifully than
ever." They had already been breathed upon with the Holy Ghost (John xx.
22), and they had found the benefit of it; but now they shall have larger
measures of his gifts, graces, and comforts, and be baptized with them,
in which there seems to be an allusion to those Old-Testament promises
of the pouring out of the Spirit, Joel ii. 28; Isa. xliv. 3; xxxii. 15.
[2.] "You shall be cleansed and purified by the Holy Ghost," as the priests
were baptized and washed with water, when they were consecrated to the
sacred function: "They had the sign; you shall have the thing signified.
You shall be sanctified by the truth, as the Spirit shall lead you more
and more into it, and have your consciences purged by the witness of the
Spirit, that you may serve the living God in the apostleship." [3.] "You
shall hereby be more effectually than ever engaged to your Master, and
to his guidance, as Israel was baptized unto Moses in the cloud, and in
the sea; you shall be tied so fast to Christ that you shall never, for
fear of any sufferings, forsake him again, as once you did."
(2.) Now this gift of the Holy Ghost he speaks of,
[1.] As the promise of the Father, which they had heard of him, and
might therefore depend upon. First, The Spirit was given by promise, and
it was at this time the great promise, as that of the Messiah was before
(Luke i. 72), and that of eternal life is now, 1 John ii. 25. Temporal
good things are given by Providence, but the Spirit and spiritual blessings
are given by promise, Gal. iii. 18. The Spirit of God is not given as the
spirit of men is given us, and formed within us, by a course of nature
(Zech. xii. 1), but by the word of God. 1. That the gift may be the more
valuable, Christ thought the promise of the Spirit a legacy worth leaving
to his church. 2. That it may be the more sure, and that the heirs of promise
may be confident of the immutability of God's counsel herein. 3. That it
may be of grace, peculiar grace, and may be received by faith, laying hold
on the promise, and depending upon it. As Christ, so the Spirit, is received
by faith. Secondly, It was the promise of the Father, 1. Of Christ's Father.
Christ, as Mediator, had an eye to God as his Father, fathering his design,
and owning it all along. 2. Of our Father, who, if he give us the adoption
of sons, will certainly give us the Spirit of adoption, Gal. iv. 5, 6.
He will give the Spirit, as the Father of lights, as the Father of spirits,
and as the Father of mercies; it is the promise of the Father. Thirdly,
This promise of the Father they had heard from Christ many a time, especially
in the farewell sermon he preached to them a little before he died, wherein
he assured them, again and again, that the Comforter should come. This
confirms the promise of God, and encourages us to depend upon it, that
we have heard it from Jesus Christ; for in him all the promises of God
are yea, and amen. "You have heard it from me; and I will make it good."
[2.] As the prediction of John Baptist; for so far back Christ here
directs them to look (v. 5): "You have not only heard it from me, but you
had it from John; when he turned you over to me, he said (Matt. iii. 11),
I indeed baptize you with water, but he that comes after me shall baptize
you with the Holy Ghost." It is a great honour that Christ now does to
John, not only to quote his words, but to make this great gift of the Spirit,
now at hand, to be the accomplishment of them. Thus he confirmeth the word
of his servants, his messengers, Isa. xliv. 26. But Christ can do more
than any of his ministers. It is an honour to them to be employed in dispensing
the means of grace, but it his prerogative to give the Spirit of grace.
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, shall teach you by his Spirit,
and give his Spirit to make intercession in you, which is more than the
best ministers preaching with us.
(3.) Now this gift of the Holy Ghost thus promised, thus prophesied
of, thus waited for, is that which we find the apostles received in the
next chapter, for in that this promise had its full accomplishment; this
was it that should come, and we look for no other; for it is here promised
to be given not many days hence. He does not tell them how many, because
they must keep every day in a frame fit to receive it. Other scriptures
speak of the gift of the Holy Ghost to ordinary believers; this speaks
of that particular power which, by the Holy Ghost, the first preachers
of the gospel, and planters of the church, were endued with, enabling them
infallibly to relate to that age, and record to posterity, the doctrine
of Christ, and the proofs of it; so that by virtue of this promise, and
the performance of it, we receive the New Testament as of divine inspiration,
and venture our souls upon it.
Christ's Address to His Apostles; Christ's Ascension into Heaven.
6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying,
Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And
he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons,
which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto
me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things,
while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their
sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up,
behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye
men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which
is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have
seen him go into heaven.
In Jerusalem Christ, by his angel, had appointed his disciples to meet
him in Galilee; there he appointed them to meet him in Jerusalem again,
such a day. Thus he would try their obedience, and it was found ready and
cheerful; they came together, as he appointed them, to be the witnesses
of his ascension, of which we have here an account. Observe,
I. The question they asked him at this interview. They came together
to him, as those that had consulted one another about it, and concurred
in the question nemine contradicente--unanimously; they came in a body,
and put it to him as the sense of the house, Lord, wilt thou at this time
restore again the kingdom to Israel? Two ways this may be taken:--
1. "Surely thou wilt not at all restore it to the present rulers of
Israel, the chief priests and the elders, that put thee to death, and,
to compass that design, tamely gave up the kingdom to Cæsar, and
owned themselves his subjects. What! Shall those that hate and persecute
thee and us be trusted with power? This be far from thee." Or rather,
2. "Surely thou wilt now restore it to the Jewish nation, as far as
it will submit to thee as their king." Now two things were amiss in this
question:--
(1.) Their expectation of the thing itself. They thought Christ would
restore the kingdom to Israel, that is, that he would make the nation of
the Jews as great and considerable among the nations as it was in the days
of David and Solomon, of Asa and Jehoshaphat; that, as Shiloh, he would
restore the sceptre to Judah, and the lawgiver; whereas Christ came to
set up his own kingdom, and that a kingdom of heaven, not to restore the
kingdom to Israel, an earthly kingdom. See here, [1.] How apt even good
men are to place the happiness of the church too much in external pomp
and power; as if Israel could not be glorious unless the kingdom were restored
to it, nor Christ's disciples honoured unless they were peers of the realm;
whereas we are told to expect the cross in this world, and to wait for
the kingdom in the other world. [2.] How apt we are to retain what we have
imbibed, and how hard it is to get over the prejudices of education. The
disciples, having sucked in this notion with their milk that the Messiah
was to be a temporal prince, were long before they could be brought to
have any idea of his kingdom as spiritual. [3.] How naturally we are biassed
in favour of our own people. They thought God would have no kingdom in
the world unless it were restored to Israel; whereas the kingdoms of this
world were to become his, in whom he would be glorified, whether Israel
should sink or swim. [4.] How apt we are to misunderstand scripture--to
understand that literally which is spoken figuratively, and to expound
scripture by our schemes, whereas we ought to form our schemes by the scriptures.
But, when the Spirit shall be poured out from on high, our mistakes will
be rectified, as the apostles' soon after were.
(2.) Their enquiry concerning the time of it: "Lord, wilt thou do it
at this time? Now that thou hast called us together is it for this purpose,
that proper measures may be concerted for the restoring of the kingdom
to Israel? Surely there cannot be a more favourable juncture than this."
Now herein they missed their mark, [1.] That they were inquisitive into
that which their Master had never directed nor encouraged them to enquire
into. [2.] That they were impatient for the setting up of that kingdom
in which they promised themselves so great a share, and would anticipate
the divine counsels. Christ had told them that they should sit on thrones
(Luke xxii. 30), and now nothing will serve them but they must be in the
throne immediately, and cannot stay the time; whereas he that believeth
doth not make haste, but is satisfied that God's time is the best time.
II. The check which Christ gave to this question, like that which he
had a little before given to Peter's enquiry concerning John, What is that
to thee? v. 7, It is not for you to know the times and seasons. He does
not contradict their expectation that the kingdom would be restored to
Israel, because that mistake would soon be rectified by the pouring out
of the Spirit, after which they never had any more thoughts of the temporal
kingdom; and also because there is a sense of the expectation which is
true, the setting up of the gospel kingdom in the world; and their mistake
of the promise shall not make it of no effect; but he checks their enquiry
after the time.
1. The knowledge of this is not allowed to them: It is not for you to
know, and therefore it is not for you to ask. (1.) Christ is now parting
from them, and parts in love; and yet he gives them this rebuke, which
is intended for a caution to his church in all ages, to take heed of splitting
upon the rock which was fatal to our first parents--an inordinate desire
of forbidden knowledge, and intruding into things which we have not seen
because God has not shown them. Nescire velle quæ magister maximus
docere non vult, erudita inscitia est--It is folly to covet to be wise
above what is written, and wisdom to be content to be no wiser. (2.) Christ
had given his disciples a great deal of knowledge above others (to you
it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God), and had promised
them his Spirit, to teach them more; now, lest they should be puffed up
with the abundance of the revelations, he here lets them understand that
there were some things which it was not for them to know. We shall see
how little reason we have to be proud of our knowledge when we consider
how many things we are ignorant of. (3.) Christ had given his disciples
instructions sufficient for the discharge of their duty, both before his
death and since his resurrection, and in this knowledge he will have them
to be satisfied; for it is enough for a Christian, in whom vain curiosity
is a corrupt humour, to be mortified, and not gratified. (4.) Christ had
himself told his disciples the things pertaining to the kingdom of God,
and had promised that the Spirit should show them things to come concerning
it, John xvi. 13. He had likewise given them signs of the times, which
it was their duty to observe, and a sin to overlook, Matt. xxiv. 33; xvi.
3. But they must not expect nor desire to know either all the particulars
of future events or the exact times of them. It is good for us to be kept
in the dark, and left at uncertainty concerning the times and moments (as
Dr. Hammond reads it) of future events concerning the church, as well as
concerning ourselves,--concerning all the periods of time and the final
period of it, as well as concerning the period of our own time.
Prudens futuri temporis exitum
Caliginosa nocte premit Deus--
But Jove, in goodness ever wise,
Hath hid, in clouds of thickest night,
All that in future prospect lies
Beyond the ken of mortal sight.--HOR.
As to the times and seasons of the year, we know, in general, there
will be summer and winter counterchanged, but we know not particularly
which day will be fair or which foul, either in summer or in winter; so,
as to our affairs in this world, when it is a summer-time of prosperity,
that we may not be secure, we are told there will come a wintertime of
trouble; and in that winter, that we may not despond and despair, we are
assured that summer will return; but what this or that particular day will
bring forth we cannot tell, but must accommodate ourselves to it, whatever
it is, and make the best of it.
2. The knowledge of it is reserved to God as his prerogative; it is
what the Father hath put in his own power; it is hid with him. None besides
can reveal the times and seasons to come. Known unto God are all his works,
but not to us, ch. xv. 18. It is in his power, and in his only, to declare
the end from the beginning; and by this he proves himself to be God, Isa.
xlvi. 10. "And though he did think fit sometimes to let the Old-Testament
prophets know the times and the seasons (as of the Israelites' bondage
in Egypt four hundred years, and in Babylon seventy years), yet he has
not fit to let you know the times and seasons, no not just how long it
shall be before Jerusalem be destroyed, though you be so well assured of
the thing itself. He hath not said that he will not give you to know something
more than you do of the times and seasons;" he did so afterwards to his
servant John; "but he has put it in his own power to do it or not, as he
thinks fit;" and what is in that New-Testament prophecy discovered concerning
the times and the seasons is so dark, and hard to be understood, that,
when we come to apply it, it concerns us to remember this work, that it
is not for us to be positive in determining the times and the seasons.
Buxtorf mentions a saying of the rabbin concerning the coming of the Messiah:
Rumpatur spiritus eorum qui supputant tempora--Perish the men who calculate
the time.
III. He appoints them their work, and with authority assures them of
an ability to go on with it, and of success in it. "It is not for you to
know the times and the seasons--this would do you no good; but know this
(v. 8) that you shall receive a spiritual power, by the descent of the
Holy Ghost upon you, and shall not receive it in vain, for you shall be
witnesses unto me and my glory; and your testimony shall not be in vain,
for it shall be received here in Jerusalem, in the country about, and all
the world over," v. 8. If Christ make us serviceable to his honour in our
own day and generation, let this be enough for us, and let not us perplex
ourselves about times and seasons to come. Christ here tells them,
1. That their work should be honourable and glorious: You shall be witnesses
unto me. (1.) They shall proclaim him king, and publish those truths to
the world by which his kingdom should be set up, and he would rule. They
must openly and solemnly preach his gospel to the world. (2.) They shall
prove this, shall confirm their testimony, not as witnesses do, with an
oath, but with the divine seal of miracles and supernatural gifts: You
shall be martyrs to me, or my martyrs, as some copies read it; for they
attested the truth of the gospel with their sufferings, even unto death.
2. That their power for this work should be sufficient. They had not
strength of their own for it, nor wisdom nor courage enough; they were
naturally of the weak and foolish things of the world; they durst not appear
as witnesses for Christ upon his trial, neither as yet were they able.
"But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you" (so
it may be read), "shall be animated and actuated by a better spirit than
your own; you shall have power to preach the gospel, and to prove it out
of the scriptures of the Old Testament" (which, when they were filled with
the Holy Ghost, they did to admiration, ch. xviii. 28), "and to confirm
it both by miracles and by sufferings." Note, Christ's witnesses shall
receive power for that work to which he calls them; those whom he employs
in his service he will qualify for it, and will bear them out in it.
3. That their influence should be great and very extensive: "You shall
be witnesses for Christ, and shall carry his cause," (1.) "In Jerusalem;
there you must begin, and many there will receive your testimony; and those
that do not will be left inexcusable." (2.) "Your light shall thence shine
throughout all Judea, where before you have laboured in vain." (3.) "Thence
you shall proceed to Samaria, though at your first mission you were forbidden
to preach in any of the cities of the Samaritans." (4.) "Your usefulness
shall reach to the uttermost part of the earth, and you shall be blessings
to the whole world."
IV. Having left these instructions with them, he leaves them (v. 9):
When he had spoken these things, and had said all that he had to say, he
blessed them (so we were told, Luke xxiv. 50); and while they beheld him,
and had their eye fixed upon him, receiving his blessing, he was gradually
taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. We have here Christ's
ascending on high; not fetched away, as Elijah was, with a chariot of fire
and horses of fire, but rising to heaven, as he rose from the grave, purely
by his own power, his body being now, as the bodies of the saints will
be at the resurrection, a spiritual body, and raised in power and incorruption.
Observe, 1. He began his ascension in the sight of his disciples, even
while they beheld. They did not see him come up out of the grave, because
they might see him after he had risen, which would be satisfaction enough;
but they saw him go up towards heaven, and had actually their eye upon
him with so much care and earnestness of mind that they could not be deceived.
It is probable that he did not fly swiftly up, but moved upwards gently,
for the further satisfaction of his disciples. 2. He vanished out of their
sight, in a cloud, either a thick cloud, for God said that he would dwell
in the thick darkness; or a bright cloud, to signify the splendour of his
glorious body. It was a bright cloud that overshadowed him in his transfiguration,
and most probably this was so, Matt. xvii. 5. This cloud received him,
it is probable, when he had gone about as far from the earth as the clouds
generally are; yet it was not such a spreading cloud as we commonly see,
but such as just served to enclose him. Now he made the clouds his chariot,
Ps. civ. 3. God had often come down in a cloud; now he went up in one.
Dr. Hammond thinks that the clouds receiving him here were the angels receiving
him; for the appearance of angels is ordinarily described by a cloud, comparing
Exod. xxv. 22 with Lev. xvi. 2. By the clouds there is a sort of communication
kept up between the upper and lower world; in them the vapours are sent
up from the earth, and the dews sent down from heaven. Fitly therefore
does he ascend in a cloud who is the Mediator between God and man, by whom
God's mercies come down upon us and our prayers come up to him. This was
the last that was seen of him. The eyes of a great many witnesses followed
him into the cloud; and, if we would know what became of him then, we may
find (Dan. vii. 13), That one like the Son of man came with the clouds
of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him in the
clouds as he came near before him.
V. The disciples, when he had gone out of their sight, yet still continued
looking up stedfastly to heaven (v. 10), and this longer than it was fit
they should; and why so? 1. Perhaps they hoped that Christ would presently
come back to them again, to restore the kingdom to Israel, and were loth
to believe they should now part with him for good and all; so much did
they still dote upon his bodily presence, though he had told them that
it was expedient for them that he should go away. or, they looked after
him, as doubting whether he might not be dropped, as the sons of the prophets
thought concerning Elijah (2 Kings ii. 16), and so they might have him
again. 2. Perhaps they expected to see some change in the visible heavens
now upon Christ's ascension, that either the sun should be ashamed or the
moon confounded (Isa. xxiv. 23), as being out-shone by his lustre; or,
rather, that they should show some sign of joy and triumph; or perhaps
they promised themselves a sight of the glory of the invisible heavens,
upon their opening to receive him. Christ had told them that hereafter
they should see heaven opened (John i. 51), and why should not they expect
it now?
VI. Two angels appeared to them, and delivered them a seasonable message
from God. There was a world of angels ready to receive our Redeemer, now
that he made his public entry into the Jerusalem above: we may suppose
these two loth to be absent then; yet, to show how much Christ had at heart
the concerns of his church on earth, he sent back to his disciples two
of those that came to meet him, who appear as two men in white apparel,
bright and glittering; for they know, according to the duty of their place,
that they are really serving Christ when they are ministering to his servants
on earth. Now we are told what the angels said to them, 1. To check their
curiosity: You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? He
calls them men of Galilee, to put them in mind of the rock out of which
they were hewn. Christ had put a great honour upon them, in making them
his ambassadors; but they must remember that they are men, earthen vessels,
and men of Galilee, illiterate men, looked upon with disdain. Now, say
they, "Why stand you here, like Galileans, rude and unpolished men, gazing
up into heaven? What would you see? You have seen all that you were called
together to see, and why do you look any further? Why stand you gazing,
as men frightened and perplexed, as men astonished and at their wits' end?"
Christ's disciples should never stand at a gaze, because they have a sure
rule to go by, and a sure foundation to build upon. 2. To confirm their
faith concerning Christ's second coming. Their Master had often told them
of this, and the angels are sent at this time seasonably to put them in
mind of it: "This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, and
whom you are looking thus long after, wishing you had him with you again,
is not gone for ever; for there is a day appointed in which he will come
in like manner thence, as you have seen him go thither, and you must not
expect him back till that appointed day." (1.) "This same Jesus shall come
again in his own person, clothed with a glorious body; this same Jesus,
who came once to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, will appear
a second time without sin (Heb. ix. 26, 28), who came once in disgrace
to be judged, will come again in glory to judge. The same Jesus who has
given you your charge will come again to call you to an account how you
have performed your trust; he, and not another," Job xix. 27. (2.) "He
shall come in like manner. He is gone away in a cloud, and attended with
angels; and, behold, he comes in the clouds, and with him an innumerable
company of angels! He is gone up with a shout and with the sound of a trumpet
(Ps. xlvii. 5), and he will descend from heaven with a shout and with the
trump of God, 1 Thess. iv. 16. You have now lost the sight of him in the
clouds and in the air; and whither he is gone you cannot follow him now,
but shall then, when you shall be caught up in the clouds, to meet the
Lord in the air." When we stand gazing and trifling, the consideration
of our Master's second coming should quicken and awaken us; and, when we
stand gazing and trembling, the consideration of it should comfort and
encourage us.
