Acts 1:9-12 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.… I. THE LORD WAS TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN. 1. Fact of the ascension: stated here (Luke 24.; Acts 1.) 2. Also implied — e.g., John 6:62; John 20:17. 3. And in Acts and Epistles asserted — e.g., Ephesians 4:10; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 3:22. Also in the Acts and Epistles, implied passim (the Saviour being ever referred to as living, invisible, glorified, and to come again from heaven). See, e.g., Acts 7:55, 56; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:16. 4. (1) An absolute miracle. (2) And also a consoling and teaching truth, in what it says of the reality of heaven and as aiding us in grasping that reality (Colossians 3:1). Heaven is where He is. II. HE SAT ON THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. 1. The metaphor (from an Oriental throne, a seat admitting more than one occupant) implies the share of the incarnate Lord in the supreme glory — more than mere nearness to it. 2. See in support of this, Revelation 22:1, etc. ("throne of God and of the Lamb"); and especially John 17:5 (where N.B. that "with Thine own self" is παρὰ σεαυτῷ, "by Thine own side"; and so at the end of the verse, τῇ ἱόξῃ εἰχον πρὸ τοῦ κόσμον εἶναι παρά σοι). 3. Reflect — "the Son of Man (Acts 7:55) is at the right hand of God." Not only is Christ there as God the Son (John 1:1, etc.), but as man — as Jesus (Acts 1:11; Hebrews 4:14). What a pledge for His brethren (John 17:24, etc.). III. AFTER THAT HE HAD SPOKEN TO THEM. 1. Merciful prelude. The clear, spoken revelation given before the mysterious removal. We see Him not (1 Peter 1:8), but He has spoken — (1) In human speech. (2) In visible life. (3) In atoning death (see Hebrews 12:24). 2. Application of this and the whole ascension truth (John 17:13). He has spoken. He is there. (H. C. G. Moule, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. |
    |