The Ascension- Pentecost Connection
He said to them, “This is what is written and so it must be: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24:46–48)
Ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and gave them the ability to speak in different languages so that three thousand people could be added to the church on that day. We call that day Pentecost. On Pentecost, we celebrate the Holy Spirit descending on the disciples and giving them the ability to witness to other people about Jesus.
And we can’t talk about Ascension without referencing Pentecost, because, at his ascension, Jesus promised the disciples that Pentecost would happen. The two go hand in hand. They are connected. At Ascension, Jesus promised that he would send the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit would remind the disciples of Jesus’ words and actions and make them witnesses to the events of Jesus’ life. At the ascension, Jesus commissioned his disciples to go out into the world. At Pentecost, the Spirit sent them out.
Ascension means the same thing for us. Jesus has commissioned us to go out into the world and be his witnesses as well. But we don’t have to wait ten days for the Holy Spirit to come to us and make us witnesses. He is already at work in us. He convicts us of our sins and reminds us of the forgiveness of sins that we have through Jesus’ death and resurrection. And he gives us the ability to share that good news with all nations, starting with those we know and meet. He makes us witnesses to these great things from the beginning of our faith, until the end, when we meet Jesus face to face. Amen.
The song for today is “We Are Witnesses” by The Talleys