THE GREAT COMMISSION AND ASCENSION
Embedded Files
MEMORY VERSE
MEMORY VERSE
Matthew 28:19, ESV
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
DAY 1
DAY 1
Matthew 28:16-20, NIrV
16 Then the 11 disciples went to Galilee. They went to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him. But some still had their doubts. 18 Then Jesus came to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end.”
BIBLE STUDY
Jesus came to our planet with a mission: to save us from our sins. After dying on the cross and rising from the dead, his mission was accomplished. With his work complete, Jesus stood on a mountainside and told his disciples, “I’ve been given all authority.” What did he mean? That God had placed him in charge of, well, everything! As King of Everything, Jesus gave his disciples their own mission: to go all over the world and tell the good news about him, making new disciples in every nation on earth. And if you believe the good news about Jesus, then making new disciples is your mission, too!
+ What does it mean that Jesus was given “all authority”? (vs. 18)
+ What promise did Jesus make to his disciples as they went on their mission? (vs. 20)
DAY 2
DAY 2
Luke 24:50-53, NIrV
50 Jesus led his disciples out to the area near Bethany. Then he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them. He was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him. With great joy, they returned to Jerusalem. 53 Every day they went to the temple, praising God.
BIBLE STUDY
After Jesus died on the cross for our sins, he rose from the dead, never to die again. This might make you wonder, “If Jesus is still alive, then where in the world is he?” While it would be just about the coolest thing ever to have Jesus over for dinner, the book of Luke tells us where Jesus went: up to heaven to be with his Father! This is called the “Ascension”, a word which means “to go up.” Before his disciples’ eyes, Jesus rose into the sky. He didn’t need a jet pack and he wasn’t wearing a superhero cape. He just started going up, up, up into the clouds until they didn’t see him anymore!
+ Why can’t we see Jesus here on earth if he’s still alive? (vs. 51)
+ What did the disciples do after Jesus ascended? (vs. 52)
DAY 3
DAY 3
Acts 1:1-8, NIrV
1 Theophilus, I wrote about Jesus in my earlier book. I wrote about all he did and taught 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven. Before Jesus left, he gave orders to the apostles he had chosen. He did this through the Holy Spirit. 3 After his suffering and death, he appeared to them. In many ways he proved that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days. During that time he spoke about God’s kingdom. 4 One day Jesus was eating with them. He gave them a command. “Do not leave Jerusalem,” he said. “Wait for the gift my Father promised. You have heard me talk about it. 5 John baptized with water. But in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then the apostles gathered around Jesus and asked him a question. “Lord,” they said, “are you going to give the kingdom back to Israel now?”
7 He said to them, “You should not be concerned about times or dates. The Father has set them by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.”
BIBLE STUDY
After Jesus rose from the dead, he didn’t immediately ascend into heaven. For almost six weeks, he spent time teaching and proving to his disciples that he really was the risen Son of God, not some spooky ghost! Knowing he would soon be leaving his disciples behind, Jesus made them a promise: “I will send God’s Holy Spirit to be with you from now on.” God’s Spirit would give them power to spread God's kingdom – not by fighting battles against the Romans, but by traveling to all the nations of the world. Their job was to tell everyone what they had seen: Jesus risen from the dead!
+ What did Jesus do with the disciples for 40 days? (vs. 3)
+ Where did Jesus say his disciples would be witnesses of his resurrection? (vs. 8)
DAY 4
DAY 4
Acts 1:9-11, NIRV
9 After Jesus said this, he was taken up to heaven. The apostles watched until a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 While he was going up, they kept on looking at the sky. Suddenly two men dressed in white clothing stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you into heaven. But he will come back in the same way you saw him go.”
BIBLE STUDY
The Bible books of Luke and Acts go together like two parts of a big story. That’s because they were both written by the same guy: Luke! His first book ends with Jesus ascending into heaven and his second book begins with it. In Acts, he gives us one huge new detail. As the disciples watched in wonder as their leader rose up into the sky, God sent down two angels in white robes. They had some good news to give the disciples. In the same way he had ascended and left our planet, Jesus would one day come descend down from the sky and return to earth!
+ Why were the disciples staring up at the sky? (vs. 9-10)
+ What message did the angels give to the disciples? (vs. 11)
DAY 5
DAY 5
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, NIRV
16 The Lord himself will come down from heaven. We will hear a loud command. We will hear the voice of the leader of the angels. We will hear a blast from God’s trumpet. Many who believe in Christ will have died already. They will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them. We will be taken up in the clouds. We will meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with him forever. 18 So encourage one another with these words of comfort.
BIBLE STUDY
Exactly when and how Jesus will return to earth is a mystery to us. But the Bible gives us a few clues about what will happen on that day. Paul wrote that three loud noises will signal Jesus’s return: a shout of command, the voice of an angel, and a blast of a trumpet. At that moment, all the “dead in Christ” (people who died believing the good news) will rise from the dead... just like Jesus did! After that, every believer on earth, including the ones who’d just been raised, will ascend up into the clouds... just like Jesus did! And from that moment on, we’ll be with him forever!
+ What happens to dead believers when Jesus returns? To living believers? (vs. 16-17)
+ What should we do with “these words” about Jesus returning for us? (vs. 18)
DAY 6
DAY 6
Matthew 24:36-42, NIRV
36 “But no one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows. 37 Remember how it was in the days of Noah. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 38 In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking. They were getting married. They were giving their daughters to be married. They did all those things right up to the day Noah entered the ark. 39 They knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40 Two men will be in the field. One will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill. One will be taken and the other left.
42 “So keep watch. You do not know on what day your Lord will come.
BIBLE STUDY
This week, we’ve learned why we can’t see Jesus walking around on our planet anymore – he ascended into the clouds. But we also learned that we will see him again someday. After all, the angels said he’s coming back in the same way he left! When he does, everyone who has believed the good news about Jesus, both the living and the dead, will join him in the sky. These are a few of the things we know about what will happen when Jesus comes back.
But in the very first verse we looked at today, we learned something that you and I don’t know about Jesus’ return. In fact, it’s something nobody knows except God the Father: the exact day and time when Jesus will come back! So how in the world can we be ready for Jesus to return if we don’t actually know when he’ll show up?
Jesus compared his return to one of the earliest stories in the Bible: Noah’s Ark. The people of Noah’s day were wicked, ignoring God’s commands and doing whatever they felt like. They were so good at being bad, God decided to send a great flood to wipe every human off the face of the planet. Everyone except for one family: Noah’s. To keep that family afloat as the waters rose, God instructed Noah to build an ark, a humongous boat.
But as Noah worked on his ark, the wicked people around him kept on living their lives: they ate, they drank, they got married, and, of course, they kept on sinning. When God suddenly sent the rains of the flood on the earth, these sinners were completely unprepared! Every single one of them was swept away when God’s punishment flooded the earth. The only one ready for the rain was Noah.
We are kind of like Noah. He believed a flood was coming, but he didn’t know the exact day. So he listened to God's words and built an ark to be ready when that day came. In the same way, we know that Jesus is coming back, but we don’t know the exact day. Like Noah, we need to make sure we’re ready when that day comes.
But how can we be ready for that day? Should we start building an ark like Noah? Or maybe we should be constructing airplanes or hot air balloons so we can meet Jesus in the clouds? No, the way to be ready for Jesus’ return isn’t by building: it’s by believing! Believing the good news that Jesus died to pay for our sins and rose from the dead!
Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus gave his disciples a new mission: "Go make new disciples of all the different nations on earth by telling them the good news." By working to accomplish this mission and telling others the good news about Jesus, we can be a part of helping many others be ready for the day when Jesus comes back!
+ Who is the only one who knows the day and time of Jesus’ return? (vs. 36)
+ How can we be ready for Jesus’ return?
© 2023 Andrew Doane. All rights reserved.
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