Acts 1:4-11 & John 16:19-24 Scripture Study
By Pastor Chris Simmons – Trinity Lutheran Church, Paso Robles CA
A reinforcement/supplement study to our Sunday service meant for “Building up the body of Christ… the manifold Wisdom of God made known” (Ephesians 4+3)
For Sunday May 25, 2025
Our word of this week is “Wait”! It’s not a word we use a lot in today's culture, nor is it one we care to hear often! We are people that don’t like to wait. If you’ve ever seen the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory the selfish and entitled little girl Veruca Salt says “Don’t care how, I want it now!” In a world of fast food, fast cars, and fast on demand entertainment, the skill of waiting doesn’t seem relevant anymore… Simultaneously, we often “wait” for the wrong reasons. We have “decision paralysis” because we are afraid of doing something wrong or dread the amount of work and responsibility it would take to do it well. Hillel, a first- century Jewish scholar, has this famous quote “If not you, then who? If not now, then when?” We often wait without answering those questions, and in neglect just hope for things to go away. As the saying goes, we are caught “between a rock and a hard place”. Do we wait or do we go? Well, the answer is... Both! Let’s unpack that with the Ascension of Jesus. Prayers for a blessed study.
Prayers for a blessed study.
Pastor Chris Simmons.
Discuss: Which is harder for you, to “Wait” or to “Go”? Do you more easily wait and suffer from decision paralysis, or do you impulsively and impatiently go and act?
Acts 1:4-11
4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “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.”
Jesus tells the disciples of His impending Ascension and promises that they will not be abandoned by sending them the Holy Spirit. Last week in John 16, Jesus told His disciples about what life would look like between the crucifixion and the resurrection… Yet we can apply it here between His Ascension and his second coming.
John 16
“Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy…. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
There will be grief, we will weep and mourn… but that will not last. Even if the “prince of this world” (a reference to Satan in John 14, John 12, Ephesians 2) will rejoice for a time, it will not last. Our sorrow will turn to an eternal joy for all who believe in Christ Jesus, and that can never be taken away. So, we struggle now… and in that struggle it can be hard to see where God is in all of this chaos and confusion.
We are stuck in this realm of the “Now and Not Yet”. Here is how Martin Luther explains it. We have been redeemed, and we are being redeemed continually. We have received adoption and are still receiving it. We have been made sons of God, and we are and shall be sons. The Spirit has been sent, is being sent, and will be sent. We learn, and we shall learn.
With this concept of “Now, and Not Yet.” God has given forgiveness, life, and salvation. We have and live in that NOW “I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Where there is faith, which clings to the promise of God’s Word, there is eternal life, even though we still experience “death”. That’s why we note the “Not Yet” because Not Yet is there no more sorrow, no more pain, no more dying (Revelation 21:4) Jesus still promises to return and fulfill that promise. Hence, we live in between… we live in the NOW and NOT YET.
Discuss: How does learning about the “Now and Not Yet” help you with everyday living? How does it help you grow in faith?
In the same way we live in the “now and not yet” we also live in a world full of “wait and go”. Jesus gives the disciples a mission, a great commission outline in Matthew 28:
“18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
We see Jesus Words “therefore go” that's an “imperative”, meaning “an authoritative command”. So, we should “GO” right… Yet we see here later in Acts at Jesus Ascension Acts 1: 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.”
We see the command “Do not leave” therefore we should “wait”. So, as followers of Jesus today, when is it the right time to “wait” and when is it the right time to “go”?
A better question to ask would be “Why do we wait"? And “why do we go”?
Discuss: What situations and circumstances in life are good to wait?
Although commanded to wait, you also see the disciples being chastised for “waiting around”. Acts 1:11 “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.”
This indicates that simply waiting around and looking into the sky is not a good thing. As we wait, it’s important to wait with purpose, not out of neglect.
That leads us to our Gospel reading for this week.
Luke 24:44-53
44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Discuss: What task does Jesus give to the disciples? With what promise? How must they have felt? Why does Jesus tell the disciples here to wait?
I remember what it was like growing up in Chicago. Every day I had to walk to school, ever since my second day of kindergarten. I loved school, and was always eager to leave and someone, be it my sister or mom, would yell “WAIT, don’t forget your coat!”. Being a teenager and about to go out with my friends, my grandpa would say “WAIT! Come here and give me a hug… I love you”. In these circumstances, the word WAIT means… you’re not prepared to go. You need a jacket, or you need the assurance of someone who loves you. “WAIT, there is something you need.”
There is a lot of language in these passages, speaking as if we are called to wait until something is “put on” like an article of clothing.
Luke 24:49
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luther makes note of this verse and says, “It’s as if he would say “I’ll place armor on you that will withstand every shot” (AE 54:149)
Discuss: What are some things you make sure you “put on” before leaving the house? Is it a jacket? Shoes? Maybe a hug or kiss from a loved one? What is important about “waiting and being prepared”?
Proverbs 3:11-4
1 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.
3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
The Old Testament has the same sentiment. Be sure to put on love and faithfulness, be clothed with power from on high… THEN go.
When we do wait, we wait not idly, but with a purpose. To be equipped, to be ready, to be motivated by the Spirit to move forward with a Godly perspective and a Godly mission.
I have this quote written on my white board in my office from Hillel, a first- century Jewish scholar, "If not you then who? If not now, then when?"
For me, it’s a reminder not to be idle, we are called to “Go” after all. Yet when we are called to “wait” we wait with purpose. Seeking God’s will, God’s wisdom, seeking others who can help or walk alongside the mission of Trinity. That I am the one who is called GO, but also to GO with Wisdom.
Discuss: How would you explain and apply “If not you then who? If not now, then when”?
We see a few more examples of waiting in Scripture, both the Old Testament and the New.
Romans 8:18-19
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
Psalm 27:13-14
13 I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 62:5-7
5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
We wait in eager expectations, yet we also go. We are living in the Now and Not Yet… We are equipped and still being equipped, redeemed and still being redeemed. My encouragement is that while we wait or while we go, we do it with the perspective that we are redeemed children of God in Christ Jesus. By His Ascension into Heaven, He rules and reigns by His mercy and grace, giving us great purpose. In that purpose, we are promised that we are never alone. Although we live in the now and not yet, caught between waiting and going, we are always in Him.
Prayer
Do you feel like you are waiting idly? How can you seek after God for encouragement to “Go”?
Do you feel you act impulsively? How can you seek after God for the encouragement to slow down and “Wait”?
“Good things come to those who wait” what are you waiting for?
“If not you, then who? If not now, then when?” Is there something on your heart or on your mind that you feel called to do? Is there a pressing issue you see that you could help with or bring others in to help?
Lord God, we are in the “Now and Not Yet” living in a world of tension where it feels like time is always getting away from us. Yet you Lord have set before us good works for us to do. We ask you for the wisdom of when to wait, and when to go. That whenever we do Go, we wait long enough to be clothed by your Spirit. Remembering the Forgiveness and Love we share in constantly because of your Son Jesus. Encourage us to repent, put on your great gifts, and go to share and teach your Gospel. We pray this all in your name Jesus. Amen.