THE AWESOME RETURN OF JESUS

Acts 1:9-11 ... "And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them; and they also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.'"

      Having completed the mission upon which God the Father had sent Him, Jesus bade His disciples farewell on the top of Mt. Olivet and then ascended in a cloud to take again His seat on the right hand of God in heaven.The disciples seem not to have anticipated this event. With great wonder they stood and "gazed intently into the sky" as Jesus gradually rose higher and higher on the cloud, becoming smaller and smaller in their vision, until finally they could no longer make out His form in the tiny point of space where they last saw Him. Nevertheless, even after He had disappeared they continued to stand gazing up into the sky. Perhaps they did not at first notice the "two men in white clothing" who stood beside them. Without doubt these "men" were in fact angels from heaven sent to attend this awesome event and make the announcement, "This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come again in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven." This is a revelation of utmost importance, not alone to Christians who believe and welcome it, but also to unbelievers who dismiss it as nothing more than a pious fable. But Jesus will come again some day and interrupt human activity in a supremely dramatic way. The challenge to every one of us is to take this news seriously and make real, effective preparations for that day of His return.

      What will that day be like, the terminal day of earth existence when time becomes eternity?  This writer would not dare try to describe it in his own words. What do I, or any other human, no matter how erudite, know about it? Since it has not yet happened, no one has experienced it and is thereby able to inform others of its nature. The only information we have about it is what has been revealed by the One who will cause it to come to pass and who alone knows what it shall be like. He has given us a brief sketch of its events in I Ths. 4:16-17, "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord."

      This appearance of Jesus on that day will be a worldwide event, captivating the attention of every person on earth. We are assured in Rev. 1:7, "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him." Jesus' "shout" as He descends from heaven shall probably concern what He proclaimed in Jno. 5:28-29, "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice and shall come forth; those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment."

      The reader will note in the many proclamations of Jesus' return the repeated use of the verb "to come." Early Christians paid special attention to it and began to refer to Jesus as "the Coming One." Since most of them spoke Greek until the fourth century, this title was to them HO ERCHOMENOS. This is a participle form of the verb erchomai, "to come." As Christianity spread into more distant countries that spoke "barbarian," (non-Greek), this designation of Jesus was lost. He was called by the names and titles we now commonly use, which, of course, are Biblical and proper. But in the New Testament Jesus is also called "the Coming One," emphasizing the certainty of His return. 

      My friend, where do YOU want to be when Jesus returns? If He should come while I am still living, I want Him to find me wearing His name in honor, active in His service, and making the best preparation I can for His appearance. If I am dead and in the grave when He returns, I want to be found "asleep in Jesus," and hearing His call to "Come forth!," to arise unto a new life. As the saints gather about Jesus in the sky above, I want to be right there among them. I feel sorry for people who refuse to give their allegiance to Christ, because they will be left behind on the earth doomed to destruction. How tragic to have reality forced into your face on that Last Day, when the opportunity to yield your soul to Jesus has been forever lost.

AND WHAT ABOUT THIS MAN?

Jno. 21:21-22 "Peter therefore seeing Him said to Jesus, 'Lord, and what about this man?' And Jesus said to him, 'If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.'"

      Between Jesus' resurrection and His ascension back into heaven was the space of about 40 days. During this time He made several appearances to selected disciples, most of which are cataloged by Paul in I Cor. 15:5-8. John concludes the account of Jesus' ministry with one of these appearances. Some of the apostles had returned to their former work as fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. After toiling all day and all night without a catch, they were returning to shore when they saw a man standing on the beach. Asking about their catch, and being told that they had had no luck, the man told them to let down their net one more time on the right side of the boat. Doing as he said, they were amazed when suddenly their net was filled with so many fish they were unable to draw it back into the boat. Instead, they hauled the net the remaining 300 feet to the beach. Realizing the event was a miracle, they were at once convinced that the man on shore was not a mere man; he was, in fact, THE MAN, their Lord Jesus Christ.

      After eating breakfast with Him, the apostles had an interesting conversation with Jesus. Three times He asked Peter, "Do you love Me?" And three times Peter replied, "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You." Then Jesus said to Peter, "When you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go," (v.18). With these words Jesus prophesied that Peter would end his life as a martyr for Him, for John then explains, "This He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God," (v.19). Peter was not a little disturbed by this forecast that his life would end in violence because of his discipleship. And he responded in a most natural, human way. It is said that misery loves company; no one wants to suffer alone. Turning about and seeing John, he asked Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?"

      Apparently, Peter thought, if tragedy would end his life of Christian witness, a similar fate should await John. After all, they had been, and would continue to be, the more prominent of the apostles. An announcement that martyrdom lay in store for John would have somewhat blunted for Peter the awful statement by Jesus that he would be sacrificed. Most of us would have responded very much as Peter did, had we been in his place. Do we not, when tragedies overtake us, seek out "support groups" of people who have suffered, or perhaps are yet suffering, the same distress as we?

      Jesus' reply to Peter conveys an important lesson to us. Looking him in the eye with kindness and sympathy, but also with a firm rebuke, Jesus said, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?" That is, if He chose to prolong John's life throughout the Christian Age until His return, it was none of Peter's concern. Peter's business was comprehended in Jesus' final three words, "You follow Me." The Lord wanted Peter to concentrate his attention on the task of following Him, and not let himself be distracted by what was, or was not, happening in the lives of other disciples. The same lesson applies to every Christian. So often we begin to fret because another's situation seems to be more favored than our own. Then we feel disappointed that our fidelity and service seem to have been overlooked. At other times we notice that hardships come upon us which have bypassed other Christians, and we begin to wonder why we should suffer while others enjoy peace and security. In Jesus' answer to Peter we are advised not to question such things but rather to focus attention upon following our Lord.