Why Do You Stand Gazing Into Heaven?
Sept. 29, 2025
Acts picks up where the Gospel of Luke ends: with Jesus’ ascension. Before departing, Jesus instructs His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. Their response, however, reveals their lingering misunderstanding. They ask whether Jesus will now restore the kingdom to Israel, expecting a political or national restoration. Jesus redirects their focus, emphasizing that the timing of such events is not their concern. Instead, He gives them a mission: to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
As Jesus ascends, the disciples are left staring into the sky. Two angels appear, gently rebuking them: “Why do you stand gazing into heaven?” (Acts 1:11). This question is not merely a critique of their inaction but a reminder of the task ahead. The disciples, like many of us, needed a nudge to shift from wonder to work. The angels’ words echo a recurring theme in the Gospels where Jesus often chastises His followers for their lack of faith or understanding. Here, the implication is clear: stop looking up and start moving out. The mission is urgent, and it begins now. The disciples Jesus chose for this mission were not the elite of their day. They were ordinary men and far from polished. Fishermen, a tax collector, and a zealot made up this motley crew. They were not powerful, eloquent, or influential. Acts later describes them as uneducated, their speech betraying their lack of formal training (4:13). Even after spending years with Jesus, they remained spiritually ignorant in many ways, as evidenced by their questions to Jesus.
Yet, Jesus entrusted these ordinary men with an extraordinary mission. Their lack of credentials did not disqualify them; instead, it highlighted Jesus’ confidence in their potential through the power of the Holy Spirit. This choice underscores a profound truth: God often calls the unlikely to accomplish His purposes. The disciples’ ordinariness reminds us that the mission is not reserved for the extraordinary but for all who follow Jesus.
The mission Jesus gave was staggering in its scope: to be witnesses of His resurrection in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. This commission combines identity with purpose. Without a mission, the church risks becoming a social club, focused on comfort rather than outreach. Without a clear identity as followers of Jesus, the church could devolve into just another nonprofit organization. Both elements, identity and mission, are essential for the church to fulfill its calling.
The mission unfolds in expanding spheres, beginning in Jerusalem, where the disciples were at that moment. This starting point emphasizes the importance of beginning where you are. The mission then extends to Judea and Samaria, regions familiar to the disciples but marked by cultural and religious tension. Jews and Samaritans were divided by deep-seated ethnic, regional, and ideological differences. For Jews, Samaria was a place to avoid, often bypassed by taking longer routes to maintain separation. Yet, Jesus deliberately included both Judea and Samaria in the same breath, signaling that His mission transcends human divisions.
The inclusion of Judea and Samaria together is particularly striking. These regions were not sequential stops but parallel ones, challenging the disciples to bridge divides that seemed insurmountable. In today’s terms, this is akin to ministering to opposing groups, Republicans and Democrats for example, or communities divided by race, ideology, or history. Jesus’ call to go to both Judea and Samaria dismantles the notion of choosing sides. The Gospel is for all, and the mission requires engaging with those on every side of human conflict.
The final stage, “the ends of the earth,” pushes the mission into uncharted territory. For these disciples, who had likely never ventured beyond their small region, this was a daunting call. Samaria was exotic enough; the ends of the earth represented people, places, and cultures they could scarcely imagine. Jesus was sending them to people who thought differently, lived differently, and might even be hostile to their message. This global scope underscores the universal nature of the Gospel, which is for all people, regardless of background or belief.
While the mission in Acts 1:8 was given specifically to the apostles, it extends to all followers of Jesus. The Great Commission, as articulated in Matthew 28:19-20, is a call for every believer to make disciples of all nations. The success of the apostles’ mission is evident in the spread of Christianity over 2,000 years, reaching us today. Yet, the mission remains unfinished. It is not a task completed in a day, a year, or even a lifetime. Like the parable of the talents, the disciples were first entrusted with a little before being given more. The mission unfolds in steps, beginning where we are and expanding outward.
For the disciples, Jerusalem was their starting point. For us, it might be our families, workplaces, or communities. The mission requires us to engage with those around us, even those who differ from us in profound ways. It calls us to step into uncomfortable spaces, to take risks, and to trust that the Holy Spirit will empower us, just as it did the apostles.
The angels’ question, “Why do you stand gazing into heaven?” is as relevant today as it was then. It challenges us to move beyond passive faith or endless contemplation and to actively live out the mission Jesus has given us. The ordinary disciples became instruments of extraordinary change through the Holy Spirit. Their success wasn’t due to their own abilities but to God’s power working through them.
As believers, we are called to the same mission. We may feel inadequate, unqualified, or overwhelmed by the scope of the task. Yet, Jesus’ choice of ordinary disciples reminds us that He equips those He calls. The mission begins where we are, extends to those around us, and reaches across divides to the ends of the earth. It is a call to take risks, to bridge gaps, and to share the hope of the resurrection with a world in need.