It was a simple question. And I'm not too sure I wouldn't have asked a similar question. After all, they had been through a lot, and they had put a lot of hope in Jesus. For three years they followed him. There were times when things began to look up: Jesus began to get popular, gather a lot of support, and even was asked to be king at one point. But he always resisted. Then he was arrested. He was executed. And all seemed lost.
But here he was in front of him, plain as day, alive again. They knew he was the Messiah. No more denying. No more running away. And no more doubting (well, maybe just a little). Okay, they thought to themselves. Now, we get it. You proved that you are really the Messiah, so now it's time to get down to business. And so they asked the question: "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
Again, it was a simple, sensible question. But it was the wrong question. Their question put another way, was this: "Jesus, now are you going to fix everything?" Jesus' reply in Acts 1:7-8 is gracious. "It's not for you to know. But you will be used by God, who will empower you to tell everyone in the world about me."
The disciples--and their Jewish kin--had a problem. A real problem. They were God's chosen people, yet they were oppressed. It wasn't a small problem. It wasn't a petty problem. And they wanted Jesus to fix it. To make it right. But it wasn't the problem that Jesus came to fix. Certainly, part of Jesus' triumph was that he would reign with justice and peace. But the disciples, even though their problem was big, were thinking too small.
Jesus had come to reconcile the whole world to the Triune God.
We've got problems, too, you know. Real problems. Painful problems. And just like the disciples, we ask Jesus when he's going to fix them.
Lord, is this the time you'll repair my marriage?
Lord, is this the time when you'll finally heal my daughter?
Lord, is this the time when you'll help me stop feeling these desperate emotions?
Lord, is this the time when you'll stop all the violence against your followers?
Real problems. Real questions. But Jesus gently leads us in a different direction. He doesn't rebuke the disciples for their question, for how they just want things to be set right. He doesn't dismiss their pain, and he doesn't dismiss ours, either. He does, however, show us the bigger picture. All of the problems of our world are part of a deeper issue. We need to be reconciled to God. And we are the ones God plans to use in order to spread that message of reconciliation. That's the bigger picture.
Interesting pattern, isn't it? We tell God that we are eager for his healing to become a reality in this world. He responds, "Well, just when and how that will happen isn't for you to know, but I'll tell you what you do need to know: you're going to be my witness in your community and throughout the whole world." Not what I was expecting. But just what I needed to hear.
