Promise Of Position

And He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. Acts 1: 7

It is Jesus’ final assembly with His disciples, before He ascends back to heaven, never again to know an assembly with them in the Risen Body. Jesus has been, for the past thirty-nine days, presenting Himself to the disciples in all different situations and circumstances. His mission during those weeks was two-fold. He schooled and fully educated them on their positions on two important matters, on which everything hinged, as He was about to leave them in flesh and bones.

The first crucial, stabilizing and infallible truth is that He did not rise from the grave as a spirit or ghost. He ensured that they had Him positioned correctly in their minds and hearts, to know right living with Him. When Jesus went to them, after His Resurrection, they were, beholding, handling and experiencing a flesh and bones Master and Lord, Jesus. He did everything that was needed for them to be dead convinced that He was indeed living, risen from the dead. He was not a spirit or ghost, but a living body of flesh and bones. He made sure to straighten out that deadly, grave and lethal misunderstanding of their minds. They saw their Risen Lord, but they were terrified and frightened, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. Luke 24: 37. Immediately Jesus did not just correct them with His words, but He convinced them in a three-step invitation, where He told them to:-

Behold Me

Handle Me

Watch Me eat your food.

Jesus wanted them to see, prove and know for themselves, on their own infallible, and undeniable findings, the whole truth about Him and His true status and position with them, as being raised from the dead. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. Luke 24: 39b

The second crucial, stabilizing and infallible truth was just as chilling and destructive as the first. They knew and believed that Jesus was not a mere apparition before them. Jesus had convincingly proven to them that He was a Person with flesh and bones, and this excited them to the point that they put Him in a wrong position, becoming all ready and willing to be His soldiers. Their Risen Saviour and Lord, Israel’s Consolation has overcome and in this victory time they are ready, anxiously waiting and anticipating Israel’s restoration. Indeed, full of renewed vigour and readiness, this is how they placed and positioned Jesus in their minds. Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Acts 1: 6. Jesus immediately straightens them out and educates them on their grave error. The question exposed their utter ignorance of their victorious, conquering Master as Messiah and Ruler, and the work to be done. 

This is no simple, ordinary, self-fixing error. This is just as lethal and deadly, and perhaps even more so, than them placing and thinking that He was a ghost and becoming afraid. Now they position Him as Israel’s Mighty King and void of fear, fright and timidity, are ready to fight with Him to restore Israel. Jesus’ final farewell words consist of straightening out, and completely erasing that deadly, grave and lethal misunderstanding of their minds. He implanted truth, which brought them down to His reality, positioning them in the place they ought to be, in mind, heart and spirit. Without even letting them think another false thought, Jesus told them, It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.

Believers in our Ascended Lord Jesus, let us forever and always look to Jesus with un-expiring hope that He will always remove us from our ignorance about Him. Let us know with confidence and assurance that He will quickly move us from any erroneous position we may have with Him and us.  

Believe! Give praise and thanks that we are not a people of false positions.