Sunday Read: Four Days Before Ascension - The Final Preparation
Four days from now (May 14, 2026), we'll observe Ascension Thursday, marking Jesus's return to the Father forty days after his resurrection. You're living in the same countdown the first disciples experienced - the final days of Jesus's physical presence before he ascended to heaven and sent the promised Spirit.
These final days must have carried mixed emotions. The disciples had Jesus back after the devastation of crucifixion. He'd appeared repeatedly, eaten with them, taught them, and proved beyond doubt that resurrection was real. But he'd also told them he was leaving again - this time ascending to the Father. They'd experienced loss (crucifixion), restoration (resurrection), and now faced another departure (ascension). How do you prepare to lose someone you just got back?
Jesus used these forty days intentionally. Acts 1:3 tells us "he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God." These weren't casual appearances or accidental encounters. Jesus systematically proved his resurrection was physical and real, then taught comprehensively about the kingdom. Every appearance had purpose. Every teaching built toward what came next.
The disciples still misunderstood crucial things. Even at the ascension, they asked: "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). After three years of ministry, witnessing miracles, hearing teaching, experiencing crucifixion and resurrection, and receiving forty days of additional instruction - they still thought Jesus was establishing political kingdom in their lifetime. Jesus patiently redirected them yet again: the kingdom operates differently than they imagined, on a timeline they couldn't predict, through means they didn't expect.
This should encourage anyone who feels like they're slow to learn spiritual truth. The disciples had unprecedented access - direct teaching from Jesus, front-row seats to miracles, personal explanation of parables, forty days of post-resurrection instruction. And they still got major things wrong. If the first disciples struggled to understand despite optimal circumstances, you shouldn't beat yourself up for struggling with less direct access. Spiritual understanding develops gradually, through repeated teaching, patient correction, and the Spirit's illumination.
Jesus's final command was to wait: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised" (Acts 1:4). This required trust. They wanted to act - start the mission, change the world, fulfill the Great Commission. But Jesus said wait. Not forever, but "in a few days" (Acts 1:5). Still, waiting without knowing exactly when tests patience. Is it tomorrow? Next week? How long should we wait before assuming the promise won't come?
The promise was the Holy Spirit: "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" (Acts 1:8). Everything they'd been commissioned to do depended on power they didn't yet have. The mission was impossible without the Spirit. So they had to wait for empowerment before attempting execution.
This is still God's pattern. He gives vision before provision, assignment before empowerment, command before ability. Abraham received promise of descendants before Isaac was born. Moses received commission to free Israel before God parted the Red Sea. David was anointed king years before taking the throne. The disciples were commissioned to make disciples before receiving the Spirit's power. God consistently calls people to tasks they can't accomplish without divine intervention, then provides intervention on his timeline.
As you live these four days before Ascension Thursday, consider what you're waiting for. What promise has God made that hasn't been fulfilled yet? What vision has he given that seems impossible with current resources? What command have you received that you can't obey without power you don't possess? The disciples waited in Jerusalem, praying together, preparing together, trusting that God would fulfill his promise when the time was right. You can do the same.
The ascension was necessary prerequisite for the Spirit's coming. Jesus had to return to the Father before the Spirit could come to believers. This seemed like loss but was actually gain - trading localized physical presence for universal spiritual presence. The disciples couldn't see this yet. From their perspective, they were losing Jesus again. But they trusted his promise that something better was coming. Four days from now, he would leave. Ten days after that, the Spirit would come. The waiting served purpose they didn't fully understand but would eventually experience.
