March 26.
The Benediction

Acts 1:9

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

Jesus came to the Mount of Olives. Mount Olive is where Jesus would go and pray all night. Mount Olive is where Jesus preached his installation sermon to his disciples and where Jesus continued teach them. So Mount Olive was the classroom of Jesus, the closet where He prayed, and the pulpit where He preached. It was more than fitting for Him to leave from Mount Olive. Luke closes his book with Jesus giving the Benediction. You should not run from the Benediction. Benedictions are important. Benedictions are designed to bless the saints of God until we meet again. You don’t know what might happen between one worship service and the next. So many things can happen in that time. So we need the prayer of the Benediction.

A lot of important things happened on a lot of mountains. For instance, it was Mount Ararat where the ark landed when the flood was over. It was Mount Sinai where Moses received the written law. It was Mount Pisgah where God showed Moses the Promised Land. It was Mount Nebo where God buried Moses. It was Mount Carmel where Elijah went and challenged the God that answers by fire. It was Mount Herman where Jesus was transfigured, where His divinity out shined his humanity. It was Mount Calvary where He died and said, “It is finished.”

Jesus’ hands were lifted. Then clouds hovered low to serve as his chariot. When He was through talking, He was taken up. Then angels stood by the disciples and said, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11) It is good to wait around for the benediction.