It was a relief and a dream come true for the Apostles to see their Master again. Few weeks ago their Master was crucified for committing no crime. But he foretold them of these things, but they were not attentive enough to know. They were living in the moment when they followed Jesus around. Now here they are with the Master Himself. What a joy it might have been for them to see their Master resurrect from the dead!

Seeing that all the promises of God have come true in the life of their Master, they were filled with joy. Most importantly, seeing that Jesus is resurrected and is given all power over all creation (Matthew 28:18), they asked a question with the expectation of an affirmative answer. Luke puts it this way,

“When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” ~ Acts 1:6

The disciples were concerned about their nation like anyone would. The asked this question with the expectation that Jesus would say “YES”. To their ultimate surprise the Master said,

“It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” ~ Acts 1:7

Jesus did not give them a “yes” or “no” answer. He simply told them that it is not in their place to know the times and the seasons, because these belong to the Father.

Notice here that the disciples were not filled with the Holy Spirit at this point in time. It seems like our generation of Christians are like the disciples of the pre-Holy Spirit. They are worried about the end of time and when all the prophecies in the Bible would be fulfilled. But when the disciples were empowered by Jesus they knew their place. They knew that their job was to preach the gospel to all nations and baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost [Matt. 28:19-20].

Brethren, the message of Jesus is eternal, which means that it applies to us today too. Jesus is telling us not be worried about the times and seasons. There are many Christians who are pre-occupied with the times and seasons to the extent that they forgot that the ultimate commandment of preaching the message of salvation to every soul. Let us make ourselves available to the Holy Ghost to use to fulfill our missions as Christians. Let us forget about things such as “when is the world ending?” because this should not be our concern. Our concern should be to reach as many people as possible with the message of salvation, which is based on Jesus as preached by the Apostles when they were empowered.

May the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the Communion of the Holy Ghost be with you!