The apostles were a motley crew. Some of them were at opposite ends of the political spectrum—two of them, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, wanted to drive the Romans out of Palestine to regain independence for Palestine and one of them, Levi also called Matthew, worked for the Roman Empire collecting taxes for it. They could hardly have been further apart politically—wanting to shake off Roman power and working for Rome. One would think that after spending three years with Jesus, they would have understood that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world. Yet, at the end of those three years, some of them still did not understand Jesus’ kingdom. Presumably that is why Judas betrayed Jesus hoping that by getting Jesus into a corner, Jesus would then act to overthrow Roman domination of Palestine. How wrong Judas was.
Jesus appeared many times during the forty days after his resurrection and Luke, who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, tells us in the first reading today that Jesus taught them during those days. “He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3) One would think that having seen Jesus resurrected many times and listening to Jesus teaching them during those forty days, they would then understand that Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world and not concerned with shaking off Roman domination. But no, some of them still did not get it. As we heard in our first reading, as Jesus was about to ascend to heaven, some of the apostles asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) It would take the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost for them to understand Jesus’ kingdom. Then, with the Holy Spirit after Pentecost, their lives changed so completely that if you compare them after Pentecost to what we know of them from the Gospels, they do not look like the same people. After Pentecost, they were willing to suffer anything for Jesus and his kingdom. (See Acts 5:41)
In the Gospels, we see Peter denying Jesus but after Pentecost he preached boldly about Jesus and was not afraid of anybody. After Pentecost they were not afraid to be martyred for preaching about Jesus and they were martyred in different places around the world for preaching about Jesus: Peter was martyred in Rome; Andrew in Greece; James the Great in Jerusalem; Philip in what we now call Turkey; Bartholomew in Armenia; Matthew in Ethiopia; Thomas in India; and James the Less in Jerusalem. Before Pentecost, they knew Jesus but did not understand his kingdom while after Pentecost they understood his kingdom and were prepared to suffer martyrdom for Jesus. That is the difference the Holy Spirit makes. It is great to see the transformation in them after they understood Jesus’ kingdom. Although earlier in their lives, before Pentecost, we could say they didn’t have a clue, their lives ended well—indeed we could say their lives ended gloriously.
Many people all through the centuries have had a similar experience—knowing about Jesus but not understanding him and then growing to understand Jesus and their lives were transformed as a result. Saint Augustine pursued the intellectual life as a professor for more than a decade and was, we might say, hedonistic though he knew about Jesus from his mother who was a person of enormous faith. One day in Milan his eyes were opened as he read Sacred Scripture and his thinking was completely changed. (Confessions Book 8, Chapter 12) He gave up his hedonistic lifestyle and the following year asked to be baptized Confessions Book 9, Chapter 6) and went on to become a priest and later a bishop.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish soldier who had all sorts of worldly ambitions. His leg was injured by a cannonball and while he was recuperating, he read a book on the life of Christ and read the lives of the saints. He noticed within him that when thinking of his worldly ambitions he was not uplifted but when reading about the saints he was uplifted. So, he gave up his sword (March 1522) and eventually founded the Jesuit Order.
G.K. Chesterton, a big name in the intellectual world in Britain, gave in to agnosticism and depression during his youth and even dabbled in the occult. But he went on to understand that all the truths he had been discovering on his own were all in our Catholic doctrine handed down for two millennia. He described this breakthrough as setting out to discover an island and realizing that he had landed on his own homeland.
Just as some of the apostles still had to mature to understand Jesus after his ascension, each of us is still on a journey to understand Jesus better and his implications for our lives. All over the world there are people who know about Jesus but have not yet arrived at understanding Jesus or his implications for their lives or the world today. Our second reading today from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is a very appropriate response to the confusion of the apostles at Jesus’ ascension (Eph 1:17-23). It is also a prayer that we need to pray for ourselves and for everyone who still does not understand Jesus’ kingdom.
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory,
give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.
May the eyes of your hearts be
enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to
his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance
among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his
power
for us who believe. (Eph 1:17-19)
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2026
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Ascension of the Lord
Jesus is the measure of truth 2025
Praying for the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ Ascension 2021
Gathered around Our Lady after Jesus’ Ascension 2018
Enlightened to our calling and destiny
Year A: Students in the school of Jesus 2023
Year B: Jesus is present in his Church after his Ascension 2006
Year C: Jesus’ Ascension: Jesus with us in a new nearness 2022
Related Homilies: Waiting in prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit