Where Did Jesus Go? What Do We Do? Questions while Following Jesus from the Edges.

Following Jesus From the Edges

WHERE DID HE GO? WHAT DO WE DO?

Pastor Calvin Cook

May 15, 2026

Scripture Focus: Acts 1:3–9

There are moments in life when everything changes in an instant.

A loved one passes away. A child leaves home. A certain season ends. A door closes. A new calling begins. And in those moments, one question rises in our hearts:

“Now what?”

That is exactly where the disciples found themselves in Acts 1. For forty days after the resurrection, Jesus walked with them again. He taught them, encouraged them, ate with them, and gave them “many convincing proofs” that He was alive. They had seen the cross, the empty tomb, and now the resurrected Savior standing before them.

And then… He ascended into heaven.

Can you imagine the silence as they stood staring into the clouds? I can almost hear one of them whisper, “Where did He go?” while another quietly asks, “What do we do now?”

Those same questions still echo through our lives today.

The disciples had spent years physically following Jesus. They walked roads together, listened to His voice, watched miracles unfold, and depended on His visible presence. But now something was changing. Jesus was preparing them to move from seeing Him physically to walking with Him spiritually through the power of the Holy Spirit.

That transition was not easy for them, and it is not easy for us either.

We often want faith to remain predictable and comfortable. We want visible answers, familiar routines, and immediate direction. Yet the ascension reminds us that even when Jesus is no longer visible in the ways we expect, He is still present and still working.

So what were the disciples supposed to do after the ascension?

They had options: They could stand still staring into the sky. They could return to their old lives. They could allow fear and uncertainty to silence them. They could isolate themselves in disappointment.

But Jesus had already told them what to do.

Wait for the promise of the Father. Receive the Holy Spirit. Become His witnesses.

The ascension was not Jesus abandoning His people. It was Jesus preparing them for greater dependence upon the Holy Spirit and a greater mission than they had ever imagined.

The same is true for us today.

When seasons change, we have choices too. We can remain stuck asking where the old season went, or we can step forward trusting where God is leading next. We can stay frozen in fear, or we can move in faith. We can cling to comfort, or we can embrace calling. Jesus may have ascended into heaven, but His mission did not end. Through the Holy Spirit, He still calls ordinary people to carry extraordinary hope into a hurting world.

So perhaps the better question is not, “Where did He go?”

Perhaps the real question is: “Will we go where He sends us?” Will we remember “thy will be done”.