P. Derek Overfield PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

Our examination of the ascension account
in Acts 1:9-11 indicates quite positively that it is
of Lucan composition but at the same time it is a
composition that owes its being ultimately to two
pieces of early Church tradition.
The identification
of these pieces of tradition greatly assists us in
our understanding of the purpose of the ascension as
it is portrayed in Acts 1.
Luke has composed Acts
1:6-11 in an attempt to answer the two questions
'Why did the Christophanies end?'; 'Why does the
end not come?,.83
Luke's answer stresses two differing
aspects of .his theology:
the ascension has marked
the final separation between the historical Jesus
3.nd the Chllrch 84 but at the same tir.,e emphasises that
the Church, in its new role as the agent of mission,
is still in continuity with Jesus who now himself
occupies a new role - that of the exalted Lord who
will at some future time return to the world. 8S
. 4. THE TRADITIONSGESCHICHTE & TWO TESTIMONIA
We have already seen that the basic
traditions involved in the ascension theology of
Eph 1:20-23 are those associated with Ps 109:1 and
Ps 8:6.
It is to these traditions that we now turn
our attention.
Our concern at this point is to
examine the use made of each tradition in both the
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