1. Acts 1:9 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What exactly happened to Jesus when he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of sight?

Acts 1:9 (ESV)

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

Jesus was lifted up by God the Father into the heavens. As a result of a cloud, he disappeared from the view of the disciples. Though some argue that the cloud is the glory cloud of the Old Testament, there is no real evidence to support this and it is more likely that a simple natural cloud hid him from their view.1 The ascension itself takes place from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12), the same place from which Jesus entered Jerusalem (Luke 19:29, Luke 19:37) and where he announced the destruction of the temple (Matthew 24:3, Matthew 24:15–28; Luke 19:41–44).