The Ascension. Luke was a physician. In both his gospel and his historical book, he addresses them to a Greek individual: Theophilus.

Transcription

1 The Ascension Following the resurrection of Jesus, He spent 40 days meeting with His disciples and showing that He was physically resurrected from the grave. He demonstrated that He was not an aberration but truly human and in a physical body. He ate with them, talked with them, and functioned in every way like a normal human. Forty days Jesus showed the world that He lived again. The Sanhedrin had called Jesus a blasphemer, and others claimed His miracles were of the devil but His 40 days in Jerusalem and surrounding areas, being seen by multitudes, was scarcely disputed. The contemporary Jewish historian Josephus referred to it, as did other writers. Two generations later, the writer Eusebius interviewed many people who had known people who saw Jesus during these days, told of miracles, even cited sermons and letters of the risen Jesus. Jesus had been preparing His disciples for the fact that He would be leaving them to return to heaven. There are several times that Jesus mentioned this even before His crucifixion. Luke records the events surrounding the ascension in two places. Luke was a physician. In both his gospel and his historical book, he addresses them to a Greek individual: Theophilus. Let us first read the end of the gospel of Luke where he records the return of Jesus to heaven. It is found in Luke 24 and we will begin reading at the 44 th verse. Now He said to them, These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses 1

2 and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God. (Luke 24:44-53 NASB) Just imagine standing near someone and watching them levitate off the ground and continue to rise until they were no longer visible. We would be astonished. Dumbfounded might better describe how we would feel. Perhaps when their minds were opened, they were able to understand this vanishing of Jesus. Luke tells us that the disciples continued to worship God. Luke continues to write to his friend Theophilus as we open our Bibles to the first chapter of Acts and begin reading about the history of the early church. The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded 2

3 them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, Which, He said, you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. (Acts 1:1-11 NASB) Jesus had returned to His heavenly home. He had returned to the realm of glory from which He had come initially. Paul tells us in his letter to the church in Philippi: Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8 NASB) 3

4 Thus, when Jesus had completed the mission of bringing salvation, grace and mercy from God, He returned to His rightful place. The ascension is the natural conclusion of the mission of Jesus. Is there a significance to the ascension for us today? In Luke s account, that we just read, the ascension of Jesus has a promise: This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. Paul alludes to this promise in his letter to the church at Corinth when he talks about the resurrection. He becomes very clear in his letter to the church in Thessalonica: For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NASB) Let s read from Paul s letter to the Ephesians and see what Paul describes about the ascension of Jesus. We will be reading in Ephesians the first chapter beginning at verse 15. For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart (or being) may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of 4

5 His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:15-23 NASB) Paul tells us that God wants us to know the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. Over and over again, we read various descriptions of heaven. The pictures are of beautiful streams of water, gold appointments, precious gem stones, and regal courts with the king of glory surrounded by adoring worshipers. Does this mean that heaven is actually filled with these trapping of wealth? Perhaps not. However, it is pictured in this fashion so that we may catch a glimpse of the heavenly realm and picture it in terms that we might understand. In this passage, Paul also tells us about the power of God. God has demonstrated for us, the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. How did God demonstrate His power? He raised Him (Jesus) from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. The hope we have in the ascension is that we will share in the glory of Jesus. We will share in the realm that is beyond anything that we could imagine. God has given to Jesus all authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. 5

6 The story of the ascension is one of victory, glory and honor. In the scene of Jesus being lifted from the earth into the heavens, we see the majesty and power of our God. We see the hope of our salvation as we await our time to be united with Jesus in heavenly places. Let us pray. 6