The Ascension (Luke 24:52)

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The ascension of Jesus is obviously a very important event in the experience of the Saviour. Yet it is not an event that we think about very often. Why should the ascension interest us? An obvious answer is that anything that happened to Jesus should do so. A second answer is that in a mystical sense Christians were united to Jesus when he ascended. Believers were united to him when he died and rose again, and when he ascended. A third reason is that everyone who has gone to heaven since the ascension did so because of the ascension. It would be impossible to go to heaven if Jesus was not there.

We can see from the account in Luke that it was a moment of great joy for the disciples because they returned to the city in such a state even although Jesus had left them. Rejoicing at a departure is very unusual, so something very different must have taken place at the ascension. Their joy must have been based on a real sense of expectancy of what was going to happen because of the ascension.

Anticipation

First, the ascension was a fulfilment, we might say, of the anticipation of Jesus. Several times he told his disciples that he was going to go to heaven. We are familiar with his statement in John 14 that he would go the Father’s house to prepare places for his people. In John 13:1, we are told that one factor in his decision to wash the feet of his disciples was his awareness that he was about to return to his Father. He even mentioned it to his opponents when he said that the Son of man would return to where he was before (John 6:62).

Stage

Second, the ascension was a stage in the glorification of Jesus. We know that the life of the Saviour is divided into his humiliation and his exaltation. His humiliation ended with his burial and his exaltation commenced with his resurrection. There are four stages in his exaltation: resurrection, ascension, enthronement and future judgement of the world. The ascension is stage two. Obviously, two stages are past (resurrection and ascension), one is ongoing (enthronement) and the fourth is future (the Day of Judgement). We should look at them as being links in an unbreakable chain. Three have happened and the fourth will happen.

Carried

Luke tells us that Jesus was carried up into heaven. Luke in Acts 1:9 mentions that Jesus was lifted up, a description that is not quite as detailed as what he says in Luke 24:52. Luke’s word ‘carried’, which is in the imperfect tense, describes the process of the journey of Jesus from earth to heaven. Obviously, we should ask who or what carried Jesus to heaven.

Personally, I would suggest that it was a retinue of angels that conveyed Jesus to glory. The reason for saying this is that we are told that Jesus will return in the same way as he ascended, and we know that when he returns he will be accompanied by angels. So it is reasonable to assume that angels were his retinue as he ascended from Bethany.

What is the significance of Jesus being carried by such a prominent and prestigious retinue? The answer would be that the disciples had witnessed a royal procession in which Jesus was provided with the highest form of retinue possible. Jesus was ascending, not to the sky, not even just to heaven, as Elijah had done centuries before, but to the throne. We should try and imagine the astonishment and the sense of wonder that would gripped the disciples as they observed such an incredible event. And surely they would have had a sense of privilege that they were given the opportunity of seeing it happen.

Entrance

This leads us to think about the next word, which is entrance. We are told that the disciples observed him ascend until he entered heaven in a cloud of glory. But they could not see what followed on from the entrance. Thankfully, the Bible elsewhere says what took place, and those references should cause us to rejoice greatly when we realise what was given to the Saviour when he reached heaven.

On entering heaven, the ascending Saviour was invited by God the Father to sit at his right hand on the divine throne. We should note that Jesus was not asked to sit on another throne, but on the same throne as the Father. There is a description of his arrival there in Revelation 4 and 5.

The Father also said two other statements to Jesus in connection with his entrance to glory. First, he said to Jesus to ask for his inheritance, and the inheritance mentioned there is the nations. At that moment, the nations were in spiritual darkness. Only a few in Israel and elsewhere had a grasp of the reality. But here we have the Father’s word of commitment to his beloved Son when he ascended on high. This was a wonderful promise for Jesus to receive, although he would have known it was one of the features of the eternal covenant he had agreed to with the Father before time began.

Second, the Father stated to the Son how long this stage in the plan of salvation would last. The Father invited the Son to sit on the throne until his enemies would be made his footstool. Of course, the time when they will be made his footstool is the occasion of the fourth stage of the glorification of Jesus when he would become the Judge of the world.

What would observing this entrance have been like? No doubt, there have been moments of incredible delight in heaven. We can think of the joy there is there when sinners are converted. Or we can think about the joy there is in heaven when believers reach the happy shore. Perhaps we can imagine the joy when heaven was informed that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Yet I suspect the day of the biggest celebration was when Jesus entered in at his ascension.

Name

Paul in Philippians 2:6-11 has an amazing description of the humiliation and exaltation of Jesus. Part of the exaltation, says Paul, was that the Father gave to Jesus the name that is above every name. I would suggest that the name given to Jesus was the title Lord.

Of course, Jesus was Lord when he was here on earth. Yet there are two aspects of that which we should keep in mind. First, not everyone knew that he was Lord and, second, sometimes Jesus did not want his disciples to speak about it to others, probably because he had not yet experienced the cross. With his ascension, he could now have a public celebration before the hosts of heaven when he took his place on the throne. Who but the Lord could be there?

Spirit

What happened when he reached the throne of heaven? He had told his disciples that they were to wait for the promise of the Father, and by this statement Jesus meant the coming of the Spirit. Previously, in the Upper Room on the evening of his arrest, he had told the same disciples that it was better for them that he would go away because when he did so the Spirit would come in greater power than had been experienced before on earth.

This was not the first time that the Spirit would come, of course. His power and other abilities had been seen in the creation of the world. He had been involved in the lives of God’s people, as can be seen in several ways in the history of Israel (inspiring the authors of biblical writings, anointing individuals to serve, enabling people to worship). The Spirit had been restraining sin before the Flood, and did so after it as well.

So what was significant about the coming of the Spirit now? His coming was connected to the worldwide spread of the gospel. We know what happened when he did come on the Day of Pentecost when thousands were converted. With his coming, there would be a vast numerical and geographical increase in the numbers of sinners coming to repentance and faith.

It is important to remember that the coming of the Spirit is connected to the promise that the Father made to the Son. The promise may refer to what was agreed in the eternal counsels before time commenced, or it could refer to prophecies made in the Old Testament. But the time of fulfilment had come now that Jesus had ascended and been enthroned.

Intercession

Connected to the enthronement of Jesus was his role as the Intercessor. There are many mysteries connected to this role and we should not imagine that Jesus is pleading in the sense of begging for an answer. After all, he is on the throne, the place of power. Nor should we think of Jesus as constantly praying verbally, as if he was doing nothing else but speaking petitions. No doubt, he makes some specific requests.

His intercession involves both his natures. As God, he knows everything continually and can present the names of all his people instantly and always to the Father, and the Father as equally divine knows completely the full desires of his Son. I would also say that the intercession is connected to the eternal plan of God for his Son to be the Saviour of his people and the Sanctifier of their souls.

The point to stress about his intercession is that it is always successful. There is never a moment when he is not granted what he desires. He receives what is necessary for his church on earth at any moment. Whether it is concerned with bringing sinners into the kingdom or sanctifying those in his kingdom, he is heard.

And for each of them there comes the time when the point of his intercession is to call them home, and when that happens he is ready to receive them, as we see from the account of the death of Stephen. That moment is always the right moment, although it will be sad for those who lose their relatives and friends.

His intercession is also connected to the spiritual gifts that he procured for his people by his ascension. Each one of them has been given at least one gift for them to use in his service. In this regard, as with many other aspects, his intercession and the work of the Spirit are connected. This means that we can use our gifts confident in the power of God.

Onslaught

Another outcome of the ascension of Jesus is that he engages in an ongoing onslaught against the range of enemies of his kingdom. This is what he has been doing since he took his place on the throne. The onslaught can be described as the activity of love as he attacks the enemy fortresses through the gospel and captures many prisoners whom he sets free from the power of sin. This onslaught is happening all over the world today and the exalted Saviour never tires of this engagement. It gives him great joy to be involved in this onslaught.

In addition, he works in providence to bring down powerful opponents of his cause. There have been such opponents throughout the centuries and many of them seemed capable of removing the church from existence. But they did not, and the reason is that the ascended Saviour is too powerful for them. Some exist today, and often Christians describe them in a manner that fails to consider the capability of the Saviour. The fact is, the ascended Jesus possesses all power everywhere.

Newsworthy

The final comment that we can make about the ascension of Jesus is that it should be reported everywhere. In this regard, we can ask who are the journalists and reporters who convey this message to others. The answer is his disciples, starting with those who witnessed the ascension but continuing to those who follow in their footsteps as his followers. It is an extraordinary story to tell. And it is a necessary story because all can benefit from it.

Preached on 11/12/2016