The Glorification of Jesus

On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.

 

In these four statements, we have a summary of the glorification of Jesus. The summary follows another one that detailed to some extent the humiliation of Jesus. We can see from the four statements that the glorification includes different stages. Two – the resurrection and the ascension – are past; one – his seat at the right hand of the Father – occurs presently; and the fourth – the Day of Judgment – is in the future.

 

The resurrection of Jesus

Jesus rose again from the dead three days after his death on the cross. His death occurred on Friday afternoon and he rose again on Sunday morning. He was not the first to rise from the dead as far as the biblical details are concerned. The Gospels record how Jesus raised three individuals from the dead – the daughter of Jairus, the son of a widow in Nain, and Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. Other raisings are mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments. Those resurrections were different from the resurrection of Jesus because those individuals later died whereas the resurrection of Jesus will never be followed by his death at some stage. 

 

Jesus was raised to a new level of human life and experience, and he showed on several occasions between his resurrection and ascension that there were differences between what he did before his death and what he did after his resurrection. At times, he was not recognised by his followers; he could enter into locked rooms; and he could disappear from the presence of people.

 

His resurrection is evidence that his atoning work on the cross had been a success. If he had not paid the penalty of sin, he would have remained dead. But we can rejoice that his resurrection states very clearly that he had made full payment for our sins. His resurrection is also clear evidence that he has defeated the power of death. It was not able to hold Jesus within its grip.

 

As with the other activities of Jesus, he did not do them only for himself, but he also did them as the representative of his people. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15, when he is explaining the significance of the resurrection, that Jesus is the firstfruits and his people are the future harvest. He is alluding to the practice in Israel when a sample of the future crop was offered to the Lord. Jesus is the guarantee that his people will be raised. Death could not prevent him being raised, and it cannot prevent their future resurrection.

 

Jesus, at different times in his life, fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. Among them, there were predictions of his resurrection such as the closing verses of Psalm 16 as well as other passages which describe the death of the Messiah as well as the endless glory of the Messiah. Since a death by itself would mean that his glory would not be endless, he would have to be raised from the dead. In addition to prophecies by others, Jesus also on several occasions recorded in the Gospels spoke about his future death and resurrection. So his resurrection was a vindication of his own predictions, a clear statement that he knew the truth about his own future.

 

The moment of his resurrection was a secret as far as humans were concerned. Maybe it was a private moment, we can say, that the Godhead shared together. It was a remarkable moment because it is a reminder that the plan of God for the salvation of sinners was still being worked out by the Lord. This was step one on the ladder to the heights.

 

His ascension

Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven from Bethany. He had gone there with his disciples, and while he was blessing them he ascended to heaven. The Bible does not say how high he ascended, but it does say that he reached his destination, and that his arrival there was still visible to the watching disciples.

 

Jesus was not the first person to ascend to heaven. In the Old Testament, mention is made of Enoch and Elijah who did not die before they went to glory. But they only went there to live, as it were, whereas he went there for a far greater purpose, which was to reign. His ascension was like, although far greater than, the triumphant parades of victorious generals through their capital cities. Jesus travelled from the place of battle (the earth) to the capital city as the One who had achieved the most momentous of victories and delivered his people from the state of condemnation by his work on the cross.

 

There is significance in his posture as he ascended. Luke describes how Jesus left his disciples as a priest, with his arms raised in blessing over them. In effect, he was telling them that although he was leaving them he was not abandoning them. Rather, when he reached the world of glory, he would still remember them and continue to be their representative. Because in a way far beyond their understanding, they were still united to the Christ who was ascending to glory.

 

Luke also records that as the disciples saw Jesus go into heaven they also saw that he was enveloped in a cloud. If it had been an ordinary cloud, they would not have seen where he went. But if the cloud that Luke mentions is the Shekinah glory that appeared on several occasions in the Old Testament, then we can say that the disciples on earth received a brief glimpse of the astonishing change that their beloved Master was beginning to experience as he ascended. Here is step two and he has already gone very high as he reached the border of the land of glory. And there are more steps to reach.

 

Seated at the Father’s right hand

In Psalm 110, David describes a conversion between two divine Persons. One says to the other, ‘Sit at my right hand…’. The author of Hebrews tells us that the speaker is God the Father and the One invited to that position is Jesus. 

 

What is the Father’s right hand, or where is the Father’s right hand? Sometimes, we can imagine that the Father was asking Jesus to sit on another royal seat beside him, meaning that there are two thrones in heaven. But the place at the Father’s right hand is not on another royal seat. Rather it is on the same divine seat on which the Father is eternally enthroned. We are given a description of the inauguration in Revelation 4 and 5. Paul in Philippians 2:5-11 says that Jesus has been highly exalted and given the name that is above every name, the name of Lord.

 

What does Jesus do when seated there? We know how long this stage will last because the Father said to him it would go on until every foe had been made his footstool. During this period, Jesus is building his church by taking sinners from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. He has been doing this day after day since he went to glory. His actions are not confined to their conversion, but he also is completing their sanctification. 

 

Jesus does this through the work of the Holy Spirit. He had told the disciples before he ascended that they were to wait for the fulfilment of the Father’s promise concerning the coming of the Spirit, and he was sent by Jesus on the Day of Pentecost. It was a great day when he arrived in that manner, but he did not only come for a day. His coming was the commencement of an ongoing activity of blessing which continues today as grace is given to the millions of his people throughout the earth.

 

It is also the case that Jesus in his exalted position is involved with his people who are in heaven. While it is difficult for us to understand what that involves, Paul assured the Philippians that when believers die they go immediately to be with Christ. In heaven, they enjoy communion with him as the exalted Saviour who is Lord of all.

 

One consequence of the exaltation of Jesus is the effect it has on the prayers of his people. He had instructed the disciples that they should pray ‘in his name’, and that instruction indicates benefits will come because he has the highest name. While his people are lowly in heart, they have access to the most prominent name that exists, and they are encouraged to use it, indeed required to do so when they approach the throne of grace.

 

Come to Judge the living and the dead

This occasion is obviously a future one and it will take place at the second coming of Jesus. He will return personally and in great glory. All those who are living at the time will cease what they are engaged in doing and will be summoned immediately into his presence. Presidents and paupers will obey the summons with equal haste, whether they want to or not.

 

The Bible informs us that when Jesus returns, he will raise people from the dead. Both believers and unbelievers will be raised by him: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment’ (John 5:25-29).

 

This authority is given only to Jesus. In one of his parables, he informed his listeners that he would judge all people and separate them in a manner like to how a shepherd would separate sheep and goats. In the parable, the sheep are his people and they are invited by him to glory and the goats are his enemies and they are banished by him into the place prepared for the devil and his angels. That will obviously be a very solemn occasion, and a very sad one for those who will be among the banished. Nevertheless, it will be an occasion when the dignity of Jesus will be universally recognised.

 

When he judges people, they will be judged according to their works. Basically, there will be two kinds of workers present at the judgement. There will be those who worked for God’s glory and those who worked for some other reason, usually their own glory. Neither kind of worker will have produced perfect actions. 

 

His people will have spent their days after their conversion serving him in one way or another and he as the judge will be aware of that. They will be surprised to see how much they had done for him and how pleased he is with what they did, even although their sins affected the actions. Yet because they are forgiven, they will be given a place in glory, and even their works, none of which were perfect, but which were the effects of the enabling of the Holy Spirit, will result in him giving them a reward. This does not mean that their sinful actions and words after their conversion will be ignored. Paul warns believers that they will lose out on that day if they focus on sinful things. Yet the good that they did through God’s strength will be acknowledged, as we can see from the parable of the sheep and the goats.

 

It will be profoundly sad to stand before Jesus and be condemned. Who can really conceive the awfulness of that day! The gracious Saviour has for centuries been sending his message of salvation to sinners. But there will come a day when that will cease. There are two destinies, and we can only be in one of them. The one to be in is the one promised to those who trust now in the future Judge and receive pardon beforehand, and who can therefore anticipate with a measure of confidence that it will be well with them on the great day.

 

We can close with a brief reflection on each of the details we have thought about. First, Jesus is risen and will never die again. Because he lives, we will live also. Second, Jesus has ascended in our humanity, which is a reminder that this world does not know the heights to which God will raise his people. But we do expect it, because our glory is not of this fading earth, but of the heavenly dimension. Third, because Jesus is enthroned, we know who is in charge of all things, and that he has that authority for the benefit of his kingdom. Fourth, because he is the future Judge, we know that everything will be put right.