Jesus Ascended To Heaven – He Who Promised Is Faithful

The ascension is Jesus’ last moment on earth as a Man. Jesus came as a baby in a manger to demonstrate his humanness. But His ascension to heaven is another proof to the world of His divinity. As a human being, He suffered and died a horrible death. As Divine, He conquered the grave and the power of death by His resurrection and ascension to His Father's abode. No one is like our Jesus!

Jesus ascended to heaven. 40 days after Jesus left his tomb empty, He led his disciples to this place called Bethany. Bethany is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives and is less than 3 kms from Jerusalem. Luke is the only Evangelist who records the ascension.

READ SCRIPTURE – Luke 24:50-53

Luke 50 Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them.

51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.

52 So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.

53 And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.

The ascension is Jesus’ last moment on earth as a Man. Jesus came as a baby in a manger to demonstrate his humanness. But His ascension to heaven is another proof to the world of His divinity. As a human being, He suffered and died a horrible death. As Divine, He conquered the grave and the power of death by His resurrection and ascension to His Father's abode. No one is like our Jesus! Although physically absent, Jesus is very much present in his church, fulfilling His roles:

The Roles of Jesus

1. Saviour

2. Healer

3. Baptizer

4. King

As a kid, I have good memories of spending school summer break with our grandparents. To get to their place at that time is a whole day journey. We need to catch a bus, a ferry, another bus, and a jeepney. Aside from the experience of a day trip, it's fun because I got to do things that we don’t do at home. In our grandparents’ house, I got to fetch gallons of water from a nearby brook down a hill, cut grass to feed our grandpa's horse and cows, feed chickens, play with cousins, and pick green mangoes at 5 am that fell from a tree behind their house. The summer holiday was so much fun, but there were days when you missed home, and I look forward to going home. I don’t doubt that Jesus loved the company of Peter, James, John, Thomas, Matthew, Bartholomew, Thaddeus, Andrew, James, Philip, Simon the Zealot; not sure about Judas Iscariot. But on several occasions, he told his disciples that he was going back to the Father, so going back was not something he hid from them. 3 Scriptures indicate that Jesus Christ looks forward to His Ascension.

John 7:33 (NKJV) Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a bit longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.

John 16:28 (NKJV) I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.

John 20:17 (NKJV) Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, "I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God."

This morning, let’s look at “Why did Jesus Ascend to Heaven?”

1. To send the Holy Spirit whom the Father had promised - Luke 24: 49 And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as My Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven. (Luke 24:49)

10 days after Jesus ascended to heaven, He fulfilled what He said He would do. On the day of Pentecost, 120 people in the Upper Room suddenly felt the wind of the Spirit, and they saw a tongue-looking fire come down and rest on each of them. That must have been a glorious experience. And they knew that Jesus fulfilled what He said before He ascended, “not many days from now, you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And you would know that you were filled because there would be evidence. You'll be able to do what you could not do before. YOU’LL BE BOLD AS A LION and innocent as a dove. You’ll SPEAK IN TONGUES, PROPHESY, PROCLAIM JESUS! Lead people to Christ, pray for the sick, encourage the discouraged, deliver a message of hope to the hopeless, etc. O, how we need the Holy Spirit to visit us!!!

The ascension of Jesus to heaven is so important to us modern-day Christians. Look at John 15:26-27 – “But I will send you the Advocate – the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify about me. (27) And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry. How does the Holy Spirit testify about Jesus? By being the Advocate of Christ. His job is to point all eyes on Jesus. But every child of God like you also plays a significant part in the whole ministry of the Holy Spirit. You are the vessels that God can work with to do His work. You may be thinking; you are not! Shake that thought off. That's not the voice of the Father.