Jesus stayed on the earth for forty days after His resurrection. Now, forty days is a long time. If Jesus rose on March 27, this would place His ascension from earth on May 5 (Cinco de Mayo).
America has holidays that mark the birth of Jesus (Christmas), the death of Jesus (Good Friday), and the resurrection of Jesus (Easter). But nothing marks the ascension of Jesus. If you go looking for a Hallmark card to mark the Ascension of Jesus, you’re going to look for a long time. Still, it is very important.
Today’s Scripture
As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God. (Luke 24:36-53)
The ascension of Jesus is simply Jesus is “taken up” in heaven (Acts 1:2, 11). This lifting off from earth means Jesus is no longer visible to the naked eye. And while Jesus cannot be seen with the psychical eye, He can be seen with the eye of faith.
The ascension of Jesus is essentially the crowning of Jesus. Think of this act as the crowning of Jesus – a public display to show Jesus’ authority. The ascension takes what Jesus Christ was and did on earth and releases it into the universe and into your lives with all of its healing power.
Before I go any further, here are three reasons why the ascension of Jesus is relevant today:
1. Jesus Serves as an Advocate for You
Just because Jesus has left doesn’t mean Jesus has stopped working. We may be ending the book of Luke today but this isn’t the end of Jesus’ work … it’s only the end of the beginning. This isn’t the end of Jesus; this is only the end of the beginning of Jesus. He has so much more to do. In fact, Luke has a second book to show all that Jesus does next (Acts 1:1-2).
Just because Jesus is gone doesn’t mean He is stopped working for you. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). The Bible tells us that Jesus Himself is in heaven praying for you. He is serving as your advocate when you are being tempted and accused by Satan. Doesn’t that encourage you? If so… “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
2. Jesus’ Ascension Seals You Secure in Christ
Because Jesus lifted off the earth, you need to know that this final act of our Savior sealed your salvation securely. “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet” (Hebrews 10:12-13). Think of Jesus’ ascension as a bomb blast through clearing a mountain in order to build a road. The ascension takes what Jesus Christ did on earth and releases it into the universe and into your lives with all of its healing power. The ascension is proof of Jesus’ ability to securely save you. The ascension is proof that all of Jesus’ enemies will be a footstool to His feet.
3. Jesus’ Ascension is a Sign of His Return
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10-11). Just as He went up, He will one day come down. Jesus didn’t evaporate. He will come back just as He was.
Look with me at three items Jesus does for the disciples (and for us) in today’s passage.
1. Jesus Reassures
When the disciples see Jesus, the Bible tells us this: “But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit” (Luke 24:37). In verse 37 it says they were terrified. They were terrified not just because they saw Jesus, but because the doors were locked. He came through the walls and appeared in a room with locked doors. This was unlike anything they had experienced before.
1.1 Jesus vs. Lazarus
Compare Jesus’ resurrection to the story of Lazarus as told in John 11 for a moment.
1.1.1 The Grave Clothes
The story of Lazarus tells us that when Jesus raised him, Jesus called upon people to untangle him. Jesus told the people there to take off the grave clothes of Lazarus. Lazarus’s grave clothes had to be taken off so he could speak and move. Not so with Jesus. The Bible tells that when the male disciples raced to the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, they didn’t find Jesus but only His grave-clothes. “But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened” (Luke 24:12). It was the grave clothes that caused John to begin believing in Jesus’ resurrection. “and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed…” (John 20:7-8).
1.1.2 The Stone
In Lazarus’ account, Jesus told the people to remove the stone (John 11:39). The stone had to be removed for Lazarus to get out. But, the stone wasn’t rolled away on Jesus’ tomb so Jesus could get out. No, it was removed so we could get in. Jesus was not limited by space. Jesus passed through walls. “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’” (John 20:19). Remember on the way to Emmaus the two disciples were looking at Jesus, and we’re told as he broke the bread they recognized him, and he disappeared into thin air. Now he appears out of thin air. Jesus wasn’t raised like anyone else. While Lazarus rose to die again, Jesus broke the hands and teeth of death itself. Jesus destroyed death.
1.2 Jesus Says, “Touch Me”
“But Jesus wasn’t just a Spirit: ‘See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet” (Luke 24:39-40). When I was a kid growing up I was always told, “When you’re sitting with a guest at a table and they’re eating, don’t stare at them.” I doubt that was possible that day. I think they stared at Him, don’t you? No wonder they were startled and frightened.
1.3 Raised Like Jesus
Jesus is preview of the Completed Process. Before you leave this place, I need you to see that Jesus’ raised body is your raised body. While the disciples were terrified, please note they did recognize Jesus. They didn’t mistake His body for someone else. Jesus’ raised body is preview of the Completed Process. God will one day restore the earth to the place where He wants it. God is planning on restoring everything as it should be. Jesus is the One who makes all things new. When you see Jesus, you are seeing a preview of your resurrected body: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
2. Jesus Commissions
“and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:47-48). From time to time, secular people will do a survey of the church. They go into a church where everyone is over 85 years of age and proclaim, “The church is dying.” A lot of unbelievers would love this. Yet, so many young people are turning to Christ in our day. When people think the Christians are dying out and there will be none to take their place, we identify the profound resiliency of Jesus’ followers.
Here are three Indispensables Jesus does for His church. Miss anyone of these three vitamins and the body isn’t healthy.
2.1 A Scriptural Message
“Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). Jesus spent these 40 days teaching the disciples the real meaning of the Old Testament. “Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled’” (Luke 24:44). For a church to be powerful, it has to have the authority of Scripture driving it.
Over and over again, we are told that our message should be about Jesus and His suffering on behalf of sinners. The Bible points to Jesus: “that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise” (Luke 24:7). “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory” (Luke 24:26)? “and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead’” (Luke 24:46).
Are you sins on your shoulders or His shoulders? If you sins on your shoulders, you will sink to hell itself.
2.2 A Spiritual Dynamic
“And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). We need to be clothed with a power from on high like no other time. The Bible can be the dullest place in the world, if there’s no spiritual power in the place.
The church needs renewal and revival. We need to experience a powerful awakening. Again, the Ascension of Jesus makes the power of Jesus available to His followers everywhere. Everything Jesus is and everything Jesus did is released by virtue of the Ascension. You are given power. Ask the Lord right now to clothe you with power.
2.3 A Missionary Directive
Right before Jesus’ ascends, He commissions His followers. “and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47). We are to tell this message everywhere. God calls on His followers to go out to all nations. If we ignore this, then we will only be speaking the power of the gospel to people who have already heard it. We need evangelism and we need missions. God has called on us to have unbelievers in our midst right now. All three of these indispensable messages are vital for a church to surge forward. Miss anyone of these three vitamins and the body isn’t healthy.
3. Jesus Blesses
Usually, when someone leaves that we dearly love, we weep. Yet, so unusual is this story for the disciples are full of joy: “And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy…” (Luke 24:52). Their feelings are just the opposite of what we would expect. How is this possible? How could they feel joy at Jesus’ departure? Did they really not love Jesus? To understand their joy, you have to understand what the ascension of Jesus really means.
3.1 What the Ascension Doesn’t Mean
You see, biblically we know God does not live in the heavens. It was reported by official Soviet channels upon their entry into space in 1961 that the Russian Cosmonaut who first traveled into space said these words: “I went up to space, but I didn’t encounter God.” Fact is, Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, never said it. Instead, the quote was part of the Soviet Communist and atheistic campaign. It seems that Russian Premier Nikita Khrushchev made it all up. Biblically, God does not relate to us the way a man in the attic relates to the people on the first floor. No, the ascension doesn’t mean Jesus ascended to the attic of our world and is looking down on us.
So why didn’t they feel sadness? Do you realize the early disciples lost the tomb of Jesus? If you want proof and clarification of that fact, you just have to note the very historical fact that the Christians lost the tomb of Jesus. When Jesus died, it was normal for sages and holy men and wise men and prophets to have their tombs made into shrines, or place of veneration and pilgrimage. There were at least fifty such tombs in Palestine when Jesus died.
When your son is living with you, when you really have him, there’s nothing special about his room. You walk into his room, you see the shoes, you see the bed, you see the clothes, and you say, “Gee, what’s going on? Why can’t he pick things up?” But when he goes away and gets married, or worst of all, of course, when a child actually dies, his room becomes very important. You walk in, and you don’t look at the shoes the same way. You don’t say, “Why can’t he pick them up?” You say, “Oh, there are his shoes. Oh, there’s his bed.” When the boy dies, you can’t even touch his room. You can’t bear to throw his clothes out. You can’t touch a thing. When you don’t have somebody, you venerate the place. His things and his place become a shrine. Why is it that the Christians didn’t go to the tomb? Why didn’t they turn it into a shrine? How could they have lost the tomb? It’s very simple. They had him; they had Jesus. So why didn’t they feel sadness? Because they had Jesus like never before.
3.2 What the Ascension Means
When Jesus went up, it means that everything Jesus was and everything Jesus did is not released to all His followers. Jesus didn’t change zip codes; He is now cosmic. Jesus is everywhere. And all that He was and all that He did is available to you today.
Invitation
Believer, I call on you to seek His power for your life? Friend, I call on you to place your sins on Jesus’ shoulders.
