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Jesus – His Exaltation Series

Contributed by Brad Bailey on Jun 21, 2021 (message contributor)

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Scripture: Hosea 6:1-2

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Summary: Jesus – His Exaltation Series: CREED: Truths that Unite Brad Bailey – February 14, 2021

Jesus – His Exaltation

Series: CREED: Truths that Unite

Brad Bailey – February 14, 2021

Intro...

Well... good morning Westside Vineyard family and friends.

It really is my privilege and pleasure to have this time to share with you. And I’m EXCITED to continue together in our series entitled Creed: Truths that Unite. In this series we’re engaging the central truths captured in the Apostles Creed. As I shared in previous weeks, The Apostles Creed is the oldest known and most widely accepted Christian creed. We might wonder why it’s called the Apostles creed. Well... the term apostle refers here to the unique position and commission of the twelve disciples of Jesus. And what was recognized was the unique trust and authority that was given to those who were firsthand witnesses of Jesus. Their testimony wasn’t second had speculation. While this Creed may not have been written by the twelve apostles... it dates back to a very early time in which it was clearly rooted in the undeniable truth they were united in declaring. [1]

And it is valuable to know, that this commitment to such firsthand apostolic authority is also what set apart what we know as the whole of the Scriptures...the Bible. The whole point of apostolic authority was a recognition that authority is rooted in a consensus of the firsthand sources...not in conjecture from second hand claims. The unique authority of the apostles was that which was direct ...not what developed. Every book of the New Testament had that mark of authority. So the creed is only a dynamic summary of the foundational beliefs. As many have described, “We believe far more than the statements of this creed...but we believe no less.” These are the truths that can center us, form us, and unite us.

So each week we are engaging one of the great truths declared in this creed ....truths that can center us, form us, and unite us. And each week we are starting by first having different members of the Westside Vineyard community read the creed... which we can say aloud as well by following the words we will put up. And today it’s my personal pleasure to welcome two lives who have served as remarkable pillars of support to my life...and to the ministry of this Vineyard community ... Dale and Stacia Ruby.[2]

[Creed read. See Note 2]

Thanks Dale and Stacia.

So we have come to the statement in the creed that could be considered the most pivotal and profound belief that is declared by the apostles... and joined in by all who believe. And it is this... that we believe Jesus... who the creed already recognized as the Christ...as God’s Son... as our Lord...that “On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father,”

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father...

There is a threefold declaration here...that he rose... ascended...and was seated. These three statements... each significant in themselves... are joined to speak of what has been referred to as the EXALTATION of Christ. Exaltation refers to being lifted up...to being elevated in recognition. That is what we is being recognized in these words. Let briefly consider the three phrases...and then what they say to us.

On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father...

This three part phrase begins with recognizing “On the third day he rose again;

“on the third day.” Having died on Friday afternoon, buried before sundown, the first day; Saturday being the second day; He was raised from the dead some time early on Sunday morning, the third day.

In the Old Testament we find a pattern of God doing big things on the third day. Redemptive things. Revelatory things. And yes, resurrection things.

The regathering of God’s people from the Babylonian exile is sometimes described as a resurrection (Ezek. 37:11–14). Hosea 6:2 describes the time frame of this resurrection:

Come, let us return to the LORD;

for he has torn us, that he may heal us;

he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

After two days he will revive us;

on the third day he will raise us up,

that we may live before him. (Hos. 6:1–2)

There’s the story of Jonah .... well known to many...how he was swallowed by a big fish.... eventually is released....and became an instrument of Nineveh’s salvation.

The author gives us the time frame for how long Jonah was in the fish’s belly:

“And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jon. 1:17).

The mention of this time frame is a strong hint that after three days Jonah will rise from what he himself refers to as “the belly of Sheol” (Jon. 2:2), the Hebrew word for the place of the dead (“Hades” in Greek).

Jesus connects the typological dots for us, drawing the parallel between Jonah’s deliverance from Sheol and his:

An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt. 12:39–40)

As Justin Dillehay says [3],

“It should strengthen our faith when we consider that God designed all of history with Jesus at the center, with every third day deliverance pointing directly to him.” - Justin Dillehay

Being raised from the dead is the ultimate sign of victory... a declaration of power...of who reigns... of the future...and so much more. And of course we will be engaging that more both today...and on Easter Sunday not far away. But first let’s continue with the next of three statements.... “he ascended into heaven”

On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father...

It is valuable for us not to miss this grand truth. His ascension may seem like just a P.S. to the resurrection. We naturally speak so much of Christ having died and risen .... that we could tend to not hear the significance of what follows. He ascended into heaven.

This is what Jesus described when he said...

“I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer... I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” - John 16:10,28

This too is testified to by those who witnessed it...

“When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” - Luke 24:50-52

He left them...and was taken up. What they saw... defies trying to explain it in any greater detail. They only express that there was something upward and ultimately disappearing. Upward into the heavens...a term that was used to speak of the seemingly endless expansion beyond the visible skies...as well as the eternal realm of God. In this sense... he ascended into the skies beyond...and then into whatever eternal realm surrounded God. [4]

They were declaring what they could say... that this was the translation of Jesus ... in his redeemed bodily form... from this earth into the heavens. They were entirely clear and consistent that although we would experience Jesus’ presence through His Holy Spirit, we will not experience His bodily presence until He comes again from that throne of judgment to judge the living and the dead.

And the final part of this summary of his exaltation is this...

he is seated at the right hand of the Father,

“On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father...

Again...we tend to appreciate that he rose...because it declares victory... but we may not think as much about his being seated at the right hand of God. We may hear it as simply a reminder that he left this earth and left us here. The truth that we’ll see is that he sent the spirit and is more present than ever. But more importantly... this phrase is telling us about his glory.

He fulfilled the ultimate victory of God and was then returned to be given his rightful position. No doubt it is using the language of the day to describe it... that of royalty ascending the steps to their rightful throne...and then the honor of taking their proper seat. It means he is now in the place of supreme and highest honor in the universe. God has exalted him and given him a name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9-11).

When we say we believe in Jesus Christ...and that “on the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father”... we are speaking of his exaltation.

It means that both who he is... and what he did...are being recognized for the honor they are due...the honor that they truly represent.

And while many have come to respect such an idea... it is not merely a nice idea... but that which God had explained before this even came to pass. Over 700 years before Christ was born....God spoke to his people...through the prophet Isaiah... of the saving servant that would come... the Messiah. And here we see what sums up the whole story of sacrifice that leads to supremacy... of disgrace that leads to honor...of humility that leads to exaltation.

We read in the Book of Isaiah, chapters 52 and 53...

Isaiah 52:13-15a; 53:4-5,7-8, 10-11

13 See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him-- his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness-- 15 so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him.

... 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. ... 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.... 10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. .

It begins by saying “he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.”

The creator of universe is declaring that one will come from the source of our existence... which we know is beyond time and space... which we can sense is personal in nature....and that figure will suffer both physically and relationally... he will be beaten and disgraced... in the most extreme ways.

Specifically... it says...we would consider him cursed...but it tells us to understand something... that in truth he was bearing what we deserve. In truth... he was not cursed...but bearing the curse that we had come under.

It says “who can speak of his descendants”... because he left the land of the living childless... but God says, now look... ... “ he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.” Indeed he is now the source of an offspring represented by all who bear his life within themselves. That is... every life that has received him... that day...and every day since. They become the countless offspring of his life... and through them...the will of the Lord will prosper.

When we recognize that he is seated at the right hand of the Father... we are recognizing that

The victim has become the victor.

The crown of thorns has been replaced by the crown of eternal glory.

The one who suffered for us... is now our king.

When we say “On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father.... we are stepping back and acknowledging a cosmic exaltation... of Jesus...and the power of God.

And what all does that mean? What does this involve? More than we can could do justice to in this moment...but lets quickly note a few things. First...

The exaltation of Jesus Christ was predicted.

As we heard in the prophetic Scripture from Isaiah... this is what God had described so profoundly.

And this is what Jesus himself told those who were trying to make sense of it all. In the Gospel of Luke we read...

Jesus said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you. Everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms must come true.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written. The Messiah will suffer. He will rise from the dead on the third day. - Luke 24:44-46 (NIrV)

Jesus said...look... this is what was predicted... this is what you have found difficult to see. Why was is so hard to have seen that what was unfolding was the actual fulfillment of what God has spoken long before? I think that the most obvious reason is that we believe in the powers of this world more than God.

As it became clearer that Jesus was not focused on simply leading an uprising against Rome... many likely grew confused... they wanted more power....and so when Jesus was arrested... and mocked... nothing made sense. But it should have. The point that Jesus made is that we are blinded by our belief in human force. We will always be faced with the temptation to give ourselves to the vain glory of this world...that is what was reflected in the very temptations that the devil brought to Jesus... but God had predicted we will see the truth...that he will exalt those who choose to serve his will and not that of earthly power. Such exaltation was predicted...and the resurrection and ascension of Jesus should not be seen as simply the strange and shocking exception... but as the unchanging will of God that rules over all life. [5]

A second thing to recognize, is that...

The exaltation of Jesus Christ was actual.

By actual....I mean as much as it might make it easier to simply set this claim aside as a religious myth... the creed... declares what the apostles were so clearly declaring....that Jesus .... born in the flesh... was crucified in the flesh... actually died and was buried... and was truly raised from the dead. His body was transformed...but it was the same person... who they knew... ...who they spoke with... ate with ...who they could touch.

Some might want to suggest that this claim of a resurrection was some form of just seeing what they wanted to believe. So it’s vital to see how clearly they actually had no expectation of Jesus being raised from the dead. It simply wasn’t a part of their worldview. It really didn’t fit their cultural or religious expectations. For Greeks, salvation was a liberation of the soul from the body. The idea of a physical, bodily resurrection was ludicrous to the Greco-Roman mind. The Greeks certainly weren’t expecting resurrection, which is why Paul maintains the Gospel message is “foolishness to the Greeks” (1 Cor. 1:23). Some Jews believed there would be a future resurrection, but this was thought to be a corporate event at the end of time, when the whole world was renewed. The truth is, that the belief that Jesus would be raised from the dead didn’t fit their understanding any more than it would today.

That’s why when the women went to the tomb after the sabbath was over... they brought spices and perfume to embalm the body... to show care for a body wrapped and decaying. Nobody was expecting a resurrection. What unfolded that day... was clearly more than they could imagine.

When you consider the unstoppable force that emerged from that day... one has to stop and recognize ...SOMETHING HAPPENED. And if I had to sum it up ...it might be this.

The tomb was empty, and their lives were filled. That is what happened.

The disciple closest to Jesus would write...

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. - 1 John 1:1 (NLT2)

As his apostles said in the Book of Acts,

“We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." Acts 4:20

They testify that he was seen by hundreds....and this is the only reasonable way to explain the power of what spread. There is an empty tomb... and the spread of the news of his having risen...and been seen by more and more lives... could not be silenced by anyone producing a body. The religious leaders could not show they had stolen the body. The Romans could not show they had the body.

The empty tomb and the testimonies of those who were now willing to die for what they know... were very clear that the exaltation of Jesus Christ was actual.

It isn’t simply suggesting that he now lives in their hearts in the ways we speak of a loved of one of many years living in our hearts. He didn’t just “live on” in their memories ...he actually lived on.

I can say that someone lives in my heart...but I am not saying they rose from the dead.

When I believe that Jesus is living in my heart... I am not speaking of one who simply lived in the past...but one who is alive now.... not just about one I read about...but one who is present with me.

And this speaks to what it means to believe. It helps us to understand that there is a relationship between evidence and experience.... one is an extension of the other...rooted in the other. Everyone has different forms of evidence...some empirical basis for what they believe...and everyone has some type of personal experience.

Most of the New Testament was written by one who never knew Jesus during his earthly ministry....nor during the seven weeks or so between when he was resurrected and ascended to heaven. Yet this religious leader, whose original name was Saul and later changed to Paul, was busy persecuting his followers when Jesus encountered him in some form of personal experience....and it would lead to his learning from the apostles who had known Jesus...and that was his combination of empirical evidence...and personal experience... and it transformed him. It changed everything.

And this leads to the third thing to recognize...

The exaltation of Jesus Christ is transforming.

When Jesus was raised...it changed everything...and everyone. Let me quickly conclude with describing three great ways this transformed their lives...and can transform ours.

1. We know that God wins.

Jesus came to the powerless...and they became the most powerful.

When it really took hold of them...when they now knew that ““On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father.”... they knew that the powers of this world... however real they were...were not ultimate. Neither the Roman Empire...nor the rule of the religious leaders was ultimate. Death was not ultimate.

It fundamentally changes the story we are living in. This world is bound within a system that tells us who we are and how to play our role. And now the true author of life has stepped in and defied the lie.

Jesus knew all along that there is an enemy that has ruled over his world... he is the Father of lies....and the lies have a purpose...to rule over what is God’s. [5b]

In the life, death and rising and ascending of Christ... God declares the REAL story. The false story is that the world is ruled by death...and those that can enact it.

But now we can know that God rules...and God wins.

As N.T Wright describes [6],

“The resurrection completes the inauguration of God's kingdom.... It is the decisive event demonstrating that God's kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven. God's new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you're now invited to belong to it.”

“Our task as image-bearing, God-loving, Christ-shaped, Spirit-filled Christians, following Christ and shaping our world, is to announce redemption to a world that has discovered its fallenness, to announce healing to a world that has discovered its brokenness, to proclaim love and trust to a world that knows only exploitation, fear and suspicion.” - ? N.T. Wright

God wins... and that is the reality we can bring to this world.

Another transforming truth is this...

2. We know that God is with us.

Jesus’ first disciples thought that God was abandoning then ....leaving them when he returned to heaven. We can all appreciate a desire to experience the presence of Jesus... face to face.... heart to heart. And we can imagine what the disciples thought when the heard Jesus say too them, “It is better for you that I go away.” They must have wondered how his leaving could be better for them. But stepping back we can see.... that as long as Jesus stayed on earth, he was bound by the limitations of one physical body bound by time and space. As a man, he could only be in one place at one time. If he was at the corner of Venice and Centinela... he could be anywhere else on the same block...or neighborhood... or city... or country or anywhere else in the whole world.

What he knew and was preparing...was that when he returned to heaven he would send the Holy Spirit through whom he would be present with them wherever they are. The Holy Spirit is another part of the triune God... one God manifest in three persons... in such a way that where one is present... all are involved.

He could now say something for all of us to hear:

“Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:20

This is transforming. [7] The simple truth is that when we allow ourselves to take hold of that truth... it changes us. Like one who has an ultimate best friend...who now lives overseas...but one they can talk to any time... so is our union with Jesus who has ascended to heaven. And that friend holds the power of what actually and ultimately reigns over life... the power of justice and love... and he empowers us to let his life be that in us here....even as we wait for this world to be reconciled with his reign.

And a third transforming truth is that...

3. We know that our lives are now rooted in heaven.

The Apostle Paul explained it this way...

Ephesians 2:4-6 (NLT)

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

Do you hear that? “He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” If we receive his life given for us...by giving our lives to him... we are united with him. We take up his life here ...even as we are now given an eternal inheritance in the eternal realm. We have inherited everlasting life in all it’s perfection. [8]

It means we have an ultimate home that already exists in eternity... and it exists in our relationship with Christ... an alternative power to what this world seeks for me to be enslaved to.

As the Scriptures so beautifully exhort us...

Colossians 3:1-3

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

The ascension places in our hearts a union with our savior in heaven.

This doesn’t mean we care less about this world... it actually means we care more about this world. It means that we don’t just accept this world as having no hope or future... but rather that we know that God will reconcile all things. What we long to see... such as an end to injustice...and an end to death... are real...and we can help reveal that hope. It means we will actually give our hearts to Jesus... to his will and to his love.

Jesus says,

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. - Matthew 6:24

Jesus lived out of this truth... he did not serve the rewards of power or prestige this world offered. He was not enslaved to their power to rule. He lived for his life with the Father. And now we are united with him...and are to set our hearts on our life with him... our love for him... or honor of him. The ascension is wooing us away from mammon and wooing us to God because our affections are there. On this Valentines Day... may he be our very first love.

So let us set our hearts in heaven... in the eternal life in which God reconciles all things as they should be. I invite us to be honest... and to consider... are we merely looking at Christ the sacrifice... perhaps looking down with pity.... or looking at him merely across from us...as one who we want to avoid having too much influence on us... or have we allowed ourselves to see the truth...that he is exalted... that he suffered to take what we deserve upon himself...and is now raised up... for us to honor above all.. to love more than all?

Let’s take a moment to come before his presence in prayer. I invite you to join me in closing our eyes to allow our inner beings... our spirits... to focus upon the presence of his Spirit.

PRAYER:

Resources: Ligon Duncan - Apostles' Creed: On the Third Day He Rose Again (March 16, 2003) Ray Pritchard - Going All In: “The Third Day He Rose from the Dead” and

A Friend in High Places: “He Ascended into Heaven and Sits at the Right Hand of God the Father Almighty”; Cannata, Ray; Reitano, Josh. Rooted: The Apostles' Creed (pp. 82-83). White Blackbird Books.

Notes:

1. While there is no verifiable written word for word representation of the Apostles Creed prior to 340 A.D., we can be confident that the Apostles Creed is the most accurate representation of the Christian Faith in the form of a creed. The teachings within the Apostles creed can be traced to the Bible itself and through the early church fathers. There is evidence of what is referred to as “The Old Roman Creed” that may date back to the early second century...which has only slight variations from the Apostles Creed. More background at The Apostles’ Creed: Its History and Origins | Faithlife Blog

2. The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,

creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

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.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy Christian Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting.

3. One can find a good work by Justin Dillehay that helps discover the significance of the “third day” in God working in past, at: How the Old Testament Prepares Us for the Third Day, by Justin Dillehay, APRIL 20, 2019 - here. Another source here here. In addition, I found an interesting re-raising of a view toward Paul’s reference to having been raised on the third day “according to Scripture” to possible refer to Psalm 16:10, with its reference (in the septuagintal wording) to a "holy one" being preserved from (bodily) "corruption." He notes that Paul's original readers would have understood a promise that someone would "not see decay" as a promise to be raised within three days. – Source: Psalm 16:10 and the Resurrection of Jesus "on the Third Day" (1 Corinthians 15:4) by John C. Poirier; Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters; Vol. 4, No. 2 (Fall, 2014), pp. 149-167 (19 pages), Published By: Penn State University Press; https://www.jstor.org/stable/26371776

4. As Ligon Duncan notes, “We face certain difficulties when we consider the ascension of our Lord. The event itself is only briefly mentioned in Mark, Luke and Acts. By contrast both the crucifixion and the resurrection are described by all four gospel writers in detail. And because the event itself is so unusual, it is difficult for us to visualize exactly what happened.

Biblical references that do refer to Christ’s return to heaven.

· Luke 24:50-52 “When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.”

· Acts 1:9 “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”

· John 3:13 “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.”

· John 16:10 “I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer.”

· John 16:28 “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

· Ephesians 4:10 “He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.”

· I Timothy 3:16 “He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.”

· Hebrews 4:14 “We have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.”

· Hebrews 7:24-26?Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”

· I Peter 3:21-22 “Jesus Christ has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”

5. See Luke 24:19-24. The disciples were downcast because of how he had been taken and killed. The combination of the suffering and humiliation of Christ and the exaltation of Christ continue to be scandalous for God’s people. Interestingly, in Isaiah 2... it is expressed that God alone is exalted... and then in Isaiah 52 and 53...Isaiah uses this very same language in relation to the exaltation of Yahweh’s Servant, the One sent to die as atonement for the sins of God’s people. It was there to see but difficult to reconcile without the mind and heart of God.

As Ligon Duncan notes, “We face certain difficulties when we consider the ascension of our Lord. The event itself is only briefly mentioned in Mark, Luke and Acts. By contrast both the crucifixion and the resurrection are described by all four gospel writers in detail. And because the event itself is so unusual, it is difficult for us to visualize exactly what happened.