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.
Advocate – paraklaytos – signifies an intercessor, comforter, helper, advocate, or counselor. Paraklaytos also had a technical meaning of an attorney who appears in court on another's behalf. And so, one of the primary functions of the Holy Spirit is to be a Defence Attorney to a born-again believer. Jesus needed to ascend to heaven so that the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, and Défense Attorney could fully function as such. People usually take you to court because they have a case against you or you have a claim against someone. But no one wants to stand in court for being accused of something you did not do. Zephaniah 3:17 (AMP) The Lord your God is in your midst. A warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you; He will be quiet in His love making no mention of your past sins. He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
Accusations and condemnations and lies are not from Jesus; they are from the Devil because there is only one accuser of the brethren, Satan! Think about how the Devil accuse you every day. Therefore, each time a self-defeating thought, accusation, condemnation, wrath, or anger tries to pull down your self-esteem, each time the Devil condemn you of your past life and remind you of everything that went wrong in your life, call the Holy Spirit to Advocate for you and bring to your remembrance the word of God as your line of defense.
2. Jesus ascended to heaven to prepare a place for his followers (Jn 14:2). That’s the living hope of those who are “in Christ” that we will eventually ascend to be with him (2 Cor 5:1–10). So, we are told not to allow our hearts to be troubled.
John 14:2-4 (NKJV) – Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. There is more than enough room in My Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
Sydney is one of the most expensive places to buy a house in Australia. In the news the other night, an old lady got a 3 BR room house in Greenacre for 1.3 million (PHP46.8M). But praise be to God, in heaven, we don’t need to have millions; we need the blood of Jesus as a currency to secure one of those mansions that Jesus is preparing that when we get there, we need not pick up bricks, mortar, and other equipment to build our house. It is already built with state-of-the-art design by Jesus.
Jesus said you don't let your heart be troubled. Trust in God, trust in Jesus. This indicates that being a Christian does not mean a problem-free life. Being a Christian means having God calm your nerves and flood you with His peace over the things that worry you in the night. We live in a world that is marred and corrupted by sin. And, just like Covid-19, we must learn to live with this spiritual virus running around the world but learn to control and not allow it to control us. If only our problems would leave us in peace. But Peace is not the absence of noise but the presence of God within the noise. (John 16:33)
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have perfect peace. In the world you will have distress and suffering, but be courageous (be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy; I have overcome the world, My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.”
A word for someone “Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.” Isaiah 41:13
3. To exaltation and glory
Acts 2:32-33 "God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. (33) Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out on us, just as you see and hear today.
4. To exercise His priestly ministry – Christ is our High Priest
Heb. 4:14 – So then, since we have a great high priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. (15) This high priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. (16) so let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
I heard someone says, "God if you are real, show yourself and help me because I'm stuck." True enough, Jesus by the Holy Spirit began to move in his life. He began to mend and heal his heart from many setbacks and felt the hand of God right through in his heart. That’s what Jesus the Great High Priest do! He goes in and all around you to the Father’s throne of mercy. Are you in doubt about your future? Listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. He’s pointing you to Jesus, the Great High Priest. He is your way out! Come to Jesus. Look at the cross. Remember the empty tomb.
5. He ascended so that believers may follow Him. (the hope of the resurrection)
I Thes. 5:9 (NKJV) For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not pour out his anger on us. (10) Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. (11) So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
Gone but not for long. Jesus is coming back!
6. His ascension indicates the manner of His return.
Acts 1:9-11 – After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. (10) As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. (11) “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
The angels told the disciples not to get stuck by Jesus’ ascending to
Heaven. Instead, he told them to go to Jerusalem and there wait for
The promised Holy Spirit. But, going to Jerusalem, also signifies the work of Jesus. Jerusalem is where the work of Christ and the church began. I say, let’s not be contented being saved. But let’s begin to join the workforce of Jesus. Let’s make our Christian life useful to Jesus by allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through you. Allow Him to change you from glory to glory. Just say “yes” to God and “no” to Satan. I know that everyone lives a busy life. But when I think of the Holy Spirit being present, I think of my morning walk in the park. There in each step, He quickens me to pray that by the time I reach 10K steps, I have had a sweet fellowship with God. As simple as that. Make room for Jesus and the Holy Spirit in your everyday life, in your walking, eating, or whatever you do, talk to the Holy Spirit. He is in you and is with you. Confess your sins to God and repent. Life is short. Make it count for Jesus! Prepare for His return.
Matthew 24:30 – And then, at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and with great glory.
Rev 1:7 Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him – even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen.
PRAY AND THEN ALTAR CALL -
The Significance of the Death of Jesus – Altar Call
The death of Jesus was not just a political assassination; it had much more meaning. Sin has a penalty: death: "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). This is why the Jews offered sacrifices of living animals: a life had to be taken. Sin is a disease, and it is always terminal. It is a killer. Sin also breaks the law, and a penalty must be paid. Jesus, in effect, took our place and died in our stead as a human sacrifice. He was not a sinner, yet He died for sinners (1 Cor. 5:21).
By dying, Jesus washed away our sins with His blood. This means that God has forgiven us for our sins! He has freed us from our old lifestyle of self-destruction. There is only one way to lay hold of this saving act of Jesus. It is not automatically yours. There is something you must do. You do not receive this salvation by doing good things or joining a church. These things are good, but on their own, they will not save you (Eph. 2:8). First, you must do something else. You must admit your need of God's redemption--admit you are a sinner. Second, you must acknowledge what Jesus has done for you and ask Him to save you--buy you back. Third, you must repent; you must turn away from your empty, shallow, and self-destructive lifestyle. If He has bought you back, you belong to Him (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Finally, ask Him to come into your life as your Lord and Master, and ask Him to give you His Holy Spirit, who will enable you to let Him work through you. Then, good works will naturally flow out of your life, for you are not trying to do good on your own; you are in partnership with God! You will never be truly fulfilled until you do this because you have a God-shaped vacuum in your life that only God can fill. If this is the first time you have realized that Jesus died for you to bring you back into fellowship with God, please think for a moment and pray this prayer in faith:
Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner, for all have sinned and fallen short of your glory somehow. I know You are the only one who can help me. I need You. Please help me. Please help me to turn from my old patterns of thinking and acting. I invite You to be the Lord of my life. Make me Your child. Amen.
If you have not already done so, find a church that believes Jesus can change your life and attend it regularly. Be baptized as an outward sign of the new life Jesus has begun in you. THIS PRAYER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ACT OF YOUR LIFE. It will mean the difference between abundant life and just mere existence. Jesus ascended to heaven because of you. He will return because of you.
