THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
If you had looked at your diary last Thursday (that would have been six weeks after Easter) you might have seen the heading "Ascension Day", but then it might not be there because Ascension Day is one of the neglected feast days of the Christian church. That would be sad enough but in ignoring the festival, the opportunity is lost of reflecting on the message of the Ascension. If we gloss over its truth we rob ourselves of a most important doctrine, for without the Ascension, the work of Christ would be incomplete.
The BBC (in Britain) does its best by broadcasting a special service - it’s good to hear the Ascension hymn, "Hail the day that sees him rise, Alleluia!" Some Christian churches mark the Ascension of Jesus with a festival. Some years ago I was in Spain at this time of the year. A huge cross had been erected on the steps of the cathedral in Grenada and was being decorated with red flowers. It was quite a spectacle. Many European countries celebrate Ascension Day with a bank holiday - I’m envious of my colleagues in Greece!
Perhaps because Ascension Day falls on a weekday it doesn’t get the attention it deserves. This is a pity because it is full of significance in the historical life of Jesus when on Earth - and his continuing ministry for us in heaven. As a weekday event it reminds us that Christianity isn’t just something for Sunday - it’s an experience for every day. For the Christian the secular cannot be separated from the sacred.
Although the Ascension occupies a place on the church’s calendar it is far from being prominent in Christian thought. It seems overshadowed by Good Friday and outshone by the glory of the Easter morning. Unfortunately this means that many Christians miss the tremendous truth that the Ascension of Jesus Christ has to teach us. Cynics say that Jesus had no need to take a journey into space! Critics have ridiculed his Ascension by calling him the first astronaut! So let’s get to the truth of the matter by thinking first of it’s significance:
HISTORICALLY
The gospel writer Luke is renowned as a careful historian. When he recorded the birth of Jesus he rooted the event in its historical setting within the Roman Empire. He continues that same preciseness at the end of our Lord’s earthly ministry by recalling the place of the Ascension - at Bethany. He dates the event - 40 days after the resurrection on Easter Day. He emphases the presence of eyewitnesses - the Ascension took place, he writes "before their very eyes" (Acts 1:9). Yes, the Ascension was a real event of history.
Some people are puzzled as to why Jesus waited around on Earth 40 days after his resurrection, but that period is no accident. Jesus had endured the Devil’s temptation for 40 days in the wilderness at the beginning of his public ministry, but now the tables were turned. In the post-ascension period Jesus triumphantly paraded his victory over the Devil and all his works. During this time, the conqueror of death displayed his supremacy before his faithful followers so that they might share in the joy of his victory. But there was another reason. Those 40 days of his appearing after the resurrection were of immense value to the believers for they established the reality of his lordship. A single sighting of the risen Christ may have been open to question, but his continuous encounters that the disciples had with him would remove the doubts of the most sceptical among them and assure them of his power and authority.
The Ascension must always remain a mystery in the sense that it’s beyond the scope of human experience. It takes us into the realm of the supernatural. It happened very simply and quickly. The Master and his followers were gathered on the slopes of Olivet. When Jesus had delivered his farewell message to the disciples he lifted up his nail-scarred hands in blessing. Then his body commenced to rise supernaturally, and a cloud bore him out of their sight. What a fitting end to his earthly ministry!
It’s not surprising that the supernatural should be evident at his departing for it was equally present in his birth and resurrection. Just as in the case of the resurrection, some would deny a literal Ascension because it’s considered unscientific. But it must be said that these problems are in the minds of scholars rather than in the hearts of Christians. There’s the objection that it would be impossible for a body to rise against the law of gravitation but this overlooks the fact that in the resurrection body of Christ higher laws were in operation. Think of an aircraft standing on an airport runway. It weighs many tons and is firmly clamped to the ground by the force of gravity. It can’t possibly fly! That is until the power of the jet engines are turned on and the laws of aerodynamics come into their own, proving that there is a force which can overcome gravity. So it was with the Lord Jesus. Just as death and the grave could not hold him when his Father raised him from the dead in a glorified body, so the Earth could not hold him when the time came for him to return to his Father.
There are churchmen who doubt or even dent the literal Ascension, saying it’s the spiritual significance that matters. Thank God for the spiritual meaning, but it seems to me that the point they miss is that there would be no assurance of the spiritual meaning of the Ascension, or the resurrection for that matter, if these wonderful events did not have a firm historical basis. I’m so glad that I can affirm without hesitation that Jesus "was taken up into heaven" (Luke 24:51).
The resurrection of Jesus signalled the ending of a chapter in his earthly life. Things could never be the same again and it was essential that there should be a clear-cut event to bring the chapter to a close. It’s true that Jesus was making a series of appearances to his followers, but they couldn’t go on forever. It would be odd if they should grow fewer until finally they petered out - that would only cause confusion and even loss of faith. No, there had to be a day dividing when the Jesus of Earth would become the Christ of heaven. The Ascension was the only fitting conclusion to the life of Jesus on Earth. God isn’t the author of confusion.
The disciples who witnessed the Ascension saw it as an ending. It was the day when their faith in a flesh and blood person, depending on a physical presence, was ended. Now they were linked to someone who was independent of space and time. But the ending of the earthly chapter also meant a new beginning. Luke tells us that the disciples did not leave the scene broken-hearted - they had a definite promise of the soon-to-be-given Holy Spirit. The disciples knew that the Ascension was the completion of the cycle from the incarnation. Jesus himself had predicted, "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again, I leave the world and go to the Father" (John 16:28). This gave them great assurance because their dearest friend was in heaven. The resurrection and the Ascension can’t be separated. They form two part of the one continuous movement resulting in the glorification of Jesus. When Jesus met Mary Magdalene in the garden he told her to tell his disciples, "I am ascending" as if the process had already begun with the resurrection and would be completed when he was finally received into his Father’s presence. The resurrection and the Ascension are milestones in the process whereby Jesus - crucified, risen and ascended - entered finally into the glory of God.
We’ve looked at the Ascension in its historical perspective but must now move on to think of its significance:
SPIRITUALLY
Luke’s account of the Ascension places us in the shoes of the disciples. There they are with eyes uplifted, as Luke records the scene so vividly, "gazing into heaven as he went" and all too soon the ascending Saviour disappeared from their sight. Then Mark takes up the story. He writes from the viewpoint of our Lord’s destination. Through the inspiration given to him we are allowed to share the secrets of heaven itself. Only the Holy Spirit could have revealed the scene to Mark: "Jesus was received into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God" (16:19). What a homecoming! The crown of thorns was changed into a crown of glory! Many a hero has been welcomed back into his hometown with bands blaring - the round the world yachtsman, the newly elected prime minister or president. But that’s nothing to the glory of the welcome given to the ascended Lord Jesus. Is that some speculation on my part? No it’s not!
Psalm 24 is a foretelling or anticipation of the grandeur of the spectacle associated with the homecoming of the Son of God. The scene defies adequate description. As the conqueror neared the celestial city the heavenly heralds cried out in preparation for his arrival. "Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in." The proclamation prompts the enquiry, "Who is the Lord of glory?" The reply declares Christ’s right to the title, "The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle" (7-10). Yes, Jesus had triumphed over Satan, the world, death and hell. His resurrection and Ascension proved he was the victor: "He is the Lord of glory." The apostle Peter confirms this: "Jesus Christ … has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand - with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him" (1 Peter 3:22). This proves that he had finished the work of redemption that the Father had given him to do.
The Ascension was the Coronation Day for Jesus, but we have to ask ourselves the question: have we acknowledged him as our Lord and King; have we knelt before him in glad allegiance? When we see pictures on television of a State banquet the chief guest is seated at the right hand of the Sovereign or President. This was the honour afforded to the Lord Jesus. But the fact that he is seated there doesn’t imply that his ministry is ended - far from it. Although the Ascension closed his public ministry, it opened a new age of the Spirit. That’s why we celebrate Pentecost. We might even say that the Ascension stands for the final liberation of Jesus from all limitations of space and time, so that he’s freed to be lovingly and powerfully present with every believer in every place, in every age. Actually, it’s a good thing that Jesus is not with us now in a human body and therefore limited to one geographic location. If He was, you would have as much chance of being with Him in your lifetime as you would a holiday with the Queen! You might get a five minute slot in His diary in 2030, but as it is, Christ the King is with me and in me by His Spirit every minute of every day wherever I go. This is beautifully summarised in the words of Charles Wesley’s hymn, "He ever lives above, for me to intercede; his all-redeeming love, his precious blood to plead; his blood atones for all our race, and sprinkles now the throne of grace." Hallelujah! What a Saviour! Yet we do have a responsibility to live holy lives, but if we sin we have a means of cleansing and forgiveness. The Ascension of Jesus makes it possible for him to be close to each and every one of us if only we allow him in every part of our lives.
We have thought about the Ascension from historical and spiritual perspectives but before we end it’s essential to think of its significance:
PRACTICALLY
Luke was a practical person. He tells his readers of the disciples with their eyes straining to catch the last glimpse of the cloud bearing up their Lord. But then they were quickly brought back to reality. It would seem that with their eyes heavenward they didn’t notice the two heavenly beings that slipped quietly alongside them until they spoke. "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking unto heaven? This Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). It would be an over-simplification to say that the Lord’s Second Coming will be like a film of the Ascension played backwards, to return on the same spot, wearing the same clothes. Although his coming will be in person, it won’t be in private: "every eye will see him" (Rev 1:7). He ascended alone but will return in the company of millions of the redeemed from all ages (1 Thess 4:13).
The Ascension testifies to the fact of our Lord’s return, "He will come." The disciples weren’t told that they themselves would see the coming again of Christ. The time is left open and it’s futile and unprofitable to speculate as to when it will happen. Jesus told his disciples that not even he knew the day or the hour when the Son of Man would come (Mark 13:22). But the certainty is there. It gives assurance that God is working his purposes out for his whole creation and that when he is ready, our Lord will return just as surely as he ascended. The all-important, practical call of the Ascension is that we are ready for his return. Someone once said, "If I am always ready, I shall be ready when Jesus comes." The secret is to keep short accounts with God and our fellow men - in other words, if something breaks our fellowship then immediately put it right.
We have to ask ourselves the question, "Are we redeeming the time until Jesus returns? Are we fulfilling the ministries he had given to the church?" We have been placed where we are for a purpose. The angelic beings asked the disciples "Why do you stand here looking into the sky?" It was the Earth, not the sky, which they should be occupied with - to be witnesses not stargazers! Our calling is not upwards in nostalgia, but outwards in compassion to a lost world that needs Jesus. It’s been well said that:
"At the Ascension Jesus left the Here for the Everywhere;
He left the Time for the Eternal;
He left the First Century to fill All the Centuries."
Let’s rejoice in the witness of the Ascension:
Historically - it assures us of the completed work of Christ.
Spiritually - it teaches us of our Lord’s triumphant entry into
heaven and his continuing ministry on our behalf.
Practically - it reminds us of the Second Coming of Jesus to judge
the world and the need to be ready at all times to
give account of our stewardship.
