Sermon Central
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The Ascension
Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: Jesus knew and suffered due to the reality of sin in the human heart. But when He physically left the earth, His message was not a pessimistic one. Summarizing who he was and what difference this should make for everyone is stated in what is known as the
From the biography of his life, this was Matthias’s mission: “His otherwise arduous task becomes a glorified one because a loving purpose tides him on and buoys him up. The naturally hostile people put him up for the night, and he preaches the gospel in their homes. Soon the humble, faithful tick-tack man will lay down his pack and go to live with the king. But his life will go on in this land of flowers. Boys and girls that now play beneath the palms will proclaim to others the message first heard from the lips of the peddler.”
Thousands of such stories abound across the two thousand years since Jesus lived, died, rose again, and ascended to the Father. Each story has its own sorrow and its own victories. Your story can be added to the growing list. (A believer in Christ has) all the qualifications and much more opportunity than did Matthias. You can express your faith in the living, resurrected Christ. You can accept his forgiveness for your sins. You can witness to others, calling them to repentance and promising them forgiveness in the name of Jesus. (Butler, T. C. (2000). Vol. 3: Luke. Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference (423–424). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
2) The Consecration (Luke 24:50–53)
Luke 24:50-53 [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. (ESV)
The resurrection appearance that began in Luke 24:36 continues but with a change in scene. According to Acts 1:1–12, the eleven apostles (and possibly others) witnessed the ascension of Jesus. There is a forty-days time gap between Luke 24:49 and Luke 24:50 (Gingrich, R. E. (2001). The Gospel of Luke (70). Memphis, TN.: Riverside Printing.).
Leaving Jerusalem, Luke 24:50 notes of Jesus: "Then he led them out as far as/to the vicinity of Bethany. Bethany is on the Mount of Olives (cf. 19:29; Acts 1:12). According to Zechariah 14:1, 4, the Messiah will return to this mountain at his second coming. Certainly in Acts 1:11 the disciples were told the Lord would one day return in the same way that they had seen him leave (Childress, G. (2006). Opening up Luke’s Gospel (217). Leominster: Day One Publications.).
With lifting up his hands (cf. Lev 9:22; cf. also Sir 50:20–21; 1 Tim 2:8), He blessed them. Before departing Jesus pronounced a final blessing upon his followers. (cf. Gen 27:27; 49:28; 2 Enoch 56:1; 57:2; 64:4). Before he suffered he had lifted up his eyes to heaven, and the voice of intercession had been raised for them (John 17). As the high-priestly prayer closed, the voice had passed from the tones of earnest but humble pleading into those of the Sovereign expressing his will: “I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” Now the Priest, about to ascend to his throne, extends those hands in which is the print of the nails. The uplifted hands are the sign of the accepted sacrifice ever potent to cleanse. They are the sign of the righteousness ever ample to clothe. They are the sign of the protection ever sufficient to overshadow his Church (The Pulpit Commentary: St Luke Vol. II. 2004 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.) (285). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.).
