The Ascension
and Continuing Ministry of Jesus Christ
by
Pastor Dave Strem
Used by
permission
“And after He said these things He was lifted up before
their very eyes and a cloud received Him out of their
sight.” Very little has been written about the
ascension. It seems like it is overshadowed by the
cross and outshone by the resurrection. It seems that
the ascension of Christ is thought of as a mere
postscript on Jesus’ life. But it is not. It was a
phenomenal event.
What does the ascension of Jesus Christ mean for you? I
believe it holds some truths that will encourage your
heart. Acts 1:9-11 describe what happened. Verse 3
tells us that it is 40 days after the resurrection.
Jesus had appeared to the disciples and to over 500
people throughout that 40-day period. “It was not long
after he said this that he was taken up into the sky
while they were watching, and he disappeared into a
cloud. As they were straining their eyes to see him,
two white-robed men suddenly stood there among them.
They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why are you standing here
staring at the sky? Jesus has been taken away from you
into heaven. And someday, just as you saw him go, he
will return!’” Parallel passages in Mark and Luke, who
also wrote Acts, tell us that He did all this in the
vicinity of
Bethany,
which is near the Mount of Olives. This is the same
place where they found the colt that Jesus rode on His
entry into
Jerusalem. Mark adds in chapter
16:19 that Jesus was taken up into heaven and now sits at the
right hand of God. That is exactly what Jesus said
would happen when He stood before Caiphus the priest.
He stood before Caiphas and Caiphas asked, “Are you the
Messiah?” And Jesus’ answer was, “I am. And you shall
see the son of man raised up in the clouds and sitting
at the right hand of God.” That is exactly what
happened.
An exhaustive Greek study will not find any magical words in
this passage that will suddenly illuminate the text for
us. What you see, basically, is what you get. The
event itself is the message that holds meaning for us.
If it sounds a little simplistic, realize that God’s
greatest truths are often very simple. The bread and
the wine represent His death and resurrection in the new
covenant. The rainbow represents how He preserved a
remnant and that He will never again destroy the world
with water. And now we have the clouds. A reminder
that Christ came, went, and is coming again.
The ascension teaches peace of mind. We have a God who is
in perfect control. He has a plan. Every day in this
world we are barraged by problems. Barraged by things
that seem to be out of our control. It is easy to lose
sight that we do have a God that is in perfect control.
We can have peace of mind. God wants us to have peace
of mind based upon our confidence in God.
How else might Jesus have ended His earthly ministry? What
do you think Jesus should have done? He died; He rose
again. He appeared for 40 days to people. Should He
just keep doing that? Popping up here and there all
throughout history? “Hey, we had us a Jesus sighting in
Afghanistan
last week. China this week and Northern California
tomorrow and maybe tonight He will be here.” I do not
think that would be a good thing. Should He just have
disappeared out of sight, without a trace? The
appearances would taper off and then stop. Or, should
He have been with somebody when it happened? He could
have been sitting and talking with Mary and then is
raised up and disappears. Can you imagine Mary talking
to Peter and telling the disciples, “Guys, I was talking
to Jesus and He just disappeared and said He is never
coming back until the end times!” Do you think Peter
would have believed her? Or, as Jesus is walking along
the Sea of Galilee talking with Peter and suddenly Peter
sees Him just disappear? Do you think Thomas would have
believed Peter? No! Scripture says that they were all
together, with many others, and they all saw it happen.
We have many witnesses to this event.
Isaiah 52:13 says, “See my servant, he will act wisely. He
will be raised up and lifted up and highly exalted.”
God had a plan. The ascension, first of all, affirms
our heart that God has a plan. God does not leave any
loose ends. Secondly, I want you to see in this that
God also has the power. Some Christians are a little
embarrassed to talk about Jesus floating up into space.
Floating out of here. Defying the laws of gravity.
That is pretty hard to swallow. That is pretty hard to
believe. Some might say, “I can imagine how some of
these other things could happen, but what you are saying
just does not happen. It is impossible. The law of
gravity prevents it. I will tell you folks. I would be
more embarrassed about thinking about a God who cannot
overcome the law of gravity. That is no kind of God
that I want to follow. That is no kind of God worthy of
our worship. Consider a jet airliner. Fifty tons of
metal and plastic and it flies. It does not look like
it is going to fly, but it does. It looks absolutely
impossible. Our experience tells us something different
though, doesn’t it? Those GE turbines start spinning
faster and faster and suddenly that big old mass of
metal starts rolling. Faster and faster it runs down
the runway and then before you know it, it is flying.
Why? Because there is something more powerful than the
law of gravity. And if an airplane is more powerful
than gravity, why can’t God overcome gravity, as well?
Jesus came for a purpose. The book of Hebrews tells us that
He finished His work and then sat down at the right hand
of God. He accomplished His purpose. We can have peace
of mind because Jesus accomplished exactly what we
needed. He saw our brokenness and offered wholeness.
He saw our sin and offered forgiveness. He saw our lack
and offered fullness. The ascension should bring you
peace of mind when you think of it. The ascension
should bring you hope for the future. There is
something ahead for you, something that is assured for
you. The ascension is a vivid reminder that we have a
physical, tangible destination. Jesus said, “I go to
prepare a place for you.” It is a real place. Not a
state of mind. Not a condition.
The cross symbolizes our redemption. The resurrection
symbolizes His ability to overcome death and bring
life--eternal life. Suddenly, we are not just forgiven,
but now we have a life to live in that forgiven state.
But where and how is it going to happen? Is it really
going to be real or just be imaginary. Are we
disembodied spirits or something else out there? What’s
going on? The ascension shows us and reminds us that we
have a destination, a real destination. Turn over to
Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians is full of pictures of
Christ in glory and describes Christ on the throne at
the right hand of God. Ephesians 2:4-5 tells us that
because of His great love for us, He made us alive in
Christ, even while we were dead in transgressions. It
is by grace you have been saved. Now watch this: “And
God raised us up with Christ and seated us in the
heavenly realms in order that in the coming ages He
might show the incomparable riches of His grace
expressed in the kindness to us in Jesus Christ.” Did
you catch something important in this passage? God
raised us up. Raised. Not is going to
raise. Not is raising, but raised in the
past tense. And seated, not will sit us,
but has seated us with Christ. That is what Paul
means when he says, “We are in Christ.” God sees
us now through Christ. We are present before God with
Him. And that gives us cause to smile. Smile because
you have a hope that is certain. It is past tense. It
is done. It is sealed. First Peter teaches that it is
an inheritance that will never perish, never fade, never
disappear, never spoil, never rust, and never expire.
We have a real destination and future because God has
given them to us. All other sources for eternal meaning
and purpose will fail and disappoint because all other
things are not God. These things can only offer
temporary satisfaction and meaning. Only the Eternal
One can give everlasting purpose and meaning!
We have a champion on our side. Psalm 24 describes it:
“Lift up your heads, O ye gates and be lifted up you
ancient doors that the king of glory may come in. Who
is the king of glory, it asks. The Lord, strong and
mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.” We have a champion
on our side that has accomplished everything that we
need for life and holiness, for restoration before God,
for strengthening through the Holy Spirit. You can
trust Jesus standing as your representative before God
the Father. Satan accuses us all the time. “Did you
see what he did?” “They are never going to get that
straight.” “They are always falling down in that
area.” We have an accuser, but it says also in 1 John
that we have an advocate. And Jesus is the kind of
advocate that I want to have because I know about Him.
I know how He looks at me. I know how He thinks about
me. I am glad He is my advocate. He has not just seen
my outward actions. He knows my heart. He knows my
love for Him. We have an advocate with the Father that
we can trust.
Jesus has a continuing ministry on our behalf. That cannot
be said about the other religions. Buddha is not
standing up for any Buddhists. Confucius is not
representing Confucianism to anyone. Mohammed is not
doing anything for anybody. Only Christianity has a
living founder that continues to work on behalf of those
who follow Him, a founder whose history did not stop
with His death. It did not stop with His resurrection.
It has not stopped with His ascension. When He was on
earth for 33 years, He was limited in geography, time,
and space, but now He is not. Through the Spirit He is
with you in your home, He sees you at your workplace.
He is not limited.
Jesus is the one who sent the Holy Spirit to help you, to be
present with you, to guide and strengthen you, to nudge
you along in life. Jesus told His disciples, “I am
going to Him who sent me. I tell you the truth, it is
good, it is to your advantage that I go away for if I do
not go away the helper shall not come to you. But if I
go, I will send Him to you.” We have a champion in
heaven and a helper on earth. The Holy Spirit is here
to communicate with us, to guide, and strengthen our
lives. The ascension should cause us to nod and say,
“Ok, I have someone on my side. I have got the
potential for spiritual and moral strength. I have a
helper. I can do this! I am going to be your man (or
woman). A person of action.”
All these things focus on what we are to know and how we are
to feel, but that is not where Jesus left His
disciples. I want you to look at Acts
1:11,
again. The two angels asked the believers that were
present, “Why are you standing around looking at the
sky?” Literally, it says, “Why do you stand gazing into
the sky?” He has not put you into a waiting room
until He returns. He says, “Get out there and share my
truth with others. Be my hands, be my voice of peace,
of truth to those around you. Get up and get going.”
The disciples were not to stay on that hillside in
Bethany. They were to go back into
Jerusalem. They were to go to
Judea, to
the uttermost parts of the world. They were to share
the truth that they had seen that others may also know
that truth that their lives will be benefited, also.
Jesus said: “I have been given complete authority in
heaven and earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new
disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.
And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the
end of this age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus ascended so
that the Spirit could come and be our helper so that we
can become more like Him. Jesus ascended so that He
could be by His Father’s side once again. Jesus
ascended to prepare a place for us so that we can dwell
with Him forever. ‘Oh, what a great friend and advocate
we have in Jesus!”
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