He Ascended Into Heaven

It is likely that unless you were celebrating your birthday, the birthday of a close family member or friend, or perhaps a wedding anniversary, this past Thursday came and went without deliberate commemoration or special recognition. Nevertheless, May 13, 2010 had a special significance for the church.

We know from the Bible that after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples and others for a period of 40 days (Acts 1:3). At the end of that period, we are told that Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9–11; cf. Luke 24:51) where he sat down at the right hand of God the Father Almighty (Heb. 1:3). Because the Bible provides us with these details, the church is able to calculate Christ’s ascension. This year, Easter being April 4, the ascension of Jesus would be commemorated 40 days later on Thurs., May 13.

The annual recognition of Christ’s ascension by the church has fluctuated historically. In our contemporary circles, it receives little or no attention. This ought to be questioned given the fact that Luke records the event twice — once at the end of his Gospel and again at the beginning of Acts. Indeed, the disciples bore witness not only to the resurrection of Christ, but to his ascension as well. So it is not surprising that they testify to his ascension in their earliest sermons (Acts 2:32–33). In fact, the ascension is mentioned or alluded to 33 times in the New Testament (see Eph. 1:20–23; Phil. 2:9–10).

Moreover, when we confess our faith using the words of the Apostles’ Creed, we affirm his birth (incarnation), his suffering/death, his resurrection, his ascension, and his second coming. The church is deliberate in marking the past events with Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. (Some segments of the church then spend the rest of the year speculating about the timing of Jesus’ return!) All the while, the ascension of Christ is practically ignored.

Should the ascension of Christ be considered an important article of our faith? Absolutely. The ascension means that Jesus has entered into glory. After the humiliation of his birth, his rejection and betrayal by his own people, his suffering, and the shame of the cross, he is now exalted — being seated at the right hand of God the Father.  The right hand is a figurative expression denoting the place of supreme privilege, honor, power, and authority.  We celebrate Christ’s ascension because we delight in his exaltation.

But the ascension has implications for us as his people, too. He has entered into glory to act on our behalf from his exalted position (see Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 53–55). What is he doing? He is interceding for us before the Father’s throne — we have the assurance that our prayers are heard because he pleads our case (Hebrews 4:14–16).

He is preparing a place for us so that we may be where he is (John 14:1–3). He is supplying Christians and the church with gifts to equip us for ministry (Eph. 4:11–13).  He is ruling and defending the church so that we cannot be defeated — the gates of hell cannot prevail against us (Mat. 16:18). The one who conquered the grave and the Evil One is the one who watches over us and defends us!

In summary, Christ’s ascension is to be celebrated because it declares his supremacy over all things and because this reality gives us comfort and hope. We can know that whatever troubles and trials we are experiencing come to us by the hand of our loving Savior who gave himself for us and who rules over the cosmos.

The ascension also gives us confidence that as the resurrected Christ has been received into glory, we who are united to him by faith will also be resurrected and received into glory to be where he is forever.  Like his birth, death, and resurrection, the ascension should occupy our thoughts far more than once a year.  Indeed, it should cause us to consistently “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (Col. 3:1)

In His Abounding Grace,
Pastor Brian