The Ascension

Introduction

Saying goodbye to someone is rarely easy. Although there may be those that we are glad to see go most of the time goodbyes bring emotions of sadness and sorrow. Juliet said to Romeo — “Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow.” They have spent the entire night talking but now it is time to say goodbye. Juliet professes that what makes such parting sweet and sorrowful at the same time is that she doesn’t want to separate but she knows that she will see Romeo the next day. So she declares that she will continue to say good night even after Romeo is gone in anticipation of a new day and the sweet reunion they will have. While the language has changed the intensity of emotions has not.

Couples still find it difficult to say good night to one another after a date. They still long to spend more time together. So sorrow on one hand but sweetness on the other as night gives way to day. On a larger scale, saying goodbye to someone at death brings great sorrow. The life that we had with that person is now gone. There will be a different life but it isn’t the one we thought it would be. There is much to admire about our widows and widowers who not only continue to exist after the death of a spouse but move forward to identify a different life but a life that has purpose and meaning.

People move and we have to say goodbye. We get together as a family and then we all have to go back to our different cities and we have to say goodbye. We spend a part of our lives saying goodbye and in most cases the words come with sorrow and tears. So what happens when the risen Son of God leaves his disciples? Our study today is about the ascension. Not merely what happened but what does the ascension mean to us. Our Lord is risen and he is no longer here. He has returned to the Father. Let’s praise together.

The Event

I have never preached a sermon on the ascension. To be blunt I have always seen it as an event that needed to happen but that it had very little theological implication for us. I was wrong. Studying for this lesson opened my eyes to the connection between the ascension and significant implications. Things that I knew to be true and have preached about but failed to connect with the ascension. 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus is now ready to return to God. According to our text, Jesus takes them outside of Jerusalem in the vicinity of Bethany. This was the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. It was here near Bethany that Jesus had pronounced sorrow for Jerusalem’s lack of faith and prophesied that the temple would eventually fall. In this same area, Jesus ascends back to God.

Jesus does not disappear. Instead he is taken up in a cloud. The text in Acts 1 tells us that the disciples are watching him for a period of time as he is taken up. This event ends the earthly ministry of Jesus. This event serves as a demarcation between the ministry of Jesus and the beginning of the disciples’ ministry. In 10 days, the church will be established. In 10 days, the disciples will begin their ministry of preaching about the crucified and resurrected Jesus.

Notice the disciples’ reaction to Jesus leaving. They worship him and they are filled with joy. They return to the temple for times of praise. No tears. They are not excited about saying goodbye, but they know that a new time of ministry is coming. While they do not know exactly what this is going to look like, Jesus has assured them that shortly God will act on their behalf. In the meantime, they are to wait in Jerusalem for God’s power to be shown.

Implications

How do you explain the disciples’ joy? Let me say on the front end that this is not to be compared to a funeral. Tears are rightfully shed at a funeral. A sense of loss is experienced when death separates. In this case, Jesus is not dead. He is alive but he is leaving them. Yet, the disciples are filled with joy. How do you explain this? Their joy tells us something about what they were anticipating.

First, Jesus had promised in verse 49 that God was going to send power from on high. This reference to the Holy Spirit was not understood. 10 days later on the day of Pentecost, they did. Jesus had told them that the Holy Spirit would not come until he left. He had reassured them that his leaving was actually good for them. Their joy came from anticipating the presence of God’s Spirit who is Holy. For us as well, Jesus’ absence means that God resides within us through his Spirit. We will talk more about the Spirit and his work in future lessons.

Second, Jesus’ ascension means that he has returned to the Father and having returned to the Father he is seated at God’s right hand. The Hebrew writer in Hebrews 10:11-14 tells us that such a position signifies that the work of forgiving sins is complete. God has forgiven all sin. Not all will take advantage of that reality by placing their trust in Jesus but for those who have, our sins are gone. We are no longer enslaved by sin. Satan may work through our minds to try to convince us that we are not forgiven but the ascension to God’s right hand signals that the work is done. It is finished.

Third, the ascension means that we now have one who advocates on our behalf. I John 2:1-2 tells us that Jesus is our Advocate. This is a legal term. Jesus is the one who pleads our case before the Father. But the word also includes one who comforts. Jesus not only pleads our case when we sin with the Father but he also comforts us in those times reassuring us that we belong to him. Jesus isn’t resting on his laurels. He is reassuring us.

Fourth, the ascension means we have a mission. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:22-23 that with the resurrection and the ascension all things have been placed under Christ’s authority. Just as Jesus promised the disciples of 2000 years ago, we, too, have the reassurance that everything comes under Christ’s authority. Jesus has overcome all things. Thus, our mission is to speak and demonstrate a faith that carries this sacred message to our world — Jesus is greater than all things. Jesus took away the sting of death; he took away the fear of unseen powers at work; he gave us the privilege as his children to reflect his glory and to honor him with our lives.

What does that mean? Death does not have the final word. The tears we shed at the grave will one day turn to laughter as we celebrate eternity with God. Saying goodbye is only temporary. All of our goodbyes will turn into the new morning of eternal light. It means that even now we are filled with joy. Even now whatever the circumstances we hold to God’s hand trusting him to always be there and to never leave us. The ascension means that we trust God to deal with our sin. The ascension means that we find reassurance in the presence of Jesus when Satan is trying to convince us that we are condemned. All because of the ascension, we know our joy is real. Invitation.

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