The Ascension
- Ken Kalis
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
The Ascension was Jesus' promotion.
He earned it by giving His blood for our sins.
He had willingly come down from heaven
To conquer death and give new life to all.
Celebrate the day by getting ready for the place He's preparing for you!
Thursday is Ascension Day.
Luke (1-16 to 84-100) tells us:
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’
— Acts 1:9–11
It shows that Jesus* (4 BC- 30 AD) really had overcome death – He wasn’t just resurrected to die again, but to live forever.
For many Christians, the fact that Jesus’ followers witnessed him ascending into the clouds leaves no doubt that Jesus is alive and with God the Father in Heaven, and is no longer limited to living on Earth.
The ascension demonstrates God’s omnipotence
The Old Testament presents several prophetic passages that point to it.
My favorite is Jacob’s* (1836-1689 BC) ladder:
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached heaven: behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; - Genesis 28:12
An asterisk* after a name means the person is in SPIRITUAL LIVES.
There is also text of Moses* (1571-1451 BC) ascending Mt. Sinai to meet the LORD and the psalms of enthronement (Psa. 24, 47, 68, 110) feature the installation of the Royal King, These refer several time to the Lord of Glory, whom Jesus became when He died and rose from the dead.
Two more powerful texts show what this ascension will look like;
, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
2Ki 2:12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more. -2 Kings 2:4
And finally, Zechariah 14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east,
The New Testament also has lots to say on the Ascension and its significance
.The Ascension in the New Testament Beyond Luke-Acts
1. John’s Gospel gives these words of Jesus: And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. (3:13)
What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? (6:62)
He goes on to promise the permanent indwelling of all three persons of the Trinity (14:23) and that he is going to prepare a place for us (14:2-3)
2. Peter (1BC-67 AD) tells us that Jesus ‘……. is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. (1Pet. 3:18-22)
3. .Paul* (5-67) argues that the church is founded based on Christ’s ascension (Eph. 4:8-10, citing Psalm 68). The ascended Christ has given gifts to his church, gifts of persons, including the apostles. In the hymnic citation in 1 Timothy 3:16, which refers to the incarnation, resurrection and the preaching of the apostles, comes the phrase “taken up in glory.”
4. Hebrews. Tells us Jesus is our great high priest “who has passed through the heavens” (Heb. 4:14-16), and so is able to help us in our time of need; he is our forerunner who has entered into “the inner place behind the curtain” (Heb. 6:19-20), from where he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him (Heb. 7:25-26). He has entered “once for all into the holy place” (Heb. 9:11-12), “into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Heb. 9:24). He has sat down at the right hand of God (Heb. 10:12-13). These passages trace the journey of Jesus from the cross to the right hand of God via the ascension, portraying his passage into the holy of holies, the presence of God.
History of the Feast Day
The apostles and the early Church did not celebrate this day, but Eusebius ( ? -339) hints at its celebration in the 4th century.
At the beginning of the 5th century, Augustine of Hippo (354-430) states that it is of Apostolic origin, and he describes it in a manner that suggests it was a universal observance of the Catholic Church long before his time.
Frequent mention is made of it in the writings of John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nyssa, and in the Apostolic Constitution. The Pilgrimage of Aetheria describes the vigil of this feast and the feast itself, as they were observed in the church built over the grotto in Bethlehem, where Christ is traditionally regarded as having been born.
It is possible that, before the 5th century, the event narrated in the Gospels was commemorated in conjunction with the feasts of Easter or Pentecost.
Augustine first points us to reflect on the Ascension with the words of St. Paul in his letter to the Colossians (Col. 3:1-4):
Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him. Listen to the words of the Apostle:
If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.
He eloquently explains to us how, through his resurrection and ascension, Christ is here with us on earth by His divinity, and we are in Heaven with Him by His love,
While in heaven, he is also with us; and we, while on earth, are with him. He is here with us by his divinity, his power, and his love. We cannot be in heaven, as he is on earth, by divinity, but in him, we can be there by love.
And how His Ascension is unique to Him alone:
No one ascended into heaven except Christ because we also are Christ: he is the Son of Man by his union with us, and we by our union with him are sons of God.
Thus, no one but Christ descended and no one but Christ ascended; not because there is no distinction between the head and the body, but because the body as a unity cannot be separated from the head.
Why Should the Ascension Matter to Me?
Before the world began, Jesus was in heaven with His Father; He was the Son of God, the Agent of Creation. He left that place to take on a human body wia the Virgin Mary. He came, lived, died, and rose from the dead as a man. He was glorified again, so powerful that "it was not possible for Death to hold Him." (Acts 2:24)
He's at the right hand of God, working on our behalf, preparing a place for us. He told us there were many mansions in His Father's house, a place for everyone He has redeemed. Get ready! He's coming soon!
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Hail the day that sees Him rise, Alleluia!
To His throne above the skies, Alleluia!
Christ, awhile to mortals given, Alleluia!
Reascends His native Heaven, Alleluia!
There the glorious triumph waits, Alleluia!
Lift your heads, eternal gates, Alleluia!
Christ hath conquered death and sin, Alleluia!
Take the King of glory in, Alleluia!
Circled round with angel powers, Alleluia!
Their triumphant Lord, and ours, Alleluia!
Conqueror over death and sin, Alleluia!
Take the King of glory in! Alleluia!
Him though highest Heav’n receives, Alleluia!
Still He loves the earth He leaves, Alleluia!
Though returning to His throne, Alleluia!
Still He calls mankind His own, Alleluia!
See! He lifts His hands above, Alleluia!
See! He shows the prints of love, Alleluia!
Hark! His gracious lips bestow, Alleluia!
Blessings on His church below, Alleluia!
Still for us His death He pleads, Alleluia!
Prevalent He intercedes, Alleluia!
Near Himself prepares our place, Alleluia!
Harbinger of human race, Alleluia!
Master (will we ever say), Alleluia!
Taken from our head to day, Alleluia!
See Thy faithful servants, see, Alleluia!
Ever gazing up to Thee, Alleluia!
Grant, though parted from our sight, Alleluia!
Far above yon azure height, Alleluia!
Grant our hearts may thither rise, Alleluia!
Seeking Thee beyond the skies, Alleluia!
Ever upward let us move, Alleluia!
Wafted on the wings of love, Alleluia!
Looking when our Lord shall come, Alleluia!
Longing, gasping after home, Alleluia!
There we shall with Thee remain, Alleluia!
Partners of Thy endless reign, Alleluia!
There Thy face unclouded see, Alleluia!
Find our heaven of heavens in Thee, Alleluia!
Charles Wesley, 1739
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