The Ascension of Jesus Christ

Intro

I love a good paradox

Mirriam Webester defines a paradox as “a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is perhaps true”

I have a favourite paradox… take a look *show picture*

The story of the ascension of Jesus can be told through three paradoxes… paradoxis?… paradoxi?

These statements (and the lessons we learn from them) may seem contradictory at first, but will prove absolutely true

And help set the stage for the rest of the book of Acts

Read Acts 1:1-11 and pray

The Same But Different (Acts 1:1-5)

40 days between resurrection and ascension help bridge the gap between Luke and Acts

Appeared to all the disciples, plus 500 followers over the course of 40 days

Did natural things like talking, walking and eating

Did supernatural things like mask his identity, teleport into and out of locked rooms… wow!

Left no room for debate: He was resurrected from the dead

A continuation of the story of Jesus Christ (the same, but different)

He is STILL the main character

“It is all about what Jesus is continuing to do and to teach. The mysterious presence of Jesus haunts the whole story. He is announced as King and Lord, not as an increasingly distant memory but as a living and powerful reality, a person who can be known and loved, obeyed and followed, a person who continues to act within the real world. That, Luke is telling us, is what this book is going to be all about. We call it ‘The Acts of the Apostles’, but in truth we should really think of it as ‘The Acts of Jesus (II)’.” (NT Wright)

Same story with focus on some “different” characters:

The Holy Spirit

John baptized with water for the repentance of sins

To prepare people to receive Jesus and the salvation found in him

Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (v. 5)

Cf. Luke 3:15-16.

To transform people from the inside out

The apostles (formerly disciples) are commanded to wait in Jerusalem for this baptism of the Spirit

That’s next week!

The church

Jesus established the church during His ministry (Cf. Mat. 16:18) Jesus has chosen to work through the church (His people) to reach the world

So it is still all about Jesus, working through the church by the power of His Spirit

The same story, but different

Like jumping to different perspectives in a novel

Already But Not Yet (Acts 1:6-8)

The apostles are ready: Jesus has been teaching on the kingdom of God (v. 3) and they want to know if now is the time for that kingdom to be restored to Israel (v. 6)

Still considering an earthly kingdom that will overthrow the tyranny of Rome

Just witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus: Let’s go!

Jesus does NOT say “no:” He says “not yet” (read verse 7)

Talk about using this response to the kids quesion of “Are we there yet?”

In other words: There WILL come a time in which the kingdom of God is perfectly restored, but you don’t get to know when that is

The kingdom of God is here (Christ established it at his first coming)

But the kingdom of God is not fully complete (Christ will fulfill it at His second coming)

“parousia” = already but not yet

In the meantime, we have a role to play (re-read v. 8)

The apostles may not know the time, but they DO receive the power of the Holy Spirit

Again… next week!

Not just for the sake of power, but for the sake of expanding the kingdom of God as witnesses of Jesus Christ

This is Luke’s version of the Great Commission:

Jerusalem (ground zero), Judea (province), Samaria (outlying province of non-Jews), end of the earth (farthest imaginable point)

The good news of Jesus is supposed to spread EVERYWHERE

And His followers are the witnesses/messengers

Not just the apostles, but the task of the church that Jesus started

That means we are also empowered messengers today

Cf. 2 Corinthians 5:20.

Are we living as Spirit-empowered witnesses? Do we implore people to be reconciled to God?

Absent But Present

The ascension also points out the last paradox: Jesus is absent yet present with His followers

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus ends the Great Commission with the final promise to his disciples, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20b)....

And then He immediately ascends into heaven leaving His disciples behind

Which one is it? Is Jesus absent or present? It’s a paradox; and it is both

Jesus is bodily absent from us (from this point forward)

His resurrected body is lifted up, taken away by a cloud (cloud = presence of God)

He was walking and talking with His disciples and now He is not

Like taking separate trips for a honeymoon after getting married

This absence is purposeful and for our benefit (Cf. John 16:7-11)

What? How can it be better for Jesus to leave?

The Holy Spirit is sent to us and to the world

Look forward to next week!

Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, and He interecedes on our behalf

Cf. Hebrews 7:23-25.

Jesus is our mediator; He is our “go between” us and God; He intercedes so that we have relationship

The benefit of Jesus ascending into heaven is found in the cooperative work of the Trinity:

God the Father seated on the throne, God the Son seated next to Him interceding on our behalf; God the Spirit indwelling believers and convicting the world

While Jesus is bodily absent, He is still very much present with His followers

The promise given in Matthew 28:20b was not just lip service; Jesus truly IS with His followers until the end of the age (second coming)

Jesus is present through His Spirit

Why we can sing SS songs about Jesus being “in our heart”

What it means to abide in Christ and have him abide in us

This also requires a solid understanding of the Trinity

Cooperative, yet also one. When the Holy Spirit is with us the Father and Son are also with us

John uses lots of oneness language in his gospel: Cf. John 17:20-23.

The Father, Son and Spirit are one

We are invited into that oneness

This is expressed in our oneness with each other

Do our relationships with each other prove to the world that Jesus is present with us? That we are one with Him?

Because this is how the world will know!

Conclusion

Here we find the paradoxes come full cirlce:

The story of Acts (and the church) is the same story Jesus began; we are just continuing to carry it out (the same but different)

The kingdom of God was established by Jesus but still awaits complete fulfillment at His second coming (already but not yet)

We are empowered by the presence of the Spirit even as Jesus is bodily absent (absent yet present)

In each of these paradoxes, the takeaway is the same: We are to be witnesses of Jesus Christ:

We carry on the story that He started by telling others the truth about Jesus

We are ambassadors of Christ; official representatives of the kingdom of God

We display the truth of Jesus through the oneness (unity) we hold for each other even as Jesus is bodily absent

Let us go and tell the world the good news of Jesus!