Ascension Day 2023

Text: “9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).

The most important events of Jesus’ life come with plenty of drama: choirs of angels, earthquakes, darkness during the middle of the day, curtains being torn in two. This one doesn’t have that. And the assigned readings for today don’t help matters. There’s the drama of Elijah and Elisha going on, knowing that Elijah was going to be taken from the earth, and Elisha refusing to leave Elijah’s side again and again. The back and forth between them building until Elijah is finally swept up into heaven by chariots of fire as Elisha looks on. Compare that to the account of our Lord’s ascension. Unlike Elisha, Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand what was happening. In fact, even as they worshipped, they still doubted. Perhaps if it happened like it did for Elijah— Jesus being swept up and away by chariots of fire— then maybe this final earthly event in Jesus’ life might do a better job of catching our attention. But that’s not how God chose to cause it to happen. And, perhaps, not the best pairing of readings. So, if you’ll permit me to be a small bit presumptuous, let’s try pairing it with another passage or two that might be better.

If we go to Hebrews, for example, then 9 …[with the eyes of faith] we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:8-9).

From the earthly view we see faltering disciples and Jesus rising up and disappearing from sight. But God’s word describes what happened on this day as a coronation.

“Each successor of [King] David was anointed in the temple with perfumed olive oil by the high priest as God’s representative… [which] empowered him with the Spirit of the Lord (1 Sam. 16:13; cf. 2 Sam 23:1-2; Is. 61:1).

“[He was] invested with royal insignia[…:] the royal diadem… [and] a scepter, the scepter of divine power (Ps. 11:2) by which he administered God’s righteousness and justice (Ps. 45:6; cf. Is. 11:4-5). …[He] also [received] his “great name,” the throne name that God gave him at his enthronement (2 Sam. 7:9; cf. 1 Ki. 1:47; Ps. 72:17).

“[But t]he most significant part of the king’s accession occurred in the Throne Hall of his palace with his ceremonial session on the royal throne, the throne of David. …As in ancient Egypt, the enemies of the king probably were portrayed on its footstool. When the king first sat on the throne, his reign began….”[1]

On this day, the Final King in David’s line receives His throne. “8 [The Father, Himself,] says [to His Son], ‘Your throne… is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions’” (Hebrews 1:8-9). The Father tells Him, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet” (Hebrews 1:13).

On this side of the Ascension, “8 we do not yet see everything in subjection to him” (Hebrews 2:8). But, by God’s Word, we see that, “3…after making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Hebrews 1:3-4). On this day the Son of David has begun His reign over all creation. He has taken His place in the throne room in heaven.

It is a grand and glorious event. And that alone would make it worthy of celebrating. But it’s not just a grand and glorious event. He did it for you.

On one level, you got a glimpse of all of that about two weeks ago with the coronation of King Charles III. You got to watch all of the pomp and circumstance for a moment, and perhaps imagine what it must be like to have a life like that, but then you went back to your ordinary routine. Today’s coronation is different.

Another pastor pointed out that when Jesus said elsewhere that He was going to prepare a place for you, it wasn’t to say that they had to put in a new subdivision just off one of those streets of gold or have a couple more mansions built (those are my words, not his). Pastor Petersen pointed out that the place Jesus went to prepare for you is His place. He ascends to the right hand of the Father and is seated on the throne in order to prepare a place for you there with Him. It’s not just a grand event, it’s for you.

And that name that He has inherited? The royal name under which He rules? It’s the divine name and He has given it to you. He comes to you— personally and individually— and, one by one, He writes His name upon you in baptism. Yes, you are joined to Christ’s His death through baptism. And you remain joined to Him through His ascension. It’s not just a grand event, it’s for you.

That great multitude of Revelation 7 and Revelation 14– “9 from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9)— not only are they the ones who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, John also describes them as the servants of God who have been sealed with God’s name on their foreheads. “15Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, it’s not just a grand event. He has ascended in order to prepare a place for you there in the midst of the throne and is guiding you there to the source of the river of the water of life so that you may be right there where God, Himself, can wipe away every tear from your eyes.

Oh, and the enemies that are being put under His feet? It just so happens that they are your enemies, too. He took your enemies to be His, also, when He took on human flesh. They were defeated when He suffered and died in your place. And now, as He begins His reign, the devil, the world, your sinful flesh and even, one day, death itself are being put under His feet once and for all—not in order to glorify Himself, but for you.

We do get a hint of this elsewhere in the New Testament. The apostle John doesn’t include a description of the Ascension. He weaves it back into the Last Supper. He introduces his description of that night by saying that Jesus knew “3…that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God” (John 13:3). Knowing that, the soon-to-be-king-of-the-universe, “4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:4–5, ESV), and commanded them to serve one another just as He was serving them.

And Jesus’ last words to His disciples in Matthew’s gospel, spoken just before He ascended, begin by assuring them— and us— that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to Him. And, in that authority, He tells you: “As you are going, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to hold firmly to all that I have promised and commanded you.” As He is leading you through this world to the place He has prepared for you, by the authority over heaven and earth with which He has been invested, He sends you out to love one another as He has loved you and to take with you the name that He has bestowed on you and place that name upon others, as well.

The Ascension may not have caught our imagination and attention as much as Jesus’ birth, His death, or resurrection. But with the eyes of faith we discover that not even Elijah’s chariots of fire come close to pointing to the reality of what happened at the Ascension and all that it means for you.

[1] Kleinig, John. “Concordia Commentary: Hebrews.” Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. 2017. P. 65-67