And Rules All Things For His Bride

Praise God for Christ’s Ascension

5.21.23 [Luke 24:44-53] River of Life (The Festival of Ascension)

Grace and peace and joy are yours because of the One who is, and who was, and who is to come, our Ascended Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Tonight is the night. The final of three shows Taylor Swift is playing at Foxborough, just outside of Boston, Massachusetts for her “The Eras Tour”. I’m guessing you didn’t get tickets. Not just because you are here, but because they were impossible to get.

Taylor Swift has been one of the faces of the Ticketmaster fiasco. But the challenge of getting tickets to her show was about more than beating bots to the punch or signing up for a Capital One card for exclusive priority. Since last fall, Swifties and those who love them, have been fighting to get tickets to her concerts. Anthony Silva, a devoted dad to a Swifty, made his daughter’s Christmas when he gave her tickets to Swift. $1,800 on Stubhub so that his daughter and her three friends could go see their favorite artist.

There was just one problem. Stubhub broke its promise. Silva will be refunded, but you can imagine the very awkward position that put him in. He had promised his daughter that she and her friends would be able to see Swift. And suddenly, their dreams were dashed. And to add a particularly nasty twist, Silva played a joke on his daughter and told her that her tickets were gone. She did not handle it well. And then the next day, Silva’s practical joke was real life. So he dropped $21,000 on four tickets. Yikes!

It’s a staggering and an embarrassing amount to spend on tickets for a show. I cannot imagine wanting to go to any show badly enough to drop 2 grand, much less 20. But before we judge Silva too harshly, we must look in the mirror. Think about the artist, the athlete, the team, or the show that you’ve wanted to see most. Maybe it was a concert. A championship game. A Tony-award winning cast. How much would you have shelled out to see it? Not $20,000! you say. Sure. Not even $2k. Ok. But is it an amount you’d want other people to know about? That’s kind of the point.

Now imagine, instead of Swift, it was Jesus Christ going on tour. I know Jesus wouldn’t charge people to see him, but you’d have travel expenses. How much would you spend to see Jesus? To hear him preach? Whatever that number might be, I bet you’re less embarrassed. To see Jesus would be a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I also would guess that you have some friends or family members you would like to take along—some people you think would really benefit from it. It would’t just be a once-in-a-lifetime moment, it could be a life-changing moment for them.

When we dream like that, we begin to wonder why Jesus didn’t stick around—if we aren’t already thinking that on the festival of Ascension. Wouldn’t it be cool if Christ went on tour? Or even if he set up shop on the shores of the Sea of Galilee? There would be a line miles long just to see him. After all, that’s what happened during his ministry.

It’s hard for us—who have never once seen Jesus in the flesh or heard him preach even a short message on the shores of the Sea of Galilee—to not feel like we are missing out on something with his Ascension. It’s easy for us, when we look at the disciples, to think that at least part of the reason they were able to return to Jerusalem with great joy was because they had spent so much time seeing him and listening to his words.

We have almost a kind of evangelical envy or Jesus jealousy. We wish we had what they had. We especially wish that for those moments when we struggle with doubts or fears or hopelessness. We wish we could just go to Jesus and have him settle theological disputes. We wish we could go to Jesus and have him give us guidance on what we should do, how we should respond and react to certain situations.

We really wish we could bring our friends and family who do not believe right now. We wish that everyone had the chance to sit down with Christ and ask him their questions and really listen to his answers. How could they meet Jesus and not believe that he is the Son of God and their Savior? Wouldn’t Jesus going on tour, or setting up shop in Capernaum, really make his church grow by leaps and bounds? Wouldn’t that make our lives and our world a better place?

When we have thoughts like this, it proves we really are like Jesus’ disciples. Because they questioned his methods and ways. They didn’t think it was a good idea for him to do some of the things he did. They were surprised to see him spend a hot afternoon with a sinful Samaritan woman. They didn’t think Jesus should be bothered with little children. They didn’t think Jesus should suffer and die. Even after his resurrection, they asked Jesus: (Acts 1:6) Are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? They were still thinking in earthly terms. They still imagined the kingdom of God to be about restoring Israel to her former glory instead of being about restoring sinners to a right standing with God. They still (Mt. 16:23) had in mind the things of men, not the things of God. And we struggle with that, too.

Because our world is wicked and we are short-sighted sinners. We think it would be better if Jesus went on tour or had a classroom somewhere that everyone could go to. But, clearly, this was not God’s plan because this is not what Jesus did. And God’s plan—from beginning to end—is far more merciful, more patient, more loving, and brings us far more joy than the plan that people like us would have dreamed up. The prophet Isaiah said (1 Cor. 2:9-10) What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Ascension doesn’t rob us of Jesus, it amplifies him. The’ ascension makes our lives on earth better because it reveals God’s priorities, God’s power, and God’s plan for us. Because Jesus ascended into heaven, we, like the disciples did, can praise God and have great joy.

The Ascension reveals God’s priorities. Think about what you would have done if you were Jesus. Some of the teachers of the law and the chief priests were hellbent on putting you to death. Pilate was too cowardly to stand up to them. There were all kind of folks that demanded you death and celebrated as you suffered. Wouldn’t you want to rub their noses in it a little? Who wouldn’t?

Well, Jesus for one. He’s probably the only one. But that’s not what he did after his Resurrection. He didn’t show up at high priest’s home in the middle of the night and tell him I told you I wasn’t blaspheming! He didn’t make himself comfortable in Pontius Pilate’s palace. Jesus made a point of spending time with those who believed in him before his death, but struggled to see how the Messiah could be crucified.

That’s what he reminds the disciples of in Luke 24:44 Everything had to be fulfilled that was written about me throughout the Old Testament—the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.

Luke 24:45 Then he opened their minds so that they could see God’s two priorities had been clear since the very beginning. 1) Jn. 1:29 Take away the sin of the world and then 2) take that message out into the world, preach Lk. 24:47 repentance for the forgiveness of sins in his name to all nations. How can that task be done if there is one preacher?

Who would rather listen to any of the disciples preach than Jesus? Who would have any confidence in any of us, for that matter? Wouldn’t everyone say: Well, let me go see Jesus & then we will see? But that is precisely what Jesus is now doing since he ascended. He has made us ambassadors of the reconciliation he has earned. He has called ordinary people, sinners who need a Savior, to do the work that angels envy—call sinners to repentance and then assure them that forgiveness for sins is found in no other name than Jesus Christ.

Do you see his power? The power is not in the sinner, but in the Scriptures. It’s not in what the disciples did, but in what they witnessed. What they saw and heard. Our power is not found in sinful people—but in the sin-cleansing means of grace. In Word and Sacrament, we get Jesus. Here. Anywhere and everywhere Christ crucified is clearly preached and his Sacraments are properly administered.

Jesus is present and powerful in all these places because he promises us that (Mt. 18:20) where two or three gather together in his name—that is seeing their own sins and seeing him as their only Savior—there he is with them. Even though he has ascended to the glory, honor, and power that were always his in heaven, (Mt. 28:20) he is also always with us. He makes (Eph. 3:17) his dwelling in our hearts. He speaks through us. Only a God who rules all things for our eternal good, can do this from above to the end of the age.

His priority is taking the call of repentance and the assurance of the forgiveness of sins to the world. His power is his Word and his Sacraments—where that forgiveness of sins is given to sinners. His plan now is to bless us in all things. And he is blessing his Church.

When Jesus ascended, his followers went back to Jerusalem as he instructed. Shortly before Pentecost, there were 120 believers in one place. Three years of Jesus’ miracles and preaching and teaching didn’t bring millions to faith. Do you know what has? The plan God has been working ever since the Ascension.

You see, we may wish that we could go see Jesus or bring our friends to meet him. You can. And the front row seats are not thousands of dollars. They’re free. Just like his grace. Whenever and wherever we read and study his Word and receive his Supper with our fellow believers, there he is with us to bless and keep us. Today is that day. And it will be the same the next Sunday and the Sunday after that. This fills us with great joy as we praise God.

But Jesus also has an eternal plan for us and all his own. One day, the King of kings will return. On the Last Day, his power will be seen by all—even those who denied it and despised him. On that day, his primary mission will not be rub it in the faces of his enemies, but to bring us to be with him for eternity, where we will get what we have always wanted. To see him. Face to face. Amen.