The Ascension of Our Lord - Observed (2023)

Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-53

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ today we are blessed to celebrate the Ascension of Christ on our Behalf. Now this happened 40 days after the Resurrection of Jesus, and that would have made it this last Thursday, but we are observing it today because otherwise it would go by unnoticed and this is an important part of our faith. For it is natural to wonder if Christ has risen from the dead, lives, and reigns to all eternity than where is he now? Why don’t we find him walking the earth as he did 2000 years ago. In short where is Jesus?

Christ’s Ascension

Jesus told His disciples that He must depart and go to His Father.

He had been telling them this for some time, but like his resurrection it was hard to wrap their minds around. Who amongst us oculd blame them, think everything that had happened, not only had you been with him 3 years watching him perform miracles, they had watched him die and then rise again to life, whose head would not be swirling at everything happening.

Jesus didn’t leave right away, but offered many proofs.

Now we don’t know what all of these proofs are, we do know that He appeared to the disciples on the night of his resurrection even though they were in a locked room, we know that he vanished from sight in from the disciples on the road to emmaus. We know that he appeared to them at the Sea of Galilee, and ...

We know that Jesus appeared to 500 disciples at once.

So this was not a small isolated incident where only a few people saw him after his resurrection but many different people who all bore witness to the fact that Jesus who had been killed and put to death was now alive.

The Disciples didn’t understand the Ascension.

They had their eyes fixed on an Earthly Kingdom, and believed that is what Jesus had come to establish when Jesus had said that His Kingdom is not of this world or from this world. We shouldn’t be looking for an earthly Christian Kingdom.

Why did Jesus Ascend?

Like the Disciples, we want to see the Kingdom now.

We have seen this throughout history that the hope is that with the right leader, that it would solve all the problems instantly, that we would have a blessed Kingdom, but the fact is when you look at the history of Israel you see that even having a God appointed King, they still had issues.

They wish to be freed immediately from this world.

They were tired of the persecution and the struggle and the trials and wanted to be able to go out into the world without any difficulties.

Christ was sending them the Holy Spirit that they might evangelize.

He is not taking them out of this world, because their work isn’t yet finished, they are to share this good news and to be his apostles, those that he is sending out into a world that doesn’t yet the Good News.

The Good News is that Jesus has now been crowned.

He had set aside his glory for a time for our sake, as he humbled himself to be born of Mary, to suffer and to die for our sake. So Jesus ascends to Heaven to take up the glory that belongs to Him

The Coronation of Christ

John sees this glorious event in Revelation.

The first opening chapters show the 7 churches as they are in turmoil, but the book keeps coming back again and again to the fact that Jesus is Victorious and that He now lives and reigns forever.

You have everyone praising the Lamb who was slain.

You have the living creatures that are around the throne bow praising the Lamb who was slain but lives, and the 24 elders and every creature in all creation acknowledging that He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. For it is his name at which every knee must bow.

Jesus’ Ascension marks the beginning of His reign and the defeat of Satan.

We hear that, and then we look at the world and we have some questions, but it did not happen suddenly, even his redemption of the world didn’t start at his conception, but in the promise made to Adam and Eve years before even Mary was born. So Christ’s reign is not yet complete, and that gives us time to share ...

The Good News

Jesus’ ministry on earth was to fulfill the will of the Father for us.

Everything He did in his Ministry was for your sake. He was born for you, He lived for you, He died for you, and He rose for you. That He might do for us what we could never accomplish. So it should not be surprising then that

Jesus’ ascension was done that He might intercede for you.

For who amongst us is worthy to stand before the throne of God? None of us are worthy by our own works, or merits to stand in the presence of the Living God. We are sinners, that means we what we deserve is God’s wrath to bear down upon our heads for every wrong thing that we have done. That is what we have earned, for there is nothing good inside of us.

As your High Priest, he bears your name before the Father that you might be accepted into God’s Kingdom.

Jesus carries your name before the Father and there asks that you might be forgiven. Not because of who you are, or what you have done, or anything that you might have given to God. He asks because He loves you. He considers you His dear friend that is why He laid down his life for you so that the father might welcome you as a child of God.

Gifts from the King of Kings

Ephesians 4:8 says, Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

We are part of that host of captives, those who had been enslaved to sin, death, and decay and He gives to us Gifts, and they are the treasures of heaven. IN baptism he clothes you in his righteousness that your sins, and your shame will not be seen.

Jesus sent to us the Holy Spirit that we might believe.

For it sounds too good to be true, that the Son of God would give up his life for me a sinner? The answer is Yes! The Holy Spirit doesn’t only convict us of sin, but also of Christ’s righteousness, that the reason you are forgiven is because of what He did there on the cross for you. .

Jesus promises that He will be with us until the end of this age.

Now some may look at this and wonder how on earth can this be, how can he be with us and at the same time ascend to receive all glory power and might? This has to do with another treasure that Jesus gave to the Church.

How has Jesus remained with the Church?

On the night that Jesus was betrayed He established the Lord’s Supper. What does He give to us in, with, and under bread and wine? He said take eat this is my body, take drink this is my blood. This is how he has remained with the Church and how it is that He comes to us. That is why we ask folks to wait, for if it were just bread and wine there would be no real threat, but since what we receive is the body and blood of Christ, it isn’t something we mess around with.

Sharing These Gifts

Everyone is called to share this Good News

This is wonderful news that we should want everyone to know and celebrate in. For the Son of God has won the victory for You! He has Ascended to the Father, that all who believe in Him might be welcome in His Father’s house. He didn’t want us to keep this secret

That’s why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit.

To embolden us and to give us the words we need to share the Word of God, and to create faith not only in our heart, but in the hearts of others. So...

Why do we hesitate to share this news?

There are a host of reasons that people have to not share, they don’t know enough, they are afraid of what people will think, they don’t want to be known as one of those types of christians, there are many reasons that people give.

Imagine if you did not know?

That Jesus had done all of this for your sake, and those that had been charged with sharing the news never told you. I hope you would be a bit upset. That should encourage us to share this news.

Who can you invite to Church?

People will turn ya down, I get turned down frequently, but I’m a wee bit stubborn, so I will keep asking. Now if they ask why would I want to go to church, it’s because there we learn about the great love that God had for me through Jesus Christ.

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, the Ascension of Christ is a beautiful thing and we should not let the day pass by unnoticed. Let us join in the songs of the heavenly host who praise the lamb that is seated upon the throne, and has continued to give to his church especially as He comes to us today in, with, and under the bread and the wine for the forgiveness of our sins.