Ascension Day 2025

Text: “10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10-11).

Introduction

Jesus’ birth was announced with a sky full of angels. His baptism was marked by the voice of the Father and the descent of the Spirit. His crucifixion came with midday darkness, an earthquake, and the tearing of the temple curtain. His resurrection shook the foundations of the world itself.

And then… He left.

No thunder. No fire. No celestial fanfare. Just a cloud.

That is what Luke tells us in the book of Acts: “As they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). No longer visible. No longer walking with them. No longer touching the wounded and breaking bread and opening the Scriptures by the lakeshore. One moment He was there—and then He was not.

It is easy to assume, then, that the Ascension marks the end of Jesus’ ministry on earth. He has left His people behind and withdrawn to some distant heavenly realm. That He finished what He came to do, and now He has gone home.

But that is not what the Scriptures say. And it is not what this day proclaims.

Ascension Day does not mean absence. It means authority. It does not mean that Christ has departed. It means that Christ now reigns. And more than that, it means this: He ascended not to leave you, but to lead you.

I. The Apparent Absence

Now, it may seem like I am overstating how dramatic this moment was. I was once at a magic show where the magician made a person levitate. That was pretty impressive. And yet, consider the reaction of the disciples that day. Jesus is speaking to His disciples, promising them power from on high, and then—He rises. His feet lift from the ground. His body moves upward. And then He is gone. A cloud hides Him from their sight.

And they just stand there. Staring. I mentioned that there were angels at Jesus’ birth. There are angels at His ascension, too. But consider what the angels were there for. At Jesus’ birth, a multitude of angels appeared, celebrating and proclaiming what had just taken place. The shepherds went rushing off to see what the angels had just told them about. But the angels at Jesus’ ascension were there for a different purpose. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand looking into heaven?” (Acts 1:11) “It’s over,” they were telling the disciples. “You can go home now.”

Whether the disciples were impressed by the sight or not, from heaven’s perspective, the sight was glorious. Today’s psalm describes the view from that perspective: “God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet… Sing praises to our King, sing praises!” (Psalm 47:5–6).

What seems like disappearance from earth is, in truth, a royal procession into glory. The King of kings ascends—not to escape the world, but to claim it. Not to turn His back on creation, but to take His throne over it.

And His reign is not symbolic or ceremonial. He is not a figurehead. Christ is not a king in name only. He rules—all things—truly and actively, for the sake of His Church.

And He has not been crowned by default, or simply inherited a position He may or may not deserve. He earned the right to reign when He laid down His life. His exaltation comes not apart from the cross, but because of it. His throne is shaped by His suffering. His crown is forged in blood.

“After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Hebrews 1:3) He sat down only after He stood in your place. He took the throne only after He took your guilt. He reigns only because He first redeemed.

He made purification—not by ritual, not by word alone, but by blood. His own. He who was without sin became sin for you. He bore your transgressions. He carried your shame. He suffered all that justice demanded, until there was nothing left to pay. And only then—only aftermaking purification for sins—did He ascend and sit at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Think about what that means. The Lamb reigns. Not a distant judge. Not an indifferent deity. Certainly not a tyrant. The crucified One is the enthroned One.

· The One who was wounded now rules.

· The One who was mocked now reigns.

· The One who was crucified now governs every corner of creation for the sake of His baptized people.

He who fills all in all has not grown remote—He has drawn near. The One who died for you now rules over all things for you.

His reign is not the removal of hardship, but the certainty that hardship cannot prevail.

His reign is not the elimination of enemies, but the promise that they are beneath His feet.

His reign is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of hope—because the One who holds all things together is the One who was held to the cross for you.

He reigns for the Church. And you—you who bear His name in baptism, who are nourished by His Word and Supper—you are not merely subject to this King. You are His Body. You are joined to Him even now. He rules, and you are in His care.

This is the reality of His reign. Not theoretical. Not postponed. Not heavenly in the sense of untouchable. No—He reigns now, and He reigns for you.

II. The Shape of His Leadership

If Christ’s ascension were only about His enthronement—if all it meant was that He took His rightful seat and assumed His cosmic rule—it would still be cause for awe and worship. But Scripture does not stop there, and neither does Christ. His reign is not only glorious; it is deeply personal. It touches you here and now. His leadership is not distant. It is present. It is pastoral.

Luke tells us, in the final verses of his Gospel:

“Then He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.” (Luke 24:50–51)

His final visible act before ascending was not a proclamation of power or a final command. It was a blessing.

That tells you everything about the shape of His leadership. He rules as One who blesses. The same hands that were stretched out in crucifixion are now stretched out in benediction. And that posture has not changed. Though your eyes no longer see it, His hands are still raised over His people in blessing—through His Word, through His servants, through His means of grace.

Look again at what He does just before He departs:

He opens the Scriptures to them (Luke 24:45).

He explains that repentance and forgiveness must be preached in His name to all nations (v. 47).

He promises to send the Holy Spirit, the power from on high (v. 49).

He blesses them as He ascends (v. 50).

This is the shape of His rule: He teaches. He forgives. He sends. He blesses.

And He does it still.

He leads you now by His Word—not only as history, but as living voice.

He leads you through forgiveness—personally, concretely, sacramentally.

He leads you by sending—placing His name on your lips and His Spirit in your steps.

And He leads you by blessing—still strengthening the weak, still giving peace.

He ascended not to leave you behind, but to go ahead of you—and to be with you always.

III. His Leadership in Your Life

Christ rules over creation. He leads His Church. And He rules over you.

And yet, how often have you lived as though His reign were merely symbolic?

You and I confess that He is seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling all things for the sake of His Church. But in practice? You make your plans as though He were uninvolved. You carry guilt as though He had not made purification for sins. You treat His rule as honorary—an exalted idea, but not a present comfort. You act as though He has left you to navigate life on your own.

And when you try to rule yourself—when you lean on your understanding, follow your own wisdom, seek control apart from His voice—you find that the burden is too great. Your strength fails. Your hearts grow tired.

But the crucified One who reigns is not surprised by your wandering. He has not withdrawn in response to your inconsistency. He is the Shepherd who searches, the Lord who lifts, the King who still bears the marks of the cross for you.

“That you may know the hope to which He has called you…,” St. Paul writes, “the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe…” (Ephesians 1:18–19)

He is leading you even now:

Leading you through suffering—not around it, but through it.

Leading you through His Word—not with new visions, but with ancient promises.

Leading you through His Church—not in isolation, but with His people.

“God… raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6) Because He sat down after standing in your place, you are raised up with Him even now.

It may not look like victory—not yet. Often, it looks like stumbling forward, clinging to promises. It looks like gathering week after week to hear again what is already yours: that your sins are forgiven, that your Baptism holds, that the Supper is given for you.

And you know where He is leading you. The angels added a promise: “This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go.” He has not vanished. He has not ceased to be. He will return—bodily, visibly, gloriously—just as He left. That is your hope. That is His promise.

To live under His leadership is to walk by faith, not by sight—to carry burdens with confidence, pray with certainty, suffer without despair, and rejoice without fear.

And it is not solitary. You are part of the Body of Christ.

That is what the Scriptures say. That it is what this day proclaims. You belong to a people who have been named and claimed by the Ascended Lord. His leadership over you means He leads through you—your words, your witness, your presence—all the way through this life and into His kingdom.