Ascension and Exaltation of Christ
Book of Acts: Be the Church • Sermon • Submitted
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· 21 viewsEarthly work was done, now let heavenly work happen
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Our Future Hope
Our Future Hope
What you believe matters, your future hope depends on it. Our text before us tonight has been a tool used by skeptics to the historicity of this event since it is only recorded by Luke. Luke uses figurative and symbolic language in the description and that is another reason it has been challenged.
There are too many biblical texts that speak of a cloud representing the power and presence of God, one of the ones that sticks out to me.
9 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people may hear when I speak with you and may also believe in you forever.” Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
That is pretty plain forward language from the Lord. You can see the fulfillment of this in Exo24:15f
The timing, it is 40 days after the resurrection and the disciples watched what happened, what Jesus said would happen.
Exo24
Then Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
62 “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ”
This brings us to the ascension
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
In looking at what more Luke has to say about this we can draw more information
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.
While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
Lk24:50-
Notice how they returned after seeing this, with great joy
We know from Lk24:49 they were to return to the city (Jerusalem)
We know when they returned, after worshiping Him .
The earthly ministry of Jesus has been completed, but His ministry as our Lord and Savior is not completed. Our future hope rest on our understanding of His ascension and the things that transpire because of it. (transition to exaltation of Christ)
I. Exaltation of Christ
I. Exaltation of Christ
The exaltation was prophesied in the O.T. - despite efforts by rulers, kings against God’s anointed One (the Christ)
1 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying,
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6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” 7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
The prophets proclaimed the suffering servant
13 Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.
He would be greatly exalted, lifted up, after being the sins of man, and interceding for the transgressors (sinners)
Daniel pictured it in vision
13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
The suffering servant who bore the sins of many was presented to the Ancient of Days.
This is the Christ who was proclaimed in the N.T.
He told the disciples is was coming, in fact about to happen and He would enter His glory
25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
This is the Christ who is seated at the right hand of God now
19 So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
Who has been exalted to be the prince and the Savior
33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’
33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
31 “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Israel, the new Israel that was about to be born by faith. So what you believe does matter. Israel under the law did not require faith, it required adherence, but it is by faith one is justified.It is by faith your sins are forgiven.
The exalted one, the Christ has a name above every name
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
A more excellent name than the angels
Php2:9
3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.
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This is the Christ ath the prophets, the apostles and even Jesus proclaimed who has been exalted and is in glory.
So if you are wondering what He is doing for us now, doing now, lets move on and look at His heavenly tasks now.
II. Reign of Christ
II. Reign of Christ
34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
He reigns on high; He intercedes for us
25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
He lives to intercede for us, those who draw near by faith. So again, what you believe matters
The reign of the Christ was prophesied in the O.T. and he would rule with rod of iron
8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’ ” 10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth.
11 Worship the Lord with reverence And rejoice with trembling. 12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
Take refuge in your hope, in what you believe, the shelter of Him who sits on High and intercedes for you. For as He rules now we know it is in the midst of His enemies for a time
5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. 6 He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. 7 He will drink from the brook by the wayside; Therefore He will lift up His head.
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” 2 The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. 6 He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. 7 He will drink from the brook by the wayside; Therefore He will lift up His head.
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We know what Isaiah had to say too
6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
This Christ born as a child; given as Son, now sits on the throne of David, forevermore.
Or the description that Daniel gives of the Christ who has dominion, glory and a kingdom.
14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
The messiah, the Christ rules over the enemies as prophesied, as proclaimed in the O.T., but it is proclaimed too in the N.T.
Still speaking of the reign of Christ now, from on high we know that the authority has been given to Him
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
and all power, might and dominion are His
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
all things were put subjection under His feet; he has power over all things
22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
I mentioned rules with rod of iron a few minutes ago, but that is found in the N.T. too
26 ‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father;
He is the ruler over the kings of this earth
Rev1:5
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—
He is the Lord of Lords, King of Kings
14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”
God ruled over teh kingdom of men (i.e. Dan2:21, 4:17) the Son, the Christ, the exalted on who ascended on high rules in the midst of his enemies
26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.
He overcame death at the resurrection and took away the sting of death so that we may not suffer the 2nd death. So beyond the reign of the Christ now we have the priesthood too. For His priesthood was not of this world.
III. Priesthood of Christ
III. Priesthood of Christ
As prophesied in the O.T.
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
A Forever priest on His throne
13 “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.” ’
So the Christ is the king and the priest who sits on the throne.
He is merciful and mighty
17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.
He makes propitiation for our sins (2:17) and able to come to the add of those who are tempted (2:18)
He is mighty, He is merciful, he is fulfilling and aiding; He is also sympathetic
Heb2:17
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14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
So we can come boldly, we can come with confidence because He is both king and priest on the throne we can receive mercy and find grace
He was called by God
He is beyond the veil
Confirmed by an oath of God of a better covenant
A forever priesthood, able to save to the uttermost
This is the ascended One who loves to make intercession
He is holy, he is harmless, he is undefiled, he is higher than the heavens and does not have to continue to offer sacrifices for His One sacrifice was sufficient, He was a better sacrifice, but now let me give scripture
He is holy, harmless, undefiled
10 being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
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19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
1 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
And you can look at Heb7:20-28 for more information
We have a better high priest who was raised from the dead and now sits on high for you and for me. A better priest, a better priesthood.
a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
seated at the right hand of God
He offers eternal salvation and the promise of eternal our eternal inheritance
(Conclusion/Invitation)
This is the the Christ, this is Jesus who the prophets proclaimed that was lifted up
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
The Son who was raised up
saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”
The one God exalted
“He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
So what you believe matters if you don’t believe in the ascension then you miss everything else and you are stuck in your sins. To those who believe, can you marvel at the exaltation? To those who have not chosen to respond yet, today is a day of opportunity.
(insert invitation slide)