Sermon Tone Analysis

Today is Ascension Sunday and so Cavin has read to us the two passages that Luke wrote in relation to this very important event.

I know that many like to make a big thing of the birthday of Jesus but I think that celebrating Easter is more important.

But there is a celebration that we do not seem to do anything about which is the event that ended His earthly journey and that maybe because its significance goes over our heads.

when Jesus ascended into heaven, that was heaven’s affirmation that He had accomplished everything He had come to do.

Luke’s Gospel starts with Jesus’ birth and ends with His ascension; with Jesus’ arrival and departure.

Luke ends his gospel with the end of one history, that is, of Jesus life on earth, and starts another history of the life of the Church, ending his gospel with the ascension and starting Acts with the ascension.

The ascension is significant for the work of God especially upon the earth.

So, let us return to Luke’s story.

He has the disciples together with their Lord who ate and drank in their presence.

He probably, with His resurrection body, did not need to eat but it was further evidence that He was not a ghost or an apparition and furnishing another infallible proof.

There could be no room for doubt in the minds and hearts of the Apostles and disciples.

Their first point of action though was to hear and obey.

Jesus ordered them to not leave Jerusalem until the Promise of the Father was given to them.

In other words: wait.

Jesus was crucified at Passover.

3 days later Jesus rose from the dead.

Jesus spent 40 days with the disciples.

Pentecost is 50 days after Passover.

That leaves us with 7 days waiting for the Promise.

But at the time they had no idea how long they were going to wait except that Jesus said it would not be long.

I wonder how it must have felt to them.

Jesus dies.

Bad enough.

Then they receive Him back.

Woohoo!

Then after 40 days He leaves them again.

And then they are bereft again until that glorious day called Pentecost.

This Promise though was something that Jesus had spoken about before His crucifixion.

We find this in John’s Gospel:

And then, the time had come, barely had Jesus said the words; “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”, that he started to ascend up into Heaven.

But somehow this was different than all the times before when they had been with Jesus over the past 40 days.

Jesus had come and gone, come and gone, come and gone several times before but there was a definite finality to this.

They knew that this was the end.

No more would they see Jesus.

A cloud descended covering their sight from Him and they continued to look up in the hope against hope they would catch another glimpse of Him.

That is , until two were standing there whom they did not see appear but were simply there and their attention was drawn to them whilst still looking intently upwards.

“Why are you looking longingly?

Why are you looking as if you’re losing someone?

This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

He went up physically and bodily and that’s exactly the way He’ll come back.

He went up from the Mount of Olives, He’ll come back to the Mount of Olives.

“And when He comes back, every eye will see Him.”

Hope was rekindled, perhaps they will see Jesus reappear but somehow they also knew that it was not going to happen anytime soon.

Of course, it was not the first time a cloud had hidden Jesus from the sight for three of the disciples present that day.

On the Mount of Transfiguration we read in:

Just that, this time, Jesus did not reappear.

Clouds are significant in the Old Testament for the Jews for clouds signify the presence of God and we can read some of the things that happened in their early days:

But it is also significant for the future too:

The two who stood by were no doubt angels as they were dressed in white.

And their message was quite simple: Jesus is coming back.

Not only that but just in case there was any confusion: It was going to be the same Jesus coming back who had been with them from the beginning in Galilee, who had been crucified, who had risen from the dead and had now ascended.

It would be this same Jesus personally coming back descending, as it were, out of Heaven but this time it will be with glory and honour and majesty and power and the cloud will bring Him.

Were we to look at religious founders of the world’s religions we find they are all singular in one thing – they died and stayed dead!

Their history stops at their deaths.

Who knows what they had planned to do when death interrupted them?

And what of them now?

None of their followers can say I will go and ask.

All of their followers are now blind.

They may have some writings but they are not living.

But it is different with Jesus.

He completed His work.

That was immediately clear the moment He arose from the dead.

He can speak with authority on all things.

But where is Jesus now and what is He doing?

A bank in Binghamton, New York sent a floral arrangement to a business that had recently moved into a new building.

There was a mix up at the florist, and the card sent with the arrangement read, “With our deepest sympathy.”

The florist apologized, but became even more embarrassed when he learned that the floral arrangement sent to a funeral home read, “Congratulations on your new location.”

Jesus moved to a new location and His ascension into Heaven has meaning for us.

He went back different than He had left.

He had left as pure Spirit, He went back as pure Spirit and pure glorified humanity.

No more just Spirit but glorified humanity.

And this is proof that heaven is a place which accommodates glorified humans and it will accommodate us.

It was an absolute necessity that Jesus returned back to Heaven so that the Holy Spirit could be sent to every believer and be with them and empower them to live according to His power, His promises and His nature.

This was not the only reason for Jesus’ return though.

But can you imagine what it must have been like?

It must have been awesome to see Jesus return from His trip to earth:

What is this other than a coronation?

Long live the King!

He had achieved all His goals, He had done what He came to earth to do.

He is King.

He is sitting on the throne.

He is the ruler of everything.

He has sat down and this means He has done all that He had to do.

Indeed we read in

There is no rival to Jesus.

He stands alone in His uniqueness.

He is King of kings and Lord of lords and there is no one who can usurp His throne or power.

He is now glorified.

No one can overturn His victorious conquest – the devil, the world, sin have all been defeated.

So, Jesus returned to Heaven in glory and majesty but He did not go back to rest on His laurels though He certainly could have done that but He went back to get on with a new work, a new ministry, being Head of the Church.

Not only that but we, being who we are, far from being perfect as we are called to be, need someone to stand in the gap between us and the Father whose holiness will not accept us but in

Jesus, stands for me and you there, in the gap, for His blood has paid the price for sin.

There is now no more penalty for sin for it has been paid in full.

We have been made righteous in His sight.

Oh, it seems incredible to believe that if we trust in His blood to save us we will be saved because we all know we still sin.

Well, thank you, Lord that He has not left us without the encouragement we find in:

Jesus is praying always for you.

He is willing you to finish the race.

Our High Priest has made it possible for us to come to God at any time, without fear, without condemnation.

He is waiting with open arms.