His Triumph

Blessed, Not Abandoned, By Jesus

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

For the most part it was like any other day in school. At least it started that way. But as the teacher was walking the third graders through the answers to practice spelling quiz, someone blurted out one of the foul four letter words. Likely because their spelling was nearly as atrocious as their mouth. Everyone knew who said it—the teacher and the students. But the teacher’s back was turned, and so she felt like her hands were tied. The students had heard it too, but, in a way, they also felt like their hands were tied. A few thought it was funny. Some of them didn’t want to be known as a nark. Others were more afraid of what the guilty party might do to them the next time the teacher’s back was turned.

There are few better ways to get a witness to clam up than intimidation. Police officers recognize this. So when they find themselves in thorny situations, they try to talk with bystanders and victims alone. Sometimes, a moment away from the pressure is all it takes to get someone to open up about what they saw and heard.

But sometimes that is not enough. Sometimes, if the heat is on and the need for that particular witness is great, the federal government will offer a place in the Witness Protection Program. Details on how this all works are sketchy, as you would imagine they have to be, but the idea is that you go to a new place and build a new life with a new name. Since 1971, nearly 20,0000 people have willingly picked up everything they know and love—changed their names and everything else about themselves—so that they could have a measure of security and protection provided by the US Marshals. Intimidation is that real of an obstacle for witnesses.

In our Gospel from Luke 24, we meet some frightened and intimidated witnesses—the disciples. In ten verses, Luke moves from Easter Sunday evening to Ascension Day, a period of 40 days. But he begins with the disciples hiding (Jn. 20:19) behind locked doors for fear of the Jewish leaders. They were intimidated. And they had good reason to be. Think about all they had seen and experienced in the past seven days.

They came to Jerusalem with crowds of people shouting Hosanna! (Mt. 21:9) Hosanna in the highest! (Lk 19:38) Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! The whole city was abuzz with the news of this Jesus of Nazareth. Five days later, Jerusalem had come to a decision. And loudly. (Mt. 27:23) Crucify him! Jerusalem was home to the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and all the elders who arrested Jesus under cover of darkness in the Garden Gethsemane. Jerusalem had stolen one of their own, Judas, and prompted him to betray their Teacher, too. Jerusalem was bad news.

But Jerusalem was where they were stuck. They hadn’t fled the city the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, and the next day was a Sabbath, so they weren’t about to make a long journey home and break that long-standing cultural tradition. More than that, the disciples likely didn’t feel safe going back to Galilee at this point. What if someone spotted them inside the city limits? What if there was a bounty out on their heads? What if someone ambushed them on the way back home? Jerusalem was an intimidating place for the disciples right about now. They knew Jerusalem despised Jesus. They knew that Jerusalem had succeeded in crucifying their Lord and their Teacher, too. Everything the disciples knew told them to hunker down and hide behind locked doors until the heat had died down.

But on Easter Sunday, things began to change. First (Jn. 20:1-2) Mary Magdalene came to tell them that someone had taken his body. (Jn. 20:3) That sent Peter and John sprinting toward the tomb. (Lk. 24:9-11) While they were gone, some other women came and told the disciples that an angel had told them that Jesus had risen from the dead. But they didn’t know what to make of that, so they dismissed it as nonsense. (Jn. 20:6-10) When Peter and John returned they confirmed that the tomb was indeed empty. Then Mary Magdalene came back and said she had (Jn. 20:18) seen the Lord. (Lk 24:33-35) And then those two disciples on the road to Emmaus confirmed Mary’s testimony. We saw him. We heard him. He broke bread with us and then he was gone. With all this testimony trickling in, the disciples expressed their confidence in the resurrection. (Lk 24:34) It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.

While this was all fresh on their minds, and their joy and amazement was bubbling up, Jesus appeared in their midst. And they didn’t know what to think or say or do. (Lk. 24:38) Their hearts were troubled. Their minds were filling with doubts. This was all too good to be true. So Jesus, as he always did, leads them. He teaches them tenderly. He says (Lk. 24:36) Peace be with you. (Lk. 24:39) He invites them to examine his holy wounds. (Lk. 24:41-43) He eats broiled fish in their presence to prove that (Lk. 24:39) he is not a ghost.

Then he does and says something wonderfully remarkable and powerful. (Lk. 24:45-46) He opened their minds so that they could connect the dots between what he had said and done and what the Scriptures had prophesied. (Lk. 24:47-48) Then he commissioned them to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. He says to them point blank (Lk. 24:48) You are witnesses of these things. There is a reason you heard and saw all these things. You are a part of God’s plan. And your hearing and seeing all these things is a part of God’s plan for the Gospel to be shared with all nations, beginning in the teeth of the monster that is Jerusalem.

It’s crucial that we understand these words. Jesus opened the minds of his disciples so that they could understand the Scriptures. And how did he do that? By pointing them back to the Scriptures, back to that powerful testimony from God that connected all those dots and tied up all those loose ends and gave intimidated individuals the courage they needed to be bold witness of all these things. God has a wonderful plan.

And that plan includes Jesus’ Ascension into heaven. Ascension Day is one of those celebration of the Church year that feels kind of weird, doesn’t it? Christmas is exciting because it’s Jesus’ birth. Holy Week isn’t always pretty, but the final picture is better than anything we could think or imagine. We get why the ugliness of the cross is necessary when we see the ugliness of our sinfulness. But why is Ascension necessary? Why is it good? Why is it worth celebrating?

So often we think about how much better it would be if Jesus were still here, right? Wouldn’t Jesus be really useful in our world today? No one could doubt his resurrection if there were pictures and videos of Jesus, right? He could travel from hospital to hospital and heal all the sick. He could take care of thousands of hungry people in an afternoon. He could give our community, our country, and our world the guidance it so sorely needs. Whenever we had questions about something in the Bible, we could just go right to Jesus and he could settle it for us. Maybe even better than that, he could do like a world tour, right? Can you imagine how neat it would be to go to church on a Sunday morning and see Jesus?

But Jesus’ ascension spoils those dreams, doesn’t it? If only Jesus were here is the kind of fine-sounding wish that actually misses the point of everything he said and did. There was a time in John’s Gospel when someone said that out loud. Martha’s brother Lazarus was sick. So they sent word to Jesus. (Jn. 11:3) Lord, the one you love is sick. It was a respectful way of urging Jesus to make his way to Bethany. And quick. But Jesus didn’t. Instead he announced: (Jn. 11:4) This sickness will not end in death. No it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it. Not only didn’t he hurry to Bethany, he stay where he was two more days. And it’s not like John tells us Jesus was busy doing more important stuff. It just says he stayed there. When he finally made it to Bethany, Lazarus was already dead. And Martha came running out to meet him and said what we all would have said in that situation, what we might even be thinking at a time like this: (Jn. 11:21) “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” It wasn’t a statement of anger or unbelief. Confusion, and maybe a bit of frustration. Jesus being with her sick brother would have been better, right? He wouldn’t have let him die, right?

Yet, we know how that ended. Jesus spoke and the grave let Lazarus go. Lazarus was revivified, which is a fancy way of saying that he was brought back to life in a way that was different than the resurrection. Lazarus would still physically die one day. But on that day in Bethany, we say that death had no power of him who faced death in our place. And we cannot help but wonder why wouldn’t it be better if Jesus stuck around here.

But look at how the disciples responded when they knew Jesus was resurrected and still here on earth in his resurrected glory. They heard and saw him on Easter Sunday night. Whom did they witness to? One person—Thomas. The one disciple who wasn’t there on Easter Sunday evening. That’s it. And the next Sunday evening we find them hiding behind (Jn. 20:26) locked doors again, likely for fear of the Jewish leaders. For seven days, they sat on the most important historical event in human history, it seems.

But we ought not be too hard on them. Because how many times haven’t we done the same? How many times haven’t we heard someone express their worries to us about the future and we’ve said nothing of the certainty God and his Word offers? How many times haven’t we run across people who’ve lashed out at the church and the faith and we have politely nodded and and given them the impression that their criticism justify their denial of the Christ? How many times have we listened to people who claim things that God condemns—that a person’s greatest task in life is to strive to be live authentically, that love is love, that only sheep wear masks, that Christians shouldn’t judge, that God didn’t create the world or establish any order to it—but we were too intimidated to stand up for what God has revealed to us in his Son and in his Word? How many times have we hidden our faith under a bushel basket so that we can go along to get along?

And we can tell ourselves that if Jesus were physically here, we’d act differently. But none of his disciples did. Not until he blessed and empowered them. He did not abandon them as orphans in this world, instead he commissioned them as ambassadors of the reconciliation, witnesses of all the things he said and did. And this same Jesus has done the same for us today.

Look at the change that happens in these final verses and you will see the power of God’s Word in the hearts and lives of sinful men. Men who were once intimidated, return to the big city that crucified their Lord. Men who were once so afraid of the Jewish leaders they hid behind locked doors, (Lk. 24:53) stayed continually at the Temple, praising God and (Lk. 24:52) worshipping Jesus.

What happened? Well, we might think: Jesus kept his promise. He sent his disciples what his Father had promised—the Holy Spirit—and they were clothed with power from on high. But what Jesus is referring to there is coming next week—Pentecost. Even before they received that special blessing of the Holy Spirit, they worshiped Jesus and returned to Jerusalem and made their presence known at the Temple, praising God. Because they had Jesus’ blessing. That blessing is recorded in Mt. 28:18-20 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

You have received this same blessing. The one who has all authority everywhere, in heaven and on earth, has promised (Mt. 28:20) I am with you always. (Heb 13:5) Never will he leave you. Never will he forsake you. (Rom 8:39) Nothing can separate you from his love for you. This same Jesus has blessed you by claiming you through the waters of your Baptism. This same Jesus feeds your soul in the Lord’s Supper. This same Jesus dismisses you with his blessing every time you gather in his house to worship him. He blesses you as you return to life in this world—even the dreadful places and situations.

Jerusalem was the last place the disciples would have wanted to go. But they returned praising God, because they trusted in his power and his plan. Why? Because they had God’s Word. Jesus is God’s Word made flesh. That is what God’s Word tells us. And Jesus has returned to heaven, where he is seated (Eph. 1:20) at God’s right hand. (Eph. 1:22) Where all things have been placed under his feet. Even now, he rules all things for the good of his church. That’s for you and me.

Jesus isn’t just with you everywhere you go. Jesus is in control everywhere you go. There may be places you are compelled to go that you are not particularly excited about. Perhaps you are still nervous about being in public with large groups of unmasked individuals. How can I trust that they have actually been vaccinated? You cannot. But you need not. You trust your Lord. The one who sent his Son to live and die for your sins, also has the power to redeem your flesh. And he will. Maybe the coming months means a return to the office again. Maybe it means picking up dates on your calendar that you are not excited for. Don’t you see that your Lord accompanies you, protects you, and equips you to be his witness in these spaces? Live and work and serve under his blessed hands.

Of course, there is another thing coming down the pike for each of us. After being cooped up for this long, many of us have a kind of cabin fever. We have loved ones to see. And we should. But we should also follow the disciples’ pattern, too. After being cooped up behind locked doors, they made it their habit to be in worship. Praising God for everything he has done for them. Let us follow their good example. Even as we travel, let us make time in God’s house, in God’s Word with God’s people, the priority is always should be for us.

Because our God has not abandoned us to fend for ourselves. He blesses and he brings into effect. And this is why we are not afraid. Not because we know it all. Not because we can do it all. Not even because we can handle whatever is thrown our way. We are not afraid, because our God is in control. He has blessed us and he will do it. One day, this same Jesus will come back to earth, in the same way he left it, for one wondrous reason. To bring believers like you and me to be with him in heaven. Then we will have Jesus in his fullness, forever. Amen.