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THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST
May 4, 2008
Acts 1:1-11
The book of Acts was written by the physician Luke, the same man who wrote the Gospel of Luke. Both books are addressed to Theophilus, and it is difficult to tell whether Theophilus was a real person or not. It was common to dedicate or open a book with an acknowledgment of your sponsor, or benefactor, or publisher. And, the fact that he calls him “most excellent” Theophilus would tend to imply that he was a real individual. However, the name Theophilus means ‘The Lover of God’, and Luke was writing at a time when Christian persecution was rapidly increasing. His books may have been intended for underground churches, hiding from the authorities, yet unwilling to abandon their faith. Luke and Acts would have been strong encouragement for those persecuted Lovers of God.
The book of Luke ends with the Ascension of Jesus (Luke 24:50-53), and the book of Acts begins with the Ascension of Jesus – so clearly Luke considered this to be a highly significant event. It has been forty days since the Resurrection. Jesus has spent forty days teaching the Apostles about the Kingdom of Heaven. That number forty should jump out at you. It took forty days to embalm a dead body and prepare it for the afterlife (Genesis 50:3), a man could only be whipped forty times before you had to show him mercy and put him to death (Deuteronomy 25:3), it rained on Noah for forty days and nights (Genesis 7:4), Moses spent forty days and nights on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 24:18), the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years (Numbers 14:33), Goliath the giant taunted the Israelite army for forty days before David killed him (1 Samuel 17:16), David and Solomon were both kings for forty years (1 Kings 2:11, 11:42), Jonah gave Nineveh forty days to repent before God would destroy them (Jonah 3:4), and Jesus fasted in the wilderness, tempted by Satan, for forty days and nights (Mark 1:13). That is only a small sampling of the significant forties in the Bible. Now, whether you think those numbers are strictly literal, or whether you think they are symbolic representations, you need to understand this: in the Bible whatever is associated with the number forty is of huge importance! It is big time! The ascension of Jesus takes place forty days after his resurrection.
Reformed theologian John Calvin believed that the ascension of Jesus showed more power than the resurrection did. The resurrection showed that Jesus was the champion over death. But, the ascension into heaven inaugurated his reign as the King of heaven and earth where he is worshipped and adored by all creation. Calvin tended to be a fairly sour and severe personality, but when he talks about the ascension he has this very beautiful and happy thought: when Adam sinned he was kicked out of the Garden, and the door to heaven was slammed shut and locked. But, when Jesus ascended, he unlocked the gates to heaven and started bringing in the faithful. In the act of his ascension we became welcome in heaven again. We can go back to the Garden.
And, it’s not like Jesus went to heaven to rest up and say, “Wow, glad that’s over!” He now sits at the right hand of God the Father, where authority over all the enemies of God has been given to him (Acts 2:33-34, Psalm 110:1), and where he now intercedes with God on our behalf (Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:20-22, 1 Peter 3:22). When we come before the throne of God for judgment of the sins of our lives, Jesus reaches out and puts his arm around us, looks to the Father and says, “Dad, this is one of mine. He was lost, but he’s finally home. Let’s throw him a party!”
Why did Jesus perform this physical ascension in front of witnesses? Because it is the marker and indicator of an ultimate individual. Enoch was a man who was so close to God, that he never had to die, he was simply taken up into heaven (Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5). He was ultimately close to God. Elijah was considered the ultimate prophet. He also never died, but was taken directly into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). We saw today in Josephus that Moses (as the ultimate law giver) was considered by the people to have been taken directly into heaven. Although, that story clearly conflicts with Scripture. The book of Jude tells us that Moses died, and the Devil tried to steal his body to taunt the people of Israel. The archangel Michael was sent to stand guard over the body and stop Satan (Jude 1:9). But, the point is this. When Jesus ascended into heaven every witness there immediately recognized this as divine proof that Jesus was the ultimate.
When Jesus rose up, where did he go? We’ve already said that he went to heaven, but where is that? The first man in space was Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. After his return he couldn’t wait to tell the press, “I didn’t see Jesus, and I didn’t see heaven. It’s not up there.” So, where did Jesus go? There are a lot of strong opinions about that. Some say that time and space are irrelevant to God; they are concepts that don’t apply to him. That’s how God can be in every place, at every time, all at once. Where Jesus went is a place beyond physical space, beyond time.
Some say that Jesus didn’t really go anywhere. His departure was strictly symbolic, to inaugurate the period of physical absence and spiritual presence. Others have said that we live in a physical world, but we need to understand there is a spiritual world right along side of us. The Apostle Paul said, “Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).” Jesus moved from the physical realm to the spiritual realm, but this is still a real place.
And finally, (and this is what I believe) there are those who say heaven is a real, physical place where we all can go. You can touch it, you can feel it, and it has the same reality as we are used to. Jesus had a real physical body. Bodies have to be somewhere just as real. We are promised that Jesus will return just the way he left, with that same real body (Acts 1:11). So, in the meantime, he has to be somewhere that is physically real. This is not a mystical mindset, it is a real location. It is where our loved ones are waiting for us. Les Gustafson passed away ten years ago today. He was my best friend in the church. Jackie and I will be buried right next to Les and Debbie. I believe I will see him again. Jesus would not have lied when he said he was going to get this place ready for us (John 14:2-3). It is where the faithful departed reside.
Which brings us to the second significant aspect of today’s pericope. Jesus’ last words before he left this world were instructions for us to spread his story as far as we could. He even gave directions for how our witness should progress. Start in Jerusalem; the Holy city of the Jews. Then, spread out to Judea; the nation of the Jews. Next, to Samaria; the mixed blood nation that was part Jew part Gentile. Finally, to the ends of the earth; to all of the remaining Gentiles. Start with the chosen place and the chosen people, then spread out until the message reaches everyone. Like dropping a rock into a pond and watching the ripples move out until they touch every shore.
Those ripples are still moving today, and we are a part of the witness. We are attempting to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), to dutifully obey Jesus’ last words. And, we are trying to follow the structure he gave us, moving from small to large. The mission I have identified for this church is ministry to children, and families with children.
So, we start with Jerusalem; Tori and the YOT club. Next, to Judea; Brandon’s youth group. On to Samaria; the friends and neighbors you have invited to be a part of our church family. And finally, to the ends of the earth. How do we do that? We’re just a tiny little church!
There are a couple of ways we accomplish that part of our mission. Through your financial generosity this church will give almost ten thousand dollars to the United Methodist Church through apportionments. A significant part of that money sponsors missionaries, hospitals, and colleges throughout the world – people and places that tell the story of Jesus Christ. A story that would not be told without your giving.
But, if you’re looking for something a little more direct you need look no further than our own church website. People from all over the world are coming to us, Ponder UMC, to read and hear about Jesus. April was a typical month. In April we had visitors from: The United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Israel, France, India, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Austria, The Russian Federation, The Ukraine, Seychelles, Hungary, the United States government, and the United States Military. And, they didn’t just chance upon us by accident then move on – they spent time going through all of the pages, reading everything we have written. The ripple keeps moving.
We’re not done. There is so much more we can do to spread the word. Jesus promised that he would come back and get us, and take us to that real place – heaven. Until he does, Theophilus, we have work to do.
Kenneth L. Barker & John R. Kohlenberger III, editors, Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary, Volume 2: New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 211.
Douglas Farrow, Ascension and Ecclesia: On the Significance of the Doctrine of the Ascension for Ecclesiology and Christian Cosmology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 264.