The Ascension of Jesus Christ
Five Important Aspects of the AscensionBy Jake Hanson
“[Jesus] was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”
-Acts 1:9
If you are anything like me, you have ordered somewhere in your mind the importance of these events of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this way: the death of Christ is primary, the Resurrection next, the Second Coming of Christ somewhere after, the Incarnation a distant fourth in importance, and then the Ascension is not even on your radar map. In fact, if you have thought about it at all, the Ascension is a little bit strange—a little bit like Christ as a rocket-ship shooting off into the sky.
I am not sure the strangeness of the reality will ever cease in this life, but the meaning and significance of the Ascension is really powerful. There are at least five vital reasons that the Ascension of Jesus Christ is important for us. Let’s take a look.
I. Jesus ascends to prepare a place for you.
“In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
-John 14:2-3
These are among Jesus’ last words to His disciples before going to the Cross, and it is a comforting promise filled with hope and expectation for believers. When Jesus went up into heaven, He went up to prepare a place for us that we might be with Him forever.
This should bring us hope in two ways. We are constantly made aware that this world is not our home. In this world, we see sickness, sin, death, theft, broken relationships, and the list goes on. But the Lord Jesus is making a home for us that we might dwell in eternal comfort and joy.
But second, the Lord Jesus, Creator of the Universe, is eager to be with us. Not only will we have a perfect place that He has prepared for us to live, but we will be with the Perfect One, and the Lover of our souls for eternity. This is only possible because Jesus died, was resurrected and ascended into heaven.
II. Jesus ascends to complete His atoning sacrifice
“For Christ…[entered] into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf…”
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Hebrews 9:24
The second significant feature of the Ascension is that Jesus Christ has completed the work of the atonement by entering into heaven to present Himself, the perfect sacrifice, to pay for sin.
This very fact could be confusing, particularly if one considers that “It is finished” on the Cross. But in order to understand what this means, we must look back at the sacrificial system as laid out in the Old Testament, and then consider how it is realized and fulfilled in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
According to the Law of Moses, there were five offerings and sacrifices which had to be offered according to the Levitical sacrificial system which can be found in Leviticus 1-5 and expounded throughout the book of Leviticus. How Christ fulfills each enriches our understanding of the Lord’s sacrifice, but of particular significance to this discussion is the sin offerings that lead up to the Day of Atonement.
The Day of Atonement was the one day of the year where the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the whole nation. In order to enter the Holy of Holies, careful preparation was made so that the High Priest did not enter into the very presence of God unprepared.
The book of Hebrews makes clear that the Old Testament sacrificial system and tabernacle are a shadow of the reality which exists in heaven. Indeed, the earthly tabernacle is a lesser copy of the real thing. So when Jesus in His resurrected and glorified body enters into heaven, He enters into the very presence of God, the Holy of Holies, as our High Priest to offer Himself as a payment for our sins.
Unlike the sacrifices of the Old Testament, which were offered over and over again, the Jesus Christ “entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12), and He is therefore “able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25).
But not only is He our payment for sin, offered perfectly and forever into the very Holy Place of God, but as our High Priest, Jesus intercedes for us as our Advocate—our defense lawyer. As Satan hurls his accusations against us—accusations which are real enough for us sinful human beings—Jesus points to Himself who paid for the sins of all who would put their faith in Him. But none of this would have been possible had He not offered up His perfect sacrifice into the heavenly Temple where He would “appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24).
III. Jesus ascends to sit at the right hand of the Father
“…[Jesus], having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God…”
-Hebrews 10:12
After Jesus completed the presentation of His perfect sacrifice, He sat down at the right hand of the Father. To sit down at the right hand of royalty is to be given the authority of that royal figure. The Son had emptied Himself, becoming flesh, and at His ascension retained His authority within the God-head. He sits at the right hand of God, and awaits the day when “His enemies will be made a footstool under His feet” (Hebrews 10:13; Psalm 110:1), when He will subject the entirety of creation under His authority.
This is significant, not just because “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess” that Jesus is Lord, but it is also significant for us with how He chooses to use this authority. Just before Jesus ascends into heaven, He gathers His disciples and tells them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:18-19).
With this command, the One who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth gives us the authority to represent Him—to be His ambassadors. We are His witnesses to the uttermost parts of the earth, and the authority of our mission is then clear. It is not from our own will or desire, but the expressed will of the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe.
IV. Jesus ascends to send His Holy Spirit
“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper [ie the Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”
-John 16:7
Not only are we commissioned for the task as His ambassador, but we are empowered by the sending of the Holy Spirit to fulfill our mission. For, as Zechariah 4:6 says, the work of the Lord is done, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit.” It was at Jesus’ Ascension into heaven where He sent His Holy Spirit to empower the Apostles to fulfill their mission of spreading the Gospel throughout the earth. And it is this mission and empowerment which we also receive today as we obediently enter into this task.
When Jesus told His disciples that He would be leaving, He comforted them with the fact that He would send His Holy Spirit. We can only imagine how they must have felt about their Lord and Master leaving them. It would seem strange then that these words would be comforting. Who, after all, could replace Jesus and His presence?
The answer to this question raises the reality of the limitations which the Lord Jesus has put on Himself as a finite human being. The Disciples had immediate access to Jesus in powerful ways which most Christians long for. But Jesus was promising them a presence which was greater than what they had—the presence of the Spirit of Christ, to dwell within them and to walk alongside of them. And it is this very presence which we are privileged to receive as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have greater access to the Lord Jesus than even the Disciples did as they walked with Him in Galilee—and this because the Lord Jesus ascended, and sent us the Holy Spirit.
V. Jesus ascends to show how He will one day return
“And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? 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.’”
-Acts 1:10-11
Even though we have been given the precious gift of the Spirit of Christ, we long for the Day of Christ’s return. This is one of the great wonders, that even though He has ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, He will return a victorious King to subject all His enemies to His feet, and establish His complete and total authority and Kingdom at which point every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
The things that have gone wrong in this world as a result of the Fall will be put right, and Christ’s return “in just the same way” as He went into heaven will bring us to the first point of significance in our discussion: Jesus has prepared a place for us that we might be with Him in unhindered fellowship forever.
In short, the Ascension of Jesus Christ turns our eyes toward the work of God, and teaches us to long for His abiding presence—in the working of the Holy Spirit presently, and the hope of our union with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit at the end of the age. In the Ascension, we find our longings for God met and hoped for, as the rightful King makes His first grand move toward His rightful rule.