ASCENDED FOR US
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on May 18, 2022 under AM Bible Study |
AM Bible Study Group: May 18, 2022 from Luke 24:50-53
Theme: The proofs of Jesus’ resurrection compelled the apostles to fulfill His commission.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
We come this morning to the last portion of the Gospel of Luke. The great theme of this Gospel has been Jesus as the divine Servant of humanity. The stories about Jesus that we find in it testify of His loving and personal ministry to the people around Him—even to the point of laying down His life upon the cross for their redemption. And in this final passage, we find that the story of His ministry for us has been completed; but that His involvement in it has not come to an end. His ministry for us is an ongoing ministry.
Luke had told us of how our Lord was raised; and of how He presented Himself alive to His apostles—sending them out to proclaim the message of repentance and forgiveness in His name. Luke then goes on to tell us, in Luke 24:50-53;
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen (Luke 24:50-53).
And in the story of our Lord’s ascension to the right hand of the Father, we are assured of both the completion and the continuation of His ministry to us.
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Now; Luke only tells us a little bit about this tremendous event. We certainly would want to know more than what we find in these verses. But it may be that Luke only tells us what he tells us here, because he would be going on to tell us more of the details in the Book of Acts. He wrote that book too; and Acts is a continuation of the story. The Book of Acts can be thought of as The Gospel of Luke, Part 2. In Acts 1:4-11 we read;
And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:1-11).
When Jesus ascended to the Father, it wasn’t because He had somehow become a disembodied spirit. He had been speaking to them in a real human body—although a body that was glorified by having been raised from the dead. And it was in that same body that He ascended to the Father. This means that a man named Jesus is sitting in the seat of glory at the right hand of God the Father even at this moment—a man with a body; with real skin, and real bones, and real hair, and real blood pumping through His veins. Before He came to this earth, He was pre-incarnate; meaning that He existed as an eternal spirit but not with a physical body. He took our humanity upon Himself when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary. Now, He is forever both fully divine and fully human; and He will never cease to have a human body like ours—seated at the right hand of God the Father for us. Jesus has thus elevated our humanity to the highest possible degree in His own Person.
In Psalm 8, we read the words of King David; when he prayed,
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor (Psalm 8:3-5);
And when we read this, we can’t help but think of the Lord Jesus who came down from heaven in such lowliness for us. But we should also think of how much we have been elevated in glory through His ascension; because we are now destined to be sharers in heavenly glory forever with Him!
His work for us was completed through His death, burial, and resurrection. We who have believed on Him are now destined for glory with Him. That is proven to us by His ascension. But His work for us is also now being carried on and continued and preserved for us by His ascension to the right hand of the Father.
Notice what these closing words of Luke’s Gospel tell us about …
1. HIS FINAL BLESSING TO US (v. 50).
We’re told that—after He had given final instructions to His disciples—“And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.” If we put all the pieces together, we find that after His resurrection after Passover, He had been appearing to His disciples on several different occasions over a period of forty days. The Feast of Pentecost occurred fifty days after Passover. So that means that just ten days before the Holy Spirit was given, Jesus was taking this final walk with His disciples.
He walked with them over the crest of the Mount of Olives—perhaps along the very path that He had traveled in His triumphant entry into the city not long before. The town of Bethany was on the other side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem. It would have been during this time that the disciples would have asked Him if He was about to restore the kingdom to Israel; and He told them instead that they were not to focus on that, but were, instead, to be His witness.
And perhaps somewhere along the way, He stopped and turned to them and lifted up His hands before them. And then, He blessed them. We’re not told what those words of blessing were. Perhaps they were the summation of all the things that He had been telling them over that forty-day period. But just think of what a wonderful thing it is that His final act before leaving His followers was to give them a blessing. His blessing is the great theme of our current time on this earth as we wait for His coming. As it says in Titus 2:11-13;
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ … (Titus 2:11-13).
Then comes the story of …
2. HIS ASCENSION FOR US (v. 51).
Luke tells us; “Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.” Think of it! His final blessing to His followers was being spoken even as He was ascending!
When we read of the story of His ascension, we’re only able to conceive of the act itself from the standpoint of still living upon this earth. We can only—as it were—look up. But the Bible goes on to tell us the things that happened after He ascended. We’re told, for example, that He was seated at the right hand of God. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that He, “when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high”. To be seated at “the right hand” of God the Father was to be seated in the place of highest honor and glory. But there’s great significance to the fact that He is not “standing” but is now “seated”. It meant that His atoning work on our behalf was completed. A priest had to stand daily and minister in the temple. But Hebrews 10:12 tells us that our Lord Jesus, “after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God”. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that He is “the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” His ascension means that the work of our salvation is done!
We’re also told that, being seated at God’s right hand, He is exalted above all. Ephesians 1:20-21 tells us that God the Father “raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that “God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” And 1 Peter 3:22 tells us that He “has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” His ascension means that He is now exalted above all—and, that, as it says in Matthew 28:18, “all authority” has been given to Him.
We’re told further that, as He is seated at the right hand of the Father in exaltation of glory, He intercedes for us. Romans 8:33-34 asks us; “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” The devil himself—and all his demons—could stand before God and accuse us of all the sins that we’d ever committed. And every accusation they made against us could be 100% true. But He who sits at the right hand of the Father for us—who is exalted above all power and authority—intercedes for us on the basis of His own death on the cross for us! As John puts it in 1 John 2:1, “we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” His ascension to the right hand of the Father means that we are secure and safe from all condemnation!
We’re also told in the Bible that, having ascended, He has sent the Holy Spirit to us. Before He went to the cross, Jesus saw that His disciples were sad because He has said that He was leaving them. But He told them, “I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). He promised them, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:16-18). Just think of how helpless we would be without this Helper! And the Helper was given because our Lord has ascended! The Holy Spirit’s ministry in our lives carries on the work of Jesus for us so completely that Jesus was able to say to His disciples, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
And notice finally that, because He has ascended, He will come again in power and great glory. Even as He ascended, the disciples were told, “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). While He is away from us, He is preparing a place for us. In John 14:1-3, He told His disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And 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.” And just think of how it will be when He comes again! Revelation 19:11-16 tells us;
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS (Revelation 19:11-16).
No wonder He gave a blessing as He ascended! What victory His ascension means for us! And so, finally, notice what Luke tells us about …
3. OUR RESULTING JOY IN HIM (vv. 52-53).
Luke tells us, “And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.” They had sorrow when He told them the first time that He was leaving them. But now—watching Him ascend to the Father—there was no longer any sorrow in them that He had been taken from them. They worshiped Him with joy.
And do you notice that they spent their time in the temple of God? Luke began His Gospel by telling us—in Chapter 2—that, after His birth, Jesus was presented in the temple and was worshiped there by those who anticipated His coming. And now, after He ascended to the Father, His followers then went to the temple and worshiped Him in anticipation of His second coming.
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His ascension means not only that His work for us has been completed; but that He ever lives at the right hand of the Father to continue that work for us. Let’s worship Him too.
AE
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