Ascension People

Good morning again, my name is Jeff,

and I'm one of the pastors here at Advent,

and as Tommy said, this morning is Ascension Sunday,

and that is what we are gonna be focusing

our attention on this morning, the ascension of Jesus.

And it's this doctrine of the ascension

is this thing that we often overlook.

We often think about the life, the death,

the resurrection of Christ, but we often fail

to think about the significance of the ascension

in relation to all the other aspects

of Christ's redemptive work.

And so we're gonna be looking at two questions this morning

related to the ascension.

We're gonna be looking at what happened in the ascension,

and then why is that good news?

What happened in the ascension,

and then why is that good news for us?

So first of all, let's look at what exactly happened

in the ascension.

When you read the accounts of Jesus' ascension

in Scripture, which come from the two passages

that we just read, it's honestly a little underwhelming.

There are just two verses that talk about what happened

in Luke 24 and Acts chapter one, which we just read.

Forty days after the resurrection,

Jesus gathered one final time with his disciples

at the Mount of Olives.

Luke 24, 51 says this,

that while he blessed them, he parted from them

and was carried into heaven.

And then Acts 1, 9 says,

and when he had said these things,

as they were looking on, he was lifted up,

and a cloud took him from their sight.

That's it.

Two verses, not many details,

not much fanfare, not much explanation.

And so we have to look beyond the accounts

of the ascension to other parts of Scripture

to understand the ascension's full significance.

For example, in Acts chapter two,

the apostle Peter is preaching the gospel

in Jerusalem on Pentecost.

And in Peter's presentation of the gospel,

he talks about the death and the resurrection of Christ,

but he goes right into the ascension

and talks about how Jesus has been exalted

to the right hand of the Father.

Paul, in his letters,

comments on the ascension more fully.

For example, in places like Ephesians chapter two,

Paul goes into the ascension in more depth.

In Ephesians two, Paul says,

God raised him from the dead

and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,

far above all rule and authority and power and dominion

and above every name that is named,

not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

And he put all things under his feet

and gave him his head over all things.

Now there are lots of other places in the New Testament

that talk about the ascension,

but those are just two examples.

And so what does this tell us about Christ's ascension?

These explanations of what happened,

what do these tell us about what happened?

They tell us pretty clearly and straightforwardly

that Christ's ascension is his coronation as king.

It's his coronation as king.

Some of you may have seen several weeks ago

the coronation of King Charles in England.

There was this large ceremony in London

filled with lots of pomp and circumstance,

sort of a once in a generation event.

There were several hours of media coverage

from TV stations and media stations

and journalists all around the world covering this thing.

I saw the account on ABC News

and Michael Strahan was covering it.

And he was a formal NFL player.

And I just, I felt some cognitive dissonance

with an NFL player covering the coronation of King Charles.

I don't know.

But King Charles in the morning

traveled in a processional in a horse-drawn carriage

from Buckingham Palace all the way to Westminster Abbey

where the coronation took place.

And the climax of the service

is when the Archbishop of Canterbury,

of course, anoints him with oil,

places a crown on his head,

puts a sword and a scepter in his hands

and he is crowned as king.

And then following the service,

King Charles and his wife Camilla

paraded out back into the streets

where they were greeted with thousands of people

celebrating and rejoicing.

Now, maybe you got up at 5 a.m. to watch this

or maybe you totally forgot it happened

and you could totally care less.

But regardless of where you fall on that spectrum,

what this shows us is that this coronation ceremony

is a tiny picture of what happened

in the ascension of Christ.

And just to be clear,

it wasn't that Jesus was not a king before

and then became king.

But rather, it was the vindication

and the authentication of his kingship.

After his incarnation, after his life,

after his suffering, after his death,

it was the vindication that Christ really is

the king that he claimed to be.

He really is who he claimed to be all along.

And so in this way,

the ascension is the coronation.

It's the capstone of all that Jesus accomplished

through his redemptive work on earth,

not only as a king,

but as a prophet and a priest as well.

If Jesus' incarnation,

if his life, his death, his resurrection,

if all those things were the check,

then the ascension is the proof

that that check has cleared,

that there are sufficient funds in the account,

that redemption has been paid for and accepted.

So, for example,

if we think about the death of Christ on the cross,

which is something that we can and should celebrate

as the center of our gospel,

Jesus' death on the cross actually would not be complete

without the ascension.

Because in the Old Testament,

a priest would make a sacrifice of an animal

on behalf for the sins of the people,

but sacrificing the animal alone

did not complete the process

in order for atonement to be made for sin.

A second step had to happen.

The priest had to enter the sanctuary,

had to enter the Holy of Holies behind the curtain,

and offer the sacrifice to God

in order for the sacrifice

to be effectual for the sins of the people.

And that points us to who Jesus is

and what he did in his ascension.

As our great high priest,

he offered his perfect and sufficient sacrifice

once for all

and all the fruits of his heavenly ministry

in the heavenly sanctuary

to God the Father on our behalf.

And God the Father received it

and accepted it so that there is no longer

any sacrifice needed for sin.

And you can draw out all the different aspects

of Jesus' redemptive work

and how the ascension is the capstone of that work.

And so this is why the gospel

and our view of salvation

is not complete without the ascension.

It's the coronation of King Jesus

and it marks the capstone,

the completion of his redemptive work on earth.

Now that actually raises a question for us

because if we're honest,

we living in modern America today

have a complicated relationship to human kings.

We might enjoy watching

the coronation of King Charles on TV.

We might enjoy hearing stories

about kings and queens and mythology.

But as Americans living

in a modern democratic republic,

most of us are probably pretty skeptical

of absolute monarchies.

And that's because we've seen

throughout human history

that if one person,

one human being gets absolute power,

that power can often be abused

to harm others.

And so the founders of our country

in wisdom organized

our entire structure of government

with checks and balances

to make sure that no one person

had all the authority,

had all the power.

And so as modern democratic people

who are generally skeptical

of absolute monarchies,

we have to ask this question.

If the ascension of Christ

is the coronation of Christ the King,

then why is that good news?

Why is that good news for us?

And why is that good news for the world?

And so that's the second half

of what I wanna look at today

about the ascension.

Why is the ascension good news for us today?

And I wanna look at three aspects of this.

Three aspects of why the ascension is good news.

Here's the first.

The first is that as the ascended savior,

Jesus raises our humanity to heaven.

As the ascended savior,

Jesus raises our humanity to heaven.

The passage that we read earlier

in Ephesians chapter two

talks about Jesus being seated

in the heavenly places.

I don't know if you've ever thought about

this language of being seated

as you've read the New Testament,

but it is the language of kingship.

In the ancient world,

a king would leave his throne

to go off and fight a battle

against his enemies.

In his throne,

his seat would be empty

as he went off to fight the war.

And if he was successful,

if he was victorious in battle,

he would come home to his people

and he would sit back down on his throne

as a sign that the victory was won.

And not only could he rest

from the work of battle,

not only could he rest secure

from his enemies,

but his people could rest secure

from their enemies as well.

And this is part of what it means

for Jesus to be seated.

His work of conquering his enemies

of sin and death and Satan

is over,

it's finished,

it's done.

And the incredibly good news

of the gospel

is not only that Christ is seated,

but also that he shares his victory

with us by seating us with him

in his ascension

and glory with the Father in heaven.

This is what Ephesians chapter two says

when it says that,

and God raised us up with Christ

and seated us with him

in the heavenly realms,

in Christ Jesus,

in order that in the coming ages

he might show the incomparable riches

of his grace.

Colossians three,

one puts it this way,

since then you have been raised with Christ,

set your hearts on things above

where Christ is,

seated at the right hand of God.

The reality of being seated with Jesus

is not something that we often think about

and yet it is central

to our understanding

of how we think about our salvation

and our union with Christ.

And so I just want us to think about this

and meditate on this together for a moment.

That right now in heaven,

there is a human being,

fully God, fully man,

but a human being

with a physical human body

who is in perfect, loving communion

and fellowship with God the Father.

And somehow, mystically, spiritually,

in a way that we don't fully understand,

we are united to him,

those who have faith in him

are united to him

by the Holy Spirit

so that we have,

we share in his status

and we share in the communion

with the Father that he has.

Now, if thinking about that

makes your head hurt,

that's okay.

Because it makes my head hurt too.

I don't fully understand how that works.

But I believe that it's true

because scripture bears witness to it.

But even though it may be,

even though it may make our head hurts,

may make our heads hurt to think about that,

it is also intensely practical.

The implications of thinking about

that a human being

with a physical human body

is ascended in glory in heaven

has vast implications.

Let me talk about one.

And it's this.

There is no greater affirmation

of human dignity

and the sacredness of the human body

than the ascension of Christ's physical body

in heaven.

We believe in the dignity

and the worth

and the value of every person

not just because it seems to be common sense

or because it seems to be intuitive or obvious

and not even because our government

or our society

has agreed on it together.

But because in the ascension of Christ,

the human and the divine

are inextricably

and inseparably

and eternally

bound up together

in love.

And so to be ascension people,

to be people who are marked by the ascension,

means that we should be the first

to uphold the dignity

and the value and the worth

of every human being

in every sphere of life

and

to be the first to protest

wherever it is dishonored

and wherever it is denigrated.

Some people might criticize Christianity

for having

too low of a view of humanity

because our doctrine of original sin.

That the idea of original sin

is too negative,

it's morally regressive,

it's unhelpful.

That a more enlightened view

is to see that people are basically good deep down

or at least they're morally neutral.

But the ascension shows us

that nothing

exalts

and affirms

and honors

and protects

the dignity

of being human

and the sacredness

of the body

like Jesus.

He has

exalted our humanity

to the right hand of the Father

and it's not just that

He's up there

and we're down here

but that those who trust in Him

by faith

are actually

seated with Him

in the heavenly places.

And this has profound implications

for how we think about our salvation

and for how we live

our lives.

So that's the first thing.

That as the ascended Savior,

Jesus raises our humanity

to heaven.

The second thing is this.

That as the exalted Lord,

Jesus empowers His people

for a global mission.

He empowers His people

for a global mission.

This is what Jesus says

in Acts chapter 1 verse 8.

Acts 1:8

He directly ties His ascension

to the mission

that He gives His disciples.

He says,

but you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit

has come on you

and you will be

my witnesses

in Jerusalem

and all Judea

and Samaria

and to the end of the earth.

Before Jesus

ascends into heaven,

He commissions His disciples

and He promises

to send the Holy Spirit

in order to empower them

for a global mission

of taking the gospel,

the good news of His reign

to every language

and culture

and people

and nation.

and then

He leaves.

Now,

why on earth

would He do it?

Why would He give

such a mission

to His disciples

and then leave?

I mean,

have you ever

thought about this?

I mean,

think about this

just for a second

that He gives them

this insanely huge mission

that is strategically challenging,

radically counter-cultural.

it will inevitably involve

sacrifice and risk.

It may even

involve costing them

their lives

and then He just

peaces out.

See you later.

It's like if parents

were to tell their kids

this afternoon,

all right kids,

you know,

we're going on vacation

for a week

but you know,

we are actually going

to leave you here

at the house.

And oh,

by the way,

as we leave on vacation

and as you stay here

at the house,

we would really love

the kitchen

and the bathroom

to be remodeled

by the time we're done

and we'd really love

the landscaping

and all of the carpet

to be replaced.

We'd love for all the paint

to be redone

and all the walls

of the house

and if you could just

throw in some new

hardwood floors,

that'd be great.

All right,

see you later.

We'll be back in a week.

If you're a kid,

you'd be like,

what on earth is happening?

First of all,

why aren't we going

on vacation with you?

You're abandoning us

and secondly,

how do you expect

all of us

to do this

without you?

How do you expect us

to fulfill this commission

that you've given us

without you here?

It's crazy.

I don't know

if you've thought about this

but don't you think

that the mission

of the church

would be more successful

if Christ was physically

here on earth?

I don't know about you

but I would kind of like

Jesus to be physically

with me

as I go about

my daily life.

I mean,

that would be super helpful

to have him physically

right beside me

as I try to live my life

but because,

this is what it helps us

to see,

that because Jesus

is ascended

and exalted

as the Lord

over all things,

it makes it crystal clear

to us

that even though

he has a physical

human body

that the power

and the efficacy

of his ministry

is not confined

to one geographic

physical place.

If Jesus was physically

here on earth

then we would want to be

wherever he was

and we would be tempted

to believe

that wherever Jesus was

that's where the real ministry

was happening.

That's where the real

spiritual power was.

You had to go to Jesus

where he was physically.

But the ascension

helps us to see

that Jesus empowers

his people

for his mission

wherever they are.

You know,

if Jesus

this morning

was in Cincinnati

or in Istanbul

or in Nairobi

we would tell people

who want to learn

and know about Jesus

to go and be

where he is.

But Jesus

is not in Cincinnati

or Istanbul

or Nairobi.

He has ascended

to the Father's right hand

in glory.

which means

that you and I

don't get to opt out

of our role

in his mission.

To be ascension people

is to remember

that he has empowered us

by his spirit

to be his presence

among our neighbors,

among our coworkers,

among our friends,

and among our family.

And so all of a sudden

everything

that you and I

are doing tomorrow morning

at 9 a.m.

just got

a thousand times

more significant.

Because the Holy Spirit

in us

is better

than Jesus

beside us.

The Holy Spirit

in us

is better

than Jesus

beside us.

And Jesus tells himself,

he tells the disciples

that this is true

in John 16.

He says,

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 go

I will send him

to you.

And the fact

that the Holy Spirit

in us

is better

than Jesus

beside us

focuses on our mission

and it focuses us

on the global scale

of the mission

he has entrusted to us.

He says,

you will be my witnesses

in Jerusalem

and Judea

and Samaria

and to the ends

of the earth.

And this shows us

not only the geographic

but the cultural scope,

the cross-cultural scope

of God's mission.

The good news

of Jesus' victory

over sin and death

is good news

for every nation

and people

and language

and culture.

It is because Christ

ascended to the throne

in heaven

that we can send

missionaries

to places like Thailand

and the Middle East

and Central Asia

and all over the world

because the power

of the Holy Spirit

is not confined

to one physical place

because Christ

is ascended.

And wherever Jesus

the power of the Holy Spirit

is wherever Jesus

dwells through his people.

So we see that

the good news

of the ascension

is that Jesus

raises our humanity

to heaven.

We also see that

he empowers his people

for a global mission.

And thirdly,

finally,

we see that the good news

of the ascension

is that as the returning king

he promises

to bring true justice

and renewal

to the world.

As the returning king

Jesus promises

to bring true justice

and renewal

to the world.

Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1:10

verse 10 says,

And while they were

gazing into heaven

as he went,

behold,

two men stood by them

in white robes

and said,

Men of Galilee,

why do you stand

looking into heaven?

This Jesus

who was taken up

from you into heaven

will come

in the same way

as you saw him

going into heaven.

The ascension

not only marks

the completion

of Christ's

redemptive work

on earth,

it also anticipates

his return.

And the return

of Christ

as king and judge

assures us

that final justice

belongs to him

and that he will make

all things new.

As we say

every week in the creed

that he will come again

to judge the living

and the dead.

And this is

incredibly good news

for the world

and it is incredibly

good news

for people who live

and work

in Washington, D.C.

Part of what I love

about living

in the city

is that so many

people come here

to live and work

because they want

to make a difference

in the world.

This is a good

and beautiful thing

about so many of you

and about so many

of our neighbors.

But how many

of you

and how many

of our neighbors

have ever gotten

jaded

in the frustratingly

difficult

sometimes painful

slow process

of making a difference

in the world?

Maybe you come

to work in government

and you over the years

get frustrated

with the bureaucracy.

Maybe you come

to work for a non-profit

and you get frustrated

with the inefficiencies

and the lack of funding

and the lack of vision.

Maybe you come

to work in the school system

and you realize

how complicated it is

to teach a kid

math and science

and history

when they don't have

a stable family

or safe housing

or a good food to eat.

There's a famous quote

by Martin Luther King Jr.

And King says

that the arc

of the moral universe

is long

but it bends

towards justice.

The arc of the moral universe

is long

but it bends

towards justice.

And I think

this is a line

that we love to quote

but it's not always

easy to believe.

Some days

it can feel like

the arc of the moral universe

bends towards

injustice

and disorder

and frustration

and decay.

Maybe you've felt

like that

this week

or perhaps

the past several months.

And whether you're

a Christian or not

whether you believe

in God or not

whether you are

religious or not

this is an experience

that is common

to all of us.

And so what do you do?

What do you do

on days and weeks

where it feels like

that the arc

of the moral universe

bends not towards

justice

but away from it?

The beauty

of being a Christian

on days like that

is the ascension.

Is the ascension.

The more frustrated

we get

as we try to make

a difference

in the world

the more that we need

to meditate

and contemplate

and remember

the ascension

with Paul

in Colossians 3.

If then

you have been

raised with Christ

seek the things

that are above

not on things

that are on earth

for you have died

and your life

is now hidden

with Christ in God.

When Christ

who is your life

appears

then you will also

appear with him

in glory.

To set our minds

on the ascension

of Christ

is not to

neglect

or forget

or ignore

earthly realities

but rather

it's to remind

ourselves

of the hope

that we have

in the ascension

and the assurance

that we have

that the arc

of the moral universe

although it is long

it does

in fact

bend towards

justice

and it bends

toward justice

because Christ

is a king

whose coronation

has already

taken place

and as this

victorious king

Jesus reigns

and rules

over all things

and one day

he will return

to make all things

new.

True justice

is in his hands

and rather

making us passive

this actually

leads us

to actively

pursue

the missions

and the callings

that God

has placed

in our lives.

After Jesus

ascends into heaven

the two angels

essentially say

to Jesus' disciples

they essentially

say to him

what are you still

doing standing here?

Why are you still

looking up

into the clouds?

You have the assurance

of Jesus' return

so get after

the work

and the mission

and the calling

that he has given you

to do

in the meantime.

As ascension people

who are

seated with Christ

and raised with him

we don't just

have the longing

the desire

the hope

that the arc

of the universe

is long

but that it bends

towards justice

but we have

the assurance

that it in fact

will

because Christ

is king

and because he

will return

and make all things

new

and because of

the ascension

true justice

is rooted

in a story

of hope

and so to bring

all this together

as we think

about the ascension

as we think

about what happened

the ascension

is this great

coronation

of King Jesus

it's this

cornerstone

this capstone

actually

of Christ's

redemptive work

on earth

and that's good

news for us

because

we think about

how he has

raised our humanity

to heaven

and how that

affirms and dignifies

not only our humanity

but all of the humanity

of our neighbors

he has empowered

his people

by his spirit

for a global mission

his Holy Spirit

in us

is better than him

physically

right beside us

and finally

he will return

to bring justice

and make all things

new

you know

several weeks ago

millions of people

spent

hours

and perhaps days

watching King Charles'

coronation

celebrating it

rejoicing in it

and this is a man

who

just being honest

has mostly

symbolic authority

but the ascension

of Jesus

is a coronation

that is worth

spending

our entire lives

celebrating

and reflecting on

and contemplating

and declaring

to the whole world

let's pray together

our Father

in heaven

we pray

that you would

lift our hearts

and lift our minds

to the ascended

and seated Christ

and we pray

that through the power

of your Holy Spirit

that we would be able

to worship you

and to be faithful

to the mission

and the callings

you've placed

in our lives

by the power

of your Holy Spirit

Amen