"Ascension Day" Acts 1:1–11

So why don't we pray as we enter into reflecting on what God would say to us today through his holy word.

Thank you, Lord, that you gather us here by your word and spirit.

Thank you that you are king overall.

Thank you that we have a great high priest who's gone before us.

We ask you as a royal priesthood to make us more and more attentive to your word.

More and more diligent in serving.

More and more hopeful about your coming.

And this we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Now if someone were to ask you, what would you say is the central truth of Christianity?

What might you say?

Would it be that in Jesus God became incarnate?

Is it that Jesus died on the cross to save us?

Is it that he rose again?

Or is it maybe that he's coming again?

Growing up in Mexico, I remember how much that last truth tended to dominate the sermons at one particular time.

In my growing up years there, it seemed to be that we were always hearing a sermon on the second coming.

Well, sometimes we do put one of these events at the center of our theological map, if you like.

Such that it becomes a kind of lens through which we think about everything else that we believe.

And that can be helpful at times.

I'm thinking of C.S. Lewis in his book Miracles.

Which I read some time ago.

But I'm recalling that he referred to the incarnation as the central event in the history of planet Earth.

He was trying to explain, I think, how the fact of God becoming man was the grand miracle.

Have you read that one?

That essay?

The grand miracle.

The one central miracle that makes all other miracles make sense.

But if we shift the focus so that we can translate that grand miracle, because we can leave that in the abstract as something out there.

If we can shift the focus so that, what does it mean in terms of the salvation that we have in and through Jesus?

I think the creed that we just recited invites us to hold all the events together as part of one grand event, if you like.

But there's the thing.

Between the, he was incarnate by the Holy Spirit, and the, he shall come again with glory.

There's one moment in particular that tends to get overlooked somewhat.

And that's what we want to think about and reflect on, guided by Scripture this morning.

I'm guessing you know which moment, because we've had colleagues about it.

Yes, Jesus' ascension was an event in his earthly life.

Forty days after he rose from the dead, whose place in the plan of salvation, well, we're just not always that clear about.

There are some reasons for that, but I won't go into those right now.

Let's just take it that we tend to let the ascension kind of take a quiet seat somewhere else.

And we don't come to it very often.

So I want us to think about what the ascension means for us and for our salvation.

For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven and continuing on.

All of this is for us and for our salvation.

In this case, I'm not going to walk through the passage that we heard in Acts,

because my aim is to get at the meaning of the event in the light of Scripture as a whole.

But do have that passage open, because I will be referring to it.

Now, in modern times, many people, even some professing Christians,

have doubted that Jesus' ascension was a public historic event.

They'll continue to recite the Creed as a kind of way to acknowledge what we used to believe, maybe.

But when it comes to explaining the meaning of the ascension,

they'll take us back to the resurrection first and say that it was really at heart,

well, an experience in the lives and hearts of the disciples.

And so there was no tomb that was emptied one morning, they say.

Rather, Jesus somehow rose in their hearts, you've probably heard this on Easter morning,

so that they really, truly felt him to be alive.

And so 40 days later, so this view goes, it's not my view, I'm just saying someone's view,

they felt that he had, if you like, relocated to heaven.

So a well-known Anglican bishop, I'm not going to name, some years ago said,

if Jesus' ascension was a literal event in history,

it is beyond the capacity of our 21st century minds to accept it or to believe it.

Now, maybe just two thoughts on that.

I think we need to be more interested in how the Bible reads 21st century minds

than with how 21st century minds read the Bible.

I think that should be clear from where we stand as a church,

Church of the Messiah and the wider fellowship of our wider Anglican communion.

In any case, 21st century minds aren't a single thing,

as if our collective wisdom were some sort of reliable guide.

And second, we need to consider what happens to other basic Christian beliefs

once we suppose that it doesn't really matter, in the end,

whether the resurrection and the ascension actually happened in history.

If Jesus' resurrection and ascension were events that happened in the hearts and minds

of the early disciples, then just maybe, maybe,

well, we can think about the other events that way.

It makes sense.

So whether we're talking about the incarnation or the cross or the second coming,

we're talking mainly about ideas, we're talking about feelings, intuitions,

that have no historical grounding.

And if that's the case, then where are we left?

Well, we're left in our sins.

We're left without a mediator between God and man.

We're left without hope of salvation.

So what sort of event was the ascension?

And what does it tell us about Jesus' work of salvation?

Well, as we consider together what the Bible teaches,

my hope and prayer is that we'll grasp something of the majesty of this event,

something of the wonder,

that we'll be encouraged in our faith

and that we'll be more confident as we tell others the good news

that has been entrusted to us.

So to the event itself,

what sort of moment are we talking about?

Well, if you're taking notes, I would start with point one.

It was one of a kind,

not like any other event in history,

just like Jesus' resurrection was one of a kind.

Lazarus and others that Jesus raised from the dead were,

in Spanish, we use the same word,

resucitado,

but in English, we distinguish resuscitated from resurrected.

Lazarus was resuscitated.

He would die again.

But Jesus was raised bodily, never to die again.

And so too with the ascension.

Now some religious groups speak of ascended masters

like Confucius or Buddha or the Buddha,

but there was no claim,

there's no claim there to any kind of bodily resurrection there.

Well, what about Enoch and Elijah?

Well, whatever their taking up into heaven was,

it didn't involve coming from heaven in the first place.

And that's why Jesus says in John 3, 13,

no one has ascended into heaven

except he who descended from heaven,

the son of man.

You see, descent, ascent, one of a kind.

Two, the ascension is an event

that is logically paired or twinned with the incarnation.

Think of the incarnation and the ascension

as, if you like, the bookends

of Jesus's earthly ministry.

The word sent by the Father

became flesh and dwelt among us, John 1,

and now having completed what

the Father sent him to do,

the word incarnate returns to the Father.

But, and this is the really important but,

without disincarnating,

without undoing the incarnation,

you'd be surprised.

I've read the occasional book in theology,

and there's a pretty sharp theologian,

I won't name,

but I came across a line in one of his books

that said,

once the incarnate life of Jesus was over.

And then I wrote in the margin,

when was that?

When did that happen?

And maybe he didn't mean to put it quite like that.

Maybe he meant something else by that.

But, at any rate,

that phrase could be highly misleading.

The incarnate life of Jesus never ended.

It didn't sort of just stop.

The ascended Lord remains Jesus of Nazareth.

He rose, and he ascended bodily,

and we can affirm that from Scripture.

We know this because in Luke 24, 39,

after his resurrection,

Jesus shows his disciples that he's human.

He says, touch me and see, he says.

Then he eats a piece of what?

A broiled fish.

And so when he's taken to heaven,

he's not some sort of ghost,

as we might imagine in popular ideas.

Point three.

While unique,

the ascension was similar in kind

to other manifestations of God's glory.

That's to say,

it was the sort of event that moved

those who witnessed it to want to worship.

Recall the transfiguration.

Remember that moment

when God revealed

this spectacular display of God,

of Jesus' glory,

with Elijah and Moses there

appearing beside him.

And in these moments,

God does wondrous and amazing things,

things that are hard to understand

in the moment,

but whose meaning

God himself will reveal in his time.

For the ascension is an event

in which Jesus truly departs.

This is something that we easily forget,

mainly because we want to hold on

to the promise of Jesus himself

that he will be with us as we go.

But I think we still have to get things

in the right order.

When the clouds surrounded him

and he was carried up or away from us,

he truly did depart.

Of course,

we shouldn't think that by heaven

we mean some far-off galaxy,

because in God's plan,

heaven will take up creation itself,

into itself.

But the point is this.

Jesus is removed physically

into a dimension

we can't yet perceive or inhabit.

Our eyes aren't ready for it,

for its glory.

But we can be sure that it's there.

And more there

than we can even imagine.

More real.

Finally, the ascension

is an event in history.

Just as Jesus suffered

under Pontius Pilate,

well, nearly six weeks later,

he walked out to Bethany,

maybe two kilometers, I think,

with his disciples,

and there he was taken up

into heaven.

And just as with the emptying

of the tomb on Easter morning,

someone with a video camera,

theoretically,

could have filmed the ascension.

So let me sum things up.

Jesus' ascension is like

other divine manifestations,

but it's unique.

And his ascension is physical

in history,

and he truly leaves space-time

as we know it.

So that's the event itself.

I'm sure I haven't exhausted

everything that we can say

about the moment,

but I think those are

some of the key points

I would want to draw out.

What does it mean

for Jesus' work of salvation?

And this is part two.

Well, first, it teaches us

that his work was one

of obedience to the Father.

In a sense,

it was necessary

in this sense.

Why did Jesus have to ascend?

Have you wondered about that?

Why couldn't he just stay

and start ruling

right then and there?

Well, evidently,

that's what the disciples

had in mind.

Don't take it from me.

They said, Lord,

in Acts 1-6,

we read,

will you at this time

restore the kingdom to Israel?

They were thinking,

look, Jesus is risen.

And this has to be

the most wonderful thing

we could ever think of.

His death didn't destroy

our hopes after all,

so now surely

he is going to start

his earthly reign.

But it wasn't

to be that

in God's timing.

for now,

Jesus had finished

the task

he was sent

to accomplish

and it was time

to return to the Father.

We could wish

that he had acted

according to our

best sense of timing,

but he tells us,

as we heard

in verse 7,

it's not for you

to know the times

or seasons

that the Father

has fixed

by his own authority.

We know that

his work on the cross

for our redemption

is now complete.

The victory

has been won.

Paul tells us

that for his obedience

to death

on the cross,

and you've been

studying about this,

God highly exalted him.

In other words,

God restored to him

the glory and majesty

that he had willingly

set aside

to come

and be among us

as a servant.

Second point,

the ascension

teaches us

that Jesus' work

continues.

That is,

the ascension

did not mark

Jesus' retirement

from ministry

as we might have

supposed.

In the early days

of the pandemic,

can you remember

those early days

even now?

I remember how

a preacher somewhere

said that the day

Jesus ascended

was the day

he started

working from home.

Well, that's very true.

It's a very insightful

thing to say.

Because the eternal home

that he's preparing

for you and me,

if we have trusted

in him,

even now

is right there

where he is

with the Father.

He's preparing a home.

I don't think

we have to imagine

that he's got

suburbs growing out

and out

and further out,

right?

There's another

little Lewis idea.

But he's preparing

a home,

a dwelling place.

This is our longing

if we read

the Psalms

and we know

that we were made

to be at home

with the Father

in the fellowship

of the Holy Spirit

and with Jesus

as our brother.

Father.

So,

well,

what else is he doing

from home?

Got any ideas?

Well,

Romans 8.34

tells us that

he's interceding

for us

before the Father.

I opened

from Hebrews

with that.

This is a very

great comfort

to us

if we have

put our trust

in him

because if we

continue with Paul

there in that

glorious Romans 8

passage,

we learn that

Jesus' pleading

on our behalf

means,

if you follow

reading there

in Romans 8,

nothing can now

separate us

from the Father's love.

That's what

his interceding

is aimed at,

at giving us

the comfort

and the assurance

that nothing

can separate us

from the Father's love.

And along with

representing us

before the Father

this way,

the Gospel readings

over the last Sundays

if you've noticed

have been reminding us

of something else

that Jesus

is doing

presently

while he's speaking.

So his ministry

there

is not only

a priestly one

if you like

as he faces

the Father

right

on our behalf

pleading for us.

It includes

a prophetic

one

in the sense

of continuing

his teaching

ministry

with his face

turned towards us.

His people

declaring to us

the Father's will

for us.

And that's why

we can say

that he not only

was the way,

the truth,

and the life

but that he is

forever

the way,

the truth,

and the life.

And that the way

to abide in him

back in Galilee

in the first century

or today

in the 21st century

here in Kanata.

The way to abide

in him is what?

Is to have his words

abide in us.

John 15, 7.

Well, how is that

supposed to happen?

How are his words

supposed to abide

in us?

Well,

the answer is simple

and it reveals

that marvelous

unity of purpose

between the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says

in John 16, 14,

the Holy Spirit

will take

what is mine

and he'll declare

it to you.

What a marvelous

picture

of the unity

and purpose

of the Holy Spirit

and the eternal

Son of God.

Sure enough,

moved by the Holy Spirit,

the early disciples

would find themselves

remembering

what Jesus

had taught them

as well as grasping

what they were not

yet able

to understand

while he was

with them

so that they could

put it all down

in writing.

And so it is

that we

21st century disciples

hear God's voice,

hear Jesus' voice

today

as the same

Holy Spirit

impresses

the truths

of Scripture

on our hearts,

giving us hope

and purpose

and understanding

as we do that.

A third truth

that the

ascension

teaches us

is that

Jesus will

come again.

When Jesus

promised in

John 14

3 to prepare

a place

for his disciples,

he promised

his return.

I will come

again,

he said,

and I will

take you to

myself,

that where I am

you may also

be.

Now as I

pointed out

earlier,

if we imagine

that Jesus,

that Jesus'

ascension

was just an

experience in

the hearts

or minds

of the

disciples,

then we're

going to

think of

his return

as something

in the same

category,

something that

we bring about

through our

noble efforts.

Or if we

think that in

his ascension,

as some others

have imagined,

that Jesus'

body just

sort of

merges

with creation

or collapses

into it,

then again,

his return

will mean what?

Well,

it will just

mean some

kind of

intensifying

of that.

There will

be nothing

of the

coming in

the clouds

with great

power and

glory and

every eye

seeing him.

But what we

can be certain

of following

Holy Scripture

is that his

return will be

cataclysmic,

it will be an

event at the

end of history

but still within

it,

that will usher

in the final

judgment as

well as

inaugurate the

new heavens

and the new

earth.

that's a

big topic

but let me

just emphasize

at least that.

And the

Jesus who

returns,

by the way,

is not some

other Jesus

or some

other

principle.

But that's

why Acts

1.11 says

this same

Jesus that

you've seen

ascend.

Isn't that a

marvelous thought

that this

same Jesus

that the

disciples saw

taken from

them,

removed from

their sight,

will be the

Jesus who

returns and

not someone

else?

Well, we've

seen something

of what the

ascension means

in itself and

what it means

for Jesus'

saving work,

so let me

just suggest

how it might

shape our

response this

morning.

I offer

three thoughts.

You always have

to have three,

right, at least.

And each of

these comes

with a

challenge for

us today.

And what

holds these

three thoughts

together is

the pattern

of the

disciples'

experience right

from the

resurrection

to Pentecost.

There's like

three stages,

and so that

helps me

organize these

three remarks.

First, the

ascension moves

us to joyful

worship.

While still

with his

disciples,

but after

his resurrection,

Jesus fills

them with a

sense of

great anticipation.

And how

does he do

that?

Well, in

Luke 24,

written by

the same

man who

wrote Acts

1, right,

we know,

he prepares

them for

what's ahead.

He does

this by

opening their

minds to

the meaning

of scriptures

as it relates

to the events

that have been

unfolding.

healing.

He reminds

them that

they've been

privileged to

witness these

events.

And he says

that this

message is

going to go

out to the

nations,

and he

promises to

send the

Holy Spirit.

Now, we

know that

the Father

sends the

Spirit,

the Son

also promises

to send the

Spirit,

and we have

this unity

and purpose

of sending

the Spirit.

Spirit.

And that's

what authentic,

sorry, let me

back up, when

he ascends,

they worship

him spontaneously.

Maybe they

raised their

hands, maybe

they shouted

words of

praise, whatever

it was, it

was enthusiastic.

And that's

what authentic

worship is, no

matter whether

we belong to

a culture that

encourages quiet

restraint in the

presence of the

things of

God, or to a

more festive

one that calls

for shouts and

dancing.

I felt this

really sharply

when I went

with a group

from London

to Peru, and

we had a

Russian lady on

our team, and

she said,

Steve, you're

like two people.

In England,

you're like this.

And over here

in Peru, well,

you're just like

this.

And I said,

thank you for

that rebuke.

I'll try to be

more consistent.

But at any

rate, you can

feel the

difference in

cultural expressions

of the faith, and

what counts as

enthusiasm.

But in either

case, I would

argue, there's a

response of

gratitude and

joy that's bound

to be marked in

one way or

another.

Well, let's

remember, though,

that at this

stage, the

disciples, even

here, think

they're supposed

to be clinging

to the moment.

That's why when

the men dressed

in white say to

them, hey, why

are you gazing up

into heaven like

this?

It's because they

were doing what

comes most

naturally.

We want to

remain there in

that moment.

We want to,

even as they

witnessed, the

disciples that

witnessed the

transfiguration, but

they were going to

have to learn that

there was something

else they needed to

pay attention to.

And that brings us

to the second

moment and second

thought.

The ascension of

Jesus inspires

joyful waiting.

So there's joyful

worship, but

there's also

joyful waiting.

The disciples

were told to do

what?

Not to stand

there gazing, but

to go and wait

for the promised

Holy Spirit.

And they obey.

They say, all

right, that's

what we're going

to do.

With joy, we're

told, they went

where?

To the temple.

And there they

were to be found

praising God.

Same spirit that

rested on Simeon

as he eagerly

awaited Israel's

consolation was

soon to come upon

them all.

And there was an

eager anticipation

of that based on

a trustworthy

promise given.

And our call for

you and me this

morning and our

privilege is to

wait eagerly for

Jesus to come

again.

Do you want a

good picture of

godly waiting?

Consider Isaiah

40, 31, which

I can never read

anymore since

Chariots of Fire

without thinking of

Ian Charlson's

wonderful way of

reading, which I

think gives us, I

don't know if Ian

Charlson was a

believer, but boy,

oh boy, the way he

read that passage, it

was just such a good

example for scripture

reading in the

presence of the

congregation.

Maybe you know

which moment I'm

talking about, but

he's in the church

there on the Sunday

morning that he

might have been

running, and he's

reading from Isaiah.

Like the eagle that

waits for and

depends on the

wind, so those that

wait upon the Lord

renew their strength.

They run the race

and walk the way of

Jesus in his

strength and not

their own.

So by the Holy

Spirit's prompting,

we come to

experience joyful

worship and

expectant waiting.

But if we wait

eagerly, we also

wait actively, and

this, according to

Jesus' promise, and

this takes us to the

third moment and to

my final thought and

challenge.

I think the

ascension of Jesus

motivates a witness

that's bold and

powerful.

The experience of the

disciples was that

they first knew

joyful worship, from

there they were led

to wait eagerly, and

then when the

promised Holy

Spirit came, they

moved out into

active and bold

witness.

Recall with me how

it happened.

We're still in Luke

24, backing up to

the background to the

passage you read.

Before his

ascension, Jesus

told his disciples

that they were to be

his witnesses, but

that before their

message could go to

the nations, they

needed to be clothed

with power from on

high, verse 49 of

Luke 24.

And that power was,

of course, a personal

one, because it was

the power and is the

power that belongs to

the person of the Holy

Spirit.

And this power fell

upon the disciples at

Pentecost, equipping

them for courageous

witness, launching a

movement that would go

to the ends of the

earth.

It was already in the

early DNA, wasn't it,

with Pentecost and

going to the nations.

And there's the

challenge for you and

for me today, since

it's the same Holy

Spirit who's working

today, guiding God's

people in mission

until the day Jesus

comes back.

Now, if we've come to

know the risen and

ascended Jesus as

Savior and as Master,

will know the joy that

comes in that

relationship itself.

And we'll grow in it

as we let Jesus' words

abide, do their work in

us.

It will be an abiding

joy, even in the midst

of sadness, of

hardship, of rejection

by the world.

But if we've known that

joy, we'll also have a

longing in our hearts for

Jesus' kingdom to come.

It's a longing that we

know no earthly

arrangement or

institution can

satisfy, even if we

behave otherwise,

coming to put our

trust in princes at

times.

But it will be those

very failures

themselves that God

will use to bring us

back to our first love.

finally, if we felt in

our hearts that longing

for Jesus' return and

for the new creation

that Paul presents to

us there in Romans,

then our desire will be

to see people from all

people groups come to

know him for who he is.

Our godly waiting will

serve as a witness,

to be sure.

People will see the

hope.

They will get a glimpse

of the hope that we

have, but so too will

our testimony be

necessary.

And the idea of

bearing verbal witness

to others shouldn't

scare us once we

understand what it is.

It's not about

eloquence.

It's not about fine

words.

It's not about graduate

degrees in theology

and philosophy.

It's not about having

your theology all nice

and tidy.

Once God's love in

Christ has taken hold

of us, our verbal

witness is as simple

as the words of that

woman Jesus met at the

well.

Come and see a man

who told me everything

about myself.

Or it's as simple as

declaring with Peter

that the words of

eternal life are in

Jesus.

So may we grow in

boldness to share that

word with others,

trusting that it will be

the Holy Spirit who

works in people's

hearts.

And as we do that,

may we not think of

ourselves just as

scattered, lonely

Christians out there.

Solitary Christians,

but as real ambassadors

for the household of

God.

And of the congregation

that bears the name

Messiah, who is our

one hope in this life

and the world to come.

Amen.