There were four critical highlights in God’s plan of redemption in sending His son to live on earth as a human being: His birth, death, resurrection and ascension. Christmas and Easter celebrate the first three, but His ascension is also essential to enable our spiritual lives today.
After appearing to His disciples for forty days, the risen Jesus led them near Bethany, east of Jerusalem. As His followers watched, “he was taken up into a cloud” (Acts 1:9, NLT). This ascension was not simply a farewell or the disappearance of a vision. The crucified and resurrected Jesus returned bodily to His Father. His earthly ministry had reached its victorious completion, and His continuing heavenly ministry had begun.
The ascension fulfilled the Old Testament promise concerning the Messiah. David recorded God’s invitation: “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand” (Psalm 110:1, NLT), and Paul similarly declares that God “seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand” (Ephesians 1:20, NLT). So Jesus now reigns above every earthly ruler and spiritual power. His ascension both reveals His glory and confirms that He is Lord over all creation.
His ascension also assures us that Jesus truly is alive. The body that was crucified and placed in the tomb was raised and taken into heaven. Jesus did not merely survive in the memories of His followers. He conquered death and now reigns with the Father. His throne declares that sin, suffering, injustice, and death will not have the final word.
Christ’s place at the Father’s right hand assures us that His sacrifice has been fully accepted. Jesus offered Himself as “a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time” (Hebrews 10:12, NLT). Nothing can be added to His saving work. God’s grace reaches toward every person, awakening us to our need and enabling us to respond through repentance and faith. Salvation cannot be earned, but neither is it forced upon us. God lovingly calls us to receive His grace, remain in Christ, and follow Him faithfully.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus voluntarily accepted the ordinary limitations of embodied human life. He could teach and heal in one village while other people waited for Him elsewhere. Through the ascension, however, His ministry is no longer confined to one earthly location. Jesus explained that His departure would make possible the coming of the Holy Spirit: “If I do go away, then I will send him to you” (John 16:7, NLT).
Through the Holy Spirit, the ascended Christ can be present with His followers everywhere at once. A believer praying in a quiet home, a congregation worshiping across the world, and a missionary serving in a distant nation may all experience His presence at the same time. Jesus promised, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NLT). His physical absence therefore does not mean spiritual distance. The Lord who reigns in heaven is personally present with His church through the Spirit.
The Spirit comforts believers, guides them into truth, empowers them for witness, and forms holy love within them. Grace does more than forgive the past, it transforms willing and responsive people so that they increasingly love God and their neighbors. Holiness is not cold rule-keeping or an effort to earn salvation. It is the gracious work of God producing Christlike character, compassionate service, and faithful obedience.
Because Jesus has entered heaven as our great High Priest, we may approach God confidently. Christ understands weakness because He experienced temptation, sorrow, rejection, and suffering without sinning. We are invited to “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God” (Hebrews 4:16, NLT). Prayer is not an attempt to persuade a distant God to care. We come to a compassionate Savior who knows our needs and offers mercy and transforming grace.
Finally, the ascension points toward our future hope because Jesus assured His disciples, “I am going to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2, NLT). He is going to return and bring His kingdom to completion. Until then, we are called to love, serve, witness, and pursue holiness.
Our ascended Lord reigns above us, intercedes for us, lives within us through His Spirit, and is present with His people everywhere.
Blessings on you and yours,
Jim Black
P.S. if you’d like to read previous ruminations of mine they can be found at https://blog.salvationarmyconcordca.org
Scripture Quotations Used
- “He was taken up into a cloud” (Acts 1:9, NLT).
- “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand” (Psalm 110:1, NLT).
- “Seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand” (Ephesians 1:20, NLT).
- “A single sacrifice for sins, good for all time” (Hebrews 10:12, NLT).
- “If I do go away, then I will send him to you” (John 16:7, NLT).
- “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, NLT).
- “Come boldly to the throne of our gracious God” (Hebrews 4:16, NLT).
- “I am going to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2, NLT).