Ruby was super excited to move into our house last summer and get a garden started. It was too in the
season for a lot of what she wanted to grow but we found out we could grow pumpkins and have them
by Fall.
So we got to work building a small garden.
And eventually our entire garden was covered in blight and we only ended up with two small pumpkins.
It was a little disappointing. I had bought these seeds from Walmart that promised gigantic pumpkins
and we didn’t get anywhere close to the harvest that we were expecting.
But, one morning we woke up and the unexpected had happened.
A large pumpkin had mysteriously appeared overnight... Our neighbors were having a laugh.
The Account of Christ’s Resurrection is filled with the unexpected. The disciples just weren’t ready for it.
They weren’t expecting an empty tomb. They weren't expecting him to come up and walk beside them
on the road to Emmaus. They weren’t expecting Jesus to show up while they were fishing. They weren’t
expecting Him to appear in a room in which they had locked the door. They just weren’t ready for any of
it. Jesus told them He’d rise again but they assumed that meant something other than what actually
happened.
And they really weren’t ready for what was about to happen next.
Luke is the author of both the Gospel of Luke and Acts and in both of them he’s writing to the same guy,
who Luke refers to as Most Excellent Theophilus. So Acts is really intended to be the sequel of Luke. And
the end of Luke and the beginning of Acts both tell the same story but Luke doesn’t bother to repeat all
of the things he said at the end of Luke in the beginning of Acts so you really need to stitch together
both accounts in order to get the most holistic version.
Luke 24:44-49 – ONE SLIDE
44
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be
fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
45
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This
is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and
repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has
promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
Then jumping to Acts 1:6 –ONE SLIDE WILL SHOW THIS VERSE AND THE NEXT
6
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to
restore the kingdom to Israel?”
It’s really quite funny that they still don’t understand that Jesus didn’t come to be a political
savior but rather a spiritual messiah.
Jesus responds:
7
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by
his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth.”
What happens next is or should be totally and completely unexpected for all of us.
…jumping to Luke 24:41 – ONE SLIDE SHOWS THIS VERSE AND THE NEXT TWO
50
When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed
them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.
Acts 1:9
9
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from
their sight.
What? He just left! Here… the disciples are thinking, Jesus… are you going to establish your
kingdom here on earth and free Israel and champion political and spiritual reform.
And Jesus says, “Not yet.” And he blesses them and leaves! That’s it.
Apparently if Jesus was going to take a Band-Aid off you he’d do it the fast way.
And what do the disciples end up doing?
10
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two
men dressed in white stood beside them.”
They’re just staring up into the sky, “thinking… I didn’t know he could do that… I wonder if
he’s going to come back down.”
And they’re so baffled that they don’t even realize two angels just appeared next to them out of
nowhere.
11
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same
Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you
have seen him go into heaven.” – ONE SLIDE SHOWS THIS VERSE AND NEXT.
I wonder how long they would’ve stood there if angels hadn’t come to gently nudge them to get
on with their lives.
Luke ends by saying,
52
Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed
continually at the temple, praising God.
Two Questions Arise:
1.) Why did Jesus ascend?
2.) What do we do now?
We’re going to answer both questions as we go along. A lot of the reasons that Jesus ascended shed
light on what it is that we should be doing in response… so as we answer “Why did Jesus Ascend”, we’ll
also be talking about what we should be doing as a result. And at the end we’ll just summarize what our
response should be.
First, let’s address the question of why did Jesus ascend from a very literal stand point. In other words,
Why not just disappear? Why did Jesus literally ascend into heaven? And doesn’t it seem like the
ancients thought heaven was up there but now we know more and we have an understanding of outer
space so don’t we feel like the ascension story doesn’t make sense anymore?
Had Jesus just disappeared instead of ascending than his disappearing wouldn’t have been any different
from any of the other times that he has been appearing and disappearing over the past 40 days since his
resurrection and the disciples wouldn’t have had any clues to suggest that He had actually left them.
That makes good sense, right? He needs to differentiate his going because His disciples need to
differentiate in order to know that He has truly left.
So that explains why He doesn’t disappear. Why does he ascend vertically? Was Jesus going into outer
space? I have good news. Jesus was not the first astronaut. Verse 9 says 9 After he said this, he was
taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. Did you catch that last part? A
cloud hid Him from their sight.
All throughout the Bible we find that God’s presence is commonly paired with the manifestation of a
holy, mysterious and glorious cloud.
Exodus 16:10 says
While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there
was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.
Exodus 19:9 says
The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me
speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had
said.
Exodus 33:9
As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the
Lord spoke with Moses.
Matthew 17:5
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my
Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
Matthew 24:30
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn
when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
Jesus’ ascension doesn’t show us that Heaven is in outer space or above the earth’s atmosphere but
rather as commentator, Richard Longenecker puts it,
“The cloud is undoubtedly meant to symbolize the shekinah, the visible manifestation of the divine
presence and glory… Jesus as the ascended Lord is enveloped by the shekinah cloud, the visible
manifestation of God’s presence, glory, and approval.”
Okay, so that’s why Jesus ascended on a physical and literal level.
But why did he leave us at all? Why not just stay?
There are a lot of reasons. We find some of them in the text we just read.
1.) Jesus Leaves to Return to His Throne
Luke 24:44 says
44
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be
fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
Fulfilling scripture and being obedient to the Father’s mission have always been priority number one for
Jesus Christ. The most basic reason that Jesus ascends is because He’s sinless, He loves the Father, and
He seeks to glorify and honor the Father and be obedient to the Father’s will.
When Pastor Tim preached last week he talked about Peter’s sermon in Acts Chapter 2. In that text,
Peter says that Jesus ascended in order to fulfill scripture.
32
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he
has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
34
For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’[f]
36
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord
and Messiah.”
2.) Jesus Leaves to Send the Holy Spirit
Acts Chapter 1 verse 8 says,
8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus leaves so that the Holy Spirit will come. Jesus tells us in John 16:7 that He has to leave in order for
this to happen. It says, “7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go
away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
We don’t know why because we’re silly little humans with very limited brains but for whatever reason,
the Holy Spirit won’t come unless Jesus goes and sends Him to us. Well, maybe someone knows, but I
don’t.
So Jesus left in order to send the Spirit.
If Jesus leaves in order to send the Spirit then it’s clear that the Apostles are meant to wait for,
welcome, and receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit so that we can receive it.
What we’re to do as a result of Jesus ascending is receive the Holy Spirit.
Which we all do when we become followers of Jesus Christ but even after we’ve received the Holy Spirit,
we ought to ask the Holy Spirit into our lives and give Him as much authority and sovereignty as we’re
able to offer.
He also tells the apostles that they are to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and
to the ends of the earth. And that the Holy Spirit would be bringing with Him, power.
3.) Jesus Leaves to Empower Us to Do His Kingdom’s Work
Jesus leaves so that we would participate in His Kingdom’s work. He leaves so the Apostles will be
witnesses all over. There’s a good chance that He’s not expecting them to make it to America or Mexico
or Brazil yet He says to the ends of the earth and so we can assume that Jesus meant this not just for the
apostles but also for us.
The apostles begin stargazing. They’re fixated on the sky. And Angels come and they say, Jesus didn’t
ascend so that you could sit here and stare at the sky all day. That’s a paraphrase. Why are they
stargazing? Because they’ve always been dependent on Jesus for everything and they’ve given their
whole lives to following Him but not He’s gone and they’re not sure if they can do it on their own. But
angels come and they say, “You must go on without him.” And you can imagine that had Jesus stayed
the Apostles and ourselves included may have just expected Jesus to do everything on His own.
Or as Jesus puts it in Luke 24,
45
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This
is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and
repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at
Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has
promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
As a result Of Christ’s Ascension, we need to trust in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was leaving but He was sending the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit was bringing with him, power.
That power is meant for you and I. If you’re a Christian then the Holy Spirit lives inside you. If the Holy
Spirit lives inside you then you have power. Power from the Holy Spirit. You’ve got to trust that power,
have faith in that power and put that power to use. “I’m afraid to share the gospel because I’m afraid I’ll
mess up!” You probably will… but the Holy Spirit will put power to your words. Trust in the power of the
Holy Spirit that is in you. The more you do the more you’ll use that power. You’ll pray for others to be
healed, you’ll pray for others to be saved, you’ll pray for miracles to take place, you’ll pray for your
enemies to be transformed, you’ll pray for things and then you’ll watch God answer because you have
power from the Holy Spirit and you’re trusting in that power instead of trying to do everything out of
your own strength. Jesus Christ says You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and Jesus
Christ is not a liar.
Jesus’ Ascension also means that we need to witness.
Jesus told the apostles that they were to be witnesses all the way to the ends of the earth and as we
already said, it’s clear He wasn’t just saying that for them but for us as well. When the church in Acts
faces severe persecution the apostles stay in Jerusalem and the church scatters and the church
evangelizes… not the apostles. It’s the church that’s sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them
everywhere they go. A witness of Jesus Christ is one who gets on the witness stand and testifies about
Jesus Christ. Do your coworkers know you’re a Christian? Would your friends be surprised to find out
that you go to church? Do your neighbors know what you believe about Jesus Christ? I love this idea of
witnessing. It places an emphasis on what I’ve seen Jesus Christ do. What has Jesus done in your life?
What has Jesus done for you? How can you witness to the things he’s saved you from?
4.) Jesus also left so that the Bride could prepare for her wedding day.
This one doesn’t show up directly in the passage but it’s implied by what Jesus says and by everything
that follows in Acts. Christ’s Bride is preparing herself.
Revelation 19:7 says
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
The Bible makes it very clear: the Church is the Bride of Christ And we are to be getting ready for the
wedding of the Lamb.
Jesus left and some of us are stargazing in the sense that we’re not out there sharing our faith. Maybe
we’ve been a Christian and for the past 10 years or so we haven’t shared our faith because we’re just
stargazing. We’re looking up into the sky and wondering “when will Christ return?” or “when will I be
called home?” And angels are looking at us and saying, “why are you standing there?! He’ll come back
but it won’t be dependent on you whether or not you’re staring at the sky.”
Others of us however are stargazing in the sense that we’re expecting to be made perfect when we get
to heaven and therefore we aren’t preparing for the wedding day. We expect that God will do all the
hard work for us and we’re not taking seriously the possibility that God wants us, his bride, to be
prepared for the wedding day.
Yet the scriptures are clear, the bride has made herself ready. It’s something she’s done herself and
something she’s been intentional about. No doubt one of the reasons the Holy Spirit came was to help
us with that but we have a responsibility to be as blameless and spotless and transformed of a bride as
we can possibly be.
Catholics have this controversial doctrine of purgatory in which they believe that if you die as a Christian
and you still have sin in your life that you need to deal with then you’ll go to purgatory and your sin will
be dealt with. And the image is a lot similar to the idea of gold being refined and having its impurities
burned out. And maybe they’ve got it wrong but what they’re doing is taking seriously the idea that the
Bride needs to prepare herself for the wedding day. And you and I both know that looking more like
Jesus and less like sin can be a painful transformation.
Jesus also left so that you and I could be part of the Bride. There is no such thing as the preexistence of
souls… that’s a heretical doctrine that has been denounced throughout the history of Christianity. In
other words, if Jesus didn’t leave but rather stayed and began transitioning the world into a New Earth
then chances are I wouldn’t have been born.
When the apostle Peter was asked why Christ hadn’t returned yet he gave a similar answer, saying in 2
Peter 3:9 “9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
Jesus left so the bride could prepare. This means both internally and externally. Jesus wants a big and
beautiful bride.
The Ascension of Jesus Christ Means We Ought to be Preparing for Our Wedding Day.
Are you ready to be Christ’s bride? Are you where you need to be in your relationship with him? Are you
free from sin? Are you completely submitted to Him? Are you actively pursuing sanctification and
holiness? Jesus Christ is preparing the wedding. Are you preparing yourself? Do you take sin seriously?
5.) Jesus Ascended In Order to Be Accessible to Christians
Jesus was often overwhelmed by large crowds. He was always trying to get away and sometimes his
own mother and brothers couldn’t get close to Him because so many people wanted to be around Him.
Can you imagine how hard it would be for us to get a chance to see Jesus nowadays? I emailed a guy
who operates a youth ministry website and it took him three months to get back to me because he had
so many other emails to address first. How much bigger would Jesus Christ’s waiting list be? Jesus
ascended so he could be accessible to us all.
What happens after Jesus ascends? According to Luke 24:52-53 52 Then they worshiped him and
returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.
The Apostles begin to worship him and pray to him. It’s not the first time they worship him but it’s the
first time that we hear about them worshipping him when he’s not around. And so we see evidence now
that Jesus is accessible to everyone and you don’t have to navigate a crowd in order to get to him.
Jesus’s Ascension Means That We Need to Access Him
You now have access to Jesus Christ anytime you want. You need to take advantage of that. You need to
be spending time with him. Jesus leaves the apostles and immediately they worship him and they leave
the hill and immediately they go to church and they continue worshipping him.
Hebrews 8:1
Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of
the majestic God in heaven.
Our God is accessible. How often do you take advantage of that?
6.) Jesus Ascends to Prepare Heaven for Our Coming
John 14:2-3
2
In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to
prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be
with me that you also may be where I am.
There’s a church father by the name of Athanasius. He’s one of the biggest reasons that you and I
believe that Jesus Christ is God today. A lot of times we take church history for granted. We assume we
believe something because we read it in the Bible. But the truth is, a lot of people have read their bibles
and a lot of people have gotten it wrong. Oneness Pentecostals, seventh day Adventists, Mormons,
Jehovah’s witnesses… they’re all bible reading people who have ignored or cast aside the tradition of the
church and as a result they’ve been led astray by false teachers and false doctrine.
Arius believed that Jesus was a created being. That He was divine but not in the same way that God the
Father was divine. And the majority of the bishops went along with Arias. He was an influential heretic.
And Athanasius was one of the only guys who believed that Jesus was God. He was a young theologian
and at the time one of his colleagues came to him and said, “Athanasius the whole world is against you.”
To which he responded, “Athanasius contra mundum” Which means, “Athanasius against the world.”
And what he was basically saying is, If the world is against me then so be it, it’s me against the world.
But he had a conviction that Jesus was God and he wasn’t going to budge.
Eventually the majority of the Church would be convinced that Athanasius was correct and during the
Council of Nicaea in 325, which insisted in its creed that Jesus of Nazareth was “God from God, light
from light, true God from true God” and the one “through whom all things were made… Arius and his
followers were declared heretics.
I tell you all of this in order to lend credibility to Athanasius and to help you have an appreciation for
church tradition.
Athanasius gives my last reason for why Jesus Christ ascended. His statement is addressing the fact that
it’s okay to worship Christ’s humanity. At the time, people were struggling with that idea. And
Athanasius is saying, “No, it’s totally appropriate.” We even see the apostles doing it the second that
Jesus ascends.
Here’s what he says,
“For whereas the powers in heaven, both angels and archangels were ever worshipping the Lord, as
they are now worshipping Him in the Name of Jesus, this is our grace and high exaltation, that even
when He became man, the Son of God is worshipped, and the heavenly powers will not be astonished at
seeing all of us, who are of one body with Him, introduced into their realms.”
The cool thing about Jesus becoming a man and ascending into Heaven is that the heavenly powers will
not be astonished at seeing all of us, who are of one body with Him, introduced into their realms.”
We’ll be welcomed in heaven because Jesus ascended. Jesus ascended so that we’ll be welcomed in
Heaven. Jesus Ascended to prepare the wedding for the Bride just as we the Bride ought to be preparing
ourselves for the wedding.
Why did Jesus Ascend?
1.) To Return to His Throne
2.) To Send the Holy Spirit
3.) To Empower Us to Do His Kingdom’s Work
4.) To Allow The Bride to Prepare for Her Wedding Day
5.) To Be Accessible To All Christians (Both Past, and Present)
6.) To Prepare Heaven for Our Coming
What Do We Do Now?
1.) Receive the Holy Spirit
2.) Trust in His Power
3.) Witness To The Ends of The Earth
4.) Prepare for the Wedding Day
5.) Access Jesus Christ
Jesus is on the throne. Jesus is King. Let me show you a video that I used to just watch and cry to
because of how powerful it was. Jesus is King. Check it out.
Here’s what I want you to do. Look at these five things and take a moment to pray and ask God which
one you need to focus on most. Have you received the Holy Spirit? If so, are you trusting in His power
that’s at work in and through you? Are you doing your part in witnessing to others about the good news
of Jesus Christ? Are you preparing for the Wedding day by pursuing Holiness and Sanctification? Do you
take advantage of the fact that you now have access to Jesus Christ any time you want it and is that
happening on a regular basis?
Take a moment. Ask God which one you need to focus on. Which one has stood out the most to you this
morning? Which one convicted you the most? Let’s pray.