The
Ascension of Jesus
Luke
24:44-53.
The events of that first Easter Sunday and the
days that followed bewildered the disciples of Jesus. First the women had
reported that the tomb was empty. Mary Magdalene had claimed to have met with
Jesus.[1]
Some of the other women also made similar claims.[2]
At first the men were sceptical. But when Peter and John made similar claims,
some began to believe that Jesus might well have risen from the grave. Into
this gathering in the upper room burst the two men returning from Emmaus. They
too gave a detailed account of their experience of the risen Christ. When Jesus
appeared to the people in this room, he encountered therefore a mixture of
belief and unbelief, the sad and the joyful, the confused and those whose minds
had been opened. But God, through his son Jesus resolved all the confusion. He
had met the women's confusion at the empty tomb with the words of his son; he met the afternoon's misery on the Emmaus Road
Firstly, verses 44-45 tell of the centrality on the
Scriptures in the lives of all Christians of all generations. We read:
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." Then he opened their minds
so that they could understand the Scriptures.
God's word - the Scriptures - are not just an
important historical document. In the pages of the entire Bible, from Genesis 1
to Revelation 22:21 we
meet with the living Word of God, Jesus Christ our Lord. As he revealed himself
to his disciples through the Scriptures after his resurrection, so too he
reveals himself to us today. But there is even more! Jesus becomes even more
real to people today through the Scriptures than when he walked and talked to people
on earth because he enlightens us of the deepest meaning of the Scriptures by
the power of the Holy Spirit. But this is only true of those who have come to
Christ in repentance and faith and have accepted him as their saviour and Lord.
Schweizer writes: `Only those who understand him understand Scripture ...'[3]
People who do not know Christ can never understand the meaning of His Word. The
Bible to the unbeliever remains a dead book which is incredibly difficult to
understand. When a person comes to Christ, the Bible is revolutionised from
being a mere book and becomes the living word of God in the power of the Holy
Spirit. So into confusing situations Jesus comes and provides perspective,
meaning and direction to all those who come to him and his word. Wilcock writes:
During the centuries
since, God's people have often found themselves again in the same state of
uncertainty in which they were at the start of that memorable evening. For many
Christians, today is such a time ...[4]
More than any other time in our history, we need
direction. For too long we have had to listen to the thoughts and policies of
mere humans. We need direction. We need leaders who seek not so much to control
others, but who desire to be controlled by God. We need leaders who do not
propound human theories of what our country needs, but who are able to search
the Scriptures and discern what God wants for our land and all its people. We
need leaders who are willing to come to Jesus and in humility ask Him to enable
them to understand God's Word - for it is only when one comes to Christ that we
can receive the help needed in order to understand the Scriptures.[5]
Secondly, verse 46 reminds us of what is at the core of
the scriptures. We read:
He told them,
"This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on
the third day, ..."[6]
Evans, commenting on this verse, suggests, and I
agree, that `The passion (suffering) and the resurrection of the Messiah are
enunciated as the core of scripture'.[7]
Central to the history of humankind is the Jesus event of the Cross,
Resurrection and Ascension. Central in the life of each individual person
should be the same - central to every government of every country should be
Jesus and his way for people to live. Jesus had said this earlier as recorded
by Luke in 12:31 where
Jesus said:
... seek his kingdom,
and these things [here Jesus is referring to material and other practical
necessities of life] will be given you as well.
Commenting of this verse, the Life Application Bible explains: `Striving for the kingdom of God
Thirdly, verse 47 explains where our focus should lie.
Jesus said:
... repentance and
forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations ...
Jesus made it possible for people to become the
sort of people God intended them to be at creation - those living in perfect
harmony with each other and with their creator. But all people deliberately
chose to reject God and his way of living. The reason why the world is in a
mess is because of the sin of humankind. Because Jesus suffered, died, rose from
the dead and ascended to the Father, people can have the image of God that has
become tainted by our sin, restored to them. Jesus says that the people of `all
nations' need to be told to repent. The only way there can ever be true peace
anywhere is when people turn away from sin and turn to Christ. When people
realise their sin and experience Christ's forgiveness, they are able to forgive
those who have sinned against them. Being forgiven and forgiving others was
central to the teaching of Jesus. Earlier in Luke's gospel, he records the
words of Jesus. In Luke 6:37b we read: `Forgive, and you will be forgiven'.
Again in Luke 11:4 Jesus taught as part of the Lord's prayer: `Forgive us our
sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us'. Matthew adds a further
important dimension in 6:14 -15:
... if you forgive men
when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if
you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
The only way people anywhere in the world will
ever be able to live together as they ought to is if they know and experience
the forgiveness of Jesus in removing their sin and making them whole once more
in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is only when this has happened that people
will feel inclined and be enabled to forgive those who have sinned against
them. What we need today is a call for all people to repent before God and
challenge all to forgive each other. Removing unjust structures, changing laws,
and all the other things that people are preoccupied with is going to change
nothing unless people change. And the only way people can change is by coming
to Jesus in repentance and faith, receiving his forgiveness and thereby
forgiving others. For there is no other way. Forgiveness is only available
through Jesus' name for those who believe in him.[9]
Fourthly, verse 48 continues: `You are witnesses of these
things'. After Jesus' ascension into the presence of the Father - after he left
the physical domain of this earth, this message of transformation through
repentance and forgiveness that he had proclaimed during his earthly ministry,
became the message that Christians of future generations needed to proclaim in
both their words and actions `because the Christ proclaims himself through his
messengers'.[10]
But in order to be able to fulfil the responsibility of their mission, the
disciples and all later Christians need to be able to relate to others the
significance of what had happened through the Resurrection of Jesus. Miller
writes:
Jesus' resurrection was
no isolated event, no accident of history, taking place without relation to
what had gone before and what was to come after. It was rather the culminating
point to which all history had been moving. The Resurrection, therefore, gave meaning
to the life and teachings of the historic Jesus. It was the climax of all that
he had taught them when he was with them in the flesh.[11]
The task of the early church then and the task of
the church today is primarily to lead all people to repentance so that they can
find forgiveness. And this is done through faithfully expounding the Scriptures
in their entirety[12]
- following the example of the post-resurrected Christ before the Ascension.
This has never been and never will be the popular thing to do. Especially in South Africa
If we bear a faithful
testimony, we have done our duty, although, like Noah, and Elijah, and
Jeremiah, we stand almost alone.[13]
The church stands a very real risk of compromising
the truth by trying to be popular with the masses. To be relevant is not to be
seen doing what the masses deem relevant, but by remaining faithful to Christ
and the proclamation of the truth of the Gospel. While on leave I read a book
by a South African Christian scholar who was putting forward some ideas about
the church's role in the New South Africa.[14]
He mentions Jesus approx. 6 times in 300 pages, but Marxism on about 40 pages.
He also mentions many other theologians and philophers. May I suggest that he
has missed the point for Jesus is the only answer.
Fifthly, this message becomes real only through the power
of the Holy Spirit. We read in verse 49: `I am going to send you what my Father
promised ...' One cannot know the reality of repentance and forgiveness and one
cannot hope to be witnesses of this to the world if we try in our own strength.
And so God promised all believers the Holy Spirit and the power to know the
reality of Christ living in and through us. Evans sums up the significance of
this as follows. He writes:
Christianity is a
movement `... which was effective and irresistible because it had its source in
God[15]
... the gift and forceful irruption of whose Spirit[16]
makes Christians,[17]
inspires their intelligent and confident speech,[18]
invests them with divine authority[19]
and directs their purposeful movements.[20]
All of Christianity is impossible without the Holy
Spirit - whom we will learn more about next week on Pentecost Sunday when we
celebrate the birth of the Church though the wonderful outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. In the context of today's lesson we are reminded that when the message
of Christ is proclaimed in the power of the Holy Spirit, it becomes more than
just the recitation of historical events. Rather it becomes a message which
leads to people being convicted of their sin and converting to Christ, being
re-born in the power of the Spirit which is a supernatural work of God in the
life of a believer[21]
which is impossible to explain in human terms.[22]
And so, in verses 44-49 Luke provides his readers
with a summary of what the disciples had learnt during the 40 days after the
resurrection.[23]
In verses 50-53 Luke ends his Gospel with a brief account of our Lord's
Ascension which brings the post-Resurrection appearances to an end and thereby
closes one chapter and marks the opening of a new era.[24]
In this new stage, the power of the churches witness was not to depend on the
visible appearances of the presence of the risen Christ, but rather on the
presence of his Spirit in their midst.[25]
Jesus physically left the disciples while blessing them.[26]
Because Jesus continually blesses all his followers, they are enabled to serve
him faithfully - they are enabled to discern the truth of the Scriptures, they
are equipped with the power necessary to witness on his behalf, they have their
nature's transformed so that they can become our Lord's representatives to the
people of the world. In this act of Ascension, the Father made Jesus Lord.[27]
Acknowledging this, the disciples responded by worshipping and praising God.
Morris writes:
Whatever their view of
His Person during His ministry, the passion and resurrection and now the ascension
had convinced them that [Jesus] was divine. He was worthy to be worshipped and
they gave him his due.[28]
Note also that the overwhelming feeling
experienced by the disciples was not grief at the final departure of their
beloved Lord, but overwhelming joy.[29]
They returned to Jerusalem
[4]. Wilcock,
M, The Message of Luke: The Saviour of
the World (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 1979) p. 212.
[8]. Life Application Bible: New
Revised Standard Version (Iowa Falls, Iowa, World Bible Publishers, 1990)
p. 1780.
[9]. Evans,
Saint Luke, p. 923. See also
Thompson, G H P, The Gospel According to
Luke in the Revised Standard Version (Clarendon, Oxford, 1972)
pp. 281-282.
[11]. Miller,
D G, The Layman's Bible Commentary: The
Gospel According to Luke (Atlanta, Georgia, John Knox Press, 1982)
pp. 173-174.
[13]. Ryle,
J C, Expository thoughts on Luke: Volume
2 (Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Trust (Reprint), 1986) p. 520.
[14]. Villa-Vicencio,
C, A Theology of Reconstruction:
Nation-building and human rights (Cape Town, David Philip, 1992)
[21]. See
Gooding, D, According to Luke: A new
exposition of the Third Gospel (Leicester, IVP, 1988) p. 355.
[23]. Balmforth,
H, The Gospel according to Saint Luke in
the Revised Version (Clarendon, Oxford, 1930) p. 311.
[24]. Morris,
L, The Gospel According to St Luke: An
introduction and commentary (Leicester, IVP, 1983) p. 344.
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