The Ascension of Jesus

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. Some of the other women also made similar claims. 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 with his word expounded in the power of the Holy Spirit. Again, he met the evening confusion with his word. On this last occasion Jesus once again unfolds the meaning of the past, present and future by expounding the Scriptures. He spoke of the crucifixion, the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit and the spread of the gospel throughout the world. In this passage where we read of our Lord's ascension from this earth into the presence of the Father we learn a number of important truths:

I begin with a traditional exposition of this passage of Scripture.

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.

As Jesus 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. 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 ...

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.

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, ..."

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'. 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.

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. 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.

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'. 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.

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 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 ... the gift and forceful irruption of whose Spirit makes Christians, inspires their intelligent and confident speech, invests them with divine authority and directs their purposeful movements.’

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.

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. 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. 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. Jesus physically left the disciples while blessing them. 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. 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.

Note also that the overwhelming feeling experienced by the disciples was not grief at the final departure of their beloved Lord, but overwhelming joy. They returned to Jerusalem where they remained `continually at the temple, praising God'.

I believe this is a faithful exposition of what the Bible reading says; but the implication is rather exclusive, and my current understanding has grown into being much more inclusive.

In today’s world this is severely challenged; in Europe it is mostly rejected – we have nurses who are suspended for openly displaying their faith by offering to pray for patients – and politicians could never get away with an overtly Christian platform. The first part of this posting some see as being radical and was the essence of a sermon I preached in South Africa at the time of the first democratic elections at Ascensiontide 1994. I think, in that context, it was wholly appropriate and the Ascended Christ did make a significant difference in that country, especially in the “Truth and Reconciliation Commission” where what I said about real and meaningful repentance and forgiveness was given true effect. But can I still say this in Europe in 2015? What about those lovely people who are of other faiths or none? I am sure that we have all met them.

I have found, sometimes, more Christian love and humanity outside the Church than from some within it; there are some from other faiths that seem to live more exemplary lives than some who claim to be Christian. I think you can get what I am trying to say. Simply put: “Is Jesus the only way?” – to real humanity, salvation, true forgiveness, fulfilment etc.? Or is Christianity merely a different cultural expression of the same ‘Ground of Being’ (i.e. God) that Tillich speaks about? Ought we therefore not to be evangelistic in our approach to others but merely those who encourage others to become better Muslims or Hindus etc.? Ought we to be rather speaking generically about God and not specifically speaking about the uniqueness of Jesus as God? Was Jesus unique and God incarnate, or was he a man in whom God dwelt most fully (as people like Marcus Borg would suggest)? To be less radical, was Jesus God incarnate – as is traditional Christian teaching (and experience) and therefore other religions are also ‘saved’ by him even if they do not openly acknowledge him? Is F C Coplestone correct in his assertion that: “If you love what is good, you love God even if you don’t know it …” and so opening the door for even so-called atheists to be ‘saved’?

As a school Chaplain I feel constrained to preach a broadly Christian message in its essence because I have always a mixed congregation, including all faiths and none. I am committed to this because my congregation has been told to be there – there is little choice – and experience makes it clear that forcing an overtly Christian message in contexts like this just puts people’s backs up. I find approaches like Coplestone and Tillich very helpful – and very Christian - as we have been reflecting recently in these pages that “God is love and all those who love dwell in God and God in them …” To speak of sin and repentance is seldom well received because too many Christians have used these words in a hateful and judgemental way and achieve the opposite effect. But to challenge those things that challenge our person dignity or ‘being’ strikes a chord.

So where do I stand? Am I just taking the easy road and compromising my faith? Am I ashamed of the Gospel – an attitude condemned by St Paul in his letter to the Romans? Am I part of the problem in the UK and the Church’s decline because I am watering down the Gospel? Is the Church in decline because too many people like me are afraid of “telling it like it is”?

I believe that Jesus is the Christ of God, unique and special and that all the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwelt in our Lord and we are complete in Him. I believe that he died – completely and utter physical death – and that he was raised on the third day. I believe that he left this physical world to return to the realm of God and by so doing was no longer constrained by time or space and that all this is a great mystery that defies expression in human language. I believe that Jesus is alive and is with us in the power of his Spirit, making his presence more real to us today than when he walked and talked with his disciples on earth. But I do not feel that this can be expressed from a school Chapel pulpit in the same way as it can be from that of a Church where people have chosen to attend. Because our congregations are captive audiences, we need to earn the right to be specifically Christian, and this we do by living the Gospel, by being like the ‘… living letters …’ that St Paul speaks about in 2 Corinthians. It has been my experience that this way leads to some young people asking the big questions and they come to a real faith. This way, young people learn to enjoy the Chapel experience where they are encouraged to think about their lives and how they relate to others – and to God.

I believe that Jesus is the only way – but that it is God’s business to deal with who is saved and who is not. The New Testament teaches that “… you will know them by their fruit …” I do see ‘fruit’ in the lives of many who do not profess my beliefs – and I rejoice that God is working in their lives. Did Jesus not use parables to suggest that exclusiveness is not appropriate by championing the life of Samaritans? Does he not make the same point?