1. Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word, as we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord Jesus into heaven, is taken from Luke 24:44-53, it’s entitled, “Why Did Jesus Ascend into Heaven?” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. As the disciples stood there watching Jesus go into heaven, they must have wondered, “Why?” After all that he’d done, why was Jesus going away? Maybe that question has crossed your mind from time to time: Why did Jesus ascend into heaven? Wouldn’t it be nice if Jesus was still walking around down here on earth like he did in New Testament times? In the flesh, he could answer all our questions, solve all our problems, settle disputes and heal divisions in the church, convince the doubting, comfort the weak, bring back the straying, personally lead his church forward in proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth? Why did Jesus Ascend into Heaven? It’s a good question and the Bible gives us some good answers to that question, answers that can help us understand what a blessing it is for us that our Lord didn’t stay, but went away on Ascension Day.
3. First of all, the Bible tells us that Jesus ascended into heaven in order to reclaim his rightful position as King of kings and Lord of lords. In Ephesians 1, Paul says that Jesus sat down at the right hand of God “in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given. . . . And God placed all things under his feet” (1:20–22). We might sometimes think that it would be nice to have Jesus still walking around down here on earth like he did 2000 years ago. But the Bible says that the best thing for us is to have Jesus right where he’s at: enthroned in all majesty and power at the right hand of God. That doesn’t mean that Jesus is literally sitting down at some particular spot in heaven. But, it does mean that he has authority over everything and is in complete control of everything—in the world, the church, and in our own lives.
4. I’m sure some of you and your children have read the book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Disney even made it into a movie back in 2014 starring Jennifer Garner & Steve Carell. If you haven’t read it, I’m sure you’ve experienced it in one way or another. The book is about a little boy named Alexander who goes to bed one night with gum in his mouth and wakes up the next morning with gum in his hair. He trips on his skateboard getting out of bed, and then he drops his sweater in the sink with the water running. At school, his best friend deserts him, his teacher fails to appreciate him, and his mother forgets to put dessert in his lunch. After school the whole family goes to the dentist, and only one person has cavities—guess who? When he gets home, Alexander has to eat lima beans for supper—yuck!—and then he has to put up with kissing on TV—double yuck! Even bedtime is bad for Alexander: his bath is too hot, he gets soap in his eyes, his favorite marble goes down the drain, and he has to wear his stupid-looking train pajamas to bed. To top it all off, his night-light burns out, he bites his tongue getting into bed, and his cat refuses to sleep with him. (After the kind of day Alexander has had, I’m not sure you can blame the cat.)
5. All of us have probably had days like that, days when everything just seems to go wrong. And sometimes it may seem as if everything everywhere is going wrong—in our homes, in our church, in our nation, in the world as a whole. Sometimes you get the feeling that things are just spinning out of control—and that’s why Ascension Day is so important. Ascension Day reminds us that things are not spinning out of control. Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday, he ascended into heaven, he sat down in all, power at the right hand of God. No matter how things may look, he is in control. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me (Matt. 28:18),” said Jesus before he ascended into heaven. We can be sure that nothing happens without our ascended Lord’s knowledge and permission, and we can also be sure that everything that does happen will be used by God to bring blessing into the lives of those who put their trust in him. Rom 8:28 says, “28 We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” So, when it looks like things are coming apart at the seams—in the world, in the church, or in your own life—remember why Jesus ascended. Jesus is on his throne, he’s got the whole world in his hands, and no matter how things look, he’s in control.
6. The Bible gives us another reason Jesus ascended into heaven, and I would encourage you to listen carefully to this second reason. Jesus went away so that he could be with us always. I know that sounds like it doesn’t make much sense, but that’s exactly what the Bible says. In fact, just before he went away, Jesus said: “And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matt. 28:20).”
7. As you ponder this seeming paradox, how things might be if Jesus had not gone away on Ascension Day. Let’s imagine that Jesus is still living here on earth in the flesh, with an office set up somewhere in Jerusalem—open, let’s say, from 9am to 5pm. Imagine all of the millions of people who would be waiting in line every day just to see Jesus, to talk to him, ask him a question, and get his help in solving some problem. Just imagine if every time you wanted to see Jesus or talk to him or ask for his help you had to get in line or put your name on a waiting list: “OK, John, your number is 2,300,003, and that should come up in 15 or 20 years, if you’re still around.”
8. Do you remember what Jesus said to his disciples in John 16? He said, “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). Jesus ascended into heaven so that the Holy Spirit could come. Now, through the work of the Spirit, Jesus is with us always, and he will be to the very end of the age. Because of the Holy Spirit, we don’t have to wait in line or make an appointment to see Jesus. We can meet with Jesus anytime we want to, we can all be with Jesus at the same time, simply by opening the Bible and reading the words of Jesus that the Holy Spirit has given us. By the power of the Spirit working through this Word, Jesus himself answers our questions, gives us solutions to our problems, comforts us, warns us, encourages us, forgives us, and strengthens our faith. The Holy Spirit also brings Jesus to us through the Sacrament of Baptism—not just on that one day when we were baptized, but as we live in our Baptism every day: as we confess our sins, as we receive God’s forgiveness, as we draw on his power to fight against sin and temptation. And Jesus is with us in a very personal way in the Lord’s Supper, as he gives us his very body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith.
9. There was a ritual that certain Indian tribes used to do to train their young braves and help turn them into men. When an Indian boy turned 13, he was blindfolded and led out of camp at night and taken deep into the forest several miles from home. Then his blindfold was removed, and he had to face the night alone in an unfamiliar place, with the threatening sounds of the forest all around him. After a stressful and sleepless night, the sun began to come up and the boy could start to see what was around him. As the light increased, the boy was surprised to notice, out of the corner of his eye, the shape of a man standing just an arm’s length away, armed with bow and arrow. It was his Dad, who had been standing there all night long in silence, ready to protect the boy from any danger. In the same way, Jesus is right there by our side at all times, even though we can’t see him. And we have one advantage that those young braves didn’t have: we have Jesus’ promise that he’s with us always through his Word and Sacraments, to protect us from the Devil, to provide us with all that we need both physically and spiritually, to empower us to be his witnesses, and to guide us safely to our heavenly home.
10. And that, brings us to the final point of today’s sermon, the third reason that Jesus ascended into heaven. Jesus says in John 14 (1–3): “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be with me where I am.” Jesus went away to prepare a place for us in heaven—to get those “mansions” ready for you. His “going away” and his “work of preparation” include his suffering and death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead. Through those events Jesus prepared a place for us in heaven.
11. When Jesus talks about “preparing a place” for us in John 14, he may be using imagery related to Jewish customs of engagement and marriage. In Jesus’ day, God’s people took engagement very seriously. Engagement was legally almost the same as marriage. But several things had to happen before the couple could actually begin living together. The bridegroom had to make sure that he had a decent home for his new wife to live in—he had to go and “prepare aplace” for her. The young bridegroom was excited about getting married, and if it had been up to him, he would have gone out and nailed a few scraps of lumber together and said, “Welcome home, honey, this is it!” So, according to some scholars, the bridegroom’s father was often put in charge of making sure his son did the job right, and the bridegroom wasn’t allowed to go get his bride until his father looked things over and gave his approval.
12. Now, there was nothing wrong with heaven before Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension. But without Jesus’ work, heaven was not a place prepared for us. We could not have entered heaven, much less spend eternity there. But by his payment for our sins on the cross, and by his ascension to lead the way as our representative, Jesus has made heaven ready to receive us.
13. Considering what the Bible says about how much Jesus loves us, I think it’s safe to say that Jesus is even more eager than we are for the day when he will fulfill his promise to come back for his bride, the church, and take her to live with him forever in heaven. But as we anxiously await that day, Jesus reminds us, even as he reminded his disciples on the day of his Ascension: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7; cf. Mt 24:36). It is enough for us to know that our Bridegroom will come back on that day appointed by the Father, and to know that, he has worked hard to prepare a place for each of us, making sure that all of our heavenly “mansions” meet with his Father’s approval. And as we wait, we cling in faith to his promise: “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” (Jn 14:3).
14. So on this Ascension Day thank God that Jesus ascended into heaven: to assume his rightful place in power and majesty at the right hand of God; to send the Holy Spirit to bring his saving gifts to us through Word and Sacrament; and to prepare a place in heaven for us, with reservations guaranteed in our name because of his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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