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.
I think that we all have during this Covid-19 Pandemic. 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, Bill, 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 a place”
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.
