The least observed of the major days in the Christian calendar is Ascension Day. Coming 40 days after Easter, it lands on a Thursday which doesn’t fit well with our Sunday-centered worship rhythm. And that impoverishes our Christian imagination.
The Ascension isn’t just a historical reality Christians vaguely assent to. “Yes. Jesus floated up in the air and has been gone ever since. So?” The Ascension establishes a theological reality which changes the way we view all other realities. How so? Here are three ways.
The Ascension establishes Jesus as King. Jesus didn’t just ascend into the sky, he ascended to his throne. “Ascension” is a kingship term. There are steps up to a throne because the king is above all others. You “ascend” to your throne when made king.
Listen to Paul’s reflection on the ascended Jesus and the impact of that ascension on our lives.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Col. 3:1-4, emphasis added).
Notice all that “above” and “raised” language. Notice how Paul uses the title Christ instead of the name Jesus. Christ or Messiah is shorthand for “the one anointed to be king of the world.” For too long, we’ve read Christ as a name instead of as a title. We’d be better off replacing “Christ” with “the King” not just in the passage above, but in every passage where it occurs. And as our passage notes, “the King is seated at the right hand of God.”
When Jesus ascends at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, he bases his Great Commission on one thing: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18). That’s king language if ever there was any.
In John’s Gospel, Jesus ascending to the throne doesn’t take place at the Ascension, but at the Crucifixion. In fact, much of the language John 19 uses to set the scene parallels the language used at the enthronement of Caesar. Ironically, though, when Pilate announces him as king, the people reply with the haunting words of rejection: “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15). Just let that sink in for a bit and ask, “When do I do the same?”
Again, Ascension is about kingship. And if Jesus is King, all of our allegiances are due to him and none other. Our lives are wrapped up in his.
Any Christianity that doesn’t have Jesus firmly enthroned as King, bowing before him in every aspect of life, is mere consumer religion lacking in discipleship.
The Ascension guarantees the return of the King. Jesus leaves in order to return. He’s not done and gone. His departure prefigures his return. His is an active absence. He’s gone to do something not to avoid doing something.
Throughout 1 Peter, we’re told to have hope in the middle of our suffering. Our suffering now doesn’t negate God’s love and power in our lives, since God’s love and power weren’t negated by the suffering of Jesus, but were proved by the resurrection of Jesus. And just as the Glory of Jesus in his Ascension will be overshadowed by his Glory when he returns, so our suffering now will be overshadowed by our glory with him when he returns.
Peter puts it this way:
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming (1 Peter 1:13).
Eschatology isn’t about silly charts and demonizing politics. It’s about the return of the King in Glory and the end/goal/completion of our suffering as we join him in the fullness of his kingdom.
Any form of Christianity not oriented toward the hope of the return of Jesus is meager and directionless.
The Ascension of Jesus prepares for the sending of the Spirit. Ascension Day precedes Pentecost. Jesus must depart before the Spirit steps up his activity in the world.
As Jesus says, “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” (John 16:7).
God takes up residence in his world in the Incarnation of Jesus. Then God takes up residence in his people in the sending of the Spirit. I call that movement in the right direction.
The Spirit is the life of God, the mind of God, the wisdom of God, the power of God, and the presence of God. If I want anything in my life, that’s precisely what I want.
Christianity without the Spirit is truly dispirited.
It’s like a can of pop that’s gone flat. Shake it up and nothing happens. You’re just left with a sickly sweetness that gives no refreshment. But shake up a carbonized can and the power just can’t wait to get out and all over the place.
The Ascension is no minor holiday to be skipped, overshadowed by Mother’s Day. It’s essential, right up there with our celebrations of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. It is good soul food.