The Ascension of Jesus Christ

By Rev. Raymond Coffey

May 2007

One of my concerns, both as a student and as a Pastor, is the lack of depth that we tolerate in our lives, especially when it comes to knowing the message and meaning of the Scriptures. We are too often content to live at the default position of certain clichés, and of the in-house language of that we learned in Sunday School classes. We can repeat those phrases but do not explore them in terms of their larger significance, nor do we apply them to our lives in specific ways. We have lost the art and skill of contemplation. We are called however to ponder and meditate on the Word of God.  Wisdom will be given to us as our minds are renewed by Scripture.

We can see this when we seek to learn and live by a truth such as the Ascension of Jesus Christ.  While this event is usually neglected by most evangelical churches (ask someone, outside of the CRC, if they know what or when Ascension Day is), it is one of the pivotal days in redemptive history. While we do not mark it with the prominence of Christmas or Easter, it is important for us in comprehending the ministry of Jesus Christ. A fresh understanding of this event will deepen both our thinking and our devotion to Jesus Christ.

The ascension of Jesus Christ was the exaltation of Jesus Christ to the right hand of God the Father. In this exalted state, Jesus continues his ministry as Prophet, Priest and King. This is at the heart of the message of the ascension and while there is more to know about this event, this aspect is basic to any understanding of the present ministry of Christ.  What has intrigued me, however, is the dramatic nature of the ascension. Critics have noted this and have scorned the “lift-off” fashion of the moment and have ridiculed the details and have considered the account in Acts to be of no value historically. These skeptics relegate the ascension to the realm of myth and we have to find the meaning of this elsewhere. But the details are essential to the message, not only because they convey the historical reality of the event, but through them we are brought into an even greater understanding of the cross of Jesus Christ. Let me explain why this is the case.

One of the purposes for the definite way in which Jesus ascended to heaven was to bring to an end the resurrection appearances. Luke tells us that for forty days Jesus appeared to the disciples, teaching them about the kingdom of God.  An obvious question for us would be this: Where did Jesus go when he was not with the disciples? He went to ‘heaven,’ the place of glory with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. He would then reappear and be with the disciples, enjoying meals with them and teaching them, over this period of time. The dramatic way in which Jesus left was to signal to them that the appearances that had been occurring following the resurrection would now come to an end. He was taken up into a ‘cloud,’ and left their sight. The cloud that received him was the ‘cloud of glory’ that was so prominent throughout the history of Israel. This is not a reference to atmospheric clouds which are several thousand feet above the earth. Rather it refers to the cloud that led Israel through the wilderness to the land of Canaan.

The disciples experience of meeting with him and hearing him teach during the period between his resurrection and ascension has now come to an end. How then will they, and how will we, continue to experience Jesus Christ? The ascension raises a much more significant issue for the church. Where do we meet Jesus today? T. F. Torrance, in his book Space, Time and Resurrection, provides us with an insight that is profound in its simplicity. The lengthy quote from him that follows takes us to the heart of the message of the ascension of Jesus Christ.

The withdrawal of Christ from visible and physical contact with us in our space-time existence on earth means that Jesus Christ insists on making contact with us, not directly and immediately in his risen humanity, but first and foremost through his historical involvement with us in his incarnation and crucifixion. That is to say, by withdrawing himself from our sight, Christ sends us back to the historical Jesus Christ as the covenanted place on earth and in time which God has appointed as the meeting place between man and himself. The ascension means that our relation to the Savior is only possible through the account of the historical Jesus…The ascension means that to all eternity, God insists on speaking to us through the historical Jesus. We meet and hear Jesus through the witness of the gospels. Therefore we are sent back to Jesus, for there and there only may we hear God speaking in person, and there and there only at the foot of the cross, where God and man meet over the judgment and expiation of sin and guilt, may we meet God face to face and live; there may we be judged and cleansed and have living communion with him in love through the propitiation of Jesus Christ.

Torrance continues later in this observation by commenting on what Luther warned against, a ‘theology of glory’ versus a ‘theology of the cross.’ “All contact with the majesty of God as of the glorified Lord is in and through the crucified One. Through the historical and crucified Jesus, we really meet with the risen and ascended Lord; we really meet God in his transcendent glory and majesty, and we really are gathered into the communion of the Son with the Father, and are really taken up through the Spirit to share in the divine life and love that have overflowed to us in Jesus Christ.”

The ascension means that in order to encounter Christ, we must go back to the Scriptures and to the sacramental meal which he has appointed for our communion with him. We are taken back to the historical Christ, revealed in the gospels and culminating in the cross. The risen Lord is known only through the means given to us which are Word, Water and Table. This is vital to our understanding, not only of the message of the ascension but also to that of the Christian life, the nature of worship, the importance of the church and the authority of Scripture. It is also critical to discerning the work of the Holy Spirit, who mediates Christ to us through the proper means given by God. Our communion with Christ, through the Holy Spirit, occurs as we go back to the witness of the written word and to the means of grace given us in the historical and physical sacraments.

In the climate that prevails in certain circles today, this is a powerful message. We do not experience God through a mystical encounter with the Holy Spirit, nor do we seek for experiences that are emotional and subjective, but we know God as he has revealed himself in the historical Jesus, as he is found in the pages of Scripture.  The Spirit bears witness to the Christ that is historically revealed and known in the Word. He is the Pentecostal gift that has been poured out to bring us into communion, koinonia, with our ascended Lord by taking us back to the text he has inspired. It is there that we meet with Christ and we do so because of his ascension.