Jesus’ ascension and re-entry into heaven marked the end of his incarnation on Earth. It is described very briefly for us in two passages:
“While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.” (Luke 24:51)
“He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” (Acts 1:9)
The first thing to point out about Christ’s ascension is that we shouldn’t become too fixated on the “up” part. It doesn’t mean that heaven is literally up there somewhere above the clouds, physically in orbit around the Earth or somewhere in another part of the Galaxy. The Cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, was the first man to orbit the Earth in 1961 and when he landed safely back on Earth, he is reputed to have said to the media, “I have been into space, and I did not see God.”
It’s quite a naïve view, isn’t it? Of course he didn’t see God! Because heaven is not yet a place that is physically visible to us. It is not a physical location in time and space, but a separate metaphysical realm. Jesus declared that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24) and Paul’s statement about a man who “was caught up to the third heaven – whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know” (2 Corinthians 12:2) indicates that heaven is a realm that transcends physical dimensions or location. According to the wonderful vision of Revelation 21 and 22, heaven will only become visible to us at the end of history, when Christ returns and the two realms of heaven and earth, the metaphysical and the physical, are reunited.
So, let’s not get too hung up about the “up” part of the ascension. The vertical direction of Christ’s departure is just a convenient symbol for his resumption of his elevated, glorious status. Instead, it is much more important for us to talk about the significance of the ascension rather than its direction.
The ascension of Jesus is extremely important, because it did three things:
The Ascension Placed Jesus on the Throne of Heaven
The Bible declares that Jesus now sits at the Father’s right hand (Acts 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:202; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3; 10:12; 1 Peter 3:22). This is not a reference to physical locality and positioning, because God is Spirit and is not a physical being with physical hands. Instead, it is a metaphor indicating that Jesus has ultimate authority – that he is the King over all Creation and the rightful ruler of all mankind.
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)
The Ascension Enables Jesus to Intercede For Us
What is Jesus currently doing as he sits on the throne of heaven? Is he playing chess with the angels while he waits for his second coming? No. The Bible says he is interceding for us, continually, to the Father.
“Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:25)
The ascended Jesus is our perpetual advocate, the bridge between mankind and God the Father. He is the eternal God-man, who represents us to the Father and the Father to us. And it is through our relationship with Jesus that we are justified in God’s presence and can have a restored relationship with him.
Our prayers to God, ascend to the Father through Jesus. They are brought to the Father by Jesus, and that is why we pray “in Jesus’ name”. This is not a magic incantation, like “abra cadabra”; it is a recognition of an actual spiritual truth. Our access to the Father is only through Jesus, who now intercedes for us in the Father’s presence, as a direct result of his ascension.
The Ascension Restored Jesus to His Former Heavenly glory
This is an extremely important point for us to grasp. Jesus’ ascension reversed the “emptying” that took place at his incarnation; an emptying that we have previously explored at depth:
“He emptied himself, taking the very nature of a servant.” (Philippians 2:7)
At his ascension, Jesus was restored to the glory and manifest (or obvious) power that he had emptied himself of in order to come to Earth. He resumed all that he had temporarily and voluntarily laid aside. This is why, shortly before his ascension, Jesus prayed:
“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:5).
Thus, Christ’s ascension represents the reversal of the “emptying” that he underwent in order to become a human being. It is his resumption of heavenly glory. And that resumed heavenly glory is truly awesome to behold. Only a couple of people in the New Testament were given a glimpse of the Jesus in his ascended, glorified state.
One was Saul the Pharisee (later to become the Apostle Paul). As he travelled toward Damascus with a letter from the High Priest authorising him to arrest Christians in that city, Jesus appeared to him in his ascended glory (Acts 9:1-9). Significantly, Jesus did not appear to him in human form, but as a blinding heavenly apparition that terrified the zealous Pharisee. A blazing light from heaven shone down and a thunderous voice boomed, “Saul. Saul. Why are you persecuting me?” (v. 4). Paul was terrified and fell to the ground, exclaiming, “Who are you, Lord?”, to which Jesus replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (v.5). Saul’s brief glimpse of the ascended, glorified Jesus was enough to strike him blind (v. 8), a condition which lasted for several days until he was miraculously healed (Acts 9:17-18).
The second person to glimpse Jesus’ ascended glory was John the Apostle, to whom Jesus appeared in his prison cell on the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9-20). Jesus revealed himself to John as a glowing heavenly being with “eyes that blazed like fire” (v. 14), who spoke with a voice “like a thundering waterfall” (v. 15) and whose face “shone with the brilliance of the sun” (v.16). Significantly, the overwhelming power and glory that emanated from Jesus was so great that John fainted. In Revelation 1:17, John tells us, “When I saw him, I fell down at his feet as though dead.” This was the common first century description of fainting.
Bear in mind, please, that John never once fainted in Jesus’ physical presence while he was on Earth. John had lived and worked alongside the incarnate Jesus for three whole years and had never once been inclined to faint in his presence! But the glory of the ascended and glorified Jesus was so great and overpowering that it literally caused John to faint in fear. As a result, Jesus had to reach out and touch the unconscious Apostle and revive him, saying “Do not be afraid.” (Revelation 1:17)
These two glimpses of the ascended and glorified Jesus ought to cause us to adjust our perception of Jesus. The ascension of Jesus back into heaven and the resumption of his former glory requires us to have a much bigger picture of Jesus than I suspect most of us do. Indeed, I have come to the conclusion that the concept of Jesus that most Christians have is too low and limited. Many tend to still think of him as he was on Earth. But the truth is that he is now much more than the bearded, sandal-footed rabbi who once walked the hills of Galilee.
As I explained briefly in Chapter 2, Christ’s temporary physical incarnation was a hugely ‘dialled down’ representation of who he is eternally. If you had lived in the first century and walked past Jesus in the street you would not have glanced at him and thought, ‘Oh my goodness, he must be God!’. You would not have fallen to your knees in awe and fear. You would not have fainted. Even though he was still fully God during his incarnation, his glory was not obvious nor overwhelming.
But this ‘dialled down’ manifestation to us was only temporary. After his resurrection and ascension back into heaven, Jesus resumed his former heavenly glory as the eternal Son of God. And, as both Saul and John discovered, it is a glory that is fearsome to behold. As the ascended and glorified God the Son, Christ once again shares the same glory as the Father who had previously declared, “No one can see me and live”(Exodus 33:20). This refers to the fact that if God – Father, Son and Spirit – should fully manifest himself to us, we would instantly perish. His power and glory would completely overwhelm and destroy us as if we were a moth that suddenly found itself in the heart of the sun. Paul touches on this concept of the ‘unapproachableness’ of God in his letter to Timothy. He describes the risen Jesus as:
“the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light whom no one has seen or can see.” (1 Timothy 6:13-21)
So, let me ask you again: how big is your concept of Jesus? If your concept of Jesus mainly centres around his temporary incarnation as a human – limited in space and time and constrained by human frailty – you need to significantly enlarge your vision. Because one day the ascended Jesus will return through the clouds in all his glory and power, and every knee will bow before him – mainly in terror in the case of those who have rejected him! Most knees did not bow before him during his incarnation. He was easy to miss. He was nothing remarkable to look at – just another Galilean. But he is no longer like that. His glory is now blinding and unmissable. His power is overwhelming and terrifying. We ought to hold this eternal perspective of Jesus central in our consciousness, while simultaneously being overwhelmed with gratitude that this awesome, fearsome, resurrected Jesus loves us so passionately and completely that he gave his life for us on the cross.
How big is your concept of Jesus? Enlarge your thinking!