Ascension Day
I’m not sure why I have a certain fondness for Ascension Day. It some times seems that Jesus’ ascension is like thoroughbred horse racing’s Belmont Stakes. Belmont is the third “jewel” in the “Triple Crown” behind the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. There is a great build up to the Kentucky Derby; the winner of that race leads to the excitement of the Preakness. More often than not, the Preakness has a different winning horse, making the Belmont just another Day at the Races (hat tip to the Marx Brothers). Granted, this is a casual observers view, I’m sure that the knowledgeable insiders have a different take on it.
The Triple Crown for Jesus is Christmas, Easter, and the Belmont Stakes: Ascension. We have a four week (Advent) build up to Christmas. Jesus takes us on a ride through Lent, only to get scratched on Good Friday. We become the winners at Easter! And Ascension becomes another day of the liturgical calendar, a Thursday no less! Granted, this is a casual observers view, I’m sure that the knowledgeable insiders have a different take on it.
When they were together with him, they asked, “Lord, is this the time when you are going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said these things, he was taken up while they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight. They were looking intently into the sky as he went away. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood beside them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+1&version=EHV>
In Matthew 24, Jesus gives warnings of what will happen after his ascension:
“At that time if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There he is,’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive even the elect, if it were possible.
“See, I have told you in advance. So if they tell you, ‘Look! There he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there, or ‘Look! Here he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. Just as the lightning flashes from the east and shines as far as the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.
From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+24&version=EHV>
Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, and his ascension point to the promise of his return, the last leg that leads to the home stretch, the final judgement and the restored heavens and earth, and of the eternal life yet to come.
Trust the Promises
Steve Skiver