ASCENDING TO GLORY

LUKE 24:46–53

Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven

(Luke 24:51).

Because John’s gospel was not a biographical sketch, but only a record of relevant accounts of Jesus’ life in order to answer the skeptics concerning the divinity of Christ, John does not include anything about the ascension of Christ. He assumed that the readers would be familiar with the the gospel of Luke, which records the ascension. It is, therefore, to that passage that we turn today as we spend the rest of this month considering the exalted glory of our Lord and Savior.

As Jesus stood before His followers one last time, He spoke on the necessity of His dying and rising again. He commanded the church to go forth and in His name preach repentance and remission of sins. He told His disciples to begin in Jerusalem, for the Gospel must be preached first to the Jews then to the Gentiles. He confirmed that they were witnesses of the truth. This statement, in turn, supports the conclusion of John which says that his testimony is true. His testimony is true because he was an eyewitness. And finally, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be sent to empower them for the work of the ministry.

Jesus spoke with all authority and power. He had walked among them, but that time was over. Now He would be exalted, lifted up before the eyes of men to reign over them in righteousness. As He ascended into the clouds, He took His place at the right hand of God. From there He judges the earth, from there He rules “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also that which is to come” (Eph. 1:21).

The ascension of Christ was necessary because it restored the glory that the Son had before the incarnation. It also glorified Christ’s human nature in a new way. And so from suffering and death, Christ was glorified, and through Him we will be glorified. The exaltation of Christ should bring us great encouragement. No power can overthrow our King. He is the Conqueror. And because He is our great High Priest, who sits at the right hand of God, we need not fear judgment, for He appears before God on our behalf (Heb. 9:24).

CORAM DEO

Zephaniah

Revelation 15

Do you ever stop to consider that Christ is a ruling King? What are the implications of this? Even though Christ is King, why are things so bad? Keep these questions in mind as you hear and read about the daily struggles for power among human leaders. Meditate on Psalm 2 today. Remember that Christ is King.

For further study: Acts 1:6–11 • Phil. 2:9–11 • 1 Tim. 3:16

thursday

december