He is Still With Us

Title: Ascension - He is Still With Us By Pastor Lohn Johnson
Text:    Luke 24:49-51  49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."  50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.  51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. INTRODUCTION:   My dear friends in Christ, If you have kids or have been around kids you’ve probably seen the movie Monster, Inc. I love that movie because there is so much theological symbolism in it.  I doubt if they intended it that way, but I guess it is a fortunate accident.  One piece ties into the Ascension.  Sully or Kitty as little girl calls him has to return little Boo to her bedroom and not see her again.  The little girl is sad as “Kitty” goes through the closet door and is gone.  It goes like this: [Video]  I bet the disciples were feeling the same way as Jesus, the beloved teacher, is disappearing into the clouds. But this idea of Jesus disappearing leads to grave misunderstandings about the Ascension.
I.  Even among Christians the ascension of Jesus is terribly misunderstood.
	A.  We think Jesus left. That He’s gone to a better place, and we’re left to get together and read about Him from a book written by some of His friends.
			1.   We think “heaven” is a place “up there” somewhere and that Jesus has left this place to go to that place.
					a.  With Jesus tucked off in heaven somewhere that is not here, we’re free to run things as we please. b. He’s left the show in our hands, so we may as well make the best of it while He’s gone before He comes back to dole out rewards and punishments.
			2.But Jesus hasn’t gone anywhere in ascending to the right hand of the Father, because the right hand of the Father isn’t a place as we understand “place.” Think about it. God is everywhere. Omnipresent. So His right hand is everywhere. So Jesus at the right hand of God is everywhere. And just because you can’t see Him doesn’t mean He isn’t there.
					a. The resurrection appearances of Jesus show that quite nicely. He’s here, He’s there, He’s wherever He wants to be. In the upper room, on the road to Emmaus, on a mountain in Galilee. He seems to appear and disappear at will. And that’s precisely the point. He who fills all things in every way can appear wherever He wants whenever He wills. b. Jesus promised His disciples that He would not leave them as orphans but would be with them always. And so His ascension is not His leaving His church to fend for itself. No, quite the opposite. His ascension means that He is present with His church, in an even greater and more profound way than when He was seen by His disciples.
			3. In ascending, Jesus withdraws His visible presence to establish His greater sacramental presence. Now He is hidden, but hidden to reveal Himself in a safe way.
					a. You see no one may look upon Him in His unmediated glory and live. So He hides Himself. A cloud envelopes Him and takes Him from the disciples’ sight. They stare up into the sky, but Jesus is nowhere to be seen. He cannot be seen. b. And yet He is not gone but He’s with them. Ten days later, at Pentecost, the ascended Lord Jesus would breathe on His church with the fiery wind of the Holy Spirit. c. I like the way one unknown author describes how the Spirit works in a hidden way for Jesus. He uses the analogy of a common source of power, gasoline. He says that the power of gasoline can be experienced in two different ways. It can be unleashed, or it can be harnessed.  Suppose I were to drop a lighted match in a ten gallon barrel of gasoline. What will happen at that point? I would probably die. Ten gallons of gas can produce quite an explosion.  On the other hand, suppose I were to pour that ten gallons of gas into the gas tank of my car.  Then, depending on the fuel efficiency of my car, I might be able to drive hundreds of miles. Dropping a lighted match into a barrel of gasoline might produce a spectacular effect, but a controlled burn will take me a lot further in life.  The Holy Spirit is hidden in means to power us to be all that Christ has called us to be. d. So don’t come away from here thinking that Jesus is not here or anywhere in this world. The Father has put all things under His feet and He fills all things in every way. Most especially, and most importantly, He is hidden in the water of Baptism, in His Word, in the bread and wine of the Supper.
	B.   A second misunderstanding is that Jesus is no longer human after His ascension. That He somehow left His humanity or He locked it up in some closet in His Father’s mansion, like a wedding suit that isn’t needed any more.
			1. We do have this tendency to think that sometimes, that it’s beneath Jesus’ dignity to bear our humanity, or that heaven is some place where bodies aren’t needed any longer.
					a. We talk that way about our loved ones at their funerals, and we talk that way about Jesus in His ascension. b. It’s as though we don’t know quite what to do with His humanity. It seems awkward to think of a man, a flesh and blood human being, reigning over the cosmos at God’s right hand.  We aren’t comfortable with our own humanity. We think we need to rise above it.  But Jesus is quite comfortable with our humanity. He wears it well, without Sin.
			2. The incarnation didn’t end with Jesus’ ascension. There was no Jesus suit left behind on the mountain when the cloud enveloped Him. Jesus assumed the throne in His humanity, as one of us.
					a. He came down from God in order to bring us to God. He left the royal throne to become Man, and as Man He died, rose, and ascended to bring humanity back to God. When Jesus ascended to glory, humanity ascended to the same glory. b. Unless Jesus is fully human, now at the right hand of God, He cannot be our go between with God. Then He would have no sacrifice to offer, no blood to bring into the heavenly holy of holies. But it is precisely for this purpose, that Jesus became Man, suffered, died, and rose again. C. A third misunderstanding is that Jesus’ reign on earth is something that is going to happen in the future, a future kingdom of God on earth in which Christ will reign for a thousand years. You don’t have to go far on the radio dial to hear that.
				1. But the truth of the ascension is that the reign of Christ is now. Now He reigns over all things. Now is the time of His reign on earth.
					a. The work of redemption is done. “It is finished.” The victory over Sin and Death is won. Death has lost its sting, and Sin has lost its power.  Christ has conquered by His obedience and death. b. Now Christ and His church wait for the final consummation, and the fulfillment of all things in the final resurrection. Then you will see what is now already so.  All the evil we see in the world today is the death throes of Jesus’ enemies.
				2. So don’t continue thinking that Jesus is coming back one day to set up His kingdom and reign on earth.
						a. He already reigns as Lord of all, and you now live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him now. b. And please take it personally. The ascension of Jesus is your ascension too. You are baptized into Him. You’ve been crucified with Him, raised with Him, and as the apostle Paul says, you are seated in the heavenly places in Him.
II. So the Ascension of Jesus gives you great comforts.
	A. Yes, Jesus is ascended into heaven but He took His body with Him.
				1. But that’s a testimony to you that He will raise you from the dead—body and all—and deliver you to heaven, body and all. That’s a great comfort. 2. And because Jesus has ascended into heaven, He now sits at the Father’s right hand and rules all things for your good.  Our Brother and Savior rules – that’s a great comfort.
					a. Martin Luther has a great quote about the Ascension of Jesus, that goes like this:  My Lord Jesus Christ is Lord over death, Satan, sin, righteousness, body, life, foes and friends.  What shall I fear?  For while my enemies stand before my very door and plan to slay me, my faith reasons thus: “Christ is ascended into heaven and become Lord over all creatures, hence my enemies, too, must be subject to Him and thus it is not in their power to do me harm.  I challenge them to raise a finger against me or to injure a hair of my head against the will of my Lord Jesus Christ….  If my Lord so wills that they, mine enemies slay me, blessed am I; I gladly depart.  Thus you will see that He is ascended into heaven, not to remain in indifference, but to exercise dominion; and all for our good, to afford us comfort and joy.”   b. So Jesus is ascended into heaven to rule over all things for your good. That’s a great comfort as you endure the temptations and afflictions of this world.
		B. the same Lord Jesus Christ who is ascended into heaven is also as near to you as His means of grace. This is also a comfort. He is with you—as near as His Word, forgiving your sins and strengthening your faith.
				1. Like in Monster’s Inc. “Kitty” goes through the restored door to visit Boo again.  The implication is that now He can continue to visit again and again. 2.  Jesus does the same for us in Word and Sacrament.  And that’s a great comfort.
CONCLUSION:   Yes, there are misconceptions surrounding the Ascension.  We often think that Jesus is gone, but no, His presence is changed to come hidden in the Word and Sacraments.  We often think Jesus has left His humanity when He ascended.  But no, that’s not true.  He’s always God and man and still working for us, now in an even greater way.  We often think that Jesus’ kingdom is coming in the future.  But no, His Kingdom is now.  He rules now.  It’s the final fulfillment that is in the future.  The truth of the Ascension gives us comfort.  Now we know that since Jesus bodily ascended we will too.  And now our Savior rules for our good.  And we have comfort that Jesus is as near as His Word and Sacrament.  He visits us again and again in a greater way than “Kitty” visited “Boo.”  Amen.
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