TOPIC:“The Glorious Departure of Our Lord” (Ascension Sunday)
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:Luke 24:49-53
“And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them,
and carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51)
Quite definitely we may say that the glorious ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven is a subject untouched by many ministers of today. It seems to receive very little attention by most ministers. Yet no theology of Christ is complete without the ascension since it was the withdrawal of the bodily presence of our Savior from earth to Heaven which made possible the completion of His redemptive work.
Having said that, let me now say this: Christ is the first resurrected man to enter Heaven in a new glorified body. Side by side with those words should be placed the exciting truth that we as believers will one day follow Him. Give ear to Paul's words to the believers at Thessalonica: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:16, 17). There you have the ascension of all believers in Christ.
I think we can state that the EXIT of Christ was as marvelous as His ENTRANCE. And regarding that entrance into Heaven, let me say this: If the angels sang at the birth of Christ, think what it must have been like in Heaven when He returned from completing His redemptive work at Calvary. All the hosts of Heaven must have greeted Him with shouts of praise and adoration. Now let's turn our attention to the verses before us.
I.
Consider, first of all, the EVIDENCE for the ascension of Christ. Who were the witnesses of His ascension. Note the words of verse 50: “And he led them out as far as to Bethany.” His own disciples did not see Him rise out of the grave, but they did see Him ascend into Heaven. In Luke's account of the ascension of Christ in Acts chapter 1 verses 9 through 12 we find four references to it: Verse 9: “taken up.” Again in verse 9: “received him out.” Verse 10: “went up.” Verse 11: “taken up.”
The ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven is a great fact of the New Testament. Jesus Himself predicted His own return to Heaven. He spoke about it this way: “Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto him that sent me” (John 7:33). . . .