By Martin Morrison.
This is one of our top devotions of 2020 published on the 21th of May 2020. Find the full article here
What’s important about Ascension Day? The simple answer is nothing at all! There are no special sacred or religious days as such for Christians. Everyday belongs to the Lord. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He is the Lord of time and space. Every second of every day is under the headship of Christ. There is not a square millimetre of space or a micro-second of time to which Jesus cannot say, “It is mine”.
Alright. So perhaps we need to rephrase the question. What is important about the ascension of Jesus? Well, that’s quite a different question. It is hugely important to the Christian faith and to every Christian. The historical record of the ascension of Jesus is given to us by Dr Luke in Acts 1:1 – 11. You would greatly benefit if you could read the portion. Let’s unpack this topic under two headings.
Firstly, it is quite clear from the Lukan record that what we have here is historical. William Neil, who is usually conservative in his conclusions, tells his readers (without argument) that Luke was conveying theological truth through symbolism and poetry. Others have argued that Luke lived in pre-scientific days with a totally different cosmology. Surely, they say, you can’t really believe in a literal ascension as recorded by Luke? Well, all you need to do is to read the narrative for yourself. There is no sign of poetry or symbolism. It is unsentimental, even austere. It reads like history, as if Luke intended us to accept it as history.
It’s historical importance is that it visibly signified the end of the earthly ministry of Jesus. His earthly ministry commenced with the incarnation and ended with the ascension. During the forty days between the resurrection and ascension, Jesus kept appearing, disappearing and reappearing. His six-week ministry of post resurrection teaching had come to an end. And so he visibly and publicly ascended, so that his disciples would know that he had gone for good. They were not to keep looking for his appearing but to wait in Jerusalem for the outpouring of his Spirit. Jesus’s earthly ministry was confined to a particular time and space. Palestine in 30 AD. The next phase of Jesus’s ministry required his physical exit and then the entry of his Spirit which would not be confined to time and space. So the ascension of Jesus leads to Pentecost which inaugurates what Jesus continues to do on earth through his Spirit and the apostles. Without the physical departure of the earthly Jesus, there would be no arrival of the Spirit of Jesus, not only to Palestine but to the ends of the earth…Keep Reading