The Ascension of Jesus Christ

This past Thursday, 40 days after Resurrection Sunday, marked the traditional day for remembering and celebrating the Ascension of our Lord and Savior. As I briefly mentioned in an e-mail message I sent, Ascension Day generally passes without much attention given to it. Why is this the case?

I think there are a number of reasons, two which I will share. First, other holidays have been heavily commercialized. You would have to be almost at the Top of Mount Everest for all of November and December to miss all the attention given to Christmas. Businesses also look to make the most of Easter. Now, we recognize that much of this attention is hardly honoring to Jesus Christ. But this attention does keep us from not being aware of when these two days are each year.

The second reason for the lack of attention given to Ascension Day is probably a lack of appreciating all that Scripture says about the Ascension of our Lord and Savior.

Though there are only several places in Scripture where the actual ascension of Jesus Christ is recorded, there are quite a few places in the Old Testament and New Testament that speak to the significance of Christ's ascension. Lord willingly we will give attention to some of these many passages in coming years, but today we will focus on just two passages: Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:1-11.

I would like to direct your attention to the following points:

Christ's Triumphant Ascension:

1. Was directly witnessed by the 11 Disciples
2. It is the assurance of His triumphant Return
3. It is the source of blessing and joy
4. It is the basis for our continued work
5. It directs us also to consider the work of the Holy Spirit