There are few things more frustrating than being stuck waiting for someone. It's happened to you before. You're with a group of people, but one person is still missing. And it's not just any person, it's the one person you really need to be there. So there you are, with a group of people, waiting, checking your watch, wondering how long this will take.
I remember being at a restaurant with a large group of family. The restaurant was packed that night; the waiting area was so full there was barely room to stand. Thankfully, we'd made reservations. No waiting for us; we'd get right to our table, right? Wrong. This restaurant had a policy: no party could be seated until every person in that party had arrived. Of course, someone was late. So we waited.
This kind of problem can come to our minds when we think of the day we celebrate today: Ascension. Jesus ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God, it sounds so powerful and important -- and it is! But still, it might just leave us wondering: where is Jesus? Isn't he the guy we need around the most? Wouldn't the message of Jesus be more effective, wouldn't we have more hope and joy in our lives, if Jesus was actually here with his church? Sure, Jesus will return one day; we know that. But what are we supposed to do until then? Do we just sit here waiting?
Friends, take comfort. Ascension is not the day where we despair that Jesus is gone. Ascension is the day we celebrate how Jesus is with us, we give thanks for his power among us -- not in the past, not just in biblical times, but today, right now. Ascension is the day we remember how Jesus is with us, and we remember what good news that is for us as Christians, as a congregation, as sinful human beings who rejoice in their Savior. Where is Jesus? Because of Ascension, we never have to wonder about that. Because of Ascension, we know Jesus is always with us.
Our text from Luke's gospel doesn't start out on Ascension day. It starts 40 days earlier on Easter Sunday. The disciples were still amazed and bewildered by what was going on at this point. They hadn't understood that Jesus was going to die, let alone rise from the dead. Just moments before our text starts, they'd seen him again for the first time. He even amazed them by eating a piece of fish in front of them. (Lk. 24:43)
But now in our text it was time for Jesus to put his disciples amazement and confusion to rest. "He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." (Lk. 24:44)
You may have heard of the vegetable drink called "V8." Whether you like V8 or not, it had some advertisements on tv in the past that were pretty good. These ads would feature someone getting something very unhealthy to eat, like ordering a big, fatty meal from a fast-food restaurant. As the person is about to get the food, someone would lean forward and smack him right on the head. It wouldn't be a smack that would really hurt the person; it was just trying to snap them out of it. After getting smacked in the head, the person looks surprised, and then you hear the main line of the ad: "Should've had a V8." The point of the commercial is that these people should've known! They should've understood it wasn't smart to eat all that fatty food but instead they should have had something much more healthy -- like a V8.
That's kind of what I picture Jesus doing to the disciples in our text. It's like he was saying, "Come on guys! Get with it! You should've known all this was going to happen! I told you about this, and besides, it was all right there in the Bible!" And it was. Jesus had told how he would die and rise again. And even more than that, the Bible had told how he would die and rise again. Seriously, read Psalm 22. Read Isaiah 53. At times chapters like that seem like eyewitness accounts from the cross, instead of prophecies written hundreds of years before. The disciples knew their Bibles, but they still didn't get it. So Jesus helped them out. Our text tells us, "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." (Lk. 24:45)
Sounds nice, doesn't it? After all, the Bible can be confusing sometimes, and it'd be nice to have Jesus himself around to make everything clear for us, like he did for the disciples. But wait a minute. Didn't you hear what Jesus just said? This part of our text should be like someone reaching out and smacking us on the head. Snap out of it! Don't think, "I wish Jesus were around so he could explain the Bible." He is around. Where is Jesus? He's in his Word!
Don't ever think Jesus has left us alone. His words and actions in his Word still speak and work powerfully for us today. The story of Jesus perfect life, sacrificial death, and triumph over the grave is not something in the Bible that's just an interesting story. It's the good news, the gospel, "the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes." (Rom. 1:16) Just by reading or hearing about what Jesus said and did is powerful, because the Holy Spirit uses it to work or strengthen faith in our hearts.
Reading about Jesus' forgiveness, how his blood covers the sins of all people isn't just words on a page. They are powerful words that give the forgiveness of which they speak. Yes, friends, Jesus forgives you today. How do I know this? The Bible tells me. It proclaims and seals Jesus' forgiveness to you.
See, sometimes we get the idea that reading and studying the Bible is a nice little hobby that some people have. Some people collect stamps. Others like to study about the Civil War. Still others like to study the Bible. Those hobbies are fine for them, we think, but they might not be my thing. Study the Bible, well, I'm glad some people like that, but it's just not for me.
But it is, because Jesus is there in his Word. Jesus himself said that the Bible testifies about him. (Jn. 5:39) The whole Bible is Jesus' story. And whether you read and study it for the first time or the thousandth time in your life, Jesus is there. He reminds you that you are saved by him alone. He comforts you with his forgiveness. He assures you that heaven is your home through him. So as we celebrate Ascension today -- and every day after -- "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Pet. 3:18) Find Jesus in his Word!
And when you do, you'll realize that's not the only place to find him. Listen to Jesus' words to his disciples about the Bible. "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem." (Lk. 24:46-47)
Did you hear yourself in that verse? You're in there. "Repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations." You are a part of that "all nations." And where did you hear about Jesus? Where did you hear about repenting of your sins because Jesus has forgiven you? Did Jesus himself appear to you in the flesh face to face and tell you about it? No. Did you just happen to pick up a Bible and read about all of it yourself? It's possible, I guess, but not likely. No, you most likely heard of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and the forgiveness, life, and salvation that you get because of it through someone else. And that's another way Jesus is still with us today.
Jesus could've carried out all his work himself, personally, in the flesh. But he decided not to. Jesus could've decided to let angels do all his work in this world. But he didn't. Jesus chose sinful human beings to carry out his work in the world, like the disciples, like you and me.
And when we carry out Jesus' work, Jesus is there. When I told you today your sins are forgiven, I wasn't speaking for myself, I was speaking in Jesus' place. You can trust when I say those words it's just as good as if Jesus were here in the flesh speaking them. When I baptize someone, like I had the privilege to do a couple days ago, it's not really something I do. The Holy Spirit works in that water and Word to connect that baptized person to Jesus. When we have the Lord's Supper here, we're not getting some bread and wine to help tide us over until lunch. We're getting Jesus. He's truly present there in his body and blood to build up our faith and assure us again of our forgiveness and salvation.
And when you tell someone about who Jesus is, when you explain something from the Bible, when you invite someone to church or to Bible class, Jesus is there working through you, too. We are his witnesses, and he has called on us to witness to him and his life, love, and forgiveness with our whole lives. Where is Jesus? He's in his church, he's with me and with you as we carry out his mission in this world.
But that's still not the only place we find our Savior. Listen to Luke's brief account of the Ascension. "He lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven." It was so simple. Jesus simply lifts up into the air, he ascends to heaven, and he vanishes from their sight.
This is where the disciples should be sad, right? This is where they should be weeping and thinking, "Now what do we do?" But that's not what they did. Our text tells us, "Then [the disciples] worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God." (Lk. 24:52-53)
The disciples seem even happier once Jesus leaves. They praise him, they go back to Jerusalem with great joy. They didn't go with their heads down grumbling. They didn't say, "What's this world coming to?" They went with joy, praising God.
We can live the same way. We're tempted to do the opposite, of course. We're tempted to watch the news and say, "What a mess. There's no hope left in this world." We're tempted to look around at our church and say, "I don't know, there's less attendance, people don't seem interested in us anymore. Maybe we're dying." We're tempted to look at our lives and say, "Wow, do I have problems. Bills, fights in relationships, difficulty at work and school, sickness and death...maybe God really isn't with me no matter what."
When those temptations hit you, remember Ascension! Remember that the disciples went with joy praising God when Jesus ascended, and you can live with joy praising God, too. Why? Because Jesus' ascension means he's the one in control. Our reading from Ephesians spells it out. There we hear that when Jesus ascended, "God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." (Eph. 1:22-23)
Where is Jesus? He's right here with us! He's wherever we are! He rules the whole world. He makes sure that everything that happens, happens for your good, for the good of his church, for the good of his mission in the world. And if Jesus rules all things, we don't have to worry. We don't have to grumble and complain. No, we can praise him. We can give thanks that he takes care of it all. And we can rejoice that he gives us a role in his mission.
You know what it's like to be missing someone important. But remember, because of the Ascension, we never have to miss Jesus. Where is he? He's in his Word, with his power for our forgiveness and salvation. He's speaking through his church as we live in his Word and Sacraments. He's there in everything that happens in this world, working out all things for the good of those who love him. (Rom. 8:28) Don't despair! Don't lose hope! Jesus is here! He's forgiven you! He's given you life now and forever. And yes, he has ascended, but he's not going anywhere.
Posts
