Lk 24:50 Then Jesus led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 24:51 Now during the blessing he departed and was taken up into heaven.
The ascension is described just three times in the NT (Mk 16:19; Acts 1:9). But it is referred to in eleven other books.
It is intimated by our Lord in Jn 6:62; 7:33, and anticipated in Psa 68:18 (cited in Eph 4:8).
1. Its manner
It was not a mere disappearance, as at Emmaus.…
A case could be made from John’s Gospel for regarding the crucifixion as the climax of Jesus’ ministry. For it is from the cross that Jesus is recorded as crying, triumphantly, “It is finished!”
More frequently, the resurrection is placarded as marking the completion of Jesus’ work. The crucified Jesus, preaches Peter, was raised from the dead (Acts 2). Paul preached ‘Jesus and the resurrection’ (Acts 17:18). In 1 Cor 15:3f the summary of the gospel is that ‘Christ died for our sins…was buried…and was raised on the third day.’…
Daniel 7:13f – “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.…
Jesus Christ ‘ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.’
Acts 1:1-11; 2:32-36
We have lots of ways of preparing for and celebrating Christmas and Easter.
But what about Christ’s ascension? For many of us, May 21st 2020 (Ascension Day) probably passed virtually unnoticed.
And yet the ascension is of huge significance. It is just as important, in its own way, as the birth, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.…
(Each reference is given in the NET version and the NIV)
Psalm 68:18 You ascend on high, you have taken many captives. You receive tribute from men, including even sinful rebels. Indeed the LORD God lives there!
18 When you ascended on high,
you took many captives;
you received gifts from people,
even from the rebellious—
that you, LORD God, might dwell there.
Psa 110:1 Here is the LORD’s proclamation to my lord: “Sit down at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool!”…
‘What, we may ask, is the nature of the resurrection body? It is not a speculative or a useless question because the criterion of what is useless and speculative is that there is no teaching on it in scripture; and there is some clear teaching in the Bible with regard to the resurrection body. For example, we read in Philippians 3:21 that the Lord Jesus Christ ‘will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body’.…
‘It is a pity that we call it ‘Ascension Day’, for the Bible speaks more of Christ’s exaltation than of his ascension. This is an interesting avenue to explore. The four great events in the saving career of Jesus are described in the Bible both actively and passively, as deeds done both by Jesus and to Jesus. Thus, we are told with reference to his birth both that he came and that he was sent; with reference to his death both that he gave himself and that he was offered; with reference to his resurrection both that he rose and that he was raised; with reference to his ascension both that he ascended and that he was exalted.…
This may seem rather a pointless question, until we consider that it admits of two (if not more) possible answers:
Certainly, the first of these reflects what many Christians believe and say. They talk about ‘accepting Christ’, or ‘receiving Jesus into the heart’.
As the old chorus would have us sing:
You ask me how I know he lives –
He lives within my heart!
The idea that Jesus resides ‘in the heart’ of the believer is not without some plausibility.…
A summary of chapter 41 of The Fountain of Life, by John Flavel.
“When he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3
Christ is described
The ascension of Christ is the ‘transference of the resurrected body of Jesus from this world to heaven.’
It is described in Acts 1:9–11 (but see also Lk 24:50f), where Jesus is described as being “taken up” and disappearing into a cloud. This event took place near Bethany, on the Mt of Olives.
John’s Gospel records Jesus’ own comments regarding his ascension:
