Timothy Keller - The Father and Son

And so we come to the very last action of Jesus Christ on earthhis ascension to the right hand of the Father in heavenand it may be the most puzzling of them all. First, of course, the ascension was puzzling to the disciples who witnessed it. It was perhaps the most visually unexpected of all the miracles they had seen firsthand. In Acts 1:911, we read, After he [spoke], he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. As he went off into the sky the apostles stood staring at the heavens like deer gazing at headlights, not understanding what was going on. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. Men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way. Were not quite sure what the disciples were thinking as they stood staring at the clouds, but the two angels had to give them a gentle rebuke. Snap out of it, men! they were saying. He left and hes coming back, but until then, theres work to do. So get a move on. Obviously, the apostles were puzzling over the meaning of the ascension from the moment it happened.

But the ascension is also puzzling for us. And for us, the question is not so much What happened? as Why did it happen? What difference does it really make for the state of our souls and for how we live? The meanings of the other events in Jesus life are clearer or at least more familiar to us. Without the incarnation, for example, Jesus could not have become human and taken our punishment. It means that God is not remotehe is truly with us. The crucifixion means that theres a solution for guilt, a pardon for sin. The resurrection means we will eventually get new bodies that will signal our triumph over death. All of these great and miraculous events of Jesus life are obviously crucial to our own lives. We may be puzzled about how Jesus accomplished these things, but nearly any Christian would be quite clear about why he accomplished them. Yet what about the ascension? Certainly it makes sense that if there was a coming down in the incarnation there would be going back in the ascension. But it is not evident if the ascension makes a difference in our salvation or in the way we live.

Actually, it makes an enormous difference. The ascension, when understood, becomes an irreplaceable, important resource for living our lives in the worldand its a resource no other religion or philosophy of life holds out to us. So lets explore what the apostles eventually learned about the ascension, which they recorded in various places in the New Testament. First well learn what the ascension is theologically and second what it means for us practically.

First, what is the ascension? It is not simply Jesus return from the earth to heaven. It is a new enthronement for Jesus, bringing a new relationship with us and with the whole world.

Lets start by thinking about what the ascension is not. The ascension is not simply Jesus leaving the surface of the earth. Its not so much about him going into the heavens but rather into Heaven. In 1961, the Soviet pilot Yuri Gagarin was the first person to successfully orbit the earth. Not long afterward the premier of the Soviet Union said in a speech that Gagarin had gone up into the heavens and didnt see God there, so he must not exist. That reveals an understanding of the ascension as basically a change in altitude, such that Christ and the Father are somewhere in outer space. Now the Bible does talk about the heavens, as when Psalm 19 speaks of The heavens [the sun, moon, and stars] are telling of the glory of God (New American Standard Bible). But Jesus didnt go into the heavens of the stars and planets. He went into Heaven with a capital H. And that is something far more profound than an orbit in outer space.

In fact, the word ascend is probably the right place to start. We know it means to go upward, like an aircraft, but we are usually quite careful when we apply the word to people. For example, we could say he ascended the ladder, but we dont usually use so grand a word to describe such a thing. (Or if we did it might be a bit tongue-in-cheek.) We would say instead that he climbed or went up the ladder. But we would certainly use the word to describe a coronation. When someone becomes a king or queen, there is a ceremony in which authority is officially transferred. And the person literally walks up onto a podium and then goes up steps and sits on a throne, a higher chair. And we say, She ascended to the throne. The word ascended gets across more than a change in elevation. She is not just physically higher than everyone elseshe has a new relationship to others and has new powers and privileges to exercise authority. The steps and the higher chair are symbolic.