Dec 25
28
Old Testament Reading: Psalm 24
“A PSALM OF DAVID. The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah” (Psalm 24, ESV)
New Testament Reading: Luke 24:50-53
“And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.” (Luke 24:50–53, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church, but without the benefit of proofreading.
Introduction
As you can see, this will be the last sermon in our series through the Gospel of Luke. I began preaching through the Gospel of Luke in March 2023. We took a couple of short breaks along the way, but for the most part, we have been in Luke’s Gospel for over two and a half years (33 months). I’ve thoroughly enjoyed preaching through this portion of Holy Scripture, and hope and pray you have been edified by the sermons.
What have we learned from Luke? There are different ways to express it. In brief, we have learned about the inauguration of the eternal Kingdom of God (see Luke 1:32-33). We have considered the beginning of the New Covenant (see Luke 22:20) and the passing away of the Old (see Luke 21:20-24). We have observed the accomplishment of our redemption (see Luke 4:18), the defeat of Satan (see Luke 10:18), sin (see Luke 24:47), and death (see Luke 24:34), and the beginning of a new creation (see Luke 24:36-39). Luke tells us that all of this was accomplished through the humiliation and exaltation of the eternally begotten Son of God incarnate (see Luke 1:32). Stated differently, this marvelous work was accomplished through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We speak often of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (and rightly so). But there is actually more to say about the exultation of Jesus. When did the humiliation (or descent) of Jesus end and the exaltation (or ascent) of Jesus begin? Answer: When Christ the Lord was raised from the dead to life in glory on the third day after his crucifixion. But was that the end of Jesus’ exultation? No, Jesus would be exulted higher. He would ascend into heaven, bodily. He would be enthroned at God the Father’s right hand, bodily. And one day, he will return, bodily, to judge and to make all things new.
This is what our catechism teaches: Q. 26. What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer?
A. Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in His state of humiliation and exaltation. Q. 30. Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist?
A. Christ’s humiliation consisted in His being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross, in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time. Q. 31. Wherein consisteth Christ’s exaltation? A. Christ’s exaltation consisteth in His rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, in sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.
Notice this: Luke does not conclude his Gospel with an account of Christ’s resurrection, but mentions also his ascension into heaven (we find the same thing in Mark 16:19). And so, today, we will be considering Christ’s ascension, a doctrine that is sometimes overlooked or forgotten, I’m afraid.
First, we will consider our text. After that, we conclude with a few exhortations or suggestions for application.
Luke 24:50-53
Our text is quite brief. In Luke 24:50, we read, “And he led them out as far as Bethany…” The NIV translates the Greek this way: “When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany…” (Luke 24:50, NIV84). I think I prefer this translation, for not only is it a valid translation of the Greek text, but it also clarified that Christ did not ascend from within the town of Bethany, but from a tract of land near Bethany, which could also be called by that name. In Acts 1:12, Luke tells us that, after Christ’s ascension into heaven, the disciples “returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away” (Acts 1:12, ESV).
Where exactly did Christ ascend to heaven from? He ascended to heaven, not from within the town of Bethany, which was two miles to the east of Jerusalem, but from the Mount of Olives, which was a mile to the east of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives was on the way to, and in the vicinity of, the town of Bethany, and so that tract of land was sometimes called by the name of that nearby town. As you may remember, the Mount of Olives was one of Jesus’ favorite places. It overlooked the city of Jerusalem and the Temple to the West. It was a place of rest for Jesus and his disciples. Jesus oftentimes communed with the Father there in prayer. How fitting that this would be the place on earth from which Christ would ascend into heaven.
When did Jesus make this journey with his disciples? Luke is not specific about the timing in his Gospel. But he is specific about the timing in his second volume, the book of Acts. Listen to how the book Acts begins: “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:1–3, ESV). When did Christ go to the Mount of Olives with his disciples and ascend into heaven? Forty days after his resurrection. For forty days, Christ appeared to his disciples many times, “presented himself alive to them… by many proofs… speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:1–3, ESV). After this, he ascended.
Who was there when Christ ascended? If we look back to Luke 24:33 and forward to Acts 1:13-14, we learn that it was at least the eleven remaining disciples whio saw him ascend. Most likely, others were present too. In Acts 1:13, Luke mentions that a slightly larger group was together immediately after the ascension: “Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers” (Acts 1:13–14, ESV). In 1 Corinthians 15:6, Paul says that Jesus appeared in his resurrection to a group of over 500 people at one time. Some think that all of these were present at the ascension, but I’m not so sure.
Where did the ascension of Christ take place? On the Mount of Olives near Bethany. When did it take place? Forty days after Christ’s resurrection. Who was there to witness it? The eleven were certainly there. Most likely, other eyewitnesses to his resurrection were there too (see Luke 24:33; Acts 1:13-14; 1 Corinthians 15:6).
Now, what did Christ say and do before he ascended? If we go to the book of Acts, we learn that Christ gave his disciples one more lesson about the kingdom of God and reminded them of their mission immediately before he ascended. Here is what Acts 1:6 says: “So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’” (Acts 1:6, ESV). As you can see, they still didn’t get it. Even after Christ’s resurrection, and even after he appeared to them many times over he course of forty days, “speaking [with them] about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3, ESV), they still couldn’t comprehend that Christ’s kingdom is not of this world, nor is it centered on ethnic Israel, but is heavenly, consisting of people from evey tongue, tribe, and nation on earth. It would still take some time for the disciples to get it (read Acts 1-11:18 for that story). “So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1:6–9, ESV).
What did Christ say and do before he ascended? In Acts, Luke tells us that Christ instructed his disciples and reminded them of their mission. But in Luke 24:50, we read, “and lifting up his hands he blessed them” (Luke 24:50, ESV, emphasis added).
Under the Old Covenant, Aaron and the priests who descended from him were called by God to pronounce God’s blessing upon the people of Israel. In Numbers 6:23, the LORD speaks to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. ‘So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them’” (Numbers 6:23–27, ESV). When Jesus lifted up his hands to bless his disciples before his departure, it was to pronounce a priestly blessing upon them, for indeed, Christ is our great High Priest, and he is superior to Arron and his sons (see Hebrews 4:14ff.).
Here is what John Gill says about that:
“Christ, as the great high-priest, having offered himself a sacrifice for the sins of his people, lift up his hands towards his apostles, and blessed them in an authoritative way, by bestowing blessings upon them: he blessed them with a larger measure of the spirit; for though they were to wait some few days longer for the extraordinary effusion of the spirit, yet, in the mean while, they received from him more of it than they had formerly had… He blessed them with larger measures of grace, and with more spiritual light, and understanding into the Scriptures of truth, and with much inward peace of mind, and with the fresh discoveries of pardoning love; and which seemed necessary, since by their conduct towards him, one by denying him, and the rest by forsaking him, the peace of their minds was broken, and they needed a fresh application of forgiving grace. The form of blessing the people used by Aaron, and his sons, the priests, who were types of Christ, is recorded in Num. vi. 23-27. and though our Lord might not use the same form in blessing his disciples, yet it seems he used the same gesture, lifting up his hands as they did.” (Gill’s commentary on Luke 24:50)
Finally, how did Christ ascend? Verse 51 says, “While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51, ESV). Pay careful attention to the way in which Christ departed.
One, he did not turn his back on his disciples as if he were running away from them or abandoning them on earth. The text says, “While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.” Christ blessed his disciples as he departed from them, and this was to show his abiding love and concern for them. This was to show that his gracious presence would remain with them. Though he would be away from them bodily, his heart was with them still. And is this not what he had promised? After he commissioned his disciples, he said, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20, ESV). Before this, he spoke to them, saying, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you… “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:18–24, ESV). And not long before Christ’s ascension, he spoke to his disciples, saying, “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49, ESV). When Jesus blessed his disciples as he departed, it sent a powerful message to them. I’m not running away from you. I’m not abandoning you. I am for you, and I am with you, to keep you and to bless you always.
Two, Jesus did not vanish when he ascended; rather, he parted from them. And this was to show that he ascended bodily. Acts 1:9-10 tells the same story, but with more detail: “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven’” (Acts 1:9–11, ESV). Just as Jesus was raised bodily (see Luke 24:38-39), he ascended bodily, and he will also return bodily. This is what Paul says in Colossians 2:9. He wrote these words after Christ’s ascension, and yet he wrote in the present tense, saying, “For in [Christ] the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily…” (Colossians 2:9, ESV).
Perhaps you know that within the Lutheran tradition, you will find some who teach that the body of Christ is now ubiquitous and omnipresent. This agrees with their teaching that the body of Christ is really present with the communion elements, a doctrine known as consubstantiation. We deny this teaching. We affirm that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead bodily and that he ascended bodily. His body, though now glorified, is not capable of being in more than one place at a time. Furthermore, we affirm that Jesus Christ is omnipresent, but not according to his human nature. No, he is omnipresent according to his divine nature only. He is especially with us to bless us through the Helper, the Holy Spirit of promise that he has sent poured out from on high.
When Jesus ascended, he did not vanish into thin air, but parted from the disciples. The disciples watched his body go up into the clouds of the first heaven. This brings us to our third observation about the way in which Jesus ascended: the text tells us that Jesus Christ was received, bodily, into heaven, that is to say, into the third heaven, where the glory of God is manifest before the holy angels and the spirits of the righteous made perfect. Jesus ascended bodily and was received by a cloud residing within the first heaven (that is to say, our sky) to show that he was received by God bodily into the third heaven (not the heaven where the sun, moon, and stars reside (that is the second heaven), but the heaven that is presently invisible to us, where the angels dwell, and where the glory of God shines forth radiantly.
It’s not so difficult for me to imagine the souls of men being received into heaven, for heaven is a spiritual place, invisible to us. But how can it be that heaven has received the man Jesus Christ, soul and body? That, dear friends, is a mystery to me. Clearly, there is something about the glorified body of Jesus that makes it fit for life in heaven, but I will confess, I cannot comprehend this. And it seems that God has determined to leave this as a mystery to us. As 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2, ESV; see also Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 2 Corinthains 3:18; 4:11; Philippians 3:21; 2 Peter 1:4).
What was the manner in which Jesus ascended into heaven? Luke 24:51 says, “While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.” And we know that when Luke used the word heaven, he meant the third heaven, for in Acts 7, he reports that, immediately before Steven, the first martyr of the church was stoned to death by the Jews, “he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55, ESV).
This brings us to our next question about the ascension of Christ. What did Jesus do after ascending to heaven? Answer: He sat upon the throne of his everlasting kingdom. Steven saw him standing (see Acts 7:55), for Jesus was standing for him to support him through the trial of death. But when Christ ascended to heaven, he sat down upon his eternal throne.
This is called the session of Christ. After the Lord Jesus Christ finished the work of redemption, defeated sin, Satan, and death, and was raised to life in glory, he ascended into heaven to sit down upon the throne of the kingdom that was promised to David long before, in these words: “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12–13, ESV). This is the moment that King David spoke of when he wrote Psalm 110: “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool’” (Psalm 110:1, ESV).
We know that, properly speaking, God does not have a right hand. What does it mean, therefore, that Christ is seated at God’s right hand? Clearly, the language is anthropomorphic. Human attributes are being attributed to God, who is without body, parts, or passions, to communicate something true to us. And what is the truth? The truth is this: The man Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnate, has been exalted to the highest possible place. He sits now in the very presence of God in a place of unimaginable power and glory, with all authority in heaven and on earth given by God to him (see Matthew 28:18). God has placed everything under his feet. At the end of time, this man, Jesus, who has been received into heaven and is seated at God’s right hand, will, quoting now the Apostle, [deliver] the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For [Jesus] must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For [the Apostle then cites Psalm 8:6], ‘God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘all things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all”. This passage that I have just read is found in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28, and I think it helps us to understand what it means for the Lord Jesus Christ to be seated at God’s right hand in heaven.
Now for the final question about our text: What did the Apostles (and those with them) do when Jesus ascended into heaven? Verse 52: “And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God” (Luke 24:52–53, ESV).
Notice, briefly, three things:
One, the disciples worshiped Jesus. Let that sink in for a moment. They worshiped Jesus. Tell me, brothers and sisters, according to God’s law, who alone is to be worshipped? Only God is to be worshipped. Remeber the first two of the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:3–6, ESV). If Jesus were merely a man, and not God with us (see Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:32), then this would have been pure idolatry! If Jesus were a mere man, to worship him would be to worship a creature rather than the Creator (see Romans 1:25). But Jesus is no mere man. He is the eternally begotten Son from the Father, incarnate. He is the eternally begotten Word, the one through whom all things were made and through whom they are sustained. The disciples of Jesus knew it. This is why Thomas, after being convinced his resurrection, spoke to Jesus, saying, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28, ESV). The disciples of Jesus worshipped him when he ascended because, although he was Imanuel—God with us—from the moment he was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, the disciples could finally comprehend it. “And they worshipped him”, Luke says.
Two, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy. This shows us that they worshipped Jesus by obeying his commands. Humanly speaking, Jerusalem was the last place these disciples wanted to be. This was the city that crucified the Christ. But what did Christ tell them to do? Luke 24:49: “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49, ESV). They did not run home to Galilee, but returned to the city, in obedience to Christ.
Three, they were continually in the temple blessing God. In other words, they did not hide behind locked doors for fear of the Jews, as they had done before, but they took their commissioning seriously and sought to fulfill it with boldness. According to Luke 24:47, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would have to be proclaimed in Jesus’ name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem, and these disciples were called by God to testify concerning all they had seen and heard. They were “continually in the temple blessing God” (Luke 24:53, ESV), for all that he had accomplished through Jesus Christ the Lord.
Application
Please allow me to conclude with a few suggestions for application. Firstly, I would encourage you to ask the question, how could it be that Jesus Christ could ascend to heaven, and what does this mean for us? To help you do this, I would encourage you to go back and meditate on our Old Testament reading for today, Psalm 24. It asks an interesting question: “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3, ESV). Most assume this about ascending up into the city of Jerusalem and coming into the presence of the Lord to worship in his temple. And it is about that… kind of. But once you realize that, corresponding to the earthly city of Jerusalem is the heavenly Jerusalem, and corresponding to the earthly holy of holies is the heavenly holy of holies (see Hebrews 9), then you begin to see that this Psalm and the question it asks is really about ascending to heaven! Here the question again: “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3, ESV). And now for the answer: “He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully” (Psalm 24:4, ESV). Does this describe you? Are your hands perfectly clean? Is your heart perfectly pure? Mine is not. And neither is yours. So what is the answer? “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?” (Psalm 24:3, ESV). The answer is, there is only one! His name is Jesus! He has truly ascended the hill of the Lord. He has been received by God into his holy place. How then can we, who are sinful and impure, stand before the Lord? Only through faith in Christ the King. Go back to the 24th Psalm and read it with the ascension of Christ in view, for that is what it is really about. Consider the end of the Psalm and see that King Jesus is the only one qualified to ascend the holy mountain. Psalm 24:7 says, “Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in” (Psalm 24:7, ESV). Verse 8: “Who is this King of glory?” Answer: “The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!” (Psalm 24:8, ESV). Verse 9: “Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.” (Psalm 24:9, ESV). Verse 10: “Who is this King of glory?” Answer: “The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah” (Psalm 24:10, ESV). When Jesus Christ ascended, he fulfilled this Psalm. When Jesus Christ ascended, he did what King David could only do on earth in a prototypical way. When Jesus Christ ascended, he did what King Adam failed to do. Adam sinned and fell short of the glory of God. And all born Adam “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23, ESV). Thankfully, Jesus Christ was not born from Adam, but from above. He is the King of Glory. To him, the ancient gates of heaven have been opened, for his are clean and his heart is pure.
Secondly, I would exhort you, brothers and sisters, as you contemplate Christ’s exaltation, to not stop with his resurrection or even his ascension, but to remember his session at God’s right hand and his eventual return. But contemplating Christ’s exultation thoroughly, it will help us to think of Jesus, not only as Savior, but also as Lord and King, for that is what he is—our Lord and King. Friends, you must think of him as such, and you must bow the knee before him to love and revere him as King. He is a wonderful King. In love, he subdues us to Himself, he rules and defends us, and he restrains and conquers all of his and our enemies (Baptist Catechism 29). Don’t you love our King? “Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah” (Psalm 24:10, ESV).
Thirdly, and finally, contemplate the fact that when Christ ascended to heaven, he was blessing his disciples. I’m not sure what exactly he said to his disciples in that moment, but we would do well to consider the many blessings that are found in the pages of Holy Scripture, many of which we use as benedictions at the end of our corporate worship each Lord’s Day. Listen to those blessings and take them to heart. Receive them as from Christ, for indeed, they are his words to his people. Friends, if you are united to Christ by faith, God and Christ are for you, and not against you. And “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:31–39, ESV).
